Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun had previously fought with that ninth-tier Thunder Magician and understood the man's strength all too well.

Among the ninth-tier Sages of Law in the divine realm, he was outstanding, mastering thunder magic to near human limits without any weaknesses.

Even if Su Lun wanted to kill him now, it wasn't certain he could succeed.

However, unexpectedly, he was slain by a single stroke of the sword.

Although Su Lun had helped with restraining control, the fact that this slash broke through the [Thunder God Protection] was still a great surprise to him.

"Realm of slicing through laws... Sister Qian Tiao's sword realm is even more outrageous than Senior Bartolo,"

Upon looking again, Su Lun saw that far in the distance, Qian Tiao's Rakshasa Golden Body shone brilliantly.

At this moment, her natural talent, [Rakshasa Woman], was no longer just a phantom. She had truly transformed into a golden-bodied Rakshasa. Her skin seemed to be cast in gold lacquer, flames flared from her hair, with two heads and six arms, one face fierce and wrathful like a terrifying deity, the other filled with compassion and sorrow like a Rakshasa. Her body was surrounded by a domineering aura, standing in the void, the three magatama thunder drums behind her golden body drawing in a tumultuous convergence of thunder elements around her, creating an expansive field of malevolent thunder.

It was this terrifying control of thunder and lightning that caused the Thunder Magician to stiffen for an instant before he was slashed.

In her six-armed form, Qian Tiao held a sword in each hand, her left wielding the [Ghost Maru Bai Mokuzo Masayoshi] with white demonic qi steaming around it. As she drew the blade, it was as if thousands of demons were unleashed; in her right hand, the number one Famed Sword of the twelve artisans, [Buddha Butcher], mixed golden and crimson qi. It was both Buddhist and demonic, both righteous and evil, barely transcending the mortal realm.

With this golden body form, she looked like a deity guarding the gates of hell.

After that sweep of the sword came the vision of the gates of hell wide open.

"A physical manifestation of the sorcerer's seals?"

Seeing this scene, Su Lun thought of a secret divine technique from Mountain Hermit country.

This was a rare vision that occurred only when certain deities descended to the world.

Qian Tiao's current might was many times stronger than two years ago.

"It seems Sister Qian Tiao has truly grasped something incredible in the Netherworld Sea..."

Joy filled Su Lun's heart as well.

Through the All-knowing Eye, he saw deeper aspects behind this physical manifestation, which described a special rule governing the Yellow Springs Hell.

The descriptions from Qian Tiao over the past few days hadn't impressed him much, but now seeing it firsthand, he realized just how extreme the Sword God realm she had traded her life for these past two years was.

...

Qian Tiao started with her strongest state of triple unraveling, as their main target for this ambush was not the ninth-tier Thunder Magician, but the demigoddess Octavia.

This Grand Princess of the divine realm watched as her servant was slain, the expression on her proud face momentarily stiffening.

She never imagined that her servant would be killed in just one encounter.

Noticing Qian Tiao's form as the Rakshasa Golden Body, Octavia's brows furrowed. She felt a lethal threat from the domineering sword intent.

However, her surprise was fleeting, and she sneered in her heart, "So the Alchemy realm was hiding such a master after all. No wonder they dared to ambush..."

Now with divine power on her side, she believed herself invincible in this realm no matter what her opponents did.

But what followed shocked the half-god of the divine race.

Su Lun and his companions must have been fully assured to dare an ambush.

They had certainly considered that this person would eventually summon the will of a deity to descend.

A demigod combined with the descending will of a True God would indeed be invincible in the Alchemy realm.

But what if the descent was interrupted?

When Su Lun released the bidirectional worm in the realm passageway earlier, he had carefully observed how the will of the deity descended. He discovered that the descent of a god had a direct relationship with the "Power of Faith."

So...what if the faith was disrupted?

In theory, this cross-realm connection was like the wireless signal of a communicator, which could definitely be interfered with if the correct method was found.

Although Grand Princess Octavia summoned the will of the deity instantly, to Su Lun and his companions' surprise, the outcome was the same.

Just then, strands of red streaked across the sealed pitch-black sky, and in a blink, an eerie red moon was suspended overhead.

The light from this red moon bathed the entire sealed space in blood-red, and most strangely, it suppressed the divine light emanating from Octavia's body.

Where previously there had been an ineffable will descending, it now flickered unstably as if the signal was being interfered with, and the divine light on her body flared and dimmed erratically.

Octavia felt this change and her expression darkened sharply as if she had seen something unbelievable, "These natives have interfered with my faith and divine power?!"

Realizing this, her gaze fiercely turned to the red moon in the sky, a vertical pupil on her forehead shining with bright blue light, already seeing through something, "A heretical false deity?"

Hmph!

With a cold snort, Octavia's vertical pupil shot out a light of decomposition, puncturing a huge hole in that red moon.

[Grand Unraveling] could decompose everything!

However, after the red moon was pierced, the skies filled with blood-colored ribbons dancing wildly as if obeying a softly uttered command, "Tsukuyomi - Lunar Divine Path!"

Looking again, another red moon had formed nearby.

The great god Tsukuyomi was not so easy to kill.

From their journey to the God Burial Ground, not only Su Lun and his companions gained much, Pandora, the false deity, gained the most!

That place was filled with remnants of shattered Power of Faith, all of which she absorbed.

In terms of divine power, Pandora might well be the most formidable among the false deities of the realm.

Moreover, as long as her divine vessel remained unbroken, she could not be killed; being pierced by this divine eye meant, at most, a loss of some divine power.

Octavia, seeing her strike fail, her eyes sharpened as she already saw through everything.

In an instant, divine power converged in her hands into a dazzling light, suddenly transforming into a sword and a shield; two divine artifact projections.

In her left hand was "Puni's Holy Sword of Light," and in her right, the "Shield of Purity"!

With both divine artifacts in hand, she transformed into a stream of light and rapidly slashed towards the red moon in the sky.

Only divine power could better deal with false gods!

Although she did not know how the power of faith was stolen, the power of a true god was not something these false gods could withstand.

However, just as the holy light was about to touch the red moon, a bolt of lightning had already intercepted it midway.

With a loud "boom," holy light, thunder, space... various terrifying chaotic rules turned into shockwaves, instantly sweeping across the entire space.

This strike was definitely beyond the ninth tier!

The two figures in the void touched and immediately withdrew. On a closer look, the Rakshasa Golden Body's body sparkled with a thousand thunders. She took Octavia's strike head-on without being at a disadvantage.

Intercepted, Octavia's face darkened, "Strange, how can she be so strong..."

She never imagined there could be such a powerful expert in the Alchemy dimension.

No, experts of this level are impossible to cultivate in a low-level dimension like the current Alchemy dimension!

The will of the gods descended, and in fact, She had already recognized who the Rakshasa Woman was, but the level from a few years ago in the Dragon Country Waters was not impressive enough to warrant further attention, not expecting to see her become so strong now.

You cannot raise a big fish in shallow water, such experts have already touched the limit of the Alchemy dimension's rules, and under normal circumstances, shouldn't appear.

Could she be from a higher dimension?

But before she could ponder further, Qiantiao (Rakshasa Woman) had once again turned into lightning, sending a tyrannical sword qi slashing towards her.

The red moon in the sky grew more eerie, and the power of faith was being stolen more fiercely, like a dam breach.

Mr. Jing was also busy. At the same time as Pandora and Qiantiao made their move, she also freed up her hands, changing her technique once more: "Alchemy Secrets of the Dark Ouroboros!"

As this magician concentrated, the dark elements in the space started to flow like sticky tar, forming into a giant serpent, biting its own tail, creating a special inner circulatory barrier.

Sir Isaac once captured a Fallen Angel, a true god, and he had no shortage of methods to limit the gods.

And as Sir Isaac's daughter, how could Mr. Jing not know those methods?

"Pitch Night Seal" alongside the "Dark Ouroboros," one seals and one transforms, was an excellent combination for restraining any divine power.

The two techniques, using alchemy's law of equivalent exchange, trapped all energy within the sealed space.

It's like stewing meat in a big pot; even the toughest meat will soon soften in the pot.

No matter what method the enemy used, the released energy would be converted into dark energy, and then backlash against them!

Octavia, embroiled in battle, evidently noticed this trap, her expression growing uglier by the moment.

She had the "Shield of Purity," impervious to all laws; she also had "Puni's Holy Sword of Light," indestructible; and the Eyes of a Heavenly God, seeing through all things!

Originally, the intelligence on the Alchemy dimension only included two ninth-tier individuals, and even if ten or eight more ninth-tier individuals were to come, they could not have stopped the Divine Descending Technique.

But regrettably, there arrived a few such troublesome beings.

And it seems as though these individuals' cooperation specifically counters the Divine Descending Technique.

Octavia, now besieged, knew that continuing like this would spell great trouble, her face covered in coldness as she bellowed, "Divine Arts·Holy Light Illumination!"

In an instant, divine power burned, and her presence surged tenfold, the holy light from her body bursting forth like the light of a great sun, so piercing that it forced people to avert their eyes.

For a moment, holy light dispelled the endless darkness, reaching the edges of the barrier, the thick vines burning.

In terms of realm alone, she, a demigod, was higher than anyone present, including Su Lun!

Now with her divine power burning and her strength soaring, there was no way she could lose!

At this moment, Octavia had discarded the idea of swiftly killing the few Alchemy natives in front of her. She wanted to break free from this sealed space first.

However, she forgot about one person!

She wanted to escape, but found her soul restricted within the range of that ancient bronze lamp, and when she tried to use "Flash" to teleport, she discovered that the entire space was like it had been cast with molten iron, completely negating instant movement.

If it were just one type of measure, she could have found a way to counter it, but this series of restrictions had already countered her various abilities at every turn, leaving her with no opportunity whatsoever.

Besides, there was no way Su Lun and the others would let her struggle free from her bonds!

...

"Hehe, burning divine power to escape? How could we possibly let you get away!"

From the corner, Su Lun's second stage of the All-knowing Eye had already seen through everything.

Although the Grand Princess was in an extreme state, just like a raging state, as long as they survived this peak wave, the longer it dragged on, the lower her chances of winning.

Yet a demigod expert burning divine power was already beyond any power scale known to the Alchemy dimension.

Su Lun also had no idea what would happen next.

The moment he saw Octavia burning her divine power, his intuition told him that methods below the level of godhood may not keep her, so he immediately concentrated a technique, using the "Urobolos Space-Time Ring" to weld shut the space within this sealed area!

In the current situation, only this Divine King artifact had a one hundred percent certainty of restraining her!

This almost amounted to the entire Alchemy dimension putting all their chips on a single bet; they must kill Octavia here!

Now that this woman was held back by Qiantiao and the nine Mr. Jings, where could she find the opportunity to deal with him?

Su Lun finally had the space to unleash his attacks.

He didn't waste any time. As he restricted the space, his hands rapidly formed the sorcerer's seals, while behind him, the eight-armed spider spear had already pulled out several scrolls.

The scrolls "pop pop pop" burst open, and in an instant, over a hundred thousand gargoyles had already appeared throughout the space.

In the sky, a colossal cross instantly took shape.

With only one enemy currently, the gargoyles didn't require complex manipulation. They acted like the foundation of an alchemy array, just needing to stand firmly and attack.

Controlling a hundred thousand at once wasn't too great a problem for Su Lun.

In the blink of an eye, runes lit up on the dense mass of gargoyles.

The output capability of more than a hundred thousand gargoyles working together was no weaker than that of a dozen ninth-tier professionals!

Su Lun commanded the puppet army to conjure alchemy comparable to ninth-tier might and bombarded the blinding entity in the sky that resembled the sun.

Su Lun, Mr. Jing, and Qiān Tiáo were all very familiar with each other, and their teamwork was extremely tacit.

The three of them, attacking Princess Oktaavia with a barrage, turned the sealed space into a battlefield where sword qi shot in all directions and a multitude of curses and Divine Arts were cast as if they cost nothing.

The vast space resembled a sealed nuclear explosion site, where high-tier rules and the powers of law were thrown into disarray.

The battle was like a meat grinder. In such an intense fight, an ordinary ninth-tier professional wouldn't last even a moment before being pulverized.

It had to be admitted that this Magic God of the divine realm, burning her Divine Power, was absurdly strong.

So strong that perhaps no matter how many ninth-tier fighters came, they couldn't "invincibly" kill her.

But killing Su Lun and the others was impossible for her too.

Although Mr. Jing's mirror duplication ability was somewhat weaker in offensive power, his self-preservation was exceptionally strong, with an even chance of survival even against a demigod;

Qiān Tiáo was already a ninth-tier Sword Saint, and she had a record of slaying demigod monsters in the Netherworld, so although this one was a bit different, she definitely wouldn't be defeated in a short time;

Su Lun was the same. Although he was only eighth-tier, when it came to survival,

with the "Urobolos Space-Time Ring" being used, he became one with the space, and space became him.

Unless his Spiritual Power was exhausted, it would be hard for him to be killed.

Then there was Pandora who had transformed into the god Tsukuyomi, and the Spiritual Body of Pestoya. They were both extremely special and hard to seriously injure.

In the entire group, the only thing that could be considered a weakness was the puppets themselves.

Although the gargoyles were forged from living silver and could withstand physical and magical attacks of about eighth-tier, they were practically made of paper under the assault of a demigod.

Especially under the Divine Artifact Projection "Puni's Holy Sword of Light," they were sliced down by the dozens; and underneath the penetrating light beam of "Comprehensive Truth," they were obliterated upon contact.

But puppets have no notion of being "killed," at most their structure could be destroyed. Even if they were completely disintegrated by "Comprehensive Truth," Su Lun wouldn't be distressed at all.

After the trip to the God Burial Ground, the living silver in the minor void realm had piled up into mountains, as much as he could want.

Destroy one batch, and he'd create another.

Moreover, Su Lun was certain that the greater the cost of killing an enemy, the richer the spoils of war would definitely be.

...

Thus, the two sides staged a pinnacle battle of the alchemy realm within the sealed space.

If not for Su Lun reinforcing the space, such an intense battle might have even caused the space near the Taganweier Trench to collapse.

Before long, the fierce battle within the sealed space continued.

But after all, there were limits to burning Divine Power.

As Oktaavia burned and failed to break through as expected, the Divine Power in her became thinner and thinner.

It wasn't just Pandora who had stolen her Power of Faith; Mr. Jing also used methods to limit the descent of Divine Power, cutting off the flow. The situation for this Magic God was getting worse.

Burning Divine Power also took a massive toll on the vessel itself.

For a mortal's body to bear a force far beyond its physical capacity was its own kind of destruction.

On the other hand, Qiān Tiáo, the Sword Saint who could sever rules, was not to be underestimated.

Regular methods might struggle to kill Oktaavia who had the "Shield of Innocence" to protect her, but Qiān Tiáo's Sword Dao was capable of killing even a demigod.

From the beginning, where Oktaavia dominated Su Lun and the others, to her Divine Power finally running dry, it became them hunting down the Grand Princess.

In the pitch-black space, one could see lightning chasing a "sun" everywhere, with lightning bolts crossing in lethal patterns.

Occasionally, there were sneak attacks from reflective mirror lights and entwining moonlight, while the puppet legion on the ground also intermittently unleashed various spells...

Although Su Lun and the others suffered some during the fierce battle, they had prepared for fighting many against one, and clearly, the enemy suffered even more.

During the intense battle of attrition, Oktaavia gradually began to falter.

Over-exhausted from burning her Divine Power, her body, like an over-burnt sun, showed molten lava-like cracks on her fair skin. Amidst the fierce battle, some burnt dust from her skin also began to rise.

And after her body began having issues, it became increasingly difficult for the limited Divine Power to descend again.

But Su Lun and the others didn't give the enemy any time to breathe, continuing the battle of attrition.

Finally, seizing the opportunity, Qiān Tiáo thunderously slashed her sword through.

Pale gold blood spattered the sky as Oktaavia's right arm, holding the Holy Light Sword, was severed at the root!

Seeing this, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

With a limb gone, combat effectiveness was greatly diminished.

The defeat was certain.

Mr. Jing watched as Qian Tian's strike was successful, and almost immediately pursued the victory, as countless pitch-black chains wrapped around the Grand Princess's ankles. Then, with a flash of mirror light, her entire foot was severed.

Oktaavia, missing an arm and leg, no longer had the strength to fight, and could not even maintain the projections of two Divine Artifacts. She wanted to struggle, but at that moment, Su Lun had already appeared in front of her, clapped his hands, and completely sealed her limbs.

Almost simultaneously, red threads from the moon in the sky completely entangled Oktaavia, cutting off all Divine Power and Power of Faith.

Mr. Jing raised his hand and a silver mirror light, like silk satin, added another layer that wrapped the enemy like a mummy.

...

"Finally got rid of this guy, huh."

"Yeah. The combat power of a Demigod is really outrageous."

"...."

Su Lun and his group, looking at Oktaavia trapped so tightly, let out a collective sigh of relief.

Although the process of besieging her was fraught with danger, the outcome was good.

They had planned to kill her if they couldn't capture her alive.

If they could take her alive, then... the real drama was about to unfold.

Such a perfect bait, the million-strong army from the divine plane would undoubtedly come to rescue, even if it meant abandoning the assault on Luying.

To encircle and strike the reinforcements was the best strategy!

The communicator was now conveying urgent intelligence from the Empire's military: sure enough, the million-strong army from the divine plane had already changed their course to come to the rescue.

Even the "Archmage of Evil" Constantine Reiloz, who had previously been hidden in Luying causing destruction, was rushing over in a hurry.

But it would still take some time for them to arrive.

Su Lun looked at the Demigod who couldn't move, raised his hand and summoned a deformed figure in a white lab coat, "Doctor, I'm counting on you."

"Hmm."

The person who appeared was naturally Dr. Banks.

Without any delay after his arrival, he stretched out his arm, which transformed into a mass of black living tissue, and reached for Oktaavia's face, who couldn't resist.

The black living tissue covered the Demigod's face and pulsated. In a short while, a complete eyeball connected to nerves was extracted.

This was the third eye of the divine race.

Now extracted, even if Oktaavia could fully recover, her combat power would be greatly reduced.

Dr. Banks placed the eyeball in a container and said, "I'm going to the laboratory now. It would be even better if the body could be kept intact."

"Okay."

Su Lun nodded, raised his hand, and took Dr. Banks into the small void realm.

At this moment, Mr. Jing said, "Everyone, take a moment to catch your breath; there are a few tough battles ahead."

Qian Tian, with a battle-eager expression, said, "Is there another Demigod among those guys from the divine plane? Tsk tsk, I wonder if they'll fall for it."

Pandora also took human form and smiled faintly, "They'll probably come."

Mr. Jing also exhaled a long breath, relieved not only for defeating a powerful enemy, but because this battle had great significance for the subsequent campaigns: "Hmm. With this bait, we finally have a breakthrough in the upcoming decisive battle with the million-strong army."

"..."

For Su Lun, it was all the same; his energy was not too depleted, as the "Heart of Isaac Alchemy" was rapidly regenerating. Even if he had to fight immediately, it wouldn't be a big problem.

While speaking, he picked up the severed arm of Oktaavia.

On the five pale fingers, there were three rings.

Two pieces of magical equipment, one an epic-quality magic amplifier "Magic Disaster Ring," and one a sacred relic of the Holy Church's military faction "Original Holy Light Badge,"

Both were top-tier magical equipment, second only to Divine Artifacts.

The last ring was the storage ring.

Su Lun was eager to see the spoils of this battle.

He always thought that Oktaavia J. Fielding, being the Grand Princess of the Ascieden Empire from the divine plane and a Demigod, would naturally be wealthy.

But as he gazed upon the mountainous pile of items inside the spatial fragment-made storage ring, even he couldn't help but swear in awe, "Fuck... I'm rich!"

His eyes scanned over the dense array of various magical equipment, potions, scrolls, gemstones... rows upon rows on shelves, box after box neatly packed.

It looked like a huge part of the million-strong army's high-level resources were right here.

Su Lun himself had several fortunes from past adventures and was considered one of the wealthiest individuals in the alchemy plane. Yet, upon seeing the wealth in this storage ring, he was breathlessly awed.

While he was inspecting the magical equipment, he noticed a magic chest sealed tight within the storage ring. The magical runes on the chest were of such high quality that they stood out even among such a trove of treasures.

"Could it be...?"

Su Lun, seeing the markings, suddenly grew expectant.

Upon opening it, the chest revealed the sealed body of a monster.

It was none other than the corpse of the "Void Bidirectional Worm!"