Chapter 408: Chapter 408: Gu Dan still alive?

“Elder, do you know the origin of this Stone-carved Ancient Book?” Fang Lin asked.

The robed elder shook his head: “The Stone-carved Ancient Book was there since the establishment of the Pill Pole Tower. I don’t know where it comes from. I only know that this book is extraordinary and contains great natural laws, but over the years, no one has been able to comprehend it.”

Hearing this, the look of surprise on Fang Lin’s face deepened, and he reached out to pick up the Stone-carved Ancient Book.

The moment he held it, it felt incredibly heavy. Even though Fang Lin was mentally prepared, he hadn’t expected it to be this heavy. A normal person would not be able to pick it up.

Every character on the Stone-carved Ancient Book was clear but very strange. It seemed as if the characters had been randomly inscribed on it, forming no meaningful content at all, as if it was deliberately filled with indecipherable text.

Fang Lin frowned. How could anyone comprehend this? It was completely incomprehensible.

The robed elder sighed and said, “The content of this Stone-carved Ancient Book is extremely difficult to interpret. I’ve studied it many times, but it’s like trying to unravel a mystery without a clue.”

Fang Lin thought to himself, of course, there were no clues. It was clearly just a bunch of random characters irresponsibly put together with no meaning at all.

But why would someone use Black Erosion Stones to carve such useless characters? Could they have nothing else better to do?

Fang Lin did not believe that anybody would do such a pointless thing. Since these characters were etched on the Black Erosion Stone, they must be hiding something.

With that, Fang Lin became interested. He sat on the ground and began to carefully observe every character inscribed in the stone carving.

The robed elder stood aside, not interrupting him, believing that Fang Lin had the highest talent of anyone to ever enter the Pill Pole Tower and an extremely deep understanding of Alchemy Tao. If anyone could decipher the Stone-carved Ancient Book, it would be him.

However, even the robed elder was not very confident because this Stone-carved Ancient Book was truly abstruse. It might even be beyond Fang Lin’s ability to crack its code.

Leaving aside what the robed elder was thinking, Fang Lin was studying every character keenly.

After a while, Fang Lin frowned even more. Indeed, these were just a bunch of meaningless characters that didn’t make any sense.

Then, Fang Lin tried reading it backward, but the result was the same.

Fang Lin fell silent, set down the Stone-carved Ancient Book, and closed his eyes.

If these characters were meaningless, then the secret of the Stone-carved Ancient Book might be hidden in the Black Erosion Stone itself.

Time slowly passed, and sweat began to form on Fang Lin’s forehead. When he finally opened his eyes, there was a hint of confusion in them.

“Could I really not understand the secret of this Stone-carved Ancient Book?” Fang Lin felt somewhat dissatisfied. As the respected Pill Sovereign, he couldn’t comprehend even a single Stone-carved Ancient Book? It was utterly ridiculous.

Fang Lin became determined, regardless of what secret lay within the Stone-carved Ancient Book, he had to decipher it.

The robed elder stepped back. In his view, Fang Lin was simply making futile efforts. The secret within the Stone-carved Ancient Book probably would never see the light of day again.

Before he knew it, Fang Lin had spent three days trying to understand the Stone-carved Ancient Book. His bloodshot eyes and tired expression betrayed his fatigue.

In three days, Fang Lin had focused all his thoughts on the Stone-carved Ancient Book without harvest, leaving him emotionally drained and fatigued.

The robed elder advised Fang Lin to give up the Stone-carved Ancient Book, but Fang Lin did not heed these words. Although he had not yet understood it, he had a vague feeling that there was a great secret hidden within.

Fang Lin was not the kind to admit defeat. The more challenging the task, the more fired up he would get, and that was exactly what was happening now.

Another ten days passed, and Fang Lin unleashed his Micro Gold Pupil, observing every character on the Stone-carved Ancient Book with meticulous scrutiny.

Finally, Fang Lin noticed something. A few characters on the Stone-carved Ancient Book were distinctly different from the majority.

The difference might be tiny but Fang Lin singled these characters out.

“Ancient, pill, not, perish?” Fang Lin mumbled, deep in thought.

After mumbling for a while, Fang Lin’s expression suddenly became serious, as if he had figured out something.

“Ancient pill not perish? Could it mean a certain ancient alchemy lineage has not yet disappeared? Or an alchemy powerhouse is still alive? Or is it something else?” Fang Lin wondered to himself.

Even though Fang Lin had singled out these four characters, his confusion did not lessen. It grew even more, like a thick fog enveloping him, clouding his way forward.

Fang Lin smiled bitterly, rubbed his temples, and did not look at the Stone-carved Ancient Book again. He stopped thinking about what these four characters stood for.

Just then, a memory flashed through Fang Lin’s mind. In his previous life, when he was at the Pill Saint Palace, he seemed to remember seeing a similar Stone-carved Ancient Book. But at that time, he was new to the Pill Saint Palace, his Cultivation was not yet up to par, and his vision wasn’t high, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Now thinking back, although his memory was vague, Fang Lin remembered that the text recorded on the Stone-carved Ancient Book from the Pill Saint Palace was different from the one before him.

“There seem to be multiple Stone-carved Ancient Books, and perhaps only by finding the others I can uncover the true secret hidden within,” Fang Lin muttered to himself.

Thinking of this, Fang Lin let go of his concerns and put the Stone-carved Ancient Book back to its original place.

“Elder, I give up,” Fang Lin said with a smile.

The robed elder sighed without saying more.

Fang Lin walked out of the stone room and finally entered the second floor of the Pill Pole Tower.

The second floor was not as complex as the first one and was divided into several areas. There was only a grand, old and majestic hall. Inside the hall, there was a gigantic Pill Furnace, several times larger than the ordinary ones.

To his surprise, there were various types of Pill Furnaces hanging in the air throughout the hall. Fang Lin counted and found a total of eighty-one Pill Furnaces, each one emanating a powerful aura.

Fang Lin was stunned. Why were there so many Pill Furnaces on the second floor of the Pill Pole Tower? And what was the gigantic Pill Furnace placed at the hall’s center for?

The robed elder walked in and told Fang Lin, “This place might be a great opportunity for you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Fang Lin asked.

The robed elder smiled slightly: “If your ability and luck are enough, you can take all these Pill Furnaces with you.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Lin’s eyes lit up. “Can I really take them all?”

The robed elder laughed: “Of course, but since ancient times, no one has managed to take all these Pill Furnaces. Even you, I dare say, might find it impossible.”