Chapter 59, first part, The Last Floor

Chapter 59: 59, first part, The Last Floor

The Last Floor

The ninth floor was different from the previous ones. It did not possess the chaos of the floor before it, and the multiple formations that had been a defining characteristic of the previous floors were absent.

The structure consisted of a huge white chamber, with six furnaces arranged around its center and symbols representing everything they had learned.

Herbs, purification, fusion, temperature, formations, spiritual control, knowledge of cultivation, and, above all, acquired experience.

The Great Alchemist’s manifestation appeared once again. His appearance had aged; he was no longer a teenager, but an adult man.

His eyes were deeper, and his voice was calm and composed.

"Until now, each floor has taught you something different, and you have learned well, I must say."

He looked at the participants.

"But true learning does not lie in keeping each answer separately."

He touched the floor, and images of the previous floors appeared.

"The real question is whether you can use everything at the same time."

The six furnaces ignited.

"This floor will also not give you a complete formula."

Guo Han frowned.

"Then we will have to construct it once again."

"Exactly, but this time it will be different."

The test began.

This time, everything would be connected. A wrong choice of ingredient would affect the purification, inadequate purification would alter the fusion, while an incorrect fusion would alter the temperature.

The temperature, in turn, affected the formation, and the formation altered the spiritual flow. All of this needed to be compatible with the cultivator’s body.

The participants began. Guo Han advanced with precision. Chen Ruyue carefully selected each ingredient. Su Meilin identified small inconsistencies in the structure.

Lian Yue analyzed the effect of the energy on the body, while Zhao Ming worked with speed and practical experience.

Yun Che used everything he had learned. This was the most difficult test, so he did not care if his Lust Points were being drained rapidly.

Luo Xin managed to remain for longer than many had expected. She endured the difficulties of the ninth floor.

She corrected mistakes and adapted, reaching the limits of her abilities. But finally, her light began to weaken. She looked at her own light.

Then she looked at the other participants and took a deep breath.

"This is my limit," she said, and her light went out immediately afterward.

Luo Xin disappeared. She had made it farther than many participants could have imagined. The last lights remained lit.

Silence took over the ninth floor. The Great Alchemist’s manifestation began to change once again.

His body aged before everyone’s eyes. His face became more lined, his hair turned gray, and his posture became heavier.

Now he was an old man who looked at the participants and said nothing for several seconds.

Then he spoke:

"You."

His voice echoed through the chamber, and he smiled.

"You have made it this far carrying different knowledge, mistakes, corrections, and experiences."

He looked at Lian Yue first.

"Some of you made it because you understood the cultivator."

Then at Chen Ruyue.

"Some because you learned to respect the ingredients."

At Guo Han.

"Some because you understood the structure."

At Su Meilin.

"Some because you learned to see what others ignored."

At Zhao Ming.

"Some because your hands can keep up with your courage."

Finally, he looked at Yun Che.

The old man remained silent for longer.

Yun Che did not move.

Then the Great Alchemist turned toward everyone.

"But none of you made it here simply because you possessed one of these qualities."

He raised his hand as the lights shone brightly.

"You made it because you were able to learn."

The door to the tenth floor began to open, and a deep sound traveled through the mausoleum. The old man smiled.

"Now true alchemy begins."

The doors opened completely, and beyond them there was no light, only darkness. At the center of that darkness, a single blue flame began to burn.

Yun Che looked at the door to the tenth floor as it closed behind the participants, the sound echoing through the chamber and then...

Silence.

A silence so deep that even breathing seemed out of place in that place. There were no dozens of furnaces, corridors, boxes scattered throughout the room, or inscriptions covering the walls.

There was only a single circular chamber, and at its center, a single ancient black furnace without any decoration.

In front of them were six stone platforms, perfectly aligned. On each one was a collection of ingredients.

But those ingredients were different from anything they had seen on the previous floors. Even Chen Ruyue remained silent for several seconds.

Her eyes moved across the containers. Some herbs possessed such an intense aura that they seemed to breathe, while others were sealed inside transparent crystals.

There were roots emitting a faint light, flowers that seemed to contain tiny stars within their petals, and even ingredients that Chen Ruyue had never seen in person.

She took a step forward.

"These ingredients... some of them shouldn’t exist in a region of this level."

Lian Yue looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

Chen Ruyue approached one of the containers.

"I mean that the value of just a few of these ingredients probably exceeds that of everything we used on the previous floors. Even our sect only possesses vague records about them."

Guo Han observed them carefully.

"Then the difficulty isn’t merely in creating a formula this time."

Chen Ruyue nodded.

"No. If even a single ingredient is handled incorrectly, we could destroy something that might take decades to find again."

Zhao Ming looked at the containers.

"Then we’d better not make any mistakes this time. I couldn’t bear to waste such wealth. If I can return to the sect with even one..."

Su Meilin replied calmly:

"That is exactly what the mausoleum wants us to think."

Zhao Ming turned toward her.

"You think there’s a trap?"

"Not necessarily a trap."

Su Meilin analyzed the chamber.

"But after everything we’ve seen so far, it would be naive to believe that an inheritance trial would simply be a matter of following a formula with so many rare ingredients."

Yun Che remained silent, observing the furnace. Something about that furnace was different. It possessed no flame, and yet he could feel an extremely profound spiritual pressure emanating from it.

Then...

The old man appeared. The Great Alchemist’s manifestation had been completely transformed.

He no longer possessed the childish body, the provocative teenager, or the young adult from the previous floors.

Now, standing before them, was an old man exhausted in the final stages of his life, his hair completely white and his face marked by time, his eyes deep.

His presence was tranquil, but that tranquility was far more frightening than any threat. He slowly walked toward the furnace.

He ran his hand across its surface.

"You have reached the tenth and final floor."

No one answered. The old man continued:

"Until now, the mausoleum has presented you with different problems. Some required knowledge. Others required observation. Some required an understanding of cultivation. Others required control, adaptation, and experience."