The Hall Masters Enter the Game
"Indeed, just as the Second Hall said, the situation in the Wuji Domain is not quite right," the Sixth Hall said in a lowered voice while walking towards the gate of the Church.
"Yeah, I came here once before... Although the climate is humid, there's smog all year round, and sunlight is rare, the people living here are not few, and there are people of all colors. It can be considered a holy land of cultural integration and collision."
The Middle-Aged Man's gaze swept over the surroundings. "But now, not a single person can be seen on the streets."
"I don't know if it's an illusion, but I keep feeling like someone is staring at us..."
"We are here as Envoys of the Red Dust Domain. No matter how chaotic his Wuji Domain is, it is still one of the Nine Great Human Realms. No matter how bold they are, they wouldn't dare to make a move against us... Otherwise, what they would provoke wouldn't just be a conflict between two Domains, but a massive internal struggle within humanity.
I guess the incident in the Red Dust Domain this time, even if it is related to the Wuji Domain, should be a problem with a certain faction... It's better to contact the Witchcraft Association first and understand the situation in time."
"That's true... but it's still better to be careful."
"Mm."
"We are Envoys of the Red Dust Domain. These are our identity certificates... You must have already received the telegram from the Red Dust Base. You should be clear about the purpose of our visit."
"Yes, we are clear about your purpose here."
The leading guard only glanced at the documents and waved his hand, making way for the two. "Please, our president has been waiting for a long time."
Seeing this scene, the hearts of the two Hall Masters relaxed slightly. They walked straight through the crowd and stepped into the Church.
Inside the Church, no one received them, nor did anyone guide them. The two could only walk through it with furrowed brows. Along the corridor, they walked to the depths of the Church and stopped in front of a magnificent golden gate.
Looking at this golden gate estimated to weigh several tons, the Black-Haired Woman frowned deeply:
"Wuji Domain... is it actually this wealthy?"
"There is a school of thought here called 'Alchemy' that can change the basic structure of matter through equivalent exchange... But to exchange for such a large golden door, what a huge price must have been paid?"
Even the Seventh Hall, who had been to the Wuji Domain and had some understanding of this place, was surprised by this golden gate at this moment. He placed his hands on the surface of the door and was just about to exert force, when the latter seemed to be automatically controlled, opening inward amidst a low hum...
A brilliant and dazzling light shone on the faces of the two Hall Masters. Seeing the scene behind the door clearly, they instantly froze in place.
It was a palace piled up with gold, gemstones, and various precious materials. The luxurious dome was inlaid with tens of millions of various gemstones. The long prayer platform was entirely made of white jade. Even the benches seemed to grow out of the gold covering the ground. Resplendent and magnificent were not enough to describe the scene before their eyes.
And at this moment, in the center of the Church, a figure draped in a gorgeous robe, with ten fingers and chest covered in gemstone necklaces, was looking at them with a smile. He slowly raised his hands, like an Emperor bathing in jewels.
"The two Special Envoys have come from afar, excuse my failure to welcome you!" Brand, with a Western face, opened his mouth with an ancient Eastern saying, a hospitable smile brimming on his face.
The two Hall Masters hadn't recovered from the shocking scene before them. Hearing Brand's voice, they then moved their gazes to him. After hesitating for a moment, the Seventh Hall still opened his mouth:
"Your Excellency is the Acting President of the Witchcraft Association, Brand?"
"Oh~ Yes, it's me!"
"Regarding the purpose of our visit this time, you must have already understood from the telegram," the Seventh Hall said in a deep voice. "However, I still want to ask one more thing. Since you have already received the telegram, why didn't you reply to the Red Dust Base in time?"
"Regarding this point, I am truly sorry... There are relatively many things to be busy with in the Wuji Domain recently, and I forgot to reply."
Brand supported his forehead with one hand, answering with immense regret.
Forgot to reply?
Hearing these four words, the expressions of the two Hall Masters became somewhat gloomy.
Between Domains, unless it was an emergency, telegram communication was generally rarely used. Once this situation occurred, it meant something major had happened... This was an extremely serious matter, and there was usually a dedicated person responsible for interfacing. But when it came to the Wuji Domain, a light and airy "forgot" was enough to dismiss it?
They exchanged a glance and still didn't act up, but continued to ask:
"Since Your Excellency is so 'busy', then we can only ask in person... Regarding the attack on the Red Dust Domain this time, we investigated a large number of traces of suspected Path of the Witch God activities. Regarding this point, how does the Witchcraft Association explain?"
"I am deeply pained by the encounter of the Red Dust Domain."
As Brand said this, he didn't have the slightest intention of being pained. He just pretended to sigh, and then took out a transparent container resembling a test tube from his embrace, playing with it in his hands.
Inside this container, a stone the size of a pinky fingernail, emitting a shining red luster, was gently shaking along with Brand's movements, colliding with the inner wall of the container and emitting jingling sounds.
Seeing this small red stone, confusion flashed across the eyes of the Sixth Hall. But the Seventh Hall, who had some understanding of the Wuji Domain and the Alchemy School, felt it looked somewhat familiar. His brows unconsciously furrowed, as if recalling something in his mind.
Brand played with the stone, looking at the two with a smile;
Behind him, three figures who had just fled back from the Red Dust Domain were standing there quietly with their heads bowed, like inconspicuous shadows.
"That's... a Philosopher's Stone?" Finally, the Seventh Hall remembered where he had seen something similar.
"What stone?"
"In Europe's Middle Ages before the Great Cataclysm, there was a group of people who attempted to refine precious metals from base metals. They were called the 'Alchemy School'. In a sense, this was also the predecessor of modern chemistry," the Seventh Hall explained in a deep voice.
"Later, the people pursuing alchemy expanded from Europe, gradually spreading to every corner of the world, existing in various ancient civilizations...
With the development of the Alchemy School, some of their people had even grander pursuits, such as refining the so-called 'Philosopher's Stone', and studying 'homunculi' through the knowledge of the Alchemy School; among them, the existence of the 'Philosopher's Stone' was considered a 'miracle'-like existence, capable of granting people Immortality and inextinguishable consciousness...
However, as far as I know, the method of refining the 'Philosopher's Stone' grasped by the Witchcraft Association today is through the extraction, processing, and twisting of massive amounts of human souls, making them fuel for the Immortality of the soul. It's similar to the 'Ever-Burning Lamp' refined from human fat lit when ancient emperors were buried.
But to refine this kind of 'Philosopher's Stone', the human souls needed are in the millions..."