Demonic Cultivator: Immune To Common Side Effects - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Immortal Bone, Thousand-Handed Centipede

The old servant Yao Yan humbly led Li Yan through the cave.

“Senior Brother, please follow me,” he said, bowing deeply. “This lowly one will light the way for you.”

Yao Yan was acutely aware of the vast difference in status between himself and Li Yan. He was a servant captured by Daoist Tranquil Void, destined to toil in this sunless Gu Cave for the rest of his life. Li Yan, on the other hand, was an Inner Disciple, a young prodigy whose cultivation base was already beyond Yao Yan’s comprehension—truly a favored son of heaven.

In his youth, Yao Yan had refused to accept his fate, convinced he could carve out his own destiny. But now, he had grown accustomed to the endless routine of chipping at the cave walls in this dim subterranean world, digging for buried treasures.

A man must accept his lot in life when he reaches a certain age.

Yao Yan maintained an attitude of utmost humility before Li Yan, acutely aware of the insurmountable gulf in strength between himself and an Inner Disciple.

Contrast this with Yao Chen, the young servant born in the cave. Shouldering his iron pickaxe, Yao Chen trailed behind Li Yan and asked curiously, “Senior Brother Mingyan, you look so young! You can’t be much older than me.”

Seeing the boy’s lack of decorum, Yao Yan snapped, “Insolent! Show proper respect when addressing your senior brother!”

“I…” Yao Chen trailed off, born and raised in the Gu Cave and utterly ignorant of the outside world, lacking the worldly sophistication of the old servants.

Li Yan, though still maintaining his aloof demeanor, waved his hand dismissively. “It’s natural for young people to be curious about the world above.”

His primary motive, however, was to extract more secrets about the Underground Cave from this group. Even their casual remarks could reveal valuable insights.

Encouraged by Li Yan’s words, the young servant Yao Chen eagerly asked, “Senior Brother Mingyan, are all the houses outside made of wood? And covered with tiles?”

“Is it true that the world above the caves has day and night? And that the Golden Crow circles the sky, illuminating the land with its fiery light? Is all of that real?”

Having spent his entire life underground, the boy’s understanding of the outside world was limited to imagination. Humans can’t conceive of what they’ve never seen. Never having witnessed a sunrise, he could only conjure images of the surface world from thin air.

Li Yan simply replied, “Yes, all of that is true.”

Even this brief confirmation from Li Yan sent Yao Chen into a state of overwhelming excitement.

“So Uncle Yan wasn’t lying after all! The world above really is as he described it!”

Old Servant Yao Yan chuckled, a mix of amusement and exasperation. “You little rascal! You never believe a word I say.”

Li Yan, meanwhile, was pondering how to subtly extract information about what Daoist Tranquil Void had ordered them to excavate. After a moment of contemplation, he casually inquired, “Speaking of which, how’s the digging progressing lately?”

Hearing Li Yan’s question about their work, Yao Yan immediately answered cautiously, “Senior Brother, these Immortal Bones are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Sometimes it takes us months to unearth just a few fragments from Immortal Cultivators.”

“It’s not that we’re slacking off—these Immortal Bones are genuinely hard to dig up.”

As Yao Yan finished his explanation, Li Yan waved his sleeve dismissively. “Grandmaster doesn’t want to hear your excuses. He only cares about results, not the process.”

Upon hearing this, Yao Yan inwardly sighed with relief—Perfect!

Daoist Tranquil Void had always treated them this way.

Earlier, he had harbored doubts about Li Yan’s identity, given that Daoist Tranquil Void had never allowed outsiders into the excavation site before. But Li Yan’s cold, arrogant demeanor now seemed perfectly fitting for someone of his supposed status.

Meanwhile, Li Yan was still deep in thought, calculating his next move.

So the old ghost Tranquil Void had them digging up the remains of Ancient Immortal Cultivators in this underground cave?

That wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Present-day cultivators were mere shadows of their ancient predecessors. Most ancient artifacts and techniques had to be recovered from tombs and battlefields.

Take Storage Rings, for example. Modern cultivators couldn’t even forge them anymore. The Storage Rings Li Yan and Daoist Tranquil Void wore were all antiques excavated from ancient coffins and ruins. Li Yan himself had cycled through countless masters of the several rings he wore.

It was clear that the best way for modern cultivators to acquire High-Grade Magic Treasures and powerful Cultivation Techniques was through tomb raiding and battlefield excavation, especially in ancient battlefields like Broken Sword Valley.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, surveying the surrounding stone walls, and muttered to himself:

“Daoist Tranquil Void has spent over a century excavating this place with such persistence. It must either be an Ancient Immortal’s tomb or an ancient battlefield. And since they’re finding fragments of cultivators’ bones within the stone walls, it’s far more likely this is the remnants of an ancient battlefield.”

If this was an ancient battlefield, they’d hit the jackpot.

Anything left behind by the Ancient Immortal Cultivators was a treasure, no matter where it was found.

In ancient times, spiritual energy had been abundant, and many Magical Treasures were forged during that era.

But in the current world, spiritual energy was scarce, and many of the ancient techniques for forging Magical Treasures had long been lost.

To Li Yan, this situation felt…

like a Qing Dynasty soldier unearthing a cannon cast by the Ming Dynasty two centuries earlier and using it against foreign invaders—a bizarrely true story that bordered on the fantastical.

As he pondered this, the group rounded a corner, and Li Yan spotted a village ahead.

At the village entrance stood a small stone wall, plastered with talismans to ward off malevolent spirits.

Gu Cave Village, carved into a vast subterranean cavern, appeared easily defensible and difficult to attack.

Two village guards with lanterns stood atop the stone wall. Recognizing Yao Yan, they swung open the stone gate.

Inside the village, the structures reflected the cave’s unique characteristics: three-room dwellings with a living area carved directly into the rock walls.

Luminous crystals embedded in the stone walls provided lighting throughout the village.

Despite being deep underground, the abundance of luminous crystals transformed the cavern into a veritable paradise.

“Old Yan, who’s this young lad?” one of the villagers joked. “Another new coolie?”

As the others joined in the jest, Yao Yan snapped, “Silence! This is Senior Brother Mingyan, an Inner Disciple of the Tranquil Void Temple.”

Upon hearing Li Yan’s identity and seeing his Tranquil Void Temple Daoist robe and waist pendant, the village guards hastily knelt. “We were blind! Please forgive us, Senior Brother Mingyan!”

Li Yan remained impassive, radiating an innate air of authority. “Ignorance is no crime,” he replied.

Yao Yan gestured respectfully toward the village. “Senior Brother, the artifacts are stored in the village chief’s house. Please, this way!”

“Hmm.”

Just as Li Yan was about to enter the village to retrieve the treasures they had unearthed, the voice of his Corpse Puppet, Su Mo, echoed in his mind.

“Master, there’s a situation.”

To avoid unnecessary attention, Li Yan had instructed Su Mo to remain hidden in the shadows on the outskirts of the village. As a creature suspended between life and death, Su Mo’s aura was undetectable, making her an ideal assassin.

Su Mo continued her report mentally, her soft, emotionless, yet endearingly sweet voice resonating in Li Yan’s thoughts: “There’s a Thousand-Handed Centipede guarding the village entrance.”