Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

"The potion serves as a catalyst, generating most of the spiritual energy within the body. Then, by chanting the Earth Embryo Mantra, the spiritual energy is guided to gather in the chest and between the lungs..."

Lyndon flipped through the book in his hands, carefully reading the words.

"Use your willpower to compress and solidify your spiritual energy until it forms a hard substance the size of a pea. Initially, you may feel a tightness in your chest, but this will gradually disappear..."

He turned to the next page, where not only were his feelings after the formation of the clay body recorded, but also a whole passage of the clay body's rules was attached.

"Without a solid foundation, all techniques are in vain..."

Lyndon's slender fingers gently stroked the words on the paper. He parted his lips slightly and murmured the beginning of the law.

As he recited the incantation, he also concentrated his energy, trying to find the spiritual power within his body.

But for Lyndon, concentrating was incredibly difficult; whenever he tried to tell himself not to get distracted, drowsiness would creep in involuntarily.

As he drifted off to sleep, Lyndon seemed to see faint gray smoke emanating from the surrounding walls.

"No, I can't sleep."

Lyndon shook his head and patted his face.

He told himself that these were all nightmare tricks, that it wanted him to fall asleep and dream, so that it could reap his life in his dreams.

He had to do something to stay awake and clear his head.

In a daze, Lyndon had a hallucination; he actually saw his high school homeroom teacher.

The homeroom teacher, sporting a receding hairline and holding a ruler, said that now that the seniors have finished their exams, the juniors will be practically seniors, so they need to work hard and strive for success.

He made everyone stand up, hold their books, and read aloud, saying that doing so would help them regain their senses.

"Yes, read aloud. Stand up and read aloud."

Inspired, Lyndon stood up, took the book, raised his head, and loudly recited the law texts recorded in the book.

"God said, 'The spirit is a wandering wind; it has no fixed abode.'"

"God said that there is room in a person's soul, just as there is a house to live in, so that it need not wander."

"God said, 'Leave room in your heart, like uncultivated land, waiting for the seed to fall.'"

"God said, 'Man, gather your scattered spirits together, like a farmer gathering ears of wheat into a barn. If you do this, you will transcend the mortal realm and be able to glimpse a corner of the world!'"

……

Lyndon read, shouted, and roared.

He waved his hands and spoke with great emotion, like a performer on a stage.

But the surrounding fog was getting thicker and thicker, so Lyndon had to turn his voice up even louder.

Just as the fog was gradually approaching him and about to engulf him, Linden suddenly realized that something was wrong with his body.

He started sweating, sweating a lot.

Linden's clothes were almost completely soaked with sweat.

His arms were tucked into his chest, and his breathing became rapid.

Lyndon's body temperature rose sharply, as if a fire was burning inside his body, scorching his internal organs.

His blood was boiling.

Under such high temperatures, Lyndon felt like he was about to die.

Suddenly, Lyndon, who was suffering from the intense heat, seemed to feel a touch of coolness.

It seems that due to the high temperature of his body, some substance was extracted from his blood, muscles, and organs.

"Ugh..."

The feeling was so comfortable that Lyndon couldn't help but let out a soft groan.

The substance calmed his burning heat inch by inch wherever it went.

Therefore, Lyndon finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

At this moment, Lyndon felt a strange familiar sensation within his body, and he calmed himself to sense the free-floating substance.

"Huh? What's inside my body... spiritual energy?"

Linden suddenly realized that the strange change in his body just now could be the extraction of spiritual power mentioned in the book.

Thinking of this, Lyndon looked at the scattered books and found the Earth Body Law.

Then, Lyndon focused his attention again. Ignoring the approaching fog around him, he endured the heat and recited the Earth Embryo Law, directing the spiritual energy to flow towards his chest.

Under Lyndon's command, the spiritual energy actually gathered in his chest.

Lyndon felt a fullness in his chest and continued chanting the Earth Embryo Mantra, trying to compress his spiritual power.

He initially felt as if a melon was stuffed into his chest, then an apple, and then an egg.

In the end, the spiritual energy was compressed by Lyndon into a tiny "pea".

At this moment, Lyndon's clay model was complete!

That tiny "pea" was quietly buried between the two lung lobes.

It's like a second heart, constantly vibrating.

Each vibration sent a surge of spiritual energy throughout every corner of Lyndon's body.

Lyndon's body temperature also began to slowly return to normal.

The surrounding fog, like the receding tide, vanished without a trace.

"I succeeded?"

Lyndon stood in the library, leaning against the bookshelf, and absently placed his hand on his chest, feeling a slight ache there.

Gradually, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

However, Lyndon's smile suddenly froze.

His pupils contracted sharply, and then he vomited a mouthful of foul blood!

"vomit!"

The vomited blood splattered on the ground, and the blood foam splashed in all directions.

After spitting out the blood, Lyndon immediately felt much better.

"call!"

Linden let out a long breath, his body slumped against the bookshelf, his eyes clear.

Now that an earth embryo has formed within his body, it means that Lyndon can now study arcane arts just like any other superhuman.

Just as he was feeling pleased, Lyndon caught a glimpse of the pool of blood on the ground out of the corner of his eye.

The pool of blood was actually moving!

It crawled toward itself at an extremely slow pace, like a slime.

Lyndon felt a chill run down his spine, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

He instinctively lifted his foot and stepped down.

*Snap!* A soft sound.

When he lifted his foot to look, the pool of blood was not only unharmed, but it also clung to the sole of Lyndon's shoe and tried even harder to climb onto Lyndon's body.

Lyndon tried to brush it off, but in that instant, the blood jumped onto his hand and clung firmly to it.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't separate it from myself.

"Damn it! If you push me too far, I'll take a knife and chop off this hand too!"

Lyndon complained.

But with just this simple complaint, Blood seemed to have grasped something, and suddenly, Linden held a dagger in his hand.

This bizarre scene left Lyndon completely baffled.

"Could it be...?"

He tried to visualize the shape of a gun in his mind, but the dagger remained unmoved.

Next, Lyndon imagined weapons such as spears, bows and arrows, swords, and clubs.

But apart from the short stick, which can be transformed, nothing else can.

Lyndon looked at the weapon in his hand, pondering to himself.

"There must be only so much blood, which is why some large objects can't be transformed."

Lyndon's mind raced, and the short stick instantly turned into liquid, transforming back into blood and adhering to his hand.

The sudden appearance of a large bloodstain on a clean palm would be incredibly jarring to anyone.

So Lyndon tried to make the tainted blood look different.

Thus, the tainted blood became a bracelet.

"That makes much more sense."

Linden thought for a moment, then waved his hand and summoned the Book of Fate.

The pages turned, making a rustling sound.

At this point, Lyndon noticed that his information had changed again.

Name: Lyndon Copperfield

[Current Occupation: The Burialer of the Past LV.4 (270/400)]

[Existing Secret Techniques: Mad Body (Passive), Corpse Collection Technique (Active), Chaotic Perception (Passive), Dream Weaving (Active), Frenzy Spear (Active)]

[New Status: Tier 1 Earth Form]

[New Subordinate: Blood Elf]

"So this is an elf?"

Lyndon looked at the newly appeared information, then raised his hand to look at the chain on his wrist.

"Would you mind if I could provide more information?"

Lyndon placed his finger on the [Dirty Blood Elf] section, and with just a light touch, the [Book of Fates] suddenly flipped to one of the pages.

Then, a brand new, distorted font appeared on the yellowed parchment.

【The Bloodstained Elf】

[A strange creature born from the interplay between humans, spirits, and other species; it seems poised for some kind of evolution, and perhaps one day you will witness it unleash its full power.]

Lyndon stared blankly at the bracelet on his wrist.

"In that case, I'll keep you by my side."

He tapped his fingertips lightly twice.

Lyndon said in a low voice, "Don't let me down next time!"

The bracelet trembled, as if in response to Lyndon.

After learning about the sentient, foul blood, Lyndon recalled the thick fog that had appeared from the crack in the wall earlier.

That was an illusion created by the nightmare, and Lyndon knew this, but why did the power of the nightmare suddenly disappear after the earthen embryo formed on his chest?

After all, Lyndon felt refreshed at that moment, and all traces of sleepiness had vanished.

As I was thinking this, the door to the library was pushed open.

Hearing the sound, Linden turned his head to look.

Cecilia pushed the door open a crack, just enough for her to stick her head in.

She looked around and asked sweetly, "Mr. Philip, what were you doing here just now? I heard you reading something downstairs, so I wanted to ask."

Lyndon said, "Uh... nothing, I just saw some good articles and couldn't help myself."

"Oh... okay..."

Cecilia nodded without saying anything more.

She leaned over the door, poking her head out with a hesitant expression, as if she wanted to say something.

Lyndon noticed her hesitation and spoke up, "Miss Cecilia, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Oh dear, I already said, don't add 'Miss' anymore! Just call me Cecilia," Cecilia insisted.

"How about this, Cecilia? From now on, we won't address each other as 'Miss' or 'Sir' anymore."

Cecilia agreed to Lyndon's proposal.

"Okay, Cecilia, is there anything you want to say to me?" Lyndon asked again.

Cecilia slowly walked out of the door, her hands behind her back, leaning against the door, and said to Lyndon in a consultative tone, "Philip, it's like this, because our place is rather remote, we don't have any mental potions."

"so?"

"So, could I teach you something else these days? As for mental magic, you can practice that after I go to Saint Caleb to get some mental potions!"

Cecilia spoke very quickly, the words coming out of her mouth like a machine gun.

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head, waiting for Lyndon's reply.

After listening to Cecilia's explanation and seeing her rabbit-like expression, Lyndon couldn't help but chuckle.

Hearing Lyndon's laughter, Cecilia muttered, "What do you mean by laughing?"

"It means, of course you can."

Lyndon walked up to Cecilia, a smile playing on his lips, and spoke gently.

……

The days that followed were just as Cecilia had predicted.

She began to teach Lyndon some other secret techniques, all of which she herself knew.

Along the way, Herbert would also come over to show off his skills.

However, Cecilia would always send them away under the pretext of having to do chores.

Despite the constant bickering between the siblings, Linden remained calm and showed great diligence in his cultivation.

He often practiced until very late before going back to rest, and then hurriedly got up again during the day.

Sometimes, before the rooster crows, Lyndon has already gone into the chicken coop and filled a trough with feed for them.

At first, the siblings were shocked and impressed by Lyndon's routine.

But as time went on, the two of them became a little scared.

Because Lyndon's sleep duration is getting shorter and shorter.

Cecilia, in particular, was terrified that something might be wrong with Lyndon's health.

So she advised, "Philip, you don't really need to push yourself so hard. Your body can't take it. Even a pastor needs to be healthy."

Upon hearing this, Lyndon picked up the mirror placed on his bedside table and looked at himself.

He said confidently, "It's okay. Although I haven't slept much, I'm still in good spirits."

Actually, Linden was in good spirits not only because he wanted to learn more secret techniques, but also because he was worried about the nightmares within him.

Previously, when he formed an earthen body and accidentally suppressed the power of the nightmare, he subtly learned the truth from Cecilia.

It turns out that if a nightmare wants to kill, it must first drive its prey into a state of spiritual detachment, mental disarray, and complete lack of resistance.

Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, nightmares will constantly create nightmares to torment their prey.

This is why Lyndon had been having nightmares.

At that time, his spirituality was like a pool of water; stirring it at will would cause upheaval.

Once the earthen body is formed, its spirituality is fixed, just like a plant sheltered in a house, remaining unmoved even in the face of a raging storm outside.

Furthermore, the earthen embryo in his chest was constantly emitting spiritual energy fluctuations, which could temporarily suppress the nightmare.

At the same time, Cecilia told him that even if superhumans had some advantage in fighting nightmares, they should be extremely careful because nightmares were a very cunning type of alien species.

Seeing Lyndon's opinion, Cecilia had no choice but to give up.

Days passed by one by one.

Aside from resting and working, Lyndon spent his time studying arcane arts, especially purification spells.

By this time, Lyndon had learned the purifying spells of light and glory, the pale moon and mercy, and the tides and wisdom.

It's just that I can't put it into practice.

Lyndon leaned against the window, gazing into the distance.

He wondered why there was still no news from Alastor and the others.

Outside the yard, Cecilia was trimming the weeds.

In the distance, a short man hurriedly rode over on a donkey.

"Uncle Moses, what brings you here!"

Cecilia heard the donkey braying, straightened up, and immediately saw Uncle Moses riding on the donkey's back.

She smiled and warmly welcomed Uncle Moses.

But as soon as Uncle Moses dismounted from the donkey, he cried and pleaded with Cecilia, "Kind-hearted Miss Cecilia, you must help me! Poor thing, I won't survive without your help!"