Mercury was not particularly rare.
In Hell, even gold was worthless, barely more expensive than ordinary copper or iron.
However, mercury usually existed in ore form, whereas the mercury before her was remarkably pure, as though someone had deliberately refined it.
Not only that, but the mercury pouring out of the spatial rift carried a peculiar stench. It smelled like demons, yet seemed mixed with something else as well.
Paluriel could only guess that a vast amount of mercury existed within this demon-infested spatial conduit. By forcing it open even slightly, she had allowed the liquid metal to surge out.
Though unexpected, Paluriel didn't think it was anything worth fussing over.
Space in this region was utterly chaotic. Forget mercury—it wouldn't be surprising even if a dragon popped out.
As long as she had captured it, that was all that mattered. Paluriel stabilized the spatial rift, locking its position before attempting to pry it open. Doing so carried substantial risk; no one knew what lay on the other side. If a horde of demons flooded through once it opened, or if an avatar of Demogorgon leapt out, it would spell catastrophic trouble.
But Paluriel was a madwoman; she couldn't care less.
Vast surges of magical power sought to stabilize the spatial rift, slowly widening the conduit bit by bit so it could at least accommodate one person crossing over to scout ahead.
Yet this so-called widening was not meant in the literal physical sense.
The Reduce spell was hardly difficult, and Paluriel naturally knew how to cast it. What was truly required was the conduit's structural stability. To effectively compartmentalize the battlefield, Bel had put tremendous effort into arranging various restrictions. Beyond partitioning the Blood River battlefield into a labyrinth, he had, more importantly, suppressed the entry tier of these spatial conduits. This section was designated as the periphery, meant to be handled by weaker devil units; under normal circumstances, an avatar of Demogorgon wouldn't burst through to go on an unopposed mowing spree.
What Paluriel needed to do now was shatter this restriction and carve out a spatial conduit wide enough for her to pass through.
This was unquestionably a severe provocation against Bel, but Paluriel didn't give a damn. She was determined to worm her way in right now and see for herself what the River Styx actually looked like.
Magical power flooded in, and the slender spatial fissure widened in turn, gradually expanding from a slit into an aperture until it reached the size of a fist.
Yet, as though something had been triggered, the moment the opening expanded to the size of a washbasin, the once-trickling mercury suddenly surged forth like an erupting geyser, splashing right across Paluriel's face.
This was not water, but mercury, possessing a density far exceeding that of most metals. Even as a liquid, under such immense pressure, it struck Paluriel with brutal force.
The heavy mercury pounded against Paluriel's face, yet she could neither dodge nor let go, for the moment she released her grip, the spatial rift would slip away.
Enduring what must have been tons of blunt impact, battered until her skin felt ready to tear, Paluriel barely managed to stabilize the spatial rift.
Yet the moment she released her hands, the mercury fountain blasted Paluriel straight onto the ground.
By now, the area around the magic circle was completely submerged in mercury, forming a small pool.
Paluriel scrambled awkwardly out of the mercury pool, glared at the still-surging silver pillar of liquid, and cursed viciously, "Damn it, I underestimated the rules of the Blood River Fortress."
The spatial rift was stabilized and would no longer drift about, but Paluriel discovered that its current state was already the limit.
To ensure demons couldn't roam unchecked, the Blood River Fortress enforced exceptionally strict ingress and egress restrictions. Paluriel had intended to create a passage sufficient for her passage, only to hit the hard ceiling; a deity like her couldn't squeeze through at all.
To expand this spatial conduit any further, she would first have to dismantle the entire Blood River Fortress.
Even more exasperating was that she had already triggered the magical countermeasure of the Blood River Fortress. Once an unauthorized expansion of a spatial conduit was detected, the conduit was forcefully locked into place.
In other words, Paluriel couldn't even close the spatial conduit now. She could only watch helplessly as the mercury continued to gush out.
Worse trouble loomed ahead: the Blood River Fortress had likely dispatched elite forces to investigate. If Paluriel couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, Melina would be in serious trouble.
Helpless, Paluriel could only pull out her magic mirror to contact Anbaixiu.
After she briefly explained the situation and showed Anbaixiu the pool of mercury that had already formed into a small lake, Anbaixiu let out an unsurprised sneer.
"You can't even handle a trivial task like this? Paluriel, you've really fallen off. A few centuries in Hell must have rusted your brain."
Paluriel gritted her teeth in hatred, but this time she truly was at fault. She had rarely visited the First Layer of Hell and had never participated in the Blood War, leaving her ignorant of its intricate workings.
"I'll handle things with Zariel and Bel. I won't let Melina be punished."
Anbaixiu spoke with supreme confidence, as though Hell belonged to him.
Paluriel stared at the mercury lake, preparing to seal the opening, when Anbaixiu said, "Wait. Are you certain this spatial conduit leads into the River Styx?"
"In theory... yes. But I've never gone in myself, so I can't say for sure."
Paluriel was not entirely certain either, but the demonic aura could not be faked; this entire pool of mercury reeked of demons. A massive number of demons had to be waiting on the other side. Even if it didn't lead directly to a tributary of the River Styx, they should still be able to find their way toward it.
Anbaixiu pondered for a moment, then said, "Then I'll speak with Bel. We won't block this place for now."
"What are you planning to do?" Paluriel asked.
"I have a creation quite well-suited to this environment. Perhaps I can have them scout the way."
What Anbaixiu referred to was naturally the mercury soul puppets, though the current mercury soul puppets were no longer what they used to be. Evil Silver Shaded had been raised plump, sleek, and glossy in the divine realm of the God of Alchemy, its divine power swelling at an almost unbelievable rate.
If this continued, it could easily spiral out of control. The God of Alchemy had even considered dismantling Evil Silver Shaded's infernal engine, but Anbaixiu noticed that the creature was only gaining brute strength while its soul remained unchanged and its temperament stayed unaffected, so he suggested the God of Alchemy observe a bit longer.
After all, the little fellow had accompanied him for a very long time, and a reversal surgery could easily kill Evil Silver Shaded.
The God of Alchemy ultimately agreed with Anbaixiu. Neither master nor disciple was an unfeeling mad scientist, and they both understood one fundamental truth.
Alchemy was destined to forge creations stronger than oneself.
Other deities always produced creations weaker than themselves because their creations were made by carving out portions of their own power; power lent out could naturally never surpass the originator. But alchemy was different. Just as humans forged swords and blades that surpassed fists and teeth, and humans created golem puppets whose mechanical strength far exceeded human bodies, alchemy operated on that very principle: utilizing materials, magic, and everything the world had to offer to compensate for one's own limitations and accomplish impossible tasks.
If you feared that what you created might become stronger than yourself, you should never be an alchemist, for an alchemist with such fears would achieve nothing in their lifetime.
Since Evil Silver Shaded had not lost control, it should continue to be nurtured.
However, Anbaixiu was not referring to this increasingly powerful creation, but rather another batch.
Evil Silver Shaded had reproduced several times within the divine realm, and the offspring spawned through fission indeed showed pronounced degradation in ability. After three to four generations of continuous division, the number of mercury soul puppets in the alchemical divine realm had surpassed a thousand, and the abilities of the latest generation had largely stabilized.
In technical terms, their traits had become genetically stable; further division and reproduction would no longer cause significant changes.
Moreover, the power of these mercury soul puppets was weak enough to permit them to leave the divine realm and enter the Prime Material Plane.
Since a mercury pool had just formed here and he needed to scout the subterranean depths, he might as well put these little creatures to work.
Although their power fell far short of Evil Silver Shaded, that was only when compared to a deity; this new generation of mercury soul puppets still retained a fraction of their original attributes.
They could still devour various magical items to bolster themselves, though the enhancement lasted only for a limited time and vanished once digested. Additionally, their resistances could no longer stack infinitely, but through a brief period of gluttonous feeding, they could reach near-complete magic immunity for a short duration.
And finally, the most formidable trait of this lineage of mercury soul puppets—they possessed inherited wisdom, making them slightly smarter than most humans.
Humans required a great deal of time to grow from infants into adults and had to acquire knowledge and intellect through post-birth learning. Yet the mercury soul puppets, as a species of asexual reproduction, could directly duplicate their memories during division.
This allowed the mercury soul puppets to reach maturity in a short span, saving vast amounts of learning time.
However, it was not without flaws. The ancestor of the mercury soul puppets was, after all, a Simulated Soul crafted by Anbaixiu, and when Anbaixiu had initially designed it, his research had been entirely aimed at cutting costs, leaving it far from perfect.
Consequently, the fifth-generation mercury soul puppets suffered from lifespan issues. Soul puppets of this generation could only reproduce twice at most, after which their souls would rapidly deteriorate until death.
Anbaixiu had tested them using time acceleration: fifth-generation mercury soul puppets had a lifespan of only five to seven years. Even when reproduction was deliberately restricted, none had lived beyond ten years.
This trait was actually a blessing in disguise; it placed a natural cap on the population of mercury soul puppets. Otherwise, Anbaixiu might not have dared release them.
And what place could be more suitable for mercury soul puppets to thrive than the environment right in front of them?
Sending them to explore that unknown spatial conduit was the best possible use.
However, bringing a large number of mercury soul puppets into Hell presented a challenge. These little creatures were newly born and could not be considered sinful; dying would not send them to Hell. Even if Anbaixiu cruelly ordered them to commit suicide, the only result upon landing in Hell would be their transformation into various devils, losing their original race entirely.
The only alternative was doing what Melina had done: using the artifact bestowed by Zariel to directly open a Gate of Hell.
Yet while entering Hell alone was simple enough for Melina, Anbaixiu needed to bring an entire species in. A Gate of Hell cleaved open by a single sword was far from sufficient.
Hell was hardly a paradise, but neither was it a place one could enter on a whim.
He either needed Zariel's permission to open a direct pathway, or he would have to seek another method. Anbaixiu still had several books on Hell in his study; he could always go back and leaf through them.
Anbaixiu hadn't actually expected Zariel to agree, and he had prepared himself to be ruthlessly fleeced by her.
Yet, when Anbaixiu appeared before Zariel with the intent of testing the waters, the fallen angel greeted him with a baffling smile.
When Anbaixiu stated his request, Zariel agreed almost without hesitation.
"Rest assured, I've already spoken to Bel about Melina. Your magic mirrors are now the most vital military supply in Hell; this little bit of trouble Melina caused is nothing. The abyss demons have attempted to breach our spatial barriers more than once; we've seen this far too often for it to be worth mentioning. As for the mercury soul puppets you mentioned, I will provide you with a Gate of Hell scroll, allowing you to set the portal's location wherever you wish."
Anbaixiu stared at the scroll Zariel held out, not daring to reach for it.
This defied logic. Since when had Zariel ever been so agreeable?
"Cyric, is that you again?" Anbaixiu asked in a low voice.
He had just reinforced his wards; had the damned Prince of Lies breached them so quickly, spinning illusions for him once more?
Zariel furrowed her brows. "Cyric? What are you talking about?"
Anbaixiu froze. This time, no illusion shattered. Was Cyric playing double mind games, or had he simply made a mistake?
Anbaixiu decided to be direct. "Nothing. It's just that your reaction today feels unreal. Archduke Zariel, while we share a cooperative relationship, you seem far too accommodating today."
"Hahaha!" Zariel burst into a hearty laugh and said to Anbaixiu, "Always assuming the worst of others—you've truly been assimilated by Hell, haven't you? You make quite a proper devil."
Anbaixiu shook his head. "You flatter me. I was like this long before I ever came to Hell."
Anbaixiu left the latter half of his thoughts unsaid: Zariel's laughter had been a deliberate deflection; she was definitely hiding something. Could there be an issue with this Gate of Hell scroll?
Yet Anbaixiu couldn't fathom what motive she had to tamper with it. He wasn't asking for handouts; name a price, and they could negotiate. What was with all this scheming?
Zariel, however, seemed entirely uninterested in explaining. Tossing the scroll to Anbaixiu, she promptly flung the magic mirror aside, regardless of whether Anbaixiu agreed.
Only after Anbaixiu vanished from the palace did Zariel wipe the cold sweat from her brow.
She had acted too eagerly and aroused suspicion. But she had no choice; Mount Celestia was right before her eyes. Zariel wished she could sprout several more pairs of wings and fly straight back right now; how could she possibly have the patience to haggle terms with Anbaixiu?
Moreover, merely maintaining her current composure was already grueling. Zariel didn't dare converse with Anbaixiu for too long, terrified he might see through the changes in her body.
"It isn't time yet. But I'm only a hair's breadth from returning to my angelic form. Once that happens, I'll lay my cards on the table and have him help me contact the Lord of the Dawn."
Zariel knelt on the ground, offering a devout prayer: "By Ao above, grant me just a little more time! This is my final chance. Even if I am obliterated entirely, I will not remain in Hell another day!"
Chapter 602