When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#627 - The essence of alchemy

“Well done, Robert. I'll remember your name.” Horn patted him on the shoulder.

“It's all thanks to your and Her Highness Hilof's brilliant leadership.” Robert bowed, hand on his chest. “If it weren't for your 'Experimental Method' and 'Control Variable Method,' and Hilof's 'Natural Theology' theory, I estimate I wouldn't have found this method in my lifetime.”

Horn smiled and shook his head, turning to Hilof. “Now that the technology is almost mature, we can put it into production.”

“Don't rush. There are other technological advancements to come. This is just the result of the Metal Salt Alchemy Lab.” Hilof beckoned Horn, signaling him to follow her to the second-floor laboratory. “The dragon language scholars at the Crystal Alchemy Lab are trying to develop electro-gold inlaid panels.”

“Electro-gold inlaid panels? What are those?”

“I'll show you the report later. It's basically about how to embed electro-gold into terracotta crucibles without them conflicting, to create a universal alchemical reaction vessel.” Hilof stopped by the stairs, spreading her arms wide like a roc towards Horn with a blank expression.

Horn picked her up in one swoop, while Afu carried the small cart.

Although there was a dedicated ramp on the stairs, the wolf girl clearly preferred not to laboriously turn the wheels up the ramp when she had a choice.

“If this peat reaction vessel can be made, it's expected to shorten the recovery time of alchemical priests to about 1 hour, and double the production capacity.” Held in Horn's arms, Hilof's face was slightly red, her tail constantly sweeping against Horn's knees.

Although Horn was holding her in a princess carry, because Hilof didn't have calves, he could only forcefully grab the edges of her thighs, so that the elastic thigh meat squeezed out from between his fingers.

“Universal alchemical reaction vessel, what's that again?”

“Because this reaction vessel can be used in almost all alchemical reactions. If it's successfully developed, not only peat, but also orichalcum and slime juice efficiency can be greatly improved.”

Carrying Hilof all the way to the second-floor Demon-Eating Fungus Laboratory, Horn finally put her down. “You guys have been developing so fast in the half-year I was gone.”

“This isn't fast.” Hilof pushed open the laboratory door. “Many formulas already existed. They're just taking them out and renovating them.”

To be precise, these old alchemical formulas were indeed all available before.

But renovation isn't such a simple issue. Otherwise, these new outputs wouldn't have waited until Horn established the Holy Machine Court.

The main thing is that Horn provided a convenient and clean environment and sufficient funding, as well as a series of natural science methodologies such as the 'Experimental Method,' 'Deductive Reasoning Method,' and 'Control Variable Method.'

And the stable and secure research environment of the Holy Machine Court allows them to conduct experiments and research without distractions.

After Hilof translated 'The Emerald Tablet Notes,' she provided a large amount of research on the essence of alchemy.

Thinking of this, Horn immediately thought of the lightning furnace and immediately asked Hilof about it.

But Hilof shook her triangular ears. “It's not that easy. After you said it, we tried many kinds, and substances with lightning alchemical properties are few and far between, and quite expensive.

I even got a lightning evocation wizard sentenced to death. His bones and some body organs do have lightning alchemical properties, but the efficiency is too low and the cost is too high…”

Seeing Horn greeting Kerben and others in the room, Hilof's tail stood up in dissatisfaction. “Were you listening to me?”

“I'm listening, but it's too professional for me to understand.” Horn grinned and grabbed Hilof's wolf tail, instantly softening it.

Hilof's wolf ears fluttered. “According to Mom's explanation in 'The Emerald Tablet Notes,' the essence of alchemy is the spell to stimulate the spiritual attributes of matter.”

Seeing that Horn was still confused, Hilof sighed and picked up the small blackboard to start lecturing Horn: “What do classical alchemists think is the source of alchemy? It's the soul…”

Following Hilof's explanation, Horn gradually understood.

In other words, alchemy believes that all matter has 'visible' materiality and 'invisible' spirituality, or alchemical properties.

The two are both separate and closely connected, and spiritual and material attributes influence each other.

Taking witches as an example, a witch is a person. She has a human appearance, can run, jump, eat, and excrete, which is materiality.

Witches can think, perceive, and have mana, which is spirituality.

And the process of witches using spells, such as letting Jeanne use mana, is materiality manipulating spirituality, and the process of intangible mana inducing tangible lightning is spirituality affecting materiality.

Although the vampire annotated version of 'The Emerald Tablet' is a work from hundreds of years ago, its view that mana is a medium rather than a substance is consistent with the modern school of mana.

They all believe that mana has no substance, and the origin is nothingness.

The essence of all alchemy is that alchemists use mana as a medium to graft, synthesize, and sublimate the spirituality of matter.

The items refined in this way are called alchemical substances.

“Let's take peat as an example. According to the book, its alchemical reaction belongs to the sublimation ritual.” Hilof picked up a small tweezer and clamped a piece of peat. “It itself has the spirituality of burning, but it hasn't been activated.

Although I don't know why it has the spirituality of burning as soil, the sublimation ritual is to activate its spirituality to make it burn.

From this perspective, the burning of peat seems to be the same as burning wood, but the essence is different. It's more like peat is casting a spell, which is consistent with the essence of witches using spells.

So it only has such a small volume and weight, but it can burn longer and more vigorously than firewood.”

Horn pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, “Then why not directly sublimate iron ore to refine iron?”

“It's not that simple.” Hilof turned her wheelchair and picked up a piece of iron from the workbench. “Different substances have alchemical activity. Those natural alchemical products are substances with high alchemical activity and can self-sublimate under natural conditions.

Most metals are inert substances, and their alchemical properties hardly change. You see that the creation of orichalcum is a grafting ritual, grafting the sublimation alchemical properties of sunflowers.”

Hearing this, Horn couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

But in the final analysis, the reason why other things are progressing quickly is that they were developed before, but were suppressed by the empire.

Lightning refining is a new theory, and none of the secret societies that Horn knows of can come up with technology in this area, so slow progress is normal.

Thinking of this, Horn suddenly froze. He walked quickly to Hilof, who was rummaging through the electro-gold inlaid panel report, and whispered:

“According to your statement, can't divine magic suppress spells? Since the effective process of alchemical substances is casting spells, why doesn't divine magic on the battlefield suppress alchemical substances?”

Hilof's hand turning the pages suddenly stopped. She raised her head, her wolf ears drooping to both sides, as if they were airplane ears.

Horn immediately coughed lightly.

Pettier, who was standing in the room, quickly reacted. He coughed and dragged Robert and Kerben, calling everyone else out of the laboratory.

After only himself and Horn were left in the room, Hilof looked around before staring into Horn's eyes and opening her mouth: “The original author of this Emerald Tablet Notes didn't say anything about the essence of divine magic, but Mom left her own views on the blank pages.”

“What?” Horn quickly asked.

Lowering her voice, Hilof squeezed her tail: “She believes that the church's divine magic is divided into two types.

The first type, the means of chanting divine magic to suppress spellcasting and attack witches' souls, is a variant of mind magic and can only affect the spirits of intelligent beings.

And the second type, on the knights, similar to blessings and consecrations, its essence…”

Hilof hesitated for half a second: “Is necromancy.”