Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun didn’t know how to describe the world before him, for he had clearly realized that his perception was distorted.

To the human eye, it seemed as if he was placed within an abstract painting, with the entire world appearing abstract, devoid of any reality.

Yet, under the scrutiny of his second-evolved All-knowing Eye, another true world unfolded before him, where he saw the flow of countless chaotic rules.

These rules were untamed and irregular, like all colors of paint swirled together, but not fully blended, becoming complex hues incomprehensible to the mind.

"Faith contamination?"

Su Lun’s brows furrowed deeply, for this was more than just chaotic rules.

The moment he entered this space, he felt as if whispers were in his ears, incessant, instilling in him the urge to prostrate in pilgrimage toward some indescribable existence.

"How strong must that Ancient God have been to leave behind such a dense Power of Faith after so many years?" he pondered.

The light in his eyes twinkled, for he had thought there were no more secrets in the world from him, but upon entering this special space, what he saw was a realm beyond higher order cognition.

The level of incomprehensibility even surpassed the Divine will that he had encountered before in heavenly realms.

However, it was clearly not the time for wild thoughts. Su Lun’s gaze shifted to the sea of blood below, determining it wasn’t seawater but "Corrupted Blood."

It was the liquid formed from the flesh and blood of countless beings buried here eons ago, after their flesh had decayed. It was the filthiest substance Su Lun had ever seen in the world, exuding an energy akin to nuclear radiation from high-order Dark magic power.

To the human flesh, it was simply a deadly toxin!

Su Lun expanded his perception and immediately sensed a terrifying soul fluctuation hidden within the bloody water, as well as that tangible Divine pressure. He thought, "Another false god?"

This was the monster that had slain Mr. Crow numerous times before.

The stronger the monster, the more potent the threads of rules it might contain.

The Dawn Group had come to the God Burial Ground with a purpose in mind, and the stronger the monster, the greater its value from a certain perspective.

...

The monster just so happened to be situated at the seal’s exit. Anyone coming in would surely disturb it.

Su Lun also planned to test just how strong this monster really was.

He raised his hand and with a gesture, not far away, a black crow was summoned amidst the lingering stench of Death.

Yet, the instant Mr. Crow appeared, a pink fleshy tentacle lashed out from the blood sea, "smack," flaying it to pieces like a whip.

Su Lun let out a soft "huh... such keen perception."

It wasn’t just Mr. Crow; the monster had detected even the faint fluctuation from his conjuring, though the funeral shroud concealed his exact location from it.

Yet more fleshy tentacles emerged from the bloody water, flailing wildly at the sky.

Su Lun’s gaze sharpened, realizing this monster was even stronger than the giant false god which had crawled out earlier.

But it wasn’t beyond his capability to deal with.

At that moment, Su Lun unfurled the death shroud, deciding to gauge the monster’s true strength.

In that instant, countless tentacles emerged on the sea surface, wrapped in high-order rules, whipping chaotically through the air.

Su Lun revealed himself, disinclined to tolerate the monster. He raised his hand, and his black scythe slashed wildly, the space in the sky riddled with fissures as dense as a gale, severing the fleshy tentacles into countless fragments.

Perhaps in pain, the bloody water beneath suddenly began to boil.

Watching the rising water surface, Su Lun knew the monster’s true body was about to emerge, that massive soul fluctuation bubbling up from below.

The bloodwater steamed, the air filled with a strong corrosive toxin.

Instantly, the surrounding space ignited, Su Lun’s protectively fierce aura isolating the corrupting air. However, it bizarrely caught fire, flaring up in flames like red gauze: "This monster can actually manipulate the power of rules!"

His pupils contracted slightly, indicating that this creature’s abilities were almost comparable to the demigod from the heavenly realm he had encountered before.

Yet this was just the beginning. In the blink of an eye, the monster had surfaced in the bloody water, and from the portion exposed above the surface, it was evident that the monster was incredibly large.

The black scythe made cuts, but they were only superficial gashes that healed instantly.

The tentacles, like numerous sharp lances, thrust forward.

Normally, the greater the size of the monster, the stronger its combat capability, as their size grants them proportional physical and Magical Power and a formidable vitality.

But their huge size also meant that their agility and Teleportation speed were greatly limited.

Su Lun wasn’t going to indulge the monster. With a pinch of his sorcerer’s seals, flames of Death God’s Fire rose around his body, and the secret technique from [Unborn] allowed him to condense a green sword out of spiritual fire in his hand.

He teleported away from the countless tentacles and headed straight for the head of the monster, where its soul fluctuation was strongest.

In recent years, Su Lun had been contemplating the golden scroll of [High Sage’s Words], and his understanding of the rules of Death had improved vastly. Accordingly, his Death God’s Fire was now much stronger than before. He had encountered no obstacles when slaying ninth level beings before, and now, he did not believe anything within this realm could withstand the scorching flame of the Death God.

As he teleported over and brought the blade down, the monster’s soul immediately caught fire.

Typically, when the Death God’s Fire ignites a soul, it continues to burn the soul completely.

However, before Su Lun could celebrate his victory, the fire consuming the monster’s soul was extinguished!

"Huh... almost condensed into ’Divine Fire’... This false god is indeed strong." Su Lun wasn’t too surprised.

Because this wasn’t the first time he had encountered such a situation. Previously, in the waters of Dragon Country, when he used Death God’s Fire against the higher beings like dragons, he had faced the same issue.

The Death God’s Fire could soul-burn the dragon’s soul, but it couldn’t spread.

That meant he needed to relentlessly burn it, only then was it possible to inflict lethal damage on the monster.

"It’s hard to kill..."

Su Lun murmured to himself, sensing countless tendrils attacking from behind, he teleported once again to increase the distance.

However, although this move didn’t cause fatal damage to the monster, it enraged it; in the instant he created distance, the creature bathed in blood furiously stood up and finally revealed its true body.

Even though Su Lun had seen all sorts of grotesque mutations, the sight of the monster’s form still made his scalp tingle.

It was a humanoid monster, approximately eight hundred meters tall, and its name could be identified.

[Pseudo-God·A Mutation of the Ancient God Gabas’s Blood Tumor]

Explanation: A consciousness spawned from the decay of an ancient god’s corpse, believing itself to be a deity, wielding some chaotic rule powers;

It was as if the flesh, muscles, and bones of a living being were peeled away, and the countless capillaries came to life, congealed into the monster, these countless blood vessels constantly writhing, looking like worms burrowing in and out.

Su Lun couldn’t help but think of the pseudo-god during the previous Lindon disaster, and he sighed inwardly, "How powerful were the ancient gods before, that just a few blood vessels could turn into a pseudo-god monster?"

However, once the monster stood up, Su Lun noticed that its chest was hollow.

Upon closer inspection, there was actually a... miniature universe inside?

Galaxies swirled within the cavernous chest, a mysterious aura hitting him face-on.

Obviously, it wasn’t any sort of universe; it was just that human eyes couldn’t comprehend such a higher-level existence,

With the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun could see that place was a mass of rule threads (1024%)!

This monster contained strands of universal essence amounting to more than ten universes.

Seeing this, Su Lun was overjoyed, feeling as if he had dived straight into a treasure vault. If this monster could be killed, not to mention the free essence, at the very least it could greatly alleviate the alchemical plane’s urgent need for universal essence.

This monster, he must find a way to deal with it.

However, at the moment Su Lun saw it clearly, the monster also launched an attack, the face without facial features suddenly split open and roared.

The unsettling ancient god whispers by his ear suddenly intensified, what was a mere stream transformed abruptly into a series of tsunami waves crashing down.

Su Lun wasn’t unprepared, the shadow of the Death God unfolded behind him, blocking most of the faith-based corruption.

On the other hand, countless tendrils emerged from the sea of blood around him, quickly imprisoning this part of the world.

Su Lun himself was a Puppet Master of the silk thread kind; he certainly wasn’t ignorant of how troublesome this technique was.

His spatial ability sensed in an instant that these tendrils not only physically restrained him, but the rule power they invoked had also sealed the entire space. It was a spatial confinement that transcended the ninth rank.

It could be said, if not for the [Urobolos Space-Time Ring], Su Lun might very well be trapped here to die.

What was more troublesome was that the tendrils didn’t just restrain him, but also enveloped the monster, making it extremely risky to cautiously burn the soul.

Su Lun realized he couldn’t kill the beast on his own and must go out to find reinforcements.

In a flash, his entire being had already vanished.

...

Outside the sealing barrier, Yuta, Mr. Jing, and the members of Dawn were all watching the black hole with tense expressions.

Su Lun had already been inside for several minutes, and everyone felt uneasy.

Suddenly, spatial fluctuations shimmered, and a figure appeared out of thin air.

Everyone visibly relaxed upon recognizing the person.

Mr. Jing asked, "How is it?"

Su Lun replied seriously, "Inside is a special space corrupted from the corpse of an ancient god, the monster is very strong. The ancient god’s whispers have the ability to widely corrupt faith, and can also confine space, its body is huge, and it possesses attacks of a very high-rule level. The environment itself is filled with ’indescribable’ horrors that can cause mental breakdowns upon seeing them..."

Everyone frowned in deep thought as they listened to Su Lun’s high evaluation of the monster.

Just from those simple descriptions, everyone seemed to envision an ineffable beast.

Yet before they could worry any further, Su Lun suddenly changed his tune and added, "However... the rule threads it contains are also very desirable. I estimate, just by killing that beast, we might be able to refine ten pieces of universal essence..."

Ten pieces?

At these words, the Dawn members were all stunned.

Just moments ago, they were concerned about the danger, but now there was a unanimous surge of zeal.

Universal essence, once the alchemical treasure for which rank eight professionals would risk their lives, and now, ten pieces?

Just one monster holding ten pieces, they couldn’t even imagine how much more the God Burial Ground might contain.

Immediately expressing their thoughts in the most direct language, the Dawn members said, "Charge!"

They had all picked up from Su Lun’s detailed explanation that he was in favor of fighting.

Since he dared to say so, there must be some chance of success.

With no dissent, everyone was somewhat unable to resist the impulse to hunt down that monster.

Naturally, that was also Su Lun’s intention.

Mr. Jing glanced over.

Su Lun didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, "Hunting down that monster is well within the capabilities of our Dawn Group at the moment, but the risks are also considerable, and we can afford no mistakes... Once we go in, members below Rank 8 must not look directly at anything; it’s best to strip away their vision..."

He had just about finished testing the strength of the monster.

There was risk, but there was also confidence.

After he explained the situation with the monster, everyone in the Dawn Group began offering ideas and discussing tactics.

...

Before long, the members of the Dawn Group were ready.

A portion remained outside to guard the seal entrance, while the rest ventured into the small void realm.

As usual, Su Lun was the first to enter.

After jumping into the black hole, he came back into that world where the senses were distorted.

Su Lun looked down at the sea of blood below; the place had now become calm. He sensed the nearby soul fluctuations and the monster had hidden itself in the blood water again.

At that moment, he suddenly pulled out a scroll and shouted, "Release!"

Encased within the scroll was a super-large spatial formation, which saved the process of having to gather magicians.

Accompanied by the "boom" of the scroll bursting, and on closer inspection, a colossal ship with black sails sailed out from the void.

Looking at the Dawn banner fluttering atop the mast, it was naturally the Eternal Night Emperor!

Onboard the ship, Mr. Jing, Mr. Hei, and others were already rapidly forming their sorcerer’s seals.

Su Lun wasn’t idle either, wielding a black scythe, cutting indiscriminately below, severing the tendrils attempting to approach the ship.

He had seen before there was no clever way to deal with this monster, it had to be killed by force.

The moment the members of the Dawn Group appeared, the presence of tens of thousands of living beings immediately exploded in this unique space, like cold water dropped into boiling oil, causing the blood water to instantly boil.

However, the members of Dawn were well-prepared.

Pandora had already transformed into a Moon Reader deity, becoming blood-colored moonlight and enveloping the entire ship. The power of the moonlight blocked the pervasive Ancient God’s whispers from all around and stretched out filaments to make contact with the monster’s tendrils, continually extracting the power of faith from within the monster’s body.

Without Pandora, Su Lun wouldn’t have dared bring the Dawn Group into this realm.

While the Ancient God’s whispers had little effect on his vast spiritual power since he was in the Psychic Realm, they were lethal to any other practitioners below Rank 8. Without preparation, they’d almost immediately suffer mental aberrations.

Fortunately, Pandora’s unique existence gave the group the foundation to stand firm in this twisted space.

And there was Yuta!

[Dagda’s Magic Cauldron]shared some similarities with the Heart of Alchemy, providing Yuta with an enduring supply of magic power; and [The Holy Grail of Far] was a purifying relic, capable of cleansing nearly all negative states.

It was this Holy Grail that completely resolved Su Lun’s mental deviation.

Pandora handled the external invasion of faith and various pollutions, while Yuta was responsible for constantly applying group purification to the team members.

This also gave the Dragon Language Magician Group time to perform group formations.

...

In the entire Dawn Group, aside from Pandora, the pseudo-deity, only three people had their eyes open: Su Lun, Mr. Jing, and Mr. Hei.

Unable to comprehend those indescribable chaotic rules, even a single glance could be fatal.

As soon as they came in, Mr. Jing rushed out, transforming into nine avatars, attracting the main body of the monster from the blood water.

And Su Lun was not idle either. With a clench of his sorcerer’s seals, cracks appeared once again in the sky, and on closer inspection, several mechanical octopuses, each with a hundred-meter-long tendrils, suddenly appeared.

Over the years, Dr. Banks’s biological workshop successfully researched giant Titan octopuses with Titan’s bloodline, and the war workshop also used these octopuses to construct a batch of super-large mechanical octopuses.

For dealing with giant monsters, Titan mechanical octopuses were the perfect choice.

In any physical contest of strength, mechanical creatures had considerable advantages.

Especially octopuses, which were near-perfect mechanical creatures.

When the dozen mechanical octopuses hit the water, numerous lumpy tendrils wrapped around them, and the mechanical octopuses similarly entwined.

Each one contending with a part, like nails, they immediately pinned the monster in place.

They were vying for precious time, and the Eternal Night had already landed on the sea of blood. Mr. Hei shouted harshly, "Green Dragon Mystery: Sky-reaching Vines!"

No sooner had his voice fallen than the ten-thousand-strong magician group exerted their power together, scattering a mass of seeds into the sea of blood, which suddenly sprouted and expanded until the sodium salt transformed into green vines.

These parasitic vines needed to draw a great deal of sustenance to grow.

And beneath this sea of blood was all part of the monster’s body, countless huge vines attached to the surface of the monster, drawing its life force, and spreading more and more vines to suppress the monster.

The [Pseudo-Deity·Ancient God Gabas’s Tumor Aberration] didn’t even have time to emerge from the blood water; it was suppressed by countless vines and mechanical octopuses, struggling in vain.

Once confined, Mr. Hei shouted again, "Light Dragon Language Mystery: Holy Light Thorns!"

The ten thousand aboard the ship followed, swiftly changing their sorcerer’s seals, and upon another look, those myriad vines suddenly sprouted countless Holy Light spikes, causing the monster to howl in anguish.

This monster was indeed tricky; its huge size gave it powerful physical attack capabilities, it could release "Ancient God’s Whispers" for large-area psychic attacks, and it had rule-level confinement, with potentially explosive damage... It could be said that any mistake might instantly kill any practitioner below Rank 9.

Yet the coordinated efforts of the Dawn Group members didn’t give it any chance.

Su Lun was not idle. He and Pestoia’s Death God’s Fire surged on their bodies, and they rushed towards the monster’s head emerging from the blood water. The body, whose tendrils were confined, could not effectively stop them and could only watch as Su Lun and Pestoia incessantly burned its soul.

The team’s strength was displayed in all its brilliance at this moment.

The members of Dawn Team coalesced into a single force, unleashing terrifying combat power.

Pandora extracted the Power of Faith, the ten-thousand-member Magician Team grinded flesh and blood, Death God’s Fire scorched souls, and Mr. Jing was all about various mirror reflections. Despite the monster’s strength, it couldn’t withstand such multifaceted damage.

Before long, Su Lun teleported inside the monster’s body, delivering a fatal blow to its soul.

The monster eventually perished, its countless tentacles limp in the pool of blood without a struggle.

...

Above the sea of blood, Su Lun stood suspended in the air, within a giant alchemical Formation glowing brightly.

In the alchemical Formation, the body of the tentacled monster shrank ever smaller as it was refined, impurities stripped away, leaving only the purest strands of elemental laws.

Decay, prophecy, dominion, wisdom, poetry, war, death, famine, gambler, order, myriad, peace, plague, brutality, money, love, healing, elements, bitter cold...

Such strands of laws were distilled one by one.

Now able to discern part of the mysteries atop the laws, Su Lun looked at these threads with deep contemplation flashing in his eyes.

It was as if he had finally understood why in the control of that monstrous entity one could see a "microcosm."

He vaguely grasped some insights: these laws seemed to be the fundamental building blocks of the universe.

In a short time, the refinement was complete.

Su Lun combined some of the earlier fragments, successfully condensing two complete essences: [Cosmic Essence Eighteen: War] and [Cosmic Essence Forty-One: Plague].

The remaining fragments, the most abundant of which was at 91%, needed only a small amount more to condense another complete essence.

There were still many, many fragments left.

In total, the monster provided nearly ten cosmic essences worth of material fragments.

Even the Death Essence that Su Lun himself needed was partially included.

Mr. Jing, seeing the harvest, even his coldly beautiful face revealed a smile of evident relief.

Su Lun shared this good news with everyone from the Dawn Team, and they cheered unceasingly.

In this moment, the sense of accomplishment from the adventure surged in their hearts.

Everyone had the same thought: even with the risks taken, it was worth it.

Their gains from this journey might bring real hope to the Dawn Team, to the entire alchemical civilization.

...

Indeed, it had been proven that Dawn Team’s overall capability had now reached the ceiling of the alchemical plane.

The team’s top combatants were powerful enough to withstand a Demigod undefeated, and the ten-thousand-member Magician Team could handle any situation.

After they exterminated the first troublesome monster, their morale skyrocketed.

The team continued to navigate through this river of blood.

The presence of the living was like a beacon in the dark night, attracting all kinds of monsters.

This situation was not unfamiliar to them, just as once in the Dragon Country Waters, in the cursed space of Hell Dragon Country, the breath of the living would attract monsters to attack proactively.

Normally, such an endless siege would spell doom for any team.

But for Dawn Team, it was not a big problem.

Because they had Su Lun.

They could leave this space anytime, anywhere.

So, far from fearing, the Dawn Team members grew even more courageous with each battle.

After all, the more monsters, the more materials they would have.

The ship sailed on, they fought their way through, encountering all sorts of bizarre and deformed monsters along the way.

This was a distorted world, spawning divine monsters of strange and unusual shapes.

Although they faced a few very troublesome entities along the way, the people of Dawn Team managed to get through each peril without harm.

Su Lun also concocted more and more cosmic essences.

However, just when everyone thought that they would keep slaughtering and refining materials in this strange world until the very end,

Suddenly, they saw a piece of land atop the sea of blood.

And on that land, something jutted out abruptly.

It was a black obelisk.

In this twisted world, the emergence of anything was not strange.

But, the thing was, upon seeing this stele, even Su Lun and Mr. Jing were stunned.

Because on the stele, they saw a signature.

It was the signature left by Sir Isaac himself, a thousand years ago.