New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 154 Holy Light Perpetual Motion Machine

After a lot of back and forth, Yuan Zhu still endured the unpleasant smell and went to the abandoned second floor. Standing in the corridor and looking to both sides, he saw more than 50 listless and crippled goblins, divided into three groups and imprisoned in different rooms.

Their necks were bound by iron chains, the other end of which was nailed to the wall. Each one was missing an arm or a leg, or had serious internal injuries, broken bones, or ruptured internal organs, yet they were sickly and still kept eating.

As for the food (swill) and the conditions at the detention site, it was truly indescribable and appalling.

No wonder Lü Rang said they were about to 'explode'; that's an exaggeration. If he were to describe it, it would truly be a cesspool hell. The air was thick with stench, but it didn't dampen the goblin's enthusiasm for eating.

One more look and your eyeballs will explode. So Yuan Zhu decisively stepped back, averting his gaze, and began to worry about how to clean up this bunch of useless trash and bring them back to the [haunted house]. And given their condition, were they still of any experimental value?
"Snake, I have a question. I captured a whole bunch of goblins last time. Group A stayed in the [Haunted House] for the 'Shadow Pollution Observation Experiment,' but why didn't they seem to be having this much trouble?"

The spicy snack responded in its mind: "Of course there are kind little devils you can't see, sneaking out at night to work secretly like child laborers in the United States."

"???"

Yuan Zhu was shocked to hear this: "The haunted house also hides a 'fairytale fairy' that I don't know about?!"

"..." Spicy Strips paused for a moment. "Are you stupid? I was just saying. Actually, they're 'Eggplant Ghosts.' You're storing them in the haunted house, so they'll clean it up. As for the goblins in the 'Disease Garden,' their bio-attacks have long been devoured and digested by 'Disease Contamination.'"

"They're eggplant demons! Could they also be hiding the 'shit-eating demon' attribute?"

Thinking of this, Yuan Zhu felt disgusted and repulsed, and even the Tiger Demon seemed unclean to him.

Spicy Strip comforted him, "You're overthinking it. It was the 'Shadow Eggplant Vines' released by the Eggplant Ghost that digested and decomposed the filth. Although the Shadow Eggplant has been twisted into a 'Shadow Lifeform,' it still retains strong plant characteristics. Isn't it normal for plants to decompose feces and absorb nutrients? The walls, floors, and roofs of the haunted house are covered with Shadow Eggplant roots, forming the rudiments of a primitive barrier. Absorbing mere organic filth is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Yuan Zhu breathed a sigh of relief and said with satisfaction, "Now I understand. It's a pity that the eggplant ghosts are all left in the [Haunted House], otherwise I could have cleaned up this batch of goblins. Oh well, I'll leave them here for now and come back to pick them up this afternoon."

Yuan Zhu decided to go back to the haunted house and bring a professional cleaner to clean the site. He then said to Lü Rang, "I've memorized the location. I'll arrange for someone to pick up the goods this afternoon. Let's leave now."

Lu Rang: "Brother Yuan, aren't you going to check it again carefully?"

"There's no need, I believe you."

"Alright, I'll give you the key to the first-floor door lock, and the key to unlock these goblins' chains. Should I continue acquiring goblins?"

Yuan Zhu nodded: "Of course we'll continue!"

Looking at the 'Goblin Rolling Hell' he had created with his own hands, Lü Rang was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He really didn't want to step inside again, chains in hand: "But the environment here is terrible. How about we find another abandoned building and start over?"

Yuan: "You mean this? There's no need. I'll arrange for a professional team to clean up. From now on, whether we catch or buy new goblins, they'll all be kept here. I'll come to pick them up regularly. If we can't pick them up in time and the warehouse is about to overflow, just notify me with 'Rat'."

"Ok."

The two talked as they walked out of the abandoned building, locked the iron gate with a large lock, and left the den of iniquity.

"By the way, Brother Yuan, was your mission this time exciting? What did you encounter? Can you tell me about it?"

Yuan Zhu checked the time; it was almost 1:30 PM. Although he had been feasting in Huangliang Township, the food and drinks there only nourished his mind and spirit, offering no real physical satisfaction.

So he hooked one arm around Lü Rang's neck and pulled him toward the bustling street, saying as they walked:

"Let's go! Let's find a restaurant and I'll tell you slowly. This [Foam World] is quite extraordinary. It has the clothing materials that [King Momo] needs, and there is also a vast potential consumer market. In the future, our [Happy Home] will establish a close relationship with [Foam World] and focus on its development. You and I will travel to this world many times."

Lu Rang asked curiously, "Brother Yuan, what's so special about this [Foam World]?"

Yuan Zhu: "That's quite peculiar! You've often read cultivation novels, so you should understand the meaning of the [Heavenly Dao], right? The [Heavenly Dao] of this 'Foam World' is interwoven with three kinds of corrupt and filthy 'transcendental roots'. Not only are there remnants of the [Kunlun Immortal Dao], the pollution of the undead after the death of the [Knight System], but also the Qi-refining insect cultivators who 'enter the Dao through martial arts'."

"This is a world far surpassing [Xiaoxi Hongjie] in scale, historical depth, and pollution intensity. It once had a glorious history, but is now on the verge of apocalypse and in a state of utter desolation. The surface ecosystem has been completely destroyed, natural disasters are rampant, and survival is difficult; almost all life lives underground, coexisting with various forms of pollution, forming a peculiar pollution balance."

In a private room at a restaurant, Yuan Zhu took over Meng Xiyue's mantle and began to boast to his younger brother about his experiences and observations in the 'underworld'.

The Underworld is centered around three major pollution systems, rejecting the Holy Light while embracing the Shadow and Knowledge Schools, and is friendly to Zhou Chu's Law and Knight system.

For Lü Rang, who cultivates the [Flying Sword] technique, there is neither a boost nor a suppression or weakening effect. He'll probably be sitting at the same table as 'Tiger Demon and Meng Xiyue'.

His sword cultivation makes it difficult for him to benefit from the Qi Refining System. However, the underground world produces Insect Gold, which can be used to refine magical artifacts and even enhance flying swords, which is a fortunate opportunity.

Yuan Zhu remembered that within the [Technician Alliance], there was an [Iron Armory] specializing in the forging of [magical artifacts/weapons]. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for Lü Rang?
So he devised a plan for the other party, focusing on this direction. The plan was to recruit Lü Rang as his henchman the next time he returned to the "underworld," making him work for free. He only needed to intervene slightly, using "insect metal" to help the boy upgrade his "pipe wrench flying sword."

The young man listened excitedly and quickly replied, "Brother Yuan, when I was taking classes at the [Security Bureau], I learned that experienced 'sword cultivators' often need to collect precious metals, especially 'active metals,' to integrate into their flying swords, further enhancing the swords' spirituality and giving them 'life' characteristics. I think this [Insect Gold] is a rare kind of 'active metal.'" Yuan Zhu, who didn't know much about this, asked, "Are there many types of active metals?"

Lu Rang nodded: "There are many, and they are divided into different factions. From what I've heard, there's the 'Divine Gold' of the Golden Law; the 'First Copper' of the Mineral Eaters; the 'Source Steel' of the Knights... Different 'active metals' all have corresponding 'sources of pollution,' and they can't be easily refined."

"For a sword cultivator to forge a sword, they must find a specific 'Forging Method' based on the sword's own attributes and the school of swordsmanship, and then calculate and select the corresponding 'metal' before they can forge the sword. Moreover, if they are not careful, there is a possibility of being contaminated in the opposite direction, which is very risky. Fortunately, my 'pipe wrench' is not my natal flying sword, and 'insect metal' is not some terrifying 'contaminated metal'. I can exchange for a 'Sword Offering Technique' and give it a try."

...

The meal lasted a full two hours. Yuan Zhu, who had been boasting non-stop throughout, slowly waved goodbye amidst the adoring gazes of his admirers. They agreed that if they had time, they would go on an adventure together in the sewers, where he would guide their cultivation, enhance their friendship, and develop a tacit understanding.

Having perfected his seal, he was eager to return to the sewers to test its current strength. However, the prerequisite was to first condense the [Soul Crystal] and create his own 'personalized storage space'. Otherwise, traveling would be far too inconvenient.

At 4 PM, Yuan Zhu rented a small pickup truck at the secondhand market, then returned to the "Haunted House" and took away four lively eggplant-headed ghosts.

Around 4:30, the Tiger Demon allowed the Eggplant Demon to release Shadow Eggplants wildly in the abandoned building, spreading countless shadow roots and directly parasitizing all 51 of them with 'Eggplant Seedling Parasite'.

Kuku parasitizes goblins with 'Shadow Eggplant Roots' that are crippled, severely injured, paralyzed, or have necrotic organs. Kuku then pours 'Shadow Pollution' into them, bringing them back to life and allowing the wildly growing roots to pierce their skin, cleaning up the pollution on the second floor.

This time, Yuan Zhu no longer intends to conduct any further experimental explorations of the [Disease System].

His core is [Shadow], while his human form is [Holy Light]. Therefore, he needs to intensify his exploration of [Shadow Contamination], especially since he brought back a large number of [Insect-type Shadow Wet Items] from the Underworld. He needs to use goblins as test subjects to forge a 'Shadow Meridian Qi Refining Path'.

Around 6:20 PM, night fell. The goblins on the second floor of the abandoned building had stopped groaning and screaming in pain. Instead, they emitted suppressed, eerie laughs that blended into the darkness, their eyes reflecting a dark red light.

After the flesh and blood were parasitized by the Shadow Eggplant, black eggplant seedlings sprouted from their heads. The bodies remained those of living goblins, but the flesh and blood were gradually being corrupted by the Shadow, turning them into living humanoid flowerpots. At the tailbone, a dark green tail grew, interwoven with flesh and plant veins, and at the tip of the tail bloomed a watercolor-colored flower.

Thanks to the expansion and upgrade of the [Boss Template], [Tiger Demon] can easily control and manage a mere 51 goblins by overpowering 'Shadow Eggplant'.

These goblins weren't exactly 'ghost trainees,' they were all living beings, too numerous to fit in a shadow. They had to be driven to learn the advanced Indian model, crammed into the pickup truck's cargo bed, layer upon layer. This small pickup truck was overloaded with 51 goblins, using the cover of night to slip into the [haunted house].

At this point, there was no time to seek answers from his senior. So, after briefly checking the Shadow Demon Worms in each room that were steadily mutating and being corrupted by the 'Disease Crops', Yuan Zhu once again stormed into the [Disease Garden] and began a frenzied burning spree.

It emitted strange shouts and roars, and began to unleash its powerful attacks wildly in the garden, with beams of holy light appearing at the speed of light, in the form of force fields, or as barriers.

He used his [Holy Mark] to concentrate and focus his exclusive holy light, unleashing a wave of [Ultimate Holy Light] upon the diseased crops and trees scattered across the ground, shouting, "Aaaaaah... I'll burn you to death!"

Behind him, a dozen or so wild goblins, parasitized by the Shadow Eggplant and missing limbs, followed closely behind this mad princess, their faces filled with fear as they observed her every move.

Under Yuan Zhu's repeated beatings and commands, they became extremely cautious, no longer daring to touch the diseased crops on the ground, nor engaging in any reckless eating. Instead, they each carried a large toad and a large rat, sneaking around following Yuan Zhu.

Whenever his holy light is greatly depleted and he can no longer unleash his skills, these goblins eagerly step forward, offering up 'bio-batteries' for their master to ignite, allowing him to continue randomly casting spells and reaping the ashes of disease.

As for the remaining 30-odd goblins, he let them roam freely out of the "haunted house," letting them roam around the neighborhood, hunting rats, frogs, and other rampant pests.

With the [Shadow Eggplant] parasite in their bodies and [Shadow Memory Strips] inserted into the back of their heads by Yuan Zhu, these goblins, even after regaining their freedom, could not escape back to the sewers.

Once the distance to the haunted house is too far, the intelligent program recorded in the memory of the spicy snack will be activated, triggering the Shadow Eggplant to torment the goblin, making him feel endless pain, and then taking over his body to spontaneously return to the haunted house.

Furthermore, the memory module also contains a large number of instructions, including how to silently search for small wild animals and how to control the roots of the Shadow Eggplant to burrow into rat holes and retrieve prey...

And so, in just one night, more than 50 newly hired goblins, with the combined power of [Shadow Eggplant + RAM], took turns carrying out unpaid wildlife cleanup activities in the residential area.

The environment of the community has been greatly improved; the annoying frogs and toads have fallen silent, and the disgusting rats have also disappeared.

As dawn broke, Master Yuan, who had worked hard all night, increased the condensation of the [Soul Crystal] to 47%. The crystal in the soul also showed an irregular 'spherical outline', and there seemed to be a broken 'space' prototype condensing inside, and it was absorbing and storing a large amount of the [Holy Light] released by burning 'frogs and rats' the night before.

Now, he doesn't burn his own life force, but only outputs holy light through [Soul Crystals]. If he doesn't engage in intense battles and simply maintains his daily 'Holy Light Blessing, Enhancement, and Purification', he can remain undefeated for 20 minutes.

It's important to understand that simple 'holy light blessing and purification' doesn't require continuously emitting holy light; rather, it's released in segments. This allows it to last longer.

If 'living fuel' can be continuously added during this period, then it will enter the [Infinite Refill Mode]! By continuously burning external materials, [Holy Light] is continuously converted and stored, achieving a perpetual motion machine of [Holy Light]!

The price is merely fading. The path to demonic possession is imminent!

(End of this chapter)