Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 985 [The Ultimate Goal of Alchemy: The Elixir of Immortality]

Gray knelt on the cold metal floor of Jawbone City like a short-circuited puppet, his knuckles white from the exertion, his forehead pressed against his arms, and his shoulders twitching irregularly.

The syllables escaping from the mouth were like a broken music player—fragmented, overlapping, and illogical.

"...Soda gone, oral sex, cocoa cocoa la la la... Oh ee—hey shoo glug glug—"

He tried to cover his mouth, but couldn't stop it at all; his tongue, like a broken snake, was frantically spewing out obscene internet garbage:
"...I don't want to see the three giants of the bubble tea shop fighting over each other anymore! A college student reborn and picking up a future dog as his wife! Aaaaaaah!"

He curled up in a ball, like a pitiful monster thrown into an information garbage dump, twitching incessantly, muttering all sorts of data garbage from the lowest levels of human civilization.

Xia Xiu slowly walked up to him, looked at Gray on the ground, and calmly asked:

Are you still hungry?

Gray let out a wail from the depths of information, followed by a long string of meaningless nonsense.

"You tell me..." Xia Xiu turned his head, his tone casual, "How long will it take him to digest all this garbage?"

A phantom-like figure, Amund, floated beside him like a lazy wisp of mist, a malicious smile playing on his lips.

After a two-second silence, he slowly said, "At least five thousand years."

"Yes, that's enough. He won't be able to pose a threat to humanity for the next five thousand years." Xia Xiu was quite satisfied with this.

At this moment, Gray on the ground was curled up in a ball, like a creature that had been crushed and thrown into a junkyard. Occasionally, he would utter a few incoherent murmurs, but he couldn't even pronounce a complete syllable.

Xia Xiu watched quietly, his golden eyes reflecting the other person's disheveled appearance.

Gray's current state is enough to show that this individual in reverse of the Mother of the Netherworld will probably not even have the strength to harm a mongrel dog in the next five thousand years, let alone humans or other intelligent life forms.

However, the matter did not end there.

He turned his head and his gaze fell on the queen ant not far away.

The enormous figure continued to struggle and contend with the space of the [Möbius strip], the patterns on its shell surface shimmering with an unstable luster.

Xia Xiu rubbed his temples, feeling annoyed.

Grey is a monster that eats without spitting out, and the queen ant was obviously eaten too much in this chaos—a large amount of memories, information and cognition were swallowed up, like disordered puzzle pieces scattered all over the ground.

If we want her to return to normal, we must find a way to get back what she swallowed.

This process obviously cannot be accomplished through mere words or external intervention.

Xia Xiu lowered his head, his fingers rhythmically tapping the shaft of his silver cane, as if he were organizing his thoughts.

Soon, a thought flashed through his mind.

I need to conduct an experiment myself first.

He made no movement, but silently mobilized the crown element within his body.

The power of the crown is like a colossal creature sleeping in the deep sea; with just a thought, it can break through the water.

This time, however, he deliberately suppressed his presence and did not reveal the [triple crown], instead choosing a more concealed method.

"The crown unfolds."

With a barely audible thought, the domain instantly took shape.

【The Crown Unfolds: A World of Frames】

This time, his domain shrank to a radius of only five meters, so small that it seemed to cover only himself and a small area in front of him. And its duration was precisely controlled by him to be within 0.2 seconds.

The mere 0.2 seconds, which to outsiders appears to be nothing more than a blink of an eye, is utterly uneventful.

But in this frame-by-frame world he dominates, the scale of time is infinitely subdivided, disassembled, and reversed.

His consciousness traversed the dazzling frames of time, as if searching backwards in a film—until he locked onto that few minutes of his own memory that had been devoured by Gray.

Memories surge back like a tide.

Xia Xiu's pupils contracted slightly, then relaxed, his suspicions confirmed in his heart:

"As expected, I can use the frame-count world and the level of Reverse Mother of Constant Gray to preserve my information..."

[Frame Rate World] can always anchor its own information horizontally. In this frame rate world that it dominates, time is no longer a single river flowing forward, but is cut into countless tangible cross-sections.

Each frame is a complete "him".

All information about breathing, thinking, and existence is locked in this moment, and cannot be erased, altered, or even replaced.

This anchoring not only covers the past and present but also extends into a stable trajectory in the future, like driving a row of never-rusting stakes into the river of time. As long as these anchors exist, his information will constantly flicker, and no matter how the outside world collapses, Gray's level of reverse-Motherhood cannot be shaken.

While using the domain to rewind his own information, Xia Xiu actually discovered an information black hole—■■■■.

That must be something he forgot and sealed away during the opening ceremony, and his own [Frame Rate World] may also be related to this thing.

However, since the other party had been sealed off by him and the Heavenly Kingdom using the [Reverse Mother Bullet], he didn't dare to be so reckless as to open the black hole.

He does have curiosity, but he has always been able to control unnecessary curiosity.

Xia Xiu continued to ponder, his fingertips gently stroking his chin:

“If we were using a frame-by-frame world, I could try to rewind her memories… However, I must avoid revealing my crown information as much as possible right now. Although I can control the expansion of my domain for a maximum of three seconds, the amount of memories that can be recalled in three seconds is far from enough to bring back all of her memories.”

After much thought, Xia Xiu's gaze finally settled on the illusory figure not far away.

Old master, Demon King Amond.

He raised his chin, his golden eyes revealing a mixture of inquiry and a hint of tentative interest in throwing gold coins at him.
"What's your plan to deal with this situation? Didn't you say before that you've been fighting the Fifth Church? Surely you have some tools for information warfare?"

The gist of that is—Old Deng, let's get some gold!

Ever since meeting this demon king, Xia Xiu's impression of him has been fixed in one word—Doraemon.

The old man possesses all sorts of advanced technologies from the era of the Demon King's army.

Xia Xiu's current mentality is similar to that of a gold prospector squatting on a street corner. Looking at the way Old Deng is throwing gold coins, he even urges him with a bit of anticipation—anyway, this old guy has so many trump cards that he can't use them all, so why not take advantage of them?

Armand naturally understood his little scheme. His semi-transparent figure floated in the air, his eyes slightly narrowed, and he smiled, his voice carrying the calm composure of someone who had seen many battles:
"Indeed."

"The methods for dealing with the information layer were originally designed for cognitive warfare against the Fifth Church. According to the original plan, these things will be gradually transitioned to you while you are fully adapted to information warfare."

“In this situation…”, Armand paused, his tone drawn out, “it’s just right.”

Amund extended his translucent hand, his fingertips making a light sweeping motion in the air.

It was as if an invisible net had been pulled open, with fine threads of light hanging down from the void, as if connecting to a warehouse that had long been sealed away.

"—Access to the Human Initial Network."

The voice was deep and resonant, carrying a sense of ritual. Immediately, eleven tiny clusters of light appeared in the air, their outlines initially blurred before quickly solidifying into exquisite containers. They spun slowly in mid-air, their surfaces reflecting a cold luster, like a silent procession of messengers awaiting their master's command.

Xia Xiu's gaze swept over these things.

At the very front is a thin white sheet, like a polished piece of jade, stored in a blue and white cardboard box. The cover is printed with only a minimalist black line, clean to the point of being almost indifferent, and marked with "A".

Next to it was a bottle of light yellow sugar-coated capsules, with a striking yellow stripe around the bottle and the words "Class B" printed on the label, as if to remind the user that its purpose was unusual.

Following closely behind was a small orange tin box containing orange capsules and pills. The metal casing gleamed warmly in the light, yet it couldn't conceal the heavy, dangerous aura emanating from it.

The fourth type is a blue, flat, round piece, neatly arranged inside a small strip of packaging, with a prominent "D" engraved in the center, as if silently announcing its grade.

The fifth type is a purple, transparent tablet, like a gummy candy, lying quietly in a purple plexiglass box with an "E" on it.

Next was a pink tin box containing tiny microcapsules. The lid had a thin "F" mark and a line of obscure instructions below it, like a secret order for professional executors.

The seventh type is a green compressed pill, sealed in a small plastic bag, with a clear "G" engraved in the center, exuding a calm and repressive feeling.

The eighth type is a slender gray pill, lying in a blister pack with a "Class H" label printed on the surface. Its shape seems designed to blend into everyday life quietly.

The ninth type is a small brown capsule, packaged in a paper divider, labeled "Class I". It is so unassuming that it is easy to overlook, but the more inconspicuous something is, the more dangerous it often is.

The remaining types carry a different feel.

A bright green, hexagonal pill was packaged in a thin cardboard box with the letter "W" written on it, as if deliberately separating it from the others.

A golden disc rests quietly in a metallic tin box, its surface gleaming softly, like an old object that has been polished countless times. It is marked with an "X".

A silver, square tablet is stored in a small aluminum box, the lid of which bears the letter "Y".

Finally, there was a red triangular pill, sealed in a small, dark red box with a sharp, cold design. The label read "Extreme Class Z," as if silently warning that this thing was not for ordinary people.

Amund looked at Xia Xiu and slowly spoke:
"The first few types are memory erasure agents—the existing models in Heaven."

Type A is used to delete specific memories from the last five to six hours, specifically to remove recent abnormal exposures.

Type B can gradually erase memories over 24 hours. It is often used for delayed processing, preventing the target from integrating the information on its own.

Type E forces individuals to completely accept the abnormal as the norm and forget that the world was ever different... it's a form of forced acceptance of reality.

He raised his hand and pointed to the pink tin box:
"Category F: triggers identity dissociation, reshaping or replacing the entire personality."

Then he pointed to the small green bag:
"Type G creates memory ambiguity, making people begin to doubt the authenticity of their memories. It is suitable for targets that are difficult to locate directly."

"The gray H type can prevent the formation of new memories; the brown I type can cause temporary amnesia."

Amund paused for a moment, the phantom's eyes darkening slightly:
“Behind each of these things are decades of experimentation and revision. They can erase, distort, replace, and reshape... Information warfare is not just about transmitting information, but also about deleting it.”

At this point, Armand's voice unconsciously rose a notch, his undisguised pride almost overflowing.

He slowly spread his hands, as if displaying the foundation of an entire kingdom, his gaze fixed on Xia Xiu, his tone low and resolute:
"The cognitive system of the Kingdom of Heaven was built by my own hands—from the erasure of memories to the construction of memories, no one understands its every aspect better than me."

In that instant, Xia Xiu seemed to see an emperor who ruled the entire information field, standing at the intersection of time and memory, looking down on everything.

Amond's finger twitched slightly in mid-air, and the last four potions slowly floated out from the array of potions suspended in front of Xia Xiu.

He abandoned his usual casualness, his expression becoming solemn and dignified: "These four... are things that only the Heavenly Kingdom's Rebellious Mother Clan can master."

He paused for a moment, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Of course, the Kingdom of Heaven has always claimed that there is no Department of Rebellion. In fact, many angels don't even know that this department exists."

Amund paused, his tone turning even colder, "But you must remember them—they don't correspond to ordinary medicines, but to one of the three ultimate goals of alchemy—the elixir of life."

Upon hearing about the three ultimate goals of alchemy, Xia Xiu's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

The so-called three ultimate goals of alchemy are to achieve the unity of "perfect man" and "perfect thing" through the transformation of matter and the purification of spirit.

These three ultimate goals are:

【Philosopher's Stone】

[Panacea]

The Man in the Bottle

They are also part of the lineage's pursuit of the so-called "Oneness" concept.

At this moment, Amund claimed that he had concocted the legendary elixir of life and proudly shared it with his descendants.

At this moment, he held the emerald green hexagonal tablet, which looked like a crystal cut from jade, in a rough-textured cardboard box.

Amund whispered:

"Category W, the all-encompassing branch of panaceas, the ancient panacea not only cures diseases, but also protects people's reason and soul. We take this path to its end—by taking it, one can look directly at the stars without going mad."

"Note that it is an ordinary person who can see the stars directly after taking it. Although there are time limits and thresholds, it is still a huge success."

Amund raised his chin again, pointing to the golden disc.

"Type X is a distorted version of the elixir of immortality. It does not brutally prolong life, but rather turns back the gears of decay one by one—temporarily rejuvenating, restoring suppressed life functions, and at the same time, bringing back erased or suppressed memories. The price is the impact of restoration; the moment time is turned back, both body and mind will pay the price."

The golden pill resembled a sun polished to its fullest perfection. Xia Xiu didn't speak, but his knuckles unconsciously tapped his cane: This thing is very useful for "taking back," but it shouldn't be used too often.

The third one is a silver square, its cold light like water.

“Type Y, a mutated version of the perfect elixir.” Amond’s voice lowered. “During the effects of the elixir, you will gain perfect memories—everything you have seen, heard, and touched will be crystal clear, no longer lost or confused.”

The silver sheet resembled a mirror cut to the finest precision.

Finally, he pointed to the red triangle. His tone, for the first time, became so solemn it bordered on deadly:

"Type Z, a mutated version of the elixir of omniscience. One dose, and you will never forget anything in this life. You will gain a direct path to omniscience."

He paused, then added, “But he could die within hours from a fatal epileptic seizure—that’s the key, and the fuse.”

Armand withdrew his hand, his eyes gleaming with naked arrogance:
"Under my leadership, the Kingdom of Heaven has transformed the ultimate creation, which existed only in the imaginations of alchemists in the mysticism, into a system that can be called upon, deployed, and whose risks can be assessed."

The guardian of all spirits, the rebirth of youth, the proof of perfect memory, the key to omniscience.

All of this is compressed into these four panaceas, and they are all safe for ordinary people to take.

"Although these four panaceas have various flaws, these costs are nothing compared to their efficacy."

Xia Xiu nodded in agreement.

After all, alchemy is based on the principle of equivalent exchange, and the cost of the panacea created by Amund was indeed negligible compared to its effects.

W: Staring at the stars without going mad; X: Life rewind; Y: Perfect memory; Z: Never forget (quasi-omniscience), but will die.

With these four panaceas, even ordinary people can try to become star investigators.