"How many days has it been..."

Ji Jue slumped in the wheelchair with a deep sigh, "Why has there been no movement from the Security Bureau yet? At least give us some big news..."

Surely I won't have to resort to Mutated Transformation myself?

On the polished surface of the mirror appeared a gaunt and haggard face.

The skin pale as though deprived of sunlight for many years, so thin it was just skin and bones, breathing slowly, his condition so severe that even lying in an ICU wouldn't seem strange.

Yet between the strands of pale white hair, within the increasingly darkened pupils, a sinister light flickered inadvertently. The silent, ominous glow.

It was like a demon haunting a corpse, an oppressive and chilling presence.

Now, even if Tong Zhiwu were in front of him, he probably wouldn't recognize Ji Jue anymore.

How long had it been?

He had no clear idea...

It felt like only a few days had passed, yet in his bodily senses, it seemed as long as a month or two.

Each day was a stifling cycle of force-feeding and crafting without a moment's breath.

Even in his dreams, he couldn't escape, with countless chaotic theories and extraction formulae intermingling with a lifetime of nightmares and past events.

This erratic mix of fragmented dreams and the grueling reality repeated so often that Ji Jue had completely lost his sense of time.

Perhaps, this was one of Jian Yuan's objectives.

Or perhaps, time inside the workshop... was inherently different from the outside world...

The obscure theories and skills were not like the purely tedious beauty of advanced mathematics. On the contrary, they included numerous inhumane yet feasible methods such as Blood Sacrifice, sacrifice, and torture, together with many other subtly corruptive practices...

Even someone resilient like Ji Jue was now physically and mentally exhausted by the harsh force-feeding style of teaching, his mind filled with thoughts of having a holiday. No holiday didn't matter—even death would do.

"Just kill me quickly!"

The only good thing in this shitty life was that materials were abundant and wastage was not a concern. Even if Ji Jue took Jian Yuan's materials for his own practice, the old man Duden seemed not to care.

What was originally a lack of funding hindering his progression in extraction was now advancing rapidly.

As for the various Zhi Fu techniques and Mutated Transformation operations, although it was embarrassing to admit, Ji Jue had completely mastered them!

Not just mastering, but advancing by leaps and bounds!

With Duden and Lian Yun's Matrix fragments and various sporadic skills as a foundation, followed by Jian Yuan and Duden's extensive mentoring and integration, Ji Jue's progress surged wildly, mastering the basics and subsequent extensions after just a few practice sessions.

Even, he was already able to commence the crafting of Blessed Creations.

"Don't be sad, brother Embers. It's all old Duden's doing. I didn't want this, my heart truly only has room for you. You must believe me...

I only made a mistake that any craftsman would make!"

Since Embers didn't disapprove, Ji Jue assumed he had tacitly consented.

Yet tell me, how did a bright prospect like Embers suddenly become a You Sui beam?

If this were to leak out, the teacher wouldn't personally come with a knife to clean the house, would he?

Wait, could this also be part of Jian Yuan's plan!

Perhaps when I become a craftsman, a master, or even a Grandmaster in the future and encounter Jian Yuan again, the old ghost will smirk, pulling out a stack of photos from his pocket: "Mr. Ji Jue, you wouldn't want others to know this..."

Ji Jue gasped.

He couldn't help but want to stamp his foot and curse, but alas, even the freedom to stomp was almost gone.

Left arm, right shoulder, heart, right leg...

Dark, chain-like marks appeared.

Just a slight movement induced heart-piercing pain and torment.

These were the results of Ji Jue's overestimation in resistance or testing during this time.

Boom!!!

From the Melting Furnace, a loud explosion erupted suddenly; a crimson blood-red unfolded, the viscous color spewing out, becoming a frenzy that nearly swallowed the emaciated figure in front of it.

Ji Jue showed no expression.

From his momentary distraction, he casually lifted his hand toward the dancing red and scooped it up.

His fingers tightened.

"Enough," he said.

In an instant, the exploding blood-red vanished without a trace, the squirming crimson swiftly contracted, and the shrieking within the furnace abruptly ceased.

It was as though he had grasped the monster's vital point.

And in Ji Jue's hand, between his fingers, the creation that had burst from the furnace was still violently oscillating, rapidly shedding its intense heat to reveal a steel-like quality.

Yet within the metallic cold light, streaks of crimson flowed, occasionally revealing the texture of flesh and blood.

The moment it fell into his hand, it thirstily sought to devour Ji Jue's blood and spiritual essence.

Regrettably, under the suppression of Non-attack, it quickly subsided, resigned like a defeated little character.

Eventually, as tame as a chicken.

"Mutated Transformation? Is this it? Is this it? Is this it?"

Ji Jue scoffed, casually tossing the creation into a boxed welded next to his wheelchair, unconcerned: "Just mediocre."

In just a few days of trials and practice, he had already discerned the primary difference between Modern Alchemy and the Mutated Alchemy modified by Jian Yuan.

—If Modern Alchemy involves Ascension, extraction, Purification, and integration in four parts, bestowing a soul to inert matter, then Jian Yuan's eclectic and self-developed Mutated Transformation was directly about creating Evil Spirits!

Compared to a newborn bunny, a starving lion or tiger was certainly more fierce and impressive, undoubtedly more convenient and exhilarating to use, even if the cost was steep...

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