NOVPUBChapter 723: Chapter 109: The Threatening Letter to Grey Chapter 723 -109: The Threatening Letter to Grey “…At first, I thought Miss Freya had come to the Holy Nation to study abroad.”
After a long silence, Sherlock spoke up, “I didn’t expect you could stir up such a big trouble.”
Although Freya did not further explain the relationship between the Elixir of Immortality and the Tears of Time, it was clear that everyone had understood.
If the elves’ longevity comes from the blessing of the Spirit Amber Celestial Marshal, then life-extending methods like the Elixir of Immortality are essentially about obtaining a part of the power of the Spirit Amber Celestial Marshal.
But such methods of extending life always come with a price.
The life-extension potions from Star Antimony have the side effect of only prolonging the body’s lifespan, not the soul’s, so living too long can lead to a disconnection between body and soul, making one an easy target for a Necromancer.
The elves’ method of life extension, however, seems to also extend the soul.
—Its side effect is “Amberfication.” 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Elves have thousands of years of history and several splendid civilizations, but Amberfication has never been completely cured.
The underlying reason is likely that…
...
Amberfication is not a disease at all.
Like Tree disease, it’s a malformation caused by the infiltration of Path powers.
Elves are descendants of The Great Tree, their bloodline carries the blood of The Great Tree.
Precisely for this reason, the purer the bloodline, the more susceptible one is to Tree disease; similarly, the more blessings from the Spirit Amber Celestial Marshal one has, the more likely one is to succumb to Amberfication.
That’s why Half-Elves born elsewhere don’t experience Tree disease or Amberfication!
It’s because their bloodlines are too impure, so they don’t suffer from Tree disease; and similarly, because their lifespans are diminished, they don’t experience Amberfication either!
“Therefore, if one wishes to completely cure Amberfication, one may have to disperse or neutralize the blessings from Spirit Amber Celestial Marshal.
But that could cause the elves to start aging rapidly…
My research is currently stuck on this point.”
Freya, clutching the bottle of “Tears of Time,” gazed down at it and said softly, “The active ingredient of the Elixir of Immortality is the gift I extracted from an ‘Elven Gemstone’ that had already undergone Amberfication.
Its effect is to add a small amount of elven bloodline to a person—this part of the bloodline won’t cause Amberfication, but it can indeed extend one’s life a bit.
“I have taken it myself and verified its safety on my body.
It can effectively prolong my youth…
There’s nothing wrong with drinking it.
“And the ‘Tears of Time’…
It is the further purification and concentration of the active ingredient of the Elixir of Immortality, followed by an aggressive catalytic process that manifests its symbolic surplus.
It can serve as a material for Preservation Arts, significantly enhancing the effects of these arts.
“According to my calculations, if consumed in small amounts, the ‘Tears of Time’ can also permanently provide a portion of the earth property Mana Pool limit to those completely lacking elven blood.
For Half-Elves with some elven lineage, taking the Tears of Time may purify their own bloodline and might also be fatal; for pureblooded elves, it is a deadly poison.
I haven’t taken it because I’ve already consumed the Elixir of Immortality.”
“…I have a question, Freya.”
Yanis raised her hand and dryly asked, “I heard that you alchemists…
encrypt your formulas.
Even if someone analyzes your products, they can’t find the true formula…”
If it were just a dozen or even three to four dozen people…
it might cause unrest, but the impact would be at least manageable.
But if the formula for “Tears of Time” were to be cracked and reverse-engineered…
The entire elven race would face total disaster!
“—I know, and I do as well.”
Freya interrupted.
“That means—”
Yanis’s eyes lit up.
But she was quickly rebuffed by Freya, “But I can’t possibly encrypt in an unfinished product.
That would only cause trouble for myself and make it unclear what specific components are active.”
“…So you mean?”
Yanis asked in near despair, clinging to a slim hope.
“I know what you want to ask.”
Freya thought for a moment and answered, “Fourth Power Level…
might be a bit difficult.
“At least at the Fifth Power Level, one might be able to consistently reverse-engineer my formula from the finished product—provided that the person who stole my medicine stores it correctly:
“It must be kept in a brown bottle, shielded from direct sunlight and vigorous shaking.
The temperature must not exceed one hundred and fifty degrees, nor drop below six degrees.
Moreover, it shouldn’t be exposed to oxygen and water for extended periods; it needs to be covered with a black cloth at night to prevent Venus’ light from shining on it, or else its effect will rapidly degrade.
I haven’t taken it into the Dream Realm; I’m not sure if its properties would change there, but I suspect they would.
Thus, it can’t be transported through an altar.”
“That sounds manageable…”
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Just avoiding vigorous shaking, preventing moisture, and maintaining a seal was already quite difficult.
Transporting it to Star Antimony by water for analysis was basically impossible.
And in the Holy Nation, there was no Alchemist on the same level as Freya.
…Unless, it was Professor Moriarty.
Aiwass added in his mind.
He wasn’t sure about Freya’s attitude towards her biological father, so he didn’t dare to speak out directly.
Although Aiwass hadn’t seen that guy at all since coming to the Holy Nation, he always felt as if he were lurking in the shadows, appearing in any incident.
“Wait, Sister Freya, you just said…
a semi-finished product?”
Aiwass suddenly realized something, “Then, what were you originally planning to do with the Tears of Time?”
“It’s not difficult just to neutralize the blessing—as if when someone’s liver is sick, you cut it out and replace it with a new one.
But you can’t just cut without replacing, that would be tantamount to murder.”
Freya crossed her arms and answered frankly, “The grace of the Celestial Marshal and the Pillar God can be offset by committing a ‘sin’ of equivalent weight on the corresponding Path.
So I believe—at least currently—that those active Elves are not easily Amberficated because they have neutralized part of the blessing, making the Amberfication reversible.
If it were truly a pathological change, then the Amberficated parts should not revert.”
“But the problem is, once the blessing is completely neutralized, the lifespan is also shortened.
I must find a method of life extension that does not cause Amberfication as a remedy.
The Tears of Time are my ‘artificial liver’.”
Upon hearing this, Aiwass was struck with a thought.
—He thought of his own “dates.”
They seemed to be able to neutralize Amberfication.
The Fruit of Sin Thorn…
Could it be that’s where the “sin” lies?
He wanted to suggest this possibility to Freya, but he didn’t have any of those fruits on hand.
He would wait until his eyes grew them again and bring them to Freya for examination.
“Shouldn’t you destroy those first?”
Yanis looked at the bottle of Tears of Time with some trepidation, “It makes me nervous just looking at it…
What if the rest gets stolen too?
Compared to the progress of Amberfication, I think it’s more important to prevent it from spreading further…
Besides, you remember the formula, right?
Maybe the thief will ruin it due to improper preservation and then come back for more?”
Knowing that Freya was synthesizing a lethal substance without an antidote, Yanis couldn’t possibly watch over it all the time.
And Freya herself wouldn’t hear anything while she was working.
It was really easy to steal.
The thief had only taken a third last time, but who’s to say they wouldn’t take everything the next time?
“…Sigh.”
Freya sighed, “It’s just a bit that I’ve managed to extract in three months…”
She felt a bit pained but also knew Yanis was right.
She could only reluctantly place it on an adjacent heating container, her face showing distress as she watched it rapidly become turbid—looking as though she were about to cry.
The originally sluggish liquid, like oil, became increasingly clear and transparent under the heat.
“What I’m most worried about now is whether the person who stole the medicine will harm Grey…”
Yanis frowned, “There are two weeks left…
March 3rd is the Pope’s election day.
If those Controlled Flame fanatics cause Grey to Amberficate on the spot, that would be a big problem…
Is there any solid evidence to report Cardinal Loki to His Holiness the Pope?”
“…The bad news is, there really isn’t such a thing.
Because it might not be him—the clues related to him are too comprehensive, and this could exactly be a misdirection.”
Aiwass answered, “The worse news is, someone indeed harbors malice towards The Holy Maiden.
“Because Gloria is her friend, and so is Bishop Mercedes—one of them killed the other, and the body was placed in my wardrobe.
If an unforeseen event hadn’t happened that day, it would have been The Holy Maiden herself who discovered the body.”
Up until that point, Aiwass just thought it might be meant to agitate Grey’s mind, increasing her Amberfication.
But now, after investigating the information about Tears of Time, a poison that is one hundred percent lethal to Elves, especially those beginning to Amberficate, the matter took on a completely different meaning.
It was a “threatening letter.”
And the message was simple.
—You’re next.
