The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 203 The target for repairing the degraded Philosopher's Stone has been updated.

Tiny, fragmented crystals floated in mid-air, colliding and sticking together, like snowflakes condensing into clumps in the wind, slowly growing into a single crystal.

Zhang Chang'an crouched down closer and saw that the dark red, semi-transparent crystals with fine lines on their surface gleamed eerily in the moonlight. They solidified in no time.

Zhang Chang'an then stretched out his hand, which was still encased in iron armor inside his glove, and picked up the crystal with his five fingers together.

This is a crystal that is almost an icosahedron, with a diameter of about 20 centimeters. It is impossible to hide in your hand. It looks like a polished, dark red crystal.

In terms of structure, it is already very regular, with each ridge straight and sharp, but the size of each face is not completely consistent, and there are some flaws.

"You have discovered the secret of history: the deterioration of the Philosopher's Stone."

Purified Philosopher's Stone crystals require the removal of all impurities to form. This is a semi-finished product formed due to poor quality raw materials and insufficient purification.

Even so, it can still serve as the best raw material in the vast majority of derivative alchemy experiments, and is the highest value item that can be created under the rule of equivalent exchange.

Spacetime Fragments +1000.

"It hasn't broken through the barrier of equivalent exchange yet, but its value is extremely high?" Before Zhang Chang'an could seriously ponder this, he suddenly felt his hand holding the spear being grabbed.

He decisively stuffed the Philosopher's Stone into his pocket, then immediately twisted the steel spear, causing it to snap back into its short steel rod form, which he then inserted back into the straps on his body.

Amidst the smoke, Isabella, who was holding his hand, decisively threw out the alchemical artifact she was holding.

The round piece of metal traced an arc in the air before falling into the still-lingering black smoke in the distance.

It exploded the moment it hit the ground, producing a short, sharp sound like a firecracker, and screams of agony came from the black smoke.

"Hurry up! This is Versailles!"

Isabella's voice came from ahead, sounding quite anxious and helpless.

However, this is understandable. Versailles Gardens belong to the royal inner court. No matter how strong Zhang Chang'an's combat power is, he cannot withstand the presence of a large number of regular troops, royal knights, and high-level alchemists stationed nearby.

Zhang Chang'an was pulled forward a couple of steps by her, and quickly got used to the feeling of stepping on gravel and wood chips. They swiftly passed through the slowly descending smoke.

The shouts of the guards in the distance gradually faded, filtered by the night wind and the ruins of the buildings, becoming a chaotic, meaningless buzzing sound.

Moonlight streamed down from above, illuminating their running figures. The hems of their trench coats billowed in the night wind, their dark green hues...

Covered in dust and blood, the two quickly disappeared into the dark woods near the Versailles Gardens.

Soon, the two of them turned into a tunnel hidden under low bushes and withered vines.

The entrance leading underground was a massive iron gate. It wasn't locked, but the interior was pitch black, making it unappealing to enter.

It is an abandoned entrance to a catacombs leading to the Great Catacombs of Paris.

The interior passage was quite narrow, and the rammed earth walls on both sides were damp, seeping with cold water droplets. There was no musty smell in the air, but there was a strange fishy stench.

Zhang Chang'an sat down here, leaning against a relatively dry earthen wall, adjusting his breathing and taking a short rest.

The hem of her trench coat hung to the ground, facing Isabella, who was standing near the entrance looking out.

Her escape route caused her reddish-brown hair to fall from her temples, obscuring half of her face.

Her breathing was also uneven, and her shoulders rose and fell slightly, as if she was still shaken by what had happened earlier.

"This is really a huge development—" During the brief conversation on the road, Zhang Chang'an already learned that the warden was the mastermind behind everything.

The current situation is quite clear.

"Objective updated: Prevent de Lamot's ascension ceremony from completing, and allow history to return to its original course —"

The warden was a ruthless and cunning man.

Despite King Louis XVI's opposition to the Philosopher's Stone experiment, he secured Queen Marie Antoinette's sponsorship and secretly researched it until it was nearly successful. Just as he was about to achieve his goal, he immediately chose to abandon her.

This is the final step in preparing for the final experiment.

Overall, it was a success, after all, he did manage to disrupt the situation.

The bombing of the Petit Trianon and the death of Queen Marie Antoinette were enough to terrify the Parisian nobility and stir up unrest among the revolutionaries.

However, he did not hesitate to use the corrupted Walker's Stone and risk exposure to activate Isabella, whom Queen Mary wanted to kill, and ultimately did not die.

This incident can hardly be entirely attributed to the revolutionaries.

The Petit Trianon is located deep within the Versailles gardens, and no ordinary person could easily witness what was happening tonight.

But besides the nobles, the gardens of Versailles also had countless servants and guards, who would quickly spread the news to every corner of Paris.

Given that Queen Mary transformed into a monster, to say that the revolutionaries were responsible is unbelievable unless you can find a group of revolutionaries who use evil magic or witchcraft and have extraordinary connections.

On the contrary, the connection between those changes and alchemy is likely to be noticed in France, where alchemy is widely practiced.

After that, regardless of how strange this matter may be, the easily ignited social conditions in Paris will be completely detonated by this incident.

Commoners might use this as an excuse to believe that the royal family is doing something shady, thus putting revolution on the agenda.

The royal family could become extremely nervous. If their own gardens were destroyed and the queen died, even if Louis XVI was cowardly, he would have to be afraid.

The French Revolution eventually broke out, but it was precisely because the king might call in troops from surrounding areas to deal with the revolution that the common people chose to rise up in rebellion.

This was exactly what the warden wanted to achieve; in any case, the situation would remain chaotic.

Although Louis XVI was slightly smarter, he would have taken precautions against him as well, and even targeted him. When revolutionaries were making their revolution, they would not have spared him, the head of the Royal Alchemist and the symbol of royal rule, the Bastille.

But at least it's a three-way battle, and he obviously won't need much time to complete the final experiment.

Of course, once Zhang Chang'an returns, he will only need to provide some guidance or even just observe the situation to bring about the revolution he needs.

"It's the final stage."

Thinking of this, Zhang Chang'an's lips curled up slightly. Moonlight leaked in through a tiny crack in the ceiling, falling on his forehead and creating a play of light and shadow on his face, which was stained with dust and blood.

>