Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 36: Chapter 36 — Alchemy Room

Chapter 36 — Alchemy Room

Victor followed Jack deeper into the Library. He had walked these halls enough that the familiar shelves no longer caught his attention, but the farther they traveled, the more the Library seemed to change. The architecture became more elaborate, the shelves grew larger, and the faint glow illuminating the corridors seemed to come from places Victor couldn’t identify. Even the books appeared different, their bindings becoming older and stranger as they continued forward. Victor had no idea how deep the Library actually went, but after several minutes, Jack finally slowed.

At the end of the corridor stood a pair of enormous doors.

Victor stopped.

The doors were easily several times his height, stretching toward a ceiling that disappeared into darkness. Their surface was covered in intricate markings that intertwined across the dark material like veins beneath skin. Some of the markings formed circles, others spiraled into strange patterns, and several seemed to overlap one another without following any obvious design. The longer Victor looked at them, the less he understood what he was seeing.

Victor remained silent as Jack stepped forward.

Jack placed his hand against the center of the doors.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a faint light appeared beneath his palm.

The markings began to glow.

One after another, the strange symbols illuminated across the doors, spreading outward from Jack’s hand in waves of pale light. Lines connected to other lines, circles formed within circles, and the entire surface seemed to awaken after being dormant for an eternity.

A deep vibration rolled through the floor.

The doors slowly began to separate.

Victor watched without saying a word.

Jack glanced over his shoulder.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

He had clearly been waiting for this reaction.

"Feast your eyes on the Library’s Alchemical Room."

The doors opened completely.

Victor finally saw what lay beyond.

His eyes widened.

The chamber stretched farther than Victor could see, its ceiling impossibly high and its walls disappearing into the distance. The entire room was illuminated by a soft golden glow that seemed to come from the walls themselves, revealing an enormous space divided into several distinct sections.

One side of the chamber contained shelves upon shelves of alchemical ingredients. Hundreds of sealed containers rested within specially designed compartments, Some containers were tiny enough to fit in his palm, while others were large enough to hold something the size of a human torso.

Beside the ingredient storage stood a strange structure Victor had never seen before. It resembled a massive rectangular panel covered in countless symbols, small glowing squares, and shifting lines of light. There were no buttons that Victor recognized, yet the entire thing seemed to function as some kind of catalog or control system.

Further into the chamber was the main workspace.

A single cauldron rested upon a raised platform surrounded by intricate markings. It wasn’t decorated with gold or jewels, yet there was something majestic about it. The dark metal seemed almost perfectly smooth, and faint lines ran across its surface, glowing softly beneath the surrounding light. Several smaller tools were arranged around the platform, each one carefully placed as though someone had prepared the workspace and simply walked away.

Another section contained long tables and shelves filled with books.

And beyond all of that was an enormous wall filled with shelves of formulas.

That section was so large that Victor couldn’t see where it ended.

He slowly stepped inside.

His gaze moved from one section to another, trying to take everything in at once.

"This is the Alchemy Room?"

Jack nodded.

Victor looked around again.

"Everything in this room looks so majestic."

Jack smiled.

"It contains everything you need to begin learning alchemy."

Victor nodded slowly.

"Okay."

Jack walked toward one of the nearby bookshelves.

Several labels had been carved into the wood, separating the books into different sections. Jack pointed toward the first one.

"This is where you’ll need to start. These books contain the foundations of alchemy."

Victor stepped closer.

Jack continued.

"They’ll teach you about the materials used in alchemy, Bloodline Flames, Soul Power, and the role formulas play in the creation of a pill."

Victor glanced across the shelves.

There were hundreds of books.

Victor shook his head and turned back toward Jack.

Jack moved toward another section.

"This area contains the alchemical process. The information here covers the various stages involved in refinement and the methods used by the Black Phoenix Clan."

Before Jack could continue, Victor turned toward him.

"Wait."

Jack stopped.

"You’re not going to show me how to do this?"

Jack shook his head.

"Victor, I don’t have the ability to be an alchemist. I don’t possess a Bloodline Flame, and I’ve never practiced alchemy myself. I’m a spirit assigned to this Library. My purpose is to guide you through it and give you access to the knowledge stored here."

Victor stared at him for a moment.

Then he slowly placed his hand against his forehead.

"I should have expected that."

Jack chuckled.

Victor sighed before looking back toward the shelves.

"Fine. Keep going."

Jack smiled and pointed toward the enormous wall of formula books.

"This is the formula archive."

Victor followed his gaze.

The shelves seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance. Rows upon rows of books filled the massive structure, and faint barriers of light separated different sections of the archive.

"This is probably the largest section of the entire room."

Jack gestured toward the shelves.

"But you won’t have access to all of it."

Victor looked closer.

Most of the shelves were dark.

Only a small portion near the beginning was illuminated.

Within that illuminated section were three books.

Jack pointed toward them.

"Those are the formulas available to you as an alchemy trainee."

Victor walked closer.

Three books.

Only three.

He stared at them for a moment before nodding.

"That makes sense."

Jack turned back toward Victor.

"If you need anything else, just let me know."

Victor nodded.

Jack took a step away before stopping.

"From here, it’s up to you."

Victor looked toward the first bookshelf.

Then toward the alchemical workspace.

Then back toward the countless books surrounding him.

He understood.

The Library had opened the door.

Now he had to walk through it himself.

Victor pulled the first book from the shelf.

He carried it toward one of the tables and sat down.

The book was heavier than it looked.

Victor opened it.

The first section introduced the basic foundation of alchemy.

Ingredients.

Victor slowly read through the information.

Almost anything containing a sufficient amount of spiritual energy could potentially become an alchemical ingredient. Plants were among the most common, but they were far from the only source. Monster cores, blood, bones, venom, organs, minerals, fruits, crystals, and other naturally occurring materials could all contain properties useful for alchemy.

The book explained that every ingredient possessed different characteristics. Some were naturally compatible with one another, while others could react violently if combined incorrectly. The quality of the material also mattered, but a rare ingredient did not automatically guarantee a powerful result. An inexperienced alchemist could waste an incredibly valuable material through poor refinement.

Victor nodded slowly.

That made sense.

He turned the page.

Bloodline Flames.

Victor’s eyes immediately became more focused.

The book explained that Bloodline Flames were not simply different sources of fire. Each flame possessed characteristics inherited from its bloodline, and those characteristics could influence how an alchemist interacted with different materials.

Some flames were better suited to certain types of medicinal refinement.

Others possessed properties that made them useful for particular branches of alchemy.

The book contained several references to the Black Phoenix Flame, describing it as an exceptional flame for alchemical refinement. There wasn’t enough information for Victor to understand everything about it, but the implication was clear.

The next section concerned Soul Power.

Victor’s expression gradually became more serious.

Soul Power was described as the primary method of control within alchemy. The flame provided the heat, but Soul Power allowed the alchemist to manipulate what happened inside the cauldron.

It could separate medicinal properties, control refined essence, guide different materials together, sense instability, and influence the final formation of a pill.

Victor stopped.

So that’s what I’ve been using.

He had always thought of the strange power connected to his Black Phoenix Flame as simply another part of his cultivation.

He hadn’t realized how important it could be outside of combat.

The final section introduced formulas.

A formula wasn’t simply a list of ingredients.

It contained the instructions required to turn those ingredients into something useful. The quantities, order of refinement, required conditions, fusion methods, and final condensation all had to be accounted for.

Victor leaned back.

The more he read, the more he realized how little he actually understood about alchemy.

He had once imagined that making a pill meant throwing ingredients into a cauldron and heating them until something happened.

The books had quickly destroyed that assumption.

Alchemy wasn’t about throwing ingredients into a pot.

It was about understanding every material, controlling the flame, manipulating Soul Power, following the formula, and keeping everything stable long enough for the final product to form.

Victor closed the book.

He looked toward the enormous cauldron sitting in the center of the room.

For the first time, it didn’t look like some ancient decoration.

It looked like a challenge.

Victor glanced back toward the shelves.

There were still thousands of books waiting for him.

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