Chapter 316: Long Worm

The Southern Heaven Domain was vast.

The Seven Kingdoms Region occupied the northernmost part of the domain. To the north lay the desolate North Sea, perpetually covered in ice and snow, where spiritual energy was scarce and the environment harsh. To the south were two regions: the demonic cultivation realm to the southwest and the coastal sea to the southeast. These three areas formed a pattern resembling the Chinese character 品 (pǐn), meaning “product” or “quality.”

Continuing southwest from the demonic cultivation realm led to the Southern Heaven Domain, its border blocked by the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

The Southern Heaven Domain resembled an inverted polygon, its northernmost point connected to the desolate North Sea and its southernmost point extending to the coastal sea below. It was the largest landmass in the region. However, because the passage between the demonic cultivation realm and the Southern Heaven Domain was located at the southernmost corner, many mistakenly believed the domain lay south of the demonic cultivation realm. In reality, the Southern Heaven Domain stretched due west and northwest of the demonic cultivation realm, but the impassable Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range created the illusion of a southwestern direction.

After leaving the God Lake Immortal Sect, Chen Luo flew southeast.

Half a day later, he arrived at the location Xue Ning had prepared.

This was a small coastal city near the sea, like Shan City, once part of the Shi Kingdom. Following the change in dynasties, it had become Cang Kingdom territory.

This remote region was largely unaffected by the changes in the God Lake Immortal Sect and the Imperial Dynasty’s heartland. News traveled slowly, and the local administrators paid little attention to such matters. The common folk believed that name changes were the concern of high-ranking officials, affecting only kings, nobles, and generals—matters far removed from their daily lives. The Shi Kingdom’s flag still flew atop the city walls, and life continued as before.

The upheavals in the God Lake Immortal Sect and the Imperial Dynasty’s heartland had no impact here.

This remote region was devoid of spiritual energy, and Immortal Cultivators were nearly extinct. Chen Luo sensed the air as he flew, but found not a single one.

After passing the small city, Chen Luo ventured deeper into the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range. There, he finally located the secluded valley Xue Ning had established.

Xue Ning had left a caretaker in charge of this place. Finding this person would allow Chen Luo to quickly understand the local situation and smoothly take over Xue Ning’s remaining influence in the coastal region. Having advanced to the Core Formation Stage, Chen Luo needed a higher quality pool of minds and a loyal force to rapidly gather them. Moreover, the Demonic Heart Art required agents to spread the Demonic Heart Seeds.

“No one here?”

The valley wasn’t large. Chen Luo dispersed his Divine Sense, quickly taking in everything within its boundaries.

Descending into the valley, Chen Luo glanced at the sole thatched hut. Xue Ning had arranged this place, and everything was exactly as he remembered. According to plan, a mute slave should have been waiting for him here, but the valley was completely deserted.

Chen Luo walked over and pushed open the wooden door, hoping to find some clues inside.

The interior was sparsely furnished with only a bed, a table, and two overturned round stools. An oil lamp lay toppled on the table, leaving a circular stain on the surface. The rest of the room was in disarray, as if the occupants had fled in haste due to some emergency.

Chen Luo entered and ran his index finger across the table. A thick layer of white dust clung to his fingertip. Judging by its thickness, the place hadn’t been visited in at least a decade—a stark contrast to Xue Ning’s meticulously planned arrangements.

“Strange,” Chen Luo murmured.

This was Xue Ning’s setup. If anything had gone wrong, the occupants should have notified her immediately. Why hadn’t even Xue Ning received any news?

Chen Luo searched the valley thoroughly but found no clues.

He flew out again and scanned the surrounding area with his Divine Sense. He quickly spotted several woodcutters climbing a mountain path, carrying bundles of firewood. These men possessed no spiritual energy whatsoever, clearly ordinary folk.

Chen Luo descended from the sky, intending to ask them about what had happened in the valley.

The woodcutters naturally noticed the figure descending from the heavens. They hastily dropped their bundles of firewood and bowed respectfully to Chen Luo.

One of them launched into a lengthy explanation.

Chen Luo froze, momentarily stunned.

These people don’t speak the official language of the Shi Kingdom? he wondered. He had never encountered such a situation before, even when traveling to the demonic cultivation realm or the Southern Heaven Domain. Despite those regions spanning tens of millions of miles, they shared a common cultural root. While their dialects differed slightly, a little mental effort could bridge the gap. But this place was entirely new to Chen Luo, and his mental database contained no records of its people. He couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

A Core Formation True Person’s perception was incredibly powerful. Chen Luo could roughly sense the awe these woodcutters felt, but he couldn’t understand their specific words. He knew that mere reverence was useless; he needed to gather information about the valley and find the mute slave left behind by Xue Ning.

“Do any of you understand Mandarin?” Chen Luo asked.

The woodcutters looked blankly at him. After a moment’s hesitation, one of them stammered in broken Shi Kingdom Mandarin, “Immortal… are you… eating?”

Chen Luo chuckled inwardly. The man had clearly only learned a few fixed phrases and had never truly conversed with anyone. Still, Chen Luo didn’t mind; understanding the gist was enough.

“Do you know where the people from the valley went?” Chen Luo pointed toward the valley. These woodcutters were local villagers; asking them directly about any changes in the valley was the most straightforward approach.

“Long worm big!”

The woodcutters’ faces paled with terror as they looked in the direction Chen Luo indicated. The one who spoke broken Mandarin gesticulated wildly for a while before finally managing to convey the general idea.

A snake?

Could it be a Monster?

Chen Luo grew suspicious. He had explored the valley before; if there were Monsters there, he should have sensed them.

The woodcutters chattered excitedly for a while longer, and the one who spoke Mandarin volunteered to lead Chen Luo to the long worm. These woodcutters had likely encountered Immortal Cultivators before, and their enthusiasm stemmed from the rewards Immortals bestowed upon those who guided them.

Seeing this, Chen Luo casually tossed out a few spirit stones.

After reaching the Core Formation Stage, spirit stones could be refined directly from the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, though the process was time-consuming. Core Formation cultivators rarely bothered with such tasks, as the effort far outweighed the gain.

The woodcutters who received the spirit stones were visibly thrilled, eagerly leading Chen Luo in a different direction.

This path diverged from the previous valley, winding through dense undergrowth and a thick forest. The rotting leaves on the ground had turned black, giving the impression of an ancient woodland untouched by human feet.

Accustomed to mountain life, the woodcutters moved swiftly along the rugged terrain. Chen Luo, of course, found the path effortless. After crossing two peaks, the lead woodcutter stopped before a dark cave.

“Long worm’s nest,” he whispered, pointing.

None of the woodcutters dared to approach further. Their village had lost cattle to the cave before. When several strong young men had tracked the beasts inside, none had ever returned.

Chen Luo dispersed his Divine Sense, discovering that the cave truly contained a wisp of Demonic Qi. He couldn’t gauge its precise strength, however, as a peculiar energy within the cave blocked his Divine Sense. He reached into his sleeve and retrieved a sheet of talisman paper. The paper shook twice on the ground before transforming into several palm-sized paper figures.

“Go in and scout,” Chen Luo instructed.

The nearby woodcutters watched in awe, their reverence deepening at this sight.

The paper figures scurried up the rocky slope, their lifelike movements indistinguishable from those of real people. Since reaching the Core Formation Stage, Chen Luo’s mastery of the Talisman Dao had advanced significantly. He could now craft Third Rank Spirit Talismans, and the paper figures he created were vastly superior to his earlier creations.

After a long while, a sudden roar erupted from the cave.

Chen Luo’s connection to the paper figures snapped abruptly. A wave of foul-smelling Demonic Qi surged outward, accompanied by several white bones. The woodcutters had never witnessed such a spectacle before. Terrified, they stumbled backward, scattering to hide behind large rocks and secretly observe from a distance. Chen Luo himself was buffeted by the Demonic Qi, his robes flapping violently in the wind.

“It’ll eat anything.”

Chen Luo reached out and retrieved a small black stone.

This was the Demon Seed of the Demonseed Sect Leader. He had placed several paper figures, each bearing curses he had inscribed, inside the cave. The fact that the cave’s monster had devoured the paper figures meant it had also swallowed the curses.

He formed a hand seal with one hand, and a wisp of black spiritual energy materialized at his fingertip.

Gently touching the Demon Seed stone with his index finger, he heard a crisp crack as the stone shattered. An invisible force surged into it.

Inside the cave, a massive coiled black serpent let out a tormented wail. Its body writhed violently, its tail slamming against the stone wall with a thunderous boom. The mountain trembled, and an even more potent wave of Demonic Qi erupted from the serpent’s body.

But the surge of Demonic Qi proved futile. Tendrils of dark energy ignored the Demon Power and seeped into the serpent’s brain.

Inside the cave, the black entity thrashed wildly, causing the ground outside to tremble. Pebbles rained down, and several woodcutters, their faces pale with terror, repeatedly cried out, “The Mountain Lord is enraged!”

Chen Luo ignored them. He reached out into the void, grasped something, and opened his palm.

The powder from the shattered black stone had inexplicably floated upward. Mixed with a wisp of dark gray energy, it coalesced in his hand into a pitch-black, serpentine soul.

This was the combined effect of Ghost Cultivation techniques and a curse.

Chen Luo possessed the brains of both the Demonseed Sect Leader and the Ghost Cultivator Xue Ning. When used in tandem, their combined power far surpassed what either had achieved in life.

“Eating things you shouldn’t will get you killed!”

Chen Luo had no intention of venturing into the cave. He extended his index finger and gently pinched the serpentine phantom in his palm. The pitch-black wisp snapped in two between his fingers, its head vanishing into nothingness.

Boom!

An enraged roar erupted from the cave, followed by a violent collision. Cracks spiderwebbed across the mountain’s surface, and tons of earth and sand cascaded down. Only after a long while did the tremors subside.