Chapter 3888: Life Furnace

The 【Lord of Hearthfire】 mentioned by Miss Bladevi the halfling was clearly, like the Old God who loved red wine with whom Xia De was familiar, a typical racial deity. Although Xia De had never heard of this figure, given the decline of halflings in the Sixth Era, this 【Lord of Hearthfire】 had likely already departed in the Fifth Era.

The origins of the three witches were all without issue; Xia De nodded.

"Then now, ladies, may I be invited into your sanctuary?"

The elderly witch took charge.

"You may, but sir, we remain vigilant toward you, so do not do anything suspicious."

The sanctuary, constructed from various metals, was shaped like a tent, and Xia De had to crouch to enter. The three witches huddled together to make room for him. They were indeed still wary of him, and after the "Pseudo-Human" incident a few months ago, Xia De understood them very well.

"Does anyone want to verify it?"

That layer of completely transparent bubble enveloped the sanctuary from the inside, so the small sanctuary not only isolated the dark red light from the outside, but the air inside was also quite fresh. Xia De guessed that besides the bubble barrier, someone must have used a scene-type power similar to 【Traveler's Camp】.

He took the initiative to extend his right hand, and the Miss Pink Gem Dragon closest to him reached out to grasp his wrist, then carefully observed her own palm.

"It truly didn't trigger the Witch's Curse... This reminds me of strange rumors circulating among academy students in recent years."

She whispered, and Xia De asked curiously.

"About a strange man, is it?"

The witch nodded gently. She had milky white skin and a long pink ponytail tied in a thick braid hanging behind her. However, because there was still a small amount of vigilance in her heart, Miss Gina Rosa decided to observe a little longer. If it really was that person, then this time was too lucky—after all, they had just discussed this topic a few days ago (Extra 7).

Xia De also introduced his identity. He gave his real name, "Xia De Hamilton," but only claimed to be a detective and travel writer, and that he liked keeping cats very much.

"However, I didn't receive any suspicious letters or see any strange sentences. I just opened a door in my house, and then I arrived here."

Afterward, he asked the three witches about the specific situation of this factory and the matter of the "life about to be born." The witches' expressions were quite unpleasant.

"This strange place looks like a factory, but the concepts of time and space here are completely confused. The area of the entire factory is almost infinite. We have tried to explore the boundaries, but not once have we succeeded."

"The name here is 'Filthy Blood Factory,' and everyone who comes here will immediately know this name. According to our exploration, what the factory should be manufacturing are those extremely terrifying flesh creations we have encountered. Only a small portion of them are humanoid, and the appearance of most is indescribable."

It was still the old witch introducing the situation to Xia De. The halfling and the Gem Dragon witch were clearly convinced by her, and the latter two were also secretly sizing him up.

"I understand. I saw a distorted flesh monster in a factory building outside. It was filled with mummified corpses tied to operating tables, being repeatedly drained of their bone and blood."

Xia De said, and the Pink Dragon Witch whispered an explanation:

"Mr. Hamilton, what you saw was actually a blood-collection workshop, a fairly common area in the factory. Besides that, the Bone-Forging Workshop, Blood Bank Cellar, and Corruption Distillation Room are also highly likely to appear.

Because of the extreme chaos of space, the area you reach after opening each door is different."

Xia De nodded, and the Halfling Witch joined the conversation:

"So once we decide to go out, the three of us set off together until we find a similar low-danger area to stop in. The type of area we are currently in is what we call an 'Operating Room.' Generally speaking, as long as you deal with the thing tied to that stone bed at the beginning, you can stay here with peace of mind."

Xia De then understood that this mission did not have the fixed safe zones of the past; like the "City of Eternal Night," this one required constant forward movement.

The Old Witch reminded Xia De again:

"Most areas of the factory are filled with blood mist. Although this blood mist will imperceptibly erode our bodies, it also keeps us feeling full at all times, so there is no need to eat here. In areas where the blood mist is thicker, even one's Spirit can recover quickly."

This was also a situation Xia De had never encountered before, but of course, this "convenience" came with a price.

"Once you come into contact with too much blood mist in the Blood-Stained Factory, your body will slowly grow flesh buds. At this stage, you must immediately enter a similar low-danger room to rest; otherwise, this change will permanently affect our bodies and even our souls."

The Pink Gem Dragon Witch said, extending her left hand, which she had been hiding in her sleeve, toward Xia De. Xia De then saw a very obvious scar on the back of her left hand.

"This is..."

"After cutting away the flesh buds, marks remain on the surface of the body. This usually takes a long time to recover, but apart from the appearance being somewhat unsightly and the affected area being more prone to growing flesh buds in subsequent actions, there are no other effects."

Miss Gina Rosa looked at her hand with her pinkish-purple eyes:

"Healing-type secret arts and even divine arts are ineffective at recovering these types of wounds. Old Lady Gustav has tried; they simply cannot be cured. Look~"

As she spoke, she blew out another pink bubble. After the bubble touched the back of her left hand, the scar on her hand healed immediately, but the scar reappeared extremely quickly.

"May I touch it?"

Xia De asked. After receiving permission, he pressed his finger onto the back of the Dragon Witch's hand. The latter's face flushed slightly, still wondering if this person, whose name was also correct, was the one mentioned by Headmistress Miss Feilian, Administrator Oulannode, Head Maid Fiona, and Senior Wilde.

Xia De frowned slightly, considered it for a moment, and asked:

"May I try to heal you?"

The Halfling Witch and the Old Witch were still somewhat distrustful of Xia De, but the Dragon Witch agreed directly:

"You may, but you cannot use power that causes too much fluctuation in elements; otherwise, the bubble I released to wrap this area will burst."

Xia De nodded. He did not release Moon Fire, but instead flicked his finger, and a card flew out from the deck in his pocket. Xia De held the card and waved it over the back of the witch's fair hand, and soil fell down.

"It's just ordinary soil."

Xia De explained, supporting her left hand with his right hand, while his left hand gently rubbed the back of her hand.

"Miracle - Active Soil."

The action looked like a dissolute man acting like a hooligan, but the witches did not think he had the leisure to do such boring things in a place like this.

A moment later, Xia De took his hand away:

"It should be fine now. Take a look."

The Pink Gem Dragon Witch shook the dry soil off the back of her hand and then saw that there were no longer any scars on her fair skin. She tried touching her skin, confirming that the scar had truly disappeared.

After Xia De devoured the "Degraded Eldest Son's Flesh" and "Pseudo-Human Mother Fluid," using soil to create flesh to fill in missing parts of a biological body resulted in flesh with stronger adaptability and superior fusion. So, he hadn't performed healing at all; he had simply created brand-new flesh to smooth over the scar.

"Is this a means of flesh creation?"

Asked the Old Witch Melody Gustav, who seemed very knowledgeable. Xia De admitted:

"Yes, the essence is using soil to reshape flesh. I once used it to reshape the limbs of a girl who had lost hers. The biggest trouble with performing this miracle is actually testing my ability to shape soil."

Ms. Gustav and the very young-looking Halfling Miss Breadwei also checked the Dragon Witch's hand, then confirmed that the wound they had tried everything to recover had actually healed completely.

"Are there any other wounds you need my help to heal? We are companions now, and I am willing to provide treatment for everyone."

The witches all had similar flesh-bud injuries, and fortunately, none of the locations where the flesh buds grew were in awkward places. The back of the hand, the wrist, the back of the head, the neck, etc. —the soil stored in the cards in Xia De's hand was plentiful, so there was no need to worry about depletion.

And while he was performing the treatment, the three witches continued to introduce the current situation.

Xia De already knew that the area of this factory was nearly infinite and that space was constantly changing. Although there were small "low-danger" rooms similar to the current area, in order to get out, they certainly couldn't stay in the same area forever.

Repeatedly opening and closing doors to try to find a suitable room before setting off wouldn't work either. Except for some very special areas, the doors to most rooms here could only be closed from the other side once opened, which forced people who came here to keep moving forward.

"We have already found clues to leaving. This is actually not difficult. Whenever we fall into a dream here, we hear the continuous sound of a child crying."

The Halfling Witch's mouth twitched; clearly, hearing that sound as soon as she fell asleep was not a very good experience:

"That crying is the guide. After waking up, follow the direction of the crying to open the door, and you will soon find a special 'Life Furnace' room. After putting flesh materials into it according to the furnace's needs, we can enter a very safe rest room, and we can stay for a long time. During this time, the space inside the factory will even become relatively stable.

We have already completed one 'Life Furnace' room. We have a feeling that there are three more similar rooms. Perhaps after completing all the 'Life Furnace' forgings, the front will be the end of the factory."

Xia De was currently treating the Old Witch from the 【Church of Creation】:

"What is finally forged in that furnace room?"