The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Old Liu spent a long time rummaging through the storage room filled with dry rations, his excitement so palpable that even the underground space couldn't contain it.

After searching for who knows how long, it finally emerged, carrying a thickly wrapped bundle of nuts in brown paper, its tail curled around an account book, and excitedly proclaimed, "The nuts are here!"

Even though these nuts looked a bit damp, they were still incredibly precious in the underground world where there were no high-end storage facilities.

"Eat, eat! I'll go get you some water!" The sixth brother placed the nuts and the account book in front of Younevo, then skipped and hopped out the door.

"Heisenberg Pharmacy?" Yunev muttered, but instead of touching the ledger, he picked up a small handful of nuts and fed them to Iseria.

When the sixth brother returned, he looked like a clown trying to balance on a wheelbarrow. Carrying two jugs of water, he plopped down opposite the two men, spread out his ledger, and muttered, "Your apothecary's reputation is so great that even the rats who don't know the way to the surface know about it!"

"Nichta also said... he never wants to touch so much glitter again in his life," the sixth brother smacked his lips, then continued, "And Tedes and the others, they're all... they're all very good!"

"Tedes?" Yunevo asked in surprise, "You also got to know that Tide Mage during this time?"

"That's right! Tedes is often 'snatched' by Nehta to help watch the shop, after all, Heisenberg is still too popular, hey," the short, fat rat-man spat out saliva from its pointed snout, but it blocked it with its claws.

"Stop, stop! Let me catch my breath..." Yunefu rubbed his head.

After all, this trip to Zelharan had put him on the edge of his seat, and if he didn't get some rest soon... he might be facing the risk of his "sanity" plummeting off a cliff.

"Oh dear, look at my stupid brain... I'm back to my old habits again! We'll take you to the best place in 'Roots' so you can get a good night's sleep!"

The short, fat ratman pushed aside the unimportant ledgers, stood up somewhat hastily, and hopped several times before reaching the rusty bunch of keys hanging on the iron gate.

Yunefu breathed a sigh of relief, and followed the sixth brother with Iseria, looking around at the "dungeon" he hadn't been to in a long time.

The road has been repaired, and the iron fence is much better than the previous "wire" that was tied together. However, the moss and oil stains all over the ground make it easy for people to slip and bump their heads on the small pipe wall.

After the church replaced the Alchemists' Guild as the dominant force in Hart City, these sewer pipes were abandoned and no longer used, instead becoming the headquarters of the "White Robe Victims Association".

Iseria carefully avoided every potentially collapsing metal plate, staring at the crisscrossing pipes, and asked curiously, "What are those clanging pipes for?"

“When I came here last time… there was a blacksmith living there, I don’t know if it’s still him,” Yunevo turned his head and looked at the somewhat dilapidated pipes on the other side, “That area… is probably a residential area, like the houses we saw in Starmoke.”

Iseria nodded, then pointed to a huge bronze cauldron: "What about that? It looks like some kind of alchemical device!"

Upon hearing this, Yunevo looked in surprise in the direction Iselia was pointing. It was a cylindrical structure spanning between two water pipes, patched up and covered with several pieces of canvas.

He secretly activated his [Spirit Vision] and saw what was hidden behind the building—many ratmen holding children were hiding inside, warming themselves with the steam that was being sprayed out.

This environment is even more barren than that of Zerhalan.

"We're here! This is the direct route for us ratmen!" Old Six stopped in front of a huge brass slide with a claw mark emblem. "Our luxurious room is just a few turns down there!"

The paint on the lower side of the pipe's inner wall was worn away, and who knows how many rat-men's buttocks suffered as a result.

Yunevo turned to look at Iseria, only to find that the girl's face showed no disgust. Instead, she was carefully examining the small "disaster avoidance" runes on the pipe wall.

"They must be having an even harder time than us, right?" the girl asked, tilting her head.

Yunevo nodded without saying a word, watching as the grayish-white ball of fur "slipped" into the pipe and disappeared, then pulled Iseria along to follow.

The feeling of falling was brief, accompanied by the wind generated by high-speed movement. They passed through layer after layer of dark purple water reservoirs, through maintenance wells covered with rotting fishing nets, and finally stopped in front of a long pipe covered with soft grass.

This place is much drier and quieter than the shallower part of the "roots". A magical lantern with an incredibly stable flame hangs on the wall, and the lamp oil even has a faint scent of lavender.

"This is it, brother Yunev!" The sixth brother patted the hay hanging from his backside and pointed to the two simple but sturdy cots. "We even stole the down mattresses that Nehta wouldn't use, so you'll get a good night's sleep!"

"Even if Uriel manages to break into 'Root,' as long as Lao Liu is still here... this place will be the toughest shell!" Lao Liu rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation for a "good after-sales service."

Yunevo smiled helplessly, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Sixth Brother."

"Hey, stop with the nonsense!" The sixth brother spun around sheepishly, twirling a small stool behind him with his tail, and scurried towards the pipe's exit. "Let's go check the ledgers first, so those movers don't slack off..."

"I'll put the dried fruit on the bedside table, remember to eat it!" The short, stout figure disappeared into the darkness, and the entire pipe fell into a kind of pure tranquility, with only the dripping sound of the leaking pipe remaining.

Yunevo was already lying flat on the bed, with his hands behind his head, when he saw Iseria's little head peeking out.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Are we... going back to Starmoke tomorrow?" Iseria hesitated, "Our vacation... is still quite long."

"Iseria, you mean...?"

"Can I stay here a little longer?" The fair-haired girl nodded and continued, "There are so many... realities here that I've never seen before."

Yoniv sighed.

After all... there are no glowing crystal towers or magnificent academies here.

There was no lineage of guardianship, nor any tragic sacrifice.

All that exists is a bunch of creatures struggling in the darkness, trying to piece together "hope" and barely surviving.

Boom—!

The thunder was so loud that even the two people living underground could hear it.

But the residents of "Root" all know... tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.