The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

"Alchemists, don't be ridiculous..." Old Frog chuckled self-deprecatingly, pointed to the alchemist stronghold above his head, and continued, "The old scholars have been so anxious about this that they've lost a lot of hair, but they haven't made any progress at all."

It moved the fan blades that served as its "seat" forward, sweeping away a puddle of black water on the ground to reveal countless marks that recorded the passage of time. "The rat people can't get their hands on this kind of stuff either. The church people are very shrewd; they gave the underground a little hope so that we wouldn't dare to die easily."

Yunevo pinched his cheek, deep in thought.

In other words, the other trade routes leading to Hart City were still under the church's surveillance, but were hindered by some kind of obstacle... If I'm not mistaken, it was the conservatives' interference.

The widespread use of aluminum as a metal had not yet taken off, and it was unclear where to find those unformed compounds.

Furthermore, even with current technology, activated carbon cannot withstand the high-temperature water vapor conditions necessary for it to form a microporous structure.

In other words, the approach of using sand, activated carbon, and alum to achieve large-scale water purification is simply not feasible...

But there is still a glimmer of hope.

"Elder, there should also be those unopened water valves in the 'Great Swamp,' right?" Yunevo paused, then continued, "The frogmen's fear of the 'Flood' should be much less than that of the other two groups."

Langligelang nodded and echoed, "It is much smaller. The water that hasn't yet mixed into the 'Great Swamp' is already like nectar to us."

Its cheeks puffed out, as if it were pondering the meaning behind Yonivo's words.

But the wave failed, and it rose from its fan blades, gesturing for Yunevo and Iseria to follow its lead.

After walking for a short while on the damp road that resembled a receding tide beach, the frogman elder opened a rusty iron gate locked with many chains.

"This is it," Langligelang stepped aside, revealing several vertical pipes behind the door.

Some traces of fresh maintenance can still be seen on it, and a few extra iron pipes serve as "faucets" so that the frogmen can use some "pure water" from time to time.

"These pipes lead directly to the 'Great Swamp,' where there's less clutter and they're relatively clean," Langligelang patted the pipes on the side of the door and continued, "like these pipes over here... they pass through ratmen and alchemists, and can only be given to older frogmen after simple purification."

"So... alchemist, can you tell me your purpose?" Its cloudy eyes revealed a deep sense of confusion and bewilderment.

Yunevo didn't speak, but gently nudged Iseria, who was deep in thought beside him, signaling her to come over.

The girl with the beige hair was taken aback and looked at the person in front of her with a somewhat bewildered expression.

But her little mind worked quickly, and in just a few breaths she filled in her guess with "Eunicevian" thinking.

"I... I think... it's probably related to the magic-suppressing stone or something stuffed inside?" Iseria tilted her head, lightly touching her lips with her fingertip.

"The anti-magic stone has become an almost airtight barrier thanks to the solidifying agent, but... we can also use it as a water filtration device!"

After saying this, she looked at Yunefu with a slightly probing gaze. Only after receiving a silent nod from the latter did she breathe a sigh of relief and continue, "The tiny cracks inside the anti-magic stone, and the natural anti-magic barrier."

"Although the magic-suppressing barrier prevents magic from drawing upon its source... we can also take advantage of this!"

Iseria seemed to have thought of something, stuck out her tongue, and gently shook Yunevo's arm. "As for the rest, I haven't been able to finish it yet..."

The latter ruffled Iseria's hair, with a sense of satisfaction that "the child has grown up," and continued, "The rest is very simple."

"A 'loop' can be created between the enchanted runes and the alchemy device. By attaching magical energy to impurities in the water and using the alchemy device to access specific magical energy sources, a fine net is formed that only allows water and magical energy to pass through."

"While labeling can be automated, I still think it's better to do it manually."

"But this device... alchemists, there aren't that many usable materials underground," Langligelang said, staring at the ground, his voice muffled.

"No device is even needed," Yunev said decisively. He picked up a piece of metal and drew a simple alchemy decomposition array on the wall.

This has a very simple effect on impurities in the water, and even the middle-level "old scholars" can do it easily.

By drawing out impurities and stripping away the magical source attached to them, the enchanted runes can be used again through simple means or even by human intervention.

The energy source for activating the decomposition array naturally cannot be "life" or those precious items of alchemists, so the energy source was chosen from the most common and least frequently used things found underground...

Fragments imbued with holy light.

The residual holy light and magical energy inside are valuable resources; just grabbing a handful will give you a sense of their "pure vastness"!

"Alchemist, you mean... these two runes alone can achieve the effect of purifying water?" Langligelang asked incredulously.

After all, those middle-level old scholars racked their brains over this matter, holding handfuls of manuscripts, but couldn't come up with a solution!

Now tell it that it can solve the problem once and for all by using just these two weird symbols?

The frogman elder paced back and forth in the cramped room, trying to make out the two "symbols" more clearly, but he failed again.

"How exactly does this thing work?"

"Impurities are restricted by the magic-suppressing stone barrier after being infused with magic, and only relatively pure water can pass through. As for the decomposition array... its main function is to extract the magic source and achieve the infusion cycle."

"But, as far as Old Frog knows, these alchemy formations also require the input of demonic energy, right? We probably don't have that much power..." Langligelang's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly became dejected.

"The price isn't just the source of magic," Yunefu shook his finger, speaking methodically, "Elder Langli, what do you think is the reason those 'old scholars' are keeping alive right now?"

"Hope?" the latter asked somewhat uncertainly.

"It's revenge, it's hatred for the Church," said Junev, the black-robed alchemist. "As long as the Church doesn't leave Hart City, the alchemists' hatred will only grow stronger."

He looked around at the ground, found a fragment shimmering with dim golden patterns, and continued, "These fragments of holy light are everywhere, and the magical energy within them can also be used as fuel, alternating with the hatred of those alchemists."

Langligelang swallowed hard.

"Here, can you show this to Old Frog?"