Chapter 338: Seeker's Heart

Chapter 338: Seeker's Heart

Luo En stared at the silver mirror-like surface of the star, his spiritual energy extending forward like a probe, cautiously brushing against its edge.

Suddenly, the mirror began to fluctuate, as if a stone had been dropped into a still lake.

But this fluctuation wasn't regular - it resembled the unstable operation of some ancient machine.

A chaotic, fragmented consciousness wave surged toward Luo En's spirit. These weren't complete thoughts, but rather countless Memory Fragments accumulated across different eras:

Seeking the Dao... the cost... the truth... blood and bone...

The thirst for Eternity... the curse of knowledge...

Observation... Record... Witness...

These Consciousness Fragments crashed against Luo En's spirit like tidal waves, each carrying different emotions and memories.

Some originated from ancient observers, others from seekers who had been consumed, and still others from souls lost in their pursuit of truth.

This so-called "Academic Star" was actually a vast memory repository, collecting consciousness fragments from all who had touched it over millennia.

And now, it was selectively extracting key fragments and pouring them into Luo En according to his own memory bank.

The first clear image emerged.

Luo En found himself standing in a pristine laboratory.

The walls were constructed from pure white stone, and the air carried a faint herbal scent.

This place seemed more like a medical facility than a terrifying laboratory.

In the center of the room stood a tall, middle-aged man carefully inspecting his right arm.

It was Alexander Jin, the legendary figure known as the "Merciful Alchemy Master."

"This is attempt number seventy-three", Alexander calmly told himself in the mirror, his voice devoid of pain, filled only with the focused intensity of an academic:

"The nerve conduction efficiency in my right arm has increased by twelve percent, but muscle fiber vitality has declined. Need to adjust the potion ratio."

Luo En observed that Alexander's right arm had an unnatural semi-transparent appearance, with pale blue liquid flowing through his veins.

With every finger movement, the mana circuits inside shimmered with light.

"Pain is the price of progress", Alexander said as he drew a syringe filled with green liquid and unhesitatingly injected it into his carotid artery.

"As long as I can prove the feasibility of this path, what is personal pain to me?"

As the injection completed, Alexander's entire head began to transform.

His skin became transparent, revealing his brain within the skull.

More horrifyingly, certain areas of his brain had been replaced with miniature Simulation Combat Devices, with metallic tendrils burrowing deeply into the tissue like parasites.

Witnessing this scene, Luo En felt a wave of instinctive nausea and fear.

This was the natural human reaction to physical distortion, an instinctual protective mechanism ingrained in the genes.

But he forced himself to keep observing, analyzing the principles of this modification from an academic perspective:

"Mechanical modification of the nervous system... this level of precision must have been an unprecedented breakthrough at the time. While the cost was tremendous, the technical proficiency was truly astounding."

The scene shifted, time fast-forwarded, and now centuries had passed. The same laboratory appeared once more.

Alexander was no longer recognizable as human.

His entire body had become semi-transparent, his internal organs replaced with various complex Simulation Combat Devices.

Most horrifying of all, he maintained complete conscious clarity.

"It worked... it really worked..." His voice had transformed into a grotesque hybrid of mechanical and organic tones.

"I am now a living alchemical factory... capable of directly synthesizing any potion I've mastered... My body can produce all kinds of enchantments and alchemical substances. This is alchemy's ultimate form..."

Luo En noted that while Alexander was celebrating his "success", his eyes had completely lost any trace of human emotion.

That hollow gaze resembled nothing more than an advanced machine simulating human reactions.

"Judging solely by results, this was indeed a success. But from Alexander's perspective as an individual, it was a complete failure." Luo En inwardly commented:

"Nevertheless, this self-modification technical approach is worth studying. If we could control the extent of modification to avoid total loss of humanity..."

The Memory Fragment shifted again, this time delivering an even greater psychological impact.

Luo En now stood in Lance Hewitt's private laboratory.

Contrary to the dark, terrifying place described in history books, this environment was orderly and surprisingly refined.

Exquisite artwork adorned the walls, fresh flowers graced the desk, and soothing music played softly in the background.

But this serene atmosphere made the events that followed even more horrifying.

Lance was conversing with a boy of about ten years old.

The child had damp, curly hair with scales and fins, clearly a hybrid siren.

His large blue eyes overflowed with trust in his "Shu Shu" (uncle).

"Tell Uncle, what are your dreams?" Lance knelt before the boy, his voice filled with genuine concern.

"I want to become a sorcerer like my father, to protect our city and drive away the Abyss monsters."

The boy replied innocently, his eyes sparkling with pure hope.

"What admirable dreams", Lance gently stroked the child's hair:

"You will contribute to making these dreams come true for many children like you. Your peaceful slumber will save countless lives, and you will become a true hero."

The next scene delivered a powerful spiritual impact to Luo En.

Lance took the siren boy's hand, leading him toward an operating table.

After completely immobilizing the boy with anesthetic runes, he began his so-called "life research."

Throughout the process, Lance maintained a gentle smile, constantly reassuring the terrified child.

"Don't be afraid, this is just a brief process.

Soon you'll enter Eternity's peaceful slumber, where there is no pain or fear, only endless tranquility."

Even more disturbingly, besides these bloodline fusion experiments, Lance meticulously recorded every reaction of his subjects during the experiments.

The degree of fear, expressions of pain, and the gradual dissipation of consciousness.

He appeared to be engaged in some kind of pathological artistic creation, obsessed with achieving a twisted perfection.

A strong wave of nausea washed over Luo En.

As a modern individual, he couldn't comprehend this disregard for innocent lives.

Yet he also noticed the exquisite precision in Lance's experimental techniques.

The exact control over life mana flow, the profound understanding of organ functions - these truly represented the highest level of bloodline studies at that time.

"I cannot let emotions cloud my judgment", Luo En forced himself to remain calm:

"I need to learn the technical principles here, not become trapped in moral debates.

History has already occurred; what I can do is ensure this knowledge is directed properly."

The Memory Fragments continued flowing, but their content grew darker and more twisted.

Elena Moonlight's emotional treasure vault appeared before Luo En.

It was a magnificent underground palace, its dome soaring dozens of meters high. The walls were embedded with countless transparent containers.

Each container held purified emotions, abstract concepts that had become tangible entities.

Love manifested as pink glowing orbs, gently pulsating within their containers.

Hatred took the form of rolling black mist, continuously battering against the container walls.

Fear writhed like silver snakes in liquid, twisting frantically.

Most chilling of all, these emotions retained fragments of their original owners' consciousness.

Luo En could hear them weeping, pleading, cursing:

"Please... let me return to my child... I want to feel that love again..."

"I will have revenge! I will kill that witch! She stole my anger, now I can't even hate anymore!"

"Fear... fear is everywhere... I don't know what safety feels like anymore..."

Elena stood at the center of these containers of pain, a look of rapture on her face.

She caressed each container like someone admiring their art collection:

"How pure these emotions are... how perfect their extraction... each represents the essence of the human soul..."

She turned to a container holding deep blue liquid - this was a mother's love for her child:

"This maternal love is so intense, so selfless... I will refine it into the most perfect potion, allowing those who've lost loved ones to feel the warmth of being loved again."

But Elena failed to recognize that her "charitable" acts were built on complete plundering of the original owners.

The mother, having lost her ability to love, had become an emotionless shell.

Luo En had fully adopted an observer's perspective, silently watching it all unfold.

If Lance's cruelty could be seen as having some twisted logic,

Then Elena's actions were pure madness built entirely on self-deception.

She believed she was doing good, while actually creating far greater suffering.

Luo En had already become accustomed to detaching himself, analyzing things purely from a technical perspective:

"Materializing emotions... if this technology could be improved, perhaps it could be used to treat spiritual trauma.

For instance, extracting patients' fear and pain without damaging other emotions..."

The Memory Fragments grew increasingly unhinged.

Luo En witnessed Agas Lakro's descent during his pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone.

The once-revered Archmage, in his pursuit of Eternity, constructed a factory dedicated to harvesting "pure souls."

Tens of thousands of children from various species were imprisoned in cramped cells.

Their innocence and hope were extracted drop by drop, fueling the legendary Stone through potion-making.

Most horrifyingly, the children had to remain conscious throughout the process.

Only souls in a state of Clarity could provide the Vitality required.

Even more chilling was Damian Pucci's laboratory.

This mad alchemy master pushed Living Body Modification to grotesque extremes.

His lab resembled a surrealistic nightmare:

Some experimental subjects were transformed into living organ incubators—

their abdominal cavities hollowed out to cultivate rare organs while their minds remained in Clarity, suffering unimaginable pain night and day;

others were fused into multi-headed monstrosities, with three or four human heads forcibly grafted onto a single body,

their consciousnesses clashing endlessly in spiritual torment;

some were engineered into semi-conscious tools—

talking tables, thinking chairs, weapons imbued with human memories...

As Luo En explored these increasingly dark Memories, he felt his spiritual defenses crumbling under unprecedented assaults.

The victims' screams echoed in his ears, twisted images flashing endlessly before his eyes.

His empathy screamed for him to stop this "learning."

Yet reason reminded him—this knowledge held invaluable truths.

"I'm no judge, no savior", Luo En repeatedly warned himself.

"I can't change the past, but I can ensure this knowledge serves brighter purposes."

Through this mental recalibration, Luo En noticed his emotional reactions dulling.

The grotesque scenes no longer filled him with nausea or rage. He observed them with growing objectivity.

This transformation unsettled him.

Was he losing his human empathy?

But reason countered—this emotional detachment was necessary.

If every encounter with darkness clouded his judgment, true learning would remain impossible.

A genuine seeker of truth must transcend personal feelings, embracing knowledge with pure objectivity.

The final Memory fragment concerned Victor Asmode, an Ancient Alchemist obsessed with creating "Perfect artificial life."

He designed cruel experiments to test his creations' authenticity—

having artificial beings absorb individuals, then let them interact intimately with loved ones, measuring how long it took to detect the deception.

Experiments tested familial bonds, friendships, romantic love—all human emotions.

The resulting Despair and pain when truth emerged were meticulously Recorded as "data."

Most abominably, Victor arranged marriages between artificial beings and humans, fathering children with them.

When offspring matured, he revealed their "parent" was merely a construct—

then forced the artificial being to self-destruct before their eyes.

Such psychological trauma often shattered the victim's spiritual world.

Now, even this madness left Luo En eerily calm.

To him, these were mere data points—samples illuminating ancient alchemy's trajectory.

"Artificial life authenticity testing... the concept holds merit.

If we could refine the methods, gathering data without absorbing living subjects..."

【Advanced Alchemy (Mastery) experience points +1】

【Material Transmutation (Proficient) experience points +1】

【Enchantment Art (Proficient) experience points +1】

【Bloodline Shaping (Proficient) experience points +1】

...

Nearly every skill related to Three-Phase Magecraft gained slow experience point increases.

These gains confirmed Luo En's progress—his persistence through the spiritual trial bore fruit.

When the Memories ended, the shattered consciousness of the Academic Star pulsed again:

Observation complete... Record updated... New observer confirmed...

Calm... Rational... Beyond constraints... Conforms to standard...

With these fragmented consciousness waves, the Academic Star erupted in radiant silver-white light.

The light surged into Luo En's consciousness, unlocking unparalleled knowledge integration.

His mind felt upgraded—thought speed and logic capabilities soaring.

【Academic Star activated, gained additional trait: Seeker's Heart】

【Seeker's Heart:

1. Accelerated learning speed

2. Significantly enhanced knowledge integration

3. Expanded consciousness space capacity

4. Rapid mastery of foundational theories in relevant fields】

【Hermit Star resonating with Academic Star, Wisdom Constellation activation progress: 66%】

【To complete Wisdom Constellation activation, still requires: Observer Star】

Simultaneously, astrology breakthroughs emerged:

【Astrology (Entry-Level) experience points +1】

【Breakthrough! Astrology (Entry-Level 50/50) → Astrology (Proficient 1/100)】

【Gained additional trait "Omen Star"】

【Omen Star: Enables prediction of future possibilities through star chart analysis, accuracy tied to astrology proficiency】

When Luo En opened his eyes, his Perception of the world had fundamentally transformed.

Stars in the sky became active information sources, whispering faint hints of future possibilities.

Impending transformations connected to him shone like gradually brightening comets.

Though precise predictions remained elusive, he sensed danger and opportunity with keen intuition.

Most prominently, he perceived Daire's Awakening.

"Within two weeks, her metamorphosis will complete", he judged accurately.

Additionally, the two activated stars sparked new Inspiration.

Through Hermit Star and Academic Star resonance, he glimpsed his original rune structure concepts.

This wasn't simple mana conduction—it was a consciousness-level enhancement technique.

Guided by Seeker's Heart, Luo En pondered transforming this into practical rune technology.

The complete "Starlight Rune" design gradually formed in his mind:

Hermit Star Rune—dominated by deep purple.

The core features a vertical pupil surrounded by mist, encircled by intricate geometric patterns, temporarily enhancing perception ability and intuition.

Academic Star Rune—silver-white in tone.

The core combines interwoven pages and star patterns, temporarily boosting learning efficiency and comprehension.

The potential applications thrilled Luo En.

Imagine his students wielding these runes—

How would Lise's potion innate talent surge?

What heights would He Man's theoretical reasoning reach?

Of course, this was just the conceptual stage.

Actual rune production required extensive experimentation and adaptation considerations for different individuals.

But at least, the path now lay open before him.

Ai Lan sensed his transformation, her emerald form swaying gently in moonlight.

"Master, your spiritual fluctuations... they feel completely different."

"Indeed. I've gained some... new perspectives", Luo En replied briefly, concealing details.

Theancient Alchemist's bloody experiment records would remain buried in his mind.

After collecting his astrology equipment, Luo En returned to his workshop, resuming other tasks.

Tomorrow, he'd begin preparations for returning to the Abyss Observatory—

including compressing the Mobile Workshop and confirming final course adjustments.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end