Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 504 The Philosopher's Stone

The Philosopher's Stone.

Li Wei had certainly heard of its great reputation. He had previously mentioned that the ultimate goal of alchemy was the elixir of immortality and the panacea, and the "prerequisite technology" for them was to create pure gold, which required "turning stone into gold"—and the Philosopher's Stone was the "stone" in "turning stone into gold".

Of course, the Philosopher's Stone isn't specifically for turning into gold; its essence is actually transforming one substance into another—which, in Li Wei's view, is already quite remarkable.

"This thing isn't used to make gold, is it?"

Li Wei looked around but couldn't see any golden light at all. Upon hearing his words, the saintess nodded.

"Of course, if you expect to use it to make pure gold, that's wishful thinking, and it's impossible to use it to achieve immortality. Its function is transformation, or more specifically, transformation of energy."

"Converting energy?"

"That's right. Although the world is not the same as before, the energy that created this world is everywhere. Sunlight, water, wind, these forces can all be absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone and then transformed into the power that drives the entire castle."

"Drive the entire castle?"

Upon hearing this, a terrible thought suddenly occurred to Li Wei.

"Uh... Miss Saintess, what are you planning to do now...?"

“Those demon cultists have always wanted to find my castle and the Philosopher's Stone to serve their masters. I couldn't do it before, but that doesn't mean I can't now.”

As she spoke, the saintess stepped forward and approached the Philosopher's Stone. Li Wei then saw a smooth stone platform slowly rise from the ground. The saintess then reached out and placed her hand on the surface of the platform. With her movement, several golden lights appeared from the platform, and the entire room flickered.

Then, the entire castle began to tremble uncontrollably.

"…………………"

Li Wei felt even worse at this moment, and just then, he suddenly received a radio call from the Eye of the Sky.

"This is the Eye of the Sky, sir! What's going on down there?"

What did you see?

Upon hearing Lieutenant Horn's question, Li Wei paused for a moment before asking in return.

"The entire Mount Everest is cracking and collapsing, just like a major earthquake!"

"Boom boom boom boom boom—!!"

Li Wei also heard the sound coming through the thick city walls. What made him feel worse was that he felt he now knew why the castle was designed to be completely enclosed.

Unfortunately, it's too late to say all this now.

"Oh my god..."

On the Sky Eye, the crew stared wide-eyed out the portholes. Below, cracks appeared on the towering Mount Sainte, huge rocks tumbled down the mountain, and flocks of birds cried out as they took flight, circling all around.

Subsequently, the entire Mount Everest collapsed suddenly.

"boom-----!!"

The next moment, a colossal castle burst forth from the ground, mercilessly tearing apart the earth beneath it and soaring into the sky. Countless stones and dust scattered in all directions, instantly engulfing the entire Mount Sainte in a cloud of dust.

"Immediately rise and retreat!"

Lieutenant Horn quickly issued the order, and the Eye of the Sky decisively changed direction, moving away from this terrifying area.

"Is the sergeant alright?"

"I just contacted my superior, and he is safe and sound."

Lieutenant Horn's answer brought a sigh of relief to everyone. After all, such a cataclysmic scene was unimaginable; if they were down there, they couldn't believe they would have survived. At this moment, the massive dust cloud had risen high into the sky, like a giant mushroom cloud. Everyone stared at it with lingering fear, completely unaware of what was happening below.

"I never expected that the captain could pull off such a grand spectacle."

Henry looked outside, shook his head, and couldn't help but sigh.

"I really want to know what he went through."

After a while, the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, and only then could everyone see the scene below clearly—which left them even more dumbfounded and speechless.

Below them, a vast area centered on Mount Sainte had completely vanished, leaving only a huge, sunken crater. Even Mount Sainte, its towering peak that pierced the clouds, had disappeared without a trace. The entire Sunset Mountains now looked strange, as if someone had knocked out three front teeth—a truly unsightly sight.

"Holy Lord, what exactly happened here?"

"I don't know, but perhaps I can ask the officer."

Lieutenant Horn picked up the radio again.

"Sir? Are you sure everything is alright? We saw... uh... the entire Mount Sainte... is this really okay?"

Soon, Horn heard Levi's slightly helpless reply.

"There shouldn't be any problem. You can look up at the sky."

"The sky?"

Lieutenant Horn looked up in confusion, instinctively gazing at the sky, and then stood there, stunned.

Above the Eye of the Sky, a colossal castle floated in the air. Like all ancient castles, it possessed towering walls and towers, built entirely on a single piece of land. And now, this land seemed to fly on its own, carrying the castle soaring through the sky.

"Sir, what exactly is this...?"

"Come to the castle."

Li Wei held the radio, silently watching everything before him. Before his eyes, the huge stone slabs that had previously sealed off the entire space slowly descended like a protective shield, illuminating the blue sky, white clouds, and sunlight onto this sky city.

This is the Sky City!

Li Weizhen never expected that he would actually encounter this thing in his lifetime!

This is way more exciting than any giant dragon!
but……………

"Miss Saint, what are you doing now?"

"It's simple, do what needs to be done, destroy the gates of hell."

"Rely on this?"

"Yes."

The saintess nodded.

"If we just let it fly over the Gates of Hell and then smash it down, detonating the Philosopher's Stone, the entire Gates of Hell will be destroyed! That's the lie I used to deceive those demon cultists—no, strictly speaking, it wasn't a lie, since theoretically it's feasible. And now, I'm going to do the work I was supposed to do before."

"and many more!"

Upon hearing this, Li Wei was so shocked he almost jumped up.

"Please calm down, okay?!"

If that were to actually fall, that would be a huge problem!

(End of this chapter)