Chapter 1882: Chapter 1878: Ancient Poison Crystal Core

"Wow. What a gigantic scorpion."

Looking at the scorpion as large as a car, Tang Ming swallowed hard.

"Hey, I’ve finally found you, where did you run off to?"

Just as Tang Ming felt a sense of foreboding, Hua Yingjie appeared atop the scorpion, waving and smiling.

"What’s going on? Am I dreaming? Or did something go wrong with my breakthrough, causing me to deviate?"

Seeing Hua Yingjie actually using the scorpion as a mount, Tang Ming was dumbfounded.

"How about it? Isn’t my new mount impressive?"

Seeing Tang Ming standing there in shock, Hua Yingjie proudly boasted.

"What, what on earth is happening?"

Tang Ming snapped back to reality, looking at Hua Yingjie in confusion.

"I don’t know, either. But since arriving here, not only have I not been poisoned, but I can also control the mutated creatures here."

Hua Yingjie shrugged, smiling as he said, "I found you through those creatures. Oh, and it seems my cultivation has broken through to Martial General."

As he finished speaking, Hua Yingjie summoned a layer of pure white Vigorous Air Armor, surprisingly showing he was indeed a One-star Martial Master.

"Is this possible?"

Tang Ming’s mouth twitched. He had originally thought that being able to absorb the deadly toxins here and breakthrough to Martial General was already extraordinary, but Hua Yingjie had exceeded even that.

Hua Yingjie had not only gone directly from Six-star Martial Master to Martial General, but could also control the poisonous creatures here, which was totally unscientific!

What was Hua Yingjie like three days ago? A Nine-star Martial Artist, not even a martial master, yet now he had broken through to Martial General, which seemed preposterous.

Considering this, Tang Ming, besides being shocked and envious, also began to believe that the Li siblings indeed encountered some opportunity here back then, leading to a rapid increase in their cultivation.

If someone as ordinarily powerless as Hua Yingjie could break through to Martial General, then if the Li siblings had similar opportunities, their advancement would certainly be even scarier.

"Stop dawdling, come on up."

Hua Yingjie waved to Tang Ming with a smile.

"Are you sure this thing can be used as a mount?"

Tang Ming swallowed again, looking at the huge scorpion doubtfully.

"Don’t worry, it’s very obedient."

Hua Yingjie confidently assured him.

"Alright then!"

Tang Ming hesitated for a moment, then jumped onto the scorpion’s back, sitting behind Hua Yingjie.

"Where are we going now?"

Tang Ming asked Hua Yingjie uncertainly.

"Of course, to find the Ancient Poison Crystal Core."

Hua Yingjie replied with a faint smile.

"What is the Ancient Poison Crystal Core?"

Tang Ming inquired, puzzled.

"I’m also not sure, but judging from these mutated creatures, the Ancient Poison Crystal Core should be what Huang Hexian wants us to find."

Hua Yingjie explained while steering the scorpion.

"You can communicate with them?"

Tang Ming was astounded; he thought his communication with Xiao Honghong was impressive, and now Hua Yingjie was communicating with these mutants.

"In a sense, yes! Otherwise, how would I control them?"

Hua Yingjie nodded and said angrily, "By the way, we’ve all been tricked by Huang Hexian."

"What do you mean?"

"This place doesn’t have eleven Ancient Poison Crystal Cores. There’s only one located in the center. Plus, this isn’t some ultimate test, but actual combat. Their goal is for us to find the Ancient Poison Crystal Core and take it out."

Hua Yingjie cursed in anger.

"I see. Since they just want the item, why don’t they get it themselves?"

Tang Ming was even more confused.

"Because this place has guardians! Not only are there these mutated animals, but the location of the Ancient Poison Crystal Core is also guarded by something with considerable intelligence."

Hua Yingjie’s face turned grave, "It is said that many have attempted to enter here to retrieve the Ancient Poison Crystal Core, but most have died near it, and even the mutated animals here get killed if they try to approach the Gu Poison Crystal Core."

"That eerie?"

Tang Ming frowned. Considering the numerous Martial Generals in the Netherworld Road, could none of them obtain the Ancient Poison Crystal Core?

"Indeed very strange. Judging from my current state, I suspect the purpose of the Netherworld Road is to find people who are immune to lethal toxins, like me, to retrieve the Ancient Poison Crystal Core, and then snatch it from me."

Hua Yingjie earnestly analyzed.

"If you say so, it does seem plausible."

Tang Ming nodded in agreement, "But what exactly is this Ancient Poison Crystal Core?"

"No idea. But let me give an example: you can think of it as the central material of nuclear fusion. These monsters and this deadly toxic space are generated by radiation from the Ancient Poison Crystal Core."

Hua Yingjie pondered, then grimly patted the scorpion below him: "You’ve seen the terrors of the mutated monsters here, imagine what would happen if the Ancient Poison Crystal Core was unleashed outside?"

"People would die! It’s so toxic that many would die."

Tang Ming scoffed.

"Not just die, right? After all, there are so many mutated monsters here."

Hua Yingjie coldly chuckled.

"Are you suggesting someone plans to use the Ancient Poison Crystal Core to mass-produce super-strong beings?"

Tang Ming immediately caught on; this seemed very similar to the experiments conducted by Nangong Tianyue and others, intending to use the snb genetic virus to mass-produce Martial Generals.

"Exactly."

Hua Yingjie nodded, speaking with apprehension, "Some of the animals surviving here are naturally born, but most were deliberately placed here, using the same elevator we arrived in to dump a large number of animals. Although most died, a small portion survived, turning into extremely powerful monsters."

"Damn it! These maniacs are insane."

Tang Ming’s face darkened with anger.

"It gets even crazier. Apparently, at one point, the forces behind all this threw countless living people into here, but unfortunately, the survival rate was zero."

Hua Yingjie sneered, gritting his teeth, "I reckon the organizers of the medical competition want to use it both to obtain the Ancient Poison Crystal Core through the participants, and to select the very best people to throw in here, leveraging their medical skills and abilities to see who can survive. This is much more effective than throwing tens of thousands of people in, and won’t be discovered."

"Monsters, they’re truly inhuman monsters."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ming couldn’t help but curse, finally understanding why so many said the Netherworld Road was vicious and ruthless.

"Those researching this are indeed devoid of any humanity, and it’s even more terrifying because once the Ancient Poison Crystal Core leaves here, the consequences will be catastrophic."

Hua Yingjie sighed, "I’ve already guessed what the masterminds behind this want to do. They intend to release the Ancient Poison Crystal Core into densely populated cities. When the radiation effect of the core unfolds, among the millions in the city, a few might survive like those animals and gain power. This would be far more effective than throwing millions of people in here."