Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun dragged Yuta along in a frantic run, appearing somewhat disheveled, yet the expression of relief on his face was evident.

Thanks to his preparedness, the plan for a swift kill had ultimately encountered no mishaps.

Having successfully hunted a fourth-tier Heart-Stealing Demon Lord, his third-tier alchemy implant finally had a purpose, achieving his main goal for venturing to the northern ice fields.

Su Lun was naturally in high spirits.

The Hell Thorn Beast going berserk behind them was somewhat baffling, but since the monster's main body was virtually incapable of teleportation, as long as the tentacles emerging from the ground were avoided, there was no danger at all.

With an evacuation route prepared in advance, Su Lun and Yuta managed to flee the swamp with ease.

They reached a dense forest and stopped there.

The ground was firm, making it easy to detect any monster tentacles that might reach them.

....

Both panting heavily, Yuta caught Su Lun's relieved expression and asked with a smile, "Was it a success?"

"Mm!"
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Su Lun nodded.

Without the information from the Dalu clan or Yuta accompanying him on this adventure, he wouldn't have stumbled upon such a grand opportunity.

The Heart-Stealing Demon's brain was the ideal material for the "Spiritual Tentacles." He was very much looking forward to seeing the astonishing effects of the successfully crafted implant. This type of implant crafting was quite special, as it had to be done while the brain cells of the Heart-Stealing Demon were not fully dead.

Not daring to delay, he said, "Let's go, we need to find a safe place. I must craft the implant as soon as possible."

Yuta flashed a grin revealing her sharp little fangs and replied, "Okay."

Soon, the two found a wolf den cave.

Yuta scouted nearby and found no signs of higher-tier magical beasts.

Only then did Su Lun relax.

As the main ingredient was difficult to find, the crafting process of the implant could not be disturbed; there was no room for error.

Yuta also realized how important this implant was to Su Lun, so she didn't interfere and instead helped keep watch outside the cave with great care.

With the corpse still fresh, Su Lun didn't dare waste more time. He took out the body of the Heart-Stealing Demon.

Since the other ingredients were prepared beforehand, he could start anytime.

Once the Eight-armed Spider Lance was unfolded, the melting array needed for crafting the implant appeared on the ground.

The fiery Hexagram Array lit up, and Su Lun, holding a scalpel, precisely removed the complete brain of the Heart-Stealing Demon. Following the crafting sequence he knew by heart, he commenced creating the implant.

Before long, the vast cave was flickering with intermittent orange-red glows.

This crafting session lasted three days and three nights.

....

Spiritual implants were quite niche and their creation was particularly troublesome, requiring a significant expenditure of experience.

Fortunately, Su Lun was proficient in all areas of forging, allowing him to craft on his own.

Now multitasking, he was doing the work of seven or eight people single-handedly.

He was a master craftsman, rune master, enchantment master, and material analysis master... a one-man team equal to an entire large forging group.

His strong cognitive control abilities also allowed him to methodically shape the implant into form.

Finally, on the evening of the third day,

Su Lun looked at the finished product floating within the alchemical glow and smiled contentedly.

It was a semi-transparent tentacle implant resembling a jellyfish.

"Spiritual Tentacles of the Heart-Stealing Demon"

Description: Dark gold quality alchemy implant; third-tier containment value rated S+ or above, fourth-tier A+, spiritual power not less than 750, mutation rate less than 5%; upon fusion, one gains the ability of spiritual tentacles, +88 spell resistance to mental spells, +70% mental strength, +10% mental spell penetration, +22% nerve reaction speed, +5% intelligence, +0.3% brain domain development;

"Tsk tsk... the fusion requirements are quite demanding," Su Lun said as he assessed the properties of the implant, visibly delighted.

Some attributes of the finished implant were even better than he had anticipated.

Mental resistance and spell penetration were exceedingly practical enhancements for his magical abilities. With a successful fusion of the implant, the mental control effect he aimed for would be even more perfect.

Initially, Su Lun had merely sought to obtain a third-tier mental leader monster, but unexpectedly encountered a fourth-tier Heart-Stealing Demon.

Under normal circumstances, he would have needed to downgrade the materials, crafting the implant into a "Gold Quality" or "Silver Quality," to ensure that he wouldn't mutate after fusion.

But since his own spiritual power had mutated, granting him an extraordinarily high spiritual power, he was able to meet the fusion criteria that would normally only be satisfying at the fourth tier.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Su Lun looked at the freshly forged "Psychic Tendrils" implant, meditated to recover some dark spiritual power for a while, and then immediately began the integration process.

He arranged the Hexagram Alchemy Array, placed pure crystals on the six points of the star, and drew mystic patterns with a secret mixture of mercury and lizard powder, which was then activated with the blood of a heart-stealing demon to energize the entire formation.

Standing at the center of the Hexagram Array, Su Lun held the implant in his hand and murmured, "By the law of equivalent exchange of all things, praise the glory of the original creator, and witness the miracle of creation through alchemy..."

A fiery radiance enveloped the whole cave as the wondrous fusion reaction proceeded violently.

This was not Su Lun's first time integrating an implant; his mind was as still as water. His body had enough endurance that even though the process of merging a psychic implant made him drowsy, he successfully completed it smoothly.

Two hours later, the light from the fusion formation completely dissipated, and Su Lun abruptly opened his eyes from his meditation, "It's done!"

As expected, he had perfectly integrated the tendril implant.

Eager to test his new ability, Su Lun formed the sorcerer's seals with both hands and shouted, "Implant·Release!"

In the next instant, a white hexagram array lit up beneath his feet, and Su Lun immediately felt the difference.

The "Psychic Tendrils" were intangible, invisible to the naked eye.

Yet, in the mirror image, Su Lun saw a faint white halo lingering all around his body.

He also clearly sensed them—the "invisible tendrils" he could control at will, much like his own war spear!

The tendrils could be thick or thin, and Su Lun focused a strand of spiritual power into the shape of a hand. Then, he tried to pick up a stone from the ground.

A miraculous scene unfolded before his eyes.

The stone, as if defying gravity, slowly rose from the ground and floated up before his face.

"Psychic manipulation of objects..."

Su Lun's gaze slightly narrowed.

Although it felt effortful, his eyes couldn't hide the delight within them.

"Psychic object manipulation" is vastly different from "Qi object manipulation."

Because Qi is a substance, any professional with a slight understanding of controlling Qi would more or less know some techniques, such as Sword Qi, Blade Qi, shockwaves...

But psychic power is imperceptible, escaping the normal methods of human detection.

To put it simply, it ignores obstacles and cannot be blocked!

While Qi leaves traces that can be blocked, psychic power leaves no trace to follow.

If harnessed well, this ability could become an invisible, deadly weapon.

But for now, it was obviously just the beginning.

After handling the stone for a while, trying to move it farther away, Su Lun immediately felt as if a child was lifting a weight of a thousand catties, unable to bear the burden.

With a clang, the stone fell uncontrollably to the ground.

Even so, Su Lun was very satisfied.

Once his psychic power grew stronger in the future, his ability to move objects through the air would also strengthen.

However, object manipulation was just an additional feature of the "Psychic Tendrils" implant.

What Su Lun was truly concerned about was the tendrils' ability to control living beings!

...

"Sigh... I've never been so eager before."

Su Lun's gaze was profound as he whispered to himself, "I hope it works..."

He formed the sorcerer's seals with his hands once more and released the "Thousand Threads" implant.

This time, strands of pale blue threads floated from his hands.

Su Lun tried to attach the psychic tendrils to the threads, and they spread out smoothly without difficulty.

"As I thought, this idea is feasible!"

Ecstatic with his successful attempt, Su Lun was overjoyed.

He had previously tried and found that a witch's hair was an excellent conductor for psychic power.

Thinking that the combination of hair and tendrils would manifest significant qualitative change, he was proven right—he succeeded!

It was like installing wires on a battery; he could now send the "electric current" to much farther places.

This would instantly increase the control distance of his psychic tendrils by several times, even dozens of times!

And they became controllable, penetrating, precise, and stable, not prone to dissipation!

This was also one of the most important reasons why he had to choose this type of armor advancement.

Armor not only needs to be a perfect match with the profession, but the combination of multiple performances can also stack up the practical efficiency, creating some ingenious uses.

This is why those ancient families all have their own inherited set of exclusive "advancement sequences." Centuries of trial and error have yielded combinations of armor and professional materials that can maximize combat power.

While his thoughts were still spinning in his mind, Su Lun immediately planned to put it to the test.

At that moment, he took out a zombie from his storage space.

Then, he carefully attached a silk thread with spiritual power tentacles to the neurons in the back of the zombie's brain.

He had already thoroughly read the various human anatomy diaries of the forensic doctor Gerald, and now he had a nearly perfect grasp of the human nervous system.

It was at the instant when the spiritual tentacles touched the neurons, Su Lun immediately felt as though he was holding a "Transformer" in his hand, which he could manipulate at will.

He sent a "control signal" to lift an arm from his mind, and the zombie indeed raised an arm!

Moreover, the attempt was not at all clumsy despite being his first try; he adeptly tried various manipulations.

Because three days ago, when Su Lun killed the Heart Snatcher, he also conveniently stripped the monster's soul of the [Experience with Spiritual Tentacle Control]!

The ability of the Heart Snatcher to control any intelligent creature was a mythological bloodline talent. Although Su Lun couldn't strip away the talent, he had stripped its usage experience.

He had ample proficiency in how to control it.

The zombie in front of him began to perform various complex movements under Su Lun's control.

The movements were as fluid as those of a living person, with no stiffness at all.

It didn't look at all like the previous "marionette" style!

If one isn't enough, then two, three, four...

Su Lun didn't even need to move his fingers to control the threads like before, those zombies perfectly executed the same actions as the "control signals" he sent.

Neural signals precisely activated muscles, commanding the flow of spiritual power...

"This is when my Puppeteer profession truly takes off," Su Lun thought, with a tremble in his gaze.

Seeing this, he truly realized the viability of the path he had planned for his future.

One thread to control one zombie, the controllability of the puppet army was finally arriving!

Although it seemed like he controlled zombies the same way as before, the essence was worlds apart.

Previously it was physical control; he needed to manipulate hundreds of threads to control the zombies, making them perform the actions he envisioned. But because it was external control, some actions were greatly limited, and the agility of the zombies was poor.

Now, with only one thread, he can truly bring the zombies to life.

As flexible as his own shadow.

This also meant that Su Lun freed up a large number of threads and could now control even more puppets!

This also meant that the zombies wielding scythes were no longer stiff, making it more likely to hit their targets; controlling the cumbersome combat Mecha no longer required countless threads—one thread could solve it, and it was more agile...

....

Before long, the entire cave was filled with various blue-skinned zombies.

They were like a party, some dancing, some keeping the beat, some...

Although there was only one living person, the scene was exceptionally lively.

Amidst such a terrifying scene, Su Lun took pleasure in it.

He gradually became proficient with the control techniques of the new armor [Spiritual Tentacles], and he also discovered some shortcomings.

For example, the control distance—signals would become less accurate the further they were sent.

Another point was that before, he felt the "multi-focus" ability was sufficient, but now he suddenly found it lacking!

One thread could control one zombie, but no matter how divided his attention, it couldn't outnumber the threads.

However, these were not major issues; his spiritual power would enhance over time, and these aspects would gradually improve.

"Tsk tsk..."

Su Lun was very pleased with his new ability.

However, strong as the spiritual tentacles were, they also had a problem—they could only control living bodies.

Right now, other than controlling the zombie with the black scythe, his other puppets were wooden, and some mechanical.

In the short term, these spiritual tentacles wouldn't be able to exert their full combat power.

"When can I get Duke Raphael's 'Nerve-Mechanical Technology' and create a mechanical puppet army; only then will I truly soar..."

Su Lun looked at the mechanical battle armor before him, which was easily controlled with an animated corpse stuffed inside, and felt a sense of wonder.

Now that the first step had been taken, the future held great promise.

....

Soon, Su Lun retracted the animated corpse horde, and for the first time in three days, he finally stepped out of the cave.

As he walked out of the soundproof barrier, he heard some noises, which came from Yuta, who was on alert up in the trees.

Yuta clearly noticed him too and excitedly jumped down from the tree.

She looked at Su Lun, whose face was adorned with joy, "Mr. Su Lun, have you successfully integrated the battle gear?"

"Yes."

Su Lun nodded and then turned to her, "You have worked hard these past few days."

Yuta gave a graceful smile, not minding that she had been in the tree for several days at all.

She didn't bring up that topic but instead expressed concern, "You seem to be in a good mood, Mr. Su Lun. Is the new battle gear really powerful?"

She was actually quite curious what battle gear refined from a monster like the "Heart Stealer" would be like since even the clan leaders thought it was a helplessly evil creature.

"Want to see it?"

Su Lun smiled and suddenly thought of something as he lifted his hand slightly.

Yuta blinked with curiosity, thinking she might see something.

But suddenly, to her surprise, she found that her hand had involuntarily lifted?

Su Lun certainly didn't dare to try it directly on Yuta's main nerve, but instead, he had cut off the nerve signal transmission in her arm, so as to control her to make the motion of raising her arm.

"Eh..."

Yuta let out a soft gasp and immediately understood, deeply shocked, "This is the monster's control ability!"

"Mhm."

Su Lun nodded with a smile and also asked, "How does it feel?"

Yuta thought for a moment and said, "I can sense the intrusion of spiritual power. Um... I should be able to break free of the control with willpower."

"Mhm."

Su Lun nodded thoughtfully.

The Heart Stealer had a mythic bloodline talent allowing it to control many spiritual puppets.

Even though Su Lun himself was human and could reach the same level of Spiritual Power, the effect would still vastly differ.

He estimated that at full power, he could control professionals of the third, or even the fourth, tier.

But the extent of this control was another question.

The target's spiritual power, willpower, equipment, and other factors would all impact the controlling effect.

The more dispersed the control was, the more difficult it would be to maintain.

A lot of practice was needed to determine specific data.

However, it was not a major issue.

Su Lun had intended to use this battle gear to control animated corpses anyway.

....

When Su Lun came out, it was already dusk, and neither of them planned to travel through the forest at night.

Yuta seemed to have prepared the game earlier waiting for Su Lun to emerge, that being a cheetah. In no time, the golden juicy roasted meat was already emitting a delicious aroma over the campfire.

In the quiet primitive jungle, with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers, it was a perfect scene for a romantic tryst.

Having not seen each other for several days, the two flirted for a while by the glowing red firelight which outlined their graceful and wild figures.

Yuta asked, "Where should we go next?"

Su Lun thought for a moment and said, "I want to go check out 'Cursed Valley'."

He now knew that an army from the Luying Empire had already reached the ruins and had a general understanding of the situation there. Although it was dangerous, with new means at his disposal, his ability to protect himself was much stronger.

Such a grand ancient ruin was naturally worth exploring.

Moreover, Mr. Jing had entrusted him to confirm some matters.

Yuta, hearing this, nodded as well, "Okay."

She too had long held the notion to go see if, like her ancestors, she could find something in the ruins that would bring "hope" to revive her tribe.