Mechanical Alchemist

The Red Robe Grand Magister's physical body was killed, and the crisis of the Dawn Brigade was finally resolved.

Su Lun was in the process of fusing that undead plane fragment, while his comrades began cleaning up the battlefield.

The battle seemed very intense, but the Dawn Brigade suffered almost no casualties. Other than the consumption of ammunition, the biggest loss was the damage to over a dozen high-grade mechanical armors.

However, as long as the fight was won, the problem wasn't too significant.

Su Lun's personal Portable Void Realm was equipped with a war workshop, allowing the damaged mechanical armors to be promptly sent back for repairs. As long as the materials were still available, there was essentially no real loss.

The most important thing was that although many comrades were injured, none had fallen.

That was the best news.

What remained was the process of collecting the spoils of war.

Since there was only one enemy, the process wasn't too troublesome.

The spoils were also very straightforward, consisting only of those endless undead monsters.

The undead creatures on the icy surface looked fierce and terrifying, but they were indeed rare treasures.

The lower-level ones were not very useful, but the high-level ones were quite valuable.

These skeletal remains of the undead had two main uses beyond serving as material for puppet crafting; the most important was providing biological gene samples.

That Red-robed Mage seemed to have some sort of collecting obsession, having amassed far too many diverse undead.

Many were creatures that Su Lun and the others only knew about from ancient texts or mythological legends.

It was impossible to find so many bones of mythical species anywhere else. Even many were unique creatures from different planes, which could not be found throughout the entire Alchemy plane.

Gene samples might be somewhat incomprehensible to others, but to researchers like Dr. Banks who specialize in biological science, they were truly priceless treasures. So much so that he, a researcher who typically stayed in the laboratory year-round, personally took to the battlefield to collect samples with great enthusiasm.

.....

Before long, Su Lun had fused the undead plane fragment into the Portable Void Realm.

However, since it was a fragment capable of generating a thick undead aura, it wasn't suitable for living beings to reside in. He hadn't yet figured out what other use he could put the space to besides placing undead creatures in it, so for now, it was kept isolated.

Su Lun landed on the deck, where everyone greeted him with a smile.

After all, it was a great victory, and everyone was in a good mood.

There were many injured on the deck, and the medical team was attending to them.

Just as he arrived, he saw Captain Barrett, clad in heavy armor, being carried down from the battlefield by a dozen people.

The sight was indeed alarming.

But sensing that Barrett's soul fluctuations were still stable, Su Lun knew his injuries weren't severe and asked, "Captain Barrett, how are you?"

Barrett, lying on an alloy stretcher and peering through the T-slot of his helmet, said self-deprecatingly, "Nothing serious. Just broke two ribs and I'm too exhausted to exert any strength, so I just lay down and let everybody have a good laugh at me."

He was wearing the "Gracie's Dragon Rider Heavy Armor," armor with extremely strong defense but also very heavy, posing a great burden on a seventh-tier strength-based professional.

During the perilous situation, with various bone dragons posing a great threat to the Eternal Night, Barrett had donned the armor using the Burst Qi Technique and fought against numerous enemies, fierce and unmatched.

But after running out of strength, the situation became less favorable.

Once the heavy armor was properly equipped, it could only be removed by him from the inside, and others couldn't help.

That's why he was dug out from a pile of bones and carried back.

Su Lun also laughed when he heard this.

With a ship's doctor to treat the injuries, the problem wasn't too serious.

He then walked towards the bow, where a group of injured members of the Blood Race were located.

The Blood Race, being undead, would continually recover in battle as long as they could feed on blood, so even the most serious injuries were not a major concern.

Unfortunately, this time they encountered a bunch of skeletons with no blood to feed on, effectively counteracting their profession.

Even the eighth-tier "Blood Duke" Wazwas, during that fierce battle, was not lightly wounded.

Luckily, the ship had a reserve blood bank, and now that the battle was over, they could also recover quickly.

After greeting them, Su Lun had already reached the bow.

There, Tanni was seeking guidance on Sword Dao from Bartolo.

In the recent battle, she faced the Skeleton Sword Deity and likely had some revelations.

Su Lun also noticed that after this battle, there was indeed a difference in the Sword Intent emanating from Tanni compared to before.

Those with the talent to comprehend Sword Intent and enter the realm of a Sword Saint are one in ten thousand. Thus, swordsmen of such realm often make breakthroughs and come to new understandings in the midst of suitable battles.

Su Lun himself had only gained a vague understanding of what a "Sword Saint" was after witnessing Bartolo slay the Red-robed Mage up close.

Looking at Qian Tiao, he knew that this gambling-addicted woman seemed to be closer to that state once again.

Su Lun watched the two of them talking and didn't want to interrupt.

But when Qian Tiao saw him, she took the initiative to greet him, "Su Lun, you're here."

"Yeah."

Su Lun nodded.

He then turned to look at Bartolo and said, "I owe a lot to the senior for taking action this time."

Bartolo smiled and shook his head, indicating it was not a big deal, "I just gave a little help."

Su Lun also chuckled.

It wasn't a little help at all, but rather the key strike that reversed the entire battle situation.

But such gratitude was not something that could be expressed in a few words, and he didn't know how to start.

Swordsmen are often straightforward people, not the kind to fuss about.

Su Lun didn't say more.

At this time, Qian Tiao next to him muttered, "Ah, it's a pity that the 'Buddha Slaughter' got away. It truly was an exceptional sword!"

For professional swordsmen, nothing was more attractive than a good sword.

Let alone the 'Buddha Slaughter,' which ranked first among the twelve master craftsmen's blades—one of the best renowned swords of the time.

"Hehe..."

Su Lun laughed.

But he had to admit that even he felt a bit of regret.

He had also been paying attention to the battlefield between Qian Tiao and the Skeleton Sword Deity just now.

The Skeleton, having no flesh and blood, had its strength reduced by at least one or two great levels from when it was alive. But with just the residual state of a Sword Deity and a 'Buddha Slaughter' in hand, it fought Qian Tiao—who now had a terrifying combat strength—to a draw; one could imagine how vastly that sword must have boosted its fighting capability.

After muttering to herself, Qian Tiao hooked her hand around his shoulder and asked, "Su Lun, do you think we'll run into that guy again?"

Su Lun knew she was thinking about that precious sword and said, "We probably will."

Thinking, a flash of sharpness crossed his eyes, and he added, "Perhaps, I think we should take the initiative to look for it."

This time being ambushed, Su Lun felt that the enemy might have some way of tracking their movements, so hiding further would be meaningless.

Moreover, having been ambushed twice in a row, although they won both times, if they did not take some initiative on the battlefield, it would always feel unpleasant.

You don't fear a strong thief, only a persistent one.

If the enemy could find them, they could also find the enemy.

From the first day they arrived in the Dragon Country Waters, the Dawn Group had bombarded and destroyed most of the pirate ships used by the heavenly mages with their cannons. And at that time, Dr. Banks had placed biological markers on the remaining vessels, ensuring they could always keep track of the enemy's movements.

"Really?!"

Upon hearing this, a gleam immediately sparked in Qian Tiao's eyes.

Su Lun nodded.

Just as they were discussing this, Dr. Banks came over, clearly exhilarated, holding several test tube samples and laughed, "Hahaha... Su Lun, we have made a big discovery this time."

He was already deformed, and his face, which resembled that of an insect, looked particularly strange.

Su Lun, who had never seen the composed Dr. Banks so excited, asked, "Doctor, was the discovery that significant?"

"More than significant?"

Excitement was barely contained in Banks' voice as he explained, "I just did a preliminary examination of several high-level undead samples' genes, and I found their gene sequences to be terrifyingly intact! This means that many of these undead are indeed legitimate mythological species..."

"???"

Upon hearing this, both Bartolo and Qian Tiao were clearly baffled.

One had never been exposed to genetic biology, while the other knew of it but didn't understand it at all.

Yet Su Lun did understand.

He also vaguely realized that the discovery might be even greater than he had anticipated.

Qian Tiao, who always asked when she didn't understand, pointed to the skeletons on the ice and directly asked, "Doctor, are these skeletons of any great use?"

"Yes!"

Dr. Banks elucidated, "It turns out that a significant reason why those mythological civilizations' gods were powerful is based on the genetic chains. The more powerful the individual, the more intact their gene link, like the dragon race, which has twelve more gene links than ordinary humans! And the gene links of every era's creatures become somewhat incomplete due to environmental reasons. Compared with beings from mythological civilizations, we modern ordinary humans are missing many 'powerful genes.' In the field of Alchemy, there is an ultimate topic where Alchemists believe that the truth lies at the very beginning with the creator, the origin of everything. Genes are like a tree that branches and spreads; the genes of ancient beings are the trunk, and we are already the fine leaves at the very end. If the gene links are sufficiently intact, we too could have the power of ancient humans. I even think that becoming a deity is a process of genetic reversion to a certain extent. Now that we have this batch of precious samples, it can provide enough material support for my research topics..."

As he excitedly rattled off a series of professional terms, Qian Tiao and Bartolo not only failed to understand but looked even more confused.

Dr. Banks immediately realized that what he had said seemed a bit too abstract for the layman, so he directly addressed the practical application of biotechnology, saying, "Simply put, given these gene sequence samples, our lab might experience a major breakthrough in genetic potions without any surprises!"

At this revelation, Qiān Tiáo suddenly came to an enlightened understanding, showing a look of anticipation, "Doctor, are you saying that the 'Dragon Potion' might see a breakthrough?"

"Not only that."

Dr. Banks smiled and shook his head, his voice filled with hope as well.

He said, "These undead creatures possess complete genes from the Mythological Era. Our lab now has the mature technology to extract and create genetic potions. In the near future, we will have not only 'Dragon Bloodline Potions' and 'Titan Bloodline Potions', but also 'Behemoth Potions', 'Griffon Potions', 'Dark Elf Potions'... and so on! By then, we will be able to mass-produce various bloodline genetic potions suitable for the group members! And, these bone gene sequences are very complete, so the potion effects will be excellent, even allowing us to revert to the Mythological Era's demigod bloodline level."

"Demigod bloodlines?!"

Su Lun felt an immense excitement upon hearing this.

A demigod bloodline... that's the equivalent of having an extra A or B-grade talent!

Previously, there was a significant issue with genetic potions, that being individual tolerance varied so much that many people didn't see great effects.

Like when Su Lun initially fused with the "X Potion", not only was it risky, but the effects weren't as good as those of Number Nineteen.

But now, Dr. Banks's new discovery had thoroughly resolved this problem.

The fundamental reason for the fusion's poor effects was the lack of choice.

As long as there are enough types of potions to choose from, there will always be one that suits oneself!

And among those undead, there were many mythological species samples.

With this, in the future, perhaps every member of the Dawn group might have various demigod bloodlines, which would lead to an extremely exaggerated enhancement in combat power.

Just the thought of it was incredibly exciting.

Qiān Tiáo, who had been listening on the side, finally understood and was instantly energized.

Even the usually composed Old Sword God Bartolo's eyes were filled with anticipation.

Potionology was an important branch of Alchemy, but the bloodline potions of the past relied on ancient formulations to improve bloodlines, and whether one could integrate them was up to chance. And now, we can systematically research and mass-produce bloodline potions targetedly?

He felt a profound sense of awe, Alchemy had evolved to such an extent in today's world.

...

Several days later.

On the endless expanse of the sea, a giant black sail ship was sailing at a steady pace.

Although this was a route once traversed by the Black Sam Pirate Crew nearly thirty years ago, the current situation had greatly diverged from the information Bartolo had.

After entering the range of the Old Dragon Kingdom Ruins, the air became increasingly suffused with the miasma of Hell, and encounters with monsters became more frequent and formidable.

The battles had also been quite frequent these past few days.

But thankfully, the combat prowess of the Dawn group was not weak, and with Tanni and his mother's perceptive abilities, they had managed to avoid extremely dangerous areas and sailed through without any accidents.

During the rare moments of calm, Su Lun stayed in the captain's cabin, focused on studying the secret technique known as "Death God's Fire."

At that moment, he was holding a newly acquired golden scroll, while comparing it against the several dozen volumes of cultivation insights from that Red-robed Mage's storage ring, completely engrossed in his research.

It was as if he were enchanted, reading while muttering to himself, pondering something.

Indeed!

Just the cultivation insights alone amounted to dozens of volumes!

This Soul Secret Technique had been passed down for over a thousand years in the Divine Plane, and every generation of Mages that had obtained this technique before the Red-robed Mage had their own understanding. They recorded their lifetime insights into texts for future generations.

This is what inheritance means.

With these cultivation insights, those who came after would have a much easier time.

The high-ranking Magicians in the Divine Plane all belonged to ancient and powerful inheritance systems, which was why they had such a prosperous magic civilization.

Finally, after a long time, Su Lun emerged from his focus with a slight sigh, "It's really hard to get started with..."

After all, it was Divine Arts, and the threshold for entry was extremely high.

If it weren't for his own comprehension of Death laws having already reached a very high level, someone else, even with those insights for guidance, most likely couldn't understand what the secret technique recorded on this golden page was.

Su Lun remembered Mr. Jing once saying that high-level languages like Divine Tongue and Dragon Tongue contained high-level laws, meaning they are not just literal.

The secret technique recorded on this golden scroll was interpreted by some deity from their original "Words of the Exalted" golden page, then rewritten in a simpler expression to pass on to their mortal followers.

But because the technique directly connects to the divine level, it remains very profound.

For those who haven't reached that realm, the only way to understand it is to complicate it until it becomes something they can grasp at their own level.

A thousand people might derive a thousand different interpretations.

This was the origin of those dozens of volumes of cultivation insights.

Su Lun didn't dwell on it any further.

Cultivating this soul Divine Art was not an overnight endeavor.

He closed the tome and tried to condense the secret technique. His soul converged, and a wisp of pale green flame emerged.

Looking at the small flame, he murmured with a hint of anticipation, "The 'Soul Fire' indeed can be controlled with the secret technique of 'Flame Control' from [Invisible Servitude]..."

The flame was weak, vastly different from the surge of flame from that red-robed mage.

But differently, Su Lun could control this flame.

Having carefully read the [Death God's Fire] secret technique, he discovered that there were similarities with [Invisible Servitude].

Back then, when he stripped a portion of the ninth-tier master Pierre's Soul Shard, he now had a profound understanding of this secret technique.

So this attempt came naturally to him.

It also meant that when he mastered [Death God's Fire] in the future, his combat capability would be even more terrifying than that red-robed mage.

It wouldn't just be passive splash damage from being hit; he could actively attack using the secret technique of [Invisible Servitude], undoubtedly another powerful move.

But that day was still far off, so Su Lun just looked forward to it.

As he was trying, intending to delve further into the details, he suddenly sensed something and looked up toward the cultivation room next to the captain's cabin, murmuring inquisitively, "Did it work?"

Three days ago, after Dr. Banks received those undead genetic samples, he quickly achieved results. Although the mass production of the dragon bloodline potion had not been fully solved, he managed to create a potion enhancing affinity toward the dragon bloodline specifically for Tanni!

That way, Tanni would be able to merge with the [Isaac's Dragon Pattern Golden Body - Thunder Dragon] prosthesis.

Tanni had been in seclusion for these three days, fusing with the prosthesis.

Sensing the subtle movements in the room next door, Su Lun guessed what was happening.

Just then, with a "click," the door opened and Tanni walked out.

When Su Lun saw the anomalies on her, his gaze narrowed slightly.

At that moment, Tanni was enveloped in a layer of purple light, with tiny lightning serpents flickering and darting about.

Upon closer inspection, the exposed skin looked as if it were covered in a dense layer of runic armor. Those purple runes connected into large swathes, forming a visible thick layer of defense akin to dragon scales.

Su Lun asked, "Sister Tanni, did you successfully merge?"

Tanni slightly raised her eyebrows and nodded, saying, "Hmm. Quite smoothly."

Su Lun inquired further, "How do you feel about the prosthesis?"

Tanni squinted, glancing at the dragon scale runes on her arm, and replied, "Very strong!"

After contemplating for a moment, she added, "I feel that with this prosthesis, even without breaking through to Sword Saint Realm, I might be able to fight at the eighth tier."

Hearing this, Su Lun's eyes brightened as well.

Fusing with each tier of prosthesis signified a significant enhancement for an alchemist.

According to Old Sword God Bartolo's trial experience, this prosthesis could multiply one's physical strength several times over!

Moreover, when he first merged, there were no Bloodline Potions, so he chose to forge a prosthesis from a very faint-blooded wyvern, with a grade around Gold.

But what Tanni merged with was the legendary prosthesis of a pure-blooded giant dragon!

However, the greater surprise came afterward when Tanni, having just spoken, paused and added, "Also... after merging with the prosthesis, I think I've glimpsed the mysteries of 'Supreme Body' at the eighth tier."

"..."

Listening, a twitch appeared at the corner of Su Lun's eye, but soon his heart leapt with joy.

He had heard from Tanni before that she had some insights, but he didn't expect her to have signs of breakthrough right after merging with the prosthesis.

This was indeed good news.

If Tanni could smoothly advance to the eighth tier, Dawn Group's top-tier combat strength would surge significantly.

Besides, she was now half a step into the Sword Saint Realm. Once she firmly established herself, her sword skills would become all the more terrifying.

Even Old Sword God Bartolo had personally stated that once she advanced, she would undoubtedly stand at the pinnacle of the Sword Dao of her era, likely finding few rivals within the eighth tier.

All of a sudden, Tanni grew significantly stronger, though she appeared very calm.

After talking to Su Lun for a bit, she walked back into the room and directly took off the Sword Dao robe she hadn't changed for three days, heading to the bathroom while casually saying, "I'm going to take a bath."

"Mhm."

Su Lun watched her graceful figure, smiling faintly.

At this moment, over the Rakshasa tattoo on her back, a layer of lightning runes emitted a barely visible light, exuding a fierce aura!

She was like the Rakshasa Woman, coming from hell.