After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 330: Chapter 329: Graffiti in the Demon Nest

It had always been others who sought his advice. When had he ever felt so cornered?

"The ancestral scrolls say..." As soon as Hee Lingchuan uttered these words, Dong Rui rolled his eyes. "...the Red Peak Mine Cave in the northwest of the Chipa Plateau was once occupied by an unknown monster. It not only ate miners and villagers but also devoured many of the Patrol Guards who went into the cave to deal with it. It could combine a mother with the Mine Cave to turn it into a nest, which is why the structure inside greatly resembles a human body!"

Hee Lingchuan pointed at the soft hides and said, "After the human mother lost consciousness, the Sadist used these tendons to connect her to the cave and transform it."

"A nest?" Dong Rui’s brow furrowed even deeper. "Like a human body?"

"The Sadist is also a Son of God," Second Madam Zhu chimed in softly. "Among the Deities, the Jindu Mother couldn’t be called powerful, but she could give birth to Ghost Children. The strongest among them is the Sadist, who even has the potential to surpass its mother! It looks for a place to build a nest as soon as it’s born. Once the nest is complete, it’s very difficult for anyone to defeat it inside."

Hee Lingchuan put on a shocked expression. "How do you know that?"

"I dealt with them back in the Ancient Times," Second Madam Zhu said proudly. "These so-called... Celestial Gods!"

"The Jindu Mother’s Divine Son?" Dong Rui looked around. "Then where is the Divine Son—no, the Sadist—now?"

"It was probably exterminated," said Second Madam Zhu. "When I moved into the Demon Nest, this place was already empty."

Hee Lingchuan was greatly surprised. "The Jiana People were all eaten by it, and even this swamp is named after the Demon Nest it built. Who could possibly have exterminated the Sadist?"

"The Beiga Kingdom."

That answer was a bit unexpected.

"Back then, the swamp wasn’t just home to the Jiana People; there were seven or eight other tribes. Outside the swamp, in the West Mountain Swamp, villages and towns were scattered about like stars, and there was a sizable population. After the Sadist finished eating the Jiana People, it began to forage outwards. Over a dozen years, it nearly devoured every living creature within a three-hundred-li radius. Later, the thing headed west and destroyed two of the Beiga Kingdom’s border garrisons. With such a Demon encroaching upon their territory, the Beiga Kingdom couldn’t just stand by and watch, so they dispatched powerful experts to eliminate it." Second Madam Zhu waved a front claw. "Of course, this is all according to the survivors of the Jiana Race. I don’t know any further details."

’The Sadist here was eliminated by the Beiga Kingdom?’

"But once the human mother on this platform is disconnected from the cave, the stone cavern should have returned to normal," Hee Lingchuan said, not understanding. "There’s no one on the platform anymore, so why has the entire Demon Nest remained as it is, without changing back?"

"I don’t know." Even with Second Madam Zhu’s vast experience, she could only offer two guesses. "Either she lay here for too long, long enough to alter the entire cave, or this particular Sadist was excessively powerful." She didn’t care what the reason was.

Dong Rui, on the other hand, was carefully examining the so-called tendons, even taking out his saber to slice off a few pieces. "Since it’s related to a Jindu Boy, this stuff is valuable! Worthy of research, very worthy of research."

Hee Lingchuan walked a lap around the stone chamber and suddenly discovered a pile of rubble in the deepest corner, as if something had been buried there.

When he walked over to look, he saw that a deep pit had been dug beneath the rubble. A skeleton was buried inside, with a small part of it exposed.

"I was the one who pushed them aside to look." When Second Madam Zhu first arrived, the rubble had been neatly covering it.

’Why would this skeleton be buried here?’

In front of the small rubble mound stood a square stone, like a stele, but it was blank and uninscribed. A pattern had been drawn on it.

It looked like half a maple leaf, but he wasn’t sure.

The lines were black, as if drawn with charcoal.

Hee Lingchuan immediately recalled that since entering the Underground Palace, he had occasionally seen various patterns on the stone walls, also drawn with charcoal. They depicted things like flowers, birds, insects, and fish, along with all sorts of incomprehensible lines, like a child’s graffiti.

"Who drew this?"

Dong Rui also saw the pattern and said casually, "Maybe some wild kid came in to play and scribbled all over." He glanced at Second Madam Zhu and added, "Before these Great Demons moved in."

Second Madam Zhu immediately retorted, "When I arrived, the entrance to this Underground Palace was sealed with sandstone."

A chill ran down Hee Lingchuan’s spine.

’If no one entered this cavern after the Sadist disappeared, who could have made these drawings?’

Dong Rui wasn’t concerned with such trivial matters. He crouched down to examine the skeleton. "Hmm, a woman. Based on the bone age, probably in her forties."

’A woman who could appear in the very central chamber of the Demon Nest?’

"Is it the Sadist’s human mother?" Hee Lingchuan turned and pointed to the stone platform. "She was supposed to be lying there. Who would have buried her here?"

"Could it have been the Beiga People who killed the Sadist that buried her?"

"Perhaps." But Hee Lingchuan was staring at the square stele.

He had just fought the Sadist in his dream. There were still a few claw marks on the ground that looked very much like those left by a Sadist.

Dong Rui had a point; burying the dead was something only humans would do.

Yet a strange and absurd theory was forming in the back of his mind.

’Is it possible?’

"Alright, I’ve fulfilled your request, and the medicinal herbs have been delivered. It’s time for you two to get to work for me!" Second Madam Zhu began to shoo them away.

She knew the principle that haste makes waste, so she wasn’t in a hurry. ’I’ve waited for centuries. What’s another month or two?’

On the way back to Dong Rui’s workshop, Hee Lingchuan’s mind was a tangled mess.

He really hadn’t expected his last Dream Realm to actually connect with reality.

’Two Demon Nests, two Sadists...’

’Did they both really exist?’

’Was it because the Grand Square Pot discovered I was about to drift into the Demon Nest Swamp with the Hanhe River Water that it arranged the Red Peak Mine Cave mission for me in my dream?’

’Was it to help me better understand reality?’

Hee Lingchuan felt it was more than just that.

His missions and actions in the dream were always, intentionally or not, being guided.

’Who is doing this? The Grand Square Pot?’

’Does this Divine Artifact have a consciousness of its own?’

A thousand thoughts raced through Hee Lingchuan’s mind. He kept feeling like a clue was flashing before his eyes, but he just couldn’t grasp it.

He was so close. Always just a little bit off!

This feeling was so damn frustrating.

"Hey, we’re here!" Dong Rui, who was ahead, stopped and waved a hand in front of his face. "Did Second Madam Zhu suck out your soul?"

’Only if Second Madam was a hot-tempered little beauty.’ Hee Lingchuan slapped his hand away. "What is it?"

"Help me." Dong Rui pointed to the small mountain of medicinal herbs piled in the corner, then to two square stones larger than millstones. "First, make a stone roller and grind all of these into powder!"

"Don’t you have a medicine grinder?" Eldest Young Master Hee didn’t like doing manual labor.

"My medicine grinder is tiny; it can’t grind much. You need to make me one that’s bigger than a stone mill." Dong Rui shot him a sidelong glance. "I specifically requested you as my assistant. If you won’t do it, you can go back to Second Madam Zhu."

Hanging around in front of a Cannibal Spider Demon was not a good idea; it could easily whet her appetite. Hee Lingchuan sighed, drew his saber, and began to carve the stone.

This kind of work wasn’t meant for a Long Saber, but they were in the middle of a swamp with no other suitable tools. When had the Floating Life Blade ever been subjected to such an indignity?

Hee Lingchuan carved with extreme care, afraid of damaging his Treasure Saber.

The Spider Guards were at the entrance, supervising their work.

"Flatten it first, then polish it. That’s right, make it flatter. It’ll be easier for you to use later," Dong Rui said, his mouth not idle while he sorted the medicinal herbs.

The Spider Demons had even brought them some human tools like axes and chisels. Hee Lingchuan grabbed them and said, "Can you make another Number Thirty-four? What base materials do you need? I’ll figure out a way to catch them for you."

Number Thirty-four was the Strange Bird that had helped Dong Rui escape several times. This Demon Nest was surrounded by spiders; they would probably have to fly to get out.

"You think I don’t want to?" Dong Rui snapped, his voice growing higher as he spoke, clearly fuming. "Before its modification, Number Thirty-four was a Wide-nosed Bat, but it had a trace of an Ancient Great Demon’s bloodline. Do you know how many years I spent searching for a creature like that?! Do you think Demon Puppets can be made anytime, like some common wooden Puppet you can find anywhere? Huh?"

’Without a Demon Puppet at my command, what kind of Demon Puppet Master am I?’

Hee Lingchuan chuckled. "The Demon Puppets you create all seem to obey you without question. Could you...?" Because the Spider Guards were watching from outside, he didn’t speak plainly, merely pointing in the direction of the heart chamber.

’If Dong Rui could control Second Madam Zhu through physical modification, that would be beyond incredible.’

However, if that really happened, Hee Lingchuan would be the first one to run.

"In your dreams." Dong Rui sighed. "The Demon Puppets I’ve modified in the past were either raised by me from a young age, simple-minded, or so severely injured that their Divine Sense was muddled. Only then is it easy to wipe their old consciousness and make them recognize me as their master. Second Madam Zhu is a Great Demon who has survived since the Ancient Times. Her Divine Soul is probably countless times more resilient than yours or mine. If I dared to try that, I’d just be courting death."

"Then how confident are you that you can create the medicine she needs?"

Dong Rui didn’t answer. He took out the tendons left by the Sadist and cut them into several pieces. He burned one, soaked another in a Potion, and ground a third into powder.

Just when Hee Lingchuan thought the man wasn’t going to speak, he shook his head. "I can’t say for sure. If I still had the Potion you stole, or if I could even get a small physical sample of a Jindu Boy, my chances of success would increase."

Hee Lingchuan asked in surprise, "A Jindu Ghost Child would be useful too?"

"Obviously!" Dong Rui’s eyes widened. "The Jindu Ghost Child is half-human and half-god; it’s practically the prototype for the Ghost Beasts! When the Deities created Ghost Beasts, they probably used it as a template!"

Hee Lingchuan realized it made sense. Jindu Ghost Children could walk the Mortal World, were almost immune to Primordial Power, and possessed powerful and strange abilities of their own. The Ghost Beasts that appeared in the Early Middle Ages also had these characteristics.

"However, the Sadist is no longer in the Demon Nest, and the only thing left behind is this tendon-like tissue. *Sigh*, this is going to be difficult." Dong Rui also scratched his head. "Now, hurry up and grind the herbs! And while you’re at it, grab the weakest Spider Demon in the corner!"

The five test subjects were already in place. Second Madam Zhu felt nothing for her own offspring, so he felt even less of a burden experimenting on them.

The Spider Demon was brought over, tied up tightly. This one had a reddish hue, which reminded Hee Lingchuan of the hairy crabs in September.

But then, with a flash of his knife, Dong Rui cleanly sliced off all eight of its legs, causing it to squeal in pain.

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