Chapter 660 - 472: Awaken! The Miracle Creation of Alchemy
Chapter 660: Chapter 472: Awaken! The Miracle Creation of Alchemy
The eight-legged steel creation stood silently amidst the ruins of the valley.
It was so enormous that approaching it felt like being swallowed by the shadow of a colossal mountain.
On its dark-silver metal shell, dormant Magic Runes reflected the afternoon sun with a cold, profound light.
The Hill Giants had stopped their excavation.
They gathered around the steel behemoth, curiously reaching out with their massive hands to touch its cold metal shell, letting out low rumbles of astonishment.
"The most brilliant creation of an era."
Grand Elder Gu stood beside Raylo, his aged voice laced with an indescribable sense of wonder.
His gaze swept over the complex mechanical structures, his cloudy eyes reflecting a glorious, bygone era.
"Let’s go, Master, Elder Gu."
Raylo spoke, breaking the momentary tranquility.
He took the lead, striding toward the steel behemoth.
Master Barnaby was already champing at the bit. He practically jogged to keep up, his gray Mage Robe trailing in a gust of wind behind him.
"Where’s the entrance?"
Raylo asked, tilting his head back.
Master Barnaby didn’t answer. He cast a Floating Technique and flew a full circle around the steel behemoth.
A moment later, he stopped before a seemingly unremarkable metal plate.
"This must be it."
He closed his eyes and pressed his palm to the plate. His Spiritual Power, fluid as mercury, slowly seeped into the dormant runes.
Raylo and Grand Elder Gu watched in silence, careful not to disturb him.
A few seconds later.
CLICK...
A mechanical click, so faint it was almost inaudible, sounded.
The massive metal plate depressed inward without a sound, then rose smoothly, revealing a pitch-black opening just large enough for one person to pass through.
A gust of air, sealed away for over a hundred years, rushed out from the opening.
It carried a unique scent—a mixture of metal, dust, and long-dissipated Magic Elements. It smelled like the sediment of time itself.
"After you, Master."
With a look of feverish reverence, Master Barnaby did not stand on ceremony. He was the first to stoop and enter.
The passage within was pitch-black.
A soft orb of light bloomed at Master Barnaby’s fingertip, banishing the darkness ahead.
The light revealed a straight metal staircase leading upward.
The walls, the ceiling, and the stairs underfoot were all a single, seamless piece of dark-silver metal. It was as if the entire space had been carved out of one solid block of metal.
Grand Elder Gu and Raylo followed close behind.
Once the last of them was inside, the entrance sealed shut behind them, cutting them off completely from the sunlight and noise of the outside world.
In an instant, the world fell silent.
Only the sound of their three sets of footsteps echoed through the narrow passage, creating a hollow, eerie rhythm.
The staircase was not long, and they soon reached the top.
Before them stood a heavy, circular metal door, on which an incredibly complex Alchemy Array was carved.
Clearly, they had to activate the Array to get inside.
Master Barnaby stepped forward once more. After a moment of study, he carefully infused his Magic Power into one of the Array’s nodes.
"Master Phillips truly is a Legend among Alchemists! Even the method to activate his Alchemy Array is full of such brilliant ingenuity!"
Master Barnaby marveled as he continued to study the Alchemy Array.
A moment later.
HUMMM!
The Array, dormant for a century, began to glow faintly at its center.
The heavy metal doors slowly slid apart.
A new world unfolded before the three men.
Even Raylo, who had braced himself for what lay beyond, felt his breath catch the moment he saw the scene behind the doors.
It was a vast, cavernous space.
The ceiling arched incredibly high above, where countless Magic Stones used for illumination were embedded, tracing patterns like constellations.
The space was divided into several sections.
To the left were rows of tall metal shelves, lined with all manner of labeled glass bottles and Crystal containers.
To the right was a section for more sophisticated equipment.
A dozen or so Alchemy Melting Furnaces, various other Alchemy Instruments, complex energy conduits, and a spiderweb of inscribed runes—everything was in perfect order, yet blanketed by a thin layer of dust.
Straight ahead, deeper within the space, they could vaguely make out what looked like living quarters and a study filled with countless books.
’A miracle... This is nothing short of a miracle...’ Master Barnaby murmured, his body trembling with excitement.
He reached out, as if to touch the instruments, but his hand froze midway. He seemed to fear that a single touch would shatter a perfection that had been frozen in time for a century.
"Master, don’t touch anything yet," Raylo said in a deep voice. "We can take our time and study it when we get back."
"Understood, sir, I understand!"
Master Barnaby nodded repeatedly. Of course he understood the reasoning.
Everything here was a priceless treasure, a precious legacy left by Philips to posterity. Even the slightest damage could be an irreversible loss.
Grand Elder Gu’s reaction was much calmer.
He simply walked at a slow pace, his gaze sweeping over the dust-covered instruments as if he were reading a weighty tome of history.
"Everything here is a little too intact. It seems to have been intentionally preserved."
"This Philips... he must have intended to seal all of his knowledge and accomplishments here, to await a successor capable of inheriting his legacy."