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

Those two eerie blue vertical pupils, suspended in the darkness, were like two will-o'-the-wisps guiding the dead—cold, lifeless, and devoid of any warmth from the living.

The moment those eyes opened, Gu An felt as if the air around him had solidified into mercury, so heavy it was suffocating. An absolute suppression emanating from the level of life itself made his bones creak and groan, as if he would be crushed into dust by this invisible pressure at any moment.

"Foundation Establishment... and it's a demonic beast at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage or higher!"

Gu An's heart clenched suddenly, and a chill ran up his tailbone and straight to the top of his head.

Although the Qi Refining stage and the Foundation Establishment stage are only one major realm apart, they are like an insurmountable chasm. A Qi Refining cultivator is as fragile as a grasshopper that can be crushed at will in front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. What's more, this is a demonic beast that has lived here for countless years and mutated under the nourishment of Yin meridians!

escape?

The thought was immediately extinguished by Gu An.

In this narrow and unfamiliar underground ruin, to leave one's back to a snake-like monster skilled in speed and hunting is not the way to die if one is tired of living.

Its vertical pupils narrowed slightly, a hint of human-like mockery and cruelty flashing deep within them. It didn't rush to attack, but instead, like a cat toying with a mouse, slowly stretched out its massive body, which had been coiled in the shadows.

By the faint light of the blue moss, Gu An finally saw its full appearance.

It was a giant python as thick as a water vat, its entire body covered in black iron-like scales, each scale covered with barbs, and a row of bony fins like swords and halberds extending from its back to its tail. With just a slight sway of its body, it carved deep furrows into the hard rocky ground.

[Identification: Earth Vein Black Scale Python (Mutant/Foundation Building Stage)]

[Note: This is a monstrous species that constantly absorbs the yin energy of the earth's veins. Its scales are indestructible, and its pupil technique can seize souls and steal spirits. It is extremely dangerous!]

The blood-red words that popped up on the panel looked like a death warrant.

"hiss--"

The black-scaled python flicked its scarlet tongue and let out a low hiss. The sound wasn't sharp, but it carried a strange frequency that exploded directly in Gu An's mind.

Gu An felt a sharp pain in his mind, and the scene before him instantly became blurry. Those deep blue eyes seemed to have transformed into a bottomless vortex, trying to drag his soul into it.

"Oh no, it's a mental attack!"

Gu An bit his tongue hard, and the sharp pain brought him back to his senses for a moment.

At that very moment, the plant affinity talent that had been activated emitted a frantic warning.

It wasn't from sight, but from the inconspicuous, pale blue moss beneath their feet and all around them. These lowly spiritual plants, clinging to the yin veins, were trembling violently with fear, their trembling creating a peculiar ripple.

Through these ripples, Gu An "saw":

Left side!

The dark figure didn't rush straight at him. Instead, it used the rebound from the rock wall to deflect at an angle that defied the laws of physics, like a black lightning bolt, instantly refracting into his left blind spot!

That was a fatal blow.

Fast! Too fast!

It happened so fast that Gu An didn't even have time to turn his head, and his "Golden Light Technique" hadn't even had time to form the hand seals.

In that life-or-death moment, Gu An's face surprisingly showed no fear, but rather a ruthless determination born of desperation.

"Want to eat me? Let's see if you have the appetite!"

His right hand was not holding a sword, but had already gripped a jade bottle sealed with wax.

That was the pink poisonous mist he risked his life to collect inside the belly of the Tai Sui—the Tai Sui Mist.

This mist originates from a flesh-and-blood Tai Sui that has lived for hundreds of years, containing an extremely ancient and bizarre hallucinogenic poison. Even he, who has an affinity for spiritual plants, almost fell for it and was trapped in the illusion of "becoming an ancestor." The power of this thing should not be underestimated.

This is also the only trump card he currently holds that could potentially affect Foundation Establishment stage creatures.

"go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu An exerted force with his wrist, not smashing the jade bottle at the black-scaled python (it was impossible to hit it at the python's speed), but instead slamming it hard onto the ground three feet to his side.

"Snapped!"

The jade bottle shattered, and a thick, sweet mist with a pinkish sheen spread out instantly like an explosion.

At the same time, the black-scaled python's gaping maw, filled with fangs, crashed into the newly exploded mist.

It originally intended to swallow this tiny human whole, but unexpectedly inhaled an extremely strong hallucinogenic gas first.

The mist of Tai Sui dissolves upon contact with blood and vanishes upon entering the lungs.

"roar--!!!"

A deafening roar exploded in the narrow space.

That wasn't the excitement of hunting, but a roar of pain and despair.

The black-scaled python's originally cold, lifeless, vertical blue pupils turned an eerie pink the instant it inhaled the mist. The world before it instantly collapsed and reformed; the tiny human vanished, replaced perhaps by its most feared predator from the depths of its memory, or perhaps by countless of its own kind coiled around it.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The black-scaled python, caught in a hallucination, went completely mad.

Its massive body began to lash out wildly. The hard rock walls shattered like tofu under its tail whip, and countless fragments of rock flew everywhere like cannonballs.

Although Gu An anticipated the attack and released the mist, he was too close.

Even though he retreated rapidly the moment he threw the jade bottle and used the "Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique" to protect himself, he was still hit by the aftershock of a python's tail that swept across the room.

"puff!"

Gu An felt as if he had been hit by a speeding heavy truck; his body flew sideways and crashed heavily into a pile of rocks several dozen feet away.

"Click."

A clear cracking sound rang out.

Gu An felt as if his back had been split open, with at least three ribs broken. His internal organs were churning violently, and a mouthful of blood welled up in his throat, but he swallowed it back down.

Do not make a sound! Absolutely do not make a sound!

Although the Tai Sui mist was domineering, the opponent was, after all, a Foundation Establishment demon beast with powerful divine sense; the mist could only trap it for a moment. Once it sensed the presence of living beings, its berserk, blind attacks would only become more terrifying.

Despite the excruciating pain, Gu An seized the opportunity while the black-scaled python was still frantically ramming against the wall. Using both hands and feet, like an injured gecko, he quickly squeezed into a narrow crevice formed by two broken boulders.

The gap was so small that it was barely enough for a person to curl up and hide inside.

As soon as he crawled inside, Gu An hugged his knees with both hands, rested his chin on his chest, and instantly reversed the spiritual energy in his dantian, rushing towards his heart meridian.

[Turtle Breathing Technique: Reversal]

Thump...thump...

The heart, which had been beating violently, suddenly stopped within a moment.

The surging blood congealed, the scalding body temperature cooled rapidly, and even the opening and closing of the pores were completely locked.

[Characteristic Trigger: Dead Silence]

At this moment, Gu An seemed to be truly dead.

He was like one of the countless cold stones in these ruins, without breath, without heartbeat, without the slightest trace of life. Even a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator's divine sense would find it extremely difficult to discover a living person hidden here unless they dug through the stones inch by inch.

The roaring noise outside continued.

The massive body of the black-scaled python writhed and twisted in the ruins, filling the air with dust and sending rubble flying. Several times, huge rocks crashed down right above the crevice where Gu An was hiding, making his eardrums ring and sending piercing pain through his broken ribs.

But Gu An remained motionless, not even his eyelids twitched.

He's gambling.

I'm betting that after venting the fear brought on by the illusion, the monster will ignore him, this "ant".

Time slips away, bit by bit.

After about half an incense stick's time, the noise outside finally subsided a bit.

The effects of the Tai Sui fog are waning.

The black-scaled python seemed to have broken free from its deepest illusion, but it was clearly not fully awake. It was still hissing softly, its voice tinged with weariness and irritability.

Gu An could feel a cold, damp wave of spiritual energy sweeping across the ruins like a broom.

The divine sense swept over the pile of rocks, the mossy ground, and the crevice where Gu An was hiding.

Gu An had already entered a deep state of suspended animation, his thoughts almost completely stopped, retaining only a trace of his most instinctive vigilance.

The divine sense lingered on him for a moment.

Seemingly puzzled, where did that wretched little bug go?

But in its perception, there was no sign of life here except for the rocks and dust.

"hiss……"

The black-scaled python flicked its tongue and circled the ruins. Its massive head approached the crevice where Gu An was hiding, and the foul, hot breath it exhaled from its nostrils even seeped in through the crack and landed on Gu An's cold face.

If it pushes forward just one more time, or spews out a breath of poison, Gu An will surely die.

This moment felt even longer than being inside the belly of the Tai Sui (a mythical creature).

Sudden.

As if sensing something, the black-scaled python suddenly raised its head, its vertical pupils, which had just regained a sliver of clarity, gazing deeper into the ruins.

That place is the lower reaches of the underground river, and also the core direction of this ancient site.

hum!

A very faint but extremely high frequency of spiritual energy vibrations traveled through the underground rock layers.

This tremor might be imperceptible to humans, but for the black-scaled python that has been entrenched in the earth's veins for years, it is as dazzling as a lighthouse in the dark.

Someone is tampering with its "things".

Or rather, there is an aura there that it both fears and desires, which is resurfacing.

"roar!"

The black-scaled python let out a restless growl, taking one last look at the empty ruins, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Ultimately, it gave up searching for the nowhere-to-be-found insect.

With a sudden thud, its massive body stirred up a foul stench, its black scales scraping against the rocks with a teeth-grinding sound, as it swam rapidly into the depths of the ruins.

In the blink of an eye, the suffocating pressure disappeared.

……

A deathly silence returned to the ruins.

Only the distant, dark blue moss still emitted an eerie glow.

Gu An did not move immediately.

He was like a real fossil, still curled up in that position, motionless, hidden in the crack of the rock.

Monsters are cunning by nature, especially ancient monsters that have lived for countless years. They are even more adept at surprise attacks than humans.

A quarter of an hour, half an hour, half an hour...

It wasn't until a full hour had passed, and it was confirmed that the chilling aura had completely disappeared and there were no unusual movements around, that the situation was resolved.

"call……"

From deep within the crevice of the rock, a very faint inhalation sound came from.

A sliver of color finally returned to Gu An's ashen, lifeless face.

My heart started beating again, slowly but powerfully. Sensation gradually returned to my stiff limbs, followed by an overwhelming, excruciating pain at the broken bones.

"hiss……"

Gu An gasped and carefully slipped out of the crevice.

As soon as he landed, he staggered and had to hold onto the broken wall next to him to keep his balance.

"That was close..."

Gu An wiped the cold sweat that had instantly seeped from his forehead, and looked at the empty storage bag in his hand, a trace of heartache flashing in his eyes.

That bottle of Tai Sui mist was his strongest control method besides the Xuan Yin Silk Trap. He had originally planned to keep it to implicate that so-called "Manager Zhao," but unexpectedly, he had to hand it over as soon as he landed.

But it was a worthwhile deal.

He traded a bottle of poison gas for a life.

Gu An leaned against the wall, took out a Rejuvenation Pill from his storage bag and swallowed it. He then took out a wooden board and strips of cloth and skillfully fixed his broken ribs.

[Slight Self-Healing] The body's constitution begins to take effect, the tightness and pain in the chest cavity are slightly relieved, and that tingling, healing sensation returns.

"That beast is gone."

Gu An looked in the direction the black-scaled python had left, where there was an even deeper darkness, and the outlines of some huge man-made buildings could be vaguely seen.

"It stopped searching for me because something over there attracted it."

Gu An frowned.

Anything that can make a Foundation Establishment stage demon beast so nervous, even abandoning its prey to rush over, is definitely not simple.

That direction... is the end point marked on that human skin map, and also the place that the "Blood Blade Sect" madmen wanted to dig through.

"There are Foundation Establishment level demonic beasts ahead, and sect seals above our heads."

Gu An gave a wry smile, patted the dust off his clothes, and gripped the broken sword, which was now only half intact, tightly in his hand.

"It seems this dead end isn't over yet."

He had no way out but to move forward.

Even if it's a den of dragons and tigers ahead, it's still better than being buried alive in rocks.

After resting for a while and recovering 20% ​​of his strength, Gu An once again used the Concealing Breath Technique, and like a ghost, carefully followed the traces left by the Black Scale Python and ventured deeper into the ruins.

This time, however, he became more cautious, taking each step with extreme care.

After all, this is no longer the outer sect that follows the rules, nor is it the Youying Valley where he could peacefully farm.

This is a land of abandonment, a true cannibalistic place.