Mechanical Alchemist

After discovering that the "Harbinger of Death" was a treasure, Su Lun spent the entire night studying its additional functions.

He thought that even in the necromantic realm of another dimension, such a "mythical species" creature would be very rare.

Fearing he might not be able to summon it again, Su Lun coaxed and deceived, planning to sign a Blood Covenant.

The crow seemed not to mind, happily agreeing after consuming two pieces of rotting flesh.

Although they couldn't communicate directly, as a contracted creature, they could simply share thoughts.

The intelligence of crows is already high, but this "Harbinger of Death" was clearly much smarter than the average crow.

Moreover, Su Lun had also gleaned some experience in raising crows, making their communication relatively smooth.

Soon, he figured out the other two abilities of the bird — "resurrection" and "shared vision."

After signing the Blood Covenant, Su Lun discovered his soul had mysteriously connected with the bird.

Channeling the power of the contract was like a video call, enabling him to see through the eyes of the Harbinger of Death.

After multiple trials, he had mastered this new ability.

Before, he wasn't very confident about hunting the "Heartstealer Demon," but with the crow, his confidence increased significantly.

It was a true "undying species" creature. Even if its body was shattered, as long as the death energy remained, it could resurrect next to the Contractor and reassemble itself.

In other words, it was an indestructible "unmanned scout."

The cost of using this ability was minimal, just a piece of tasty rotting flesh, and the crow would be willing to work for him.

Moreover, Su Lun also learned some legends about this bird from Yuta.

The ancient necromancy books recorded that the Harbinger of Death served as a messenger between the netherworld and other planes of existence. It was one of the most coveted contract pets for top-tier necromancers. They often accompanied real deities of death, devouring death energies. While consuming rotting flesh, they could occasionally gain certain abilities of the corpses, condensing death laws and becoming stronger over time.

This innate ability was somewhat similar to that of a "Death Reaper," one consuming corpses and the other souls. Weak earlier on but stronger later.

Su Lun also guessed this was why he managed to summon this mythical breed.

He was excited to see what the bird would be like when fully matured.

However, the only problem was that the bird was very picky about its food.

Su Lun tried feeding it various types of meat, but discovered it only ate the "Cursed Flesh" from their spoil of war.

Other meats, it wouldn't even glance at.

This also meant Su Lun couldn't keep it with him for long.

After all, there wasn't much of that type of meat, and once it was gone, it was gone.

After trying for a few hours and keeping some meat as a reserve, he released the necromancy spell and sent the crow back to the other dimension.

He thought about keeping the bird around for a long time once he found enough high-quality rotting flesh as "feed."

...

The next morning, sunlight entered the cave.

After resting and preparing, Su Lun and Yuta continued on their journey.

The Grey Wolf Tribe was about a day or two further north, located near the "Cursed Valley."

This area was a forbidden place for the Dalu tribe, and Yuta had never been there, only having heard the elders in the tribe mention it.

By the evening of the next day, the two had arrived at a place called the "Blood Fog Swamp."

They found their way obscured by swathes of blood-red mist.

Yuta looked at the rudimentary beast-skin map and pointed in a direction, saying, "Not far northwest of the swamp is the place where our ancestors encountered the 'Heartstealer Demon.' There should be a skull-shaped grotto there..."

"Hmm."

Su Lun nodded.

Looking at the blood fog ahead, he didn't plan to probe it with his body.

In the current situation, the crow came in handy.

Thinking this, he pinched his sorcerer's seals, and the five-pointed star formation lit up, summoning a black crow.

After feeding it a piece of rotting flesh, the Harbinger of Death took to the sky.

A flicker passed through Su Lun's right eye, and immediately, the view from the crow appeared.

The blood fog of the swamp was confusing, but because the mist was heavy, it covered just tens of meters above the ground.

The crow flew up a hundred meters, and the view instantly opened up.

Then, he indeed spotted the skull-shaped grotto Yuta had mentioned.

Su Lun softly exclaimed, "Found it!"

But he was simultaneously shocked, "Could it really be a fossilized skull? How enormous must that creature be?"

Perhaps it was not clear from the ground, but from the sky, it was unmistakable.

It looked like a human skull, with sockets and the shape of a mouth - a gray-white grotto that didn't seem naturally formed, but more like the rotting body of a humanoid lying on the ground.

It was truly massive, with just the two eye sockets measuring several meters in diameter.

Just as he intended to take a closer look, at that moment, a dark shadow swooped across the sky, a flying creature of unknown species, swallowing the crow in one gulp.

The vision cut off, and a swirl of dark mist on Su Lun's shoulder condensed into a crow again.

Su Lun fed it another piece of rotting flesh, replenishing its death energy.

He frowned slightly and said to Yuta beside him, "Let's go. Be careful."

Yuta nodded, "Hmm."

The Cursed Valley stretched from the north to the south, and members of the Lurian Judgment Legion had entered from the northern entrance.

The "Heartstealer Demon" Su Lun was looking for was in the south, unavoidable through this swampy terrain.

With the fog obscuring their sight and limiting visibility, the two moved slowly.

In the swamp, there were giant crocodiles dozens of meters long, black water snakes capable of swallowing buffalo whole, and tyrant leeches that could drain a person dry without them even noticing... and countless venomous insects.

Everywhere in the swamp was fraught with danger.

Had it been earlier, Su Lun would definitely have been extremely cautious with every step he took.

But now he held a black umbrella in his hand, his perception expanded several times, allowing him to easily sense and avoid the powerful beasts hidden in the mud and thus avoid unnecessary battles.

Yuta, being a Druid, was also proficient in various methods of pest control and draining miasma.

There was also the unmanned aerial vehicle, a black crow.

With the cooperation of the two and the bird, they managed to proceed quite smoothly.

Once they confirmed the direction of the cave, they quickly arrived in the nearby area.

....

Su Lun and his companion didn't rashly approach but chose a safe place to first observe the situation.

Near the cave, they discovered some human adventurers' scattered equipment and belongings.

It appeared that humans had passed through here recently.

Without any signs of battle, it was highly likely that they had become food for some creature.

The heart-stealing demon was a subterranean creature, usually not appearing on the surface, let alone in daylight.

However, its psychic tentacles could extend very far.

The elders of the Dalu clan had once passed by here, controlled without their knowledge, and then walked into the cave to become food for the monster.

This was also the terrifying aspect of the heart-stealing demon.

Had it been earlier, Su Lun would probably have slowly approached the Skull Grotto to test it out.

But if so, once discovered, they would have had to fight face-to-face with the puppets enslaved by the heart-stealing demon. Then continue fighting all the way down to find its main body.

This plan was not impossible, but it was a last resort

The situation inside the grotto was unclear,

Su Lun did not think that a creature as intelligent and evil as the heart-stealing demon would be without means of escape. Even if they could defeat those psychic puppets, the chances of catching it would be very low after signaling their presence.

Moreover, Su Lun did not know how many puppets it had, what species they were, or what rank they were...

Now with the black crow, it was much easier.

Su Lun didn't need to probe himself; remote control would suffice.

He released the black crow, which flew along the way and entered the skull-shaped cave.

Upon looking, the cave unveiled another world.

The black crow flew deeper into the tortuous underground, and then they saw a village.

"There are so many lizardmen?"

Light flickered in Su Lun's eyes as he discerned the shadows active in the glow of the magic crystals, clearly a bustling village.

The creatures were covered in scales with long tails, and he identified them as the subterranean species "lizardmen".

The black crow perched on a cliff rock, carefully observing everything inside the cave.

This lizardmen tribe had at least five to six hundred individuals.

Indeed, not rushing in was the right choice.

Lizardmen of the fourth rank grow horns on their heads, which are easy to distinguish.

Su Lun saw several horned individuals among the group of lizardmen. The horns were not long, meaning there was no particularly troublesome presence.

Moreover, upon closer examination, some of the lizardmen were wearing human leather armors and armors

They looked like the equipment of a "slave hunter team".

The meat they were sharing was that of human and Dalu tribesmen!

The scene was exceptionally bloody.

The devoured corpses had their skulls uniformly punctured with a hole, their brains sucked out.

Seeing this, Su Lun immediately realized that the heart-stealing demon must be here!

Such evil creatures, their favorite food was the brain matter of living beings.

"To think it controlled an entire tribe of lizardmen as its food supply..."

Su Lun's gaze turned slightly solemn.

If they went in head-on, he would first have to fight with these five to six hundred lizardmen.

Whether they could win was not certain,

Even if they truly won, the heart-stealing demon would probably take the opportunity to escape.

After watching for a while, the black crow did not spot any likely fifth-rank presences and continued deeper into the cave.

Not far in, it discovered a cave emitting a green luminescence.

The source of the green light was a pool in the cave, filled with fist-sized spheres.

The crow's gaze shifted and immediately saw several humans standing there, expressionless. Opposite them, a monster three meters tall with an ugly face and meaty tentacles piercing through human skulls and greedily sucking the brains out.

And those humans being used as "food" didn't resist or struggle until their death.

"It's here!"

Outside the cave, Su Lun saw this scene and immediately determined that this was the heart-stealing demon he was looking for!

Just then, perhaps due to the noise made by the black crow entering, the tentacled monster suddenly looked up, and an invisible shockwave hit them.

Su Lun only felt the scene before his eyes freeze like a paused tape, then it collapsed instantly.

When he looked again, the black crow had reformed on his shoulder.

....

The Reaper had died twice in a short time, suffering severe loss of its death essence.

Hard to recover with only food, Su Lun sent it back to the other realm.

Watching the Reaper revive again, Yuta asked, "How is it, is the Heart Stealer in the burrow?"

Su Lun nodded his head, "It is."
Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire

While speaking, the frown of contemplation never left his face.

Seeing him like this, Yuta was slightly worried, "Is it going to be very tricky?"

After all, passed down from the ancestors, it was a tremendously horrifying creature, and she also harbored an innate fear. The fifth-order elder who initially encountered it had barely escaped with his life. After so many years, that Heart Stealer might have grown even stronger.

"It is somewhat tricky. The burrow is large and complex, and there's also a tribe of about six hundred lizardmen..."

Su Lun explained the situation truthfully while strategizing inside his mind.

Having thought of something, his tone shifted, adding, "But I have some assurance."

The lifespan of a Heart Stealer is much longer than that of humans.

But accordingly, their advancement is very slow.

Therefore, Su Lun judged that this Heart Stealer was about the same as before, at most a fourth-order.

This was deduced from the fact that the strongest among those lizardmen was only fourth-order.

If the Heart Stealer were of a higher order, it would definitely have stronger "spiritual puppets."

Moreover, Su Lun had discovered a "significant advantage!"

The pool emitting a fluorescent light that the black crow saw in the burrow was the Heart Stealer's hatching pool!

Having thoroughly researched this evil species beforehand, Su Lun knew that Heart Stealers were hermaphrodites; they produce eggs in their brains and then place them in the hatching pool, a process that consumes a lot of vital essence.

Therefore, during the hatching process, when the creature is at its weakest in its life, its combat capability often drops a rank.

If it was a fourth-order lord Heart Stealer, then in its hatching state, it might have only the strength of a normal fourth-order, or even third-order.

This was the best opportunity to strike!

Having heard Su Lun's explanation, Yuta knew that he always deliberated deeply before acting and didn't say much, only asking, "What are you going to do then? There are six to seven hundred lizardmen; if we really fight, the creature might escape..."

"No! I'm not going in through the cave entrance!"

Su Lun shook his head, his eyes intense, and said, "That creature won't leave the hatching pool; I'll teleport directly there. Its physical combat strength isn't strong. As long as I withstand the mental attacks and kill it quickly, there should be no large issue."

Listening, Yuta also felt this was the best plan, "Can I help with anything?"

Su Lun had noticed the slick slime on the walls of the burrow previously and thought, "Not ruling out that the Heart Stealer might have other tricks. If I can't kill it or encounter other dangers, I might not have enough time to escape. Then you can tear the space scroll, and I can teleport directly to it!"

As he spoke, he handed Yuta a space scroll.

Having been inspired by necromancy the night before, he had thought of another method of escape.

That is "reverse necromancy."

By pre-sealing the energy needed for space displacement and the Blood Covenant in the scroll, Su Lun could teleport quickly and precisely without even forming sorcerer's seals.

This method allowed for even faster and further displacement.

Although he had meticulously calculated over and again, confirming the speed-kill plan had a success rate of over ninety percent, he was not careless.

This was the last line of insurance.

Yuta nodded her head.

....

Having prepared everything, Su Lun was ready to make his move.

The space inside the burrow was not large, and the mechanized armor was not agile enough. He didn't plan to wear it, but he took off the helmet made of invigorating alloy to wear. He also draped on a Gold-Patterned Cloak and held a human-skin black umbrella possessed by a vengeful spirit.

With these multiple levels of insurance, unless the Heart Stealer was sixth-order, it couldn't possibly control him.

Everything prepared, Su Lun suddenly disengaged his Eight-Arm Spider Spear implant and teleported to the entrance of the Skull Grotto.

Almost simultaneously, a wave of spiritual power swept over.

"Was I discovered after all!"

Su Lun was not surprised, dropped a few signal transmitters, then performed the Spatial Technique again.

Having previously explored the terrain inside the cavern, he teleported directly to a deep spot in the cave. At the same moment, he immediately heard dense footsteps converging towards him.

It was clearly the lizardmen controlled by the Heart Stealer advancing to kill.

Su Lun had no intention of getting entangled; he dropped two transmitters, then teleported again.

His vision in the dark was extremely good, and even in the dimly lit mines, he had no trouble seeing.

The scene before him changed again, and he appeared immediately in the cavern with the green fluorescent light that he had seen before.

In his Soul Perception, a very strong soul fire appeared right in front of Su Lun!

Then he and the creature with tendrils all over its face faced off in a stare-down.

The creature, apparently seeing "Spatial Magic" for the first time, was greatly surprised by this sudden appearance of an enemy.

Its reaction was not slow, with a glare, an invisible shockwave surged directly towards him.

"Soul Shock!"

Su Lun's pupils constricted slightly; even with the helmet and holding the black umbrella, the sensation like being hit with a blunt object at the back of his head made his expression flicker momentarily.

This kind of mental shockwave, if faced by a fifth-order professional, would likely succumb to it.

But Su Lun was overjoyed as he loosened his grip on the communicator in his hand.

Having endured that first wave of the attack meant, as anticipated, that the Heartstealer Demon had little effect on him!

The monster's attack was also very skilled, its tendrils lashed out like spikes towards his eye sockets while causing a soul shock.

This was its only close-range combat method.

A cold gleam flashed in Su Lun's eyes as he dodged the tendrils like lightning.

Without hesitation, he took out a chessboard, intending to directly draw the Heartstealer Demon into the space within the chessboard. However, unexpectedly, the chessboard space malfunctioned for the first time; ripples formed around the demon's body, which rendered it immune to the beam.

At this moment, a large number of lizardmen had already appeared in the cave tunnel behind him.

The Heartstealer Demon, clearly aware of its weakness in close combat, had summoned spirit puppets.

"A spiritual power barrier? Or is it immune because its spiritual power is stronger than mine..."

A flash of doubt passed through Su Lun's mind, but he wasn't flustered at all and changed his approach, ready to face off directly.

With both hands forming magician's seals, he softly exclaimed, "Mystic Art: Puppet Theater!"

Just then, densely packed threads appeared throughout the cave, a scroll unrolled, and dozens of puppets manifested, blocking the cave entrance and stopping the aggressively advancing lizardmen.

As for himself, he charged without hesitation towards the main body of the Heartstealer Demon.

In such a confined space, Su Lun, a Puppet Master, wasn't afraid of numerous monsters.

The Heartstealer Demon continued to release waves of spiritual shock, and Su Lun felt his consciousness becoming increasingly foggy.

What was worse, from deep within the cave suddenly came a sound like a giant serpent moving through the cave.

"Are there other spirit puppets?"

Su Lun faintly realized what the slime on the walls indicated.

Although he didn't know what kind of creature was coming, he knew he had to quickly kill the Heartstealer Demon in front of him. The sorcerer's seals transformed again: "Thread Control Secret Technique: Cocoon!"

Masses of threads, like a spider web, sealed off the various cave entrances.

The Heartstealer Demon had nowhere to retreat.

Su Lun charged violently, his whole body covered in cold flames, and his eight-armed spear jabbed around the creature.

He immediately confirmed that the physical combat strength of this monster was very weak, merely on the level of an ordinary tier-three magical beast!

Once Su Lun got close, the demon had no escape and was instantly punctured with several bloody holes.

Just as Su Lun was about to finish it off in a flurry of success, the sudden sound of friction was already next to his ear.

The wall made of threads was not thick enough; a pink tendril like a blind shot suddenly pierced through the wall and charged at Su Lun like lightning.

Before it hit, the tip of the pink tendril suddenly burst open like a flower, turning into a giant mouth full of sharp teeth, and the muscle that resembled the throat pulsed, spewing out a foul and pungent acid.

Su Lun's eyes hardened, and he immediately recognized the origin of this creature.

[Hell's Barb Beast]

Details: A tier-four lord level hellish creature with extremely strong vitality. Its skin has high tensile strength, can spit corrosive poison, and its tendrils move very quickly, extending up to a kilometer; low intelligence; highly sensitive to biological scents, it hunts all detectable living creatures;

"Another legendary creature from hell..."

Seeing this, Su Lun felt a great sense of misfortune.

What was in front of him was just one of its advancing tendrils, with its main body underground, followed by countless other tendrils!

Listening to the dense sounds of friction, it was clear that the tendril beast had surrounded the entire cave.

Su Lun was also grateful that he had chosen to teleport and attack swiftly. Otherwise, even if he had killed all the lizardmen in a direct, hard confrontation, this creature would still have lethally ambushed him.

This dense cave was not naturally formed but was the moving channel for the creature's tendrils. With this creature around, even if several tier-five beings came, they would likely die here!

The toughness of a tier-four lord beast's flesh was not to be underestimated; it would be very difficult to cut through!

Without wasting any opportunity to try, Su Lun performed a Flash to avoid the first tendril, without any hesitation, controlled the animated corpse to swing the Black Scythe, and directly severed one tendril.

A large amount of yellow-green corrosive fluid flowed out, filling the cave with a burning-like stench.

Meanwhile, his own body also controlled the spear to puncture seven or eight bloody holes in the Heartstealer Demon's body.

Instantly, the previously intense spiritual impact vanished.

It was a quick kill planned in advance; except for the Barb Beast, everything was within expectations.

"Success!"

Su Lun was delighted inside, and without taking another look, he immediately stored the dead body of the Heartstealer Demon into his storage space.

Once the Heartstealer Demon died, the lizardmen were momentarily dazed.

Although the Barb Beast had lost control, its predatory instinct was still active. Tendrils densely popped out in the tunnel, instantly devouring a large number of lizardmen.

The Black Scythe had already severed three tendrils, but had no effect whatever on its body hidden underground.

This creature, with its enormously terrifying body, was not something Su Lun hoped to kill.

He glanced at the brightly glowing incubation tanks.

Those fist-sized orbs were naturally the eggs of the Heartstealer Demon.

He took out a glass container and poured them into it.

At the same time, he pressed the communicator.

Upon taking another look, the surroundings had changed and Su Lun had already appeared on the surface.

"Quick, run!"

Without time to explain, Su Lun took Yuta and started running.

Behind them, near the entrance of the Skull Grotto, thousands of pink tendrils sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, swaying in the wind like seaweed...