pertwk Chapter 97 Alchemy is the art of spending money, the Fools' conspiracy, see Lisa again at the l
Chapter 97 Alchemy is the art of spending money, the Fools' conspiracy, see Lisa again at the l
Chapter 97 Alchemy is the art of spending money, the Fools' conspiracy, see Lisa again at the library.
With the cave excavation completed, the real main event is yet to come.
Set up the alchemy array.
"A perfect site. Next, we'll build the nest." Abedo looked around at the masterpiece created by directional blasting, quite satisfied.
Initially, his idea was to set it up on flat ground, but a cave would be even better, as it would reduce the dissipation of energy and save a lot of energy.
He picked up a drawing with intricate patterns from the lab table and handed it to Chen Bo: "This is the structural diagram of the alchemy array. There are a total of 360 core nodes and 1,080 secondary energy loops. After I draw the array, you need to precisely embed the fire element crystals into each node."
"No problem." Chen Bo took the blueprints, glanced at them, and memorized the complex structure.
Photographic memory is really useful.
He turned to Cole and Amber and said, "Now it'll be hard for you all. Put the contents of these boxes in their places according to the blueprints."
"Leave it to us!" Amber cracked her knuckles, full of enthusiasm.
Abedo watched Chen Bo move materials like ordinary cargo, having Cole take out box after box of materials from his storage space, and couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Those boxes didn't contain ordinary stones.
Each one is a high-purity fire element crystal, crystal clear, with flames seemingly flowing inside.
This is estimated to be worth tens of millions of Mora.
"Wait, that's enough, no need to take any more."
Chen Bo: "Is that enough? I was thinking of setting two in each place, to get more."
Abedo: "You mean—all of these should be used?"
"Isn't that enough?" Chen Bo countered. "I have more here."
Abelardo fell silent.
Wow, they're really rich.
Abedo's alchemy was not commercialized, meaning it wasn't sold for money, so he wasn't as wealthy as Chen Bo.
In his original plan, this "nest" would only need a few dozen high-purity crystals as its core energy source, while the rest of the space would be filled with ordinary crystals, and the array could be used to draw on the power of the earth's veins as a supplement.
There is no problem.
Chen Bo's approach was to fill each node with high-purity crystals, and two crystals for each node.
"That's enough, more than enough," Abedo said. "It's even—somewhat beyond my expectations. That's good, the purer and more powerful the energy source, the higher the stability of the 'nest,' and the better the 'feeding' effect on the clones."
Scientific research is, in fact, an art of burning money.
Every failed alchemy attempt is an overdraft of Mora.
Moreover, the alchemy process itself requires a large amount of Mora as a material.
Let's all help.
Amber and Cora were in charge of setting the crystals. Following the markings on the blueprints, they embedded the fire elemental crystals one by one into the grooves reserved in the cave walls and the ground.
Chen Bo and Farusan assisted Abedo in handling the more sophisticated alchemical solvents and catalysts used to set up the array.
Klee wanted to help too. Holding a bouncy bomb, she eagerly asked, "Brother Anil, is there anything Klee can help with?"
"Keli, you helped me a lot when we were opening up the cave. I'll treat you to dinner when we get back." Chen Bo smiled and patted her head.
With everyone's combined efforts, the entire cave was quickly transformed into a crystal-clear cave.
Dark red crystals transformed into nodes, connecting the patterns that covered the entire cave.
Several hours later, all the crystals and materials were arranged.
Abedo stood in the center of the cave, holding a crystal bottle containing the last crucial ingredient—a liquid gold-colored alchemical solvent.
"Are you ready?" he asked Chen Bo.
Chen Bo nodded.
Without further hesitation, Abedo poured the solvent in his hand into the groove at the center of the formation.
This solvent was also made using many precious alchemical materials, the base of which is Mora.
Liquid Mora.
The base for creating the liquid gold alone consumed one hundred large-denomination Mora. (The larger the denomination, the more power it contains.)
The golden liquid seeped into the array's core, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, and spread rapidly.
Buzz—
A deep, resonant sound rose from the depths of the earth.
The next second, the 360 core crystals embedded in the ground lit up first, their crimson light flickering like breathing.
Immediately afterwards, one thousand and eighty energy circuits were ignited one by one!
The light flowed along the engraved patterns throughout the cave, eventually connecting into a perfect whole.
The temperature in the originally cold cave rose sharply within a few seconds.
The pure fire element energy was stripped away, transforming into wisps and strands of visible crimson mist that overflowed from the crystal.
The fog grew thicker and thicker, but instead of dissipating, it settled at the bottom of the cave under the constraints of the alchemical array, resembling a rolling, viscous red ocean.
In the frigid Longji Snow Mountain, a world of lava, belonging to fire, has been carved out.
Amber and Cole instinctively took a few steps back, the scorching energy making their skin feel slightly stinging.
"It's done." Abedo looked at the scene before him and nodded in satisfaction.
Chen Bo stepped forward and stood at the edge of the crimson mist.
The wings of the formless fire on his back slowly unfurled, then detached from his body and drifted into the center of the cave.
It began to shrink inward, collapse, and fold. The flowing flames became increasingly solid, eventually transforming into a fiery cocoon one meter high.
The fire cocoon was entirely crimson, its surface covered with lava-like patterns, and it was immersed in red mist.
It's like a giant heart, beginning to pulsate.
With each heartbeat, the mist of fire elemental energy flowed in and out with each breath.
Each exhaled mist is lighter in color than the inhaled mist.
However, the lightness was not obvious. During this process, nutrients from the earth's veins also dissolved into the mist, nourishing the body.
"Hmm, running perfectly." Abedo tapped the record board: "Preliminary estimates suggest this digestion process will take at least a month. During this time, your mental energy needs to remain constantly connected to it, guiding the absorption of energy."
"I understand." Chen Bo nodded, feeling the satisfying fullness emanating from his clone.
Simply put, the clone is more like an organ of Chen Bo's body.
They are connected through spiritual power.
The formation has been activated; there's no need to worry about it anymore.
"Abedo, do we need to seal off this hole?" Chen Bo asked.
"I'll help you."
Abedo pressed his hands together, channeling his rock elemental power, causing the surrounding rubble and frozen soil to slowly levitate. Under his precise control, the opening was sealed back up seamlessly, like building a wall.
Abedo has a Geo-elemental Eye of the Gods, making it easy to control.
Furthermore, Aberdo made some modifications, disguising it as an ordinary rock wall.
Yes, the blockade is just to prevent outsiders from disturbing us.
Chen Bo's clone came up with the idea, transformed into a fiery drill, and drilled a hole through the entire mountain without much difficulty.
"I've finished my business," Chen Bo said, looking at Abedo. "Want to come down the mountain together? Mondstadt is having a badminton festival soon, it should be quite lively."
Upon hearing this, Abedo subconsciously shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness, but I still prefer to stay here. Crowded places are a bit noisy, and socializing is an unnecessary drain on my energy."
Chen Bo was about to say a few more words of advice when Ke Li suddenly ran over and hugged Abedo's leg.
"Brother Abedo~~"
"Let's go to the badminton festival with Klee!"
Being cute is a killer move.
He sighed helplessly, raised his hand and ruffled Klee's hair, his tone full of affection: "Alright, since it's Klee's request."
Amber and Cole exchanged a smile.
As expected, only Klee could deal with Abedo.
However, Klee isn't just dealing with Abelard; few people could probably refuse Klee's adorable requests.
After a quick pack, the group began their descent.
The road to Longji Snow Mountain was still difficult to travel, and without Chen Bo's fire element clone providing heat, everyone felt cold on the way back.
The others all possess the Divine Eye, making them more resistant to the cold.
Chen Bo couldn't withstand the cold, so the mecha combined with him, leaving only his head sticking out, and he walked with everyone else.
Walking is for the scenery along the way; if you just fly back, you'll miss it.
As Mondstadt's most outstanding scout knight, Amber took the lead, exploring the path ahead and occasionally turning back to wave and indicate that the route was safe.
In the middle of the group, a conversation that would seem utterly boring to an outsider was taking place.
"Abedo, regarding this nest," Chen Bo asked as they walked, "I have some ideas. This time we used fire element crystals. If I want to set up a nest of other elements," such as lightning, what adjustments would I need to make to the energy conversion and constraint array structure?"
"Excellent question," Abedo immediately got to the point. "The energy properties of different elements vary greatly. Lightning is violent and unstable, so you'll need to use materials with relatively similar properties, such as rock or grass, as the insulation layer for the circuits. Furthermore, the arrangement of the core nodes needs to be changed from the current ring structure to a more stable triangular matrix —"
The two of them talked back and forth, completely engrossed in their discussion.
Fiona would occasionally chime in with a few words.
Farusan's interests are quite broad due to her reading of ancient texts.
Although most branches have not been studied in depth, a considerable amount of knowledge is still available.
Klee, Amber, and Cory didn't understand much, so they formed another small group, which played around as they went, and they got along very well.
As the snowstorm subsided, the outline of Mondstadt began to appear faintly in the mountains in the distance.
Amber, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped, put a finger to her lips, and made a shushing gesture.
Everyone immediately quieted down and looked in the direction she was looking.
In a nearby ravine, a group of soldiers dressed in Fools' uniforms were busy digging heavy boxes out of the snow, carrying them somewhere unknown.
"The Fools?" Cole asked warily.
She didn't have much affection for these people.
Chen Bo said, "Every country's people have their own things to do. I'll leave one floating cannon to keep watch. Let's not disturb them and go around them."
Chen Bo also brought some of the surveillance-type floating cannons with him.
Everyone agreed that Chen Bo had the means to monitor people.
Abedo said, "I'm quite familiar with the terrain here, so let me lead the way."
So, led by Abedo, the group circled around the other side of the hillside without disturbing the group of fools.
Of course, several floating cannons were already hovering above them, adjusting their focus and starting to record.
Due to the wind and snow, the floating cannons did not fly very high.
But it's not something that ordinary people can discover.
As they approached Mondstadt, Chen Bo casually asked, "6?"
Chen Bo casually asked, "Things haven't been peaceful around Mondstadt lately. I heard there's a Stormterror in Mondstadt—has it attacked any cities?"
Amber shook her head, her expression somewhat grave: "There haven't been any direct attacks on the city, but the winds around Mondstadt are indeed getting stronger year by year, and Jean is also paying close attention to this matter."
Chen Bo nodded, understanding the situation.
It hasn't reached the point of attacking cities yet, but will it occasionally attack surrounding areas?
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit dull, Amber clapped her hands to lighten the mood.
"By the way, speaking of the badminton festival, we can't forget a bard named Wendy!"
"Although that poet is always drunk and doesn't seem very reliable, his poetry is truly beautiful! At last year's badminton festival poetry competition, he was completely drunk, but he still won first place the moment he started writing. He's amazing!"
"Now everyone calls him Mondstadt's best bard."
"Drinking?" Klee's ears perked up immediately. She was curious about poets, but when she heard "drinking," she exclaimed, "Klee wants some too!"
Abedo sighed helplessly and reached out to press down on Cleo's little head: "Children shouldn't drink alcohol."
"Ugh—" Klee puffed out her cheeks.
However, Chen Bo was more concerned about the bards.
He's always drunk and unreliable, but he always wins top prizes for his poetry.
That description is truly accurate.
Barbatos, the wind god and guardian of Mondstadt, is probably at this moment holding his lyre, pondering in some tavern what poem he can exchange for a free cup of apple wine.
Or are you already drunk?
Chen Bo felt immense pressure to compete in poetry with the gods who were most skilled in it.
Stepping through the city gate, the warm air, mixed with the scents of wheat and flowers, rushed towards them, dispelling the last trace of chill they had brought from the Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain.
Colorful flags fluttered in the city, and windmills and badminton festival decorations hung along the streets, gradually building up the festive atmosphere.
"Alright, I need to take Klee to the Knights' headquarters to report, and also to tell Captain Jean about the situation in the snow mountain." Amber stretched and then grabbed Klee, who had already started looking around for a new "adventure" location.
"Klee's going to play!"
Abedo said, "Let's go see Commander Qin with Sister Amber first."
Klee's ears drooped immediately: "Alright then."
Abedo also bid farewell to everyone: "Then I'll go back to my workshop first to organize the data from this snow mountain experiment."
Chen Bo looked at Fiona and said, "Shall we go to the library?"
"There might be many surprises in Mondstadt's library."
Fiona nodded in agreement: "Good idea."
Cole had no interest in the library, so he looked at Farusan and said, "Senior Farusan, I'd like to—go and explore the city by myself, is that alright?"
"Go ahead, be careful." Farusan nodded.
The noise inside the library was completely different from that outside.
It's so quiet here that you can hear the faint sound of pages turning, and the air is filled with the smell of old paper.
A purple figure leaned lazily against the counter; it was Lisa, the librarian of the Knights of Favonius.
Hearing footsteps, she lazily raised her eyelids, her purple eyes sweeping over, her gaze lingering briefly on Chen Bo and Farusan.
"Are you two guests from Sumeru here to borrow books, or... to chat with your sister?"