I'll even show you crossdressing men.

Chapter 290: Nalanar

“My mother has a very bad temper. If you want to contact her, Hideyuki, you must be patient with her temper, otherwise there will be no way to communicate.” Riko did not refuse, but gave Hime Hideyuki some hints when she agreed.

“No problem. Only capable people have tempers, and these tempers are acceptable. I have great respect for those who use their abilities, especially elders, let alone your mother.” Ji Xiuyu’s reply made Riko’s face turn red instantly, and the blush quickly spread to her earlobes.

If it weren't for the darkness making it difficult to see, she would probably be incredibly embarrassed by now.

What does Xiuyu mean by that? Is it because she is my mother that he acts this way?

Ugh, how embarrassing! What am I even thinking?

Her lingering fantasies about Ji Xiuyu resurfaced. She realized that she hadn't suppressed her feelings for him because her best friend liked him, or because she was afraid to like him due to her own abilities and appearance.

Now she knew very well that her heart was pounding wildly for him, for this boy named Ji Xiuyu.

"Hmm?" Although Riko's changes were not obvious in the darkness, her inaction still puzzled Hime Hideyu.

So he stared at her for a moment, as if trying to discover something.

Seeing his gaze, Riko realized that now was not the time to be shy, but the time to get down to business.

Despite feeling extremely ashamed, she still carefully opened the communication and connected with her mother, who was far away in a remote part of the mainland.

"Beep beep beep~" The emergency communicator she had sent to her daughter went off, forcing the mature woman, who was sleeping in bed with sunlight filling the entire room, to sit up.

Her voluptuous figure was partially revealed beneath her black, semi-transparent nightgown, creating an irresistible allure.

In this scene, not only would a young, vigorous boy lose his composure, but even a man with some experience or who is older would find it hard to resist her charms.

While a mature woman may not possess the youthful freshness of a young girl, she has a charm that a young girl can never match. This charm can make people ignore the traces of time, only drawing them in. Besides, this mature woman isn't old at all; she looks about twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

"Hmm? Riko, what's wrong?" Rubbing her eyes, she took out the same communicator as Riko, turned it on, and a screen unfolded. Looking at the girl on the other end in the dim light, she asked softly.

She was not in mortal danger, and as her mother, I knew that very well. Otherwise, the protective equipment on her would have given her a warning earlier, and there wouldn't have been no movement until now.

As for whether the other party discovered her magical artifact and dismantled it before issuing a warning, that's highly unlikely.

As the recognized number one alchemist on the continent, how could she possibly give her daughter something inferior? Even if someone else bought it, it wouldn't be of the same quality as hers.

She, Naranar, is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding alchemists in the last thousand years!

"Mother, someone... is looking for you..." Riko saw her sleepy-eyed mother and the nightgown she was wearing, and knew that she must not have rested well last night, which was why she was still in bed.

There's nothing wrong with staying in bed late, as long as you don't get angry.

Seeing that she seemed to be in a good mood, she took this opportunity to explain why she had come to see her.

"Hmm? Who?" Nalanar frowned. She wasn't someone she could meet with just anyone, not even if her daughter recommended the person.

"Hello, Sister Nalanaer, I am Ji Xiuyu... or you can call me by my other name, Chuyan." After noticing that her mother seemed to be angry, Riko immediately turned the camera to Ji Xiuyu.

Riko, who has known her mother since childhood, knows very well that although her mother loves her, she is also very serious about important matters and will never allow her to be bothered for no reason.

"Chu Yan? Her child..." Nalana's temper vanished the moment she saw Ji Xiuyu's face and heard his introduction. She stared at Ji Xiuyu blankly, as if she was thinking about something.

"Sister Nalanar?" Ji Xiuyu was a little puzzled. He knew that his mother must have a close relationship with Nalanar, and that his arrival was even related to her. But she shouldn't have met him before, right?

Or rather, in his memory, he had never seen her, nor had she appeared in his life.

So seeing her like this now, it's hard not to wonder, what happened to her?

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about some past experiences. Ah, when you get old, you can't help but reminisce about the past." After being called by Ji Xiuyu, Nalanaer recovered, suppressed the excitement in her heart, and looked at Ji Xiuyu again.

They look so alike, as if they were made from the same mold. She never imagined he would be so beautiful, possessing a charm far beyond her wildest expectations.

Or rather, it was somewhat different from what she had imagined. It wasn't the kind of handsome guy that would make girls scream and swoon, but rather a beautiful appearance that was so stunning that it captivated both men and women.

However, it was so good to see him.

I had been holding back from the beginning, constantly telling myself not to see him, I absolutely couldn't see him. But in the end, I still saw him…

"No, Sister Nalanar, you are very young. You look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. I estimate that even in thirty years, you will not age and will still look like you did when you were seventeen."

Ji Xiuyu has such a sweet tongue; he can't stop praising elders. This allows the other girls to see a different side of him, and honestly, this side of Xiuyu seems even more likable.

"Oh my, you have such a sweet tongue, hehehe..." She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, her long purple and white hair flowing freely, which was indeed very beautiful in the sunlight.

"I'm telling the truth, I'm not just making this up." Seeing that she seemed extremely happy, Ji Xiuyu breathed a sigh of relief. Now, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

Little did anyone know that while Nalanar was happy, she hadn't forgotten the important matter. Seeing Ji Xiuyu's relaxed expression, she immediately put on a stern face and said, "Alright, Xiuyu, what did you want to see me about? If it's not something particularly urgent, I'll hang up."

She changes her mind faster than turning the pages of a book; no wonder Riko was so worried.

Fortunately, Ji Xiuyu achieved her goal; she would have gotten down to business even if she hadn't spoken.

Therefore, when she raised her question, he turned the instrument in his hand to face the insectoid.

"This is... hiss..." Nalanar's expression changed upon seeing the insectoid, and she gasped as if she had seen something terrifying...

Chapter 291: The Origin of Forbidden Alchemy

"What is it?" Nalanar's change in expression already indicated that the insectoids were not good things, or rather, they were extremely shocking.

"Insect people, forbidden alchemy... So there are still people researching this? It seems I was careless." Forcing herself to calm down, Naranar's voice trembled slightly, but she still managed to say what she had to say.

"Forbidden alchemy, could you please tell me once, sister?" The title "sister" was changed directly from Naranaer to "sister," and Ji Xiuyu's use of the title was quite opportunistic.

Although—Riko seemed a little unhappy?

"Forbidden alchemy, I think your Chu family should know about it. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, there should be someone in your generation who is extremely familiar with alchemy. So instead of asking me, why don't you go ask them?" Nalanar seemed unwilling to answer this question, even avoiding speaking to her.

"Forbidden alchemy is one of the greatest achievements of alchemy. How could we, the younger generation, possibly comprehend it? Only a world-class alchemist like Sister Nalanar could understand it." This time, it wasn't Ji Xiuyu who spoke, but Zi Qing.

Her words were just as sweet as Ji Xiuyu's, and coupled with her status, they immediately made Nalanar feel comfortable.

After thinking about it, it seems there's nothing to avoid about this, so if they want to hear it, there's nothing wrong with telling them.

Moreover, given the current situation, they might be able to provide themselves with a lot of different information.

Damn it, she'd been so engrossed in technology for too long that she hadn't ventured out into the world. Those intelligence agencies were useless; her own chamber of commerce provided far more information. She hadn't even imagined that forbidden alchemy existed in the world.

If Ji Xiuyu and the others hadn't contacted him now, things would have been much more troublesome once the terrifying consequences of forbidden alchemy became apparent.

"Do you know the origin of forbidden alchemy?" Naranaer calmed herself down, ignoring the fact that Ji Xiuyu had seen the exposed skin under her slightly disheveled nightgown due to her shock. She gathered her thoughts and waited a while before asking them.

"Forbidden alchemy must be those alchemies that cannot be used casually, or even those that have been publicly banned, and whose use would be met with the scorn of all mankind, right?" Ji Xiuyu said, twirling her long hair with her fingers.

"This is the version that is circulating in the world. In fact, the so-called forbidden alchemy is an alchemy that, once touched, will violate the rules of this world, and even destroy the world's order, causing the gods to fall."

"Now you should understand just how powerful it is and how serious the consequences will be, right? It's no exaggeration to say that once forbidden alchemy spreads, the destruction of humanity will be imminent, without even the demons needing to intervene."

"Hiss..." Now it was the other girls' turn to gasp. Was this thing really that terrifying? Why didn't they know this before?

“In history, forbidden alchemy appeared very early, about nine hundred years ago, when human civilization had just begun. At that time, forbidden alchemy was not called ‘forbidden alchemy’, but rather ‘the gift of God’.”

"Because there is nothing that forbidden alchemy cannot do. As long as you pay a sufficient price, enough time for the alchemical array to take effect, then you can get whatever you want."

"For example, if you want your severed limbs to regenerate, as long as you provide enough materials and a living organism, the matter can be recombined and the severed limbs can be repaired."

"For example, if I want to build a house, as long as you put all the materials and enough energy crystals on it, the palace that would normally take a year to build can be completed in an instant."

"Such a convenient ability, it is no exaggeration to say that it is a gift from God, right? Especially at that time, when those gods were still around, this method also made it easier for them to gather their believers and faith, which was of great benefit to both sides."

"But nothing is all good; there is also a dark side. And the dark side of forbidden alchemy completely outweighs the good side. This is why it is forbidden to use, and why all users are hunted down."

"Initially, someone, after their limbs regenerated, had a wild idea: 'If limbs that cannot regenerate can regenerate, then can the dead be resurrected?'"

"With this idea in mind, that person began his experiment."

"This experiment should have gone smoothly, right?" Ji Xiuyu's expression changed slightly, as if she had thought of something, and she asked.

"No, if it had followed those paths from the beginning and gone smoothly, there would be no forbidden alchemy. It was precisely because it was impossible to follow those paths at the beginning that the alchemist who went mad went astray... or rather, he discovered the correct way to use forbidden alchemy."

"His previous research was based on the principle of limb regeneration, modified to use more resources and more lives to revive a person."

"But that won't work at all. No matter what, it will fail at the last moment, and then all the corpses and supplies used in the experiment will be destroyed."

"After trying it several times and finding it absolutely impossible, he turned his attention elsewhere—if other creatures couldn't bring the dead back to life, what about humans themselves?"

"The thought, almost instantly, made him realize just how evil it was. But, already obsessed to the point of madness, he didn't extinguish the thought; instead, he continued on, using what he believed to be the correct method of alchemy..."

"In the end, it actually succeeded, but the price was incredibly heavy..."

"Resurrecting a person requires more than ten living people, and it consumes a hundred times the resources of limb regeneration."

"Such a result was already quite astonishing, but he was not satisfied with the fact that so many people were needed to achieve this level of result, so he continued to conduct further research."

“This is when forbidden alchemy truly begins.” Naranar spoke as if she had experienced it herself, her eyes growing increasingly lost in thought, as if recalling something.

She paused here, staring at Ji Xiuyu and the others, remaining silent for a long time, as if deep in thought…

Chapter 292: The Flower Fairy and the Maggot Man

"What follows is the truth about forbidden alchemy. If you want to know, come find me yourselves. There are some things I can't tell you now. Moreover, only when you come to me can I show you what true forbidden alchemy is and exactly what makes it forbidden."

To their surprise, or perhaps as it was to be expected, Nalanar ended the conversation at the most crucial moment, telling them to come and find her themselves if they wanted to know.

"Alright, I'll definitely make time to visit you later, sister. However, since you're unwilling to continue the conversation, it seems we don't need to keep this insectoid alive. Let's kill him." Ji Xiuyu bowed, promising to visit her later.

However, the words she could only utter caused Nalanar's expression to change, becoming somewhat angry and amused. This little guy was just like his mother.

"Alright, you don't need to provoke me anymore. I can talk about this guy." Despite being a little angry because of his threat, Nalanar didn't avoid the topic and explained the insectoids to them.

"Insect people, as you can see, are life forms that are a combination of humans and insects. These two life forms are completely different, and it is basically impossible for them to combine through evolution or even through fusion. The only way to do this is to use a magic array from forbidden alchemy."

Nalanar knew everything about it and immediately revealed the truth. If one didn't know her character well, they would suspect she was the one who did it.

Now all that can be said is admiration for her abilities and profound knowledge. As expected of the continent's number one alchemist, such professional knowledge might give other alchemy masters a headache, but she answered it off the cuff.

"So... how exactly did he come to be?" Ji Xiuyu glanced back at the insect-man whose eyes were filled with extreme fear, then turned back to Nalanar and asked earnestly.

“Using an alchemical array called ‘fusion,’ completely different life forms or matter can be combined to form something new.”

"It was created by fusing humans and insects, and it must have taken a lot of resources and lives to achieve a balance."

"Also, don't use 'he' to describe it. The combination of insectoids and humans is basically no longer human, but another kind of insect, only with the upper body of a human."

"So you should call it that. If you don't believe me, you can disassemble its human body later and you'll find that it's basically no different from an insect."

Her words reached the insectoid's ears, causing it to tremble with extreme fear. It tried to escape, but was suppressed by a powerful force and unable to move.

"Why?" He seemed to have some clue, but he couldn't figure it out.

"Because its human body is too weak, when it combines with the insect, it can initially maintain the human part. But as time goes by, the human part of its life force is absorbed by the insect part, and the insect's life force is fed back into the human body."