Mechanical Alchemist

Three ninth-tier Sages of Law had been killed, and the remaining two already knew their destiny.

Their every move was now a fight for their lives.

This battle was even more fierce than when all three were still alive.

Unfortunately for them, Su Lun had every advantage of time, location, and support. How could he give his enemies a chance?

If the battlefield had been elsewhere, the two Sages might have been able to summon reinforcements.

But since this was the Lu Ying residence, it was destined that no magical corps from the celestial planes would come to their aid. Only more and more troops from the United Empire arrived.

Even though there were a few followers of the Heavenly Eye Sect hidden in the city of Craylimenton trying to create chaos to free the two Sages, the imperial military intelligence had long been prepared. Before those people could act, they were all captured.

The enemy was like a trapped beast; the people of Dawn were not fighting hard.

They would attack or retreat, appearing in no hurry and slowly exhausting the hunt.

When the enemy desperately unleashed powerful spells, they would temporarily avoid the brunt; once the enemy was weary, they would surround them again.

Despite the strength of the two Sages, they were utterly helpless against this tactic.

Unable to overpower nor escape, the trapped beast still fought.

Even using a Minor Divine Art-level Space-Time Scroll for survival was useless under Su Lun's Urobolos' Space-Time Ring constraints.

No magic scroll on the alchemy plane could have a rule level higher than the plane's limit.

As a result, even the "Minor Divine Art" was definitely restricted by the ring.

Another factor was the Tartalos's Forbidden Soul Lantern, a cursed item that locked souls. Previously, Su Lun and his team weren't sure they could eliminate all these people, so they hadn't used this sealing item. Now that the overall situation had been settled, he directly locked the enemies' souls within the range of the light. The enemies couldn't escape and were doomed to fight to the death.

...

One had to admit, the magic power of a ninth-tier Sage of Law was truly profound.

At the pinnacle of human strength, their source of magic was no longer merely drawing elemental forces from their surroundings but had already gained control over certain rules.

Once they spread their holy domain, it was like a whale devouring the surrounding elemental forces, endless and inexhaustible.

Mr. Hei and other eighth-tiers found themselves greatly suppressed in this situation, facing dangerous moments multiple times.

Fortunately, with Mr. Jing, a true ninth-tier in front of them, who could copy and steal elements with his mirror ability, they gradually drained the two Sages of their original magic power.

The battle continued for several more hours.

They fought from dawn till dusk.

The outskirts of Craylimenton looked like a nuclear explosion site, utterly ravaged.

Finally, as they wore them down, an opportunity arose once more.

Mr. Jing found a chance to trap the magic-exhausted Holy Light Sage. Mr. Hei then used the "All-encompassing True Solution" to find a breakthrough and struck a severe blow to the enemy. Immediately after, Old Sword God Bartolo seized the moment and beheaded the enemy with a slash of Sword Qi.

After one was killed, the last "Time Sage," Ralph Zimmerman, could no longer conjure any waves. After struggling for just a quarter of an hour, he too was slain.

From start to finish, his abilities with time had been countered by Su Lun, and even when he used the desperate Forbidden Art: Time Exhaustion to try to strip the lives of the Dawn members, he failed.

In the eyes of Su Lun's All-knowing Eye, these techniques had no secrets.

Moreover, after repeatedly harvesting the souls of two Sages, he almost completely grasped the old time man's methods.

Understanding their trump cards made even the most formidable enemies far less threatening.

...

The battle finally ended.

It was the joyously anticipated moment of reaping rewards.

"You have stripped the soul of 'Ralph Zimmerman.'"

"You have gained the ninth-tier 'Rule of Time,' increasing law comprehension by 112457."

"You stripped a thread of the divine-grade 'Rule of Time,' gaining some insights into the Divine Art: Time."

"You have comprehended the 'Mysteries of Time Magic,' increasing time magic experience by 55324."

"You have uncovered some secrets of the 'Holy Order of Time.'"

"Spiritual Power +40112"

"..."

"You have stripped the soul of 'Ault Baker.'"

"You have gained ninth-tier 'Holy Light Rule' insights, increasing light-series law comprehension by 154211."

"You have mastered the secrets of light-series magic, mastering [Forbidden Curse: Holy Judgement], [Forbidden Curse: Blazing Angel], [Arcane Magic: Light Banishment]..."

"You have uncovered some secrets of the 'Holy Order of Light.'"

"Spiritual Power +30112"

"..."

Soon, the worn-out members of Dawn were sitting on a small hillside, gasping for breath.

The surrounding vegetation was withered, a scene dead and gloomy, the result of Ralph Zimmerman's last desperate attack, a widespread Time Exhaustion Forbidden Technique that had drained the vitality of the plants.

Su Lun, Mr. Jing, Pestoia, Pandora, Number Nineteen, Old Sword God Bartolo, 'Duke of Blood' Wazhvuas, Mr. Hei… all the participating members of Dawn bore injuries.

But in this battle, which could be considered a peak confrontation of planes, no one dying was the best news of all.

Although everyone's faces were worn out, their eyes were filled with the joy of a great victory.

There was also a sense of relief in their smiles.

In the alchemical plane, there are currently only two ninth-tier Great Alchemists known.

Yet now, the Dawn Group had surrounded and killed three ninth-tier Sages of Law.

This accomplishment was heartening, no matter how one looked at it.

The people of Dawn also felt immensely proud.

"We did it... It's really incredible. We actually killed three ninth-tier Sages of Law, nine eighth-tier Great Mages."

"Yes, it wasn't easy."

"Hey, those ninth-tier Sages of Law were really tricky. The pressure at the level of the laws was outrageous, felt even tougher than the eighth-tier dragons we hunted in the Dragon Country Waters."

"Indeed. But this battle has been quite enlightening for me. The previously unattainable ninth-tier realm seems clearer to me now. Tsk, tsk, where else could we find such suitable opponents?"

"..."

Having fought from noon until now, not only had the Dawn group drained their enemies, but they themselves were also exhausted.

The tight strings loosened, and it felt as if they could hardly muster any strength in their bodies. Some lay down, others sat or meditated, still others leaned against rocks; in any case, none could stand.

Even Mr. Jing was sitting on a large rock, meditating to recover.

Earlier, she alone had dragged along three Sages of Law, depleting her greatly. Though vampires possess strong self-healing abilities and show no external wounds, her origin injury was not light.

Only Su Lun seemed the most relaxed.

After catching his breath for a bit, he quickly recovered.

The "Isaac's Heart of Alchemy" provided strong recovery, quickly replenishing his body's depleted spiritual power. After gulping down several big mouthfuls of dragon blood, his body's injuries also rapidly healed.

Everyone else was still recovering their energy, too drained to make any extra movements, only occasionally chatting.

But Su Lun began to get busy dealing with the corpses of the three Sages of Law.

The pyramid effect of the magical system was more pronounced than in the alchemical system; the more powerful the mage, the greater the resources at their disposal.

From the loot on these three Sages of Law alone, Su Lun estimated he could arm several dozen fully-manned fleets.

It wasn't just about the money

Those magical artifacts were priceless treasures.

The magical robes, wands, tomes, crystal balls on the bodies... were identified to be "dark gold," "legendary," and even one piece of "epic" equipment.

It solidified spells of the eighth and ninth tiers that could be cast instantly, without the need of chanting incantations, just needed energy to be activated.

Comparable to banned items.

In Su Lun's eyes, these were the finest equipment he had ever seen.

However, he was busy with the bodies for reasons beyond just gathering loot.

He had noticed something unusual when he had killed the three Sages of Law, thanks to his All-knowing Eye.

If his guess was correct, this could be a "great discovery" that might change the future landscape of the alchemical plane!

....

While the bodies were still warm, it was the perfect time to test his theory.

With a thought, a ring on Su Lun's hand glowed brightly with red light, revealing itself to be the "Philosopher's Stone."

Then, under the puzzled gazes of the others, he formed a sorcerer's seal, and suddenly a profoundly mysterious Nonagram Alchemy Formation lit up beneath his feet.

Aside from the perfect equilibrium of exchanges, the Philosopher's Stone had another very important function – that is, to gather "cosmic essence"!

A practitioner's advancement to the ninth tier involves the integration of "cosmic essence," a method of refining that had been lost in ancient alchemy.

When the Philosopher's Stone was discovered in the cursed space of the Hell Dragon Country, this alchemical creature had formed a "Cosmos Thirtieth Essence: Phantasm."

So the question arises, what exactly is cosmic essence?

Due to the collapse of civilizations in epochs, knowledge of alchemy beyond the divine realm had almost completely vanished for various special reasons, or hidden in places unreachable by humans.

Over countless years, the majority of people on the alchemical plane had limited understanding of cosmic essence to its function.

That is, it is an indispensable element for a practitioner's advancement to the ninth tier.

But in reality, because everyone uses ancient relics and the methods of refining have been lost, very few truly understand what cosmic essence is.

However, a thousand years ago, Sir Isaac systematically studied the essence of this matter.

In his fifth alchemical manuscript, he detailed his research.

First, Sir Isaac believed that the reason alchemists need cosmic essence is to use this external aid to touch upon the laws above, and thresholds of deeper cosmic rules.

Looking at the splendid alchemical civilization of ancient times, alchemists could ascend to the divine realm.

So, how did those ancient powers without a faith system cultivate divinity? Sir Isaac believed the key lay in "cosmic essence."

After capturing a Fallen Angel and researching divine-level powers, Sir Isaac's notes speculated another theory about cosmic essence.

He believed that cosmic essence was the cornerstone of cultivating divinity!

In his notes, the Alchemical Demigod defined divinity as: the solidified representation of the gods' understanding of the world's rules.

Divinity is the representation of the rules, and the cosmic essence aids Magicians in understanding these rules, which is the cornerstone.

It's like the foundation of a skyscraper.

All this logic was perfectly connected.

...

In recent days, Su Lun had thoroughly reviewed Sir Isaac's five notebooks back and forth and had come to understand the content completely.

After gaining "wisdom" from the "Mimir's Well," he felt he was probably the closest one in the alchemy plane to understanding the notes' description of "rules."

Having read these notes again, he highly recognized Sir Isaac's view that the cosmic essence is the foundation of divinity.

But then another problem arose.

All Magicians aiming to advance to the ninth tier needed cosmic essence.

What it is, people's understanding of it seemed not so urgent.

What's more pressing is that currently, there seem to be very few pieces of it left in the entire alchemy plane.

The piece previously found in Dragon Country was likely naturally condensed by the Philosopher's Stone over countless millennia.

Su Lun, now at the eighth tier and hopeful of advancing to the ninth tier, couldn't wait for countless millennia for the essence to condense.

So, he had an idea.

How to quickly refine a piece of cosmic essence that he needed?

The ancient Great Alchemists certainly had some special methods, after all, the rules were no untouchable secret to those above the ninth tier.

But now, without divine tiers in the alchemy plane, what should be done?

Su Lun, recalling the ideas in the classics, had a thought: Since the ninth tier had already touched the secrets of the rules, had their bodies already begun to condense some special "thing"?

Su Lun previously wasn't sure what that "thing" was.

But when he previously used the All-knowing Eye to witness the moment of a Sage of Law's death, he vaguely understood something.

Divinity is the godly flesh carrying the solidified representation of the rules.

This didn't appear out of nowhere, but accumulated bit by bit before they became gods.

Thus, the bodies of the Sages of Law had already condensed some power of the rules.

So, could refining these bodies with the Philosopher's Stone quickly yield the "Threads of Rule" needed for cosmic essence?

...

With this thought in mind, Su Lun immediately put it into practice.

He also meticulously recorded the formation used to condense the essence when he previously discovered the Philosopher's Stone.

It is the formation right beneath his feet.

As soon as the Nonagram Alchemy Formation lit up, the three bodies began visibly disintegrating.

In a sense, death is the process of matter disintegrating into energy.

At that time, one of the Sage's bodies was gradually broken down by the alchemy formation into primal particles.

The body still contained a vast amount of magic power, some special energy, substances unique to the bloodline...

Su Lun, with the second stage of the All-knowing Eye completely activated, carefully observed the entire process.

The alchemy formation beneath his feet was specifically designed to refine essence, and all other impurities were being decomposed.

The surrounding members of the Dawn Group cast curious and puzzled glances; they knew Su Lun could harvest souls, but they didn't understand why he was now interested in bodies.

They just watched quietly, not interfering.

But gradually, their puzzlement turned into shock.

Because at that time, after the bodies had disintegrated, the oppressive aura of their ranks that they had previously sensed returned!

Number Nineteen, Bartholo and the others didn't understand at all.

And even the knowledgeable Mr. Hei was momentarily baffled.

After pondering for a moment, an idea suddenly came to him, and he vaguely guessed what Su Lun was up to.

But he found it hard to believe.

If it was as he thought, this action would be of significant meaning to the entire alchemy plane and alchemy civilization.

Even if it was just a speculation, Mr. Hei's heart was already uncontrollably racing with excitement. He turned to look at Mr. Jing, casting him an inquiring glance: Teacher, this...?

Mr. Jing slightly nodded, also having vaguely guessed something, his eyes suddenly filled with an unexplained anticipation.

The crowd watched in silence.

At that moment, Su Lun was focused entirely on processing the bodies.

His view of the world, unlike what others were seeing.

He saw the bodies disintegrate into basic particles, the impurities removed, leaving behind strands of "threads of rules."

Those multicolored threads gathered by the Philosopher's Stone slowly condensed into a material visible to the naked eye.

The information was identified.

[Threads of Holy Light Rule]

Explanation: These are the threads of the cosmic rule "Light" materialized; the Philosopher's Stone has condensed it into a semi-finished cosmic essence; condensation completion rate 34.55%;

...

Upon seeing this, Su Lun's pupils also shrank suddenly, "It really is possible!"

Previously it was just an idea, but he hadn't expected to actually produce a piece of semi-finished cosmic essence!

Although the body of a ninth-tier Sage of Law is not sufficient to condense into a complete essence, but... this discovery was of monumental significance!

Currently, all cosmic essence in the alchemical realm is ancient relics, hard to come by.

This is the most important reason why ninth-tier occupational holders are so rare in the alchemical realm!

Second to none!

For many years, countless exceptionally talented alchemists have died stuck at the eighth tier because they could not find suitable cosmic essence and thus were unable to touch the secrets of the rules.

But if one could artificially synthesize cosmic essence, the significance for the alchemical realm would be immense.

On the Nonagram Alchemy Formation above, anomalies had already started showing, which the onlooking members of the Dawn Group also saw.

They were also very curious about this group of "special material" that brought a rule-level crushing to everyone present, wondering exactly what it was.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hei, seeing this, knew very well what earth-shattering attempt Su Lun had made; this previously calm and composed scholar now had heavy breathing.

Even Mr. Jing's crystalline eyes suddenly shrank as he asked with anticipation, "Su Lun, is this... essence?"

"Yes!"

Su Lun looked at his elder martial sister, nodded his head, and said solemnly, "To be exact, it's 'Threads of Rule'. This body refined out, but it's still not enough to condense a complete cosmic essence, only about one third..."

He succinctly recounted the experiment he had just conducted.

He also explained Sir Isaac's definition of "Rule."

Upon hearing this, everyone understood immediately, and they were utterly astounded.

Even though all present were top-tier experts who had seen great turmoil, at this moment, they could not contain their excitement.

The Old Sword God Bartolo couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this... really cosmic essence?"

Mr. Hei, as if enlightened, murmured, "So above laws, are rules. So this is the power of deities..."

Wazs also suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

Pandora looked at Su Lun, "Su Lun, you really always create miracles that astonish everyone, extracting Threads of Rule from a corpse. This is very close to the secret divine techniques..."

Number 19: "If we could artificially synthesize essence, then the constraints of the alchemical realm will be no more..."

Mr. Jing: "Indeed. The significance is extraordinary..."

All present were the pinnacle combat forces of the alchemical realm, the few who had touched the peak powers of the rules.

With Su Lun's explanation, everyone more or less understood what they were seeing at the moment.

After the astonishment, everyone could hardly hide their anticipation.

Now that Su Lun had successfully refined "Threads of Rule" from a ninth-tier corpse, it meant that they might later extract from other sources, ninth-tier magical beasts, mutated monsters, otherworldly creatures, deep-sea behemoths... and even more so, magical mages from the divine realm!

At a critical time of planar invasion, more high-tier mages were bound to descend in the future. If they could ambush a ninth-tier Sage of Law as they did today, there would definitely not be a shortage of materials!

Now that the planar passage had been established, the rule ceiling of the alchemical realm was gradually growing, and advancing professions had become much easier.

With enough cosmic essence, it meant that there would be more ninth-tier beings in the alchemical realm in the future!

Just the Dawn Group alone had several eighth-tier members, Su Lun, Mr. Hei, Old Sword God Bartolo, Wazs... If they could advance to ninth-tier, their combat power would undoubtedly skyrocket by a huge margin!

And others in the group like Barrett, who hoped to advance to the eighth tier, now had their paths wide open.

No!

It seemed like the path to the ninth tier for all occupational holders in the alchemical realm was completely open, the moment Su Lun refined these Threads of Rule!

...

Su Lun sealed this bunch of Threads of Rule in a container, and began refining another two bodies.

Because he had discovered that the rule power in these three bodies dissipated quickly after death, even a seal could hardly prevent it.

Su Lun didn't delay, and refined Threads of Rule from the other two bodies as well.

It was proven that not every body refined had the same Threads.

The "Time Saint" Ralph Zimmerman was the strongest, refining about 50% of the Threads of Time Rule; the element Mage, about 29%.

On average, it took about three ninth-tier Sages to refine a complete cosmic essence.

Of course, that was provided their comprehended rules were the same.

From this moment on, everyone in Su Lun's group started having a strange thought that the ninth-tier powerhouses of the divine realm were no longer just headaches but rather a material to look forward to.

Due to the planar constraints, ninth-tier beings were extremely rare in the alchemical realm.

But it was different in the divine realm, a higher-order realm with numerous ninth-tier beings.

It was proven, the Dawn Group fully had the power to hunt ninth-tier beings.

And this power would only grow with the passing of time.

This discovery made the members of the Dawn Group feel as if they had been navigating through an endless dark storm and had seen a lighthouse in the darkness, a beacon of hope.