New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 266 The tiger demon enters the mountain
After inspecting the construction progress of the "Frog Factory," Yuan Zhu gave his senior a perfect score. Everything was far better than he had expected, and the construction efficiency was simply phenomenal.

At this rate, the Frog Factory will be fully operational in just half a month. The Underground Laboratory will likely be completed in about two months. In this world where extraordinary powers exist, even the efficiency of civil engineering far surpasses that of Earth.

Yuan Zhu was extremely satisfied with his senior's professional skills, and then it was his turn.

Having gained the client's approval, the senior student suddenly leaned closer and took the initiative, asking, "My work has passed your inspection, so what about yours? Did you manage to get the unique [spiritual herb seed] you promised me?"

In an effort to win over the senior student and deepen their cooperative relationship, Yuan Zhu had previously promised to provide her with a large number of unique 'dangerous plant seeds' and to fund her academic research.

In his understanding, the [Feathered World] possesses a large number of medicinal herb seeds that have been mutated by the 'miasma environment'. These 'seeds' have undergone generations of targeted cultivation (corpse-type) and evolution, and have long since undergone genetic mutations, making them more adapted to the underground environment.

At the same time, it perfectly meets the needs of the "Dangerous Botanists" school. With a wide variety and a vast quantity, there's bound to be one that suits your taste.

The senior student, who had previously obtained [Blood Eggplant] and a small amount of [Disease Crop Seeds] from Yuan Zhu, also knew that he had unorthodox methods and could always get his hands on rare and dangerous 'seeds'.

So they believed the candle maker's nonsense and had high expectations of him.

Faced with her senior's questioning, Yuan Zhu smiled mysteriously, nodded slightly, and proudly puffed out her chest: "Of course! I definitely won't let you down. Do you want it now, or should I give it to you later?"

Without any hesitation, the senior student immediately replied, "Quickly, quick, I want it now!"

Yuan Zhu took out a small spatial pumpkin from his soul space and handed it to the other party, explaining, "Inside are sealed 100 kinds of herbal and polluted medicinal herbs, each wrapped in different sheets of paper. Each sheet, when unfolded, records the name of the herb, draws a picture of the herb after it has matured, and provides a brief description of the herb's properties and uses."

The senior student gripped the small pumpkin tightly, trying to concentrate and focus her will on it.

Immediately afterwards, she "saw" over a hundred white paper packets stored in the limited storage space. Each packet contained a faint smell of pollution. But it wasn't the kind of 'disease pollution' that was completely unusable and the enemy of all healthy life.

"Very good! This time they didn't try to fool me with 'disease contamination'."

Yuan Zhu had gifted his senior with many unusual plants. Among them, the Blood Eggplant had too strong a Buddhist connotation and couldn't be cultivated as a Taoist plant. The Disease Crop Seeds were also immediately rejected!
This kind of evil, forbidden contamination would only corrupt and distort people, causing them to suffer from extraordinary diseases and rapidly become deformed and degenerate. There was absolutely no possibility of [immortality], so the senior student destroyed it immediately and warned Yuan Zhu not to use such things to disgust her again.

The medicinal herb seeds that Zhu Zi provided this time were excellent.

With her years of expertise and experience in botany, she could smell the medicinal aroma of the seed even through the small pumpkin. It was a completely unfamiliar seed, yet it possessed the potential to become a "dispersed immortal spiritual root."

...

After the secret transaction was completed, Yuan Zhu checked the time; it was almost lunchtime.

So he said to his senior, "After the site inspection, I should have returned to Running, but I have some personal matters to attend to. Therefore, I would like to entrust Nie Yin to you. Please take her to lunch, and then stay here and wait for me. I will meet up with you before dark and we will return to Running together."

The senior student looked puzzled as she glanced around at the desolate and deserted environment. Apart from the forest trees, there were weeds taller than a person and towering green mountains rising from the ground in the distance.

She asked, puzzled, "What private matters could you possibly have in a place like this?"

Yuan Zhu calmly replied, "Enter the mountain!"

"?!"

The senior student suddenly widened her eyes in shock, thinking to herself, "Wow, this young man is really brave!"
The Misty Mountains are not a good place to go. This mountain range, which runs from south to north through the entire New World, is shrouded in mist all year round.

This layer of 'mist' is itself a powerful and terrifying 'extraordinary pollution,' giving the [Misty Mountains] a mysterious protective layer. Those who are immersed in it will find their spirit, consciousness, and personality unknowingly disturbed, polluted, and eroded.

Even powerful superhumans, if they linger in the 'Mist' for a long time, will unknowingly lose their way, lose consciousness, and have their Sanity value drop to zero... Ultimately, their souls will leave their bodies and melt away without them realizing it, merging into this 'Mist'.

When Yuan Zhu traveled to Taixi for a vacation, he experienced a bit of the power of the [Mist] through a specially designed bus on the man-made 'safe road'.

The extraordinary knowledge he heard from the [Voice of the Mist] was the 'fragments of knowledge' obtained by stripping, merging, and mixing together the dead who perished in the [Misty Mountains].

It is both a gift from the Misty Mountains and a lure for mortals to enter the Misty Mountains.

The senior student suddenly asked with concern, "You didn't happen to hear something 'unclean' when you passed through the Misty Mountains on your last trip to [Sigh]. After returning to Running, it has been whispering in your ear, interfering with your normal thinking, and tempting you to go into the mountains. Now that you are too close to the [Misty Mountains], you finally couldn't resist, right?"

"How could that be?" Yuan Zhu looked aggrieved and dissatisfied. "I am a [Holy Light Cultivator], my Soul Crystal is complete, my will is unbreakable, and I am most resistant to mental erosion and bewitching sounds. I have private business to attend to when I enter the mountain. I'm entrusting Nie Yin to you."

After carefully observing his expression and eyes to make sure he was not crazy, stupid, or insane, the senior student nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take care of her."

Senior Chen pulled the silent Nie Yin to her side and asked him some academic questions in a low voice:
After the skinning ceremony of the "Frog School," the internal organs of the experimental frogs become 'contaminated.' Can they be used to create a special 'fertilizer' by following the Five Elements theory?
The senior seemed to know Nie Yin's personality, and began to speak on her own, unilaterally instilling her own thoughts and ideas into the frog girl, without caring whether the other girl responded or not.

In contrast, Nie Yin, though silent, had memorized every word of his senior's thoughts. His emerald green left eye darted around, intently considering their feasibility.

Seeing that the two were getting along well, Yuan Zhu left the makeshift room alone and strode towards the mountains to the east, which were shrouded in mist.

Now that he has brought back over a hundred Insect Pillars from the Feathered World, it's time for him to personally scout out and explore the Misty Mountains to find a suitable place to settle down and build a career.

……

Walking 1 kilometer through the desolate, overgrown forest in human form, looking back, all around is a vibrant green. The lush vegetation obscures the view of the "Frog Factory" construction site, and there is no sound of machinery in operation.

The vegetation in the Misty Mountains is too lush, the climate is humid, and the temperature remains constant year-round without any seasonal changes.

Therefore, the mountains surrounding Running are in a state of vigorous growth year-round, somewhat resembling a temperate version of a rainforest. The flora and fauna are exceptionally rich, and the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, like a fairyland. However, one cannot get too close to examine them closely, as danger lurks everywhere.

As he approached the foot of Dongshan Mountain, the air humidity suddenly increased, and dewdrops clung to the leaves of the surrounding vegetation. The thick pile of leaves underfoot had already decomposed, and each step was a muddy mess, startling out a large number of reptiles.

At this moment, Yuan Zhu was walking up the mountain through the thick layer of fallen leaves in the pathless woods.

The area he passed through was lush with vegetation, and the air was damp and chilly. Thick green moss covered the tree trunks, and the sounds of birds, insects, and frogs filled the air... As he continued forward, numerous moisture-loving insects, reptiles, lizards, frogs, and tree frogs appeared frequently. Looking up, the tall, straight trees, generally tens of meters high, made the already dimly lit world, obscured by clouds, even more serene and eerie.

Birdsong filled the air overhead. Animal howls could be heard intermittently in the distance.

In an instant, his heart calmed down.

Yuan Zhu closed his eyes, immersing himself in the mountains and forests, experiencing the wonderful feeling of oneness with nature. There was a sense of opening his heart, returning to nature, a feeling of relaxation, adaptation, ease, nostalgia, and warmth, as if returning home.

The next second, his body uncontrollably swelled and twisted violently, finally—"Roar!"

A tiger's roar echoed through the mountains and forests, and he uncontrollably switched to the [Tiger Demon] form, followed by a feeling of being on his home turf, like a dragon swimming in the ocean and gods returning to their places!
"I'm home! I'm finally home!"

As the tiger enters the forest, the [Boss Template] is filled with intense tremors, and its [Ultimate Divine Power: Mountain Lord's Domain] is now stirring restlessly.

Yuan Zhu realized that the ultimate form of the Tiger Demon required a mountain, a deep forest, and a transcendent 'Spiritual Essence Mountain Range' to complement it, so that they could complement each other and open up the 'Mountain Lord's Domain'.

First become the Mountain Lord (Mountain God), then communicate between the Yin and Yang realms, and occupy the position of City God of the Underworld.

The cultivation method recorded in the Demon Bloodline (【Abnormal Spiritual Root】) has absolutely no relation to the 【Heavenly Court, Immortal Class, Reincarnation, and Yama's Palace】 in Earth's old home.

The "Mountain Lord" in the first half is not a mountain god appointed by the "Heavenly Court" in Earth's mythology. Rather, it is a powerful demon who, in the vast world of cultivation, occupied famous mountains and rivers, established blessed lands and dojos, and forcibly took over the mountains as kings, thus becoming a "Mountain God".

Similar to a lower-spec version of [Zhen Yuanzi].

The latter part of the story, concerning the City God, is not a subordinate department appointed by the Underworld. It still involves powerful demons invading the underworld, continuing to carve out their own territories and seize control of their respective areas. Ultimately, they bridge the gap between the two realms, wielding absolute power.

Similar to a lower-spec version of "Lord of Mount Tai".

...

After the Tiger Demon officially entered the mountain, the [Cultivation Information] that had been dormant in its bloodline (Boss template) began to surface in large quantities, finally giving it a sense of reality that 'I am cultivating immortality'.

Reverting to his Tiger Demon form, Yuan Zhu's travel speed increased several levels. Although he was larger and heavier, the Tiger Demon moved with remarkable agility and grace, far from being clumsy.

Like a cold wind, it swiftly traversed through the forest.

It sometimes changes its form, from a realistic 'black tiger demon' to an abstract shadow with blurred outlines, leaving only a 'giant tiger silhouette'.

Immediately, the silhouette of the tiger twisted and stretched... eventually becoming a simple line drawing-like shadow that merged into the ground and moved swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, the black tiger demon reappeared a thousand meters away. It used its shadow to vanish, as if shrinking the distance to an inch. Awesome!

The tiger demon, darting swiftly through the mountains and forests, couldn't help but raise its head and roar, unleashing its full power.

Instantly, countless birds took flight, flapping their wings frantically in a flurry of activity as they desperately fled. At the same time, from the bottom of the decaying leaf layer beneath the tiger demon's feet, countless reptiles, lizards, and snakes emerged with a rustling sound, scattering with all their might...

This is the might of the mountain lord!

……

After entering the outer perimeter of the Misty Mountains, this area is close to Running City. The mist has begun to appear, shrouding the mountains and forests in the form of a thin fog. The visibility is not high, but the intensity of pollution and erosion is very weak, and it is still a safe zone, inhabited by a large number of ordinary wild animals.

Over the past century, Running's industrial group has continuously explored and developed the nearby mountainous areas. They regularly clear dangerous creatures, explore underground structures, build winding mountain roads, and harvest abundant wild resources along the way.

Through a long period of searching the mountains, clearing dangerous creatures, building roads, digging tunnels, and other activities, a large number of 'polluting monsters' were eliminated.

It's as if a super predator (Running City) has taken over this place, and the area within a hundred miles is its exclusive territory.

Therefore, deep within the Misty Mountains, those intelligent and powerful 'super-polluting life forms' had already taken the initiative to avoid and leave.

Therefore, the surrounding mountains, with their high safety index, low pollution intensity, and close connection with [Running], are actually not suitable for [Tiger Demon] to nest. Once [Mountain Lord's Domain] makes any noise in this area, it will inevitably attract the attention of Running City.

If one continues to venture deeper into the Misty Mountains and establishes a Dharma Domain, even if it triggers extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth, they will be shielded and concealed by the 'mist' inherent in the mountains.

With this in mind, the Tiger Demon stopped lingering in the mountain scenery and instead chose to accelerate Shadow Escape and then Shadow Escape.

In its [Tiger Demon Stance], it already possesses boundless magical power, allowing it to teleport infinitely using 'Shadow Escape'. Furthermore, being in the serene environment of the [Misty Mountains], with its home-field advantage and the numerous shadows cast, its movement is perfectly timed and executed.

In just over ten minutes, it madly moved more than ten kilometers within the Misty Mountains, penetrating deep into the mountains and enveloped in a strong 'mist'. Continuous mutterings echoed in its ears, invading its mental world, but were easily blocked by the 'Soul Firewall'.

In addition to the call from the distant mountains, the Tiger Demon also sensed a strong suction force emanating from the Shadow Layer.

At this moment, it experienced a strong urge to ascend.

The tiger demon merely exerted a slight force with its left paw, pressing it down on the shadow beneath it, and then half of its arm vanished. This was not as simple as the tiger paw sinking into the shadow; it forcefully scooped it up, its claw seemingly piercing through the barrier of the human world, briefly passing through unknown space, and retrieving a section of 'plant vine' that quickly dissipated into wisps of shadowy black smoke.

The Tiger Demon clearly sensed that, with the help of the unique and extraordinary environment of the Misty Mountains, its tiger claws briefly traversed the Underworld Dimension, retrieving a piece of 'Shadow Plant' from the Shadow World.

Unable to withstand the rejection from the human world, it quickly decomposed and evaporated into 'shadow pollution'.

The last time it experienced this spatial traversal was in the [Little Red Realm], when it entered the rudimentary [Shadow Dimension]. Now, it has regained this feeling, only the [Shadow Layer] of the Spirit is even more terrifying.

It had a strong premonition that once the Tiger Demon entered, it would never be able to escape. Therefore, it was imperative to establish a Dharma Domain; with a Dharma Domain, it could remain in the world for a very long time!

(End of this chapter)