Chapter 126: Dragon Lich

After the second external elixir was refined, Li Mochen felt the accumulated pressure on him lighten.

This outlaw-level external elixir was enough for him to contend head-on with many low-to-mid-level outlaws, handling the turmoil that might arise in the coming months due to the electrical appliance store.

The only problem was that the true essence and magical power contained in the external elixir were too strong, exceeding what his current physique could withstand, and a careless move could injure him.

But this hidden danger could only be called a happy trouble.

Next, Li Mochen closed his eyes to rest. After fully recovering his vitality, he took out the phylactery of the molten lich—that black agate bracelet—and threw it into the crucible furnace.

The plan Li Mochen ultimately chose was to directly modify this thing.

The lich seemed to sense danger and immediately manifested not far from Li Mochen, surrounded by flames, letting out a furious roar at him.

But in an instant, as the three emperor manifestations behind Li Mochen appeared, the molten lich fell into a state of lethargy. The soul fire in its eye sockets flickered precariously, nearly extinguished.

Li Mochen paid it no heed. He stood with his right hand forming a sword finger, murmuring incantations. Using the external elixir to channel surrounding magical energy, he condensed mysterious runes in the void around the crucible furnace.

This was the unique secret technique of the Divine Thunder Sect, the 'Divine Void Primordial Rune,' which used one's true essence to condense talismans in the void to aid spellcasting. Those with profound cultivation could even form rune arrays from many runes.

The small rune array Li Mochen now condensed with his magical power was called the 'Spirit Light Array,' a very crude formation from the Primordial Dome Realm.

This array had no other function; it was usually used as part of a large or super-large rune array to enhance the overall power and efficacy.

It could also summon souls and spirits, with a suppressive effect on ghosts and the like.

The reason Li Mochen performed this technique at this moment was mainly to enhance the ability of the magical array within the alchemy room.

As the bracelet melted, the molten lich could no longer maintain its form. Not only did its body collapse into bone dust, but the soul fire within it also scattered in wisps.

However, Li Mochen then formed a sword seal with his fingers and pointed at the molten lich, uttering the word 'Still!'

The three emperor manifestations behind him also fixed their gazes on the molten lich, instantly stabilizing the lich's remaining soul fire.

As Li Mochen crushed three blue crystals and scattered them into it, the soul fire violently expanded, not diminishing but flourishing, swelling threefold.

Li Mochen himself felt a pang of distress—these were 'Blood Dragon Tear Stones' he had purchased from the Targaryen Magic Material Shop, crystals formed from the tears of a legendary dragon subspecies, the Blood Flame Dragon, fused with high-purity magical energy. Each stone cost as much as fifteen thousand gold shields!

Afterward, Li Mochen threw a large amount of animal bones into the crucible furnace—the complete skeleton of a twelfth-level Fire Pattern Wyvern.

In terms of bloodline purity alone, the Fire Pattern Wyvern surpassed even the dragon lineage.

Although the Thunderfire Tyrannosaurus was as high as level fourteen, it was far less pure in fire attribute than the Fire Pattern Wyvern.

Then Li Mochen devoted himself fully, stirring the crystalline liquid from the melted Fire Pattern Wyvern bones with the liquid from the melted lich phylactery, then continuously forging and carving.

From time to time, he would throw expensive fire-type magic crystals and metals into the crucible furnace.

After about three hours, Li Mochen lowered the temperature of the crucible furnace and then slapped it lightly, sending the molten lich's soul fire into the furnace before the contents cooled.

Another hour passed. When the furnace door opened, inside was only a shiny bracelet, overall in gold and red colors, shaped like a dragon biting its tail with its wings folded.

Then, following Li Mochen's will, a skeletal winged dragon about two meters long, fiery red all over with crystalline bones, appeared beside him.

—But this was not a bone dragon; it was an artificial fire-type 'dracolich'.

Among magic-energy professionals, mages and sorcerers, before death and with preparation, can transform into liches to escape death.

There is no essential difference between a dracolich and a lich; the only distinction is that only true dragons or dragon subspecies can become 'dracoliches'.

The skeletal winged dragon before Li Mochen was clearly not transformed from a true dragon, hence it was 'artificial'.

However, the effect seemed quite good, enough to pass off as real. At least 'Dragon Vein' could not tell the difference; it looked at the skeletal winged dragon with great wariness, its eyes full of caution.

But its body was slightly crouched, which among dragons signified concession and submission.

This little creature was clearly frightened by the aura of the artificial 'dracolich'—though it was only a trace of dragon might, for Dragon Vein it was an irresistible pressure.

Li Mochen thought this little thing was really useless. He casually patted Dragon Vein's head, then dispersed the three Emperor Lord avatars behind him.

Without the suppression of the Yuan Chen gods, this artificial 'dracolich' regained its mobility. It might have been scared itself; it looked down at its own body, then raised its dragon leg and flapped its wings.

"You can speak, right?"

Li Mochen knew that undead creatures like liches possessed intelligence and language ability. A level 14 Molten Lich, though low in rank, had intelligence equivalent to a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old youth.

He hadn't communicated with this creature before because he wasn't interested. Although this lich was powerful, he had no use for it.

But now the situation was different; it would become a capable enforcer under his command.

"Master!"

The 'dracolich's' eye sockets flickered with soul fire, lowering its head: "Erik thanks you for granting me new life. May I ask what your orders are, master?"

"Erik? That was your name in life, wasn't it?"

Li Mochen laughed: "Not very pleasant. From now on, your name is Xuanhuo."

The 'dracolich' Xuanhuo remained prostrate on the ground, not intending to rise; it knew Li Mochen had more to say.

"According to the books, a level 14 dracolich needs a tomb chamber of at least ten square meters, built of gold and gems, to maintain good condition. But my current conditions are limited, and I can't provide these. Fortunately, you're not a true dracolich now; the ten-square-meter space inside the bracelet should be enough for you to survive. I think you, having lived for centuries, can endure loneliness?"

Though Li Mochen's words contained a questioning tone, his manner brooked no argument: "Also, I can sense that you still have much room for improvement. So work hard; I will acquire a dragon meditation method for you soon, and provide you with fire crystals, dragon blood, and potions monthly. My requirement is that you become a true dracolich as soon as possible. If you can't manage that, at least achieve a perfect imitation."

After saying this, Li Mochen didn't wait for Xuanhuo's reply. He simply snapped his fingers, causing the artificial dracolich's body to scatter into bone dust, which was absorbed into the golden-red 'Dracolich Bracelet'.

Then Li Mochen turned his gaze back to the crucible furnace.

Next came the preparation of potions. The environment of this alchemy room was sufficient to meet the requirements for high-quality potions, and the several refrigerators in the apartment were very professional, capable of preserving any magic potion for over two months without spoiling. So this time, he planned to brew several bottles to ensure his supply for two months, and then he also needed to prepare some for William Jacques.

Next was a 'Dragon's Might' style replica gun—with his current skill, it was impossible to replicate a true 'Dragon's Might', not even a replica.

What Li Mochen needed was merely a 'Dragon's Might' that looked the part, enough to pass off as real and swap out the museum piece.

If possible, he wanted to make replicas of those three parts, using them to divert the attention of interested parties away from the vicinity of Linden Academy.

But regrettably, his current alchemy skill was far from reaching that level.