Chapter 97: Treasure Trove of Knowledge
Su Xiao held a thick metal book. This book was clearly quite old, with obvious scuff marks on its black cover. Near the top, there was a line of text that appeared crooked at first glance but was actually neatly arranged.
[You have obtained the Alchemy Codex.]
This Codex could not be used directly; the knowledge recorded within it was where its true value lay. However, the current problem was that Su Xiao could not understand the text on it at all.
Opening the Alchemy Codex, he saw many intricate symbols on the metal pages. Some resembled cuneiform script, carved into the metal pages.
Running his fingers over the symbols on the page, he could feel a distinct concave-convex texture. Each metal page was not very thick, but the carvings on them were very clear.
Su Xiao began studying the symbols on the Alchemy Codex. Upon initial inspection, he found that he could not comprehend the meaning these symbols conveyed.
The Alchemy Codex was precious enough, but the current issue was that Su Xiao could not understand it at all.
Su Xiao tried activating his sixth-rank authority, paying a certain amount of Paradise Coins to master the symbols on the Codex. Unfortunately, Reincarnation Paradise’s prompt was: Unable to master non-existent script.
Seeing this prompt, a flash of inspiration struck Su Xiao. He had been somewhat stuck in a fixed mindset earlier. Who said that what was written in a book had to be text? If it were recorded as text, it would mean the recorder wanted to pass this knowledge down and would not use overly rare scripts.
Confirming that what was recorded in the Codex was not text, Su Xiao began trying various methods to decipher the Codex. He first attempted reverse replication, and after determining that this method was incorrect, he picked up a test tube from the workbench and poured the solution inside onto the page.
As soon as the solution was poured onto the page, it flowed along the carvings. Su Xiao discovered that each carving on the page was interconnected, all the way to the last carving at the end of the first page.
The first page alone had several hundred carvings. These carvings were intricately structured and neatly arranged. Anyone seeing them would first think they were a type of cuneiform script, but in reality, they were interconnected carvings, not text.
The solution on the page evaporated, leaving no trace. Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, then pressed his finger on the first carving and attempted to channel his mental energy into it.
Hum~
As Su Xiao’s mental energy infused the carving, the first carving on the Codex lit up with a blue glow. The blue light slowly filled the first carving, then spread to the second carving.
The focus in Su Xiao’s eyes blurred. He felt as if he had arrived in a secret realm. There was nothing here, but there were infinite possibilities.
A vast amount of knowledge merged into Su Xiao’s mind. Fortunately, his intelligence attribute was high enough, making his mental energy sufficiently powerful. Otherwise, receiving so much chaotic knowledge at once would have instantly pulled him out of this wondrous state.
The carvings on the Codex lit up with blue light one by one. Su Xiao felt the flow of time slow down. Strangely, this prolonged state was not agonizing. Even if he remained immersed in it for a long time, he would not grow weary.
When the 32nd carving on the Codex lit up, Su Xiao could no longer bear it. The knowledge flooding into his mind was simply too much; he needed some time to digest it.
Su Xiao moved his finger away, and the blue light on the Codex gradually dimmed. The first 32 carvings now showed a pale blue, while the rest remained gray, indicating that Su Xiao had not yet obtained the knowledge on them.
How many pages the Alchemy Codex had in total, Su Xiao did not know. He could only see the content of the first page and could not turn it.
Only after he had used his mental energy to decipher the content of the first page could he turn it. He could clearly sense this.
Each page had the front side recording alchemical knowledge, insights, etc., while the back side contained formulas.
The Alchemy Codex was a treasure trove of knowledge, waiting for Su Xiao to uncover it bit by bit. The current problem was that its rank was very high. Just using mental energy to decipher the first 32 carvings of the first page had already made Su Xiao feel fatigued, and the vast amount of knowledge appearing in his mind also needed to be organized.
On the first page alone, there were 275 carvings. Su Xiao needed to use his mental energy to turn these carvings from gray to blue before he could turn the first page, see the formulas on the back, and the content recorded on the second metal page.
This would take a considerable amount of time. Su Xiao could clearly sense that he would need to wait at least five days before he could continue using his mental energy to decipher the carvings on the Codex. Otherwise, it would cause permanent damage to his brain. While the Codex was precious, using it also carried some risks.
Closing the Codex, Su Xiao sat in front of the workbench, gently rubbing his forehead, and began to organize the knowledge in his mind.
Over an hour later, the knowledge in Su Xiao’s mind gradually became sorted out, becoming something he had already mastered. Prompts from Reincarnation Paradise kept appearing.
[Alchemy Bomb Manufacturing has been upgraded to Lv.23 (Increased by Lv.3).]
[Alchemy Potion Manufacturing has been upgraded to Lv.23 (Increased by Lv.3).]
[Alchemy Creature Manufacturing has been upgraded to Lv.23 (Increased by Lv.3).]
[Plant Harmonization Chapter has been upgraded to Lv.37 (Increased by Lv.4).]
...
Alchemy Bomb Science, Alchemy Potion Science, and Alchemy Creature Manufacturing had all been stuck at Lv.20 before, unable to improve no matter what. For a time, Su Xiao even thought these three branch abilities would remain stuck there forever.
After “reading” the Alchemy Codex with his mental energy, these three branch abilities broke through their shackles and each increased by 3 levels.
The Plant Harmonization Chapter was also a branch of Alchemy. It was related to Alchemy Potion Science, but there were differences between the two.
Alchemy Potion Science involved concocting recovery potions, short-term enhancement potions, etc., while the Plant Harmonization Chapter involved concocting permanent enhancement potions.
Su Xiao pressed his hand on the Alchemy Codex. If he could decipher the entire Codex, his Alchemy would reach a very high level.
Keep in mind, he had only deciphered the first 32 carvings, and his Alchemy had already improved so much. He wouldn’t need much more; just deciphering a few more pages would allow him to at least reach the level of the Tree Sage, becoming a master in the field of Alchemy.
This gave Su Xiao some understanding of the Abnormal Entities. The Abnormal Entities in the Void were probably the type that rarely showed themselves, drifting through various bizarre domains.
If that were the case, there wouldn’t be too many Abnormal Entities in the Void. Alternatively, they might have some kind of restriction preventing them from easily revealing their true forms.
Regardless, as long as he had the Door Book, Su Xiao could trade with these Abnormal Entities a few more times. In the near future, he did not plan to use the Door Book for trading again. After all, rarity increases value. Continuously trading with those Abnormal Entities would inevitably lead to them driving down the price.
For example, this time, the value of the Alchemy Codex was clearly higher than one page of the “Treeborn Page.” During the trade, several Abnormal Entities tried to make a deal, but the one who offered the highest price succeeded in trading with Su Xiao.
The Door Book still had nine pages left. Whether to continue trading with the Abnormal Entities or consume pages to enter a designated world would depend on the situation.
Putting away the Alchemy Codex, Su Xiao was in a very good mood. He no longer had to worry about improving his Alchemy. Every few days, he could decipher the Alchemy Codex once, and his Alchemy would improve. As for the alchemical formulas on the back of the first page, he was looking forward to them.
Knowledge = Wealth, Strong Combat Power = Status. Knowledge + Strong Combat Power, however, equaled the benevolent Holy Flame Alchemist. This was quite wondrous.