The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

"Brother Yunevo, are you really going to go to the 'Great Swamp' to retrieve a skeleton for those frogmen?" Old Liu's eyes widened, and he almost missed catching his monocle falling to the ground.

"This...this is a really incomprehensible deal!" Its whiskers were sticking up towards the ceiling in frustration, and it took it a while to calm down. "No way, I really think this deal isn't worth it!"

Yunefu crossed his arms and watched the short, fat ratman hop around and then turn to sigh, beckon it, and then plunge into the huge box to rummage through something.

"Oh dear! We know we can't stop you," the sixth brother's voice came through the box, sounding somewhat muffled.

It painstakingly pulled out a square, dark blue box made of monster skin and blew away the dust that had settled on it.

"This is a batch of goods we brought in from the Endless Abyss back then, along with the Abyss Dragon Saliva," Lao Liu said, handing it directly to Yunefu without opening the specially made lid.

"There's a 'preservative layer' specially made by the Tide Mage on top. We're so clumsy," it shook its head and continued, "We originally planned to exchange this for a lot of money, but since you're really going to the 'Great Swamp'..."

"I suddenly realized that the real value of this thing is much higher than that box of gold coins," Lao Liu said, stroking his chin, feeling that there was something he had forgotten to tell Yunefu.

"Oh dear! Look at my memory! I was so anxious I forgot to tell you, Brother Junevo... what's in this box!"

"It's the sea within the sea, the light bulb on that stinky lanternfish's head!"

Yunevo pinched his cheek.

The "Sea within a Sea" mentioned by Lao Liu is another name for the Endless Abyss. From this relatively simple and clear name, one can understand the layout of the place.

A bottomless body of water, with a density far exceeding that of seawater, is known as the "Abyss," and between the "Abyss" and the deep sea...

It was even isolated by a dry area with plenty of oxygen.

That was the sacred place for the Tidal School's advanced studies—and also the place that Tidal Mage Tedes was about to go to at Tus Academy.

"Lanternfish... Sixth Brother, are you talking about the Abyss Dwellers?" Yunevo asked uncertainly.

In his memory, there was only that kind of four-legged blobfish with an underbite, three meters long and five meters wide, whose "lure" was only the size of a table tennis ball.

"Qianyuan... Ah, I think that's its name!" Old Liu scratched his messy, bird's-nest-like fur with his front paws and added excitedly, "It's that ugly, weird fish whose only useful part is that light bulb!"

Yunevo nodded. The "Divest" bait could indeed be used to make the Abyss Vision Potion—a potion that would allow him to see the bottom of the "Great Swamp" at a glance, greatly enhancing his vision.

The reason this thing can be sold for the same price as "Dragon Saliva from the Abyss" is precisely because that strange fish is so ugly that it can damage one's spirit.

In addition, they are highly alert and escape at an extremely fast speed. They might even casually flick the lure and the entire fish will dive into the pitch-black abyss, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The "bait" that it actively releases will lose its activity, thus reducing its value to zero. Improper storage will also lead to the same result.

Furthermore, the necessity of the Abyss Vision Potion for exploring the Endless Abyss has made a "Divest Bait" as valuable as "Abyss Dragon Saliva".

"This thing..." Yunefu nodded solemnly to the sixth brother, "Don't worry, this time the speed will be even faster than when we cleared the road to Zerharan."

When the black-robed alchemist reappeared, he was holding a bottle of Abyss Vision Potion, which was surrounded by a faint blue light and a semi-transparent white ribbon-like substance.

The protective gear used for diving was also unexpectedly found by Yune in his storage bag.

It was something he himself had forgotten when he made it. He originally intended to sell it to the wealthy young mage of Starmock, but it kept getting delayed... He never expected it to come in handy here.

The medicine went down my throat, and it felt like a stench even worse than rotten fish, followed by a wave-like throbbing pain in my eyes.

Suddenly, a cool, burning sensation, much like applying Tiger Balm to the eyelids, spread across the eye socket.

Yonivore discovered that he could see through the layers of the "Great Swamp," and everything was as clearly and completely visible to him as he had seen during his previous exploration.

He warmed up briefly, secured the two sections of the "lifeline" around his waist, took a deep breath, and then leaped into the "swamp"!

Puff-!

The moment I entered the water, the oxygen-storing runes on my protective gear began to work. Swimming in the "Great Swamp" felt strange, like walking on a half-dried board of glue...

The stickiness, the blockage, and the occasional scraping of small particles against the equipment.

Ten meters, fifteen meters... until you pass through that filter and enter the so-called "pore layer".

At first it was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, but after walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.

Yunevo cut through clumps of unknown objects that resembled life-giving seaweed, dodging countless sharp fragments mixed in with the debris that could damage his equipment.

Most frogmen stop here, either because they are injured or because they are exhausted.

Finally, he saw the corpse buried in the mud...

To be precise, I saw a hand that was still struggling upwards, trying to climb out of the mud, tightly clutching the bone and tooth necklace, preventing it from being buried with the mud.

As Yunevo moved closer, he saw the exposed harpoon roots again—the ends even inlaid with now-ineffective anti-magic stones.

With a gentle tug, the harpoons, weakened by rust, snapped in two, bringing with them a small, solid, blackened clump of mud.

"This is indeed a troublesome matter for the frogmen," Yunevo muttered softly. "The silt is compacted, and the corpses are particularly fragile... The most crucial thing is that they can't be brought up."

He took out a carving knife and carved the basic structure of the decomposition array on it. As for the alchemical medium needed for the decomposition array... presumably there was no shortage of mercury and silver in this pool.

"Adjust the area... and now," Yunevo watched as the silt was instantly churned up, revealing the remains of the frogmen buried within, "it's done."

The frogman's remains, along with the bone and tooth necklace, were tightly wrapped in a waterproof cloth. Yunevo untied a lifeline from his body and tied it to this "package".

Rising... rising... passing through those narrow pipes, passing through those filters full of debris.

Whoosh—!

The shoreline was suddenly filled with frogmen.