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Chapter 328 Mutation
Wen Chengen brandished his long sword.

The deformed demon before them was split in two, but immediately, even more things surged forth.

Now, they are surrounded.

Wen Chengen didn't hate his master—after all, the first rule of their Maoshan Mountain was to repay both kindness and vengeance. His own junior brother had been killed, so to remain silent would be like being a coward!

Therefore, he only has one thing to complain about.

—Damn it, why didn't you bring more people with you back then?

They say they're afraid of causing conflict. Conflict my foot! What kind of hero is one who hesitates and worries? If hundreds or thousands of people from Maoshan all came at once, wouldn't they have already flooded this godforsaken place!

The screams rang out again, and Wen Chengen knew that another person in the formation had been brutally murdered.

They had managed to gather quite a few surviving guests and servants from outside, but in the end, the total number was less than a hundred, most of whom were weak and helpless, their hands trembling even when holding a steel knife.

But that's not the biggest problem.

With each swing of his sword, Wen Chengen felt the gloom in his heart deepen, as if something strange and bizarre was growing within him, gradually making him no longer 'himself'.

Many people around him have already turned into such monsters, and he doesn't want to end up like them, he doesn't want to die either.

So, kill them.

Even being killed by a single blow is better than becoming this kind of monster!
The shouts of his fellow disciples beside him grew weaker and weaker, clearly indicating that most of them had exhausted their strength, and the few remaining were also at their last gasp.

Just as this small resistance was about to be swallowed by the waves—and Wen Chengen was about to fall into despair, cursing under his breath.

Suddenly, the scabbard at his waist trembled.

Wen Chengen was stunned for a few seconds, then burst into ecstasy.

—Master has arrived!

then.

A flash of sword light streaked across the sky.

The cold light, like clouds hanging from the sky, dissipated in an instant, and the strange creatures covering the mountains and fields were no match for it, being swept away in the blink of an eye.

—It's that Taoist Zhou!
That’s not all.

The scabbard trembled again, and this time the master's voice came from within.

"Hey kid, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and give them some support!"

As they spoke, Qiongqi's familiar roar rang out—which also made Wen Chengen's body relax.

We're finally saved!
With the support of two top-tier combatants, the small fry were quickly wiped out.

Wen Chengen greeted his master while reporting the current situation.

"We're in the same boat. We woke up here, but we're a little better off than you; none of our fellow disciples got separated."

Headmaster He looked around at his disciples, all of whom were injured but none of them were in mortal danger, and sighed.

"Thank you for your trouble. It is indeed my fault. Just because I wanted to avenge one person, I brought you all to this dangerous place."

Unexpectedly, Wen Chengen became displeased upon hearing this.

"Old man, what are you saying? Putting aside the rules of Maoshan, if any of us were in trouble, and if Senior Brother Yu were still alive, he would definitely give his life to save us."

However, halfway through his sentence, Wen Chengen seemed to have thought of something and added something else.

"By the way, that person from the Evil Suppression Division was with us before, but he seemed to be in a bit of a slump. However, he mentioned to us earlier that since you two are here, you should go find him as soon as possible, he probably wants to tell you something."

Zhou You and Sect Leader He exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and delight in each other's eyes.

The entire Netherworld City remains a mystery. The only clue they have now is Tao Le'an. They initially thought that finding him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, given the city's size. But they unexpectedly stumbled upon this perfect opportunity.

However, neither of them saw that in the instant they turned around, right behind them, a disciple's face suddenly twisted in an extremely unnatural way.

It quickly returned to normal.
-
Tao Lean was placed on the innermost side of the front line.

According to them, this person landed with the others, but unlike the others, Tao Le'an's condition had been off ever since he arrived. According to Wen Cheng'en, this person seemed to be suffering from some kind of illness, his mind sometimes clear and sometimes confused. When he was clear-headed, he could still manage to say a few words, but when he was confused, he was practically unconscious.

However, upon arriving at the destination, he discovered that Wen Chengen had already downplayed the situation.

Tao Le'an lay in the middle of a cleared area, with a few pieces of clothing spread out beneath him. His face was flushed red, and he was groaning something—but no one could hear him anymore.

Zhou You touched his forehead with the back of his hand and found it to be frighteningly hot—while Headmaster He frowned more and more deeply after taking his pulse, and then silently took out medicine from his body.

A few herbs, some insect molts, and a bunch of random things that even Zhou You wouldn't recognize—judging from the disciple's conflicted expression, as if his heart was bleeding, these things must have been quite valuable—yet they were all crushed into powder under Headmaster He's iron fist.

After piecing it together, he handed it to Zhou You.

“Young friend Zhou, this brother from the Evil Suppression Division is suffering from a severe case of soul separation. Although Maoshan has medicine to cure it and can provide emergency treatment, this place is currently lacking a medicinal ingredient.”

"What kind of medicinal ingredient?"

"...the flesh of a python spirit, but if that's unavailable, then the legendary dragon meat will also do."

Zhou You was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood.

—Well, so they want me to cut off my own flesh to make medicine.

He was quite straightforward—after all, this wasn't his first time doing this—he simply pulled out the Broken Blade, aimed it at his arm, and grimaced as he cut off a piece.

However, when the flesh and blood fell into the pottery jar, they did not appear as bright red as flesh and blood, but rather as a faint, hazy golden light.

Headmaster He glanced at Zhou You with a complicated look, then squeezed everything into a ball and stuffed it into Tao Le'an's mouth.

However, when it came to figuring out how to get him to swallow, he ran into a problem again—as the leader of a sect, he couldn't very well give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, could he?

In the end, Zhou You stepped forward, forcefully dislocated his jaw, and then shoved the wine gourd down his throat, gulping it down for him. Only then was the job done.

Anyway, this guy is still unconscious and won't wake up anytime soon, so I can just put him back on later.

The others watched silently from behind until the blush on Tao Le'an's face gradually faded and his breathing returned to normal. Only then did a disciple step forward, lean close to Headmaster He's ear, and whisper something.

“Master, I have something here that is probably related to Maoshan. I hope you can come and take a look at it privately.”

Headmaster He subconsciously responded, but then immediately scratched his head.

"Wait, what did you just call me?"

The disciple's face was full of bewilderment.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Headmaster He glanced at Zhou You, and finally sighed.

"Alright, young friend Zhou, you stay here and take care of this brother from the Evil Suppression Division. I'll be back soon."

Zhou You didn't say anything more, but nodded in agreement.

Led by this disciple, Sect Leader He traversed one corner after another, finally stopping before a deep pit. "Master," the disciple said, "this is the place I was referring to. While we were fighting our way out, I unexpectedly discovered something here that's related to our Maoshan sect's most prized magical artifact. Because it's of great importance, I didn't dare mention it to anyone. I only thought of telling you now that you've arrived."

Headmaster He walked around the pit, but could only see pitch blackness, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"There doesn't seem to be anything in here."

The disciple stood behind him, his face calm and expressionless, but his voice grew increasingly anxious.

"Master, could you take another look inside? That thing is hidden extremely well; I only discovered it by chance."

Sect Leader He had no doubts and bent over deeper and deeper until half of his body was almost inside the pit.

"Where exactly are you talking about? I can't see it no matter what I do!"

"Master, it's just a little to your left, yes, yes, just a little to the left."

Speaking words that seemed to be guiding him, the disciple floated behind Sect Leader He like a ghost, and then silently drew his sword.

But just as he was about to continue reading, Sect Leader He suddenly spoke.

"I still can't see it. Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you something."

"Master, please speak."

"Hey, when did you start using my disciple's skin?"

The disciple was startled, but before he could make a move, Sect Leader He suddenly turned around and slammed a pair of fists straight at his face!
The head shattered in an instant, but even with such a severe injury, the person was still alive. As they retreated rapidly, the shattered head quickly healed, and in just a few seconds, it transformed back into that ordinary face.

Apart from the fact that the nose, eyes, and mouth are all misaligned.

The disciple fumbled around on his head, and after a great deal of effort, he finally managed to put the facial features back in place. Then he sighed softly.

"Master, when did you discover it?"

“Actually, it wasn’t that long.” Sect Leader He cracked his fist, his face full of anger and ferocity. “All my disciples, including the one who was murdered, have always called me ‘old geezer’ in private, and none of them have ever called me ‘Master’.”

"Just because of this?"

"Just based on that."

The disciple remained silent for a while, then smiled.

“Master, you misunderstand. I am still me, I have never changed. I just suddenly realized that I had been living a very lazy life, so I want to change my ways.”

"is it?"

Sect Leader He uttered a sentence softly, then took a deep breath and roared.

"Little friend."

"exist."

"Do it!"

A long sword suddenly slashed out from the shadows, its speed so fast that the disciple couldn't dodge it at all.

—It was Zhou You, who had just received a signal with his eyes!

However, the disciple twisted his body, his body seemingly as light as a noodle, and effortlessly dodged the sword's edge, then formed a hand seal.

"select!"

A fierce aura naturally seeped from the magic sword, and in a daze, it transformed into a ferocious beast face. Although it had no physical form, it still managed to block Zhou You's sword.

This person is still using the Life-Slaying Sword, a direct descendant of the Maoshan sect!

Headmaster He's face grew increasingly grim, even turning as dark as water. He took heavy steps and closed in on his disciple within a few breaths before unleashing a punch.

But the effect was still mediocre.

Although the disciple himself was not particularly strong, his body could change shape at will, just like a piece of soft clay, and he could easily dodge any attack.

He transformed his inhuman body, gradually retreating into the shadows, a strange smile on his face.

“Master, I haven’t offended you, why are you suddenly trying to kill me? I’ve just suddenly had an epiphany. No, no, I’m not crazy, really not crazy. On the contrary, my mind has never been so clear. I understand everything, I know the path to enlightenment, that’s why I wanted to lead you all into that divine tree.”

Master He didn't say a word, but just as the other party was about to slip into a gap like an eel, he uttered a rebuke.

"Qiongqi!"

The ferocious beast did not respond.

But a few seconds later, the magic sword at the disciple's waist suddenly exploded!

The shockwave caught him off guard and forced him back several steps. Although he wasn't seriously injured, however...
"Om!"

And right behind it was the evil spirit, shrouded in malevolent energy!

This time, there was no obstruction, and the longsword shattered the body as easily as crushing dry leaves. But just as it was about to destroy the core, Sect Leader He suddenly said something.

"I come."

Without even getting Zhou You's permission, he took a few big steps and grabbed the still-beating heart tightly.

The disciple turned his face, his expression finally returning to normal, and said with tears in his eyes.

"Master."

"You can just call me that old geezer."

Then, without any mercy, crush it with force.

Only then did Sect Leader He let out a slow sigh.

"Young friend Zhou."

".What's wrong?"

“It looks like we need to speed things up—before all the people of Songzhou turn into someone like him.”
-
Upon returning, to Zhou You's surprise, Sect Leader He confessed everything that had just happened to the other disciples.

But what was even more unexpected was that while the disciples' faces showed grief or anger, not a single one of them complained about anything else—in the end, they simply gripped their swords tightly in silence.

This also reminded Zhou You of some old friends from the past.

"They really do look remarkably alike!"

However, there was some good news as well.

Soon, someone came to announce it.

—It must be because the medicine and the surrounding flesh and blood were really effective that it only took less than ten minutes.

Tao Le'an was already awake.

(End of this chapter)