A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 180 Soul-Igniting Ritual and Soul-Stabilizing Potion

The bright red Philosopher's Stone shone with a mesmerizing glow under the candlelight.

This Philosopher's Stone is about the size of an egg, not counting the ones that were used before; it is priceless.

Judging from its condition, it's obviously authentic. It was probably made by an ancient alchemist from a sacred realm to replace certain rare materials.

Normally, it would be impossible for anyone to make such a large Philosopher's Stone, since there are not many magical materials that have become extinct now, and most of them have already been replaced.

Only in the past, when mages were still in the small-scale development of the astral plane, would someone be willing to create such a large piece.

After all, using the Philosopher's Stone as a substitute for materials is like using a million dollars to buy something worth ten thousand dollars. Unless such a thing is extremely rare and expensive, no one would be happy to do so.

Meanwhile, there is an interesting rumor about the Philosopher's Stone: because it can replace most materials, alchemists believe that a large quantity of Philosopher's Stone is essential for creating the world.

How large is the quantity?

The Philosopher's Stone, which is about millions of kilometers in diameter, is said to be able to create a plane.

However, no one would attempt it; it's such a large piece that even selling the entire Mage Alliance wouldn't be enough to buy it.

A Philosopher's Stone that is two or three centimeters long, not counting labor costs, would cost around tens of thousands of magic stones to train on the first try. Who can afford that?

The soldiers inside were cleared out by Jiang Shuzhou early on. After all, it would be too crowded for a group of people to stand in the house, especially since the people inside were all dead. Jiang Shuzhou also didn't have the habit of letting others watch him loot.

Therefore, only Jiang Shuzhou and Chahara saw the Philosopher's Stone.

After examining the Philosopher's Stone, Jiang Shuzhou took out a box with a sealing array and put it inside.

This is a valuable item, and Jiang Shuzhou wouldn't be as foolish as Piss and just put it directly into his spatial ring.

Even if just one milligram of this stuff is rubbed off, Jiang Shuzhou would be heartbroken.

With this piece of paper, Jiang Shuzhou can try out more imaginative ideas.

Plans that were previously limited by factors such as materials can now be pushed forward.

Take advancement for example. Since Jiang Shuzhou advanced to the fourth rank, so much time has passed, and he has only advanced one rank, barely reaching the fifth rank.

The reason is that advancing too quickly requires time to settle down. Continuous advancement will lead to an unstable soul foundation, affecting subsequent advancements.

However, history has never lacked geniuses; if there is a problem, there will always be a genius who can solve it.

There are two solutions: one is the Soul-Burning Ritual, and the other is the Soul-Stabilizing Potion.

The Soul Burning Ritual is similar to the Burning Ritual, except that the object of the burning is a soul crystal. Jiang Shuzhou has a way to obtain this, but it will only cause some trouble for the orcs.

However, simply burning soul crystals is not enough; a filtering device is also needed, such as Soul-Controlling Grass or Soul-Filtering Stones, which can filter out impurities in the soul to ensure its purity.

Otherwise, the resentment of these souls alone could drive a person insane.

Of course, if you're really that monstrous, you can use the soul of a newborn, since then there will be no impurities.

However, Jiang Shuzhou was clearly not a beast; at most, he was a somewhat extraordinary person who often did random things for fun.

The same principle applies to the Soul-Stabilizing Potion, except that it changes from passive to active. The Soul-Burning Ritual passively purifies one's own soul by using a large number of high-purity souls around it, while the Soul-Stabilizing Potion actively purifies and strengthens one's own soul through the potion.

However, both of these things have a fatal flaw.

That's the material.

Materials related to souls are extremely expensive, let alone higher-grade ones. These materials can only grow in certain undead planes, making them extremely difficult to obtain normally, and even more difficult to cultivate.

Jiang Shuzhou originally planned to save up money to buy a Soul-Controlling Grass, and then use the soul crystal of the orcs to complete the ritual.

But now there's no need to worry.

He wants both.

Once these two plans are implemented, Jiang Shuzhou will no longer need to worry about issues like an unstable soul before advancing to the Saint Realm.

It can also increase his resistance to various soul attacks and his casting speed.

Indeed, a horse won't get fat without night grass, and a person won't get rich without unexpected wealth.

Robbery is still the fastest way to make money.

After searching the house again, smashing open everything to look inside, and finding nothing of value, Jiang Shuzhou left in a good mood.

He needs to start planning about the soul crystallization.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"The Mage Alliance is still the best; they make money really fast."

Cangzhou Assault Skeleton Soldier spoke to his teammates.

They had participated in an officially organized competition and returned triumphantly with a seventh-place finish.

Although I was killed by a bunch of druid animal friends halfway through, at least I still had some dignity, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

"You're right, we should have come to the Mage Alliance sooner."

I still stutter even without fake medicine, but it's much better than before. At least I can say a word after repeating it twice.

"The Mage Alliance is not bad, but the wine here is a bit expensive. Ordinary wine isn't satisfying; only the extraordinary wine tastes good."

The genius boy, Lao Sharen, is a member of the team and the commander of the three brothers' squad. His favorite thing to do is drink. He also has a talent called "adding to alcohol," which increases his attributes when he drinks, although it is temporary.

However, this also made him drink more and more; his motto was to drink heavily when he couldn't win a fight.

"When you go to register later, tell us the name you chose. Don't use your online name or your real name, okay, brothers? We've already been kicked out twice. If we get kicked out again, we'll really have intellectual problems."

"No problem, my intelligence is a full twenty. With that kind of intelligence, I'm definitely cut out to be a mage."

Is intelligence listed in the attribute list?

Something about the skeleton soldiers in Cangzhou's assault seems off.

"Let's go, it's no big deal."

After saying that, he dragged the other two into the military camp.

"WC, there's a dog!"

"Beating dogs, fake medicine, beating dogs!"

"Stop hitting it! That's someone else's alchemical creature!"

Finally, amidst a chaotic scene, the three were surrounded by a group of people and a large group of dogs.

"Hey guys, I mean no harm. I just wanted to sign up and become a mercenary. I don't know these two, and I didn't attack any dogs. It's none of my business."

As they spoke, the Cangzhou Assault Skeleton Soldiers prepared to flee.

"Since you're already here, wouldn't you be embarrassed not to register?"

Jiang Shuzhou came out of the tent and immediately saw the three people.

"I knew this was a place where you could register. Look how heavily guarded this place is, it must be a military camp."

Dude, why don't you just register at the military camp?

That's incredible! This kind of person is so far removed from humanity that they don't seem like a human being at all.

However, Jiang Shuzhou was also the kind of person who didn't know how to behave, and since these three people were somewhat useful, Jiang Shuzhou planned to use them for the time being.

"Come with me, I'll process your onboarding."