Young Jiang Ziya

"Nest Mother?" Lei Kai frowned.

"A kind of...living incubator." Lu Shang's tone carried a solemnity he himself was unaware of. "They usually lose most of their sanity and ability to act, but their vitality and reproductive...or rather, their 'breeding' ability are twisted to the extreme. They can almost tirelessly...'produce' new, basic forms of blood puppets. This might explain why the blood plague army sometimes seems endless, even without new sources of infection."

The temperature inside the tunnel seemed to plummet to freezing point instantly. Forced cannibalism, frenzied transformation, a living incubator... the combined imagery of these words was more chilling than the most grotesque blood puppets.

"So..." Ji Fa's voice was dry as he pointed to He Lan and the "food" around her, "They are the 'candidates' being fed? And that Hong Xu who was taken away, is she the chosen... Nest Mother?"

"Very likely." Lü Shang nodded. "Helan said 'the children never end,' which matches the records. We must find the 'nest mother' that Hongxu has become and destroy it. Otherwise, this mine tunnel, and even the entire Fuling Mountain, could become a nest that constantly produces monsters."

Shen Gongbao, having caught his breath, looked at Lü Shang with astonishment and a strange excitement in his eyes: "You...you actually know all this! Even the oldest forbidden scrolls in the tower only vaguely mention 'the place where filth breeds'...and you can describe it so clearly!"

Lei Kai snorted coldly, breaking the atmosphere: "So what if you know all this? It just confirms that the knowledge brought by sorcerers is also full of these evil and bizarre things! If those sorcerers who called themselves 'Golden Immortals' hadn't been so arrogant and conceited, angering the gods of the Azure Heaven, how could this blood plague curse have descended upon the world?"

His abrupt accusation heightened the tension once more. Shen Gongbao, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately retorted angrily, "Those are a minority of scoundrels! They are twelve madmen! How can they represent all sorcerers? For thousands of years, countless sorcerers have adhered to the precepts, using their knowledge to save lives and even fight against blood plagues! You can't condemn an ​​entire group based on a single example!"

"Discipline?" Lei Kai retorted, his tone sarcastic. "Your discipline is to hide in the tower, consuming the spiritual essence that ordinary people risk their lives for, and at any moment you might turn into monsters and turn against those who support you! Without strict discipline, who knows how many more 'Golden Immortals' will emerge from among you?"

Seeing the argument escalating, Ji Fa sternly stopped them: "Enough! This is not the time to argue about this!" He glanced at the two men. "Lei Kai, vigilance is the duty of a guard, I understand. Shen Gongbao, I have seen the injustice you have suffered. But right now, we only have one enemy—the Blood Plague, and all the monsters it creates! Internal strife will only lead to our deaths here!"

He looked at Lü Shang, his gaze softening slightly, even carrying a hint of barely perceptible admiration: "Lü Shang, continue. What else did Mr. Shi Yuan say about this spiritual essence, about the origins of Biluo and sorcerers? The more we know about our enemy, the greater our chances of victory."

Lu Shang composed himself, realizing this was an opportunity to naturally bring out some more fundamental settings, and also to calm the dispute down a bit and bring the focus back to the mission.

"Spiritual Essence..." he began slowly, organizing the knowledge he had received from Shi Yuan and from ancient texts, "Legend has it that it is the bridge connecting 'Azure Heaven' and 'The Mortal World.' Azure Heaven is the place where all spirits' thoughts reside, and it is also the legendary abode of the gods who created the world. But at some point in ancient times, because mortals desecrated the divine realm, the gods were enraged and descended the 'Celestial Curtain,' completely severing the passage between Azure Heaven and the Mortal World."

He tried to describe this mythical background in plain language: "After the celestial canopy was cut off, it became difficult for ordinary beings to directly perceive and utilize the power of the Azure Heaven, and spiritual energy became dormant. But there were always some beings with special innate souls who could vaguely 'touch' the edge of the Azure Heaven in their dreams, establish a weak connection, and thus awaken the ability to drive spiritual energy—these were the first sorcerers."

"Spiritual essence, because it contains a trace of the essence leaked from the Azure Heaven, can temporarily strengthen the connection when absorbed by a sorcerer, thereby amplifying the power of their spells. However, because of this 'bridging' attribute, the distribution and use of spiritual essence have always been strictly controlled." He glanced at Lei Kai, "And many of the equipment and training methods of the Spellbreaker Guard are also based on another application of spiritual essence, making it have the effect of interfering with and dispersing spiritual energy, in order to counterbalance the power of sorcerers."

Ji Fa pondered: "Therefore, the Spirit Marrow is both the source of power for sorcerers and the material that binds them... The E Kingdom's control of this substance truly holds one of the lifelines of the world in its grasp."

Shen Gongbao couldn't help but add, with an urgent desire to vindicate sorcerers: "But the power of sorcerers doesn't stem from greed! It's a talent, but also a responsibility! The Azure Heaven isn't some distant, unreachable land of divine punishment; it could have been the final resting place for all living souls and spirits! It was those ancient blasphemers who brought ruin upon future generations!"

Lei Kai scoffed again, recounting the more widespread and darker "Legend of the Golden Immortals": "A final destination? Hmph! According to the records of the Zun Kingdom's state religion and the most widely circulated folk tale, the first blood plague was precisely due to the extreme greed and arrogance of sorcerers! It is said that in ancient times, there were twelve human sorcerers with boundless magical power who called themselves 'Golden Immortals.' Not content with traveling in their dreams, they actually dared to attempt to enter the Azure Heaven with their physical bodies, and even seize the Divine Realm!"

His voice echoed in the tunnel, carrying a chilling accusation: "For this, they used the 'Blood Magic Secret Technique,' which had long been taboo, sacrificing nearly 70% of the nation's slaves—mostly defeated demons—using their blood and lives as energy. At the same time, they exhausted 80% of the national treasury's accumulated spiritual essence reserves, making a desperate gamble by activating that evil magic array that reversed the heavens and earth."

Lei Kai's gaze was like a knife, sweeping over Shen Gongbao and Lü Shang: "And the result? Those twelve 'Golden Immortals' did indeed disappear, supposedly sent to the Azure Heaven. But they never returned. And what followed was the 'First Blood Plague Surge,' clearly recorded in historical texts, that swept across the world! The scriptures of the state religion clearly state: it was the wrath and curse of the gods against the arrogance of mortals and the blasphemy of sorcerers! The blood plague was divine punishment from the Azure Heaven!"

This argument cemented the warlocks' place on the pillar of shame as the "origin of calamity." Shen Gongbao trembled with rage, wanting to refute it, but was momentarily speechless, for this argument was so widespread and deeply ingrained that even many warlocks, educated within the tower, were filled with fear and guilt about it.

Lü Shang remained silent. Shi Yuan had once mentioned to him that there were many versions of the so-called "Golden Immortal" legend, making it difficult to distinguish the true from the false, and that it might conceal a more complex truth about the ancient struggles between gods. But now was not the time to discuss historical mysteries.

"Regardless of its origins," Ji Fa regained control, his tone resolute, "the Blood Plague is now the enemy of all living things. Attempting to solve the problems of a thousand years ago won't save us now. Our top priority is to find the 'Nest Mother,' destroy it, obtain what we need, and leave this hellhole!"

His decisive action silenced the argument. The group moved forward in silence once more, but the conversation had stirred deep emotions within each member. The truth of history, the origin of power, the definition of good and evil… in this deep and terrifying mine, they were entangled into a fog more complex than the blood plague itself.

The stench in the air grew increasingly intense, almost suffocating. The light from the Spirit Marrow Lamp began to waver, as if interfered with by some unseen force. The tunnel also began to change; the traces of human excavation became fewer and fewer, replaced by more twisted, natural caverns that seemed to have been kneaded by a tremendous force. Some viscous, slowly wriggling, dark red, fungal-like substances even began to appear on the rock walls.

"We're almost deep in... Be careful." Shen Gongbao's voice was filled with suppressed fear. "I can feel... a lot of... chaotic, hungry thoughts..."

After rounding a near 90-degree hairpin bend, a terrifying scene unfolded before us.

The tunnel suddenly opens up, forming a huge, irregular natural cave. In the center of the cave is a nauseating "altar" built of rough rocks and bones. On the altar, there are small mountains of mutilated and decaying human limbs, and thick, dark red liquid gathers in the low-lying areas to form shallow "blood pools," constantly bubbling with viscous fluid.

What's most chilling is the countless dark red, translucent "tumor-like" objects hanging from the rock wall above the altar. They beat slowly like a heart, with grotesque veins on their surface, and the vague outlines of small, unformed blood puppets writhing inside! The entire cave is shrouded in an eerie, ominous dark red light, the source of which seems to come from deep within the altar.

Beneath the pile of limbs and writhing "hatching tumors," a massive, twisted, and indescribable figure lay curled up. A faint female outline remained, but its limbs had mutated and swelled, its skin transformed into a hard, dark red, almost black carapace. Its abdomen was deformed, bulging, and transparent, revealing countless unshed, egg-like structures pulsating with its heartbeat. Numerous thick, vein-like, dark red tentacles extended from its body, connecting to the surrounding rock walls and the throbbing "tumors."

This is the "Nest Mother"—the terrifying form of the woman named Benio after she was transformed.

Around it, no fewer than ten blood puppets roamed. But these blood puppets were completely different from those encountered in Qingya Village or at the mine entrance. They were taller, stronger, with sharper claws and teeth, and the malevolent red light flashing in their eyes was more concentrated, as if they had retained a trace of primitive hunting instincts. They were the "guardians" of the Nest Mother, and also the "engineers" of this terrifying hatchery.

Almost at the same instant Ji Fa and his companions saw the scene, the blood puppet guards turned their heads in unison, their dark red eyes locking onto the intruders, emitting low, threatening growls. The Nest Mother's massive body also trembled slightly, its head—if it could still be called a head—turning this way, opening its enormous maw filled with fine, sharp teeth and dripping with viscous fluid, letting out a silent but soul-piercing shriek filled with pain and madness!

"Prepare for battle!" Ji Fa drew his longsword and shouted sharply, "Lei Kai, form ranks! Lü Shang, Shen Gongbao, retreat and find cover! To capture the enemy, capture their leader first; let's kill the Nest Mother directly!"

A fierce battle is about to break out!

Lei Kai and the two guards instantly formed a triangular formation, nocked their magic-piercing crossbows, and their tempered blades gleamed coldly. The blood puppet guards pounced with astonishing speed; their strength and speed far surpassed the previous minions, and the first wave of attack caused the guards' formation to shake violently.

Ji Fa descended like a tiger from the mountain, his sword flashing, slashing and thrusting with precision and ruthlessness, each strike aimed at severely damaging the blood puppet's key joints or head. But his arrogance also revealed its drawbacks at this moment—he sometimes pursued a fatal blow too much, his movements too sudden, occasionally causing him to become disconnected from the formation of the guards behind him.

An exceptionally strong blood puppet seized the slight opening after Ji Fa's thrust, its sharp claws slicing straight for his back! Lei Kai was entangled with the other two and couldn't come to his rescue in time!

"Ji Fa, watch out!" Lü Shang cried out in alarm. He seemingly panicked, grabbed a loose rock from the ground, and hurled it at the blood puppet with all his might. The rock, of course, couldn't harm the blood puppet, but at the instant he threw it, a golden light flashed deep within Lü Shang's pupils!

The blood puppet's claws suddenly stopped less than three inches from Ji Fa's back, as if it had hit an invisible but extremely flexible wall. Not only was its forward momentum blocked, but its entire body's coordination was momentarily disrupted, and it staggered like a drunkard.

That fatal pause!

Although Ji Fa didn't turn around, his battlefield intuition allowed him to sense the danger behind him and the sudden anomaly. He spun around and slashed back! His longsword flashed a chilling arc, cleanly severing the blood puppet's head!

"Well done!" Ji Fa shouted to Lü Shang amidst the chaos, assuming that Lü Shang's stone-throwing had interfered with the other's actions. He was also somewhat surprised; Lü Shang's seemingly hasty move was actually perfectly timed.

Lu Shang had already retreated behind a boulder, his face slightly pale and beads of sweat on his forehead. The "spiritual blockade" he had just performed seemed simple, but it required extremely precise control. It had to be effective without causing obvious spiritual energy fluctuations that would be noticed by Lei Kai or the sensitive Shen Gongbao, which had taken a great toll on his mental energy.

The battle continued. The guards coordinated perfectly, and Lei Kai was especially valiant, his magic-piercing crossbow bolts aimed precisely at the blood puppet's vulnerable spots such as its eye sockets and throat. Having learned his lesson earlier, Ji Fa slightly restrained his offensive, focusing more on coordinating with the formation.

Shen Gongbao didn't completely hide. He hid on the other side, took out several strangely colored plant thorns from his robes, activated them with weak spiritual energy, and hurled them with all his might. The thorns exploded upon impact with the blood puppets, releasing a pungent, acrid smoke. Although they couldn't seriously injure the blood puppets, they clearly interfered with their senses and movements, creating an opportunity for Ji Fa and the guards.

But the Nest Mother was not idle. Although her enormous body was difficult to move, her countless tentacles danced wildly. Some lashed out to interfere, while others rolled out newly formed, sticky little blood puppets from the pulsating "tumors" and hurled them at the group like cannonballs! Although these newborn blood puppets were fragile, their numbers were endless, greatly diverting the group's firepower and making the battlefield even more chaotic.

"We must deal with the mother nest first! It's constantly producing offspring!" Ji Fa roared, trying to break through the guards' blockade.

However, the Blood Puppet Guards surrounding the Nest Mother were the most densely packed, and it itself seemed to possess a tough psionic shield, impervious to ordinary swords and blades. Lei Kai's magic-piercing crossbow bolt struck its carapace, leaving only a shallow dent before bouncing off!

The battle dragged on, and everyone's physical and spiritual energy were waning, while the Nest Mother's "production" and tentacle attacks seemed endless. A newly born blood puppet even lunged at the boulder where Lü Shang and Shen Gongbao were hiding, only to be temporarily driven back by Shen Gongbao's medicinal powder, though it was still in grave danger.

Lü Shang knew he couldn't wait any longer. He had to create an opportunity for a decisive blow.

His gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield, finally settling on the cave ceiling, on several massive stalactites that were unusually loose and precarious due to geological activity or previous mining. He then looked at the location of the Nest Mother and its thick tentacles that connected to the rock walls to transport nutrients.

A plan quickly took shape in his mind. It was extremely risky, but perhaps his only chance.

He feigned fear, moving along the rock face as if searching for safer cover, but in reality, he quietly approached the edge where the fighting was less intense. He turned his back to the others, facing the key stalactites and the location of the nest mother.

Taking a deep breath, Lü Shang's eyes deepened once more, with pale golden fragments of light gathering and swirling in the deepest recesses of his pupils. This time, it wasn't a small-scale obstruction, but rather he condensed his spiritual energy into two extremely fine yet incredibly resilient "lines."

A gentle, winding motion wrapped around the weakest point where the massive stalactites connected to the rock wall, like the most exquisite carving knife, beginning to "cut" the existing cracks at high speed and frequency.

The other, like an invisible arm, suddenly tugged at the edge of the altar beneath the Nest Mother, where a massive, sharply angled spirit marrow stone, half-hidden among the remains, was located! This stone was exceptionally heavy, but under Lü Shang's full-force spiritual energy "skillful force," it rolled violently and slammed squarely into the roots of the Nest Mother's most important and robust nutrient-transporting tentacles connecting her to the rock wall!

"Hiss—!!!"

The Nest Mother let out an unprecedented shriek, a mixture of pain and rage! The roots of her main tentacles were injured, causing her not only excruciating pain but also disrupting her rhythm of energy absorption and "production." The psionic shield around her body fluctuated violently and dimmed! She frantically waved her other tentacles, attempting to attack, but her aim was greatly distorted by the intense pain and energy disorder.

at the same time--

A deafening roar erupted.

The massive stalactites, whose fracture process had been accelerated by Lü Shang's spiritual energy "hidden force," finally could not withstand their own weight and the vibration of the rock wall. They broke apart and crashed down directly below—to the Nest Mother, who was writhing in pain from her injuries and whose shield was weakened!

"Now!" Although Ji Fa didn't understand why the stalactite broke at this exact moment, he seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

He and Lei Kai erupted almost simultaneously. Ji Fa channeled his remaining strength into his sword, transforming himself into an arrow released from a bow. Dodging the wildly flailing tentacles, the tip of his sword, imbued with resolute killing intent, pierced straight at the weak gap in the shell joint exposed by the Nest Mother's shield fluctuations!

Lei Kai aimed the last and most powerful specially made armor-piercing arrow from the Demon-Slaying Crossbow at the Nest Mother's gaping maw, which was filled with sharp teeth and was wide open in pain!

A huge rock crashed down, sending up clouds of dust!

The sword light pierced the crevice, and black blood spurted out!

The armor-piercing arrow pierced the mouth and exploded from the inside!

The three attacks landed on the nest mother almost simultaneously!

"Waaaaah————————"

A long, mournful cry, seemingly tearing at the soul, echoed from the smoke and dust, then rapidly faded. The Nest Mother's enormous, twisted body convulsed violently before collapsing with a thud. The dark red light dimmed rapidly, and the pulsating "tumors" withered and ruptured, oozing foul-smelling pus. The remaining blood puppet guards around her, as if losing their leader, froze and became chaotic.

"Now! Clean up the rest!" Ji Fa leaned on his sword, panting, but the command remained clear.

Without the command and energy supply of the Nest Mother, the Blood Puppets were greatly weakened in combat. In their final desperate struggle, they were all finally wiped out.

Inside the cave, only heavy breathing, pervasive dust, and an overwhelming stench remained. The light from the Spirit Marrow Lamp stabilized again, illuminating this terrifying hatchery that had just experienced a bloody battle, and also illuminating the faces of everyone, a mixture of exhaustion, lingering fear, and a hint of victory in their dazed state.

Ji Fa walked over to Lü Shang, patted his dusty shoulder armor with considerable force: "You timed the stone throw well. And you dodged it quickly enough too."

Lu Shang simply lowered his head, his voice somewhat hoarse: "It was the young master and Commander Lei who were brave."

Lei Kai was examining the remains of the Nest Mother to confirm her complete death. Upon hearing this, he turned to look at Lü Shang, his eyes still sharp, but less cold than before, and more scrutinizing: "You're quite calm. An ordinary servant would have been paralyzed with fear long ago."

Shen Gongbao then walked to Lü Shang's other side, handed him a water pouch, and whispered, "Thank you for earlier..."

Lu Shang took the water pouch, took a small sip, and the cool water slid down his throat, suppressing the churning blood and the dizziness from overusing his psionic energy. He knew the crisis was temporarily averted, but a deeper question had arisen: what exactly was hidden in the mine tunnels that could nurture the Nest Mother, the source of the blood plague?

He looked up into the unknown darkness deeper into the cave, where a strange, low sound, like the pulse of the earth, seemed to faintly emanate.