Chapter 606 - 613: Mutation?

Liu Xingzhi’s expression was cold, his blade moving faster and faster, so fast that even Song Wanning could only see a blur.

In a few short moments, the entire mine tunnel was filled with a mist of blood, spraying out in all directions.

"SKREEE—"

The only sounds left in the mine tunnel were endless, wretched screams, each one exceptionally piercing.

Some of the monsters grew fearful and tried to flee back into the crevice.

Song Wanning’s figure flashed, blocking the crevice. She cut down each one that came, her sword rising and falling with brutal efficiency.

With their escape route cut off, the monsters began a frenzied counterattack, but they were still no match for the pair.

But just then, an earsplitting shriek rang out. The remaining few monsters actually huddled together.

Then, right before Song Wanning and Liu Xingzhi’s eyes, they merged into one, forming a much larger monster.

And in that moment, the monster gained pupils.

Within its blood-red eyes, a single pitch-black pupil stared sinisterly at Liu Xingzhi, filled with venomous hatred.

"SKREE—"

Letting out another angry shriek, the monster charged toward Liu Xingzhi.

Liu Xingzhi’s expression turned cold as he swung his blade and charged forward to meet it.

But this new monster was clearly far more powerful. Not only was its movement technique superior, but even Liu Xingzhi’s blade, which flashed with light as it struck, left only a shallow gash.

Seeing this, Song Wanning’s heart sank. She began to rack her brain, trying to recall if there was anything different about the monsters that had just merged.

After all, she’d never encountered anything like this in her previous battles with them.

Even the inherited memories of the Golden Dragon Clan contained no record of such a thing. ’Have the monsters evolved?’

’The more I think about it, the more something feels wrong.’

She began to meticulously sort through the abnormalities of the recent monster encounter within her Sea of Consciousness.

Suddenly, she noticed something.

’The monsters that merged... their eyes seemed to be different.’

’They were still blood-red, but these few had the whites of their eyes.’

’Even if it was just a tiny dot, it was definitely different from the monsters I’d seen before.’

’Could it be a mutation?’

A theory formed in her mind. If the monsters had mutated, it would explain why unprecedented phenomena were occurring.

But if that were the case, things would become even more troublesome.

If all the monsters could merge to become more powerful, then dealing with them would be exponentially harder.

If a few already-powerful monsters were to merge, wouldn’t they become an opponent that no one could face?

Song Wanning immediately recorded her findings, including her theory about the mutation, and sent the report to Luo Hantian.

Upon learning of this, Luo Hantian immediately forwarded the information to the other major powers.

This was a matter that required everyone’s immediate and serious attention.

Back in the mine tunnel, Liu Xingzhi weaved through the battle, each flash of his blade more vicious than the last.

Finally, the monster collapsed into a pool of its own blood.

Liu Xingzhi had intentionally left it alive, wanting to study the creature’s abnormalities.

But just as Song Wanning was about to approach, the monster suddenly split into multiple small, black masses and attempted to flee.

Song Wanning and Liu Xingzhi attacked simultaneously, cutting down the fleeing creatures.

"SKREEE—"

The creatures convulsed a few times before falling still, completely motionless.

The blood pooling beneath them slowly turned from red to green.

Once they confirmed there were no more monsters nearby, Song Wanning and Liu Xingzhi walked over to the dead creatures and crouched down.

"Brother Liu, look... there’s something wrong with the blood of these creatures. Could they have been poisoned, or maybe it’s something they ate?"

Song Wanning felt her heart pound.

She leaned more toward the first possibility.

’If someone is really raising these monsters and trying to make them mutate, then their ambition is terrifyingly vast.’

Liu Xingzhi had clearly come to the same conclusion. He carefully collected a sample of the blood in a vial and handed it to Song Wanning.

"We should find a place to study this first, then decide how to proceed."

"Alright!"

Song Wanning took the vial, and after they had cleaned up the scene, she followed Liu Xingzhi out of the mine tunnel.

Meanwhile, Luo Hantian’s investigation had hit a bottleneck.

The Lan Garden auction house had been in operation for over a century, yet astonishingly, not a single person knew who the owner was!!!

This was highly unusual.

He had, however, managed to find out how many times maps had been auctioned. For the past decade or so, Lan Garden had auctioned off a map every month or two. The pretext for each map’s sale was different, but they were always sold.

Due to the private nature of the auctions, the final buyers were always anonymous. Naturally, no one knew their whereabouts, or whether they were alive or dead.

That was why the scheme had remained undiscovered for so many years.

If Song Wanning hadn’t stumbled upon it this time, no one would have paid any mind to a simple auction at Lan Garden, much less discovered the massive hidden threat lurking behind it.

So he relayed all of his findings to the two of them.

After hearing his report, Song Wanning’s expression turned grim. She had tested the blood and confirmed it contained a toxin, but it was a poison she had never seen before. She couldn’t immediately identify which poisonous plant it might have come from.

"The fact that we know about the monsters is now exposed. I wonder if the mastermind behind this is aware. Sect Master, we still need to communicate this to the other powers."

"We must find the monsters, but for now, we have to do it quietly. We can’t afford to alert our target."

She put the blood sample away in her Storage Ring and continued, "Lan Garden isn’t too far from here. We should head over and take a look. We might find a clue."

’Now that the monsters have been killed, I wonder if the person behind this can sense it.’

"Alright. You two be careful. I’ll see if I can find a way to investigate other powers connected to Lan Garden. Perhaps I can find a lead there."

Luo Hantian agreed. He had thought it was just a small monster, but he never expected it to be tied to so many other problems.

’What a hassle.’

"Let’s go. We’ll check out Lan Garden."

Song Wanning rose and started to leave. She was already used to Liu Xingzhi’s quiet nature; he never objected to her suggestions, so she didn’t need to worry about him.

Besides, she liked working with intelligent people like him.

...

At Lan Garden, the auction floor was bustling. A dazzling variety of items were on display, and the venue was packed with people.

But because the items for sale weren’t exceptionally high-end, the auction had always primarily attracted Loose Cultivators or members of smaller families.

Everyone assumed it was because Lan Garden was too small-scale to compete with the other major powers.

But in Song Wanning’s view, this was entirely deliberate.

’If members of major families and powers were to attend, they would likely discover the deception.’

’Furthermore, if one of their disciples died, the major families and Major Sects would likely investigate, risking exposure.’

’That’s why Lan Garden has always deliberately controlled the quality of its auction items, ensuring it primarily attracts Loose Cultivators.’

’Even if those Loose Cultivators all died, no one would care. The secret would remain safe.’