He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

If I had to describe this feeling...

It's like the left and right mouse buttons have been swapped.

A few seconds later, Ai's limbs went weak, and she suddenly squatted back down on the ground, exiting the perspective of the dissolving figure and panting heavily.

"Cough cough, I almost threw up..." The dizziness from the world melting before his eyes lingered for a long time, and he was still shaken. "Dissolving... this is unbelievable."

The art of dissolution truly is the perspective of viewing everything as a solute.

After ignoring the specific form of an object and treating it only as material in the reaction process, what remains are its characteristics and attributes—in alchemy, objects are divided into four elements: water, earth, air, and fire, as well as countless classifications and subcategories...

Then, Ai Yi had to rely on these theories to explore the reaction process between different attributes. Just thinking about the trial and error steps in between is enough to make one's scalp tingle.

In short, it is a very complex subject. The long absence of it reminded Ai of the pain of studying advanced mathematics and materials science in her previous life. Fortunately, the mysterious knowledge can flow directly into the brain in the form of red liquid, so there is no need to hold a bunch of thick books and try to understand it by hand, otherwise it would take even more time.

The door added before him: "In the epistemology of alchemy, the crimson liquid is the foundation of all things: the crimson liquid flowing in the Great Ritual Pool is liquid crimson philosopher's stone. The transformation pursued by alchemy is to dissolve tangible things into 'intangible matter,' and then transform this still turbid intangible matter into pure crimson liquid through various techniques. The technique of creating crimson liquid signifies the ability to create souls, symbolizing the birth of life—this is touching the great authority of the divine realm."

"Therefore, the path of alchemy can also lead to the pinnacle, a path called the Jade Path—when you can freely extract, refine, and transform the red liquid until you have completely mastered all forms of the Crimson Philosopher's Stone, you will achieve the highest realm of alchemy: the Philosopher King, an existence worthy of speaking with the magnificent."

"What exactly is 'magnificent'?" Ai couldn't help but ask, as the word appeared so frequently.

"The magnificent one, the mysterious fifth staircase, the pinnacle of the ascent, the mortal deity roaming the Great Sacred Pool. If one can grasp even one criterion, one may be crowned the God of the Stars—impressive, isn't it!"

After painting a ridiculously grandiose picture, Doorway continued to brainwash Ai: "Therefore, alchemy is very important, you must study it diligently!"

"I understand, I understand..." Ai endured the headache and continued to peruse the secret knowledge within the red liquid—

Fortunately, Grey left many "detailed notes" in this secret manual to help Ai Yi get started.

With these expert notes, Ai might soon be able to read through the entire alchemy manual, and it would only be a matter of time before she could independently create mystical items—but to further refine and perfect a mechanical doll of Ne's caliber, she would need more than just theory; she would also need experimentation and inspiration.

Thinking about it that way, something just doesn't feel right.

Ai suddenly realized that alchemy, contrary to what the door had said, was not a skill for making money.

To obtain materials for alchemy, Ai needs money to buy goods and people to deliver them... Researchers in Hallownest can apply for funding to conduct experiments, but Ai, a member of the Cult, has no external support and can only rely on his own savings.

He was getting a little anxious: "Damn it, isn't this a complete money-loser?"

The doorkeeper seemed a little guilty: "It might be a bit expensive to get started, but once you become a master in the field of alchemy, wealth will definitely come rolling in from all directions."

"Furthermore, alchemy isn't just a logistical skill; it also enhances combat capabilities. The simplest way is to modify one's own body... and it can also strengthen artifacts, increase talent, and raise the ceiling for advancement. If you don't want to be held back by outsiders at crucial junctures in your advancement, it's better to master the core technology yourself..."

Indeed, core technologies are important in any world.

Ai thought for a moment, then asked, "Can't I find a few apprentices who specialize in alchemy?"

"You're just getting started, where would you get disciples? Besides, you might have some misunderstanding about the talent pool in the suburbs. Wild geniuses that sprout from this muddy land are snatched up by the Foundation as soon as they emerge. The mediocre ones left behind, even if they can awaken their potential, are all illiterate. Do you expect them to study alchemy?"

Well, talent is important in any world.

Ai sighed. He finally understood how difficult it was to build a secret society from scratch: not only did one need to be strong, but one also needed sufficient connections, channels, and upward mobility...

In fact, he wasn't starting from scratch entirely; even with the legacy of the Greys, the road ahead still seemed incredibly difficult and arduous.

That's way too hardcore.

"If even the mysterious second-generation rich have such a hard time, how did Gray, this first-generation entrepreneur, manage to succeed in starting his business?"

To put it another way—how exactly did "I" from last week's story succeed in starting a business?

"Who knows... But while Gray's success is remarkable, it's not unreplicable. You need to have confidence, Fox!"

Today's door is particularly positive. Ai feels like she's almost had her fill of inspirational quotes, but she has to admit that the door's profound message is real.

"Knowledge is power" is not just an inspirational slogan in the context of mysticism, but a definite truth that can be glimpsed.

Mystical scholars can use the power of knowledge to solve almost any problem: creation and destruction, killing and salvation, and even completely transform the world.

Repeat after me: Cheese, that's power!

After resting for a few minutes, Ai Yi recovered from the dizziness and re-entered the perspective of dissolution—this time, he focused his attention on the cooled-down magic circle on the ground.

The label above reads: "Alchemy Array - Equivalent Three".

After hesitating for a moment, he threw the dagger at his waist into the center of the equivalence triangle—at this stage, Ai Yi was not yet able to directly manipulate matter and dissolve worldly objects into liquid; he had to rely on external help.

For alchemy beginners, they might need to use transmutation tools like "cauldrons" and "furnaces" to get through the early stages. But for Ai: the triangle left behind by the ashes is a fairly advanced transmutation circle; it would be a waste not to use it...

Guiding the red liquid into the extreme point of the array and adjusting the "temperature" and "humidity" may sound complicated, but it's actually as simple as setting a rice cooker to "cook rice".

Next...

A dark magic flowed from Ai's eyes, and the dissolving technique was applied to the target.

"Solubility"

In the center of the formation, the pitch-black dagger was enveloped in a thin layer of red liquid, from which countless impurities and black slurry were extracted—in just an instant, the main body of the dagger was completely dissolved, leaving nothing but a pool of water and a pool of filthy crystals.

After the mortal matter was dissolved, it seemed that nothing was left. The molten iron and black crystals might be used as materials for subsequent reactions, but ultimately they didn't contain what Ai wanted.

In fact, he wanted to find traces of "rules" in the solution, but unfortunately, ordinary things like these could not serve as containers for rules. Only ritual objects or mysterious items could contain rules.

He looked down at Nie and Number Six beneath the altar—from a solsodeological perspective, the crystals that made up the two dolls were completely pure, without any impurities, shimmering with a beautiful crimson hue. Even by Ai's mediocre standards, they were flawless.

His alchemy skills are still far from sufficient to further repair or complete the Machine-Doll.

We can only take it one step at a time.

Having finally found a long-term goal, Ai sighed softly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked the door, "Alchemy is an art involving transformation; can it be used to heal deterioration?"

Strangely, the door didn't answer immediately; it remained silent for a long time before typing a line of dim, small characters on the light screen:

"If alchemy could cure decay, this world wouldn't have deteriorated to this extent..."

It suddenly became serious, and the words "light" began to shine brighter and brighter, as if to imprint the meaning that was about to unfold into Ai's vessel:

"I hope you can understand the causes of deterioration. Before that, tell me, how much do you know about mutated sexual characteristics?"

Sexual characteristics...

Aiyi twitched her ears and instinctively grabbed her tail. "All I know is that in Nest City, the incidence of mutated sexual characteristics is almost 100%. Everyone's sexual characteristics are different, and most are bestial, with cats and dogs being more common. Depending on the sexual characteristics, the differences between people can be huge, sometimes almost like completely different species..."

Men added to the knowledge that Ai didn't quite understand: "Obvious physical characteristics such as animal ears, tails, and fur, which are attached to the body, can never be passed down through bloodlines and genes... And those creatures that were originally born in fantasy also received the promised proof of existence in the Red Pool, and became real races."

"Now, I'm going to tell you a truth that the world has forgotten—"

The lettering on the doorknob was large: "In Hallownest, most intelligent life forms inherited the identity of 'human' in popular parlance, but since that great upheaval, pure 'human' has actually become extinct."

"Extinct..." Ai Yi paused, then asked in a daze, "Then what species are we?"

"After the pinnacle of the principles of the heart perished, the concept of species also dissolved completely, turning into liquid in the pool. If we were to ultimately categorize it, everyone could only be called 'humanoid'."

- Humanoid?

Yes, humanoid.

The doorman solemnly said, "No matter what your previous direct descendants were, or what kind of blood flowed in your veins, these things cannot be completely passed down after you have children."

The sexual characteristics of each newborn are random.

"The process of embryonic development is like swimming in a 'primordial soup,' where unknown life equations act on the gene sequence of the next generation, randomly adding all sorts of recessive or dominant factors to the 'human' as the subject. Therefore, every individual you see has some physical features that are not human."

Even those high-ranking directors and managers cannot guarantee that their offspring will inherit that type of trait.

"That's why distorted factions like the 'Hong Sheng Nest Pan-Racial Mutual Aid Alliance' have emerged—in the Nest where blood ties and genes cannot be trusted, the only 'interpersonal bonds' that can build a 'community' are those of self-interest. Every giant corporation or faction in the Upper City is a symbiotic group that ignores blood ties and is entirely based on self-interest."

"I see……"

Ai Yi paused, suddenly remembering a news article he had seen online about gender discrimination and racial equality—

In recent years, the slogan of gender equality has become louder and louder, and the campaign to eliminate discrimination based on external sexual characteristics has intensified.

However, in most cases, the further a humanoid species is from "humanoid," the more likely they are to be regarded as symbols of "savagery" and "inhumanity." Those with severe traits will encounter more troublesome situations, while those with mild traits will naturally be treated kindly.

"Slowly, a world that has lost its 'heart' is like that towering building that was once built but was cursed, constantly being destroyed and never being repaired, until it becomes a symbol of division and strife..."

"So...all of this is because of that incident?"

Even something as great as the criterion can be destroyed.

Ai felt a chill run down her spine:

Even things that are so stable to the extreme can face death in this world, just like the laws of nature being altered and the laws of physics collapsing—absurd yet real.

This is a catastrophe that is neither resistable nor understandable.

He murmured to himself, "This is what Nie told me when we first met."

That's right—

"This is a curse."

The door stated definitively, "Only the fall of the criterion, the drastic change of the celestial order, and the deep scars left on this boundless world can be called a curse."

Ai felt herself getting a little agitated again, and anxiously pressed, "Why did the Heart's Deity die? How did He die?"

"..."

"I cannot describe to you in detail that feast—the oldest moths sought the putrid stench of the 'Rotten Heart' as sensitively as they chased after a radiant light. In order to avoid being detected by its keen antennae, I could not pour it completely into your red fluid. I can only recount to you... the secrets that flowed from that feast—"

The doorman began to speak softly, and then the smell of decay rose into the air:

"The Great Mother, who holds the reins of existence and procreation, was once a towering tree that stretched from the Mother River to the sky. Her roots grew from the very origin of milk and honey, and thus her sap was imbued with sweetness. The tree never proclaimed its own grandeur, even though it was more boundless than the earth. She was once the Red Heart, and later the Divine Tree—she also recalled the prosperity of when all things coexisted, when the tree bore all living beings, when children tasted the sweet nectar flowing from its sun-baked bark, and when life frolicked among its branches..."

Its name is "Mi Mu".

Secrets flowed between Ai's vessels, transforming into the restlessness of red liquid.

The thin wings on his abdomen grew out without being summoned and began to flutter naturally—the dense, chaotic sound of flapping wings resembled countless moths hovering and flying around. Their shadows gathered in the hollow of his abdomen, lying down or darting about. They waved their antennae, searching for the invisible yet omnipresent smell of decay.

"Until a murder: the moth peeled off the skin of the 'Mother,' sucked the sap from the tree roots, licked the blood and lymph flowing from its abdomen, and devoured the Heart of the Divine Tree on its remains."

Ai's body trembled violently, but the reinforced vessel remained sturdy. Her thin wings were trapped in the crimson crack, still vibrating, albeit slowly and dullly.

He still felt restless and unbearable; his whole body itched, and invisible moths crawled over his body with their tiny legs, sniffing his red fluid, and extending their antennae deep into his vessel—

Until the raven on Ai's shoulder began to flap its wings silently, he reached out his hand, and the light black bird landed in his hand, making a short but clear "coo" in his ear.

The next instant, the sound of flapping wings abruptly stopped, and then fell silent.

"From then on, a curse called 'Deterioration' hatched from the decaying heart, a wicked fruit shaped like a heart itself. We can hear the pulse in its valves; the filthy, rotting arteries, like decaying vines, entwine around a dead sacred tree, becoming a scar belonging to all races—an indelible original sin."

Meanwhile, the door finally brought the story to a close; the words on the screen had decayed and were emitting an unbearable stench of decay.

"Please remember the name of this ancient crime."

The door is whispering:

"Grand Pilgrimage Part One: The Peeling Banquet"