His hand was in the fire but he could not feel the heat. The flames were not real—they were the brilliance of countless interwoven music theories. They seeped into his body at the touch, fusing with him and lighting the aether within him. They wanted to ignite everything and turn them into flames.
"Ye Qingxuan, what are you doing?!" Lola raged after sensing the strange situation in his body.
"Probably…flirting with death?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled wryly. "Sorry, Lola. Thanks for taking care of me all this time. If anything happens, please help me take care of Bai Xi."
"You think I'm your—"
Before Lola could finish, Ye Qingxuan cut off the Heaven Ladder connection. Her angry voice disappeared along with the strength. Without anymore obstacles, the flames swept into his body. Covering every vessel, they burned at the moonlight and aether in his blood, dismantling his life from the inside out. At that moment, he finally broke through the flames' outer shell and grasped the Double Snake Time Meter floating within.
Even under the intense pain of burning, Ye Qingxuan was still shocked by the beauty. It was definitely a masterpiece countless alchemists would go crazy over. The core was created by complex music theories, even more complex than a symphony of predestination. It was compressed into a tiny square inch of space. Flowing like water, there was nothing forced. It was a true piece of artwork and inhumanly perfect.
It not only contained Faust's power. After the music score was unfolded, it embedded perfectly into the Sacred Fire, adjusting the vast structure and manipulating the powerful operations. It also constructed another alchemy array on top of it to hide its true appearance…
The three overlapped in almost bizarre way but did not disturb each other. It was a perfect three-part whole.
"Life or death, it depends on this." In immense pain, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and prayed, Boss, if you have any heart, don't mess with me this time!
Taking a deep breath, he recited, "All is faded. Only the tree of life is forever green!"
After all this time, he recited the activation code for the Double Snake Time Meter. Everything stopped. The dark emblem on the time meter lit up.
[Ultimate authority · Verification complete]
There was a sound in the daze. It sounded like Elsa's voice but it was supernatural and cold.
[Controlled handover, coherence begins]
Ye Qingxuan sank into a daze. Countless wings of light seemed to sprout from his back, connecting the sky, the earth, and everything else. His consciousness expanded, covering the world.
He saw the dark aether river streaming in the underworld; the brilliant star ring in the sky; the earth, wind, fire, and wind hidden in objects…everything in the world showed him their true nature. In the end, he even sensed the Originator.
That was the source of all; everything flowed from it. It was magical and hidden yet omnipresent. For millennia, so many musicians had never reached this close distance. He could use all of the power in the Sacred Fire. Everything was under his control. He could seemingly do whatever he wanted. It felt as if he had transformed into a Holy Spirit.
"The world is created such that it can create miracles!" A seemingly familiar voice rang in his ears.
Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his daze and looked down at his hands. The time meter was slowly disassembling. Countless parts dissipated. Finally, all that remained in his hands was weak firelight, flickering in the wind. It was hard to imagine that this flame carried all of the Sacred Fire's strength and brought him to the state of a god.
Now, this unimaginable power was in his hands. It was right in his hands and yet he sank into confusion.
Was it this easy? He only had to utter a sentence and could receive such a powerful gift. It felt unreal like a dream but he could feel that he was not dreaming.
It was reality. But it was unbelievable.
Ye Qingxuan, you have received the strongest power in this world, someone seemed to murmur in his ear. Make a wish to the flame in your hands. You can have any glory, strength, or power you wish. But what do you truly desire? Think about it. Think carefully. There is enough time for you to ponder.
In the stillness, Ye Qingxuan stared at the fire. He quickly chuckled. "What I desire…isn't that simple? I just want her to live." He looked down at Elsa. "Not as a puppet or shell but live as a real girl… That's what I want." Clenching his hands, he pushed the flame gently into Elsa's chest. The power that could break the aether world's equilibrium entered the girl's body.
"Let her live," he ordered the flame. "Now!"
A hoarse voice sounded. It was filled with pity and was meaningful. The voice was fleeting and he could not tell if it came from his heart or ears.
"As you wish."
Then the firelight jumped, expanding explosively. Between the sky and earth, between the soil of the abyss and the gates of heaven, the vast power that covered everything suddenly caved in. It compressed, returning to the inside. It overlapped, converging on Elsa's body.
Inside her body, the Sacred Fire glowed, radiating in all directions. The majestic melody and beautiful notes scattered in the air. It was so gentle and yet so somber as if it carried all the mysteries of life. It represented the resting spirits and the mysteries of life and death.
First, it was the dreamy Compassion, then the awe-inspiring Furious Sun, Horn, Mercy of God, and Time of Judgement. At the peak, it transformed into Sacrifice, Holy…
"This is…" Ye Qingxuan listened to the melody coming from the Sacred Fire. He could not believe it.
This was the Requiem! The scepter inherited by all Kings of Yellow was hidden inside the fire! The King of Yellow who had poisoned the Romulusians had then left his power with them.
Within the holy melody, endless light poured into Elsa's body like a spirit returning. Inside the empty body, the burnt flesh regrew from the ashes. Blood started flowing again. Thin veins and organs reappeared in her body.
The vast power went through the aether sea, faintly connecting with tributaries of the Originator, using up this immense and luxurious strength to find the remnants of the broken memory and past.
Life and death were reversing…
"No, stop! Stop!" Paganini screamed. He was filled with fury and heartbreak as if watching an idiot control the richness that should be his. Ye Qingxuan used something that could change the world in exchange for some specks of dust!
The darkness raged. The giant body squeezed in from the abyss, breaking past all restrictions even if it was fatally wounded by the Sword again.
"Do you know what you're doing?!" He glared at Ye Qingxuan, wishing he could rip the youth to shreds. "Ye Qingxuan, stop! That isn't yours! You don't even know what it represents!"
Ye Qingxuan did not listen. He focused on the quickly dissipating flame. It had turned into countless music theories. They were woven by an invisible hand into the prototype of a soul.
Finally, it became solid and red. It was the legendary product from the School of Choir, a miracle on earth, the beautiful object that could reverse life and death—the Philosopher's Stone!
At that moment, the boundless strength was spent as if an ocean was dried without even leaving behind water vapor. All that remained was the miracle created by drying seven seas.
Among the burnt ashes, Elsa had started breathing again. As if she was sleeping, her eyelashes trembled.
Ye Qingxuan held his breath.
His hand was in the fire but he could not feel the heat. The flames were not real—they were the brilliance of countless interwoven music theories. They seeped into his body at the touch, fusing with him and lighting the aether within him. They wanted to ignite everything and turn them into flames.
"Ye Qingxuan, what are you doing?!" Lola raged after sensing the strange situation in his body.
"Probably…flirting with death?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled wryly. "Sorry, Lola. Thanks for taking care of me all this time. If anything happens, please help me take care of Bai Xi."
"You think I'm your—"
Before Lola could finish, Ye Qingxuan cut off the Heaven Ladder connection. Her angry voice disappeared along with the strength. Without anymore obstacles, the flames swept into his body. Covering every vessel, they burned at the moonlight and aether in his blood, dismantling his life from the inside out. At that moment, he finally broke through the flames' outer shell and grasped the Double Snake Time Meter floating within.
Even under the intense pain of burning, Ye Qingxuan was still shocked by the beauty. It was definitely a masterpiece countless alchemists would go crazy over. The core was created by complex music theories, even more complex than a symphony of predestination. It was compressed into a tiny square inch of space. Flowing like water, there was nothing forced. It was a true piece of artwork and inhumanly perfect.
It not only contained Faust's power. After the music score was unfolded, it embedded perfectly into the Sacred Fire, adjusting the vast structure and manipulating the powerful operations. It also constructed another alchemy array on top of it to hide its true appearance…
The three overlapped in almost bizarre way but did not disturb each other. It was a perfect three-part whole.
"Life or death, it depends on this." In immense pain, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and prayed, Boss, if you have any heart, don't mess with me this time!
Taking a deep breath, he recited, "All is faded. Only the tree of life is forever green!"
After all this time, he recited the activation code for the Double Snake Time Meter. Everything stopped. The dark emblem on the time meter lit up.
[Ultimate authority · Verification complete]
There was a sound in the daze. It sounded like Elsa's voice but it was supernatural and cold.
[Controlled handover, coherence begins]
Ye Qingxuan sank into a daze. Countless wings of light seemed to sprout from his back, connecting the sky, the earth, and everything else. His consciousness expanded, covering the world.
He saw the dark aether river streaming in the underworld; the brilliant star ring in the sky; the earth, wind, fire, and wind hidden in objects…everything in the world showed him their true nature. In the end, he even sensed the Originator.
That was the source of all; everything flowed from it. It was magical and hidden yet omnipresent. For millennia, so many musicians had never reached this close distance. He could use all of the power in the Sacred Fire. Everything was under his control. He could seemingly do whatever he wanted. It felt as if he had transformed into a Holy Spirit.
"The world is created such that it can create miracles!" A seemingly familiar voice rang in his ears.
Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his daze and looked down at his hands. The time meter was slowly disassembling. Countless parts dissipated. Finally, all that remained in his hands was weak firelight, flickering in the wind. It was hard to imagine that this flame carried all of the Sacred Fire's strength and brought him to the state of a god.
Now, this unimaginable power was in his hands. It was right in his hands and yet he sank into confusion.
Was it this easy? He only had to utter a sentence and could receive such a powerful gift. It felt unreal like a dream but he could feel that he was not dreaming.
It was reality. But it was unbelievable.
Ye Qingxuan, you have received the strongest power in this world, someone seemed to murmur in his ear. Make a wish to the flame in your hands. You can have any glory, strength, or power you wish. But what do you truly desire? Think about it. Think carefully. There is enough time for you to ponder.
In the stillness, Ye Qingxuan stared at the fire. He quickly chuckled. "What I desire…isn't that simple? I just want her to live." He looked down at Elsa. "Not as a puppet or shell but live as a real girl… That's what I want." Clenching his hands, he pushed the flame gently into Elsa's chest. The power that could break the aether world's equilibrium entered the girl's body.
"Let her live," he ordered the flame. "Now!"
A hoarse voice sounded. It was filled with pity and was meaningful. The voice was fleeting and he could not tell if it came from his heart or ears.
"As you wish."
Then the firelight jumped, expanding explosively. Between the sky and earth, between the soil of the abyss and the gates of heaven, the vast power that covered everything suddenly caved in. It compressed, returning to the inside. It overlapped, converging on Elsa's body.
Inside her body, the Sacred Fire glowed, radiating in all directions. The majestic melody and beautiful notes scattered in the air. It was so gentle and yet so somber as if it carried all the mysteries of life. It represented the resting spirits and the mysteries of life and death.
First, it was the dreamy Compassion, then the awe-inspiring Furious Sun, Horn, Mercy of God, and Time of Judgement. At the peak, it transformed into Sacrifice, Holy…
"This is…" Ye Qingxuan listened to the melody coming from the Sacred Fire. He could not believe it.
This was the Requiem! The scepter inherited by all Kings of Yellow was hidden inside the fire! The King of Yellow who had poisoned the Romulusians had then left his power with them.
Within the holy melody, endless light poured into Elsa's body like a spirit returning. Inside the empty body, the burnt flesh regrew from the ashes. Blood started flowing again. Thin veins and organs reappeared in her body.
The vast power went through the aether sea, faintly connecting with tributaries of the Originator, using up this immense and luxurious strength to find the remnants of the broken memory and past.
Life and death were reversing…
"No, stop! Stop!" Paganini screamed. He was filled with fury and heartbreak as if watching an idiot control the richness that should be his. Ye Qingxuan used something that could change the world in exchange for some specks of dust!
The darkness raged. The giant body squeezed in from the abyss, breaking past all restrictions even if it was fatally wounded by the Sword again.
"Do you know what you're doing?!" He glared at Ye Qingxuan, wishing he could rip the youth to shreds. "Ye Qingxuan, stop! That isn't yours! You don't even know what it represents!"
Ye Qingxuan did not listen. He focused on the quickly dissipating flame. It had turned into countless music theories. They were woven by an invisible hand into the prototype of a soul.
Finally, it became solid and red. It was the legendary product from the School of Choir, a miracle on earth, the beautiful object that could reverse life and death—the Philosopher's Stone!
At that moment, the boundless strength was spent as if an ocean was dried without even leaving behind water vapor. All that remained was the miracle created by drying seven seas.
Among the burnt ashes, Elsa had started breathing again. As if she was sleeping, her eyelashes trembled.
Ye Qingxuan held his breath.
