The most shameless alchemist in history

“Every star represents a world, and our world is also a star in the eyes of others. Do you understand what I mean?” Xia Yi asked him solemnly.

"So, the power of the Star Stone also means the power of the world?" Dure frowned, and after thinking for a moment, she said.

"Your understanding is actually quite similar. There are a total of nine Star Stones on the entire continent, and the Star Stone in Beishan is one of them."

"But why can't the Star Stones leave the Western Continent?" Du Lei still couldn't understand this question.

"Because star stones represent balance, there are nine on each of the eastern and western continents. The movement of any one star stone will cause an imbalance, and once the balance is lost, it will inevitably bring about disastrous consequences."

"But you still haven't told me why you're here." Du Lei nodded, but he noticed that Xia Yi, although he had said a lot, was just changing the subject and hadn't explained why he was there.

"I'm here to ensure that the Star Stone remains in a stable state," Xia Yi explained.

"So, this is your job?" Du Lei asked in surprise.

“Work? That’s a new concept, but it seems to be true for me. I traveled all over the continent, and the only thing I did was ensure that all the star stones were in a stable state, not to be exploited, and not to fall into turmoil. Two years later, you gave one of the nine star stones from the Western Continent to the people of the Eastern Continent, which caused an imbalance between the Eastern and Western Continents, and an imbalance in the entire world. This was catastrophic for the world, and thus led to serious consequences,” Xia Yi explained.

"The world two years from now..." Dure frowned and thought carefully.

He discovered that the world's progress two years later seemed to be exactly as Xia Yi had described.

The world, which was originally peaceful, suddenly became plagued by frequent wars, and countries were plunged into turmoil.

Now it seems that the source of all this is actually related to the fact that he gave the Star Stone to Nan Yin back then!

"So in order to prevent a catastrophic future two years from now, we cannot send the Star Stone to the Eastern Continent. Do you understand?" Xia Yi asked solemnly.

"Understood. Now send me to two years from now, so I can make up for my mistakes," Dure nodded and said.

"In that case, close your eyes." Xia Yi gestured for Du Lei to get ready.

The latter quickly nodded as instructed, and his body was soon enveloped in a soft light.

Before long, he disappeared completely amidst a dazzling display of light and color.

()

857 Hand over the Star Stone

Everything that happened after entering the Shadow Tower's underground was unbelievable to Dure. Even though he had experienced quite a few bizarre events, this journey through time was still incredibly shocking compared to them.

"Where am I now... still in the hot spring village? Or is nothing different here, but..." After a moment of dizziness, Dure opened his eyes, only to find himself still standing in the same spot, seemingly unchanged.

"Where is Xia Yiren? He's gone? And the warehouse... is empty too?" Du Lei looked around and quickly walked into the warehouse. It was deserted and the stove had long been extinguished, indicating that no one had lived there for some time.

This struck Du Lei as odd, because not long ago when he and Xia Yi came out of the warehouse, the little boy, who was himself as a child, was sleeping in the warehouse, warming himself by the stove. Even if he were to leave, he wouldn't have done so quickly.

“The ashes in the sky over there… North Mountain? So I have indeed arrived two years in the future?” Just as Du Lei was feeling confused, he quickly noticed a large amount of ashes in the distant sky, and could smell a sulfurous odor in the air.

He realized that this was a scene unique to the period following the volcanic eruption.

Looking back on his memory, wasn't it during the time he was in Beishan that the underground volcano erupted?

Judging from this, two days have passed since the volcanic eruption, otherwise the villagers nearby wouldn't be so calm.

"Thinking back to the disaster that happened two days ago, it was truly terrifying. Beishan had been quiet for so many years, how could it suddenly erupt? A large area of ​​land nearby was affected," a villager from a nearby village said with deep emotion.

"Who can argue with that? I was so scared back then, I thought it was the end of the world. A large area around Beishan was completely barren, and I thought our village would be covered by an avalanche. Luckily, it didn't affect us," someone said, still shaken.

"But what exactly happened in Beishan? How could things suddenly turn out like this? If I remember correctly, quite a few mercenaries and adventurers went to Beishan, but it seems that very few of them have returned."

"They brought this on themselves. They knew how dangerous Beishan was, yet they still dared to go there. It seems only Du Lei and a few others came back. That's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

"Those people who hired that kid Dure as their guide really hit the jackpot. It's only because Dure was clever enough to bring them back. If it were anyone else, they would probably have been buried by the volcano long ago, leaving not even ashes. They really escaped with their lives."

People are talking about it endlessly; clearly, this sudden change in Beishan has become a topic of conversation among them.

"This day... should be the third day since I returned from Beishan. I remember I should be... right, over there!"

Du Lei realized that he had really arrived two years in the future, which was the third day after he led Nan Yin and Duanmu's group back from Beishan.

Today is also the day he bids farewell to Nan Yin and the others and leaves.

Realizing this, Dure immediately ran towards a small hill not far away.

His memory was good; he remembered that he should have seen Nan Yin and Duanmu off at the hillside.

When he arrived at the small hill, from this vantage point, he could just see the backs of three people below.

Du Lei was naturally familiar with those three people: Nan Yin, Duanmu, and Old Master Teng.

Dure was deeply impressed by these three men from the East.

Grandpa Teng was always smiling. Even when Duanmu argued with him, he would always back down and not stoop to Duanmu's level.

Duanmu always carried a long spear on his shoulder, always looking relaxed and carefree.

As for Nan Yin, she was a quiet girl with a resolute gaze.

Although she is still young, she traveled thousands of miles to a foreign land to strive to save her country.

"Hey, who are you?" Just as the boy was watching Nan Yin and her group leave, he noticed someone approaching.

He frowned and asked the young man in front of him, who was over twenty years old.

“I am you.” Du Lei chose to communicate with the other party in a straightforward manner.

Because they were originally the same person, they had a special telepathic connection when they met.

"What do you mean by 'you are me'? What does that mean?" the boy asked hesitantly.

“I think you should understand that I am you nine years from now,” Du Lei said earnestly.

"Me nine years from now? That's interesting. So this is what I'll look like in nine years? I thought I'd at least be more handsome than that Black Wind kid, but I didn't expect it to be like this." The boy said with some disappointment.

"So, what brings you here nine years from now?" the boy asked curiously.

“I know that the star stone you got from Beishan is currently in your pocket, and you plan to have it delivered to Nanyin, right?” Du Lei said bluntly.

"As expected of me, you really know me very well." The boy nodded affirmatively.

“You cannot give the Star Stone to Nan Yin.” Du Lei gave a direct negative answer.

"Why not?" the boy retorted.

"Because if the Star Stone leaves the Western Continent, it will lose its balance, causing the Western Continent to suffer from war in the coming years," Du Lei explained.

"That sounds interesting, but the mainland is ravaged by war, what does that have to do with me?" the boy scoffed.

“You’re right, it really has nothing to do with you now, but you can’t give the Star Stone to Nan Yin.” Du Lei knew himself too well.

Especially at fourteen, he knew that no matter how he tried to persuade him, it would be in vain.

So what he needs to do is actually very simple: just stand here and stop himself.

Because back then, he was just an ordinary boy, but now he is a king-level magic user.

Not to mention stopping him, even getting rid of him would be effortless.

"What, do you want to kill me?" the boy said with a laugh.

“You are me, and I am you. If I kill you, I will die too,” Dure said, shaking his head.

"So you're planning to nail me to the ground here?" the boy frowned.

“Give me the starstone; it has a greater use for me.” Dure held out his hand.

It's really strange that he's asking me for something.

()

858 Two crossings

Although the process was a bit tortuous, Dure finally managed to return to the previous timeline.

The previous timeline was not his original timeline, but rather a return to two years before he obtained the Star Stone.

For him, it was just a moment of dizziness and lightheadedness, and he was soon back in the rustling snow.

He turned to look at the warehouse, where the stove was still burning brightly, and the little boy was huddled up, warming himself by the fire.

Xia Yi was standing opposite him, looking at him somewhat nervously.

"Have you gotten the item yet?" Xia Yi asked immediately, as he was very concerned about the Star Stone.

“That’s right, I’ve got it. It’s really unbelievable that I’ve taken it from my own hands.” Du Lei patted his pockets and nodded.

"Now that you've got the item, hurry up and hand over the Star Stone to me!" Xia Yi said anxiously, his eyes burning with desire.

"Before I hand over the Star Stone to you, I have a question that I wonder if you could answer for me," Dure said slowly.

"What's the problem? Tell me quickly, and I'll tell you everything if I know!" Xia Yi nodded heavily and said.

"I find it strange that you asked me to take back the Star Stone and not hand it over to Nan Yin, so as to avoid an imbalance between the Eastern and Western Continents and cause turmoil, right?" Du Lei carefully reviewed the whole story and asked softly.

“That’s right, that’s exactly it. We absolutely cannot let the East and West continents lose their balance, so it was the right decision for you to take back the Star Stone. Now you can just hand it over to me.” Xia Yi nodded firmly, but at the same time he looked very impatient.

"So here's the problem: I took the star stone from two years in the future and brought it to you two years ago..." Du Lei repeated the sentence.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem? Why are you dawdling like this? Just hand it over to me," Xia Yi urged.

"Haven't you noticed there's a big problem here?" Du Lei asked patiently.

"Problem? What problem?" Xia Yi wasn't quite sure what Du Lei meant by suddenly saying that.

"The problem is that something from two years in the future has come to the past. I obtained this star stone from the Star Stone Chamber in the North Mountain. But now the North Mountain and the Star Stone Chamber still exist. Does that mean there are two star stones here?"

Du Lei seized on this question, squinted at Xia Yi, and asked him in return.

“This…” Xia Yi was stunned for a moment, unsure how to answer Du Lei.

"What, you can't explain why this is happening?" Dure continued to ask.

"That's not it..." Xia Yi said vaguely, but he did indeed sound somewhat evasive.

"Then please explain the situation to me. Why are there two star stones in the same era?" Du Lei asked patiently.

“Didn’t two versions of you emerge in the same era? That’s not surprising, is it?” Xia Yi said, finding an example.

"It sounds like there's nothing wrong with it, but there's a fundamental difference between the two. I can travel through time and go back to the past to see my childhood self. I'm in a state of change, but the star stone is unchanging. The grown-up me is very different from the child me. I think it can be understood that the energy of the child me was weak, so even if two of me existed at the same time, their magic power would not be enough to affect time and space. But the star stone is different. If I can bring the star stone from two years in the future to two years in the past, then can I also bring the star stone from one year in the future to this era? Wouldn't I then have an endless supply of star stones?" Du Lei asked rhetorically.

“This…” Xia Yi was stumped by Du Lei’s question again.

"What, can't you explain this?" Du Lei asked calmly, scrutinizing Xia Yi's eyes.