Chapter 293 – Black Tai Sui, Great Thousand Mountains' Foundation

Inside Moon White Laundry Factory, District 17, Nanli City.

As one of the few factories in District 17, Moon White Laundry Factory handled approximately one-quarter of the laundry business in the district, operating at full capacity almost every day.

Their laundry method was quite simple: a small portion was done by machines, while the majority relied on manual labor.

With so many people gathered together, the resulting commotion easily masked other noises.

Coupled with the distinctive smell of bleach from the laundry factory, it made it difficult for people outside to detect any unusual odors.

Fifty meters underground beneath this sprawling laundry factory covering thousands of square meters, a massive underground cave stood prominently.

The entire underground cave was divided into two parts.

The front section served as a warehouse for various supplies, while the back was a special site for producing secret medicine.

In the rear of the cave, a giant three-headed rat sat atop a pile of garbage.

It continuously gnawed on various trash at its feet, converting it into its own energy.

This large rat’s body was bound by numerous chains, restricting its movement.

Many thick tubes were inserted into the rat’s body, constantly drawing its blood.

Black blood flowed through the pipes into pre-prepared containers nearby.

Whenever the black blood reached a certain level, masked figures in black robes would step forward to process it.

They transformed this black blood into milky-white ‘secret medicine’.

This was what severely infected individuals referred to as Holy Water that could suppress infection.

Besides the Great Thousand Mountains disciples specifically tasked with refining the secret medicine in this underground cave,

there were also many mildly infected individuals present.

After all, both caring for the giant rat and transporting the refined secret medicine outside

required human labor.

These infected individuals naturally became accomplices in order to obtain the secret medicine.

Not everyone had sufficient funds to purchase secret medicine to suppress the infection from the forbidden power affecting them.

“The higher-ups said that after this batch of secret medicine is refined today, we’ll temporarily halt production.”

“I heard new Shanhai Bureau agents have arrived in District 17, probably to investigate us.”

Hearing this, a nearby Great Thousand Mountains disciple sneered: “Investigate us? As long as the Shanhai Bureau can’t find a complete cure for the infected, they’ll never be able to completely eliminate us.”

“Those infected will do anything to survive.”

“With them around, unless the Shanhai Bureau kills everyone in District 17, we can always rebuild a hundred similar underground factories.”

Although the Great Thousand Mountains disciple’s words were filled with contempt for the Shanhai Bureau,

his accelerated movements and slightly tense expression

revealed that his inner thoughts weren’t as simple as they appeared on the surface.

He clearly understood that the Li Province Shanhai Bureau wasn’t incapable of dealing with their infiltrators.

It was just that for various reasons, it was difficult to eradicate them completely.

One must look beyond appearances to see the essence.

The root of District 17’s problem lay in the Shanhai Bureau and Immortal Alliance’s inability to help moderately and severely infected individuals cure the forbidden power.

This very point had given their Great Thousand Mountains the foundation to establish themselves in District 17.However, once this issue was resolved, it would only be a matter of time before they were eliminated by the Shanhai Bureau.

Just as the first group of Great Thousand Mountains disciples prepared to shut down the surrounding machinery and confine the ‘Three-Headed Rodent’ deep underground—

A powerful surge of Spiritual Power suddenly emanated from above them.

Simultaneously, the entire underground cave began to tremble violently.

This abrupt turn of events immediately threw everyone still inside the underground factory into chaos.

Several Great Thousand Mountains disciples exchanged glances, each seeing fear reflected in the other’s eyes.

Without a doubt, the Shanhai Bureau had located their position and was now directly confronting them.

Run—they had to run immediately!

Without hesitation, the Great Thousand Mountains disciples in the underground factory decisively headed for the secret passage to escape.

But when they reached a certain distance, they eerily discovered that the passageway originally connected to the outside world was now inexplicably sealed off by some unknown force.

It was as if the underground factory had become an isolated space.

“It’s the Mountains-Seas Realm conjured by the Scripture Master,” one of the Great Thousand Mountains disciples, who had some knowledge of the Shanhai Bureau, immediately understood why this was happening.

Lock onto the enemy’s location and drag them all into the Mountains and Seas Scroll—this was the common tactic employed by most Shanhai Bureau cultivators.

But to unleash such a vast Mountains-Seas Realm required not only immense cultivation but also a special Mountains and Seas Scroll as support.

The only ones capable of achieving this were the Scripture Masters within the Shanhai Bureau.

Realizing this, the Great Thousand Mountains disciples immediately turned and ran toward the direction of the ‘Three-Headed Rodent.’

The Scripture Masters of the Shanhai Bureau were all elite experts at the Golden Core Stage.

In this underground factory, there were only two beings capable of confronting a Scripture Master: one was the Three-Headed Rodent, which they had been using as a production tool, and the other was the Golden Core Stage Great Thousand Mountains cultivator in yellow robes overseeing the rodent.

Gray, black, yellow, red, gold—this was the hierarchy of cultivators within the Great Thousand Mountains.

For these black-robed disciples to hope to escape from a Scripture Master was nothing short of a fool’s dream.

Their only chance of survival lay solely with the Three-Headed Rodent and the yellow-robed cultivator.

But just as they turned around, they saw a young girl step across the boundary of the Mountains-Seas Realm and appear before them.

“I never thought Little Lu was right—there really is a rat’s nest underground.”

“And as soon as I entered, I ran into four little rats.”

Mu Xiaoye looked at the four black-robed cultivators before her, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

In stark contrast, the expressions of the four black-robed cultivators turned grave.

A Mountain and Sea Walker…

Encountering one in such a situation was undoubtedly dangerous.

If they were held back by this girl and the Scripture Master discovered them, they would be doomed for sure.

“Attack!”

Someone shouted, though it was unclear who.

The four Great Thousand Mountains black-robed cultivators immediately shed their disguises.

Beneath the black robes were bizarre, half-human, half-beast bodies, each with varying degrees of mutation.

This was a hallmark of the Great Thousand Mountains: they firmly believed that the human body had limits and sought to continuously replace their own bloodlines to achieve a state of ancestral reversion, ultimately abandoning their human forms entirely.

However, due to their shallow cultivation, the beast blood within these black-robed disciples was not particularly potent.Naturally, the degree of mutation in their bodies was much lesser.

Even so, these four black-robed cultivators from the Great Thousand Mountains were stronger than most Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same level.

Because they possessed not only the wisdom and methods of cultivators,

but also physical bodies comparable to those of mutated beasts.

This could be considered a level of Dual Cultivation in both body and techniques.

If it were an ordinary person facing these four Great Thousand Mountains Disciples, they might not have been able to gain any advantage.

But what they faced was Mu Xiaoye, who possessed the Innate Divine Ability: Crimson Phoenix Calamity.

Mu Xiaoye was neither afraid of others engaging her in close combat, nor was she afraid of protracted battles of attrition.

Because both of these were her strengths.

Boom!

After an explosion and a blaze of fire,

the narrow secret passage was completely engulfed in flames.

Before Mu Xiaoye lay two charred corpses,

and two black-robed Great Thousand Mountains Disciples who were tied up and had lost their fighting capacity.

The reason these two black-robed Great Thousand Mountains Disciples survived was not because they were particularly strong,

but entirely because Mu Xiaoye needed to capture some live prisoners.

After accomplishing all this, Mu Xiaoye immediately looked in a certain direction within the secret passage.

Based on her calculations, Lu Chen and Jiang Yuanshan should have been close to capturing the two big rats in this Underground Factory by now.

Deep within the Underground Factory.

The three-headed rat beast was currently lying on the ground, its entire body propped up as it glared fiercely into the distance.

In the open space not far away, two figures slowly emerged.

“Uncle Jiang, this vile beast is yours.”

“Alright.”

After speaking, Lu Chen didn’t even glance at the three-headed rat beast and directly walked toward a certain direction behind it.

His demeanor made it seem as though what stood before him wasn’t some powerful mutated beast at all,

but rather a harmless little mouse.

Enraged by Lu Chen’s disregard, the three-headed rat beast immediately turned around, its tail lashing out like a steel whip toward Lu Chen.

The movement of the over-ten-meter-long steel whip was astonishing.

Any machinery it encountered along the way was easily sent flying.

Deep grooves were carved into the walls on both sides,

demonstrating just how hard and powerful the steel tail was.

But this attack failed to hit Lu Chen.

Because a single hand effortlessly caught the three-headed rat beast’s tail.

Sensing the immense force gripping its tail, the three-headed rat beast turned its head to look.

Jiang Yuanshan had already activated his own mutated beast destiny.

His entire body resembled a giant bear clad in armor, standing imposingly in the open space.

The three-headed rat beast’s previously unstoppable steel tail was now held firmly in his single hand.

And judging by his calm and composed expression, he clearly wasn’t even exerting much effort.

“Vile beast, your opponent is me. Where are you looking?”

Whether it understood Jiang Yuanshan’s words or sensed the contempt in his tone,

the three-headed rat beast immediately abandoned its intention to attack Lu Chen and charged toward Jiang Yuanshan.

The movement of its mountain-like body caused the entire Underground Factory to shake violently.

The chains still tenuously connected to its flesh and blood made loud banging noises during this process.

If someone hadn’t loosened the chains on its body beforehand,

the three-headed rat beast might not have been able to get anywhere near Jiang Yuanshan.

And facing such a monster comparable to the Golden Core Stage…Jiang Yuanshan leisurely pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket and casually hung it from his lips.

“Hoo…”

As a smoke ring drifted out, the three-headed rat creature had already closed in on him.

Gazing at the beast now mere inches away, Jiang Yuanshan grinned around the cigarette holder before placing his other hand on the three-headed rat’s tail.

“Up!”

Instantly, the three-headed rat’s high-speed charge came to an abrupt halt.

Its body was then swung around like a meteor hammer, wielded effortlessly by Jiang Yuanshan.

At this moment, the formidable three-headed rat appeared as feeble as a toy before Jiang Yuanshan!

Though not a Scripture Master, Jiang Yuanshan possessed strength comparable to one!

Lu Chen paid no mind to the commotion behind him.

While the three-headed rat was reasonably powerful, its true threat depended entirely on its opponent.

Unless the three-headed rat multiplied its strength several times over, or more similar aberrations joined the fray, Jiang Yuanshan would face no real challenge.

Otherwise, a mere three-headed rat was nothing more than Jiang Yuanshan’s plaything.

Neither the three-headed rat nor the other Great Thousand Mountains disciples appearing throughout the underground factory were Lu Chen’s targets.

Lu Chen had only one objective from start to finish: a specific piece of flesh deep within the underground factory.

After passing through the corridor guarded by the three-headed rat, Lu Chen soon arrived at a more expansive underground space.

This area appeared to be District 17’s originally designated underground drainage space.

Thick drainage pipes lined both walls.

The central sewage collection pool, however, had been replaced by a grotesque black flesh tree.

The tree’s trunk was composed of interwoven white bones.

Pulsating black flesh surrounded the trunk, while the canopy bristled with heads of various creatures.

A single glance at this flesh tree could unsettle the minds of many Cultivators.

“Well? Isn’t our sect’s Black Taisui… magnificent?”

Lu Chen looked up to see a hunched, diminutive man clinging to the wall beside the black tree, smiling down at him.

The man wore yellow robes, his head flattened with a protruding tongue and bulging eyes.

Combined with his somewhat bloated torso and webbed limbs, Lu Chen immediately recognized him as a Great Thousand Mountains Cultivator who had fused with a toad-like Bloodline.

Moreover, his cultivation had reached the sixth revolution of the Golden Core Stage.

“Brat, I must admit you’ve got courage, daring to approach our sect’s Black Taisui alone.”

“Judging by your demeanor, you must have recently become a Scripture Master?”

“Hard to say whether you’re fearless or just ignorant.”

“Had you come with your companion, I might have been hard-pressed to deal with you.”

“But coming alone? Then…”

Just as the yellow-robed Great Thousand Mountains Cultivator prepared to continue his speech, the world suddenly spun violently before his eyes.

He then saw a headless corpse enter his field of vision.

The yellow robes adorning the headless body looked hauntingly familiar.

It was unmistakably his own!

Thump!

The yellow-robed Cultivator’s head tumbled several times across the ground before rolling to rest beneath the Black Taisui tree.

“How tiresome…”Lu Chen walked past the yellow-robed cultivator, as white Samadhi True Fire immediately erupted and consumed both the head and headless torso of the yellow-robed cultivator.

As for the sword strike that had severed the yellow-robed cultivator’s head, it was merely a casual swing of his Immortal Severing Sword.

This single sword stroke was something the yellow-robed cultivator could neither clearly perceive nor evade.

Perhaps sensing something, as Lu Chen approached within a certain distance…

The previously tranquil Black Taisui… stirred.

(End of Chapter)