Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 516 515: Did Yekaterina Become an Empress?

Su Lun wanted to recruit this group of mountain dwarfs.

The demands for craftsmanship in high-level puppets had been increasing, and although the war workshop could satisfy mass production requirements, it was not high-end enough.

Moreover, it wasn't just for his own needs that he required these craftsmen, who were all "advanced forging masters," but because the dawn also needed them.

By now, the invasion of the plane had become a certainty, and the Alchemy plane was at its most critical moment.

It was necessary to accumulate strength to meet the increasingly intense war.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

Su Lun had stripped a lot of intelligence from the memories of those from the Celestial plane, and he was now certain that there was almost only one outcome for the plane invasion, which was to be enslaved by foreign divine beings.

All natives became followers of the gods of the Celestial plane, as that was the only way to survive.

Those who couldn't convert to believers only had one path: death.

If it had been another plane, it might have just meant toppling the old statues of the gods and replacing them with new ones.

But for the Alchemy plane, it was almost catastrophic.

Because alchemists didn't possess any belief in gods.

Their power came entirely from themselves and their alchemical knowledge.

Whether it was the advancement system or the bodily integration system, both relied on their own understanding of the universal laws and exploration of knowledge to obtain extraordinary powers.

In belief-centric planes, however, the concept promoted by the gods to their followers was that the only source of extraordinary power was the gods themselves.

If one wanted to gain extraordinary power, one had to devote belief to a specific deity.

This was also why magic flourished in the Celestial plane, yet the most basic machines were absent.

Believers were deeply convinced that everything, even seasons, harvests, wars, healing, and partners, was a gift from the gods.

The foreign gods did not tolerate the existence of "alchemy."

Because it could undermine their supreme authority.

When humans could change their lives relying on alchemy, their need for gods would diminish, and their faith would gradually weaken.

Thus, in nearly any belief-centric plane, any method of gaining power that bypassed gods was viewed as "taboo."

Similarly, once alchemists started believing in any god, the entire alchemical system would collapse.

All alchemical knowledge, bodily integrations, advancements, bloodline potions... would be abolished.

Su Lun himself did not want to become a servant or a nourishment of faith for any gods.

And he had never thought of giving up the alchemy system, which held infinite potential.

Therefore, a fight to the death was inevitable.

From this viewpoint, he increasingly understood the feelings of Sir Isaac when he wrote the famous phrase in his notes: "Gods, to some extent, are nothing more than higher-grade alchemical materials."

...

"So, that's the situation right now. As you can see, the Celestial plane has already invaded on a large scale. Deep beneath Celestial Mountain, there's a great secret hidden, and surely, there will be more invaders coming in the future..."

Su Lun held nothing back and shared all the information he knew.

All the dwarfs listened with a grave expression.

Although the mountain dwarf tribe was isolated and cut off from the world, they could distinguish the good from the bad in human nature.

Through this situation, they all understood that what Su Lun was saying was the truth.

Despite their immense strength, mountain dwarfs were not skilled in combat.

They were simply the best mining masters and forging craftsmen.

Just like how a group of ten thousand mages could have easily annihilated this group in the past.

Now, even the curse space was lost, stripping them of their last means of mutual destruction.

After speaking, the hall was quiet for a long time.

The current Dwarf King, Beer Barrel Beo, pondered for a moment before speaking, "Thank you for returning the heirloom of my mountain dwarf tribe to our ancestors. However, I'm sorry, what you said involves major issues, and I need to discuss it with the elders in the tribe before I can decide."

Listening, Su Lun was not surprised and replied, "Of course. I will wait here for a day, and if your tribe decides and is willing to restart the alliance, then we will be allies who advance and retreat together in the future."

Having seen the previous Dwarf King's exquisite forging skills, he was not willing to give up this rare recruitment opportunity easily.

Hand forging might seem inefficient, but the quality was very good. Moreover, hand forging was irreplaceable in some aspects, such as advanced enchantments, coating, and inscriptions, areas where modern mechanical technology still fell far short.

This was exactly what was needed to supplement the needs for high-level puppets and the Dawn squad's magic armor.

Seeing that the dwarfs needed to have a discussion, Su Lun did not intend to stay.

Dwarf King Beer Barrel Beo nodded and responded, "Regardless, one day later, we will give you a result of our discussion."

Su Lun said no more, turned around, and left the hall with No. 19, heading to the depths of the mine.

...

Now, with the curse space that covered the underground city gone, there was no danger anywhere.

Su Lun and No. 19 headed downward.

This was the path they had encountered when they met the malevolent spirit of the Dwarf King in the cursed space before.

Su Lun was still very curious about what secrets were hidden under the ground.

Soon, they saw the endlessly dark spiral staircase again.

"It really exists?"

Su Lun was also curious, as such a magical "endless staircase" truly existed in the physical space.

He had now cultivated the "Urobolos Space-Time Ring," and his spatial perception was extremely strong. Even so, he perceived this staircase as being infinite.

The area clearly operated under higher levels of Space Law.

After observing for a moment without seeing any dangers, Su Lun cautiously proceeded downward holding No. 19, his lucky charm.

They continued for almost half an hour without seeing an end in sight.

The staircase seemed to lead to the very depths of the earth.

Spatial perception had become chaotic, Su Lun even felt as if they were no longer in the alchemical plane.

But there was no danger, so he just kept walking downward.

As they walked, Number Nineteen suddenly discovered something on a stretch of staircase and whispered, "Su Lun, take a look."

When Su Lun looked over, one sentence was inscribed on the stone step: "You need to recite a spell to glimpse the truth."

"A spell?"

Su Lun had a flash of insight and immediately thought of something.

Magicians didn't have many flashy spells, the only one they knew was universal.

Thinking of this, he recited, "Follow the law of equivalent exchange, praise the glory of the original creator, witness the miracle of creation through alchemy."

Then, just as these words fell, suddenly, in his spatial perception, the endless staircase seemed to have an end.

"Huh..."

Su Lun immediately noticed something unusual, thought for a moment, and understood.

This was definitely not a simple sound-controlled restriction.

Spells were imbued with a direction of belief; without sincerity, there would be no response.

This spell was directed towards "The original creator" worshipped by alchemists.

Meaning if one wasn't an alchemist, even if they recited it, they couldn't trigger the restriction.

Having realized this, Su Lun knew that the secret beneath was left by some Great Alchemist for future generations.

At his side, Number Nineteen saw Su Lun hesitate for a moment and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Su Lun explained his guess, slightly smiling, "It seems the predecessor who created this space left something. This restriction isn't friendly to devout followers..."

"Oh."

Number Nineteen always felt that being with Su Lun made her realize her own mind wasn't as sharp.

As a warrior born for battle, she figured it was better to leave the thinking to her partner.

She shrugged her shoulders and righteously embraced her role as a lucky charm.

After the spell was recited, the two continued downward and quickly reached the bottom.

Before them stood a hundred-meter-high black iron gate.

The gate was engraved with some very special symbols.

Number Nineteen had already closed her eyes, and Su Lun only kept his left eye open.

He had seen a similar giant gate before in the Ruins of the Sea, an underwater tomb where a Sea God was buried, also with such a huge golden gate.

Su Lun had not understood it before, but after acquiring the knowledge of the Grave Digger, he knew it was a top-tier specification for a god's burial ground.

The gate represented the divine ranking and also sealed the chaotic Power of Laws radiating from it.

The huge black iron columns around it bore patterns distinctly characteristic of the dwarf race, likely built by the ancestors of the mountain dwarves.

Looking at this black iron gate, Su Lun speculated, "Could it really be the burial site of a deity? Perhaps the Time Traveler, Andreas Libavius?"

Who it was didn't matter.

What mattered was, the tomb's specifications were extremely high.

However, just as he was focusing on observing that black iron gate, suddenly, the view in front of him seemed to warp, forming the silhouette of a figure.

Because he understood the Time Law, he could see it.

"Time has warped?"

Su Lun had now grasped certain principles of the Time Law, and he immediately knew what he was seeing.

There was no soul fluctuation, and it was not a creature in the normal sense of understanding.

It was like a blur of light, but even though it was not clear, he could see it was an old man in a white robe.

The old man was beside the black iron gate, his finger sketching out a line of text: "The pattern of the ouroboros points to the ultimate secret of alchemy, through the path of time, one can glimpse the true appearance of truth."

When Su Lun saw this line of text, his eyebrows immediately furrowed tightly.

It seemed as though he understood something, yet as if he understood nothing at all.

It was after this line of text that he sketched out the pattern of an ouroboros.

As soon as Su Lun saw it, he recognized it as the pattern on the Urobolos Space-Time Ring he held in his hand.

He immediately guessed the identity of the figure of light.

As the distorted old man continued sketching, he muttered something to himself.

"When I was young, I mastered the mysteries of the power of space and time. Back then, I had thought how interesting it would be to inscribe an epitaph on my own tombstone."

"Every creature is a prisoner of time. Life is like the timeline divided into small squares, square by square. Because life is limited, no one can see the full extent of time. That's the mystery of time."

"Because of time, to some extent, everything gains meaning."

"..."

Su Lun was greatly shocked as he listened.

A few simple sentences felt like an enlightenment, as if revealing the true essence of time.

He had thought this figure was some sort of afterimage.

However, more amazingly, after the old man's mumbling, he actually turned back to look at him and spoke, "Hello there, 'favored by time' from the future timeline."

Silence clearly wasn't the right response, so Su Lun directly asked, "Predecessor, can you see me?"

The old man smiled, "Hadn't you considered that it is because you are bound to ask this question that I can see you? I'm merely responding to someone who will appear on this timeline, someone who can see me."

"..."

Su Lun listened thoughtfully.

He then asked, "Senior, are you Master Andreas?"

The figure laughed slightly, seemingly acknowledging by default, then counter-questioned without answering, "Are you wondering if I am not dead?"

Su Lun became even more puzzled.

This wasn't a cursed space, devoid of any regrets. In what form did "He" truly exist?

The old man clarified, "My story line had ended long before yours began... but did I truly die? It's like when you open a novel and a character dies within his story line, then when you reopen the book, that character is still alive. He is doomed to die, but in his timeline, he remains alive, never having changed. Doesn't that seem, to you, much like the life of a human being? From the moment of birth, death is destined."

"The mystery of time lies in whether you're someone capable of reopening the novel and reading it from the beginning. If not, you're merely one of the myriad beings within the book."

"If you can see the shadows of time I left behind, congratulations... you are now qualified to glimpse the true nature of reality."

"I wander through time, appearing in this timeline, merely out of a fleeting whim."

"..."

In the instant he heard these words, Su Lun stood rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning.

Only someone who truly understands the Time Law could fully comprehend the essence hinted by these words!

Like a guiding light, showing the way out of perpetual darkness.

After these words, the elder's light and shadow suddenly disappeared.

What remained was just the immense iron gate in front of him and the sentence inscribed upon it.

"Time is an ouroboros... The Time Traveler can wander through the long river of time..."

Su Lun muttered to himself, seemingly enlightened by something.

Then, the question arose.

The person he had just seen, was he dead or not?

With time as a factor, he suddenly felt that death could not be so simply defined.

...

Probably because Su Lun was muttering to himself incoherently, Number 19, standing next to him, asked alertly, "Su Lun, are you alright?"

Su Lun, puzzled, asked back, "Didn't you hear someone talking just now?"

Number 19 looked even more alert and replied, "No. You were the only one who spoke just now, saying 'Senior, can you see me?' and also 'Senior, are you Master Andreas?'"

Hearing this, Su Lun chuckled and suddenly realized, "Let's go back, I'll explain it to you slowly."

Number 19 frowned deeply and continued, "Are you really alright?"

Su Lun, knowing full well that only he had seen and heard that temporal illusion, said, "I'm really fine."

With that, he wrapped his arms around Number 19's mechanical waist and teleported, appearing on the surface.

The bizarre, indescribable surroundings had disappeared, and it was only then that Number 19 dared to open her eyes. Surveying the forest around her, she finally realized they had truly made it out.

The two strolled through the jungle, with Su Lun smiling as he explained what had just happened.

Only then did Number 19 understand what had occurred, and she couldn't help but feel amazed from time to time.

However, she didn't grasp the profound mysteries of time and didn't know what Su Lun had realized.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, "So... is there really a celestial tomb underground? You came out without looking around more?"

"Yes,"

Su Lun smiled and added, "I've already obtained what I should have, so naturally there's no need to stay any longer. As for the other treasures, I can't take them with me righ now."

Number 19 listened and raised her eyebrows but said nothing further.

The weather was beautiful today, strands of sunlight filtering into the forest like golden ribbons.

Su Lun had to wait for the results of the Dwarf tribe's discussions, so there was still a day to go.

Suddenly without any urgency, the pair walked somewhat listlessly.

As they walked, Su Lun suddenly thought of something and said, "Right, let's test my new ability!"

Number 19 looked at him with an inquiring gaze, "?"

"I'm planning to go find Sister Qiantiao and test out the new formation."

Su Lun smirked slightly, picked up the communication ring, and directly asked, "Sister Qiantiao, where are you now?"

The next second, the communicator buzzed back, "Yo, are you done with your tasks? I'm in the Zambula Ironfalls Province in the southern part of Mafa. Remember that interdimensional passage you mentioned before? The Mafa military has found the exact coordinates. It's quite lively here these days."

Su Lun heard this and sensed some major event, "Oh, are you busy right now? I'll come to you."

As he said this, Sister Qiantiao responded lazily, "What's the hassle? Come over if you want."

"Good."

Listening to this, Su Lun confirmed Sister Qiantiao's spatial coordinates and his hands swiftly formed the sorcerer's seals.

In an instant, a huge Seven-Pointed Star Formation illuminated beneath his feet.

Adequate rank wasn't enough, only power could make up for it.

In addition to the ring's great affinity for space, the "Heart of Giant Isaac" was also necessary for supplying the massive energy needed for long-distance teleportation.

...

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains of the southern Zambula Ironfalls Province.

In a remote and picturesque forest, clear springs flowed.

The misty waters of the springs hinted at a quality hot spring.

Within the spring, two graceful figures soaked.

"What's up?"

"Su Lun said he was going to come over."

"Oh? Wasn't he at the Dwarf tribe deep in the Monster Mountains, has he come to the south now?"

"Who knows."

"..."

After several days of fierce fighting, they had finally found a natural hot spring and were soaking in it.

Their clothes hung from a branch nearby, and a sword lay by the edge of the spring.

She was naked, comfortably soaking in the water.

The pool wasn't large, but it also contained the graceful figure of another person.

It was just after their conversation when suddenly both of their eyes snapped open, gazing at a spatial distortion forming a few meters away.

But recognizing who the newcomer was, the wariness in their eyes instantly evaporated, replaced by a relaxed expression.

She glanced over and then continued to lie back with her eyes closed, enjoying the nourishment of the hot spring.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, she murmured slightly surprised, "Yo... How did you get here so quickly, kiddo?"

The newcomer wasn't just anyone; it was Su Lun, who had teleported there.

From the Monster Beast Forest to here was over two thousand kilometers.

He hadn't expected to teleport so smoothly.

"Ah... didn't I tell you earlier, I got a spatial treasure and then tried a long-distance spatial displacement, and I didn't expect to arrive just like that," he said.

Su Lun replied, his tone laced with subtle excitement.

Using such long-range spatial displacement for the first time felt great.

Though it drained a terrifying amount of dark spiritual power, with the heart of alchemy, recovery was extremely fast.

This ability would make traveling anywhere in the future convenient.

As Su Lun spoke, he also took a moment to survey the surrounding environment.

The area was surrounded by dense pine woods covered with a layer of white snow.

In the woods, there was a steaming clear spring.

Seeing her by the water's edge did not surprise Su Lun, as he had come directly to the coordinates located on the pendant around her neck.

But seeing the other person in the water, he exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Sister?"

Mr. Jing responded with a slight smile, "Yes."

Out of curiosity, Su Lun asked, "Senior Sister, what are you doing here? Weren't you in the Senodia province before?"

Mr. Jing responded lightly, "The planar portal was discovered. The Mafa military has already fought many fierce battles with those plane mages. The situation here is not optimistic, so I came to check it out."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun frowned.

No wonder he smelled a trace of bloodiness, emanating from the clothes and sword hanging nearby.

With a glance, he realized she had recently killed quite a few people.

However, the clothes were all hung on a branch...

Looking into the spring again, it was indeed as expected; the gambling-addicted lady was stark naked.

Beneath the shimmering light, her graceful contours were fully revealed.

She seemed utterly unconcerned, serenely at ease.

Su Lun's gaze then fell on Mr. Jing beside him, and he exclaimed, "Wow, Senior Sister, you have a great figure."/p>

Mr. Jing always carried an air of classical elegance. Even dressed in a thin, gossamer garment, her well-defined figure was showcased, but it was seductive without being vulgar, offering a sense of a lotus flower detached from its murky origins.

Listening to Su Lun's compliments, she simply smiled.

Meanwhile, she looked rather annoyed and said, "Su Lun, have you not bathed in a long time? You smell sour."

Then, without any hesitation, she invited him, "Come on in and soak together."

"Sure."

Thinking about it, Su Lun realized that it had been over a month since he had bathed, starting from when he had set off on his adventure to the Monster Mountains.

He didn't hesitate, he undressed and prepared to enter the water, casually asking, "Sister Qian Tao, has anything significant happened in the two great empires recently?"

Knowing he was advancing, no one had disturbed him.

He had been out of touch for a long time and wanted to catch up on the news, never expecting to become the subject of the gossip.

Qian Tao replied lazily, "The hottest news is about the war here in Mafa. There's not much to say, just various brutal sieges. The divine plane's magic corps is very strong..."

Su Lun listened, unsurprised by the content.

Finding a planar portal inevitably meant fighting.

However, Qian Tao suddenly changed the subject, her tone tinged with teasing, "Also... three days ago, your wife, Yekaterina Lants, proclaimed herself emperor in Lyung."

"???"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's action of undressing stiffened.

It took a moment for him to process what he had just heard.

Still, his face was filled with utter disbelief.

Yekaterina becoming an emperor?

How did she do it?

It had only been a few months; what had he missed?

No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem right!