Mechanical Alchemist

Before Su Lun came to fulfill the mythical pact, he had never thought that he would be able to fuse with the "Isaac God Slayer," this special artifact.

After all, he had already come into contact with various top-tier resources within the realm of Alchemy, but he didn't feel any hope of successful fusion.

Unexpectedly, by a stroke of fate, he found the opportunity for fusion in the ancestral realm of the Tares civilization.

Even now that the fusion had succeeded and he clearly felt the indescribable dark power the divine artifact bestowed, he still felt as if he were in a dream.

Had he really succeeded in the fusion?

Indeed!

Su Lun sensed the feeling brought by the fusion of the artifact, and his heart was shocked, "So this is the 'Power of Dark Rules'... Specifically countering divine power, Sir Isaac's talent is truly unparalleled!"

Different from being a bystander before, now that he had integrated the artifact into his body, he clearly perceived the existence of the "Dark Rules."

This was an unknown realm that no one had observed for countless years.

Su Lun could hardly describe his thoughts at the moment; this artifact had opened the door to a new world for him, suddenly enlightening his understanding.

It was as if he had always been in the light before, using his five senses to perceive a world.

And now, he had discovered the night.

I cannot see in the darkness, but the night is not devoid of things.

I have a new understanding, this is the "Dark World."

This is an unknown realm as vast and boundless as the bright universe I previously knew.

Su Lun realized that dark matter indeed existed in his world.

This was a mysterious realm that countless highly talented Great Alchemists had never touched for many years.

No!

Even some lower-tier gods could not touch this... the realm pointing to the secret of the cosmic origin!

At this moment, he felt like the first time he had fused job materials to become an extraordinary professional, when a new world's door had just opened, giving him a feeling that everything was brand new.

This was just the beginning; he still needed much time to digest and understand.

Su Lun was not in a hurry.

Understanding it now might not matter, the significance of the artifact was that it allowed him to wield the annihilating "Power of Dark Rules."

This artifact was called the "God Slayer" because it could kill gods!

This meant that the mummy with a dog's head inside the crypt might not be a certain death for Su Lun now.

...

Wrapped in his shroud, Su Lun completed the fusion with the artifact, and finally felt a bit of confidence that he could leave alive.

But he still did not act recklessly.

Now was not the time.

Over these few days, countless rats had swarmed into the tomb beneath the altar, gnawing at the bronze lamp.

Su Lun watched the increasingly faint runes on the lamp and knew that the demon god Apophis was about to escape.

Before the demon god Apophis could free himself, it was best for him to stay put and do nothing.

Don't be fooled, even though this demon god is trapped, with its ability to control endless swarms of rats to escape, it could easily kill a human.

And Su Lun did not want to reveal too much.

Higher-tier demon gods disdain to probe the secrets of lower-tier creatures, but that doesn't mean that if he exposed himself, the other party wouldn't be interested.

He had too many secrets on him.

Should the demon god realize that a human could master the "Power of Dark Rules", who knows what could happen.

Right now was a good time to adjust to the changes the fused artifact had brought to his body.

Previously Su Lun's physical condition was far from ready to fuse with the artifact; he had forcibly consumed a large amount of Dragon Blood making his attributes reach high values, only then succeeding in the fusion. Like the effect of a stimulant that couldn't last forever, his current state was very dangerous.

He needed time to recover.

However, after not absorbing the low-level divine power mist,

The demon god naturally discovered it immediately.

It seemed to regain interest, and Su Lun heard a whispering murmur beside his ear, "Tsk tsk, interesting... absorbing so much divine power, and a human did not burst apart? That's somewhat clever. You found the method to absorb divine power to avoid triggering the tomb's killing restrictions so quickly..."

Su Lun listened and once again adopted a humble tone, "Great Apophis, in your presence, this is nothing but a trifling art."

This humble approach had no issues, and the demon god Apophis seemed quite satisfied.

But it then said, "Human, you are already good enough. At least you are more special than other lower beings I have encountered over tens of thousands of years. Oh~ I almost forgot, there is a secret technique called 'equivalent exchange' among alchemists, indeed capable of eliminating foreign divine powers. Tsk tsk, back in the Dawn Era, when the Five Divine Kings of the Twilight Cross intimidated all realms, this technique was a taboo among the heavens..."

"..."

Hearing this, Su Lun couldn't help but be slightly shocked.

The Dawn Era indeed represented the peak moments of the Alchemy realm. But due to a discontinuity in civilizations, the timeline wasn't certain. Su Lun estimated that it was at least hundreds of thousands of years ago.

This demon god... could it have lived for hundreds of thousands of years?

How powerful must it be?

Fortunately, from the tone of the conversation, this demon god did not harbor hostility towards the Alchemy civilization.

Su Lun spoke again, "Great Apophis, in your presence, no secret in this world can escape your wise eyes."

Apophis seemed to be in a good mood, willing to talk more with a human, "In half a day, I will be able to free myself. Human, it is because of you that I was able to escape this prison that has trapped me for tens of thousands of years. As compensation, so the great Apophis allows you to ask one question."

Hearing this, Su Lun also became hopeful.

A powerful high-tier demon god, indeed, any question he had within his understanding could be answered by this being!

This compensation was not insignificant.

Su Lun pondered for a moment and thought of something, asking, "Um... Great Apophis, I have a question for you."

Apophis: "Oh?"

Su Lun asked, "Due to some reasons, my plane is being invaded by another dimensional plane. Do you have a method to close the dimensional gateway?"

Since the other party had summoned him, it was likely they knew about the existence of the alchemy plane. Hence, hiding it didn't make much sense.

Upon hearing this, Apophis showed a trace of surprise, "A dimensional gateway? Tsk tsk, such a gateway can only be constructed by a very advanced civilization. Oh~ I almost forgot, the alchemy plane was once a main god plane, but unfortunately, it was shattered later... You must be on one of its fragments, right?"

As if he had been confined for too long, his speech was somewhat rambling.

As he spoke, he had already understood everything and then said, "However... are you sure you want to ask me this question? You only have one chance. I think you could ask something more valuable. For example, how to condense a divine nature? After all, with your current realm, you should be puzzled about this. And stepping into the divine tier of the alchemy civilization is not that easy."

After thinking it over, Su Lun said, "Yes, Great God of Darkness and Destruction, I am sure I need the answer to this question."

Although the path to becoming a god was extremely tempting, he felt some beliefs were more important.

Upon hearing this, Apophis said, "Foolish and short-sighted human, you do not know what an excellent opportunity you just missed."

His tone seemed mocking, yet it didn't sound mocking.

Then, he directly answered, "Once a dimensional gateway is opened, it must be closed from both sides to be completely sealed. It seems like your plane is probably not capable of doing that. Typically, strong civilizations would not voluntarily close a dimensional gateway, and the weaker side lacks the power to close it. Hehe..."

His tone was filled with disdain from a superior being towards inferior creatures.

"..."

Hearing this, Su Lun's mood instantly became solemn.

If the problem of the dimensional gateway was not resolved, the alchemy plane would eventually be conquered.

But if even a high-level demon god couldn't do it, then it was genuinely impossible.

However, since he asked, the all-knowing and all-powerful god would naturally not say it was impossible.

Apophis clearly had a way as he spoke a meaningful proverb, "When I was very young, there was a saying in my family: if you discover a thief often crosses the river behind the garden to steal the roses, then scatter some broken glass in the river."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun suddenly had an epiphany, vaguely guessing something, "Are you saying...?"

Apophis directly said, "The most important thing about a dimensional gateway is its stability and safety. If you have the capability, collect some void fragments and throw them into the dimensional gateway. They will be a nightmare for travelers, very troublesome to clean, and the cost is immense. If there are enough fragments, even divine beings may risk falling, and then they will carefully consider whether to go through the dimensional gateway."

"!!!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately became excited.

This was indeed a method!

If the gateway could not be closed, then make it unsafe. This way, the number of individuals passing through would significantly decrease.

Especially for gods, most would not risk falling to invade another dimensional plane but would likely send their followers to die.

If they could indeed prevent the coming of divine beings from the godly planes, then there was still a fight to be had in the war of dimensional invasion!

Apophis said a few words, seemingly losing interest afterward, and finally said, "I will transmit to you a secret space technique, which will make the void fragments even more difficult to clear. Whether you can use it depends on you..."

"Thank you, Supreme Lord of the Destruction Demon Pillar!"

Su Lun promptly responded.

As soon as he spoke, he immediately sensed a thought in his mind transmitting a secret technique—[Divine Art: Star Shatter]!

Constructing a spatial gateway is very difficult, but causing a little destruction costs much less.

This secret technique was purely wicked.

To explode spatial fragments into tiny glass-like shards, scattering like stars across the dimensional gateway, would cost millions more to clean up.

Moreover, it was a very powerful attack divine art.

Ordinary beings below divinity couldn't use it, but Su Lun could.

He had the [Urobolos Space-Time Ring] and deploying this technique was no problem at all.

Indeed, high-tier planes were risky, but they also offered much more opportunity!

He had discussed the issue of the dimensional gateway countless times with Mr. Jing and others, already concluding that it was nearly a dead end.

But coming to the yellow sand plane, not only did he successfully merge with the [God Slayer], but also found a solution for the spatial gateway!

...

Apophis merely provided a few hints when interest struck him, and after speaking a few words, he was no longer interested in discussing further with this human.

In the empty underground palace, only the sound of countless rats scurrying across the floor and then being incinerated into ashes remained.

Su Lun didn't push further, quietly digesting his gains.

As the demon god had said, within half a day, countless rats had already nibbled away the runes on the copper lamp.

Suddenly, a "crack" sound, like that of metal breaking, echoed.

Su Lun sensed something and abruptly looked towards the sealed underground palace.

Previously, there were dozens of soul lamps emitting green light along the path of god, but now, the third copper lamp on the left side of the entrance had unexpectedly gone out?

Su Lun realized, that demon god was freed.

But in the very next moment, a terrifying will descended upon the entire underground palace.

Su Lun stared at the extinguished copper lamp area, where darkness twisted into a human figure.

"This isn't good!"

A sense of unprecedented horror arose inside him, and even wrapped up, he felt an indescribable terror.

Even stripped of fear emotions, there was a shiver from deep within his soul.

Even in the two 解 "All-knowing Eye," what he saw was only distorted darkness and threads of destruction rules. It seemed as if that presence was not just some entity but a part of the universe itself.

Su Lun had never seen such a terrifying being before and immediately closed his eyes.

Indescribable, unspeakable, and not to be looked upon directly...

This was a true high-tier demon god!

Then, a reckless laughter echoed, "Hahaha, I am finally free..."

Being trapped for tens of thousands of years, even a high-tier demon god could not hide his joy.

Su Lun was so shocked by the truly terrifying presence that he found himself speechless. He felt like a speck of dust; a mere sneeze from that being could obliterate him instantly.

And clearly, Apophis had not forgotten there was a human who helped him escape.

As a high-ranking demon god, He could see through the causes and effects of the universe's fate.

Even if it were just an insect, if it had favorable causality with His own fate, He should repay it.

Because it wasn't certain whether the fluttering of the insect's wings might cause a hurricane to strike Him.

He said, "Human, I know you have the ability to escape. There is a passage beneath the crevice in the southeast of the tomb, which was originally left as a secret escape route by the dwarven divine craftsmen who built this tomb. Only by taking that path can you avoid being stopped by the descendants of the Tariths. Once I leave, high-ranking gods will surely descend on this realm from the Tarith plane, arriving here within an hour at most. Take care of yourself."

Su Lun, fully aware that the demon god was guiding him, thanked Him promptly, "Thank you, God of Darkness and Destruction, the Great Lord of Chaos, the Supreme Destruction Demon Pillar, Lord Apophis, for your guidance!"

Although the "Urobolos Space-Time Ring" allowed him to teleport out of the tomb, he would inevitably encounter the encirclement and blockade of the Tarith clan once outside.

With this secret passage, there couldn't be a better option.

Moreover, he now knew he had about an hour of safety.

Apophis: "You are not bad. Divination tells me, a lower plane cannot confine you. I hope someday, I will have the chance to see you in the realm of gods. Let me give you another piece of advice, if there were only the sun without darkness, then light would no longer be the incarnation of justice, and the world would become a terrifying hell."

Su Lun had no time to ponder the profound meaning of these words and replied, "Thank you, my lord!"

However, before he could finish, that terrifying will had already dissipated.

Su Lun also knew that the demon god had left the underground palace.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a reminder echoed beside his ear again: "By the way, don't touch those coffins. Otherwise, the old fellows of the Tarith clan would not hesitate to use their last breath to climb out and kill you."

On hearing this, Su Lun's eyelids twitched slightly.

Was the demon god not only powerful but also aware of his thoughts about looting along the secret passage?

But... climb out?

Were the beings inside those coffins still alive?

This statement thoroughly discouraged Su Lun from targeting those coffins.

After waiting for a moment, the underground palace became utterly silent, even the rats had disappeared without a trace.

This time, the demon god Apophis had truly left.

....

Su Lun recalled what an Old Cowboy once said in Lyndon: In some ways, making a deal with a demon is quite fair; at least when you give something, He will definitely compensate you equally.

Although coming here to fulfill the contract was perilously close to a matter of life and death, the demon god had indeed been quite generous.

Though His advice was casual, it was all crucial.

Su Lun collected his thoughts and looked around the spacious hall.

He was naturally planning to leave.

But before leaving, with a little time to spare, he could consider taking some local specialties from the Tarith clan.

A grain of rice dropped by a god might be food enough to stuff an ant.

What high-ranking demon gods disregarded, for him, a human, could be treasures.

But before that, there was a little trouble to deal with.

Su Lun's gaze landed on a mummy body that had gathered divinity in the distance.

At that moment, he slowly removed a bit of the burial shroud wrapped around his body, leaking a bit of scent.

"It really worked!"

Su Lun rejoiced in his heart.

Having absorbed a large amount of impure divine power from the underground palace over the past few days, his body had also been contaminated with the aura of those Tarith gods. As he'd hoped, it had not triggered the mummy's killing mechanism.

When he completely removed the burial shroud, the mummy seemed to sense something and moved slightly, but uncertain of what and did not take action.

Su Lun also thoroughly breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the vast underground palace was filled with gray-white mist, permeated with the strange smell of the millions of rats that had previously been burned here.

Mr. Crow had already divided into hundreds, greedily consuming the dense aura of death here while also sharing the vision.

Su Lun carefully walked inside the underground palace.

Previously, he had almost emptied all the items on this floor, there was nothing good to see, his target was the mysterious space beneath that altar.

Although Apophis had cautioned him not to think about disrupting those divine-tier coffins, if Su Lun wasn't mistaken, there were many other things inside the tomb besides coffins.

As he walked past, he saw the "Key of Immortality" embedded in the floor.

"What a good thing..."

Su Lun felt he definitely had to take it with him when he left.

This key still held a lot of pure life energy, enough to resurrect someone.

As for the belief divine power needed to activate the talisman, Pandora had it!

Having this by his side was like suddenly having an extra life.

Probably after picking it up, the doors of the underground palace would close, so Su Lun was not in a hurry to act. He looked towards the inside of the underground palace.

On getting closer, that soul-chilling sensation became even clearer.

Green lights from spirit lamps illuminated colorful coffins; many other places were pitch black.

Su Lun did not step inside, just stood at the doorway.

A glance inside revealed not much was moving.

Though the All-knowing Eye held too many secrets, he also understood that the underground was a massive formation, with crystal obelisks linking the coffins and various divine-tier restraints.

All were divine-tier treasures of immeasurable value.

But none dared to be touched.

However, Su Lun's gaze fell on the ground.

As the spirit lamps burned, oil dripped into boxes forming pools of amber-like crystalline residues.

On inspection, they turned out to be what he recognized from harvesting a Pharaoh's memories.

"Flawless Divine Womb"

Detailed Explanation: A pristine embryo, formed from concentrated Divine Power, used by the Taris clan to carry soul entities; it possesses high malleability and can be nurtured into various biological forms;

....

"This 'Flawless Divine Embryo' was actually concocted from the lamps of gods' souls?"

Su Lun suddenly realized.

The Taris clan has always had the legend of the "Chosen of the Gods."

It is said that every few decades, a deity with top-tier talent, destined to become a demigod, would appear in the divine planes.

They gave guidance to believers and spread faith.

The strength of the Taris civilization was directly related to these Chosen!

Su Lun had originally thought that the devotees were just exceptionally talented people chosen by the deities, but seeing this Divine Embryo, he immediately realized that this could be the source of the 'Chosen of the Taris' and might also be closely linked to resurrection techniques!

However, he had no interest in caring about the Chosen; in the eyes of an alchemist, this was just a material!

"It's actually such a divine-grade material..."

Su Lun looked at it, eyes gleaming.

This "Divine Embryo" also has a special role in the field of Alchemy, that is, creating artificial humans!

Having read various notes beforehand, he discovered that Pandora's body was made from this material.

A thousand years ago, Sir Isaac and Lady Isaac somehow found such a Divine Embryo and then created Pandora.

Su Lun had completely mastered the technique of creating artificial humans, but he was still lacking the right main material.

Unexpectedly, he encountered it here.

"Ah... there we go, the material for that girl Pesutoya's body."

Su Lun's mind whirled, and he became lively immediately.

Since the "Divine Embryo" is the crystallization of Divine Power corpse oil, with no magical imprints or restrictions involved, taking it would not affect those beings inside the sarcophagus.

He thought that taking a little bit should not be a problem.

Su Lun observed again and indeed, there was nothing else worth taking.

He didn't dare to enter himself, so he signaled Mr. Crow to grasp the silk thread, tying it to the two Divine Embryos closest to the main gate.

He had planned to take a few more pieces together, but at that moment, a sudden change occurred.

A chilling aura of killing intent came crashing down from behind!

Since Su Lun chose tomb raiding, he naturally had his defenses prepared.

His gaze sharpened, and he threw a heavy counterpunch to block.

At the same time, he suddenly realized something, "Does merely intending to rob the tomb immediately trigger this dog-headed mummy's slaughter mechanism?"

It wasn't particularly surprising.

In just a flash, the dog-headed mummy appeared in front of him, with a punch enshrouded by a domain of rules aiming straight for his face, making Su Lun's scalp tingle.

It was this very punch that had blasted the barbarian Ralph, who had demigod combat power, to pieces three days earlier.

Any demigod taking this punch would likely die instantly!

However, Su Lun had already unleashed the "God Eater" exoskeleton, his punch also enveloped in a layer of invisible energy, launching out without any hesitation.

As the two punches collided, something miraculous happened.

The scene that should have been gory was nowhere to be seen!

As the mummy's fist unleashed a rule-breaking destructive force, it seemed as if it was neutralized and obliterated by some energy, disappearing without a trace.

Su Lun felt the mummy's fist, which was simply a bit stronger, lacking the rule-level destructive power.

"It really works!"

Although he was blown back, he was overjoyed in his heart.

Being able to withstand a strike from this divine-tier mummy meant it no longer posed a lethal threat to him!

It also meant he now had a real means to counter at a divine level.

....

Su Lun was blown backward, but he used this force to pull, and the threads tugged, causing two pieces of the 'Divine Embryo' to fly out from the crypt.

He flashed forward and instantly stored them in his spatial storage.

The treasure was now in hand!

However, at that moment, the mummy flashed forward again, launching another punch, and Su Lun was blown back once more.

Without the lethal threat, as long as he spent some time, Su Lun felt he might be able to defeat this divine-tier dog-headed mummy.

After all, the mummy possessed a Divine Emblem, a true treasure!

But having just integrated the exoskeleton, he was not perfectly in control of this completely unfamiliar "dark rule" power, and the risk of defeat was not small.

Moreover, since this was the Taris clan's tomb, it was not advisable to linger in battle.

He knew he couldn't take down the dog-headed mummy in a short time, and the risks of further tomb raiding would only increase.

There's a time to be greedy,

and a time when you must decisively retreat,

As Su Lun was blown away, he decisively tugged on the threads again.

"Click," the "Key of Eternity" embedded in the altar was also pulled out.

Just then, the entire crypt began to creak and groan, as if some restriction had been triggered.

Su Lun didn't plan to delay any longer. The moment he took the key, he turned his head and teleported towards the southeast tunnel to escape.

Although the mummy was fast, Su Lun was focused on escaping. In the crypt, built with indestructible 'Asgard Divine Stones', it wasn't easy to chase him.

"Thud" "Thud" "Thud" After breaking through several walls, Su Lun successfully shook off the mummy and plunged into a space crack.