Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 122 - 121: The Enemy Behind the Scenes

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"Ugh..."

Mo Shuyun knelt beside, unable to stop himself from vomiting profusely. His face was covered in the blood foam and flesh fragments spewed by the Demon Fiend, utterly destroying his gentlemanly image once again. What’s more alarming was that half of his clothes were stained red, and before returning to Chang’an, the Celestial Pride Disciple would have to endure the constant stench of decay emanating from his body.

"Is he a Demon Fiend or a human?" Marina pinched her nose and cautiously approached Zhang Zhi, who was lying paralyzed on the ground.

The latter was unmistakably dead, his skin still intact, but his internal organs shattered into a mushy mess, with blood seeping from his nose and mouth. The body that arched from his back was rotting rapidly, the original form nearly unrecognizable within half a minute, resembling a tumor of internal organs and intestines attached to the cultivator’s back.

"Of course, he’s a Demon Fiend," Chen Xuan said solemnly, "but this Demon Fiend seems very special, as it appears able to act in the guise of its host after parasitizing them."

If the Tiger Demons in the Central Plains or the Crab Demons in the ocean depths are considered one kind of Demon Fiend, and the Cyan Dragon and the Dark Demon another, then these malformed creatures would count as a third kind of Demon Fiend.

No matter how numerous or extraordinarily powerful the first two might be, they can ultimately be recognized at a glance. But this kind can disguise its identity as a Demon Fiend, mingling among humans, making its danger level much higher.

Of course, it’s dangerous... others might not know, but Chen Xuan was more than clear—their probable origin from another world categorizes them as an invasive species!

He told Marina, "Go bring in the people from the Immortal Alliance, let them document what’s happening here."

After the witch left, Chen Xuan approached the cracked wall. Now it was clear these bricks were clearly added later, and the surface had already slanted slightly, no longer on the same plane as the surrounding stone walls.

He summoned the blunt Thousand Thoughts Sword, repeatedly thrusting it against the wall, using it like a pickax. By the time the Historian and others returned to the original hall on the first floor, the wall could bear no more, crumbling into several pieces with a loud crash.

Behind the wall was a downward-sloping passageway, from which a chill, damp wind blew out.

"Sect Leader Chen, are you alright?" Hongli still looked slightly terrified; he had thought this would be an unremarkable investigation, never expecting it to result in a death.

"It’s not a big problem. But the Qingge Sect certainly has a big problem." Chen Xuan looked at everyone, "Find some torches; come down with me to take a look. I’ll lead the way."

Though the ordinary officials of the Immortal Alliance were somewhat frightened, not one of them backed out. After all, their duty was to witness and record, regardless of what happened here, they must report truthfully to the higher-ups of the Immortal Alliance.

Though they didn’t find torches, Hongli did find some burning firewood in the side yard. Wrapped in cloth and sprinkled with vegetable oil, they could last a while.

By this time, Mo Shuyun had also followed, instinctively moving to the back of the group.

Though he was still continuously feeling nauseous.

The passage was unexpectedly long, and it spiraled downward. As the air grew colder, Chen Xuan faintly heard the sound of water.

It was clear this was originally a natural cave, with wet rock walls all around, with Qingge Sect only having laid stone slabs underfoot.

"Feels like a hidden escape route," Marina whispered, "The Lord’s castles have many such secret passages."

Chen Xuan was dismissive. They were just a small sect of over twenty people, why would they need a backdoor!

He’d rather believe it was a passage for disposing of garbage, possibly connected to an underground river below, conveniently washing away all household waste.

Sure enough, when they reached the bottom, the cave widened significantly, yet there were no other exits. The first thing visible was a square, twenty-square-meter low clearing. Outside the clearing, a rushing river flowed through the rock layers, the sound of water and dampness coming from there.

As the flickering torchlight entered this area, illuminating the surrounding ground, everyone involuntarily gasped in shock!

"This—how is this possible?" The Historian’s face turned pale, hardly daring to believe his eyes.

They were standing not on solid rock, but some kind of soft muscular tissue!

He trembled as he raised his torch to light above. The sight made him jump again.

The shadows winding above? They weren’t vines; they were sections of intestinal tract as thick as arms! Hanging from the rock, they tangled into a fleshy ceiling. More terrifyingly, these intestines were alive; they were slowly moving—heaven knows what they were digesting.

"Ugh..." This time it was the officials of the Immortal Alliance who felt nauseous.

"Evil spreads in this place; may the Lord protect us..." Marina, who never prayed to gods, was now a bit flustered, unintentionally leaning towards Chen Xuan, drawing a cross with her hand.

"What the hell is wrong with this place?" Mo Shuyun said in disbelief, "Have we been caught in some spell of hallucination?"

"No, what you see is real." Chen Xuan’s face was stern... though these intestines and muscles appeared alive, the Celestial Mist Skill couldn’t sense any qi from them. In other words, they couldn’t truly be considered living, more like disgusting decorations.

These lifeless flesh tissues were eroding the rocks, river, moss, and fish here, then replacing them. In appearance, it bore great resemblance to the Forbidden Technique "Decomposition and Re-Fusion" he had obtained previously.

The source of this flesh was a small altar.

It was adjacent to the dome of the cave, styled almost identically to the one Chen Xuan had seen in the abandoned factory, consisting of two candlesticks and a sacrificial basin, the only difference being it didn’t have a supporting frame for books.

A foreboding premonition came true. Now he could confirm one thing: an invasion point connecting to that other world existed near Chang’an City, and someone had already entered the world of the Immortal Alliance through it.

But why Qingge Sect?

How is this matter related to Master Jiu?

"What is this thing? Why is there a pile of bones beside it?" Mo Shuyun had also noticed the altar, exclaiming in surprise, "Could it be these people were fed to the intestines?"

Hearing that the intestines would eat people, the Historian’s face turned even paler.

"It’s unlikely that they’re eaten... but the situation may be even worse." Chen Xuan squatted down, rummaging through the pile of bones, then took out a palm-sized stone tablet and threw it to the other side, "Look at this."

Mo Shuyun fumbled to catch it, wiped it clean in the torchlight, and quickly widened his eyes, "This is... an Immortal Alliance jade plaque! It even has a name: Zhang Fuqin..."

Hongli and the others were astonished, "She was an elder of Qingge Sect, part of the sect since its founding!"

"Do you know this person?" Chen Xuan pressed on.

"No... I don’t know, but before we came, we had already reviewed Qingge Sect’s information, and this person is registered in the Immortal Alliance cultivator directory." Hongli furrowed his brow, "But that’s impossible! If a legitimate cultivator dies, the sect is required to report and erase the name with the Immortal Alliance. Since Qingge Sect’s founding, there has been no record of any disciple dying!"

"But judging by the state of these bones, she’s probably been dead for quite a long time." Mo Shuyun also realized the situation was beyond the investigative team’s capacity.

"She’s not the only one." Chen Xuan also unearthed several jade plaques from the pile of bones and tossed them to Mo Shuyun.

As the names were read one by one, Hongli confirmed as well, these jade plaques belonged entirely to Qingge Sect cultivators.

For a moment, everyone was looking at each other, unable to hide the fear in their eyes.

What does this imply?

In Chang’an City, right under the Immortal Alliance’s nose, an orthodox sect was silently wiped out, and for so long no one noticed!?

No... it’s quite normal not to notice. Chen Xuan rapidly thought, each sect had its domain; as long as they didn’t overstep boundaries, no one would care what another sect was up to. Whether it was meditation or Demon Slaying, disappearing into the mountains for a year or so was not uncommon.

The main point was: why did the invaders go to such great lengths to replace Qingge Sect? Just to kill and sacrifice? Then they should have abandoned this empty shell long ago...

The good news was this pile of bones was obviously ancient; if Ji Yanshu had been captured and killed here, there would be some fresh bloodstains to see. Moreover, the wall was sealed, leaving no open mechanism, indicating these cultivators had been killed a long time ago.

The bad news is, if Ji Yanshu truly fell into the hands of cultists from another world, the outcome might be worse.

"This matter must be brought to the Immortal Alliance’s attention immediately!" Chen Xuan made a decisive conclusion; since no one was found here, there was no point wasting time, "We should return to Chang’an City at once!"