Chapter 50: Soul Armament
After Night Demon fell through the floor, the procession stopped in the wilderness as per usual.
Within the stone room, Su Chen began his experiments — Night Demon wanted to sleep there again, but she was quickly chased out by Su Chen. He needed to do something important this time and couldn't afford to let Night Demon bug him like before.
Today's experiment was going to be different than normal. Su Chen pulled out the stone tablet.
Patelocke's expression was a bit anxious. "Are you sure this will succeed?"
"It should," Su Chen replied. "It's not really an experiment, and more so making a small change."
"But this small change is related to my survival! If you fail, I'll be done for!" Patelocke said agitatedly.
Su Chen shrugged his shoulders. "Truthfully speaking, that isn't an outcome that I can't accept."
Patelocke's expression sagged. "Don't be like that. I have followed you faithfully for these past few years and have never betrayed you. Even if I haven't accomplished anything particularly huge, I have still worked hard."
"You think that I'm out to get you now? "Su Chen countered. "If you don't want to, we don't have to do anything."
"…… You know that's not what I meant. I just want a more trustworthy guarantee," Patelocke said with some embarrassment. "For instance, we could try it out on a different spirit first."
"That's not possible." Su Chen shook his head. "I won't go and kill someone else for you, and this kind of experiment will only work if the other party cooperates. I cannot possibly use a malevolent spirit to do my research. Of course, if you're willing to wait a bit longer……"
"Forget about it." Patelocke shook his head. "I've had enough of sitting around in this stone tablet with nowhere to go. I'm desperate to regain my own freedom, even if there's some risk to it. I don't want to wait any longer."
When he heard this, Su Chen laughed. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."
He began to concoct some medicine.
In the blink of an eye, ten or so vials had appeared.
After concocting the medicine, Su Chen carefully took out the Mountain-Beheading Blade.
He then carefully poured the medicine onto the surface of the blade, layer after layer.
With every layer that he added, Su Chen also engraved Origin Formation inscriptions onto the blade's surface, just like how he had done so when making the Shadow Flame Glove.
This was a slow and drawn-out process. It wasn't until he had applied the fifth layer and added the fourth layer of inscriptions that he stopped.
The Mountain-Beheading Blade began to glow with a faint blue light. The blue light was mysterious and actually seemed a bit similar to the stone tablet's glow.
Next, Su Chen picked up a vial of black medicine and poured it onto the Spirit Tablet.
The medicine traced the engravings on the surface of the Spirit Tablet, slowly filling them in. Patelocke began to yell anxiously, "It hurts, it hurts! I haven't felt this much pain in such a long time! This is right, this is definitely a consciousness-type medicine! Your idea was spot-on!"
"This was originally Kapius's idea. I just completed what he was unable to do…… He wasn't an accomplished alchemist," Su Chen replied slowly.
Patelocke's originally spectre-like body began to slowly congeal, as if he were taking on actual physical form.
Once the final bit of medicine landed on the stone tablet, white smoke began to waft from its surface.
Patelocke reached out his hand and pressed it on Su Chen's.
"I touched it! I can touch things now!" he said excitedly.
"Congratulations, but this is only the beginning. Now, I'm going to move you away from the stone tablet," Su Chen said as slowly lifted his hand. Patelocke stood on Su Chen's hand, actually separating from the Spirit Tablet.
After his spirit body had taken on a physical form, Patelocke wouldn't need the Spirit Tablet ever again.
In some sense, he was a Spirit Race individual right now.
This was the Spirit Race's invention and what Kapius had pursued his whole life — turning others into Spirit Race individuals.
However, he failed in the end.
Of the secrets that Kapius had left behind in West Laina Castle, one of them was his preliminary thoughts on the Radiation Plan. However, this plan required a deep foundation in alchemy. Kapius's talent in alchemy was only so-so, so he had never managed to complete this plan of his. As soon as Su Chen saw his initial research, however, Su Chen discovered that he was only a hair's breadth away from completing the plan that Kapius had left behind.
He then easily traversed that distance and fulfilled Kapius's dream.
Of course, this wasn't the same as fulfilling his grand plan of turning living organisms into Spirit Race individuals. The Spirit Substantiation Medicine could only cause a spirit to take on physical form for a limited period of time before dissipating shortly after.
But for Su Chen, that was more than enough.
Next, Su Chen transferred Patelocke's substantiated spirit body into the Mountain-Beheading Blade. "Look, this is your new home."
Patelocke flew into the Mountain-Beheading Blade. His figure shimmered slightly before disappearing.
Su Chen watched as a pair of eyes suddenly appeared on the handle of the blade and blinked at him a few times before a pair of wings also sprouted from the blade.
The blade began to fly through the air on its own.
A mouth appeared below the pair of eyes, speaking with Patelocke's voice: "You succeeded! I have a body now! Haha, transferring me into a blade, that is really a creative way of doing things."
"I was inspired by those inanimate objects that we ran into."
Su Chen was only using the Spirit Substantiation Medicine to transfer Patelocke from one object to another. His true goal was to move him over to the Mountain-Beheading Blade.
The Mountain-Beheading Blade was covered in Origin Formation inscriptions and a layer of medicine, creating an environment that was similar to the Spirit Tablet. No, it was actually better. Patelocke could mesh with the blade more effectively and even control it. As of now, he was the blade, and the blade was him.
Su Chen said, "Try out your combat ability."
As he spoke, he aimed a punch at the Mountain-Beheading Blade. The Primordial Blood Incarnation's hand surged towards the blade, carrying with it a frightening aura of extermination.
The blade automatically flew into the air without anyone controlling it. It slashed in the direction of Su Chen's punch, causing the momentum from it to actually split. The blade floated in the air for a second, then charged immediately at Su Chen's throat.
Su Chen unleashed three punches in a row to forcibly knock the blade aside. The blade circled around again in midair, completely brushing the attacks off. The transparent wings sprouting from it appeared extremely strange as it floated in midair.
"Is it sturdier than before? No, now that it has a consciousness, it knows how to avoid and mitigate danger…… Hey, it seems pretty useful," Su Chen laughed.
"It's not just useful; this is an incredible discovery!" Patelocke began to yell. "You've managed to give inanimate objects consciousness! And you've managed to allow spirits to escape the Spirit Tablet so that they can be transferred back and forth, as well as give your weapon the ability to attack autonomously. If this spreads, it will definitely shake the entire Primordial Continent!"
All of a sudden, Patelocke froze. "I say, you aren't planning on selling this as well, are you?"
Su Chen replied indifferently, "I haven't spent my billion Origin Stones yet. I'm in no way lacking any money."
Patelocke sighed with relief. "That's what I think too. People should think a little more carefully and not just buy everything they come across."
"But it will definitely be sold in the future. One day, this skill will be something common that anyone will be able to learn."
"…… I knew it would be something that." Patelocke harrumphed. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What are you going to call these new types of Origin Tools? From now on, this blade is no longer just a common Origin Tool. You should give it a more impressive name."
Su Chen lowered his head in thought for awhile before replying, "Since these Origin Tools now have souls, let's call them Soul Armaments."
"Alright! From this day onwards, the first Soul Armament has appeared on the Primordial Continent. From this day onwards, I will be the king of Soul Armaments!" Patelocke yelled excitedly.