Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

The tremors beneath my feet grew more intense. Unlike the roar of an earthquake, this sound was dull and oppressive, like a blunt hammer striking the fragile crust of Ghost Valley again and again through a thick quilt.

Gu An pressed himself against the ground and could even clearly feel the scorching heat coming from deep underground—the fiery aura brought out by the high-level magic artifact forcibly melting through the rock strata.

"Click."

Not far away, the ghost mulberry tree connected to the Yin vein node suddenly made a crisp sound. Part of its thick, dragon-like root system broke off on its own, and what gushed out from the break was no longer black Yin energy, but turbid muddy water mixed with dark red magma.

High in the tree canopy, hundreds of Xuan Yin silkworms, in the crucial stage of pupation, began frantically pounding against their still-forming cocoons, as if possessed. The originally silvery-gray silk threads were stained crimson with the blood and foam overflowing from their mouthparts, and a violent and restless aura permeated the mulberry grove.

"They're here."

Gu An's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart skipped a beat.

According to the digging speed indicated by the human skin map, these underground rats should have had two more days before breaking through the soil. However, it was clear that, in order to coordinate with the surface offensive, or to seize the credit, these demonic cultivators used a secret technique that overdraws the earth's veins, forcibly accelerating the process.

The time allotted to him was reduced from two days to the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn.

Can't run away.

The only exit at the valley entrance was guarded by Sun Cheng. Although that guy was a heavy drinker, his divine sense, which was at the peak of the third level of Qi Refining, had been locked onto the passage.

If Gu An shows any intention to escape now, Sun Cheng's magic sword will pierce his throat before the demonic cultivator can.

Since they can't escape, they can only try to shift the blame elsewhere.

Gu An took a deep breath, his fingertips digging fiercely into his palm, using the pain to forcefully suppress his instinctive fear.

He grabbed a handful of blood and mud from the ground and smeared it on his face, then ripped his clothes and sprang up from the ground, stumbling and rushing toward the valley entrance.

As he ran, he kept looking back, letting out a distorted cry of alarm, like a rooster being choked.

"Senior Brother Sun! Senior Brother Sun! Something's happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Beside the boundary marker at the valley entrance.

Sun Cheng was listlessly tossing the jade slip around, while pouring wine from the flask into his mouth with his other hand. Hearing Gu An's shrill howl, he frowned, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.

"Stop howling like that! Is the sky falling down?"

Sun Cheng put down the wine jug, his figure blurred, and he blocked Gu An's path. An aura of power belonging to the peak of the third level of Qi Refining struck Gu An without hesitation, causing him to stagger and kneel directly in the wet mud.

"What a flustered display!" Sun Cheng sneered, looking down at the lowly servant. "Speak, what's going on? If you dare to mess with me, you know the consequences."

Gu An trembled violently, pointing deep into the mulberry grove behind him, his teeth chattering, unable to utter a complete sentence: "Light... such terrifying light... the ground cracked, that ghost mulberry... red light is emanating from under the ghost mulberry!"

"Red light?" Sun Cheng's gaze sharpened. "Is subterranean fire leaking out?"

"No...it doesn't look like it!" Gu An swallowed hard, his eyes filled with a mixture of greed and fear. "I saw...I saw those Xuan Yin Silkworms go mad, the silk they spit out is all blood red, and...and it seems like something is about to come out of that crack in the ground, that light...the spiritual energy is too strong, I just took a breath, and I felt my cultivation weaken!"

"Um?"

Sun Cheng's previously nonchalant expression froze instantly.

The Mysterious Yin Silkworm erupted, its veins stained with blood, and a burst of spiritual light shot into the sky.

As Zhao Feng's confidant, his knowledge was naturally far greater than that of Gu An, a country bumpkin. In the world of cultivation, unusual phenomena often accompanied the emergence of extraordinary treasures. Youying Valley was originally a place where yin veins converged, and now, at the extreme of yin, yang was born. Could it be that some extraordinary natural treasure was being nurtured underground?

Greed grew wildly in my heart like weeds.

If it truly is a rare treasure, even a small share would be a hundred times better than being stuck in this godforsaken place starving. And if I could keep it all for myself…

Sun Cheng glanced at Gu An, who was kneeling on the ground. What could a mere Qi Refining Level 3 waste possibly do even if he saw it?

"Lead the way!" Sun Cheng grabbed Gu An by the collar, lifting him like a chick. "If it's true, you've done a great job. If it's false..."

The magic sword in his hand hummed, its cold light gleaming.

"I wouldn't dare! I would never dare to deceive my senior brother!" Gu An scrambled to his feet and led the way.

The two of them, one in front of the other, quickly passed through the misty mulberry forest.

As they ventured deeper, the stench of sulfur and blood in the air grew stronger. But to Sun Cheng, whose eyes were blinded by greed, this was a sign that a rare treasure was about to be unearthed—the spiritual energy was so dense it was almost choking.

"It's just ahead!"

Gu An pointed to the fissure in the ground where black and red mist was churning, then suddenly stopped in his tracks, his body went limp, as if he was too intimidated by the oppressive aura to move forward.

"Useless trash."

Sun Cheng spat disdainfully, shoved Gu An aside, and stepped forward alone.

He stood on the edge of the fissure in the ground, peering down.

The once bottomless crack was now filled with an eerie red light. The red light pulsed like breathing, and with each flash, the surrounding rock walls melted a little more.

At the very center of the red light, there seemed to be an extremely pure energy surging within.

"Is this... a crystallized ley line? Or fire elemental essence?"

Sun Cheng's breathing quickened, his eyes filled with fervor. This spiritual pressure was definitely from a treasure of at least the second tier!

He subconsciously activated his protective aura and reached out to capture the light.

In that very instant.

The terror in Gu An's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by an icy, deathly stillness. His body pressed tightly against the ground, like an old snake about to hibernate, he stopped breathing.

[Turtle Breathing Technique: Proficient (25/200)]

"BOOM—!!!"

There was simply no time to react.

The ground beneath Sun Cheng's feet didn't crack; it shattered completely.

A terrifying shockwave, carrying countless fragments of rock and lava, shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption.

"What?!"

Sun Cheng was horrified and tried to retreat, but found that his legs seemed to be stuck in the mud, and an invisible suction force held him firmly in place.

Immediately afterwards, the so-called "precious light" tore through the disguise.

That wasn't some rare treasure at all; it was a crimson blade of light, three zhang long, that had been gathering power for a long time!

"A demonic cultivator?!"

Sun Cheng's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and his instincts as a third-level Qi Refining cultivator allowed him to unleash his full potential at this moment. He roared and spat a mouthful of blood onto the magic sword in his hand.

"Golden Shield! Activate!"

A pale gold shield instantly formed in front of him.

However, it was too late, and too close.

The crimson blade light, carrying a nauseating aura of bloodlust, sliced ​​through the golden shield as easily as cutting tofu, its momentum undiminished, and struck Sun Cheng's protective aura fiercely.

"puff!"

Sun Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body flying several feet like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a ghost mulberry tree.

The mulberry tree, as thick as a person's embrace, broke off on the spot.

Before Sun Cheng could even land, three ghostly figures shot out like black smoke from the dust and smoke that erupted from the ground.

They were all dressed in blood-red robes and wore ferocious bronze masks on their faces.

Three peak Qi Refining Stage 3!

"Heh heh, I didn't expect that I would be served an appetizer so soon after I've just shown my face."

The leading demonic cultivator, wielding a long, still-dripping blood blade, spoke with a voice as grating as sandpaper. Without uttering a single word, he stomped his foot, transforming into a blood-red shadow as he lunged at the heavily wounded Sun Cheng.

The other two demonic cultivators spread out in perfect unison, throwing out several array flags that instantly blocked all of Sun Cheng's escape routes.

"Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"

Sun Cheng, his face covered in blood, frantically pulled out a sound transmission talisman from his pocket and crushed it.

However, the normally dazzling sound transmission talisman shattered, emitting only a wisp of black smoke before dissipating into the air.

Don't bother.

The leading demonic cultivator sneered, his blade already at Sun Cheng's face. "The isolation array has already been set up. Even if you scream your lungs out, those idiots outside won't hear you."

"I am a law enforcement disciple of the Green Wood Sect! How dare you..."

"Pfft!"

A bloody claw pierced through Sun Cheng's shoulder, silencing him from his next words.

"Ahhhhh!"

Sun Cheng let out a shrill scream and struggled desperately, but under the siege of three demonic cultivators of the same level, he was like a lone sheep that had fallen into a pack of wolves, and the wounds on his body increased at a visible speed.

Not far away, in the gaps between the piles of rocks.

Gu An curled up into a ball, almost becoming one with the rock. His heartbeat was suppressed to the limit, only once every fifteen minutes, and his body temperature was as cold as a corpse.

He coldly watched the one-sided massacre through the cracks in the rocks.

Sun Cheng was no match for four hands; he was definitely doomed.