Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 607 The Nightmare Jellyfish's Trial
"Yes, we brought back Senior Brother Fang's body."

"We heard the sounds of fighting and sensed unusual fluctuations in magical energy, so we went to investigate. But when we got there, all we found was your people and Fang Shixiong's strange, mummified corpse, so we brought it back!"

"What happened to you in this godforsaken place? Why was Senior Brother Fang's death so gruesome and terrifying?"

"Why did you abandon Senior Brother Fang's body? Have you forgotten the disciplinary requirements of our advance team?"

Peng and Xu, who were standing by the pool, walked towards the crowd while talking.

Hearing their voices, the Chu witches breathed a sigh of relief.

The voices and tone were unmistakably those of Senior Brother Peng and Senior Brother Xu. Moreover, they knew the disciplinary requirements of the advance team, making it even less likely that they were imposters from the Water Mansion Secret Realm.

However, a Chu shaman still took out the Mind-Stabilizing Pill and chanted a spell to make it spin.

Having encountered illusions repeatedly, these Chu witches became extremely cautious, constantly on guard against falling into illusions again.

After spinning around twice, Ding Shen Tuo collapsed and stopped, proving that this was the real world, not an illusion or a fiction.

"Senior Brother Peng, Senior Brother Xu, this is what happened..."

After Chu Wu lowered his guard, he immediately went to greet them, not only explaining the situation but also introducing Shang Lu, the Xuan Yi Wei.

However, some Chu shamans realized something was wrong—at this moment, the firebird transformed from the talisman light completely illuminated the surroundings, and senior brothers Peng and Xu should have seen Shang Lu as well.

In a newly discovered secret realm, uninvited guests from outside the advance team appeared. Senior brothers Peng and Xu were not surprised at all.

This reaction is clearly abnormal!

At that moment, Shang Lu activated his spiritual insight and looked Peng and Xu up and down.

He originally intended to use his spiritual insight to determine the approximate cultivation levels of the two individuals, so that he could secretly make preparations and guard against unforeseen circumstances.

Upon closer inspection, Shang Lu noticed something unusual—thin threads were wrapped around Peng and Xu's bodies.

These fine threads are all transparent, and are not even solid; they are a special kind of "qi".

The Qi threads not only wrapped around Peng and Xu's limbs, but also around their faces. As the Qi threads moved, they made movements such as walking and talking.

The other end of the Qi thread disappeared into the pool at the entrance to the Water Mansion Secret Realm.

The two wizards were like puppets on strings; their every move and word was controlled by these invisible strands of Qi.

Seeing Chu Wu approach Peng and Xu, Shang Lu immediately shouted, "Don't go over there!"

At the same time, he raised his hand and slapped the scabbard at his waist.

"Om-"

The witch's sword emitted a soft hum, and under the control of Shang Lu's essence, it was instantly unsheathed, bringing with it a cold light, and slashed straight towards Peng and Xu.

Seeing their identities exposed, Peng and Xu, under the control of the Qi threads, advanced instead of retreating, their speed suddenly increasing, and instantly pounced on Chu Wu, who was coming towards them, and devoured him like wild beasts.

However, the flesh and blood they ate did not enter their stomachs, but instead flowed back to the pool through the Qi threads wrapped around them.

"Shh-"

The witch's blade flashed a bloody light, severing all the Qi threads binding Peng and Xu.

Without the control of the Qi threads, Peng and Xu froze and fell to the ground.

Life, vitality, and all other signs vanished in an instant, and the body rapidly shrank and withered at a visible speed.

Upon witnessing this scene, the Chu shamans all exclaimed in surprise and uproar.

Peng and Xu were actually dead long ago?!

The flesh and blood in their bodies had long been emptied out!
Just now, it was only because of the entanglement of the Qi threads that they looked like living people, thus luring new "prey" into the trap!
Although the Chu shamans lacked spiritual insight and couldn't see the Qi threads, they still noticed something amiss when the shaman's blade released raging flames and surging lightning, igniting the Qi threads and setting them ablaze towards the pool!
Something strange is hidden in this pool!
An unknown monster was born in the pool, killed senior brothers Peng and Xu, and even manipulated their corpses to lure and kill us!

Upon realizing what was happening, the Chu shamans began to curse loudly, while simultaneously summoning their magical artifacts and talismans so that they could sense the existence of the invisible Qi threads even if they couldn't see them.

"Crash, lala, lala -"

The once calm pool suddenly began to boil.

Something popped out from inside!

Before the Chu witches could even see clearly what was emerging from the pool, thousands of sharp roars suddenly exploded in their minds.

"what--"

The Chu shamans all covered their heads, their expressions pained.

Even Shang Lu felt as if thousands of steel needles were churning wildly in his head under this strange mental shock.

Fortunately, the Heart Sutra, which had been circulating under the influence of the Kidney God statue, transformed into waves of azure water at this moment, protecting Shang Lu's brain and sea of ​​consciousness, greatly alleviating the pain.

At the same time, the angry, wide-eyed mental image continuously spewed out heart fire, transforming into a raging sea of ​​fire that instantly submerged the mental pollution that had invaded the sea of ​​consciousness.

But this time, the fire in his heart was not able to burn away all the invading spiritual pollution!

Their intensity was far greater than any mental pollution encountered in this secret water palace!
"what--"

Although the Chu shamans immediately began to chant incantations, summon their magical artifacts, and even ingest Gu pills again, they were still driven to the brink of madness by this wave of mental pollution!
"Retreat quickly!"

Shang Lu shouted loudly.

Although his pain had lessened, his condition was still not good. The blood vessels in his head were bulging, like vicious venomous insects, ready to pierce his skull and devour his brains at any moment.

"Let's leave here and then make further plans!"

At the shout, Shang Lu withdrew and retreated without the slightest hesitation.

It was at this moment that he, with his keen insight, clearly saw the strange thing emerging from the pool.

It turned out to be a bizarre creature that looked like a jellyfish!

It's a nightmare jellyfish!
Shang Lu thought of a strange beast he had seen in a past illusion.

The Nightmare Jellyfish is the "gatekeeper" of the Heart Refining Cave.

Thousands of years ago, anyone who entered the Heart Refining Cave had to not only refine their mind and see their true nature in the Pool of Delusions, but also pass the test of the Nightmare Jellyfish before they could leave the Heart Refining Cave.

Shang Lu was unaware of the origins of the Nightmare Jellyfish, as it wasn't explained in the previous secret realms of the Water Mansion. However, Shang Lu knew that those who had passed the Nightmare Jellyfish's test were all at least at the Mingxin Realm!
But this kind of beast died in the great cataclysm back then!
Why did it appear here? And why has it become even more bizarre, dangerous, and vicious?

The Nightmare Jellyfish wasn't very big; it was only because countless strands of Qi emanated from its body that it appeared to cover the entire pool.

Many more Qi threads and tentacles, like knives and arrows, swept towards Shang Lu and his companions.

The Chu shamans lacked spiritual insight and could not see the Nightmare Jellyfish; they only noticed a strange cloud of vapor churning above the pool. Even so, their spiritual senses detected the presence of danger.

Therefore, upon hearing Shang Lu's shouts, they also wanted to retreat quickly.

But the Nightmare Jellyfish clearly didn't want its prey to escape.

Countless faces suddenly appeared on its transparent body—human faces, fish faces, and even faces of demons and monsters… “Ah—”

The faces that emerged from the Water Heart Nightmare Jellyfish all let out a shriek. At the same time, the tendrils of Qi also danced wildly in unison.

This time, the mental pollution and shock brought by the screams are even greater than before!

Despite having the Heart Sutra and the raging fire of his heart protecting his sea of ​​consciousness, Shang Lu still felt an excruciating headache, and Chu Wu beside him looked even worse.

"It's too noisy! It's too noisy!"

A Chu witch screamed hysterically and raised her hand to slap her own ears.

The magical power shot out from their hands, instantly shattering their eardrums. But it was completely useless; it still couldn't stop the chaotic shrieks from churning in their minds—these weren't just sounds, they were pure mental pollution.

Chu Wu, whose eardrums had been shattered, bled profusely from both ears, yet the pain did not lessen at all. Even more strange-looking insects began crawling out of their mouths, nasal cavities, and even ear canals.

These insects were transformed from the Gu pills they had just ingested.

As soon as the Gu worms crawled out of their bodies, they all self-destructed, turning into surging blood mist amidst a series of crackling sounds.

These Gu worms, which firmly guarded their spiritual altars and strengthened their will, were also unable to withstand this wave of spiritual pollution and impact.

"Ouch—it hurts, it hurts so much!"

"I need to see what's wrong with this brain!"

You Chu Wu went completely mad, howling and reaching out with claws to frantically scratch at his own head.

In an instant, they forcefully crushed the skull and pulled out the brain.

"Hahaha……"

The Chu witch clutched her head tightly and let out a maniacal laugh.

"It doesn't hurt anymore! Once you dig out my brain, the pain will stop immediately!"

"Without a brain, there is indeed no pain or sorrow."

He laughed for only a couple of minutes before his hand went limp, his head fell to the ground with a "thud," and his body quickly went limp.

His soul flew out of his body, and before the other Chu shamans could help him collect it, it was sucked in by the Nightmare Jellyfish floating above the pool, devoured, and transformed into part of its body. Surprisingly, a face also appeared on its body, shouting at the remaining Chu shamans:
"So comfortable... This is truly paradise!"

"Don't struggle! Don't resist! Come and join me in this blissful moment..."

However, Chu Wu completely ignored him.

Apart from the other two who had gone mad, the rest of the Chu Wu followed Shang Lu in a hasty retreat!

At this moment, they all worked at top speed, wishing they had more legs or wings.

Soon, Shang Lu and the Chu shamans retreated to a distance.

The Nightmare Jellyfish did not pursue them.

Its range of movement seems to be limited to the area around the pool.

Although the Nightmare Jellyfish can extend its Qi threads and tentacles to a great distance, its physical body cannot reach it. Consequently, the mental pollution and impact are greatly reduced, making it nothing to fear.

"Huh...huh..."

The excruciating headache subsided, allowing Chu Wu to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, that last wave of attacks severely reduced their numbers, with only three people escaping with Shang Lu.

The rest of them, under the mental corruption of the Nightmare Jellyfish, went insane and died violently, or even underwent bizarre transformations...

"Sir, what should we do now?"

The three remaining Chu witches were completely at a loss and could only rely on Shang Lu, the "Black-Clad Guard," as their backbone.

Shang Lu stared at the Nightmare Jellyfish, whose tendrils of Qi were constantly drifting in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "Besides that pool, can you find any other exit in this Water Mansion Secret Realm?"

The previous encounter made it clear to Shang Lu that with his current cultivation level, even if he had learned the "Heart Sutra of Supreme Goodness Like Water" and had the blessing of the Mind Image, he could only barely keep his original mind from being harmed.

It's impossible to get past the Nightmare Jellyfish and leave the pool it guards.

The best solution is to find another way.

The three Chu sorcerers all gave a wry smile after hearing his question.

“Before we entered this secret realm of the water mansion, we carefully explored it and only found one entrance and exit. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have left our two senior brothers, Peng and Xu, who have higher cultivation levels, to guard this place! I didn’t expect that they would still fall into the trap and not even be able to send out a warning.”

Shang Lu frowned and asked again, "When you entered the Water Mansion Secret Realm, did you not see the Nightmare Jellyfish?"

"No."

The three Chu shamans shook their heads in unison: "If we had encountered this strange thing as soon as we arrived, we would have immediately retreated and asked a more powerful shaman to come down and eliminate it!"

He then asked, "Sir, from where did you enter this secret realm? Is there any way out of that place?"

Shang Lu shook his head: "The place I came from can only be entered, not exited."

The three Chu shamans' faces immediately turned extremely ugly.

"So, this is the only exit..."

"With our abilities, we simply cannot break through the Nightmare Jellyfish and jump into the pool to escape!"

"It seems we can only wait until the people outside realize something is wrong and send someone to help us get out."

"I'm afraid there might be other unknown monsters in this Water Mansion Secret Realm, and we won't be able to wait until that moment!"

"The monsters here either create illusions or cause mental pollution... The idiot in charge of assessing the danger level even said it was just a seventh-grade secret realm, claiming that with our strength, we could easily negotiate its safety! And what happened? Even Senior Brother Fang, who was at the Mingxin Realm, died here! If I can get back alive, I will definitely report that bastard for dereliction of duty!"

Pokeweed did not participate in the shouting and cursing of the three Chu shamans.

He didn't want to wait here for reinforcements.

What if the reinforcements that arrive discover his identity? Wouldn't that be terrible?

Not to mention that the malevolent energy in this secret realm of the water mansion is quietly increasing—Shang Lu has a temple for the five internal organs, so after the malevolent energy enters his body, it cannot disturb his mind and will be placed on the altar of the spleen god statue.

At this moment, the malevolent energy placed on the sacrificial table is far greater than before, both in quantity and in degree of chaos!

This indicates that this hidden water palace is being revived, undergoing strange changes, and developing into an ominous place because of the intrusion of these uninvited guests!

If we wait here in vain, we might not be greeted by reinforcements, but rather by newly born, dangerous and treacherous creatures within the Water Mansion Secret Realm!

Just like that nightmare jellyfish!
We must leave here as soon as possible!

To leave smoothly, one must break through to the sixth rank of the Mind-Clearing Realm!

(End of this chapter)