Free Web NovelIn a long-dormant volcano far from Hua City, surrounded by dense forests, a small cave, the size of a wellhead, was hidden.
From a distance, a pale-faced man walked through frost-bitten withered shrubs and stopped in front of the cave. He then slowly took off his shirt, revealing a black sun totem tattoo on his back.
The cold mountain wind brushed against the man's back, and the tattoo, which exuded a strange aura, glowed faintly. As if sensing something, the entrance of the cave before him immediately twisted with light and shadow.
The moment the outermost solidified Spell disguise shattered, the massive underground world of this secret Eclipse Society stronghold finally revealed its true form.
Beyond the dozens of meters high giant entrance, the earth and rock of the mountain seemed to have been hollowed out, forming a massive depression.
Deeper inside, golden-red magma flowed slowly, reflecting off the metallic casings of various complex instruments, casting a glow.
Countless winding walkways crisscrossed along the edges of the abyssal depression, weaving a complex and vast underground space, like an anthill built over a furnace.
Numerous Eclipse Society members, wearing special protective suits, held silver candelabras and hurried along the damp, dark walkways like worker ants.
They would occasionally enter secret chambers carved into the rock face, and soon, the chambers would echo with unrestrained fantasies, startling screams, or angry roars.
This was Eclipse Society Stronghold No. 4, and also the second-highest secret stronghold Suo E could access; his Spirit Mark was drawn here.
Of course, the numbering of Eclipse Society strongholds was not based on scale but on importance. For instance, Stronghold No. 2, the Gray Forest Cabin, where Suo E often listened to the Elder Council's teachings, was merely a wooden cabin covering less than fifty square meters, appearing as if it would collapse with a single gust of wind.
The moment he passed through the entrance into the stronghold, the briefly opened solidified Spell disguise resealed, and the surroundings plunged into darkness.
Suo E put his clothes back on and skillfully picked up a candelabra from the stone table beside the entrance, lighting the candle.
In fact, there were lighting fixtures on those walkways, and even without them, the magma deep within the cave would provide sufficient light.
The purpose of those silver candelabras was to ward off urban legend lurking in the shadows, ready to strike suddenly, as the specially scented candles burned.
The Eclipse Society had been conducting various ritualistic research and Alchemy experiments here for years, and numerous lives had perished, giving rise to many evil spirit-type urban legend that wandered everywhere. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Although, more often than not, those evil spirit-type urban legend were more like experimental materials that could be used at any time, being raised by the Eclipse Society members here.
However, if a shepherd were to be attacked by his own flock unintentionally, the consequences would be quite severe.
What's more, the special geological structure of Stronghold No. 4 was itself like a unique Gu-raising pot, and the existence of those generated urban legend might have a deeper meaning.
Suo E held the candelabra and walked forward along one of the winding walkways.
Today was the day Miss Rabbit's first experimental ritual concluded. He came here as agreed to pick her up, or to personally dispose of her remains.
Following the spiral walkway downwards, the further he walked, the dimmer the light became, and the stronger the smell of sulfur in the air grew.
It made one think of the abyss, rumored to be inhabited by demons.
Until the path ahead was blocked by a huge metal door, similar to a vault door, there were no longer any lighting fixtures around, only the faint flickering candlelight illuminating Suo E's face.
He methodically unlocked each lock on the metal door, then turned the mechanism. With a grating metallic screech, the heavy door opened, and a vast natural cave behind it immediately came into view.
Inside the cave, the carcass of some giant creature lay in the center. From the cracks in the fractured ground, a smell of sulfur mixed with a bloody stench wafted out.
Lifeless black blood slowly seeped from its remains, dripping into the cracked fissures and accumulating into a foul-smelling stream, breeding a large number of putrid maggots, with mosquitoes and flies constantly rising and falling like a cloud.
Yet, within this gloomy and grotesque environment, the sound of poetry chanting emanated, peaceful and serene, yet inducing madness.
In a corner of the cave, a hunched, four-armed, white-haired old man with a wrinkled face wore a gas mask covering half his face and a dirty white lab coat. He was intently brewing something in front of a stone cauldron, occasionally stepping aside to draw a few strokes on a draft on a nearby table.
“How is her condition?”
The old man did not answer Suo E, continuing to stir the thick liquid in the stone cauldron. Along with the rising steam, a strange smell, sometimes foul, sometimes fragrant, wafted from the cauldron.
“Excuse me, how is her condition?”
Suo E repeated his question. The old man frowned slightly but did not look up, responding impatiently, “Can’t you see for yourself? She’s almost dead, only half a breath left.”
“Is she beyond saving?” Suo E asked. As he spoke, he had already secretly prepared to honor his agreement and dispose of Miss Rabbit’s remains.
“More or less. If I add this last ingredient and it still doesn’t succeed, then you can take her away,” the old man said, shrugging.
As he spoke, he suddenly pushed the stone cauldron in front of him. With a dull thud, the scalding potion spilled entirely onto the ground.
The viscous liquid, like asphalt, spread and filled the cracks in the fractured ground, merging with the accumulated black blood on the ground to form a dark-colored “lake.”
As the Alchemy potion, containing ingredients like neon amber, Bodhi, and Huangjin, was poured, that lake began to boil. In this gloomy and grotesque environment, a light, pure and brilliant, illuminated the almost completely decayed carcass.
Immediately after, Miss Rabbit’s spirit energy fluctuations, which had been like stagnant water, suddenly began to boil along with the “lake” on the ground. Countless bubbles burst, interweaving into a gray mist in the air above the cave.
And in that mist, a pair of semi-illusory, exquisite eyes slowly opened, then, accompanied by violent vibrations and the shattering of the giant carcass, a pure white shadow slowly rose from the shallow lake.
The old man watched the scene before him, his three cloudy eyes wide with wonder, exclaiming, “No wonder, no wonder, so she chose that path?”
“What guts! I almost thought she was beyond saving.”
Suo E frowned and looked at the old man. “Do you mean she successfully passed this experiment and advanced from Mr. Rabbit to Regicide Rabbit Yuánfú?”
“Idiot! Moron! Is Yuánfú like this?” The old man rolled his eyes and cursed Suo E, not bothering to hide his disdain. “Feel the spirit energy fluctuations properly; this is clearly Śaśaka!”
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“Śaśaka? What’s that?” Suo E asked, puzzled. This term was somewhat unfamiliar to him, as he had memory issues and found it difficult to remember some obscure urban legend.
“The rabbit who sacrificed himself to the fire in the Buddhist Sutra of the Rabbit King,” the old man explained. “The sutra says: The Rabbit King thought, ‘The Daoist can have me.’ So he remained silent, then threw himself into the fire. The fire was blazing fiercely; as soon as he fell into the fire...”
Pausing, the old man continued, “Originally, I had no obligation to tell you this. Training experimental products is the Elder Council’s business.”
“I’m telling you because I’m a bit curious. The uncertainty of this ritual is inherently very high. She clearly could have chosen a more stable advancement path with a higher success rate, yet she insisted on choosing this path of ‘placing oneself in a death trap to find life’...”
“But why? You brought her here, and you’ve spent the longest time with her. You should know something, right?”
The old man urgently wanted to know the reason why Miss Rabbit had actively chosen a more dangerous path during the ritual experiment, as this was a very important experimental data point for him.
“She...” After hearing the old man’s question, Suo E immediately thought of the little thief who had stolen Miss Rabbit’s witchs egg and gained strong flame manipulation abilities, and he suddenly realized, “Perhaps it was due to some personal grudge that she made such a choice?”
Miss Rabbit is narrow-minded and holds grudges!
“Personal grudge? That’s quite a grudge then!” The old man frowned, his three eyes exposed outside the mask almost shrinking into a ball. “So it was influenced by psychological factors?”
“That’s a factor we hadn’t considered in previous experiments. Perhaps in the next experiment, we can try to induce the experimental subjects psychologically?”
“But I know nothing «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» about psychological induction! I’m good at destroying wills and breaking down psychological defenses, but do I have to hire another assistant? But how could anyone resist experimenting on their assistant? Difficult, too difficult!”
Suo E, “......”
He knew that the old man in front of him had indeed had several assistants before, but later, those assistants mysteriously disappeared.
When they were found again, one was in a high-pressure reactor, one was in Stronghold No. 4’s drainage system, and one... was in everyone’s digestive system.
Since then, no one had been willing to be his assistant again.
As the old man muttered to himself, the white shadow, born from the mixture of black blood and thick Alchemy potion, gradually condensed into a woman with an outstanding figure, accompanied by a twist of light and shadow.
From her flowing golden hair, a pair of snow-white rabbit ears emerged. Her skin was as white as snow, as if sculpted from luminous jade. Her chest was firm and snowy white, mature and high-set, and her alluringly flat lower abdomen would make even a gentleman who avoided improper gazes Can't help it take a second look.
Thus, even a problematic fellow like Suo E couldn't help but take a few extra glances, only to find her body as limp as mud, falling towards the boiling, filthy liquid on the ground.
Seeing this, Suo E was slightly startled. He flew forward and quickly caught Miss Rabbit in his arms, one arm wrapped around her shoulder, the other embracing her long legs. Then, with a light touch of his toes on a protruding rock below, he steadily landed back in his original spot.
Feeling Suo E’s hard, cold embrace, like that of a skeleton, Miss Rabbit, whose consciousness was hazy, fluttered her eyelashes slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, looked up at him, her breath shallow, and her voice weak, saying, “Did I succeed?”
“Yes,” Suo E nodded.
“Then, should I now possess the innate ability of fire immunity?” Miss Rabbit pressed.
“This...” Suo E didn’t know how to answer for a moment. He turned his head to look at the old man who was watching the show, giving him a questioning gaze.
“Firstly, I personally do not recommend Eclipse Society members having office romances. If it’s just for procreation, you can go to the Black Sun Brothers Technology Association; they like to do that stuff,” the old man said, rolling his eyes. “Secondly...”
The old man looked at Miss Rabbit, sneering with pursed lips, “Although I admire your courage to seek life in death, you haven’t completely succeeded.”
Miss Rabbit recalled the several times she almost lost consciousness during the experiment and exclaimed excitedly, “Why?! I clearly already...”
She had paid a considerable price, almost dying, but did not receive the corresponding reward, which she found somewhat unacceptable.
If it was merely about enhancing strength, the other two relatively safer advancement paths could also achieve that.
“Nonsense!” the old man interrupted sharply. “Śaśaka is a mythical Strange Tale that sacrifices oneself to fire to achieve a great vow. I ask you, did you sacrifice yourself? Did you throw yourself into the fire? Did you achieve something for others?”
Miss Rabbit, “......” Do I look like the kind of Strange Tale who would do that? Or rather, how could such a person exist among those who appear at an Eclipse Society stronghold?
The old man scrutinized Miss Rabbit and said, “None of that, right? Then it’s already quite good that you managed to survive and steal a portion of Śaśaka’s authority.”
“......” Miss Rabbit was silent, biting her thin lip lightly, and pressed, “Then now, my resistance to fire attribute...”
“It’s naturally very high, after all, you have a part of Śaśaka’s authority,” the old man affirmed. “As for how high, I can’t be sure, but outside is a volcano, you can jump down and try. Maybe you can achieve the symbolic meaning of 【sacrificing oneself to fire】 and further strengthen your ability?”
Miss Rabbit, “......”
She remained silent, not daring to respond to the old man, because she knew that the old man, whose eyes gleamed with excitement, was serious, and she also didn't dare to try.
Having finally gained such powerful strength, the thing she wanted most now was to return to Hua City and hunt the Twilight Woman, and that little thief.
As Miss Rabbit pondered, the old man suddenly began to shoo the two of them away, “Alright, if there’s nothing else, get out!”
“Damn it, who told you to change the advancement path without authorization? Two out of three phases of the experiment design are scrapped, and everything has to be redone! Are you trying to work me to death?!”
“You’d better pray you survive your next ritual experiment, otherwise, I’ll definitely sell the little trinkets I pry off you to the most perverted buyer, letting your remaining soul fragments continue to be tormented.”
Hearing this, Suo E frowned and whispered in Miss Rabbit’s ear, “Come on, hang in there, he’s serious.”
Hang in there... Miss Rabbit twitched the corner of her mouth, “......”
You really don’t need to emphasize this to me, I can tell.
How can there be such a blunt man like you in this world?!
