CHAPTER 196: CHAPTER 194 IMAGINARY ALCHEMY

The technology of flying stone was completely new territory for Perfikot.

She had never encountered not only the flying stone technology itself but also its principles of production, which Perfikot had never understood.

For example, if you used to make alchemy potions with water or oil as the solvent, but one day you received a formula instructing you to use brass as the base, you’d be as baffled as a monk trying to fathom the ins and outs.

In Perfikot’s view, the flying stone was similar because it was an imaginary element.

The so-called imaginary element is a concept gradually proposed by alchemists after the Industrial Revolution, specifically referring to substances or elements that do not exist in the real world.

You might say, aren’t the things alchemists create not previously existing in this world? Why aren’t they called imaginary elements?

The reason is simple; the things created by alchemists have actual bases and conform to the laws of physics.

For example, special alloys, though they never existed before, are constituted of materials existing in the real world. Alchemists merely combined two previously unrelated materials.

But imaginary elements are different, as they do not exist in reality and only exist in the imagination.

For instance, the flying stone is a type of material imagined to make steel "lighter" than air, allowing it to float.

There is no material in the real world that can satisfy this condition, nor is it possible to create one.

Before the Industrial Revolution, alchemists lacked a clear concept of what they could and could not make. Most classical alchemists were driven by romantic imagination during their inventions.

Because of this, most of the topics studied by alchemists in the classical alchemy era were imaginary and lacked feasibility for realization.

With the development of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of modern natural disciplines, people gradually recognized the essence of the world. They began to summarize and organize objective rules related to this world, using them to explain the operational logic of this world.

Thus, alchemy was classified into realism and imaginalism.

Realistic alchemists focused more on practicality, no longer pursuing goals and topics that looked good but were impractical, instead aligning closer to reality and life.

Hence, alchemy flourished after the Industrial Revolution, providing substantial support for industrial production and technological development.

Imaginal alchemists gradually recognized reality, with most abandoning impractical imaginations and turning to the realist side.

But are imaginal alchemical topics truly impossible to realize?

If they’re impossible, why does the Jade Record document the production technology of the flying stone, this imaginary element?

After reading the information provided by the Jade Record, Perfikot suddenly realized that indeed there is something that can break the boundary between imagination and reality, making imaginary elements no longer imaginary but creatable realities.

The answer is quite obvious; this thing is the Philosopher’s Stone, which can substitute any material in alchemy.

"Golden Touching Rod embedded with Philosopher’s Stone"

"Manufacturing Material: Legendary"

"Manufacturing Process: Excellent"

"Effect: Used in alchemical rituals, enhancing ritual effects by 120%, increasing success rate by 40%, bypassing the principle of equivalent exchange, substituting any alchemical ritual material or medium."

"Evaluation: With the Philosopher’s Stone, even a pig can be an alchemy master."

This is the Golden Touching Rod in Perfikot’s hand, set with a flame-red Philosopher’s Stone.

Although it’s only part of a shattered Philosopher’s Stone, its ability to ignore the principle of equivalent exchange, substituting any alchemical ritual material or medium, is solid.

With this capability, Perfikot can leverage the power of the Philosopher’s Stone to transform non-existent imaginary elements into reality.

Perfikot couldn’t help but marvel: "As expected, the Philosopher’s Egg born of miracles, symbolizing the miraculous Red Medicine, indeed possesses incredible power."

Clarifying this point meant that for Perfikot, a new world door had opened before her, where the once imaginary alchemy would transform into a techniqe realizable by Perfikot.

"If I were to announce this, alchemists across the world would probably go mad, right?" Perfikot scratched her forehead with the Golden Touching Rod, unsure of the actual impact of such news.

After all, although there have been innumerable legends about the Philosopher’s Stone and many historically renowned alchemists claimed to have successfully created it, aside from the shattered piece in Perfikot’s hand, there are no substantiated reports of other Philosopher’s Stones existing.

Most of those historical alchemists who claimed possession of the Philosopher’s Stone couldn’t do one thing, which is achieving immortality.

One of the most lauded abilities of the Philosopher’s Stone is producing the Elixir of Immortality to grant eternal life.

If you can’t achieve immortality, how could you’ve created the Philosopher’s Stone?

Because of this, when Perfikot announced that she fulfilled her parents’ research project and successfully made the Philosopher’s Stone, most people dismissed it as attention-seeking.

It wasn’t until she truly proved her possession of the Philosopher’s Stone before investigators from the Alchemist Association and witnesses from the Noble Council that the matter was settled, granting her the titles of royal-licensed alchemist and master alchemist.

Yet, what the Philosopher’s Stone could achieve remained unknown to everyone.

Even Perfikot, who owned the Philosopher’s Stone, had in the past years only used it as a universal ritual plugin for alchemical applications without breaking the boundary between imagination and reality.

Now, realizing the Philosopher’s Stone can break the boundary between imagination and reality, Perfikot suddenly realized she could do so much more.

Moreover, if she could wisely leverage this discovery, Perfikot felt she might attract more alchemists to the Northern Territory, perhaps even establish a whole new alchemical tradition as a founding figure.

After all, if imagination could transform into reality, the possibilities of achievements would be endless.