Chapter 362: Formation Completed Successfully
Deep Sea Monster Fish, alchemy cabin.
Fishman Zhong Yong looked serious, occasionally glancing at the blueprints for the Bloodline Purification formation and occasionally checking the formation diagram panels.
There were 11 formation diagram panels in total, each engraved with a part of the Bloodline Purification formation.
Now only the final step remained: assembling all the panels together.
And for this step, the dragonman youngster and Zi Di chose Zhong Yong to carry it out.
The main reason was: Zhong Yong was the strongest among the three silver level alchemists.
Though he was a fishman, he had decent talent, and most importantly, he had been nurtured from a young age.
From another perspective, alchemists who could be traded as bargaining chips were naturally the lowest-quality batch in the seller's hands.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had only been established for a short time and lacked various types of talent. The addition of these individuals brought significant improvements to the mercenary group.
In the eyes of the dragonman youngster, they were all highly sought after.
Zhong Yong meticulously compared the blueprints with the formation diagram panels, not missing a single detail.
His fingers slowly glided along each engraved line of the formation diagram.
His eyes were bloodshot, fully focused, exerting every ounce of effort.
The entire alchemy cabin was deathly quiet, except for the occasional low murmurs from the fishman magician.
After comparing them three times, Zhong Yong exhaled a breath of stale air, finally confirming the panels were correct.
“This alchemy formation actually enhances the bloodline concentration of living beings...” Zhong Yong was filled with shock.
As an alchemist with a complete formation diagram, he naturally understood the formation's function.
However, despite recognizing it, Zhong Yong remained deeply skeptical.
"Purifying the bloodline concentration within the body? That's too far-fetched."
"How is that possible?"
“But from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ perspective, they're so desperate—could it be that this formation actually works?”
“Or are they just rushing to verify it?”
The fishman magician Zhong Yong licked his dry lips.
He was also filled with curiosity and suspicion about this alchemy formation.
After resting for a moment and adjusting his state, Zhong Yong began the formal assembly work.
First was a large square base plate.
The alchemy formation lines on the base plate were the simplest. But at the same time, they were also the heaviest.
Placing the base plate at the bottom, Zhong Yong immediately activated the switch.
Immediately, a small stream of magic power was drawn from the magic power reservoir of the Deep Sea Monster Fish, gently flowing into the base plate.
The engraved lines on the base plate gradually lit up, emitting a faint white glow.
Zhong Yong worked quickly, not daring to delay, and immediately installed three auxiliary plates along the edges of the base plate.
The content on these three auxiliary plates complemented each other, with the formation patterns and magic runes being much more intricate than those on the base plate.
Zhong Yong held the alchemy pen in one hand and swiftly connected the joints between the auxiliary plates and the base plate.
Once the connection was successful, the white glow from the base plate's formation patterns spread like flowing water onto the auxiliary plates.
With each successful connection, Zhong Yong's mental energy was depleted by a fraction.
By the time he had successfully connected all the necessary points between the three auxiliary panels and the base panel, his spirit had dropped below 50%.
Zhong Yong set the alchemy pen aside and pulled out a magic potion from his robe.
He had been prepared for this moment.
Without hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed the potion in one gulp.
His spirit power was immediately restored.
Zhong Yong began installing the main board.
The three sub-boards were arranged in a triangular formation at the three corners of the base board, while the main board was positioned directly above the center of the base board.
This step was extremely challenging.
The process of connecting the main board to the base board differed from previous steps.
Zhong Yong first commanded the alchemy puppet to hold the main board steadily, suspending it directly above the center of the base board.
He then slowly lowered the height.
When the distance between the base board and the main board was reduced to 0.5 centimeters, Zhong Yong finally halted the alchemy puppet's movement.
Zhong Yong placed both hands over the main board, channeling his spiritual energy while directing magic power from the magic power pool into it.
Once the magic power entered the main board, immediate changes occurred.
The alchemy points previously engraved within the main board transformed from solid to liquid form, rapidly spreading outward.
Following the force of gravity, these liquid metals extended toward the base plate, gradually stretching into extremely fine needle-like structures.
Below the main board, there were at least 3,000 metal needles densely packed together
After the metal needles made contact with the base plate, they continued to penetrate
Zhong Yong gathered his spirit, ensuring that every needle had penetrated before commanding the puppet to lower its height once more.
In the next moment, the main board adhered to the central part of the base plate.
Its edges and the three auxiliary plates at the edges of the base plate fit together seamlessly, forming a flat surface.
Zhong Yong slightly increased the input of magic power.
But he remained restrained.
The formation plate was not fully assembled, and the alchemy formation was incomplete. Excessive magic power lingering in the incomplete formation would damage the alchemy engravings, formation nodes, magic runes, and so on.
Zhong Yong proceeded cautiously, advancing the work bit by bit.
After about ten minutes, the main board not only successfully connected to the base plate but also established proper connections with the three surrounding auxiliary plates.
The main board, three sub-boards, and base board became a single unit.
Zhong Yong's face was pale, his gaze wavering, and his mental energy was severely depleted.
He couldn't stop, so he downed three more bottles of potions and continued connecting the sub-boards.
Connecting the sub-boards was much easier and simpler than installing the main board.
The workload was also not too heavy, so it didn't drain Zhong Yong as much.
However, it still took him half an hour to install all the sub-boards.
His condition had deteriorated significantly, so his efficiency was far lower than at the beginning.
Only one formation diagram board remained—the encapsulation board.
Zhong Yong pushed on and spent over ten minutes successfully installing the encapsulation board as well.
The next step was the tense moment—the first official activation of the formation!
Zhong Yong rested for half an hour before proceeding with this step.
He mentally activated the alchemy formation, fully activating it while increasing the output of magic power.
The engraved lines, runes, and patterns on the formation diagram were activated by a surge of magic power, emitting a brilliance several times brighter than before.
The formation diagram was tightly connected, with all previous connection points seamlessly channeling magic power without any failures.
Buzz...
The formation activated at full power, emitting a sound akin to the buzzing of insects.
This state persisted for ten minutes before Zhong Yong gradually reduced the magic power input and finally closed the formation.
“Success! I've successfully assembled it!”
Zhong Yong was overjoyed and suddenly relaxed, plopping down onto the floor.
He was in poor condition, his limbs weak and limp, his head buzzing, and his spirit at an all-time low.
But he was happy.
This was his first major mission since joining the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Zhong Yong was well aware that his performance in this job would have a significant impact on his future life.
He could sense the high-ranking members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ emphasis on this magic formation and their sense of urgency.
If Zhong Yong failed this time, it would inevitably lead to the high-ranking members losing faith in him. He would not be given important tasks anymore for a long time.
“But fortunately, I succeeded in the end.”
“But is this magic formation really effective?”
Zhong Yong wanted to conduct an experiment immediately.
But he quickly suppressed that strong urge.
He sent a message to the higher-ups informing them of the successful formation construction.
Zi Di returned shortly afterward.
Not only her, but the dragonman youngster also came aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
“Commander Long Fu, Magician Yao Ma.” Zhong Yong performed a magician's greeting. Having been raised by snow elf nobles since childhood, he was well-versed in etiquette.
“Magician Zhong Yong, you did well. You didn't disappoint us,” the dragonman youngster encouraged him.
Zi Di was about to dismiss Zhong Yong from the alchemy cabin: “You may leave now.”
Upon hearing this, Zhong Yong grew anxious, gazing up at the dragonman youngster and Zi Di with eyes brimming with anticipation and longing.
"Let me stay! I'm so curious! Can this formation truly purify bloodlines?"
“If it succeeds, this would be extraordinary—a world-changing event!”
Zi Di smiled reassuringly, "Don't get too excited, Magician Zhong Yong. This alchemy formation diagram was an accidental discovery. We only built it as an experiment, without any expectations.”
“But regardless of whether the experiment succeeds or fails, this is the most critical secret of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
“The fewer people who know about it, the better.”
Zhong Yong persisted, “I’ve already seen the complete formation diagram, and I personally assembled the formation panels. Let me take a look, even just a glance!”
He was too curious about whether the formation would succeed and what the specific experimental conditions would be like.
But in the end, he was still driven out.
Under the dragonman youngster's orders, he was escorted by an alchemy puppet through the corridor and sent to his crew cabin.
“Now we have another person who knows about it,” Zi Di sighed.
The dragonman youngster shrugged: "There's no way around it. We need someone to assemble the entire formation diagram. Leaks of confidential information are unavoidable, at least for now."
Zi Di's gaze grew deep: “In that case, let Zhong Yong become the ship's magician aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.”
“As for the other two alchemists, they can be allowed limited movement outside.”
“They don't know much; they've only engraved a few formation diagram panels.”
“The confidentiality agreements we signed with them can largely prevent this information from leaking out.”
“Basically, we've eliminated the possibility of Bu Quan coming into contact with these formation diagrams.”
“We can't let Bu Quan know about this; her alchemy talent is truly astonishing!” Zi Di sighed.
The dragonman youngster watched the humming alchemy formation spinning on its own, growing impatient. He urged, “Alright, let’s proceed with the first experiment now.”
He approached the edge of the alchemy formation diagram and, following Zi Di’s instructions, extracted the Bloodcore's magic.
The blood-red energy flowed into the formation diagram panels.
With the correct energy, the alchemy formation suddenly erupted with blood-red brilliance, forming a three-dimensional formation centered on a seven-pointed star.
The formation wasn't large, occupying only one-quarter of the alchemy chamber's space.
Zi Di placed the pre-prepared Experiment Subject 1 into the formation.
As the Bloodcore's magic power continued to diminish, Experiment Subject 1 grew restless within the formation.
It took less than 30 seconds. The bloodline purification was complete.
Zi Di, filled with excitement and anticipation, immediately tested the bloodline of Experiment Subject 1.
"The bloodline concentration has indeed increased significantly. We've succeeded!" Zi Di tried to stay calm, but her voice trembled noticeably.
The dragonman youngster empathized but remained cautious: “Continue the experiment.”
One experiment was clearly insufficient.
After conducting it seven times, Zi Di and the dragonman youngster finally confirmed that the magic formation was functioning normally.
“Next, it's my turn.” Zi Di retrieved an ice coffin.
Sealed within the ice coffin was her own body.
“Begin.” The dragonman youngster took a deep breath, his heart tightening once more.
Moments later, Zi Di looked at the bloodline test results in front of her and burst into tears of joy.