Mechanical Alchemist

The "Void Poison Flame," ranked second in the Dou Qi Continent, is absolutely a treasure that melee vocational practitioners dream of obtaining.

For Su Lun at the moment, it's not that useful. Because he has a higher-level space artifact, the "Urobolos Space-Time Ring," which overlaps in effect with the former somewhat.

But it's excellent for gifting to others.

No matter who it's given to, as long as their body can bear it, a top expert can be created instantly.

For instance, giving it to Qian Tiao.

The Swordsman vocational practitioners also cultivate the strong offensive and fierce Qi style, and the vast Spiritual Power is also perfect for nurturing different fires.

Moreover, Qian Tiao herself has a high comprehension of the Space Law, and a high affinity for the void, making her compatibility with this "Void Poison Flame" very perfect.

By then, with the void burning ability to enhance her Thunder Sword Deity, her Sword Qi would carry spatial law's power of armor-piercing effects, and Su Lun found it hard to imagine who under the gods could block her strike.

The thought flashed through his mind and vanished. Su Lun, no longer fearing the burn, pinched the little grey flame in his palm.

At the same time, he also reaped Jie Clementon's soul and digested it in an instant.

"You have stripped 'Jie·Clementon's' soul"

"You have gained a lot of 'Fire Law' and 'Space Law' insights of the ninth order"

"You have gained insights into the cultivation of Dou Qi, mastering celestial level martial skills 'Imperial Qi,' 'Overbearing Qi,' 'Dou Qi Forming Shape'... and other secret techniques."

"You have learned a great deal about the integration of different fires"

"You have come to know some secrets of the Dou Qi Continent, the cultivation system, the rune system, the martial arts system"

"Spiritual Power +12554"

"..."

Although Jie was still of the same order, this reaping was of great benefit to Su Lun.

The various secrets of the Dou Qi Continent were quite eye-opening for Su Lun.

In terms of "Qi" control, this civilization had researched it to the utmost.

Although the cultivation systems are different, "Qi" in the realm of Alchemy is actually the control and application of Spiritual Power, and there are many intersections.

Having stripped away those techniques, Su Lun estimated that his combat power could at least increase by ten percent.

And this Jie was among the handful of prodigies standing at the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent. His broad knowledge also filled in many new things for Su Lun, particularly regarding the creation of "Worlds," where he gained some new insights.

However, Su Lun stripped his soul for another purpose, to find out why he betrayed the team.

But after searching, he found no indicative information left at the memory level.

Because no information was left, Su Lun realized something in an instant, thinking, "So he was under a spiritual charm. It seems that it really was the handiwork of Pharaoh Cleopatra IX."

This situation was a very sophisticated spiritual charm, causing Jie himself to overlook how he was charmed in his subconscious.

Thinking further, Su Lun felt all the pieces were connecting.

Previously, only three people approached the Pharaoh's corpse.

The barbarian Ralph in his berserk state was immune to all forms of spiritual control; moreover, the Dragon Maiden Masia, being half-dragon, had very high immunity to all types.

So, the one who was charmed had to be Jie, the normal human.

Most importantly, he had obtained the "Key of Eternal Life."

....

At that moment, the different fire incinerated the body fully, and a "☥" shaped golden object fell out.

This was a gold cross-shaped ornament with a ring, said to be a divine heirloom given to the Pharaohs guarding the tombs by the gods. In the legacy of the Tares civilization, it symbolized life and was said to hold the secret of eternal life.

Su Lun naturally noticed it first.

But out of caution, he did not rush to touch it.

With his All-knowing Eye, he tried to see through the divine secrets hidden in the Key.

Having reaped a vast amount of Tares godly memories, Su Lun knew that the symbol on this Key was an actual god-level rune called "Ankh," representing life and resurrection.

Before, it was all hearsay because only the Pharaohs were qualified to touch this treasure.

Now seeing the real thing, Su Lun too was greatly interested.

Yet, to his gaze, it was a stretch of the unknown "***" data.

The high-ranking deities of Tares had manifested that high-ranking rule as a rune, solidified in this Key.

Those existences he still couldn't understand were the secrets of the divine.

But although he did not understand the rune, the function was identified. The Key had a function only the Pharaohs knew—resurrection.

...

"Hehe... So not reaping the Pharaoh's soul really meant he wasn't dead."

Having identified the Key's effect, Su Lun had an epiphany.

Meanwhile, the nearby centaur Makamul, the barbarian Ralph, and the Dragon Maiden Masia also saw the Key that had fallen to the ground, their expressions slightly tense.

It was the most important thing for them to dissolve their demon god contract, and it concerned their very lives, so they naturally could not afford any mishap.

They all wanted to grab it in their hands.

But seeing Su Lun, who had not moved from the spot, the three of them also tacitly did not act.

The sight of "Nicholas" killing battle saint Jie in two moves was still fresh in their minds, and at this moment, the three of them were very wary of this legendary alchemist.

They realized that him not grabbing it immediately must mean there was an issue.

Sure enough!

Just then, the "Key of Eternal Life" suddenly burst into a dazzling divine light.

Although it seemed Su Lun was running through various scenarios in his head just now, in reality, it was all just a moment as the corpse was being incinerated.

The moment the god rune fell to the ground, it showed an anomaly. Meanwhile, as another event occurred, Su Lun glanced at the storage ring on his finger and quickly retreated.

In that instant, a faint "crack" like the shattering of glass was heard next to his ear, and the storage ring actually split open, scattering items all over the ground, and a corpse fell out.

It was, unexpectedly, the corpse of Pharaoh Cleopatra IX, which he'd put away earlier!

The divine light emanating from the Key seemed to connect with the blood within the corpse. As the white light representing life poured into the Pharaoh's body, a miracle occurred.

The corpse, which had had no color of blood a moment ago, turned into a vibrant and alive queen.

Cleopatra IX, dressed in a deep-V gold wire long gown with her chest mostly exposed to the air, slender waist and perky buttocks, her bronze skin didn't detract from her allure but added an exotic and ultimate enchantment.

Not only was her appearance breathtakingly beautiful, but those blue, gem-like pupils also emitted a seductive luster that seemed to captivate the soul.

Seeing this, the expressions of Ralph and his two companions changed dramatically. They realized then that the assassination attempt had not completely killed the Pharaoh!

The action taken by the saint Jie earlier was also because he had been affected.

All three simultaneously entered combat mode.

On the other side, Su Lun, who had been violently ejected, showed an expression of "surprise" that one would expect, but in reality, his heart was utterly calm, and in his eyes, he had clearly seen the entire resurrection process: "A treasure indeed..."

Now, there weren't many objects that could evoke envy in Su Lun, but at this moment, having witnessed a corpse resurrect, his gaze towards the "Immortality Key" was burning with desire.

...

Pharaoh Cleopatra IX floated in the middle of the tomb, looking down at Su Lun and his three companions with a naturally enchanting divine light in her eyes.

Su Lun had already known that this woman was skilled in the Bewitching Technique and didn't pay it any mind. After all, not to mention his own exceptional spiritual power, with the "God Profaner" at his side, he was immune to any illusion techniques.

Meanwhile, Ralph, in his berserk state, was already seeing red and radiating tremendous killing intent. A barbarian in a rage had no other thoughts but combat, making them immune to all forms of mind control, a natural ability of theirs.

As for the other two, half-centaur Makamul and Dragon Maiden Masia, neither were normal human beings.

A monkey, no matter how beautiful, cannot attract the gaze of humans.

Even though the temptation of a demigod is on a spiritual level, with the species barrier, the effect is invariably significantly reduced.

The Bewitching Technique deployed by Pharaoh Cleopatra IX failed to control the four of them.

However, they acted without hesitation at the first opportunity!

If they hadn't killed her before, they would kill her again!

Whatever secret technique enabled the resurrection, it surely came at a cost.

All four were top experts, and their grasp of battle opportunities was extremely keen.

At the very moment of the corpse's resurrection, half-centaur Makamul released an arrow with a "whoosh," and although it did not possess the same might as the previous god-killing arrow, this arrow, wrapped in the ultimate rule of destruction, pierced Pharaoh Cleopatra IX's abdomen like lightning, creating a fist-sized hole.

The rule of destruction countered all defenses, and at this distance, even a demigod would not fare well!

Half-centaur Makamul looked at his arrow hitting the mark, and before he had time to feel pleased, as a divine archer, he instinctively sensed something was amiss.

Ralph's attack followed closely behind.

He was the closest to demigod status among the five recruits and his combat power in his berserk state was not the least bit inferior to a demigod's.

As the arrow was fired, Ralph's axe, surrounded by a fiery aura of killing intent, chopped down and cleaved the Pharaoh's body in two.

Seizing the moment, Dragon Maiden Masia unleashed a blast of dragon fire, turning half of the corpse, including the head, into ashes.

Su Lun did not make a move, but the other three had already completed the kill.

The five recruited by the Demon God each had the strength to stand toe-to-toe with a demigod.

Together, what chance did a single demigod stand?

Moreover, as Pharaoh Cleopatra IX's strongest charm had no effect on them, and her physical body was relatively weak, they managed to kill her once more with their combined assault.

But the faces of the four showed not a trace of relief.

After all, the Pharaoh had already performed a death and resurrection once.

However, the next second, the scene they did not wish to see, yet somewhat anticipated, occurred.

The group watched as Cleopatra IX's corpse held the "Key of Eternal Life" which radiated a brilliant light, and once again drew it into her wound, miraculously mending itself!

In the divine glow, the queen's body instantly reformed, and she looked at the four people again with a mocking expression, as if to scoff at them.

Ralph and the other two sharply narrowed their eyes in shock, thinking to themselves, "Infinite revival?"

Meanwhile, Su Lun, with narrowed eyes, saw something different through the All-knowing Eye.

He had encountered more than one person capable of revival, such as the once legendary Undead Demon Monk Rasputin among the top ten bounty hunters of Ruying.

It was impossible to kill such a being by strength alone.

To counter this ability, the source had to be restrained at the level of divine power and faith.

But it wasn't just him who knew this method; Ralph and the other two had, to varying degrees, also encountered similar enemies.

Yet how easy was it to contain?

Here, in the ancestral tomb of Tares civilization, the divine power was endless; how could she be killed?

Seeing this, Su Lun's face flashed with severity, and he charged forward, scythe in hand.

Through his actions, he sent a clear message to the other three teammates: keep killing!

Although Su Lun was somewhat confident, intuition told him that the dangers of this tomb were not limited to just the Pharaoh.

Moreover, he wanted to thoroughly understand the nature of the "Ankh Amulet's" revival.

Only by continuing to kill could there be a chance to gather more clues.

...

The centaur Makamul, the barbarian Ralph, and the Dragon Maiden Masia watched as Su Lun rushed forward; they knew that at this point, they had no choice but to kill first and ask questions later.

The three burly men and one dragon charged at the fragile Cleopatra IX with a flurry of attacks.

Despite her repeated evasions, she could not avoid being killed a second time.

But the light temporarily emitted from the Ankh amulet brought her back to life again.

Eerie laughter that made one's scalp tingle echoed in the tomb: "Giggle giggle giggle..."

At that moment, it seemed the queen was ready to get serious.

Upon her revival, she no longer appeared in human form; her head had transformed into that of a majestic Sphinx cat!

Su Lun's eyes narrowed, for in the memories he had reaped, no one had seen her in this form.

And yet, this feline visage was not uncommon in the murals—it represented the "divine servants" often accompanying deities!

The Sphinx-like Cleopatra IX looked at Su Lun and the others, smiling easily, "Your tactics are indeed surprising... far stronger than those who came three hundred years ago."

Hearing these words, Madame Ralph and the others' faces shifted in unison.

It was as if they saw a massive net of fate descending upon them, and they might be destined to follow in the "footsteps" of those "predecessors."

Only Su Lun remained expressionless, gazing at the feline Pharaoh with a calm like the still waters beneath his eyes.

Just as the four were about to make another move, Cleopatra IX seemed to lose interest in tangling with them and started chanting an ancient curse: "￥&%#&%*&..."

The curse echoed as if reverberating through the vast emptiness of the tomb.

If anyone could understand these ancient hieroglyphic incantations that only pharaohs could master, they would undoubtedly translate them as a spell to summon the dead back to life.

Su Lun listened to the spell and glanced up again at the symbols on the surrounding stone carvings, pinpointing a passage of text and thought, "The summoning spell for the undead from the 'Book of the Dead'? So that's how that segment of the spell is supposed to be used."

The things he had seen, he now had no chance of forgetting.

His brain had been continuously deducing their usage since he glanced at the mysterious symbols on the tomb reliefs.

If it had been anyone else, they might not have caught even a glimpse of a clue, after all, these were secret spells of the Tares deity lineage, taught only to the Pharaohs.

But Su Lun discovered that the 'Book of the Dead' from the Tares civilization seemed to have an inexplicable connection with the "Maxims of the Sages" gold scroll in his hand. By interpreting them together, much of the content became understandable.

However, before he could think further, the moment the spell was cast, the grand tomb suddenly became lively.

"Clang," "Clang," "Clang"...

One by one, the coffins opened, and countless mummies stood up.

There were also the slaves, guards, and skeletal warhorses buried in the sand...various mummies were also struggling to stand up from blocks of dirt and piles of sand.

Looking around, an enormous army of mummies had been "revived"!

...

The three barbarians, including Ralph, looked on in stunned silence.

Whereas Su Lun murmured in his heart, "No souls, only husks...it's just necromancy."

He had thought that the enchanting queen had really resurrected everyone, but it turned out to be only the bodies that were revived.

This was similar to undead magic from the divine planes.

The only difference was that these mummy legions had their own special abilities.

After all, those buried in the tomb were all Tares people of the seventh order or above, plus countless demigods!

Although their combat strength plummeted having turned into mummies, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.

Once the mummies were awakened, they formed ranks and charged toward Su Lun and his group. As the legion charged, the sand surged, and their momentum was even several times stronger than those guards outside!

The three from Makamul grew grim-faced as the tomb door had been completely sealed; in other words, they were to fight these mummies to the death.

Seeing this, the barbarian Ralph roared, "Let's join forces and break through, first find a way to get the 'Key of Immortality' in our hands!"

With that, he fiercely slammed his giant axe into the ground, and immediately beneath his feet, a super-sized frenzied rune formed—this was the barbarian's "Domain of Slaughter."

Both Makamul and Masia responded in unison, "Agreed!"

One released a sky-filling rain of arrows with their bow, the other transformed into a huge dragon and charged into the crowd of mummy statues.

Although Su Lun did not speak, he too rushed forward with his black scythe.

After all, the four were peak combatants of lower planes. Although the mummy legion composed of ten thousand was formidable, they were decimated by the charge of the four, and those dry corpses crumbled into piles of skeletons.

The number of mummies was overwhelming, and chaos ensued as massive assaults shattered hordes of skeletons at each strike.

But as they fought, the four also recognized a problem.

They were combatants at the peak of the ninth order!

A full force blow, and only a few dozen mummies shattered?

By estimate, at least several hundred thousand had been awakened, and even if they fought to exhaustion, there was no end in sight.

Moreover, among them were some ultra-strong mummies with combat power comparable to the eighth and ninth orders.

The other three grew increasingly alarmed as they fought, but Su Lun watched with delight in his heart, "What excellent material for puppets..."

In this battle, he had also witnessed the divine Taris' technique for creating mummies; it wasn't as simple as just reviving corpses with necromancy.

Secret techniques and endless years had endowed these mummies with some miraculous utilities.

Each of these mummies, upon appraisal, came out to be of [silver], [gold], or even [legendary] quality as body material.

In other places, it would be difficult to find even one.

But here, there were countless!

For Su Lun the Puppeteer, creating an army of mummies couldn't be any better.

However, what made these mummies difficult was not just their individual quality; their battle formation was not so simple either.

And it was after this undead army formed its battle formation that an even more despairing scene unfolded.

The cat-people Pharaoh then chanted another spell, and a grey halo formed around each of the mummies.

As soon as this grey light appeared, the hundreds of thousands of mummies joined together, forming a super "field" that covered the entire tomb—the Pharaoh's Curse!

How terrifying was the field formed by several hundred thousand mummies?

One could see with the naked eye that the already sparse water elements in the air were drained in an instant, and Su Lun keenly felt as if all the moisture in his body was being sucked away.

Ralph and the others also changed color drastically.

The all-encompassing field meant that if they continued to waste away like this, they would eventually be drained into mummies.

However, that was not all!

With the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun saw white smoke rising from the heads of the four, himself included.

One look at the attribute panel and sure enough, their lifespans were passing by at more than ten times their usual speed!

The deeper one charged into the monster-dense area, the faster the lifespan flowed; entering the legion of ten thousand, lifespans dwindled thousands of times faster!

It was as if they were cursed, one second was equivalent to an hour of lifespan being consumed, a day, or even several days!

This was a terrifying flow rate that neither his domineering presence nor his own field could reduce by much.

Even though the four were all ninth order, they wouldn't last with their lifespans if the fight continued!

Within a few breaths, Ralph and the others also realized the problem of accelerated lifespan depletion. Yet they were still unable to kill that female Pharaoh, and continuing like this would undoubtedly lead to their deaths.

All of a sudden, their situation had fallen into dire straits!

...

Seeing this "Pharaoh's Curse," the other three felt a hair-raising desperation, but Su Lun saw it as if he had discovered a treasure, exclaiming in surprise, "What a powerful move..."

He had thought mummies were only strong in combat, but he hadn't expected that forming into battalions would have such a delightful surprise.

A field that strips away water elements and accelerates the decline of lifespan?

If there were a million mummies, even a demigod would be drained dry and dead within minutes upon entering.

Although Su Lun's own situation was precarious, he had already considered these mummies to be his puppets.

He was all too familiar with curses...

In Su Lun's possession was a sealed item, [Oz's Corpse Wrapping of the Ice Person]; its curse characteristic was the continuous decline of lifespan, the same as the field of these mummies!

"The inspiration for the alchemist who concocted the mummy wrappings must have come 80% from these Taresian mummies..."

Su Lun also felt it was quite a coincidence.

He had carefully studied the curse on that sealed item before, and although he couldn't completely resist it, he could counter most of it with the death laws.

That is to say, this [Pharaoh's Curse] was not particularly lethal to him.

However, if he were to keep tarrying in the tomb, it would eventually lead to a dead end.

....

Just then, Su Lun suddenly stopped.

He didn't continue to charge into battle with Ralph and the other two but instead rapidly formed sorcerer's seals with his hands.

Originally, he felt there was no immediate danger and wanted to observe a bit more.

Now, it seems he had to solve the problem first.

The moment he stopped, the barbarian Ralph also glanced over from the chaotic battle. Although they were teammates, they never stopped being on guard against each other.

However, seeing the sorcerer's seals shifting in Su Lun's hands, all three focused their gaze in unison for a moment.

It was their first time seeing "Nicholas" perform a spell that required seals.

In the ancient legends of their civilization, that cancer-like alchemy civilization had some magical alchemy that was said to be based on equivalent exchange.

And such magical magicians needed special seals to perform.

Seeing this, the three knew "Nicholas" was about to make a big move.

But they were also curious about what kind of methods this mysteriously powerful alchemist would use.

A shockwave?

An explosion?

Magic?

Wait...

The three of them had already brainstormed various scenarios in their minds in an instant.

Wondering if it was some kind of divine art that could clear out a large number of mummies in one go?

Yet, what they never expected happened.

...

In that moment of focus, Su Lun's spell was complete, and he softly commanded in his heart, "Ultimate Secret Art: Grand Puppet World!"

Instantly, a Nonagram Alchemy Formation lit up under his feet.

Then, as if mirrored, a complex and much larger Nonagram Alchemy Formation appeared in the sky.

The alchemy formation flashed with brilliance, and a gigantic crucifix emerged out of it.

It's not a large-scale destructive spell?

What situation is this?

This scene confused not only Ralph and the other two but even the demigod Cleopatra IX was puzzled.

Faced with at least hundreds of thousands of mummies, what was the significance of the appearance of this crucifix?

But as the crucifix expanded, rapidly covering a vast area nearby, countless transparent threads also descended.

All of the few living beings present were top-notch experts—how could they not notice this?

These threads... they seemed to be associated with a certain profession?

Puppet Masters existed in any realm, always in different forms.

And these threads were almost always a staple for Puppet Masters.

The centaur Makamul twitched the corner of his eye for some reason: This guy... is he a Puppet Master?

You say you're a "Death Magician," and we believed you.

Your physical strength is peerless, your understanding of laws is peerless, your close-combat abilities are peerless... and so on, we also believed you.

But damn it, now you're saying you're a Puppet Master?

Aren't Puppet Masters supposed to be weak in physique?

What's going on here!

For a moment, the established impressions of professions collapsed, as if... this guy had an even deeper hidden profession?

Meanwhile, the barbarian Ralph and the Dragon Maiden Masia were filled with confusion as they watched.

They had their guesses, but found it hard to believe that this "Nicholas" was a Puppet Master.

Moreover, even if he was a Puppet Master, so what?

These were hundreds of thousands of mummies, right?

Could he summon hundreds of thousands of puppets and then kill all these mummies?

But what then?

There were still more unopened coffins in the tomb, and those could be revived by spells at any time!

Su Lun indeed didn't plan to summon any puppets for a counter-attack; as the threads descended, he called out indifferently in his heart, "In my theater, I am the sole sovereign!"

With a clap of his sorcerer's seals, it was like hitting the pause button for the world with a "snap."

Then, a miraculous scene unfolded!

In the vast tomb, the couple of hundred thousand mummies were as though struck by Paralysis Magic, standing still in unison.

And that terrifying [Pharaoh's Curse] domain vanished in an instant as well.

Watching the bizarre turn of events, Ralph and the other two, despite being seasoned and stoic, were astounded and speechless for a moment.

This... Is this guy really a Puppet Master?

Although, well, those legendary alchemists were Puppet Masters... you could understand that.

But how did he do it?

This was an army of hundreds of thousands of mummies!

And there, in the sky, the mocking smile that had constantly adorned the face of Pharaoh Cleopatra IX turned rigid. Reflected in her gem-like eyes were the hundreds of thousands of immobilized mummies, with only three words on her mind: Impossible!