Chapter 177: Return [17

When he placed this purified tissue into the autophagic slime, things began to spiral out of control.

Initially, the autophagic slime successfully consumed the tissue, its surface displaying the expected reddish-brown hue.

However, just a few seconds later, irregular dark blue spots began to appear on the slime's surface.

These spots expanded rapidly, like ink bleeding on white paper.

"Something's wrong... this shouldn't be happening..." Luo En frowned as he observed, quickly adjusting his recording equipment to capture every detail.

Suddenly, the slime's volume began to swell, and its surface colors became chaotic; blue, purple, and red intertwined like a small storm of color.

"Stability is dropping sharply." Luo En wrote rapidly in his logbook, his expression solemn.

At the same time, he immediately activated the backup isolation barrier, completely sealing off the experimental area.

Just as the barrier rose, the autophagic slime emitted a strange shriek—a sound so high-pitched it nearly pierced his eardrums.

Then, with a 'Bang!', it exploded, the splatter hitting the protective shield with a teeth-gritting hiss.

"Experiment subject number one failed, exhibiting typical abyss backlash phenomena."

He recorded calmly, his eyes filled with analytical focus:

"Purification was not thorough enough, or the slime's carrying capacity was insufficient."

He was not discouraged and immediately prepared a second autophagic slime, this time adjusting the purification fluid's formula and increasing the proportion of stabilizer.

However, the subsequent attempt also ended in failure:

After consuming the tissue, the second slime began to tremble violently, then suddenly went still, its surface crystallizing into a gray solid with no signs of life.

"Excessive stabilization led to a complete energy lockdown, resulting in a loss of activity." Luo En recorded the details of this failure.

The third attempt was even more catastrophic.

After consuming the tissue, the slime initially displayed the expected color changes normally.

But then it suddenly began to deform rapidly, twisting into various inconceivable shapes, like the projection of some non-Euclidean geometry in three-dimensional space.

Finally, it bounced upward violently, broke through the first protective shield, and exploded against the ceiling.

Viscous material splattered everywhere, some of it even beginning to erode the surface of the laboratory bench.

"Damn it!" Luo En quickly put on protective gloves and initiated emergency procedures, spraying the corrosive residue with a special neutralizing agent.

The laboratory was a mess, with almost every surface contaminated by that organic matter carrying slight abyssal pollution.

Even worse, some of the residue was still faintly wriggling, as if possessing some primitive life characteristics.

"The abyssal structure is more complex and corrosive than I imagined."

As Luo En dealt with the residue, he analyzed in his mind:

"Even for tissue that has been 'purified', its internal structure still retains the imprint of certain abyssal rules."

He used a special energy containment box to collect all residual samples, ensuring no energy leakage would occur.

He especially needed to prevent Daier from coming into contact with it; this time was different from the last, and he would not give her any opportunity. He would find time later to dispose of this batch of hazardous material himself.

"The carrying limit of the basic autophagic slime is too low."

Luo En pondered as he cleaned the laboratory bench:

"They can at most withstand bloodlines at the Silver Ring level, while abyssal creatures, even those from the outermost layers, are essentially close to or reach the Jin Huan level."

He recalled the high-level autophagic slimes the slave merchant had once mentioned; those higher-grade experimental creatures were said to be able to carry bloodlines of the Jin Huan level or even higher.

"It seems more resources need to be invested." Luo En wrote at the end of his experiment log:

"Order several high-level autophagic slimes and redesign the experimental plan."

However, research is inherently a very long-term process.

Even if there are no phased results for the time being, it can still help him improve his professional skills as a 'Bloodline Modulator'.

Thinking of this, Luo En tidied the laboratory while contemplating the deeper possibilities of the Bloodline Modulator career path.

As a relatively new profession, the history of the 'Bloodline Modulator' can be traced back to the ancient alchemist Lans.

At that time, life alchemy was considered one of the highest realms of alchemy, involving forbidden fields such as soul manipulation, living body modification, and even the transformation of immortal husks.

Most of this knowledge has now been lost or strictly sealed away by major wizard factions.

In a branch institution like the Black Fog Sect, opportunities to come into contact with truly high-level bloodline theory are extremely limited.

"If I want to go further, I'm afraid I'll have to wait until I head to the Central Lands to look for opportunities."

Luo En pondered: "The Crystal Spire's collection is a hundred times richer than the Black Fog Sect's; perhaps there will be more records about ancient alchemists there."

After finishing the cleanup, he decided to temporarily shelve the research on abyssal tissue.

Instead, he turned his focus to a more stable and promising direction—the cultivation of Daier's bloodline.

The little siren's growth had made astonishing progress over the past few weeks.

Luo En arrived at the specially designed cultivation room, where Daier was floating leisurely in the crystal pool.

Her long silver hair drifted in the gentle current like soft algae.

"Daier, it's time for dinner." Luo En called out softly.

"Master!" Daier called out happily: "What's good to eat today?"

Luo En smiled and took out an exquisite crystal bottle containing a peculiar fluid.

The fluid appeared pearlescent and milky white, with shimmering golden particles inside.

"This is the deep-sea essence I specially formulated for you." Luo En explained:

"It fuses the energy characteristics of some rare deep-sea creatures and should have a very good effect on your bloodline purification."

Daier took the bottle curiously and sniffed it cautiously, her eyes lighting up immediately:

"It smells so good! It smells like the ocean!"

Luo En nodded: "Drink slowly. This formula is quite special and requires your bloodline circulation to fully absorb every drop."

Daier obediently sipped it in small mouthfuls, swallowing only a tiny bit at a time, then closed her eyes to feel the energy flowing through her body.

As she ingested the liquid, her skin began to take on a subtle pearlescent luster, like the surface of the sea under moonlight.

Luo En activated his 'Insight' trait to carefully observe the changes within Daier.

This deep-sea essence was formulated based on the siren's original bloodline, with special strengthening factors added.

Unlike the danger of abyssal tissue, this type of homologous strengthening was much safer and easier for Daier's body to accept.

"How does it feel?" Luo En asked when Daier finished the last drop.

"Very warm." Daier replied softly, her eyes still closed, seemingly enjoying a kind of inner pleasure:

"It feels like there's a warm current in my body, flowing from my throat all the way to the tip of my tail, and then back to my heart."

Luo En nodded with satisfaction: "That is exactly the manifestation of the bloodline circulation being activated. Next, I need you to perform some special exercises to help you better control this newly acquired energy."

He took out a specially made crystal ball and placed it into the cultivation pool.

The crystal ball sank slowly to the bottom, releasing a faint blue light.

"Try to use your ability to control the crystal ball and make it move along a specific path in the water."

Luo En instructed: "Don't touch it with your hands; use only your ability to control the water flow."

Daier nodded, showing a serious expression.

She stretched out her hands, but did not touch the crystal ball directly, instead waving them gently as if conducting an invisible piece of music.

The water flow responded immediately to her movements, forming a tiny vortex that slowly lifted the crystal ball.

At first, the ball's movement was somewhat unstable, floating up and sinking down at times.

But as Daier's mastery of the energy deepened, the crystal ball's trajectory became increasingly smooth and precise.

"Very good." Luo En encouraged: "Now try to increase the difficulty—make the crystal ball draw a perfect spiral in the water."

Daier bit her lower lip, her cute little face scrunched up; clearly, this request was somewhat challenging for her.

But after a few failed attempts, she seemed to find the trick.

The crystal ball began to rise slowly along a graceful spiral trajectory, then sank again along the same path.

"That's fantastic!" Luo En praised sincerely: "Your control over water elements has already surpassed that of most adult sirens."

Daier laughed happily at the praise: "Of course, because I have the best master in the world!"

Luo En gently stroked her hair:

"Your bloodline purity is steadily increasing. If this trend continues, you should be able to successfully break through the Jin Huan threshold before I head to the Bloodline Altar."

"Really?" Daier asked excitedly: "Then I can become more powerful and better protect Master!"

"Indeed." Luo En nodded:

"Moreover, the champion has privileges; heading to the Bloodline Altar allows one to bring an 'attendant'. This is also why the school attaches such importance to this session of the Bloody Gladiator Tournament, even going so far as to offer various important rewards and changing the rules to a grand melee."

"I will be Master's most powerful guard!" Daier puffed out her chest confidently: "No one will be able to hurt Master!"

Luo En smiled as he looked at this little life that was once on the verge of death; the potential of the 'Glutton' trait was even more astonishing than he had initially expected.

In just half a year, she had grown into an existence capable of contending with powerful monsters like the Manticore; this was the astonishing result of the interaction between 'special talent' and bloodline modulation.

"Let's go, let's head to the training ground for some more practical exercises." Luo En proposed:

"Let me see what kind of power your control over water elements can exert in combat."

Daier leaped excitedly from the water, the droplets forming a graceful arc in the air before returning to the pool, not a single drop falling on the ground.

The training ground was an open space Luo En had specially designed for Daier, equipped with various obstacles and moving targets to train her reaction speed and attack precision.

"Today we'll try a new exercise."

Luo En said, activating a mechanism in the center of the field:

"Water elements can be used not only for attack but also for defense and auxiliary movement."

As the mechanism activated, dozens of sharp wooden spikes popped out from the ground and walls, forming a threatening obstacle course.

"You need to pass through these obstacles, but you cannot touch any of the wooden spikes directly."

Luo En explained: "You can use water elements to create a protective layer or change your own movement trajectory."

Hearing this, the little siren raised her hands, and the water molecules in the surrounding air immediately responded to her call, condensing into a thin film of water that wrapped around her body.

"Shield, activate!"

She imitated the words she had heard Luo En mutter, shouting with a serious tone.

Then, the little siren began to carefully navigate between the wooden spikes.

Whenever she approached a particularly dangerous obstacle, the water film would automatically thicken at that location, forming a small barrier.

Her movements became increasingly fluid, and she even began to spin and jump nimbly between the obstacles, as if performing a water ballet.

Luo En observed Daier's performance with satisfaction, occasionally recording some key data.

Her control over water elements had reached a fairly high level and was still constantly improving.

"Next step, I hope you can continue to try the 'Water Wing Gliding' technique."

Just as Luo En was about to begin explaining the key points of this technique, a strong life fluctuation suddenly came from the direction of the courtyard, which could be clearly perceived even in the training ground.

Luo En and Daier both turned their heads in surprise to look out the window.

"Mother Ailan!" Daier immediately recognized the source of this energy and excitedly pulled on her master's hand:

"She's waking up! Master, hurry, hurry, let's go see her!"

Luo En also immediately realized that the ancient tree that had been sleeping in the courtyard for over half a month had finally reached the moment of awakening.

"Let's go, let's go welcome her return."

He and Daier quickly arrived at the courtyard, only to see the ancient tree undergoing astonishing changes.

The entire tree was surrounded by a pale green halo, the light radiating from the inside out to form a soft cocoon of light.

The patterns on the trunk flowed as if they had come to life, forming various complex and beautiful designs, like some kind of activated script.

The leaves on the canopy shimmered with light, and tiny specks of light drifted out like fireflies, forming wonderful dancing patterns in the air.

"So beautiful..." Daier stared with bated breath, her large purple-blue eyes reflecting this wonderful scene:

"Like fairies dancing in the forest."

Luo En activated his 'Extraordinary Identification' and 'Insight' traits to carefully observe this transformation process.

In his perception, the energy within Ailan was undergoing a thorough reorganization.

The originally dispersed energy nodes were connecting into a complex and harmonious network, and the bloodline purity had increased significantly, likely reaching the Jin Huan level.

Lilia also arrived upon hearing the news, standing to the side in some wonder:

"My goodness, this is more beautiful than any extraordinary creature transformation I've seen in books."

As a breeze blew past, the canopy at the top of the ancient tree slowly parted, revealing the miracle contained within:

A golden-green light slowly converged from the center of the canopy, gradually condensing into a human silhouette.

(End of chapter)