Inside the small hut, it was deathly silent.
Mò Chén leaned against the wooden door, cold sweat sliding down his temples, splattering onto the old floor with faint but startling sounds.
Elder Yun’s words were like ice picks, piercing the slight confidence he had just built up from his power increase.
“Is the water at the bottom of the ravine cold?”
She knew! She absolutely knew! Otherwise, she wouldn’t have used such precise, pointed words! She knew he had fallen to the bottom of Black Wind Ravine, and possibly… guessed he had some fortuitous encounter!
This seemingly decrepit old woman, who only cared about spiritual plants, had depths far beyond his imagination! What kind of insight was hidden behind her cloudy eyes?
A sense of immense crisis gripped him. Was his identity exposed? Were his secrets discovered? How would she treat him? Report him to the sect? Or…
Just as his mind was shaken and the Spirit Devouring Fiendish Energy within him was on the verge of running wild, another, deeper, colder tremor, like an iceberg rising from the abyss, quietly touched his soul.
It wasn’t an external threat, but the bronze brand that had already merged over his heart!
A feeling of being marked, of being locked onto, emerged with utmost clarity. It was as if, beyond the infinitely distant dark deep space, a pair of indifferent, ancient, emotionless eyes, in their endless slumber, had casually swept their “gaze” across this star field, and briefly rested on him, a tiny “point of light,” for an insignificant moment.
There were no warnings, no information, no hostility, not even any emotion. Only pure “observation.”
However, it was precisely this pure “observation” that brought a terror far greater than facing a Nether Entropy Fiendish Python or a Netherworld Path assassin!
It was the instinctive trembling of a low-dimensional life form facing a high-dimensional existence! It was the insignificance and despair of an ant being stared at by the stars!
“Urgh…” Mò Chén grunted, clutching his chest. The cold tremor from the depths of his soul almost suffocated him. Fragments of images about the Apocalyptic Collapse and Stars’ Annihilation surged again in his mind, becoming clearer than ever before.
The warning from the Bronze Fragment’s information was real! Holders of “Origin Artifact” fragments would eventually be “watched” by some unspeakable entities!
This sudden pressure from the distant unknown, however, acted like a basin of ice water, sobering him from the panic caused by Elder Yun’s words.
Exposed to the gaze of an unknown entity externally, and facing undercurrents within the sect and the unfathomable Elder Yun internally… Panic and evasion could solve nothing.
He had to be calm! He had to become stronger, faster! Strong enough to face any threat!
He took a deep breath, the Nether Ruins Spirit Devouring Scripture slowly circulated, and the cold, heavy fiendish energy flowed through his meridians, forcibly suppressing all negative emotions. His eyes regained their sharp, resolute look.
The immediate priority was to deal with the current situation. Elder Yun’s attitude was ambiguous, but at least she hadn’t exposed him yet, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been just a telepathic message, but direct action or a report. This perhaps meant she also had some reservations, or… had an ulterior motive?
And Qián Fù’s disappearance was a huge variable. He had to figure out whether he had fled or was hiding to plot a greater conspiracy.
The atmosphere in the Alchemy Room was unusually oppressive for the next few days.
Steward Liú Chángfēng came by a few more times, asking Mò Chén for details about his trip to Black Wind Ravine and sending people for multiple investigations. In the end, it seemed they could only classify the matter as “an unfortunate encounter with a powerful demon beast attack,” and shifted the main focus of the investigation to the missing Qián Fù. After all, the inexplicable disappearance of a steward was far more serious than the casualties of a disciple.
Mò Chén handled it with the story he had prepared, half-true and half-false, without revealing too many flaws. He acted like an ordinary handyman, still shaken but having survived by sheer luck, spending most of his time in his small hut or the herb garden, living in seclusion.
In secret, however, he was constantly cultivating and experimenting with his newly acquired powers.
He found that his perception and absorption range of the surrounding Ethereal Entropy Qi had expanded several times. Even without actively circulating his cultivation technique, the liquid fiendish energy in his Dantian was slowly increasing on its own. The Spirit Devouring Nether Eyes consumed a lot and couldn’t be maintained for long periods, but even if opened for just a brief moment, they allowed him to perceive many details he couldn’t notice before.
He tried using the Nether Eyes to care for the spiritual plants, and the effect was astonishing. He could clearly see the circulation of Life Force within each plant, subtle lesions, and the optimal nutrient ratio it required. Under his seemingly casual care, the herb garden he was responsible for grew more and more luxuriant, even beginning to emit a subtle, unusually vigorous Life Force fluctuation different from its surroundings.
This inevitably drew Elder Yun’s attention again.
One day, Elder Yun summoned him to the outside of the alchemy room that no one was normally allowed into – her personal alchemy chamber.
“Come in,” she said hoarsely, pushing the door open and entering.
Mò Chén’s heart trembled slightly, and he followed as instructed. This was his first time entering Elder Yun’s alchemy room.
The room was dimly lit, filled with a complex and strong medicinal scent, interspersed with a faint, unsettling scorched smell and… a hard-to-describe aura of decay. A dark red alchemy furnace, half a person tall, sat in the center, its fire unextinguished, radiating residual heat. The shelves around were filled with various herbs, jade bottles, and utensils, appearing somewhat cluttered.
Elder Yun walked to the alchemy furnace and stared at a few subtle, newly appeared cracks on its walls. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, “Refining a Condensing Emerald Pill, the main ingredient, Emerald Condensing Grass, was not aged enough; the auxiliary ingredient, Crimson Sun Flower Pollen, was half a fen too much; the earth fire’s heat went out of control for a moment… and it all went to waste, even backlashing against the alchemy furnace.”
She spoke as if to herself, or perhaps to Mò Chén.
“The path of alchemy, a hair’s breadth off can lead to a thousand miles astray. Sometimes, seemingly insignificant flaws, when accumulated to a certain extent, will trigger a complete collapse.” She turned around, her cloudy gaze falling on Mò Chén, her meaning clear.
Mò Chén’s heart stirred, and he lowered his head, saying, “This disciple has been taught.”
“Taught?” Elder Yun let out a dry chuckle, her voice hoarse. “Teach you? This old woman doesn’t have the leisure. It’s just that this alchemy furnace is damaged and urgently needs ‘Earth Vein Stone Milk’ mixed with powdered ‘Hundred-Year Ironwood Core’ to repair it. These two items are out of stock in the storeroom.”
She paused, then slowly said, “Deep in the ‘Sinking Iron Ore Pit’ in the back mountain, Earth Vein Stone Milk is found naturally. As for the Hundred-Year Ironwood Core, go chop it down yourself and refine it. I’ll give you three days. If you don’t get them back, don’t even think about touching the second volume of the Basic Spirit Nurturing Technique Sutra again.”
After speaking, she stopped looking at Mò Chén and busied herself with cleaning the residue from the alchemy furnace.
Mò Chén’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
The Sinking Iron Ore Pit!That was an abandoned mine pit closer to the Forbidden Zone Area than Black Wind Cliff. It was said that a serious accident occurred many years ago, killing many miners. The yin energy was extremely heavy, and it had been abandoned for years. Ordinary disciples didn’t dare to go near it. As for the Hundred-Year Ironwood, it grew deep in the dense forest outside the mine pit. It was not easy to chop down, and powerful demon beasts often lurked there.This task, while seemingly a punishment and a difficulty, its difficulty and directedness were far beyond what an ordinary handyman could accomplish. Was Elder Yun testing his limits? Or intentionally sending him away to come into contact with something?
He recalled her earth-shattering words from before, “Is the water at the bottom of the ravine cold?” He became even more certain that this old woman absolutely knew some of his secrets and seemed to be using an implicit method to guide, or rather… utilize him.
“This disciple… accepts the order.” Mò Chén didn’t ask further, respectfully agreed, and turned to leave the alchemy room.
Regardless of Elder Yun’s intentions, this was indeed an opportunity to temporarily leave the alchemy room’s sight, test his new strength, and possibly find more clues about Qián Fù or the Netherworld Path.
He returned to his hut, made some preparations, and set off into the back mountain again.
After his cultivation advanced to the late stage of the Spirit Devouring Realm, his speed, strength, and endurance had undergone a qualitative leap. The rugged paths in the mountains and forests were like flat ground beneath his feet. The faint Ethereal Entropy Qi permeating his surroundings no longer posed an obstacle but instead became a natural cover for him to conceal his form and block his aura.
He first found the Hundred-Year Ironwood. This tree’s wood was as hard as iron, impervious to ordinary blades. Mò Chén formed a blade with his fingers, circulating liquid fiendish energy to his fingertips. With a single slash, it was like cutting tofu, easily severing the required wood and rapidly extracting its core essence.
The entire process took less than half an hour.
Then, he headed deeper into the Sinking Iron Ore Pit, where the atmosphere was even more gloomy and oppressive.
The closer he got to the mine pit, the heavier the deathly stillness and oppressive feeling in the air became. The abandoned mine cart tracks were rusty, collapsed mine shafts and scattered bones were visible everywhere, as if silently recounting the tragedies of the past.
His Nether Eyes opened slightly, and the scene before him was even more heart-wrenching. The sky above the mine pit was shrouded in almost tangible grey-black resentment and death qi, with countless blurred, distorted remnants of souls, full of pain and unwillingness, wailing and churning within. Although the Ethereal Entropy concentration here was not as high as at the bottom of Black Wind Ravine, it was far greater than in ordinary places.
Could Qián Fù’s disappearance be related to this place? Would the people of the Netherworld Path also use such places?
He cautiously infiltrated the depths of the mine pit, searching for Earth Vein Stone Milk according to Elder Yun’s vague instructions. This spiritual material usually originated from places where the yin energy of the earth veins converged.
With the aid of the Nether Eyes, he quickly avoided several unstable collapsed areas and found a hidden side cave that continuously exuded a chilling aura.
The moment he stepped into the side cave, the bronze brand on his chest grew slightly warm.
The cave was not large. In the center was a small stone pool, containing half a pool of milky white, yet frigid, viscous liquid – Earth Vein Stone Milk.
However, Mò Chén’s gaze was drawn to something by the side of the stone pool.
It was a small piece of torn, black cloth with scorched edges. The material of the cloth was exactly the same as the black robe worn by the masked cultivator of the Netherworld Path that he had seen that day!
In addition to this, there were some messy footprints on the ground, neither human nor ordinary demon beast. Around the footprints, there were faint traces of pure Ethereal Entropy Qi, which originated from the same source as that in the Bone Rot Flower!
Mò Chén’s heart suddenly tightened!
There were indeed traces of Netherworld Path activity here! And it seemed to have happened recently!
Qián Fù’s disappearance was definitely related to them! What were they doing in the depths of this abandoned mine pit? Could there be a place similar to the bottom of Black Wind Ravine here? Or was this a secret stronghold of theirs?
He immediately activated his Nether Eyes to their full extent, carefully scanning the entire side cave.
Indeed, in an extremely hidden rock crevice behind the stone pool, he detected a faint, cleverly concealed spatial fluctuation! Inside the crevice, there seemed to be another world, and the residual Ethereal Entropy Qi was even fresher!
Could it be a secret passage or a hidden chamber behind it?
Mò Chén held his breath and cautiously approached the crevice, attempting to probe it with his fiendish energy.
Just as his fiendish energy was about to touch the spatial fluctuation—
“Buzz!”
The bronze brand on his chest, without warning, became intensely hot again!
But this time, it wasn't a distant resonance, nor a cold gaze, but a sharp, close-proximity warning!
Almost at the same moment, the shadow in the side cave behind him rippled like water!
A figure, completely merged with the darkness and perfectly blended with the surrounding environment, materialized without warning!
This person’s appearance, timing, angle, and concealment methods were far more skillful and terrifying than the masked cultivator before! He was like a true shadow, as if he had been waiting there for a long time!
A pitch-black, silent, and incomparably fast beam of dark light, faster than thought could comprehend, shot towards Mò Chén’s back!
This strike seized the perfect moment when Mò Chén’s entire attention was focused on the crevice and his mind was shaken by the discovery of clues!
Malicious! Precise! Fatal!
This was the real killing trap! Elder Yun’s mission, the clues at this place, perhaps from the very beginning, were a trap set for him, or rather, for anyone who might investigate this place—a trap!
Mò Chén’s Nether Eyes saw the sudden surge of energy flow and sensed the bone-chilling killing intent, but his body could hardly react in time!
Death’s shadow once again enveloped him completely!\n\n