An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 160 Mirror Analysis
"Captain, should we retreat?"

"Withdraw? There are no more opportunities left in the world we explored before, which is why we've used almost all our savings to buy the [anchor points] in this world. If we leave now, wouldn't we be losing everything?"

"So what? Just consider it a failed investment. No matter how down on our luck we brothers are, our strength is undeniable. We're not worried about making a comeback, so why take the risk?"

"Yes, my child is only six years old. If I die in the abyss, what will happen to them?"

The members of the Fang Squad began to argue quietly. Some advocated leaving immediately, as the place was too dangerous for them, while others believed that the opportunities here were worth the risk and that they only needed to be careful.

The arguing among his teammates made Zhao Yinwu's face grow increasingly grim, and he finally couldn't help but mutter a curse.

"Damn it! Which bastard disturbed that thing?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong and quickly shut up. Besides them, who else could be here but the Dark Night King?

Huang Guohua glanced at Chu Xiu and said with a forced smile, "If it was Chen who caused the disaster, then logically he should compensate us for our losses."

His words made Chu Xiu's eyes turn cold, and the atmosphere on the scene immediately became tense again.

Su Jinyu quickly tried to smooth things over again, saying, "It's pointless to argue about who caused the calamity. Once we entered the pit, the calamity's awakening was inevitable."

"In a world swallowed by the abyss, there are no variables, so time has no meaning for the creatures here. It's like a pre-recorded movie that can be fast-forwarded and rewound at will."

"But our arrival has disrupted the balance of the local environment and introduced entirely new variables. The entire system needs to be re-analyzed. Even if we do nothing, our very existence is enough to awaken the calamity."

"The key now is that we must stop it from continuing to develop."

Su Jinyu's words answered many of Chu Xiu's questions. It turned out that it was not his act of testing with the Azure Poison Corpse Fire that awakened the existence at the bottom of the pit, but rather that as long as one entered the pit, regardless of whether they tested it or not, the calamity would awaken because of their arrival.

This seems to be a hidden rule in the abyss, which is why, during the awakening trial, the powerful Corpse King did not leave the tower immediately to kill everyone, but only appeared at the final Blood Moon Ritual.

Chu Xiu realized that his understanding of the Abyss was still very shallow, and there were many things he had not yet noticed.

As for Huang Guohua, he seemed to have known this all along, but he just wanted to find an excuse to legitimately renege on the payment he had promised Chu Xiu, so he glared at Su Jinyu with considerable displeasure.

Su Jinyu continued, "As long as we make full use of the individual combat strength advantage of our Awakened Ones, we can greatly slow down the spread of the calamity and hold out until reinforcements arrive."

"And we can also gain a lot of benefits from this process, can't we?"

For some reason, this girl seemed extremely concerned about the matter and was trying her best to persuade the others to stay.

However, after some debate, the others made their own decisions.

"I'm sorry, young lady, we brothers are just roughnecks who don't understand any grand principles. We only know that if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up, and if you don't have the skills, don't take on the job."

"This place is indeed too dangerous for us," Zhao Yinwu said apologetically, shaking his head.

Huang Guohua also said, "I will report this matter to the person in charge of this world, but that's all."

Su Jinyu's face immediately showed deep disappointment. She looked at Liu Feng with unwavering hope: "Senior Liu, we've already signed it."

“I will pay you the penalty for breach of contract,” Liu Feng coughed lightly. “I just wanted to make some extra money, but I didn’t intend to risk my life. If the school finds out about this, they won’t blame me.”

After a pause, he added, "Researcher Su, I suggest you stop being so stubborn. I know you worked hard to get this opportunity, and it's related to your research project that you've poured three years of effort into. But you're still young, and you can start over. If you lose your life, you lose everything."

Faced with Liu Feng's persuasion, Su Jinyu's expression immediately darkened, and she lowered her head and remained silent.

After a while, she turned to Chu Xiu for help.

"Student Chen, if you agree to stay and help me complete my research, I can transfer Senior Liu's protection contract to you, and I will also give you the penalty for breach of contract that Senior Liu paid me, which will total over 100 million Chinese yuan!"

Faced with Su Jinyu's expectant gaze, Chu Xiu pondered for a moment before asking instead of answering directly, "Have you already obtained a piece of [contaminant]?"

Su Jinyu was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Chu Xiu to ask this, but still nodded and said, "Yes."

"How did you find it?"

"Based on my environmental analysis, I speculate that the pollutants will alter the nearby ecosystem. These alterations are not easily discernible, but they are not entirely undetectable."

"So you found it?" "Yes."

"So it's in your hands now?"

Su Jinyu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Huang Guohua.

Chu Xiu understood and turned to say, "Since you are unwilling to abide by the agreement, then let's use this [pollutant] as payment for saving you."

Going from a "Legendary" piece of equipment with numerous benefits to a regular "Contaminant" piece is already a huge concession.

However, Huang Guohua still shook his head and said, "As I said before, you did not act in time, causing my young master to lose an extremely precious [Legendary] item for nothing. So there is no way to talk about repayment."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu chuckled, a mocking glint in his eyes. He said nothing more, simply leaping onto the back of the four-winged monster and saying to Su Jinyu, "Come on, let's go."

Su Jinyu's face lit up with surprise. After thanking him repeatedly, she jogged up onto the back of the strange bird.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the strange bird took to the air and disappeared into the distance in a short while.

Seeing Chu Xiu leave so easily, Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief. He was still somewhat wary of Chu Xiu, after all, that demon army was not easy to deal with.

Huang Guohua smiled smugly and turned to Xue Li, saying, "Young Master, I told you there's no need to worry, right? There are plenty of people like this in the Abyss who are just bluffing. As long as you don't get intimidated by him, he'll naturally slink away."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Li smiled and said, "Uncle Huang is still the most experienced."

The members of the Fang Squad looked rather grim, since, according to the old man's theory, they were the ones who had been "bluffed".

However, it would be dishonorable to renege on a promise of repayment, so after saying this, everyone tacitly stopped mentioning it.

Without further ado, they headed towards the stronghold.

Because the strange insects they rode on had been killed in the previous battle, the group had to travel on foot.

Fortunately, as high-level awakened beings, they are extremely fast, and even if the mountain roads are rugged, they can arrive in at most two hours.

Meanwhile, Chu Xiu, who had soared into the clouds, was sizing up the girl opposite him.

She had a neat ponytail and her sleeves were simply rolled up, giving her a capable air that was not common among girls. However, she was sitting on the back of the strange bird and seemed to be trembling a little, as if she was afraid of Chu Xiu.

But from the occasional glances that subtly scrutinized him, Chu Xiu could sense that the other party was definitely not as simple as he seemed.

Since she was able to reach level 9 of the Ferocious Rank, she was definitely not just a bookworm who only knew how to do research. This demeanor was most likely just a disguise she used to protect herself.

This girl is very clever. She completely hides her sharpness and always presents a gentle, feminine side to others, which makes people unconsciously lower their guard.

But Chu Xiu didn't care, because this was just a normal self-protection tactic for smart people when facing a strong opponent.

"What is your purpose?" he asked bluntly.

"What?" Su Jinyu was slightly taken aback.

"Tell me your true purpose," Chu Xiu said calmly. "Since we're going to cooperate, we should naturally know each other inside and out. Don't try to fob me off with research. I'll only give you one chance. If your answer doesn't satisfy me, I'll throw you out immediately."

Chu Xiu's words caused a look of surprise to appear on Su Jinyu's face. She seemed not to have expected that her disguise would be seen through so easily, and then she fell silent for a long time.

"Three." Chu Xiu began to count down. "The Wine of Resurrection," Su Jinyu said decisively, before even counting to two, "My talent is [Mirror Analysis (SS)]. I can copy the items that need to be analyzed into my mind and directly absorb the information contained within them, and even copy a part of their abilities."

"For example, once I have a book in my mind that I can mirror, I can recite the contents of the book word for word, even if I have never read it before."

"With this talent, I became the youngest and most promising researcher at the Third Research Institute. I was even chosen by one of the four major families in Kyoto to marry me."

"Although he is not as talented as me and is not entirely devoted to me, I don't care. His family's resources are enough to help me reach the top of the research institute, and that's enough."

"I should have had a bright future ahead of me."

At this point, a hint of hatred flashed in Su Jinyu's eyes: "But a bitch was jealous of my talent and secretly hid an [Ancient God Relic] in a reference book, which contaminated my brain when I was copying it."

"You have no idea what I'm going through right now! Talking in my sleep, hallucinations, and dull pain are just the most basic, everyday occurrences. [Contamination] is devouring every nerve in my body, like hundreds of insects are constantly gnawing at my brain!"

"And those snobbish bastards, they threw me away like trash!"

"So heartless?" Chu Xiu asked in surprise.

“What is this?” Su Jinyu sneered. “They even wanted to strip me of my talent. That’s how snobbish and ruthless big families are.”

At this point, Su Jinyu's beautiful face suddenly contorted into a ferocious expression, her eyes blazing with overwhelming hatred: "At most three months, I'll be completely corrupted, but I'm not reconciled. I want revenge! I want to kill that bitch, that scumbag, and everyone who kicked me when I was down! As long as I can merge... Ah!!!"

She suddenly clutched her head and screamed, and dark lines appeared on her face like countless worms crawling on it!
Chu Xiu stared dumbfounded at Su Jinyu, who was clutching him and screaming in agony. Even he felt a chill run down his spine at the sight and silently distanced himself from the girl.

Although he could tell that the other party was hiding something, he didn't expect it to be such a big one!
He thought that at most, it would be due to some special opportunity or some unavoidable family difficulties.

But who would have thought that it would be connected with the ancient gods!
After a long while, the dark lines under Su Jinyu's face finally disappeared, and her expression returned to calm.

"In short, it's unlikely that we can completely remove the [contamination], but there's still a chance to slow its spread. The Resurrection Wine is the most promising item I found after searching through all the information."

"It is born inside the Blood Demon, and killing the Blood Demon's relatives may drop this item."

"If there were enough of them, I might even be able to analyze that relic despite the contamination and transform it into my abilities!"

"No matter how slim the chance is, I will seize it."

"I want to survive, and then—"

"revenge!"

Su Jinyu almost gritted her teeth as she uttered the last two words.

Chu Xiu glanced at her sympathetically, said nothing more, and instead patted the spirit flesh storage pouch, releasing Rasputin.

As soon as he appeared, he immediately shrank behind Chu Xiu, cautiously looking around: "Where are those monsters?"

Su Jinyu looked at it with an expression of disbelief.

"What is this? I sense an aura of [corruption] on it... Could this be a Blood Demon??? You have a Blood Demon?!"

Her face was filled with shock, and the composure she had finally managed to regain vanished once again.

“You have your secrets, and I have mine,” Chu Xiu said calmly, pulling Rasputin in front of him. “Your task is to use your knowledge to ensure that this guy will honestly help us from now on.”

"In return, if I'm lucky enough to get the [Resurrection Wine] in the next battle, then it's yours."

While hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan would be a substantial sum for Chu Xiu, he wouldn't change his original plans for such a small amount.

His main purpose in bringing Su Jinyu along was to use her professional knowledge to determine whether Rasputin had any ulterior motives.

Chu Xiu never let his guard down around this guy. Don't be fooled by his current humble demeanor and mere mortal-level strength; he is a genuine Blood Demon!

Underestimating such a powerful being is undoubtedly an extremely foolish act. Who knows when one might fall into a trap set by such a being? Chu Xiu would certainly not make that mistake.

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Jinyu realized the seriousness of the matter and nodded solemnly. At the same time, her gaze towards Chu Xiu held even more awe.

She initially thought that although Chu Xiu was strong, his awakening time was too short and his foundation was definitely insufficient, but now she found him to be becoming more and more mysterious.

Rasputin cried out in grievance, "Your Majesty! You actually sent an outsider to supervise me! What happened to the trust between us?!"

Chu Xiu ignored him and simply said, "Take me to the third Blood Demon component."

Upon hearing this, Rasputin immediately shut up and obediently sat on the strange bird's head to point the way. Su Jinyu watched this scene with secret amazement.

Before long, a vast expanse of lush green mountains came into Chu Xiu's view.

"See that cave? I can feel the components inside," Rasputin said.

Chu Xiu looked down and saw a large number of dark shadows moving among the layers of green leaves.

“Those abyssal creatures have arrived.” Su Jinyu’s face showed a wary expression.

Chu Xiu nodded: "Rasputin can sense these scattered components, and the calamity at the bottom of the pit can naturally do the same. However, it is unlikely to be able to accurately convey the exact location to these corrupted humans, which is why they need to conduct a thorough search."

With just a quick glance, Chu Xiu discovered thousands of corrupted soldiers, tens of thousands of ordinary residents, and four mechs.

"I suggest we start clearing from the outside. Do you see that depression? It's perfect for your legion to deploy. Just use a few large summons to block the gap below, and the rest can use the mountain as cover to provide ranged attacks. Then, deploy some troops at the entrance on its left to effectively snipe those difficult-to-deal-with mechs."

Su Jinyu seemed eager to demonstrate her value and immediately offered her analysis. She had copied and analyzed a large number of miscellaneous books, including those on military theory. At this moment, she gave reasonable advice based on the knowledge in the books and the characteristics of Chu Xiu's summoned creatures.

In her view, this would minimize the losses of Chu Xiu's army.

However, before she could finish speaking, Chu Xiu suddenly leaped up and fell directly off the strange bird's back!

Su Jinyu: "???"

To her astonishment, Chu Xiu unfurled his enormous wings and swooped down. As he approached, two massive demonic arms suddenly appeared and punched the mecha beneath him!
The high-speed movement combined with the terrifying power of the berserk demonic hand made the kinetic energy of this punch reach an unbelievable level. The mech didn't even have time to react before it was blasted dozens of meters away! The thick steel plate in its chest was deeply dented!

In the next instant, without giving it any time to react, Chu Xiu rushed forward without any hesitation, grabbing the mecha with his two demonic hands and pulling hard!
Suddenly, amidst a tooth-grinding metallic cracking sound, the entire mech was ripped apart!

Oil leaked out, and the corrupted soldier, fused with the mecha, let out a painful scream. The next moment, a surge of corpse fire erupted, mercilessly burning it to ashes in an instant. Flesh and blood turned into blood demons, which, along with the soul, were swallowed into the vengeful spirit banner.

In the blink of an eye, a powerful being approaching the general level, the "difficult-to-handle mech" she had described, was killed without any resistance!

This unbelievable combat power left Su Jinyu completely dumbfounded.

Is this a ferocious-level monster?

Why would a class with such a powerful physical body also possess such a terrifying army of summoned creatures?

Also, you're so strong that you can tear apart mechs with your bare hands, so why don't you just stand there watching from the sky and do nothing?
Su Jinyu looked completely bewildered.

While she was still in a daze, Chu Xiu had already taken care of the remaining three mechs, smashing them all with extremely brutal punches. Those steel plates, which were more than ten centimeters thick, were as fragile as newspapers in front of Chu Xiu.

After dealing with the mechs, a large number of ghosts rushed out along the mountain range with shrieks and began to slaughter the nearby corrupted soldiers indiscriminately.

In an instant, the entire mountain forest was filled with firelight and gunshots.

(End of this chapter)