CHAPTER 438: CHAPTER 438: CONFLICT

Hu Li effortlessly dug through the rocks and crystal structures blocking the entrance of the rift—after the "Great Sage" died, the part of the crystal directly connected to him became exceedingly fragile, so much so that with just one swipe of her claw, the fox girl could gouge a large hole out. Once they breached the entrance, Yu Sheng and his party discovered a long passage leading deep underground, clearly bearing traces of human construction.

The inner walls of the passage were supported by sturdy artificial materials, and its supporting structures bore the heavily weathered and eroded Taixu Spirit Core Badge. As they proceeded deeper underground, they saw ancient machinery long abandoned for countless years, and arrays and talismans ruined by crystal substance. All signs indicated that this underground structure was neither "excavated" by the Inference Star Body, nor secretly dug out by those Hidden Monastery believers, but rather an ancient outpost built by Taixu Cultivators, now forgotten by the world.

Perhaps a few hundred years ago, it had already become a lair for the Inference Star Body—and after those Hidden Monastery believers colluded with "Yun Qingzi," it became a base Yun Qingzi arranged for his "allies."

After descending hundreds of meters underground, Yu Sheng and the others discovered a large-scale Underground Palace.

Like other places, this area was thoroughly occupied by countless pale crystals. Clusters of crystals, resembling roots and branches, emerged from the cracks in the Underground Palace, intertwining and spreading across the ground and walls.

Due to the limited underground space, Hu Li reverted to human form and nervously followed closely behind Yu Sheng, clutching her large tails in each hand, her furry ears atop her head turning attentively and twitching occasionally with the various sounds continuously emanating from underground.

The strange roar never stopped, and occasional tremors from the depths of the Underground Palace were interspersed with unsettling sounds of crystals and rocks breaking, as if at any moment this underground structure might collapse, or something terrifying might drill out from beneath their feet.

But Yu Sheng ignored these unnerving disturbances, walking ahead as if familiar with the direction of their advance as if it were his own home. He easily found the path to the deeper part of the Underground Palace among a heap of junctions. After navigating the surrounding structures of the palace, he led Erin, Luna, and Hu Li to a hall.

In this hall, there were many pieces of machinery—they contrasted sharply with the mechanical devices and Immortal Arrays seen earlier on the road, yet matched the style of equipment aboard the Otherworld Inn, evidently left behind by the Venerate Saints Monastery.

In a corner of the hall, Yu Sheng found several large devices neatly arranged like hibernation pods.

The containers were already ruptured, filled with bizarre pale crystals, with thin biological solution dripping from between the crystals. Judging from the fluid that had yet to dry, this "betrayal" that occurred deep underground must have happened not long ago.

...

In Mo City, atop the middle platform of Refining Tower No. 4, City Lord Mo Ran stood at the edge, staring intently into the distance.

The young City Lord, who took over the position of the Mo Family Head only a few years ago, had a somewhat pale complexion.

Everything no longer looked the way it did in the familiar memories; the once-peaceful wilderness was now covered with a boundless living Crystal Jungle. The distant mountains had collapsed, and from the ruptured mountains, terrifying tendrils extended skyward. Another rift was even closer to Mo City, with the tendrils emerging from that rift sometimes only a few kilometers away from the City Defense Array.

Moreover, scouts who had dared to ascend into the sky recently reported that more rifts were appearing on the plains to the west.

Communication with other cities had been cut off, and contact with orbital stations was mysteriously disrupted. Half an hour ago, an Immortal Boat controlled by an Artifact Spirit attempted to break through the atmosphere, but shortly after leaving the City Defense Array, it lost contact, evidently with little chance of survival...

The only good news was that those tendrils had not appeared within Mo City, and the existing crystals in the city had not spread further.

The "awakened" Mo City had become the only pure land on this planet to resist the influence of the Inference Star Body. At least for now, those terrifying crystals were still strongly suppressed within the Mo City area.

Mo Ran took a light breath, her gaze falling downward to the ground outside the Refining Tower.

A layer of hazy Spiritual Energy Shield enveloped the entire Mo City, and at the boundary where this shield met the wilderness outside, the strange pale crystals squirmed slowly like living creatures. The crystal clusters continuously attempted to spread towards Mo City, but whenever they came close enough, some invisible force would roughly block them. During these confrontations, Mo Ran always felt she saw thin black lines...some kind of spiderweb-like structure seemed to be clinging to the city’s City Defense Array.

But when she tried to look closely, she saw nothing.

Mo Ran knew that it was precisely these "web-like" things that had awakened the city’s residents. Though the process was somewhat rough, these somewhat intimidating spider silks had pulled millions out of the cognitive barriers created by the Inference Star Body and temporarily connected everyone into some "clear-minded whole." Even now, these spider silks continued to work, fiercely resisting the Erosion of the Inference Star Body.

But she did not know how long this resistance could last.

There were vibrations emanating from beneath the city, sometimes so strong that even ordinary people could feel them.

Those were the tendrils—just like the ones that destroyed mountains and tore apart plains in the distance. They existed beneath Mo City too. These terrifying limbs were always trying to drill into this city but had not yet succeeded.

But it seemed like only a matter of time.

With a sound of air being torn, a Mo Family guard clad in a raincoat, his face covered with a black cloud-patterned mask, flew up to the platform from beneath the Refining Tower. He knelt on one knee before Mo Ran: "City Lord, crystalline material has been observed in the geodetic well under the tower, and a tendril is active at the bottom of the well—the tendril is large in scale, its full appearance hard to distinguish."

"Are there signs of upward breakthroughs?"

"For now, no," the personal guard shook his head, "that tentacle is being suppressed by the City Defense Array and is currently only crawling slowly underground."

"And what about the other Refining Towers?"

"Towers Eight, Nine, and Twelve have also reported spotting the tentacle. It is initially judged to be the same one as under Tower Four. There is no sign of anomalies under the other towers for now, but crystalline substances are seeping out from the cracks in the earth veins."

Mo Ran closed his eyes and took a light breath.

There is a giant tentacle beneath Mo City, its scale likely large enough to surround the entire city underground — if not for the "puppet" intervening in time, this city might have been devoured unknowingly in its sleep.

"...Alright, I understand. Continue monitoring that thing. If it shows upward movement, open the slag outlet pipes."

"Understood."

The personal guard departed.

The cold wind pierced through the shield, and the cold rain swept over the Tower. A vague sense of unease suddenly rose from the depths of Mo Ran’s heart. He immediately looked up in the direction that tugged at his mind.

In the storm outside the city, she saw some larger and smaller shadows suddenly passing through the clouds, rapidly approaching Mo City from below the clouds.

Leading them was a large Immortal Boat with a pale moon-white shell and a tall ship’s tower, followed by various other boats of different sizes and countless sword-controlling cultivators.

Mo Ran’s heart sank as he immediately recognized a familiar figure appearing on the Immortal Boat.

City Lord of "Tan Yuan," Lord Yun Shan.

The refined middle-aged man standing on the deck of the Immortal Boat saw Mo Ran standing on the tower defending the City Defense Array and immediately clasped his fists from afar, with a hint of concern on his face. He spoke, his voice cutting through the wind and rain: "Mo Family Head, I received news of great chaos in Mo City and came to aid with people — on the way, I encountered the forces of True Master Qingyun and Bai Hong Fairy. How is the situation in the city now?"

What was meant to come, has indeed come.

Mo Ran felt a deep heaviness in her heart, but she had long anticipated such a scenario, so her expression remained calm at this moment as she responded solemnly: "Thank you, Lord Yun Shan, for your concern — Mo City is fine, just some communication devices are malfunctioning. Once everything is restored, I will inform all the cities of the situation."

"Oh, that’s good," Lord Yun Shan nodded. Despite the oscillating living forest below, despite the crystalline covering before the eyes, he remained calm, showing no visible agitation toward Mo Ran’s apparent rigidity. Instead, he slowly controlled the Immortal Boat to fly a little further, "If everything is fine, I’m relieved. Then, please open the City Defense Array, Mo Family Head. It’s been long since we’ve visited Mo City. We’ll just take a look."

The refined middle-aged man’s attitude was earnestly sincere as he said this, appearing quite natural.

For indeed, the world in his eyes seemed perfectly normal — it’s just that the atmosphere on Mo City’s side seemed indeed a bit strange.

He couldn’t understand why Mo Ran would open the City Defense Array so decisively and even stand on the Refining Tower with such alert... Could it be that something really went wrong in the city?

If that’s the case, then it’s even more necessary to enter the city to confirm the situation. After all, in this remote border, the cities are neighboring, looking after each other in ordinary times...

Often looking after each other...

Looking after each other...

The large and small Immortal Boats, along with the sword-controlling cultivators near the Immortal Boat, gradually closed in on Mo City, carrying the concern for fellow players, the sense of responsibility as border guardians, and...

Yun Qingzi’s command.

Problems arose in Mo City, City Lord Mo Ran and its people needed help... millions of nodes disengaged from the cognitive network, the strayers needed to be corrected... External forces severed this city from the planet, dastardly thieves contending with the benefactor for control of this city... there is a threat, and the threat needs to be eliminated.

The numerous ancient arrays on the surface of the Refining Tower slowly lit up, the shield of the City Defense Array instantly became more solid, raising fully armed turrets in the city, and Mo Family guards, wearing straw raincoats and cloud-pattern conical hats with masks, ascended the tower, their weapons glimmering with cold light in the rain.

"Lord Yun Shan," Mo Ran stepped forward, flying sword at hand, "please return."

"Oh, I see," a trace of realization surfaced on Lord Yun Shan’s face as he slowly nodded, "Mo Family Head, you have succumbed to demon possession, I see."