Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 336 - 335: Treasure Collector

Su Lun didn’t know how the Princess suddenly descended into the cursed space.

But her current situation was not optimistic.

Just like when Su Lun and another person had just arrived earlier, the scent of the living attracted a large number of ghosts and monsters, and she was being surrounded and attacked.

Moreover, it seemed that because she was a shrine maiden, certain scents particularly drove the monsters mad.

"The Princess is inside!"

Su Lun relayed what the black crow had seen to Senju.

Upon hearing this, Senju’s expression turned stern, and he asked, "Are there any troublesome monsters?"

With this question, he naturally intended to rescue someone.

The Princess was their friend; they would not refrain from saving her.

Su Lun had the same intention and said seriously, "There’s a ghost-type monster that’s particularly thorny. We can fight it, but we can’t recite battle spells against it."

He had learned while gathering information in the Ghost Town that there was only one Ghost King called "Red Monster" in the area. This type of monster liked to hide in abandoned shrines, belonged to the ghostly series, and had the troublesome ability to control wind and rain.

But even though both were Ghost Kings, there were higher and lower ranks. The monsters inside the city were usually much more formidable than those in the wild.

This "Red Monster" was much weaker than the "Shuten-doji" they had encountered before. Su Lun estimated that their combat power differed by about half a major rank.

Not too troublesome.

"Hmm."

Senju nodded, his gaze fierce, and as his hand rested on the Demon Blade, he said, "Just in time. Let’s test the secret sword technique I’ve just comprehended."

This wasn’t the city, where endless ghosts and monsters lurked; hence, they didn’t need to be apprehensive.

Moreover, they had arrived just in time and had not yet attracted too many powerful monsters.

A quick battle guaranteed the chance of rescuing someone. Continue your adventure with novelbuddy

....

At this very moment, inside the dilapidated shrine,

Shinfuku Mitsuko was being attacked by several ferocious monsters, her face filled with despair.

Am I dead?

As a shrine maiden serving the Shinto faith, as soon as she entered this world filled with an imperial aura, she immediately realized that this was the fabled Netherworld where people went after death.

But what puzzled her even more was that, judging by certain physical characteristics, she appeared not to be dead?

She didn’t know how she had arrived in the Netherworld,

but in the current situation,

she was probably really going to die.

Originally, fighting even one of those monsters was very difficult for the Princess, let alone when five or six of them were crazily ganging up on her.

If this were the real world, she could have relied on the divine power of Amaterasu to inflict tremendous damage on these ghosts and monsters.

But that wasn’t possible here.

In this Netherworld, there was no sunlight at all. The power of Amaterasu couldn’t be replenished, nor could it be utilized.

She also discovered that with every casting breath, the air of the Netherworld eroded her own divine power.

Although the Yomi Country Lord Izanami was also the "Mother Goddess" of the Mountain Hermit, she was actually a higher-level supreme deity than Amaterasu Omikami. Moreover, Amaterasu originated from the lineage of Izanagi, and the two systems were somewhat oppositional in a "yin and yang" sense.

Currently, she was just barely holding on with the mana within her body and a few treasured items passed down from the shrine maiden lineage, but eventually, death was inevitable.

"Pfft!"

Just then, the Princess was struck in the abdomen by a blue-skinned, one-eyed monk—Ao Bozu—with a Zen staff, spitting out bright red blood that stained her pure white undergarment. The radiance from the forensic doctor’s garment faded due to being tainted with the evil spirits’ miasma.

And beside her, the grotesque "Red Monster" was scratching through the foul and fishy rain, eroding her protective golden light bit by bit.

The Princess’s face was as pale as gold paper, but she managed to stand up again.

Because she had already expended all her mana in the "Black Sun Grand Festival" ritual battle, she was now at the end of her strength.

What’s more, a shrine maiden unable to receive the gods’ responses had her combat strength diminished by seventy percent.

As she stood up again, she was caught off guard by a "Turbid Yin" ancient monster’s breath of filth, knocking a stone pillar flying and crashing to the ground in disarray.

As she had been continuously injured, her body had reached its limit.

The Princess knew that she could not escape her fate, and the brilliance in her originally radiant black eyes also dimmed.

She stood up again, her figure already a bit shaky.

It was impossible to turn the tide.

In the last moments before death approached, she glanced at the sky and murmured to herself, "The legends are true; the sky over the Yomi Country is eternally night..."

But just then, a black crow—somehow familiar—suddenly intruded into her field of vision.

"I remember, Mr. Su Lun also kept such a black crow. I wonder if he and Miss Senju have been affected by the war..."

A tinge of melancholy crept into the Princess’s heart.

She felt that when people were about to die, they would all have thoughts like these.

But in that brief moment, she vaguely felt that the raven was looking at her too, and the two of them ended up making eye contact.

"Is this Su Lun’s raven!?"

The Princess immediately realized something, and her eyes trembled with intense surprise.

Before she could figure out what exactly was going on,

suddenly, she saw two figures dash in from outside.

They were not at all affected by Amaterasu’s barrier and began fighting with several monsters in the blink of an eye.

Were they here to help her?

Not ghosts or monsters?

After being beaten up without reason, someone came to rescue her?

The Princess had not yet understood what was happening when she saw one of them had already appeared a meter away. This person was incredibly ferocious, slashing a [red monster] that resembled a mist of blood into two halves with a single stroke of their blade.

Although the red monster recovered in an instant, it let out a piercing shriek when hit by the slash.

Just one blade injured a powerful ghost-type monster?

The Princess’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the swordsman with a heroic face, exclaiming, "Miss Chijo?"

"Yes."

Chijo responded to her with a glance and didn’t have time to say more; she raised her blade again to block an incoming staff.

There was a "clang" of metal striking sharply, accompanied by sparks of light.

In that instant, figures with six arms and six blades and Raksasha shadows appeared, and as she drew her sword, it was as though the gates of hell had opened, a terrifying aura sweeping over the entire scene. She alone tangled with several major demons and didn’t seem to fall behind at all!

The Princess’s eyes shimmered with excitement, and she was so thrilled she couldn’t speak, murmuring to herself: It really is Miss Chijo...

Only those who have never faced a hopeless situation could fail to understand her current thrill at seeing a glimmer of hope.

And the next second, she noticed the space around her fluctuate, and another person stepped out from a crack in space.

Looking at him, who else could it be but Su Lun?

...

In a different place, the same dire situation.

Just like that time in the bamboo forest of Akito, when Su Lun said, "Princess, can you still walk?"

"I’m still..."

The Princess tried to speak but couldn’t help the spicy, metallic taste that assaulted her throat. She quickly covered her mouth, but blood still spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Seeing her condition, Su Lun shook his head, "We’ll talk more later. Right now, we need to get out of here."

Without any ceremony, he walked over, wrapped an arm around the Princess’s slender waist, and bolted towards the outside of the shrine.

The Princess felt this was quite impolite, but before she could react, she was already lightly rushing towards the outside.

Leaning on Su Lun’s shoulder, she didn’t know why, but the feeling of despair she had when facing death suddenly vanished. At this moment, as she watched ghosts swarm after them, she finally had the spare mental capacity to think about something else. This scene seemed familiar, as though back in Akito Domain’s bamboo forest, in a desperate situation where she was being hunted, it was also he who came to her rescue.

The Princess found it incredible.

But she also wondered why both Su Lun and Chijo would appear in the Netherworld?

A moment later, she was overwhelmed by guilt.

She guessed that it must have been her that dragged them into this.

Her beautiful eyes brimmed with complex emotions.

Su Lun carried the Princess and ran at full speed.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t fight; it was because the commotion had attracted the attention of the creatures from Ghost Town, and further delay would only lead to more trouble.

With Chijo holding off the great demons at the mountaintop and the minor ghosts below unable to stop Su Lun,

listening to Chijo starting to retreat safely through the communicator, Su Lun continued to run towards the direction of Asakusa Temple.

This place was not Ghost Town; there weren’t endless ghosts to kill. These lonely spirits, though they drooled over the Princess as if she were "Tang Sanzang’s flesh," had little combat power, scattering at the first charge. Many even instinctively feared the shadow of the Death God that loomed behind Su Lun.

Before long, the two had completely shaken off those lesser ghosts and stopped in a mountain ravine.

Once Su Lun set down the Princess, he finally took a deep breath and asked, "Princess, are you alright?"

The Princess looked complicated, "I’m fine."

After a moment’s pause, they both tried to speak at the same time: "You..."

Su Lun smiled, looking at the Princess and waiting for her to speak first, then directly asked, "Princess, how did you end up here?"

"I was taken by Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto during the Black Sun Grand Festival..."

The Princess paused, feeling that it wasn’t necessary to go into the details, and instead asked, puzzled, "Mr. Su Lun, have you and Miss Chijo also died?"

"Died?"

He was momentarily confused by the question, then realizing she thought this place was the Netherworld, he shook his head and said, "No, we’re not dead. And this isn’t the Netherworld."

Upon hearing this, the Princess was clearly stunned, "Ah... this...?"

With the ghosts here, the aura of the Netherworld, the gray moon in the sky, and the melancholy scenery... how could it not be the Netherworld?

Su Lun knew it was incredible and immediately explained, "This is a space cursed by a curse."

Many Mountain Hermits didn’t know about the Alchemy system, but as a princess, the Princess was very aware, and the incredulity on her face was evident as she asked, somewhat surprised, "A cursed space?"

Su Lun explained, "This is a novel world, specifically a novel written by the great literary master Fujiwara Hayato about his experiences going to the Netherworld. Somehow, it turned into a cursed space. Then it was during the descent of the Black Sun anomaly that someone tainted the sunlight and in that way sucked in all the people of Mountain Hermit who didn’t believe in the gods."

He looked at the Princess’s face, originally wanting to see if she was aware, but judging by her expression, she wasn’t.

Listening to him, the Princess finally understood the situation they were in.

She looked around again, and though she found it unbelievable, she didn’t doubt Su Lun’s words for a second, also realizing why she saw them both here.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

It wasn’t due to a death coming, but evidently, she had been dragged into it.

At this point in his explanation, Su Lun asked, "By the way, Miss Princess, how did you get in here?"

"I..."

The Princess’s face showed some complexity, as if she encountered something not easily explained in a few words.

After organizing her thoughts, she finally said, "The Black Sun descended, and I was just holding a ritual in the shrine, trying to welcome back Amaterasu Omikami. Instead, ’Tsukuyomi Omikami’s will descended, and I lost my divine power..."

"Just now?"

Su Lun caught a key phrase and asked back, "How long had it been since the Black Sun descended when you entered?"

The Princess, not sure why he was asking this, replied, "At most a quarter of an hour."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun’s eyes showed a trace of gravity.

They had been here for half a month already, and only a quarter of an hour had passed outside?

Could it be a problem with the rate at which time flows in the cursed space?

Su Lun thought it wasn’t too surprising, considering it might be one of the peculiarities of this cursed space.

After all, isn’t the pace of a story within a book dependent on how quickly the reader turns the pages?

He then asked further, "What happened after that?"

The Princess’s face turned uglier as she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Afterwards, Tsukuyomi Omikami bestowed new rights, declaring Takeda Nobuyasu as the ’Lunar Emperor.’ I raised some improper questions and then offended the deity, and found myself here..."

Su Lun finally understood why the Princess was somewhat reluctant to speak.

The Shinfuku Mitsuko’s Netherworld is divinely given, and now suddenly Tsukuyomi Omikami has appointed a new royal family, so where does that leave the Shinfuku Mitsuko?

Su Lun also quickly grasped the brilliance behind the Takeda Shogunate’s move.

Legitimate and proper, the residents of Mountain Hermit would not mind in the slightest.

After all, Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo are all revered gods of Mountain Hermit, nothing outlandish about it.

Since royal authority is often proclaimed to be divinely ordained, do you, Shinfuku Mitsuko, acknowledge this ’Lunar Emperor’ or not?

Su Lun frowned slightly and asked, "Are you sure that it was Tsukuyomi Omikami’s will that truly descended?"

"Certain."

The Princess nodded firmly, "I am a shrine maiden who serves the gods; I have some special methods to communicate directly with the deities. What descended was indeed Tsukuyomi Omikami."

Su Lun felt a choking scent of conspiracy.

Because he knew that Takeda Nobuyasu was a Magician who had defected from Ryeong, and there was also an Alchemy-created being hidden in the shadows, "Lady of the Imperial Hand." The Alchemy system was already shunned by the deities, so how could they receive the recognition of Tsukuyomi Omikami and become the ’Lunar Emperor’?

He proposed a hypothesis, "What if... I mean, is there a chance that someone used some other means to deceive your perception?"

No matter the reason, questioning the faith of believers was disrespectful to the deities and considered rude, so Su Lun was very cautious with his words.

But he knew at least one thing – Alchemists were adept at using scientific methods to simulate theological phenomena.

Like, for instance, this Netherworld right here.

The Princess instantly understood what he meant, wanted to shake her head in denial, but didn’t speak, and her expression became conflicted.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun didn’t ask any further questions.

Being the ritual Princess, she surely had some abilities he was not aware of.

He had hoped to hear some clues from the Princess about how to leave this cursed space, but now it seemed the situation was getting more complicated.

....

However, this wasn’t the time to be concerned about that issue.

The ravens lingering in the sky shared their vision, and Su Lun saw that ghosts seemed to have been drawn closer, no doubt attracted by the Princess’s aura.

Now they needed to get to a safer place.

But Chisen had not yet arrived.

It had been a while, which was unusual.

Su Lun immediately used the communicator and asked, "Sister Chisen, haven’t you shaken off those ghosts yet?"

Chisen’s response came quickly but sounded subdued, "No, I shook them off. But there’s been a complication. I’ve lost my sword, and I’m looking for it."

Su Lun was also taken aback and asked, "Ah... Your sword is missing, what happened?"

Chisen seemed equally puzzled as she replied, "I don’t know what happened. I got rid of those specters and hung the ’Demon Blade Munetomo’ on my waist, but while running and moving, it just vanished. It’s like it was stolen; I sensed a very subtle Spatial Displacement..."

"..."

Su Lun suddenly felt his face go strange.

This situation was even more surprising to him than the danger Qiantiao had faced, because for a swordsman, their blade is their life. The guy who just ate could definitely not have lost it.

Besides, they were just fighting; how could someone have stolen the sword?

Qiantiao’s sharp senses didn’t even register it, which meant the thief was very skillful.

In this Yomi Country, there were no living people, only ghosts and monsters.

Listening to her description, Su Lun immediately ruled out various possibilities with the knowledge stored in his mind.

He said, "Sister Qiantiao, I think I know what monster stole your sword. Don’t bother looking for it; you won’t find it. Where are you? Let’s meet up first."

Qiantiao responded eagerly, "Okay!"

....

Su Lun and the Princess didn’t dare stay put and kept moving.

Before long, they ran into Qiantiao, who had arrived.

The gambling-addicted lady had lost her sword and looked furious, even more upset than she was when she nearly died.

Before she even had the chance to reunite with the Princess, she asked, "Su Lun, do you know which damned ghost or monster stole my sword?"

Su Lun said, "We might have encountered the Shirazuno Master."

The Princess, who was also familiar with this monster, was surprised, "Ah? If it’s that kind of monster... it’s going to be very difficult to get the lost treasure back."

Clearly, she had experienced this herself and added, "Our royal treasury has lost things several times. After investigating, we learned it was the doing of the Shirazuno Master. That monster is very cunning and also skilled in the Escaping Through Air Technique, it’s impossible to catch..."

The Hyakuzo Master was a monster people both loved and hated. It was among the top treasure hoarders and the most notorious thief. Legend has it that it has a bag of a hundred treasures containing many rare and unusual treasures. Its innate ability is to smell the scent of treasures; once it appears, you must be careful because your most important possessions might be stolen.

After a while, Qiantiao, with dark lines filling the corners of her eyes, grumbled, "So... you two have been educating me all this time just to tell me that I can’t get my sword back?"

With that, she looked utterly heartbroken, beating her chest and stomping her feet, "Oh, my goodness... that cursed thief, if I catch it, I’m going to chop it into mincemeat! Minced! Minced!"

Su Lun also found Qiantiao’s anger quite amusing, shaking his head with a smile, "Not necessarily without chance. If the legends are correct, the Hyakuzo Master always carries a bag of treasures with it. Although it causes people to lose things, if you can catch it, it will use its treasures to pay ransom for mercy. You’ll get an ’ultimate treasure’ with a value not inferior to the lost item!"

Upon hearing this, Qiantiao immediately understood from their tacit understanding that Su Lun had a plan.

The Princess, who had been standing by, blinked, even tossing aside the complex emotions she had upon entering, and curiously but also reminded, "But no one has ever caught that legendary monster, it can escape into nothingness."

Su Lun shook his head, a mysterious smile on his face, "That’s Spatial Displacement power. Indeed very tricky, but not utterly without solution."

To have eluded Qiantiao’s detection, that Spatial Displacement had to be many times more advanced than his own.

But... when skill is insufficient, treasures can make up!

Because Su Lun had something special: the "Chronos Spatial Glove," designed to counteract Spatial Displacement!

As soon as Qiantiao heard this, her face, which was just contorted like a bitter melon, immediately brightened, "What should we do?"

Su Lun’s eyes narrowed slightly, "Blindly searching for it is impossible. The monster is very cautious, and it will instantly flee if we close in. But its talent is treasure hunting; it’s also very greedy and will be drawn to treasures like a moth to a flame."

At this, Qiantiao’s eyes sparkled brightly.

She had already grasped the plan!

Su Lun’s gaze sharpened, "As long as we have enough treasures, we can ensure it’ll take the bait."

He wanted not only to retrieve the sword but also to make a big score!

....

Qiantiao had only lost the "Demon Blade Sojo," while the other renowned sword "Kikuichimonji Norimune" wasn’t lost. This showed that the creature was selective about treasures.

Correspondingly, if the legend held true, the better the "ransom" after catching it!

He had specifically read all of Fujiwara Hayato’s novels these days, and almost had them down pat.

The character of the Hyakuzo Master could not be clearer to him.

If it were somewhere else, he might not be confident, and worried about it being all for naught—a fear of losing even the "bait" due to unknown circumstances.

But this was the world of Fujiwara Hayato’s novels!

Though it was a bit risky, it seemed worth it.

If the treasures were too few, they might not attract attention...

If the items were too low-end, the monster might not take interest...

With that thought, Su Lun pulled out a pile of his own treasures: "Xiupunos’ Night Scythe," "Oz’s Mummy Wrappings," "Rune Human Skin Umbrella," "Tartarus’ Soul Lantern Chains," "Stanitz’s Chessboard," "Anniestora’s Poison Incense Burner," "Robert’s Monocle," "Hundred-Armed Giant King’s Arm," "Sands of Time," "Giant King’s Crown"...

Various sealed items, cursed items, materials, special treasures... a dizzying array.

To ensure variety and dazzle the monster’s choice, Su Lun took them all out of spatial seals and carried them on his back.

Seeing this array of treasures, even the Princess, accustomed to royal luxury, was left staring agape, utterly astonished.

It was as if she saw the royal treasury mounted on someone’s back.

Moreover, in terms of value, the treasures before her were not things the royal family necessarily had in abundance.

Although Qiantiao was aware of Su Yilun’s resources, seeing so many treasures still elicited a comment, "Wow, you kid really have quite a collection of good stuff..."