Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 325 - 324: Alchemical Homunculus

"No wonder she is hailed as the greatest beauty in the world. It makes sense now..."

Su Lun’s expression turned somewhat bizarre.

When he saw that the All-knowing Eye in his left eye identified the name as "Pandora," he immediately realized what this Princess of the Night was all about.

This was not a human being.

To be precise, not a human in the normal sense that people recognized.

She was a very special alchemical product, an "artificial human"!

In the field of alchemy, there are three ultimate challenges, with "creation of life" being the most difficult.

Especially complex intelligent life forms, such as humans.

That required not only the creation of complex bodily tissues and organs, but also a soul.

This was a subject many ancient Great Alchemists devoted their lives to researching.

And so did the line of Puppeteers to which Su Lun belonged.

The concept of rune puppets was essentially "artificial humans."

His teacher, Seraya, had left some notes on ultimate puppetry research, including an incomplete project called "Pandora Artificial Human."

The process roughly involved Seraya and Count Exa discovering some ancient relics from a mythological civilization.

That relic recorded a mythological story, which spoke of a supreme god who, in order to punish a deity who had stolen fire to proliferate civilization, created a woman of ultimate beauty on earth, yet she was a herald of disaster, epidemic, and calamity to bring misfortune to humanity.

This divine-created being was called "Pandora."

A great pride of alchemists is that they can use alchemy to do what gods can do.

Thus, Seraya was inspired to create an artificial human and decided to use alchemy to produce an ultimate rune puppet, still named "Pandora."

But because back then, inside the curse space of Central Prison of Dawn City, Seraya was merely a remnant soul, the records only contained some incomplete research plans.

Su Lun thought it was just a research direction. (In those texts, there are many such unfulfilled plans.)

But now, when he noticed those details on this Princess of the Night that only a Puppeteer could recognize, he realized his teacher Seraya’s research had succeeded.

Before him stood a top-tier rune puppet!

Although he didn’t know why, a thousand years later, this alchemical artificial human had reappeared here, but Su Lun could infer some of the causes and effects.

The fall of Dawn City, many treasures emerged through Duke Rafael’s "mineshaft," and this artificial human might be one of them.

...

Upon the entrance of the Princess of the Night, the large hall went silent, and the men’s faces immediately displayed an entranced fascination.

Even the few female pirates showed the same mesmerized expressions.

Upon her entrance, it was as if a charming fragrance that drove men crazy swept through the air. The entrancing scent invaded the nostrils, offering an exquisite pleasure akin to floating on clouds.

Under the light, her skin truly appeared like that of a White Jade Lioness, smooth and delicate, moistly radiant with an ultimate sense of crystal-clear beauty.

The appearance of this woman, as if through a highlight filter exclusively cast upon her, made everything else around her pale in comparison.

Psychology states that beautiful things often inherently provide a favorable impression.

Upon seeing her, it seemed as if from that moment, all evil thoughts in everyone’s hearts dissipated. A robust desire to protect burst forth in everyone’s heart, immediately creating the impulse to abandon all to cherish this peerless beauty of the world.

"No wonder she’s called ’White Jade Lioness Shining Night Princess,’ the moniker is indeed fitting..."

Su Lun watched her, his expression slightly complex, muttering to himself before regaining his composure.

Even though he knew she was a "doll," his own heart had involuntarily stirred just now.

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If someone as composed as he was affected this way, what about others?

If not for the All-knowing Eye, even Su Lun would have doubted his judgment—could such a beautiful woman really be a product of alchemy?

The beauty of "Pandora" was not just skin deep, but everything from the materials, runes, to the initial design concept...everything was crafted for ultimate allure.

Seraya’s notes stated that her body was supposedly molded from the divine clay used to create humans; her bones, eyes, hair...all were crafted from materials most pleasing on earth, also embedding various permanent auras and spiritual power fields. She embodied beauty, intelligence, erudition, dignity, purity, elegance, and virtue... an array of "hardware."

Her cursed characteristic was "beauty."

Now it made sense why Rune Old Man had taken her with him when he rebelled against Ruying.

Su Lun also thought she was quite a delight to the eyes.

But as much as he looked, sensing that soul fire no different from a living person’s, he also thought to himself, "This Princess of the Night has a complete soul...did my teacher really create a soul?"

That was the most astonishing part.

Creating humans, such acts were truly those of gods!

Su Lun thought, along with the "Research Notes on the Living Dead" he held in his hand, had the trio of ultimate alchemical pursuits once faced by Dawn City been conquered after all?

Only with a deep understanding of alchemy could one realize the difficulty of these three great challenges.

Even though Su Lun’s knowledge now surpassed 99% of the people in this realm, he still hadn’t touched the threshold of these three major topics.

At that moment, the word "great" came to Su Lun’s mind to describe the alchemists of Dawn City back then.

Only in the academic environment of Dawn City, led by Sir Isaac, could there have been so many great research inventions.

"But how on earth did the teacher manage it?!"

Su Lun was stumped.

He knew that the "Pandora" project was not about transplanting a soul onto an alchemical body, but rather about truly allowing her to birth her own soul.

In Su Lun’s current understanding, this was nearly impossible to achieve.

He felt that once he left this place, he should go back and thoroughly examine that part of the notes.

However, now that he knew Ote Himeya was an artificial being, Su Lun’s initial confusion didn’t clear up; in fact, it deepened.

Why did she come to Mountain Hermit?

Why is she stirring up so much trouble now?

Moreover, Su Lun always felt that his All-knowing Eye seemed to be blocked by some indescribable "high-level law," preventing him from fully seeing Ote Himeya’s true nature.

This feeling also led him to a trace of speculation.

Facing things he couldn’t understand, he tended to guess towards a higher order, something Su Lun had done many times before.

Divine tier?

Certainly unattainable.

Then it must be the special demonic faith of Mountain Hermit.

This seemed to also explain why Rune Old Man fled straight to Mountain Hermit.

....

The melodious sounds of the harp and psaltery rose, and Ote Himeya had started dancing on the second floor’s loft. Her dance moves were light and ethereal, with a soul-capturing and alluring charm.

The pirates below were as if their souls had been snared, staring fixedly.

The atmosphere was exceptionally peaceful.

While Su Lun was still guessing the various mysteries surrounding Ote Himeya, he suddenly frowned.

Because... he sensed an "acquaintance" walking in.

Turning his head, he saw a man in a black hat and a white cloud-patterned hunting robe.

This man saw Su Lun and, as if greeting an old friend, gave a slight smile. His narrow, peach-blossom eyes and slightly lifted red lips made him seem more enchanting than a woman.

Su Lun twitched his eye corner, wasn’t this Abe Yasukazu, the court’s chief Onmyoji known as "Demon Man"?

This man was supposed to have "disappeared" after his schemes were exposed, yet here he was, brazenly appearing in Edo Castle?

Abe Yasukazu, dressed unmistakably as an Onmyoji, seemed to go unnoticed by the pirates surrounding him.

The man walked straight in.

His gaze turned towards Ote Himeya upstairs while he muttered, "I hadn’t noticed her existence before. It was the Princess’s assassination attempt that made me realize there was such a formidable figure behind Takeda Nobuyasu."

Though the statement wasn’t loud, it was clear, but seemingly unheard by others nearby.

Su Lun guessed it might be some divine secret technique.

At this moment, the man opposite, clearly having spotted this demon man, directed his gaze over, his expression turning grave.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, as if ready to draw and strike at the slightest provocation.

Su Lun, however, remained unfazed.

He didn’t feel any hostility from Abe Yasukazu.

After all, strictly speaking, there was no direct conflict between him and this man, so they weren’t exactly enemies.

Now that Su Lun suspected this man might be an undercover agent of the Katsushika family, there was even less reason for hostility.

That being said, he still owed him a small favor for "going easy" on him before.

....

Abe Yasukazu walked up to Su Lun and greeted him with a smile, "Mr. Su Lun, long time no see."

Su Lun, not fearing any hostile move, yet feeling a slight discomfort at the proximity of his bewitching face, coolly responded, "Now the whole city is on the lookout for Mr. Abe, but it seems you are not afraid of being discovered."

With an indifferent smile, Abe Yasukazu shook his head slightly, "I am just an insignificant character. The situation in Mountain Hermit won’t change whether I am here or not."

"..."

Hearing these words, Su Lun immediately confirmed that these were people from the Katusha family.

Clearly, Abe Yasukazu had come here for the princess Ote Himeya upstairs as well.

With his head tilted, he watched the beautiful dancer upstairs with great interest and said, "It’s strange, she has a demonic aura, yet she is not a demon. To call her human doesn’t quite fit either. She is too perfect, as if she embodies all the beauty in the world; even the Creator shouldn’t show such favoritism. With such beauty, she seems more like someone’s creation..."

Could one detect a hint of jealousy towards beauty in his words?

Clearly, even he was puzzled, dragging out his last syllable, he paused and added another sentence, "Tsk tsk... Now her state, it wouldn’t be too much to call her a deity." (Mountain Hermit’s deity)

"..."

On hearing this, Su Lun internally admired Abe Yasukazu’s insight.

Without the All-knowing Eye, to have analyzed to such an extent was truly extraordinary.

He knowingly asked, "Did you come here for her?"

"Yes."

Abe Yasukazu didn’t attempt to hide his intentions and added, "The ’Black Sun Grand Festival’ is coming soon, but she is the only variable that I do not understand. I thought I’d try to test her out."

"Oh?"

Su Lun listened without expression but was also hoping internally that this enchanting person would clash with Ote Himeya.

He would then have a chance to probe the depths of both individuals.

But what does it mean, coming up and speaking to me?

Su Lun felt that this man had another agenda.

"Mr. Su Lun, I have an impertinent request."

As expected, Abe Yasukazu suddenly thought of something and made a request very politely, "The armor ’Iron Red Scales Five Piece Full Body Armor’ I can gift it to you, but could the other ghost warriors be returned to me? Without the ’Symbol of Underworld Soldiers’, the dead energy cannot circulate, and it is useless to others. Missing a few dozen, it would be inconvenient for me to use later..."

A fight is indeed brewing!

Su Lun listened and responded indifferently yet promptly, "Fine."

Since they were not enemies, having taken somebody’s belongings and being asked about it, it seemed fair to return it as a courtesy.

Moreover, he had studied those ghost warriors for quite some time, and without the belief in the divine way, he really couldn’t make much use of them.

"Thank you."

The smile on Abe Yasukazu’s face seemed like it would never fade.

Guessing what Su Lun had used the ghost warriors for, he continued, "Of course, if you wish to understand Yin Yang Secret Technique, I can share some of my humble skills. However, compared to that, the Imperial Family’s royal library at the Divine Garments Imperial Palace would be a better place to go. The Imperial Palace holds the most books from Mountain Hermit, with various rare and secret volumes, secret techniques, and marvels abound. It is also under the protection of Amaterasu Omikami, so it won’t be affected by the ’Night March of a Hundred Demons’ that occurs in this world prior to the arrival of the Black Sun..."

"Imperial Palace?"

These words seemed to open a new doorway to another world for Su Lun.

In such a theocratic society, the continuous lineage of the royal family indeed held many secrets not known to outsiders.

Su Lun also picked up on Abe’s implied suggestion that it was unsafe in the capital region recently, hinting that the palace was "safe."

Su Lun was not afraid of trouble, but coincidentally, he needed an undisturbed environment in the coming days to work on his Rune Vajra and puppets, and the Divine Garments Imperial Palace was indeed the ideal place.

He and the Princess were already well-acquainted; probably, it wouldn’t be a problem to ask for a favor?

....

Before long, a dance ended, and the captivating performance on the second floor concluded.

The one known as "The First Beauty of Mountain Hermit" and "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World," Princess Ote Himeya, captivated everyone’s attention as she came and went with an ethereal grace.

As the figure disappeared from sight, the pirates on the first floor seemed to regain their souls, the infatuated look gradually fading from their eyes.

"Oh, Lord Guardian, she was incredibly beautiful."

"If only I could be honored enough to kiss the tip of Lord Ote’s foot in this lifetime..."

"If I could follow Lord Ote, I would be willing to give up everything..."

"Ah, I don’t want to leave. I’ll stay in Mountain Hermit for the rest of my life, following Lord Ote..."

"..."

Those who were spouting obscenities earlier had now become complete gentlemen. Not to mention intimacy, even the mere sighting of her seemed like a luxury. In their eyes, Princess Ote Himeya had become an untouchable goddess.

The lower the status of the onlookers, the deeper their obsession with her beauty was.

As Su Lun listened to the dreamy murmurings of the people around him, his mind was drawn to something else.

That woman had not exhibited any overt use of spiritual techniques, yet these people were utterly mesmerized.

No wonder the Rune Old Man managed to become a Shogunate General so smoothly. With this kind of support, it certainly wasn’t difficult.

Beside him, Abe Yasukazu muttered, "It’s really strange, he seems almost divine. Tsk tsk... not trying it would be too puzzling."

Su Lun heard this, and it seemed like a signal to make a move.

Upon hearing this, he actually grew a bit of admiration for this guy.

Taking the risk of being surrounded and still making a move, that dedication to seeking knowledge truly was admirable.

No wonder he was so formidable.

Abe Yasukazu pulled out a scroll depicting a hundred demons. Suddenly, he noticed something, turned his head to look at Su Lun, and said, "Eh... Have you encountered a deity recently?"

Speaking, he answered his own question, "You really are lucky."

"???"

Su Lun reflected for a moment. He had encountered quite a few monsters recently.

As for a deity, when he battled the ’Demon Hand’ Ueno Sasaki, could the spirit summoned called "Wind God Eye Connect" be considered one?

Abe Yasukazu didn’t intend to explain much. He said meaningfully, "You really are special."

After a pause, he narrowed his eyes and said, "In our Mountain Hermit, there’s an ancient saying, good intentions might not be immediately rewarded, but they are surely watched over by the gods."

"..."

Su Lun felt that these guys who served ghosts and gods were always cryptic, preferring to speak in riddles when they communicated.

But before he could say much else, the guy beside him suddenly erupted with a surge of demonic energy.

In Abe Yasukazu’s peach-blossom eyes, a dangerous glimmer suddenly burst forth. He bit his finger and, with bare hands, drew a mystical Necromancy symbol in the air, chanting: "Purification, Barrier, Yin-Yang, Barrier Break, Illusion... Void Formlessness!"

Each word was emphatic and resonant.

The spell seemed to strike directly at the soul, echoing persistently in his ears.

With each word he uttered, it seemed as though a ghostly force blessed him, and his aura became more and more exaggerated.

He raised his hand forward and the blood-red ghost eye in his palm fiercely opened up, its hollow gaze fixating on the center of the room, sending shivers down one’s spine. Before anyone could react, he spread open the Scroll of a Hundred Demons, as if unlocking the gate of a monster cage, and countless shadows surged out...

In an instant, the large hall seemed to be covered with a layer of netherworld filter, dark and terrifying.

One by one, the legendary monsters and evil spirits abruptly descended — ghost warriors, Great Tengu, Tall Woman, White Jade Lioness, Slit-Mouthed Woman, Green Lady, Snow Woman, Lamp Ghost...

With a hundred demons by his side, Abe Yasukazu’s face bore a fiendish and seductive smirk, "Hundred Demons · Night Parade!"

....

"Going all out with a big move as soon as he attacks..."

Su Lun felt his scalp tingle from the sudden burst of power from this guy.

The temperature in the large hall plummeted, causing goosebumps to immediately cover his skin.

This look, it turns out, meant he had been holding back significantly at their initial encounter.

This guy, bolstered by a hundred demons, suddenly became elusive and misty.

Su Lun once again marveled that these ghostly beings truly had ineffable combat prowess.

Yet, aware a fierce battle was imminent, Su Lun had no intention of lingering longer in this place.

While unnoticed, he dropped a scroll sealing dozens of "Ghost Warriors" and then followed the panic-stricken crowd, squeezing his way out.

He had just left when the three-story "Tianhai Pavilion" collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Above the ruins, chaos reigned supreme, and various spells collided like brilliant fireworks.

The shockwaves from the battle grew more intense, causing the surrounding wooden houses to collapse "rattle-rattle".

On the roadside, Su Lun and Senju mingled in the crowd, watching the spectacle.

Watching the fierce battle unfold, Senju remarked, "That demon-like guy is very strong..."

Su Lun looked on with mixed feelings, "Indeed."

He had to admit, this was truly a "Hundred Demons Night Parade," with the demonic Abe single-handedly resisting enemies hundreds of times his number, showing tremendous strength.

Su Lun squinted at the ongoing battle, subtly gaining some insight.

But as thrilling as it was,

Observing the continuing influx of North Sea Fleet pirates, Black Dragon members, and warrior legions... He knew that forcing out Princess Ote Himeya would not be easy.

After tonight, Su Lun felt a growing sensation.

It seemed like "Pandora" was getting ready to unleash something "big" in Edo Castle.