New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 186 Finding Wealth in Danger

After waiting for a long time and seeing no new projection images appear, Yuan Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Mengxi, are you sure you can handle this? Is this all the information you have?"

Upon hearing this, the pink-haired boy opened his eyes, his cheeks flushed, and beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, looking exhausted and worn out. "Stop talking nonsense. Do you know how much I've suffered? Most of the records connected to this [Control Center] have been disrupted and damaged by that [Zen Sound], leaving very little that can be read. Besides, although this bank is large, this group has only taken one route, and the route has been heavily damaged by battles, making the available information even less. Don't bother me!"

Yuan Zhu promptly shut up and continued to wait. After a short while, a new change appeared in the projection.

The scene depicts an eight-person team encountering a new attack. This time, the enemies are a group of three individuals who appear to be ordinary customers rather than bank security guards, known as "Buddha Cocoon Hosts." Each of them possesses powerful Buddhist magical abilities.

Judging from the projected content, these people's physical abilities have been greatly enhanced, enabling them to condense a scarlet 'energy'. Even from a distance, simply viewing the projection, this scarlet hue can evoke the artistic conception of 'expounding and demonstrating the Dharma'.

Under the blessing of this 'Crimson Buddhist Power,' the three attackers gained a force field effect similar to the [Sanctuary], enhancing their physical bodies and greatly increasing their defensive capabilities. They could break through the energy attacks erupting from the [Steam Totem] with their bare hands; they could withstand the starlight rays from the pumpkin head with their bare hands…

In the end, the strongest 'Buddha Cocoon Host' was head-on clashed with a terrifyingly muscular black giant, shattering the 'Buddha Dharma Force Field'. At the same time, under the intense energy collision, both of them had their shirts ripped off, revealing their sharply defined muscle lines, giving people a feeling of a homoerotic collision.

Needless to say, the black man was as strong as a skinned bullfrog. There were no special effects throughout the entire process; his muscles were as solid as alloy, and he managed to tear apart the golden body of the Buddhist monk, who was also known for his physical strength.

After the shirt was torn open, a striking and glaring pattern of flesh and blood was revealed on the chest of the [Buddha Cocoon Host]. Starting from the throat, the pattern of flesh and blood meandered out from the body, resembling blood vessels growing on the skin's surface, or a healed scar.

These patterns grow in the shape of a 'reverse-growing tree,' branching upwards towards the abdomen, forming a large tree of flesh and blood on the chest and abdomen. In the very center of this tree, a Buddha head (Maitreya) with disordered features stands out.

In the end, the Buddhist believer was stabbed by the muscular black demon with a chop to the neck, tearing his flesh and chest apart. The immense physical impact shattered the Buddhist cocoon, and then the 'blood tree pattern' that covered his chest spontaneously combusted and turned into black ash. He died in agony and screams.

The image cuts off here... and then turns into new, twisting color blocks.

Seeing Yuan Zhu looking at her with an eager gaze, A Miao spoke up automatically: "The attacker's state is like that of a Buddhist [Vajra Sect. Practitioner] who has been forcibly converted. However, he has no rationality and his behavior is driven by his superiors. He is clearly not a proper Buddhist disciple, but a one-time puppet."

"【The Traveler】?"

A-Miao: "【Practitioner】is the first realm of the Buddhist body-refining school, similar to the holy seal of your 【Holy Hall】. Another Buddhist school that cultivates the soul has a first realm called 【Novice】. 'Bodhi flesh root, spiritual platform insect nest.' The 'tree-shaped pattern' on the chest of this Practitioner puppet should be the famous 【Bodhi flesh root】. 【Buddha Cocoon】is the 【Flesh and Blood Bodhi】."

Soon, Meng Xiyue, her face flushed, shouted. Then, new content appeared on the projector for the fourth time.

This time, the footage was unusually blurry. For some reason, the eight-person team was forced to split into two groups. What appeared in the footage was a short, caped, mechanical helmet-wearing figure, acting as a caretaker, protecting four helpless newcomers as they retreated continuously.

As for the other three extraordinary experts, they have disappeared and have clearly gone their separate ways.

Opposite the five were more than 20 [Buddha Cocoon Hosts], each one like a dragon being unleashed, attacking the group ferociously and irrationally, pulling and interfering with each other while rushing forward recklessly.

The mechanical helmet, single-handedly, summoned the [Steam Totem Beast] to stand at the forefront, unleashing wave after wave of explosive impacts, fireballs, and fire tornadoes to block the attack.

Beside the mechanical helmet, three 'Pumpkin-Headed Sword Immortals', transformed into puppets, assisted in the defense. The four newcomers, their faces filled with despair and pain, wielded their weapons uncontrollably, tears streaming down their faces, and launched counterattacks.

Although he looked desperate and in pain, his movements were not slow at all; on the contrary, they were fast and ruthless.

Seeing that the [Steam Totem] was about to be unable to stop the Buddhist monks who were covered in blood, the mechanical helmet gave some kind of command. A [pumpkin-headed puppet] broke away from the battle line, rushed in front of the two male newcomers, took out a black syringe in each hand, inserted it into the neck of the other person, and pressed the injection button.

Before the needles were even removed, the effects of the medicine were immediately apparent, causing the two newcomers, whose bodies were encased in plant armor, to convulse violently. Their eyes turned completely black, and their muscles swelled dramatically, making them appear much larger as if they were inflated. They roared and charged forward to fight the group of blood-soaked puppet warriors.

Faced with the equally unprofessional 'Buddhist practitioners' counterattack, the two muscular men neither dodged nor evaded, taking all the attacks that landed on them head-on. The few fatal blows to the head were completely ineffective; one man, despite being struck on the bridge of his nose by a palm strike that snapped his head back and broke his cervical vertebrae, leaving the back of his head pressed against his back, was completely unaffected.

But the newcomer, still unaffected by the injection, fought back efficiently, forcing the traveler to retreat. Then, supported by the violently writhing muscles, the broken neck straightened up again.

The muscles beneath the skin are also constantly contorting, repairing the sunken face and revealing a genuine smile.

After discarding the empty syringe, the pumpkin-headed puppet that gave each of the newcomers an injection returned to the woman with the same terrified expression, shaking her head frantically with tears in her eyes.

This time, instead of injecting the medicine, it raised its right hand high in front of the two women and made a sword seal.

Having obtained the 'Jade Spear' that it had painstakingly refined, it descended from the sky and pierced its own head at a 45° angle, leaving a large hole that looked like a plant (pumpkin) head on the outside but was actually half plant and half flesh inside.

The imaginative 'pumpkin-headed puppet' did not die immediately. Instead, amidst the screams of the two women, it reached its right hand into the hole in its brain and dug and dug out two constantly struggling and writhing 'green active tentacles' from the brain tissue.

The pumpkin-headed puppet's two fingers stretched out, thinned, and turned into spiral spikes, pressing against the two women's crowns and piercing two holes.

The green 'brain tissue tentacles' seemed to have found a home and hurriedly burrowed into the wound.

The two people who had been screaming immediately froze, their eyes glazed over. It took them about ten seconds to regain their senses.

By this time, the pumpkin-headed puppet responsible for interception had been overwhelmed by the remaining travelers, while the mechanical helmet, after repelling the few remaining travelers, quickly led the four away from the surveillance range. This time, Yuan Zhu didn't even speak, but looked directly at A Miao, waiting for an answer.

"I haven't seen that black injection before, but I guess it's related to the muscular black people, and it looks a lot like the Frog God Warrior's berserk potion. As for the two women, it should be the Loose Immortal technique 'Immortal Supporting the Crown, Bestowing Spiritual Roots upon the Hair.' I judge that the mechanical helmet made a last-minute decision to forcibly establish the foundation for the four newcomers in a critical moment. The two men chose the most cost-effective and fastest-acting 'Strength System'; while the women were born with insufficient strength and were not suitable for the 'Way of Strength,' so they chose the Loose Immortal Foundation Establishment."

Yuan Zhu: "A rogue immortal? No, those pumpkin-headed puppets are clearly sword immortals! How could sword immortals possess rogue immortal techniques?"

A Miao: "Didn't you see? Among those four abilities, 'Pumpkin Head' is actually an 'Alien Loose Immortal.' As for the origin of the original 'spiritual seed' for the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top of the [Loose Immortal], what do you think it is? It is the [Plant Universe], one of the eight external universes. In order to resist and get rid of the control of [Pollution Root. Kunlun], the native Kunlun Qi cultivators chose to make peace with the alien Qi cultivators, creating inferior spiritual seeds that were not controlled by [Kunlun], creating the [Loose Immortal System], and fleeing overseas. Thus, all the 'Alien Plant People' are naturally top-grade 'Loose Immortal Foundation Building' materials. [Pumpkin Head] is also a top-grade foundation building medicine that combines multiple attributes of 'starlight, plant, and space'."

Yuan Zhu: "Is it that primitive? A senior from the Dangerous Botany School told me that they are researching 'polluted seeds' as a substitute for 'new spiritual seeds'."

A Miao nodded: "No problem, a wise choice. Although the [vegetative state] is a top-grade foundation-building medicine, just like the [Kunlun system] back then, the current 'Extraterrestrial Foundation Building Method' is also subject to the 'superior control' of the extraterrestrial vegetative state. For example, these two women, even if they become loose immortals, will still have their lives firmly controlled by that 'pumpkin head' teammate. It's better to develop your own 'contaminated seed' for foundation building. Although it doesn't have much of a future, it has the advantage of freedom."

"vomit!"

Just as everyone was waiting for the next 'wonderful projection video', Meng Xiyue, the weakling, couldn't take it anymore and bent over to dry heave.

And like a startled cat, it quickly disconnected, took off its helmet, and retreated in shock.

Yuan Zhu asked with concern, "Hey, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's just that those Zen sounds are disgusting. They're everywhere, not only in the previously saved videos, but also in every corner of the bank. They keep invading my mind through the 'mouse cameras.' At first, I was able to block and resist them. But just now, I couldn't find any more valuable 'mouse heads,' so I decided to follow the battle trajectory and watch the 'live broadcast' right now."

At this point, she revealed an expression of utter disgust and regret: "Who knew the live stream would be so blurry, my rat-head's visual system completely distorted and interfered with, but those [Zen sounds] exploded exponentially, directly penetrating the [monitoring central system] and rushing into my brain. Luckily, I cut off the signal in time, using the [skull servo] to intercept and absorb the mental pollution. It's a pity my perfectly good head was defiled like this. If it's not cleansed in time, it will be gradually distorted by Buddhist teachings, burning down the built-in [demonic network hub]. What a disgusting method, I wonder how much the 'brainwashing fee' will cost?"

Meng Xiyue became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and kicked the 'giant head' in front of her, still not satisfied.

Yuan Zhu suggested, "Why don't you take two [heads] back from this monitoring room and sell them to Miaomiao to recoup some of your losses?"

"The skull servos from the [Astral Bank] are all specially made; you wouldn't get a good price for them if you stole them. But you reminded me, these [rat heads] are a generic model. Xiao Yuan, go and pry them all off for me!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhu looked at the row of rat heads on the roof, raised his hand, and used [Holy Light Barrier] to lock them in place, successfully. He then bound them against the wall and severed them! Also successful.

The barrier was dispelled, and a rat's head fell down, revealing the severed section cut by the holy light barrier. It was then handed to Meng Xiyue.

"It's ruined! A long part of the rat's head is still buried in the wall. It was my carelessness. The 'nerves' in the neck are interconnected and transmit information. Roughly cutting off the head only damages it. Forget it, it's better not to dig out the rat's head."

After watching four video clips, Yuan Zhu said, "I think the area where the battle broke out is somewhat dangerous, and the intensity of the battle between the two sides is a bit too much. I think we should just stay here and wait for rescue."

Meng Xiyue nodded: "That [Zen Sound] is indeed disgusting. It polluted my [Skull Servo] from such a distance, just by indirectly spying through the 'rat's head.' Now that most of my strength is sealed, I think I should play it safe."

Ah Miao, who always did dangerous and exciting work, shook her head and objected: "As the saying goes... fortune favors the bold! It's precisely because both sides are so strong that there's value in picking up the corpses. My idea is that we should avoid the real battle zone, not get close to the source of the [Buddha Cocoon], but just approach those four even more disheveled newcomers. No fighting, no provocation, just follow behind and pick up the scraps, how about that?"

Yuan Zhu hesitated and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry, I'm a professional when it comes to stealth!"

He then looked at Meng Xiyue: "What about you? Do you want to stay here?"

Meng Xiyue: "No! You all ran away, leaving me here alone. I feel like it will be even more dangerous for me!"

Warm-hearted Yuan Zhu: "Let's do it together! I'll give everyone a buff. Especially you, feel my warmth!"

Since condensing the Soul Crystal, his Holy Seal has developed a series of new functions. To be precise, it has given his originally unremarkable innate ability a super boost, finally making it usable.

At this moment, Yuan Zhu transformed into a humanoid mobile sanctuary. He himself was a walking [(Sanctuary) Holy Light Signal Base Station], bestowing holy light blessings upon his teammates.

A flash of white light enveloped Meng Xiyue and A Miao. The holy light bestowed a 'blessing buff' upon them, increasing their [Sanctuary] strength by 10%.

10% may sound like a small amount, but it represents the strength of a perfectly forged seal, enough to allow an ordinary person to survive seven or seven battles in a polluted environment without getting a single leaf on them.

If a regular, ordinary martial artist trains regularly, after stacking this buff, they can achieve physical enchantment (Holy Light), dispel pollution and erosion with their bare hands, tear apart monsters with ease, plus basic Holy Light passive defense... Although there is only one blessing, the functions of [Sanctuary] are extremely comprehensive.

It can come at the cost of slightly shortening one's lifespan, in exchange for purification and magic removal, pollution defense and counterattack, defensive force field (membrane version), and amplification of strength/physical fitness/speed...

(End of this chapter)