Chapter 63: Wizard Era, Babylon Hanging Gardens!

Li Shengjiang logged off from outside, took off his VR glasses, attended to his physical needs, and then went online to post.

After an hour of heated discussion, he finally logged directly into the game.

“I’ve settled it with them,” he thought. “Every hour, which is four years in-game, I’ll log off for one minute. Those medical researchers will leave comments on the post, detailing their research progress, what they need me to do in the other world, what plants to investigate, and what kind of research cooperation is needed—everything will be handled through that post.”

“We’ll communicate once every four years. I hope that with the collective intelligence of countless modern netizens, I can find a solution in the other world.” Li Shengjiang thought this, then silently put on his VR glasses.

Whoosh.

He opened his eyes to a magnificent palace chamber.

For Li Shengjiang, his forty-plus years of life felt too short. It was as if this vibrant alternate world, where he was Grantham, the Alchemy Emperor who dominated an era, living a glorious and brilliant wizard’s life, was his true self.

“Since I’ve already conquered the world, I can now uninhibitedly do what I like.”

What did he like?

Farming, of course.

Year 415 of the Babylonian Kingdom.

Grantham, the Alchemy Emperor, began to dedicate himself to developing alchemy.

He worked diligently and made great efforts to govern. He was the most ambitious and strategic monarch in human history, committing no atrocities.

He was valiant and exceptionally charming.

He pioneered the construction of alchemical machinery, furthered the development of alchemical pharmacology, and established the “Babylonian Wizard Academy” and the “Char Royal Academy for Orc Wizards.”

Within the wizard academy system, he established three fundamental wizardry disciplines: alchemy, potions, and general wizardry.

Furthermore, every three years, witch mentors would lead students to neighboring kingdoms for inter-academy competitions, which served to allocate academy resources.

Almost every session produced exceptionally powerful and peerless witch prodigies who led their respective eras. They then entered the royal palace, becoming ministers of the kingdom, serving the great Alchemy Emperor, and heeding his teachings.

He also abolished slavery, advocating for equality among all beings. Moreover, he intentionally began protecting giant beasts, encouraging witches to reduce their hunting of magical creatures and giant beasts, thereby safeguarding ecological civilization and preventing species from becoming endangered.

He was deeply passionate and sincere, and as an invincible monarch of his time, he was regarded as a dream lover by countless women. Even numerous beautiful and talented witches from the wizard academies secretly fell for him, yearning to be his lover.

Yet, the Alchemy Emperor silently guarded seven slumbering young witches, researching alchemical potions in an attempt to prolong their lives.

Great, valiant, mysterious, invincible, and deeply affectionate.

The achievements of the Alchemy Emperor's reign were too numerous to count. Countless people composed historical odes in praise of this great monarch!

Year 422 of the Babylonian Kingdom.

Alchemical magic patterns and totem spell formations were fully perfected, ushering in an era of alchemical explosion. Geniuses from the wizard academies emerged endlessly, their brilliance like countless stars in the sky.

In the same year, the wizardry book *Gate of Truth* was published.

The Great Creator once said that humanity is called a wise species because it can utilize tools!

Wizards represent the exploration and pursuit of truth; give me endless knowledge, and I can move the entire world!

These two sentences, from the opening of *Gate of Truth*, an alchemical book crafted by Grantham, the Alchemy Emperor, thereby completely established the civilization's foundation for the wizarding world.

Year 423 of the Babylonian Kingdom.

The Alchemy Emperor led generations of alchemical witch prodigies from the wizard academies to collectively create the world-class wonder, Adolph.

This was a colossal alchemical giant, as vast as a mountain.

Thirty thousand slimes served as its eternal power source. Adolph the giant, wielding a massive iron shovel, constantly dug through the surface, exploring to the very end of the underground.

It seemed like a true living being, massive and majestic like a mountain. Every day, countless witches would bring cartloads of "food" and "meat" for the alchemical giant to consume.

Three years later.

On the surface of the Charles Grand Canyon, a spectacular abyssal black hole, a hundred meters in diameter, began to appear.

The depths of this endless underground pit constantly vibrated. It was fearfully referred to by the people in nearby towns as the "Tartarus" Alchemical Demonic Den. In their native language, "Tartarus" symbolized dark engulfment and unspeakable dread.

“Such a terrifying giant, tirelessly digging through the ground every day, causing such a terrifying pit to appear on the surface!”

“The great Alchemy Emperor has, in recent years, reached unprecedented alchemical heights. The giant eats and digs ceaselessly, almost like a deity. If witches didn't regularly replace its worn-out parts, we would surely believe it to be a truly living giant!”

Such miracles were simply astonishing among the people of Babylon.

Xu Zhi was speechless about this.

Previously, this fellow created five or six tentacles in his sandbox courtyard, frantically digging holes to mine. He surprisingly returned to his old ways, starting to frantically dig holes in the ground again.

Some habits die hard.

The mysterious and exquisite Babylonian Royal Palace.

On both sides stood totem pillars intricately carved with magic patterns. A soft light filtered down from the pristine white dome.

High in the oval-shaped hall, on a white, ornate throne, sat a tall, handsome man, three meters in height.

His physique was like a Greek statue, as perfect as a Norse god. His gaze was profound, and he sighed softly.

“In ancient times, the great Sumerian Hero-King Gilgamesh explored the edges of the entire world, and it was he who told us that our world is round like the sky and square like the earth. However, while he explored the four cardinal directions, he did not explore the upper and lower extremes.”

“Today, it falls to me, Grantham, the Alchemy Emperor of the Babylonian era, to completely refine humanity's understanding of this world. Humanity's recorded history is a history of courage and hymns; it records the bravery of our ancestors as they struggled and explored nature!”

“Let me be that ancestor.”

The witch ministers below held their breath.

This was a historic moment; no praise could adequately describe the majesty of this being!

This was a glory the Babylonian Kingdom had never before witnessed.

The current prosperity of Babylon had reached the peak of its civilization's history, fully rivaling the ancient, fleeting, yet brilliant Sumerian era.

Their king, with his grand vision and talent, was in no way inferior to Gilgamesh of old!

A moment later, a strikingly beautiful young woman in a wizard's robe appeared at the palace entrance and walked into the grand hall.

She knelt slightly, her expression solemn, holding her staff with fervent devotion. “Our great King of Babylon! Alchemy Emperor! Lord of the Wizarding World! Adolph has already explored the limits of the surface for us. This land is thirty thousand zhang deep, and beyond that is the end of the underground; no further excavation is possible.”

This sandbox world, this land, had naturally been set with geographical boundaries by Xu Zhi. One could not walk out of the sandbox from any direction, and naturally, one could not dig through the ground.

“Thirty thousand zhang?”

A long sigh echoed through the royal hall, followed by a soft murmur.

“The underground has an end, so what about the sky?”

He tilted his head back from the throne, his eyes deep and distant, as if gazing through the palace walls into the endless azure sky beyond.

“The heavens must be mysterious and unknown! The gods reside there. When the three witches of old withered, Mercury, the God of Wisdom, descended from the heavens, bringing three great miracles: the Stele of Flowers, the Scented Blood Rain, and the Elegy of Fate.”

“Today, you shall ascend to the heavens with me to seek the legendary land of the gods, ‘Achilles.’ We will pay homage to the gods of the sky and thank them for their blessings upon the people of the earth!”

Achilles, in the Babylonian language, meant: the dwelling place of the gods.

“Scribe.”

“At your service.” A woman in a stunning, deep-crimson wizard's robe stepped forward.

“Record everything before us in the history I commissioned, *The Spear of Flourishing Witchcraft*: Year 428 of the Babylonian Kingdom: Grantham, the Alchemy Emperor, utilized the nation's full might to construct the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, aspiring to reach the highest heavens and present himself before the gods!”

He murmured softly, giving his staff a slight shake.

Ripples spread across the ground.

The entire royal palace began to shake in response.

RUMBLE!

Over countless years, the Babylonian Royal Palace had long since been converted into a war airship. It was even larger than the one he had previously used.

It was another terrifying, unprecedented alchemical creation. Driven by thirty thousand slimes, it was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a world-class wonder comparable to "Adolph."

CLANK, CLANK, CLANK!

The entire Babylonian Royal Palace, with its numerous building complexes intertwined with flowers, plants, and trees, rose from the ground and soared into the sky, shooting straight towards the heavens.

It was constructed entirely from the white bones of giant beasts and solid timber. It resembled a colossal J-20 fighter jet.

On its back were countless exquisite buildings and palace complexes. Its streamlined fuselage and twin wings formed a graceful, fish-like shape. The main royal palace itself was located at the front, in the position of the cockpit.

“Oh my heavens, what is that!”

“That's the entire Babylonian Royal Palace.”

“It's actually flying!”

On the ground, the colossal airship's shadows, vast enough to block out the sun, cast darkness. Countless people poured out into the streets, looking up.

Inside the massive cockpit.

“Let me see what kind of world lies above the sky.”

Li Shengjiang sat on the throne, holding a wooden staff, exuding immense majesty, his gaze lowered.

“Oh, native gods of this alternate world, you must be very surprised to see the airship I've built, right? Who knows, my wisdom might even be valued! Perhaps I'll ascend to godhood, ignite my divine flame, and become Grantham, the Alchemical God who controls the world!”

Before him stood a group of beautiful witch ministers.

These traditional witches were the strongest geniuses of their age. The women, wearing deep-crimson wizard court robes and mysterious Babylonian crests on their chests, their fair, shapely legs partially revealed, were stunningly beautiful and pure. Holding their staffs, they stood respectfully side by side before the king.

“Li Shengjiang, you've gone too far! As a transmigrator to a wizarding world, instead of properly practicing alchemy, researching potionology, or curing my illness, you've gone and built such a massive airship, intending to take the Babylonian ministers to the highest heavens to seek the gods? Are you looking for ‘Achilles,’ the legendary dwelling place of the gods in your Babylonian folklore?”

Xu Zhi happened to step out of his warehouse.

He took out a high-power electric fan he had bought, a strange smile on his face. “So rambunctious! It seems you, much like the speeds on Mount Akina, haven't yet been knocked down a peg by society!”