Chapter 105: Rebirth Pebble
The Wolf Leader of the Wolf Pack Club had failed during their promotion, and although they were lucky not to die, a significant hidden danger remained. As long as that danger persisted, they would never have the chance to promote again.
Li Wen recalled information shared by Bailu in their previous life.
Failing to promote without dying, thus leaving behind a hidden danger concerning future promotions, clearly indicated a depletion of spirituality. Only a lack of spirituality would be enough to curb a Transcendent’s powerful desire for promotion, forcing them to hide in the shadows like a stray dog.
There were not many things in this world that could restore spirituality. The forbidden ritual known to Li Wen was one, and another, more famous method was the “Rebirth Pebble.”
Ancient alchemists placed lead, tin, copper, and iron into stone eggs, thus creating the miracle of the Sage. This was considered the first “rebirth” in historical records. Since then, the fundamental theme of alchemy had been inseparable from “killing” and “rebirth.”
If alchemists could “kill” the base metals in stone eggs, causing them to transmute and ultimately sublimate into “reborn” gold, then what would happen if the base metals in the stone eggs were replaced with humans, and then those humans were “killed,” transmuted, and sublimated?
The final answer to this question was written long ago, during the Silver Age, by a legendary alchemist of the Platinum Council, Albertus Paracelsus.
The process was not fully disclosed, but Albertus did place himself within an alchemical vessel, subsequently ending his own life and annihilating his spirituality, thereby fully sacrificing himself to the Sage’s Egg.
However, Albertus did not die; he achieved “rebirth.” When he opened his eyes again, he was as pure as gold, having advanced to the next stage. Even his completely depleted spirituality was fully replenished, making everything seem like a new beginning.
This was known in alchemical history as the “Golden Rebirth.”
The appearance of a miracle inevitably brought about replication. Many years later, another alchemist performed a ritual similar to Albertus’s, “killing” themselves and then “rebirthing” themselves to complete their path of promotion and replenish their spirituality.
But as more people imitated it, more failures followed. “Golden Rebirth” was not a perfect promotion ritual; on the contrary, because it attempted to replenish depleted spirituality during the promotion process, using this ritual made promotion more prone to failure than ordinary rituals. Once failed, the outcome was inevitably death, with no chance for struggle.
Later alchemists could only attempt to separate its two functions, “promotion” and “spirituality replenishment,” removing the more easily replaceable “promotion” and retaining only the ability of “spirituality replenishment.” Thus, the Rebirth Pebble was born.
The Rebirth Pebble could be considered an alchemical item, or a portable, single-use ritual that could be carried around. Its purpose was to replicate an imperfect “Golden Rebirth” ritual, restoring the ritualist’s spirituality to its nascent state.
Because spirituality was related to the success rate of promotion, all Transcendants longed to possess a Rebirth Pebble, especially those who had failed promotions or depleted their spirituality through rituals and spells.
However, with the end of the Silver Age, the groups of alchemists capable of refining Rebirth Pebbles, led by the Platinum Council, withdrew from the historical stage. The techniques and formulas for refining Rebirth Pebbles were lost with them.
The Rebirth Pebble transformed from an item that was “expensive but obtainable with effort” into a precious commodity that diminished with each use.
Even ordinary humans lost spirituality with the passage of time, and Transcendants’ spellcasting, promotions, use of extraordinary skills, and even consuming potions or reading mysterious books would deplete small amounts of spirituality.
No Transcendent could refuse a Rebirth Pebble.
This was why the Wolf Leader became so excited upon hearing Bailu mention the Rebirth Pebble.
Under sufficient desire, humans abandon reason, and beasts even more so.
Li Wen’s gaze was calm as he transmitted his thoughts through internal communication: “I don’t need anything. I only need your friendship, or rather, the friendship of the Wolf Pack Club.”
Friendship?
Could such a thing exist between Transcendants? The Wolf Leader scoffed at the idea but would never reveal it.
It looked at Bailu seriously and fanatically, its arrogant and cruel expression slightly restrained.
“As long as you tell me about the Rebirth Pebble, you will be the most honored guests of the Wolf Pack Club, no less than Director Jeffrey, Count Lagovin, and Master Belfield.”
Wow, that’s so cool!
Bailu felt that such meaningless words were best taken with a grain of salt; it would be foolish to believe them.
Then she heard Li Wen’s reply. “Tell it that the Rebirth Pebble will appear at Black Raven Port on some night after today.”
Wait, are all you NPCs this honest?
Bailu was stunned for a long moment before realizing there was definitely a trap!
With that thought, she felt much more at ease and relayed the message: “The Rebirth Pebble will appear at Black Raven Port on some night after today.”
“Black Raven Port?”
The Wolf Leader’s fervent and excited brain suddenly grew calm, as if doused with a bucket of ice water on a snowy day.
Black Raven Port was an important port controlled by the Disciplinary Bureau. Normally, the Wolf Pack Club would never extend their reach there unless they didn’t want to operate in this city anymore.
But if it concerned the Rebirth Pebble…
The Wolf Leader carefully considered the plausibility of this matter.
The refinement techniques and formulas for the Rebirth Pebble had long been lost. What remained in the world today was undoubtedly the legacy of the Silver Age. Recently, it had heard some important figures mention that Arthur’s Royal Fleet had discovered an underwater ruin while exploring the outer seas, and that the ruin was said to date back to the Silver Age.
If the Royal Fleet had excavated any important treasures from it, they would have to pass through Leicester to send them back to the capital. If it was a treasure related to the occult, it would inevitably have to pass through Black Raven Port and be personally escorted by the Disciplinary Bureau.
From this perspective, the appearance of a Rebirth Pebble at Black Raven Port did have a certain degree of credibility.
But the Wolf Leader would not believe someone based on a few words.
“How do you prove it?”
“No proof is needed. You just need to ask someone to investigate the recent movements of the Disciplinary Bureau to know,” Bailu said calmly.
What if they found out the movements? Black Raven Port was often used by the Disciplinary Bureau to transport items related to evil gods, cults, or forbidden ritual spells. This alone could not prove anything.
“……You can leave now, or continue to use your exquisite magic to extract wealth from those idiotic gamblers.”
After a long silence, the Wolf Leader said to Bailu.
Huh? Is that it?
Bailu was dumbfounded. She hadn’t even skipped the plot.
