In the auxiliary city at the foot of the Sacred Mountain, the Stone Monster Merchant Group had become a renowned large merchant group in the capital area, with daily earnings that could hardly be described as merely substantial.

With the advent of the Ritual Age, coins minted from gold, silver, and copper gradually replaced the previous currency, becoming the main medium of exchange in Yinsai.

The Stone Monster Merchant Group dominated the market by manufacturing and selling various gas lamps, fire torches, and glassware.

The Stone Monster Merchant Group had numerous small stone monsters under its command, a testament to its formidable strength. Its business radiated from the capital, spreading throughout Yinsai.

The owner of the merchant group, a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothing, had recently become a hot topic in the capital.

And now, the merchant group owner was kneeling in the courtyard, his head pressed tightly against the stone bricks. Humbling himself to the dust.

“Lord Anhofus.”

Anhofus hadn’t expected that this merchant group, which once only provided funds and materials for his experiments, could develop to such a scale.

He didn’t speak, only glancing at the servant, who immediately said,

“Master, rest assured, everything has been prepared.”

This was a lakeside estate.

It had a castle, workshops, and fishing grounds.

The basement was divided into several levels. Through the thick glass of the first floor’s lounge, one could even see fish swimming at the bottom of the lake.

The second floor was a vast, open plaza with a pool-like structure dug into the ground.

This was clearly designed to be a ritual workshop.

“Master, are you satisfied? If not, I can order another one to be built.”

The former owner had now become an influential figure in Yinsai, a high-ranking God-servant priest of the Sky Temple.

Everything the merchant group owner had came from Anhofus; how could he dare to show any negligence?

Anhofus dismissed the servant and began to wander around this underground ritual workshop alone.

Several small stone monsters carried in one large box after another, simultaneously beginning to set up the place.

Anhofus unfolded a huge scroll on the wall, covered with various mysterious symbols and words, dizzying to the eye.

Various diagrams of the human body, front and side views, exuded an eerie and terrifying aura.

This was the plan and experiment he was about to undertake.

However, unlike previous plans and experiments, this time he prepared to avoid the scrutiny of the Sky Temple priests and the King of Yinsai for his final experiment.

The scroll was divided into four steps, each with a name written above it.

“Step One: Create the Immortal Body.” It showed the structure of the human body.

“Step Two: Manufacture God’s Grace Stones.” A glowing divine stone, but with four smaller stones branching out from it.

“Step Three: Distribute and Create Mythical Organs.” Different organs of the human body were listed, each with the shadow of a God’s Grace Stone above it.

“Step Four: Birth of Mythical Life.” It depicted a human body radiating endless light.

Of these four steps, the last two were not only the most important but also the most difficult.

This was also where Anhofus’s idea differed the most. Lan’s God’s Grace Priests only mythologized the brain. But Anhofus aimed to create a mythical life form with all organs composed of mythical blood – a true mythical life form, the immortal existence he had long imagined.

The extended arm of a small stone monster took out a flask from a box and placed it on the table that had just been set up.

The small bone man imprisoned in the bottle gazed at the huge scroll on the wall, his eyes widening in admiration. “Impressive,” he remarked.

Anhofus asked it, “Do you see any problems?”

The small bone man was not just a test subject he had created, but also his companion and assistant in the experimental plan.

The imprisoned small bone man in the bottle offered his thoughts: “You believe the human body is an immortality ritual, then create a ritual carrier through stitching. You’ve seen the true immortal body, so I won’t comment on that step.”

“But creating a mythical life form will certainly require a lot of mythical blood, necessitating the production of many God’s Grace Stones?”

“Moreover, the plundered mythical blood will carry the memories and emotions of its previous owners. Even the monsters created are uncontrollable and mad, requiring a second generation to be tamed and controlled.”

“How do you plan to solve this problem?”

Anhofus had already prepared for this. He pointed to the second part of the scroll: “What do you think a person is composed of?”

The small bone man thought for a moment: “Body and consciousness.”

Anhofus nodded: “I’ve created many monsters and seen countless human consciousnesses. The impurities and backlash of mythical blood can be said to come from these consciousnesses and memories.”

“A person’s consciousness can be roughly divided into four parts.”

He pointed to the scroll on the wall, to the branches drawn from the God’s Grace Stone.

“Spirit: This is the foundation of all consciousness, and also the power of mythical blood.”

“Wisdom: A derivative of the wisdom ability, an extension of spirit.”

“Knowledge: That is, a person’s memories. Whatever the memories, they can be said to be a person’s understanding of this world, which is knowledge.”

“Emotion: That is, a person’s feelings. Fear, greed, kindness, madness are all types of this.”

“These four things are the main structures that make up a person’s will.”

Anhofus drew a circle on the wall, passing through the four smaller God’s Grace Stones.

“And the manufacture of God’s Grace Stones is the fusion of mythical blood with mental power, then fused with human consciousness.”

“It’s difficult for God’s Grace Stones to separate these things, or rather, the God’s Grace Stone becomes incomplete if separated.”

“When I make God’s Grace Stones, I plan to break them down.”

“Make them separately into Spirit Stones, Wisdom Stones, Knowledge Stones, and Emotion Stones.”

“Use the Spirit Stone to mythologize his shell, the Wisdom Stone to mythologize his brain, the Memory Stone to mythologize his eyes, and the Emotion Stone to mythologize his internal organs.”

“Thus, making every organ in his body a mythical organ, finally becoming a complete, fully-formed mythical life.”

“Rather than frantically fusing all these mixed things into his brain, making him a confused madman.”

“This way, only wisdom exists in his brain.”

“The spirit, memories, and emotions from the plundered mythical blood will be separated from the body, becoming a power he can control, like mastering his own body, no longer directly affecting his brain and wisdom.”

The small bone man in the bottle stood up, leaning against the glass wall.

His eyes looked at Anhofus with admiration.

“Brilliant.”

“Truly brilliant.”

“That you can break down human consciousness to this degree, I must say you’re a genius.”

“This way, he will become a blank slate, a white canvas for you to paint on as you wish.”

“No, that’s not quite right.”

“His body still conceals the knowledge and power of countless people, available for him to access at will.”

Anhofus shook his head: “This isn’t just my research, but a secret that the Samo family discovered through generations of exploration, and also the most core thing recorded in the Secret Art of Immortality.”

“Combined with Lan’s ‘Art of God’s Grace’, it becomes completely different.”

The small bone man in the bottle carefully examined the huge scroll pasted on the wall: “And then?”

“What kind of chapter do you plan to paint in the blank memory of this mythical life?”

“The Samo family’s Secret Art of Immortality won’t work. Don’t pray or hope to transfer your own consciousness and divine blood, it’s likely to cause problems, and you can’t perform multiple trials to test it.”

“Will you take him as your student?”

“Or make him your enforcer, an aid to conquer the world and establish an empire?”

Anhofus shook his head: “How boring that would be.”

He looked at his artificial human plan, his immortality ritual, his eyes full of pride and obsession.

“Finally, I will copy my memories and emotions, fusing them into his mythical brain.”

“As for what he wants to do, that’s up to him!”

“I’ll just quietly watch him.”

“Watch another mythical me, a me far surpassing me in both wisdom and power, an immortal me.”

“What kind of things can he do, what limits can he break beyond the norm?”

The smile on Anhofus’s face seemed serene, but in the depths of his eyes lurked a hint of madness.

One could only say.

As expected of a descendant of the Samo family and grandson of the Mad King?

“I will create a mythical person with my own hands!”

“No!”

“He is not just a god, but a newly born deity.”

He wanted to create another self, one with his own thoughts, his own will.

Possessing all of himself…

Another self.

The small bone man in the bottle: “You’re a genius, and also a madman.”

“Aren’t you afraid that this self you create will kill you? Normal people don’t create two selves, let alone accept two selves existing in the world.”

Anhofus: “This body of mine is just a mortal, destined to die.”

“Die in the passage of time, become an unknown corner of the world.”

“A thousand years later, ten thousand years later, no one will remember me.”

“But now.”

“Not only have I not died.”

“My will and everything will continue through him, enduring until the end of time.”

He closed his eyes, as if listening to a melodious tune.

“How fascinating!”

“I have created with my own hands a version of myself that transcends mortality, a mythical life form of myself, an immortal self.”

“Ah!”

“It’s truly wonderful.”

The next day.

The Stone Monster Merchant Group delivered several corpses. People died in the city every day, and many places still maintained the habit of using Trilobite Man corpses to make bone tools, so these weren’t difficult to obtain.

Anhofus extracted the internal organs from the Trilobite Men, then placed them in separate glass jars, immersed in liquid.

Next, the Stone Monster Merchant Group brought a corpse of one of the People of the Abyss. Anhofus extracted the muscles from it.

From a fallen descendant of the Xilong family, he obtained skin shed by the ancient Sky Beast to serve as the artificial human’s skin.

Through various methods, he acquired the parts he wanted from different life forms.

Finally, using the power of rituals, he stitched these different organs and tissues together.

In the ritual workshop on the second underground level of the castle, a “person” now lay on a stone platform.

He had created a body that closely resembled a human but was stitched together from various life forms.

However, in Anhofus’s words, this was the vessel for the immortality ritual.

This process took Anhofus over half a month.

On this day, he did nothing else.

Instead, he sat at the table, gazing at the small bone man in the flask.

Anhofus was a man without friends, a recluse immersed in his own world. He cared only for mysterious powers and the pursuit of the secret of eternity.

The small bone man in the bottle was the only one he could converse with. They couldn’t be called friends.

It was more like a master and his faithful servant.

The small bone man in the bottle also looked at Anhofus, grinning widely as he spoke.

“You’ve run out of mythical blood, haven’t you?”

“But the magic bottle contains a large amount of mythical blood. I have the mythical blood you need in me.”

Anhofus remained silent, but the small bone man continued.

“So, what are you hesitating about?”

“Are you worried about the Spirit Realm Covenant?”

“Don’t worry, I can let you have it without paying a price.”

Anhofus shook his head: “It’s not about the Spirit Realm Covenant.”

The small bone man in the bottle laughed even harder: “Then what is it?”

“You’re mad enough to sacrifice yourself, how could you be reluctant to sacrifice me?”

It pressed its face tightly against the glass wall, staring wide-eyed at Anhofus sitting at the table.

The lamplight penetrated the glass bottle, casting an elongated shadow of its tiny body.

“Anhofus, when did you develop such unnecessary emotions?”

“I am merely a dead thing, a tool to accompany you in exploring the mystery of immortality.”

Anhofus: “Are you so eager to become a stepping stone on my path forward?”

The small figure in the bottle seemed to share Anhofus’s madness: “If that is your wish, I am willing to be the stepping stone for your desire.”

Anhofus let out a soft laugh, tapping the glass bottle with his finger.

“Very well.”

“Let’s unravel the… mystery of immortality together.”

Anhofus waved his finger, and the array patterns beneath his feet began to rotate and light up.

He placed his hand on the flask, and shadows of fire demons burst out from it, roaring and raging within the ritual workshop. But an invisible force could be seen constantly compressing them, until finally, with a puff, they collapsed and dissipated.

The small bone man remained imprisoned in the flask, but its body began to melt bit by bit.

Even the small stone monsters in the ritual workshop began to die one by one, their internal power transforming into specks of light that fell into the bottle.

In the magic bottle, more and more mythical blood gathered.

Stirring up waves in the sea of blood.

As the small bone man was about to dissipate, it asked Anhofus: “Anhofus, I want to ask you a question.”

Anhofus lowered his head: “Ask!”

The small bone man asked him: “Who was I before?”

“Why don’t I have consciousness from before I was alive?”

Anhofus said calmly: “You had no before. You were just a random dead skeleton I picked up.”

The small bone man laughed: “So… that’s how it is!”

“For such a useless thing like me to become part of an immortal being, to become part of another you.”

“It’s truly an honor!”

As soon as the words fell, the small bone man melted away bit by bit in the lamplight.

Completely disappearing.

Anhofus picked up the flask, swirling the divine blood inside.

He had obtained a large amount of mythical blood and could continue with his experiment.

He had also lost the only one he could talk to, exchanging it for a success on his path to exploring immortality.

Anhofus hadn’t been entirely truthful about the small bone man’s origins. In fact, the small bone man was created from a part of his own bones – it was actually the first “other self” that Anhofus had ever created.

The owner of the Stone Monster Merchant Group quietly entered the castle, bringing another batch of supplies Anhofus needed.

Anhofus sat by the window, his gaze fixed on the Sacred Lake, feigning indifference despite the untouched delicacies on the table before him. His mind had clearly wandered far from the present moment.

“Master! Where have all those small stone monsters gone?” the servant asked cautiously.

Anhofus turned his head, and a mere glance made the servant’s body tremble.

“The Stone Monster Merchant Group is mine, and the stone monsters are servants I created.”

“Do I need to explain their whereabouts to you?”

The merchant group owner, terrified, quickly knelt down: “No.”

“Master, I was just asking.”

Anhofus had the items sent to the first underground level, then returned to continue his experiment.

The mythical blood had been transformed into God’s Grace Stones according to Anhofus’s requirements.

However, Anhofus’s God’s Grace Stones were clearly different from ordinary ones, with subtle distinctions in color, categorized into four types.

Holding the “Art of God’s Grace” scroll in one hand, he chanted incantations while his mental power stirred up a strong pressure.

Everything in the underground ritual workshop began to float due to his powerful mental force.

Four God’s Grace Stones floated above the human body, and the array beneath his feet activated and lit up.

The power of the ritual started, and the creation of mythical organs began.

Anhofus commanded, his mental power controlling everything: “Spirit Stone~”

“Corresponding to the shell.”

The first to be mythologized was the artificial human’s shell.

As the God’s Grace Stone fused with the body, one could see the originally pale and dry skin transform into a jade-like luster.

A terrifying mental power field burst forth.

The entire underground ritual workshop was enveloped in mythical light, turning into a blazing white.

If not for the ritual array’s barrier, this power would have instantly broken through the clouds, drawing the attention of the entire capital.

“Knowledge Stone corresponds to the eyes,” a God’s Grace Stone fell from the array pattern, fusing into the eyes.

The dim eyes instantly filled with radiance, and countless images could be seen flowing through those eyes, showing the lives of many people and even monsters.

The light reflected in the eyes revealed dense symbols and characters.

That was the knowledge of one powerful priest after another, the power they possessed.

“Emotion Stone corresponds to internal organs.” Colorful light fused into the internal organs, the heart, kidneys, spleen, and lungs lighting up one after another, emanating alluring, resentful, and hopeful gleams.

The light was so mesmerizing that one couldn’t help but want to immerse oneself in it.

“Wisdom Stone corresponds to the brain.” At this step, Anhofus became extremely cautious.

He floated in midair, holding a God’s Grace Stone in one hand.

The index and middle fingers of his other hand pressed against his brow, and strands of light continuously flew out from his brow, fusing into this Wisdom Stone.

He copied all his memories, everything from childhood to adulthood, into this God’s Grace Stone.

Then, he let it fall.

As the stone fell, it passed through the skull like an illusory shadow, fusing into the “artificial human’s” brain.

At this moment, a profound transformation occurred.

The “artificial human” directly floated up, spreading its arms and suspended in midair.

The appearance of the artificial human changed, its features becoming somewhat similar to Anhofus.

Except one was in the form of a Trilobite Man, while the other was in human form.

But those eyes and the corners of the mouth were strikingly similar.

What was originally just a stitched-together human body, like a corpse or a tool, actually began to slowly come to life.

“Thump!”

“Thump!”

The sound of a heartbeat echoed, its rhythm dizzying.

Anhofus even felt his own mythical blood begin to stir, as if wanting to burst out of his body.

This was a scene that could only be triggered by a power far above his level.

“I’ve succeeded.”

“I’ve really succeeded.”

A smile appeared on his face, seeming composed.

But one could see his fingers trembling.

Anhofus was extraordinarily excited, almost uncontrollably so.

“My other self!”

“Please awaken immediately!”

“Tell me, what kind of great being are you, to what extent can you surpass me?”

He turned back, looking towards the table in the corner.

He wanted to find that familiar figure from before, to share his joy and excitement.

However, all he saw was an empty bottle.

At this moment, an unexpected event occurred with the artificial human floating in midair.

Four different types of light extended within its body, spreading to every corner, attempting to mythologize each tissue and organ.

But clearly, the mythical power was insufficient, barely spreading from the core positions before weakening.

“Hiss!”

Anhofus had underestimated the terrifying amount of divine blood needed to create a mythical life form.

Although he believed he had provided enough divine blood, it was actually just a drop in the ocean.

The divine blood required to create a single mythical life form far exceeded his imagination.

The “artificial human” kept condensing, becoming smaller and smaller.

From a human form, it gradually regressed into a child.

Then it continued to regress, finally becoming an embryo no larger than a fist.

It looked like a small mouse.

At this point, the mythical power finally reached every corner of its body.

But gradually, it became strange, transforming into a shadow seemingly composed of light particles.

Its body was made of black light dust, its brain white, and its eyes transparent.

Colorful light dust flowed within its body.

The moment it appeared, a powerful will enveloped the land.

Trilobite Men in several villages within a few kilometers simultaneously fell into a trance, then collapsed into sleep.

In the underground workshop, Anhofus watched as this newly born embryo-like entity shook violently, on the verge of dissipating.

“Not good.”

To maintain its existence, Anhofus had to place the embryo in the magic bottle.

Relying on the array patterns on the magic bottle and its special internal environment, Anhofus finally stabilized its form.

Inside the flask, a new life was born.

This was an embryo entirely composed of mythical blood, modeled after the form of deities, inheriting the name of humanity.

It wasn’t created by God, but born from a forbidden experiment.

To make it truly grow and awaken would require an unimaginably vast amount of mythical blood.

Anhofus held the flask, unsure whether this outcome counted as a success or a failure.

“What exactly is this thing?”

“Did I fail?”

The being in the bottle couldn’t speak to him or provide Anhofus with answers.

Anhofus looked bewildered.

After expending such a great price, the result was this inexplicable thing, completely different from what he had imagined.

Anhofus stayed in the underground ritual workshop for a few more days before finally coming up.

Even at the end, he still couldn’t figure out exactly what he had created.

When he walked out from underground, a large group of people was anxiously waiting for him outside.

The strange phenomena that had occurred in the surrounding area, with people in several villages all falling asleep, was an eerie sight.

In their dreams, they all said they saw a terrifying and frightful monster.

This scared the leader of the Stone Monster Merchant Group.

He thought something had happened to Anhofus, but he didn’t dare to enter the underground ritual workshop.

Seeing Anhofus walk out safely, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Master, how was it? Did you succeed?”

Anhofus: “You seem very concerned about what I’m doing?”

Servant: “Everything I have comes from you. Of course, we care about your safety and everything else.”

The experiment was over.

Anhofus took his experimental result, the flask and the embryo within it, back to the Sky Temple.

His previous excuse for leaving was to collect experimental materials from the outside world, which was quite common. He had already made one such trip this year.

On the way back, Anhofus’s eyes were vacant.

“What should I do?”

“Continue or give up?”

Continuing might mean spending an enormous price only to obtain an incorrect result, ending up like his grandfather and teacher.

A madman, an incredibly foolish villain.

He could pay a price, but not a meaningless one.

At the very least, after paying such a heavy price, he wanted to see the results he had hoped for.

Isn’t that right?

But if he didn’t continue, would everything before be in vain?

The small bone man had also given his life for his failed experiment.

Anhofus returned to the Sky Temple, slowly walking up through the secret passage from the God-Servant City. Dusk gradually turned into night.

When darkness fell, the moon was already waiting on the other side of the sky.

In the moonlight, someone was waiting for him, as if knowing he would return to the Sky Temple by this path.

The person had a tall figure, wearing a pristine white priestly robe, with a string of silver bells in hand.

Upon seeing him, she immediately ran down from the stairs.

With a melodious voice.

“Greetings, Princess Yeya.”

Anhofus treated it as a chance encounter, bowing his head in respect.

It didn’t matter when he didn’t know her identity before, but now that he knew, he still had to maintain some respect.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come home, wanting to talk to you.”

Princess Yeya was a bit shy. In her view, since Anhofus had agreed to King’s proposal to marry her, their relationship was different now.

Anhofus found it amusing: “Waiting for me?”

“Home?”

“I don’t have a home.”

He was the son of Anho, a descendant of the noble royal bloodline of the Samo family.

However, the Samo family was destroyed when he was born.

He had never experienced the feeling of someone waiting for him to come home, he had never had a home.

Although this princess, named after the crescent moon, was considered beautiful and gentle in both appearance and personality by Trilobite Men standards, Anhofus was clearly not an emotional person. He was a rational yet mad person, pursuing something different from ordinary people.

The princess stopped in her tracks. This was completely different from what she had imagined.

She had been happy for many days after hearing Anhofus had agreed to her father’s proposal.

She had also been eagerly waiting here for many days for Anhofus to return.

“Do you really dislike me that much?”

“If you dislike it so much, why didn’t you refuse the King?”

Anhofus: “There’s no dislike or like.”

“I just don’t care, that’s all.”

He turned to leave: “If you don’t like it, you can tell the King.”

“Tell His Majesty that I am not a suitable candidate to be a husband.”

“It’s not too late now.”

In the Dream Realm.

A new name appeared in the rankings of divine tool sequences on the Divine Cup.

Divine Tool: Little Person in the Bottle (Embryo)

Sequence Number 2

Trilobite Men always referred to themselves as humans, but they didn’t know that in God’s eyes, they were never humans. Trilobite Men and humans were two completely different existences. The mad evil sorcerer Anhofus, in order to explore the secret of immortality, wanted to use forbidden evil methods to create an artificial human, but ended up creating this strange life.

It was still just an embryo, and no one knew what kind of being it would grow into.

This was an unformed divine tool, but more importantly,

It was already Sequence Number 2 before it was fully formed, surpassing the Divine Boat, second only to the Life Tool: God-Created Man.

Yin Shen looked at the projection of this divine tool.

His expression was calm.

The so-called touching of taboos by Trilobite Men, the so-called pursuit of immortality, the so-called seeing some secret of the gods.

In his view, it was nothing more than a ridiculous and boring farce.

However, Yin Shen still saw something he wanted to see: “So this is what happens when the bloodline of the wisdom ability is fully mythologized.”

The Spirit didn’t understand: “What’s it like?”

Yin Shen: “Anhofus wanted to create an artificial human.”

“But he didn’t know that different ability bloodlines are different. The wisdom ability bloodline is the manifestation of consciousness and thought, the path from the beginning is at odds with life.”

“The fully mythologized body of the wisdom bloodline must ultimately be an existence leaning towards a spiritual body.”

The Spirit was a bit worried: “Won’t it cause some disaster!”

Yin Shen had been watching the Trilobite Men for so long, he had some thoughts.

“Every advancement of civilization is accompanied by risks and disasters.”

“They want to pursue a better life, they want to pursue a longer lifespan, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But in their pursuit of more powerful forces, more comfortable lives, more advanced civilization, they will inevitably bring about various unpredictable changes.”

“Whether madmen or sages, their motivation is to pursue progress, they are all part of civilization, they all bring seeds of both hope and disaster at the same time.”

Yin Shen: “Don’t interfere with him.”

“More importantly, can you be sure whether the final outcome would be good or bad if we intervened?”

“Are we eliminating the seeds of destruction? Or erasing the hope of civilization?”

“Fate is something even gods can’t control. You never know what the final result of your actions and moves will be.”

Yin Shen walked towards the inner temple: “Let the Trilobite Men handle and resolve their own affairs.”

The Spirit followed closely behind Yin Shen: “What if they can’t control it themselves and it causes a mass extinction disaster?”

Yin Shen said calmly: “Then we’ll enter the next era!”

Although he said this, the Spirit still showed a worried look.

Yin Shen entered the temple, his figure instantly dissipating.

Leaving only one sentence: “If you want to do something, then do it!”

“A long life always needs some things to do.”

Indeed.

You can’t be like Yinsai God, sleeping all day!