New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 290 Back to the Mountain
The next day, just as dawn broke, Yuan Zhu disappeared into the vast fog.

Today, he will head alone to the Misty Mountains, eager to reinforce his Mountain Lord's Domain. As for the frog-slaying girl, the child sister, and the younger brother, he will cast them all aside, utterly disregarding them.

After Yuan Zhu ran far away, Nie Yin, who had taken a two-hour nap, woke up in the 'temporary bedroom' shared by the three of them. Turning to the two siblings she had startled awake, she said, "You two stay in this 'haunted house' and don't leave. I'll go back to the school to apply for legal status for you. Once it's done, I'll secretly transport the five 'half-orc trainees' here and hand them over to Xiao Tiao for training. Also, I'll bring you some food. Do you have any dietary restrictions or favorite foods?"

From childhood to adulthood, there was nothing they couldn't eat, except for things that would cause immediate death. Therefore, Yuan Tang asked with a blank expression, "Uh? What are the dietary restrictions?"

The younger brother was much more honest, answering every question: "We like to eat everything. But the fewer toxins and the fewer side effects, the more we like it."

Nie Yin couldn't imagine how harsh the living conditions of these two children from another world must have been. But a little pity rose in his heart, and suddenly he felt that his childhood didn't seem so bad anymore.

"Then I'll bring you some of my favorites, as well as the most popular foods in the [Academy]."

Yuan Tang responded politely, "Thank you, big sister!"

It's a pity this older sister isn't very tall; she's much smaller than her brother. I wonder if I'll be as tall as her in a few more years?

Yuan Tang, who looked younger than his younger brother's actual age, looked at Nie Yin, who was also coming out of the door, and seemed to be deep in thought.

...

On the other side, Yuan Zhu walked alone on the sidewalk, shrouded in a thin mist and filled with the croaking of frogs. The sounds of footsteps, vendors' calls, and passing vehicles drifted by...

He stopped briefly at a roadside stall, bought three fried meat patties for breakfast, and then walked to the taxi stand while eating. It took him ten minutes to flag down a taxi, and they agreed on a price for the whole day. He was paid 7 yuan to be taken to the construction site of the "Frog Factory," and then patiently waited before being brought back.

Sitting alone in the last row, watching the outlines of old buildings shrouded in mist recede into the distance outside the window, Yuan Zhu missed the 'private sports car' his senior had promised him.

He's had enough of wasting time queuing, competing with others for a taxi, and having to haggle over the fare.

So she couldn't help but complain to Snake: "This senior is such a loser! She promised to give me a car, but she didn't keep her promise, so I had to charter a car early this morning."

Snake agreed, "Exactly! Since she agreed, she should have left her car and driver with her when she drove us back to Running last night. Then she should have walked home herself!"

"Forget it, forget it, this is indeed a bit too much, I can't do it." Yuan Zhu, feeling a little ashamed, quickly waved his hand.

Snake couldn't help but complain: "Boss, that's your only flaw, you're too..."

They drove in silence. After the driver parked the vehicle in the designated parking area near the Frog Factory construction site, Yuan Zhu briefly appeared, identified himself, and then quickly disappeared.

The site manager turned a blind eye to this; they had already met Yuan Zhu yesterday and knew he was the real boss. Naturally, he could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he pleased…

As for Yuan Zhu, who had disappeared, he had now transformed into a shadow and merged into the dappled shadows cast by the dense forest, rushing rapidly towards the depths of the Misty Mountains.

This time, he had a clear 'coordinate' in his mind, and he was no longer attracted by the strange scenery of the misty forest. Instead, he moved forward at full speed.

In less than half an hour, they used Shadow Step to successfully enter the outer area of ​​the [Yin Sha Land]. The Tiger Demon then slowed down and began to admire the scenery surrounding its own 'Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land'.

From the moment one enters the outer perimeter of the [Yin Sha Land], signs of activity from animals, insects, and birds diminish significantly. With careful observation, one can even spot the remains of dead animals in some hidden locations.

This indicates that there are still occasional signs of animal activity on the edge of the [Yin Sha Land]. However, the environment here is no longer suitable for 'living things'. If one stays for too long, one will be eroded by 'death energy' and completely left behind, where one will be decomposed and absorbed by plants and fungi.

Moving deeper, all signs of animal life vanished completely. Normally, living creatures couldn't possibly venture this far. After crossing the outer peaks and following a mountain stream into the [Cold Pool Valley], it became a completely isolated 'secluded realm'. Since it was 9:10 AM, and daylight had already broken, not the [Hour of the Demon], the Tiger Demon didn't see the 'animal spirits' that had been wandering the forest like lost souls, muttering incantations, from the previous night.

On the contrary, the shadow demons (Changgui) that it had released into its cave sensed its master's return and emerged one by one from the corners of Yinshan. Some crawled, some flapped their wings, and they approached it.

The tiger demon stopped the demonic insects from moving, ordering them to continue guarding and hiding, or to patrol... while it swam to the other side of the [Cold Pool] and returned to the familiar [Mountain Lord's Domain].

Inside the cave, Bai Lucheng curled up in the center of the [Nine Palaces Formation], slowly absorbing [Shadow Spiritual Energy] to infuse his body, mixing and clashing with the 'Sword Qi' he had honed through biological instinct.

Its [Sword Cultivation System] does not have an active method of practicing sword-sacrificing techniques; it relies entirely on passive accumulation. Now, the white deer, whose intelligence has been forcibly awakened by the [Brain Eggplant], has chosen to actively absorb [Shadow Spiritual Energy] to further process and refine the 'sword energy' within its body.

This way, the 'sword-type traces' within the body can be gradually covered up; at the same time, the roughest and most primitive 'shadow spiritual energy' can be refined and purified, such as condensing pure and sharp 'shadow sword energy'.

The two Deer-Head Swords within its body were also unwillingly subjected to the suppression of the Nine Palaces Formation, enduring the erosion and coverage of the 'Shadow Aura' (for refining the flying swords).

After Yuan Zhu stepped into the cave, the white deer merely lazily raised its head, snorted twice at the tiger demon, rolled over to expose its belly in submission, and continued to enjoy the automatic extraction of 'shadow spiritual energy' by the [magic array] to aid its cultivation. It showed no sign of humbly rising, bowing, or yielding its place.

Snake: "It's just being affectionate. It's not afraid of you at all; on the contrary, it's quite comfortable."

Tiger Demon: "Is this thing male or female?"

"Male."

"What's wrong with the male?" The tiger demon waved its claws, and shadows around it quickly gathered, forming a large hand that sent the white deer flying to a corner not far away, clearing out the center position of the [Nine Palaces Formation].

After returning to its position, the Mountain Lord, without saying a word, spat out 36 Insect Pillars and Town Stones from its [Universe Within its Belly]. It then further expanded the area of ​​the [Composite Magic Array] within the current [Nine Palaces-1] layout, arranging it according to the format of the [Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Array] from the [Immortal Scripture Database].

But soon, Tiger Demon realized that there wasn't enough space.

"The cave dwelling created by this skeleton scholar is a bit small!"

The eight 'insect pillars' laid out in the [Nine Palaces Formation] are already extremely close to the walls of the cave. Now, understanding it in the context of a concentric circle structure, the coordinates of the 36 pillars are all beyond the area of ​​the cave and should be deeply embedded inside the mountain.

Snake: "It's simple, just burrow! Boss, quickly use the 'Magic Insect'!"

The next second, numerous 'Shadow Demon Insects. Mountain Patrolmen,' which were already adept at burrowing, emerged from the shadows in the corner, lay on the stone wall, and began to gnaw and burrow...

Taking advantage of this lull, the Tiger Demon opened its mouth again and spat out the few remaining Eggplant Essence Embryos from its [Universe Within]. A count revealed only 20 embryos.

It's not that we don't want to pack more, but the total number of 36 [Insect Pillars] is too large, already nearing the Tiger Demon's load-bearing limit.

After activating the 20 'intelligent laborers', the Tiger Demon issued a 'cleaning task'. These 'eggplant spirits', which crookedly crawled up from the ground, quickly located the pile of gravel constantly being created by the 'mountain-drilling demon insects' inside the [cave], and actively moved and cleaned it up.

Tiger Demon watched their busy backs and said, "They look like robot vacuum cleaners."

At this moment, the white deer that had already worshipped the Tiger Demon as its king came running up again, rubbing its head against its body and whimpering softly to show its affection.

Yuan Zhu instantly recognized that this was a pet showing affection to its owner after recognizing them. This white deer was quite intelligent, far superior to the aloof and arrogant short-legged cat he had raised in his previous life.

(End of this chapter)