The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

The wind, and the relentless sandstorm.

The shield of the magic shuttle was being pounded by the sand and gravel, making a crackling sound.

In the back seat, Iseria's sky-blue eyes were fixed on the view outside the window. In her eyes, the magical source above the Morse Desert... was not as orderly as Starmoke.

It's like a clump of soil that's lost all its moisture, lifeless, sickly gathered into loose sand, kneaded into a tangled mess of yarn with no ends.

"The source of magic here... is so strange," the girl's voice was almost drowned out by the sound of the magic shuttle cutting through the air.

"Strange?" Yunevo gripped the steering wheel and slowed down the speed of the magic shuttle.

"Hmm, it's like some kind of... punishment? It's vague, I can't quite put my finger on it," Iseria said, pinching her cheek in thought.

Punishment? Could it be that there's some history here of transgressing nature... and then suffering a crushing blow from the will of the world?

In ancient times, Morse meant "death." The elemental veins here were barren, and the scattered elemental energy possessed a violent and exclusive quality...

The monk disliked this place and was even reluctant to set foot here.

Suddenly, a low rumble came from the magic shuttle, and the protective shield rippled. Yune instinctively slammed on the brakes.

Suddenly, the straight line of yellow sand ahead, which had been perfectly flat, twisted. First, a few wisps of yellow sand, like fine mist, swirled and rose, and then a wave of heat, distorting the air, swept in!

But in just a few breaths... the fine sand became an all-encompassing barrier, surrounding the two of them!

"What bad luck, a sandstorm..." Yunefu tightened his grip on the steering wheel and immediately activated the "overload" button on the side of the magic shuttle.

In an instant, the azure light surrounding the magic shuttle transformed into arcs of light, and the filtered wind demon source was squeezed to its limit!

Yonivore was determined to force his way through the sandstorm...

The magic shuttle plunged straight into the sandstorm that devoured the heavens!

"They're pushing us forward!" Iseria leaned back against the seat, looking out at the blurry scene ahead.

"Something's not right..." Yunefu gritted his teeth, gripped the steering wheel tightly, and continued driving the magic shuttle forward, the alarm sound echoing in his ears.

The magic shuttle shook violently as it was swept up by the sandstorm... It's unclear how long it lasted, but the view ahead finally opened up slightly.

"Put on your gear, Iseria," Yunevo said, taking off his storage bag and handing it to the girl behind him. "The rest of the way... we'll probably have to walk it ourselves."

The magic shuttle had already been operating under overload and was groaning loudly. Even with its adaptive recovery module, it would take three to five days to be fully restored...

Yunevo put the entire magic shuttle into his storage bag, took Iseria's hand with one hand, and held the guide stone in the other, heading towards the city that stood in the desert.

"Iseria, are you alright?" He turned his head to look at the girl behind him.

"I'm fine, but... there seems to be a 'big guy' watching us ahead," Iseria said, feeling the intense heat of the yellow sand beneath her feet even through her boots.

Big guy?

Yonivore's eyelids twitched.

From the endless expanse of yellow sand, a figure slowly materialized, leaning on a sword and kneeling on the ground...

If it stood upright, it would be about two meters tall, wearing a tattered cloak made of sand and gravel, and its armor was covered with dense battle scars, as if it had experienced the baptism of countless fierce battles.

The knight had no face; beneath his helmet... there was only an empty space and tiny grains of sand slowly falling, yet one could sense its prying gaze.

Then, it slightly raised its head, switched to holding the sword in its right hand and making a fist with its left hand, placing it in front of its chest. Although the movements were slow, they carried an undeniable solemnity...

It was a perfect, ancient, and even reverent knightly salute.

But for Ionevoy, it was a blood-stained declaration of war…

"A one-on-one duel?" Yunevo muttered, first settling Iselia in, then returning the same standard mage salute to the figure.

The next second, the knight disappeared... or rather, he turned into wisps of sand, which instantly crossed the distance between the two people, following the trajectory of the wind!

clang--!

Yunevo's pupils suddenly contracted as he raised his right arm, covered in [Oak Skin], to block the greatsword forged from crimson hard sand, which weighed over a thousand pounds!

The immense impact caused him to stumble back two steps, his calves sinking into the sand...

"Iron Sand Demon Armor, where's the iron?" Yunefu's voice was tinged with surprise. The law of "everything is difficult at the beginning" applies to any world...

He suddenly pulled away, and the heavy sword in sand armor slammed into the ground, kicking up clouds of yellow sand!

Yunevo took another step forward, slamming his foot onto the hilt of the greatsword and unleashing a powerful punch imbued with the [Slam] skill.

With each layer of enhancement, this punch was enough to leave a heavily armored Templar Knight completely disoriented.

The fist pierced straight through the entire sand armor, blasting sand and gravel into the air...

But Yunevo felt as if he had punched a pool of quicksand...

There was absolutely no feedback from being hit.

Looking back at the sand armor, it didn't even shake once, and the huge hole in its chest was filled with new quicksand in the blink of an eye!

With yellow sand as its body and steel as its blood, it cannot be harmed by swords or destroyed by magic...

"Ha... I knew it," Yunefu said, using [Gale Rush] to quickly retreat and cracking his knuckles. "It's going to be a long battle... Too bad, I'm also a super durable guy."

The recovery ability provided by [Super Regeneration] is sufficient, provided supplies are adequate.

"Yonev!" Iseria suddenly exclaimed, "Its resurrection... its resurrection is consuming some kind of connection, deep, deep underground. I can feel it!"

Consuming...the connection?

Perhaps it's like super glue?

Stick it, tear it off, tear it off, stick it on again... until the stickiness is completely gone.

Without further hesitation, the black-robed alchemist activated [Spiritual Vision], attempting to find the "connection" that Iseria had mentioned.

The golden threads seemed to sprout roots from beneath the sand armor, taking hold in every corner of this desert…

But as Iseria said, those threads gradually converged at a point under the sand.

The outline is indistinct, but it resembles a tomb.

"I can't go for now... I can only try to keep going against it," Yunefu frowned, let out a long breath, and began to prepare for a new round of [Gale Rush].

And that armored figure... was slowly strolling over, dragging a heavy sword.

The scorching sandstorm made Yoniv's black robe flutter wildly, and he once again transformed into a blue afterimage and crashed into the sand!

A fist, imbued with both corrosive energy and a powerful strike, slammed into the sand-armored sword that was raised to block...

A deafening explosion and a flurry of flying sand erupted once again!