68: Secret warehouse exposed! The Lin family's fox tail

The stench and stickiness almost made Li Dong throw up his overnight meal.

“System, how much further is this wretched place?” he muttered to himself, Spirit Energy forming a thin film over his body, isolating him from the nauseating filth.

“Warning! Thirty meters ahead, high-concentration ‘demon-attracting incense’ Aura detected! Host, please prepare your defenses!”

“Warning! Three ‘Corrupted Marsh Lurkers’ detected, Energy Rank: Qi Refinement Stage - Late Phase!”

“Warning! ‘Poison Firefly’ swarm detected, threat area marked!”

A series of warning sounds rang out in Li Dong’s Sea of Consciousness.

“demon-attracting incense again? These bastards really treat this place like their backyard cesspool!” Li Dong’s eyes turned cold. He cursed, but his grip on the Mystic Iron Demon Suppressing Ruler tightened.

In the darkness ahead, rustling sounds grew closer, accompanied by a few faint green lights flickering in the foul air.

“Screech—”

Three dark figures suddenly lunged out of the knee-deep mud, moving with astonishing speed, splattering foul-smelling drool everywhere. They resembled lizards but had compound eyes like insects, and their skin was covered in pustules. These were the “Corrupted Marsh Lurkers” the System had warned him about.

“Good timing!” Li Dong advanced instead of retreating, his Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Aura erupting.

A golden light flashed on the Mystic Iron Demon Suppressing Ruler, and the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal runes flickered into view.

“Purify!”

The Ruler swung out with a grand and righteous Aura, directly striking the head of one Lurker.

“Pfft!”

The Lurker didn’t even have time to scream before its head burst open like a watermelon. Foul black blood splattered, but upon contact with the golden halo emanating from the Demon Suppression Ruler, it rapidly dissolved like snow melting in hot oil.

The other two Lurkers seemed intimidated by this Aura, and their movements paused slightly.

Now!

Li Dong moved like lightning, his Ruler following his body. With two more muffled thuds, the remaining two modified creatures followed in their companion’s footsteps.

After easily dealing with these small fry, Li Dong chose to bypass the cluster of faint green lights ahead—the Poison Firefly swarm. Individually, these creatures weren't strong, but in large numbers, their venomous fire could be quite troublesome.

After several more twists and turns, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared at the end of the passage.

“Finally here.” Li Dong quickened his pace.

Emerging from an inconspicuous drain, a vast space opened up before him.

Even with his mental preparation, Li Dong was greatly startled by the sight.

This was no warehouse; it was a massive underground factory! The endless space was filled with various labeled boxes. The air was thick with the scent of herbs, blood, and that damned, ubiquitous demon-attracting incense Aura.

What made his scalp tingle even more was the sight of dozens of giant glass jars arranged in one corner of the factory. They contained various creatures in different forms; some were Yao Beasts, and some… Li Dong even saw several bodies that were clearly human Cultivators. Their eyes were tightly shut, their fates unknown, and they were riddled with various tubes.

“Beasts! These accursed beasts!” Li Dong gritted his teeth, the rage in his chest almost erupting.

“Who’s there?!” a sharp shout came from behind him.

Li Dong whirled around to see three Cultivators dressed in Lin Family attire cautiously watching him. The leader was clearly at the Foundation Establishment Stage - Early Phase, and the other two were at the peak of Qi Refinement Stage.

However, these three were different from ordinary Cultivators. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural red light, and their bodies were a mixture of Demonic Qi and Spirit Energy, clearly victims—or rather, active users—of the demon-attracting incense.

“The one to send you to your graves!” Li Dong couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries. The Mystic Iron Demon Suppressing Ruler blazed with golden light.

The leading Foundation Establishment Cultivator sneered, “You’re courting death! Get him, and refine him into new ‘Materials’!”

The two Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators shrieked and lunged forward. Their attack patterns were bizarre, showing strong demonic characteristics, and their speed and strength far surpassed others of their Rank.

“Hmph, just trash catalyzed by incense!”

Li Dong tapped his foot, his figure blurred, easily dodging the pincer attack of the two. The golden runes of the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal instantly covered the Ruler’s body.

“Suppress!”

One swing of the Ruler, and a golden light surged like a tide towards the two Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators. The Demonic Qi on their bodies, encountering this golden halo, hissed as if meeting its nemesis, and their movements immediately became sluggish.

“Ah! My power!”

“This… what kind of Cultivation Technique is this?!”

The two Cultivators discovered with horror that the power that had made them strong was rapidly draining away.

Li Dong wouldn’t give them a chance to react. The Ruler’s shadow flashed, and with two thuds, the two were sent flying, spitting black blood, collapsing to the ground, the red light in their eyes quickly dimming.

Seeing this, the Foundation Establishment Stage - Early Phase Lin Family Cultivator’s pupils constricted. “Who exactly are you? How dare you ruin my Lin Family’s good work!”

“When you reach the underworld, the King of Hell will tell you!” Li Dong closed in, fully activating the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal, the golden light on the Ruler’s body almost solidifying.

“You seek death!” The Lin Family Cultivator roared, his Demonic Qi surging. A blood-red long saber appeared out of thin air in his hand, reeking of blood, and slashed towards Li Dong.

“Clang!”

The Demon Suppression Ruler and the blood-red long saber collided, emitting a piercing metallic clang.

The Lin Family Cultivator felt a colossal force transmit from the saber, numbing his tiger’s mouth. The Demonic Qi on the blood saber was further suppressed and retreated by the golden halo.

“How is this possible?! You are clearly only at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment!” He looked at Li Dong in disbelief.

Li Dong’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Middle Stage? Enough to kill you!”

Before his words finished, he flicked his wrist, and the Demon Suppression Ruler, at a tricky angle, bypassed the blood saber and heavily struck the opponent’s chest.

“Puff—”

The Lin Family Cultivator was struck hard, a large section of his chest caved in, and he was sent flying backward, knocking over several shelves, shattering bottles and jars all over the floor.

He struggled to get up but found that the Spirit Energy and Demonic Qi in his body were suppressed by a strange force, completely unable to condense.

“You… you…” He pointed at Li Dong, his eyes filled with fear.

Li Dong slowly stepped forward, placing a foot on his chest, looking down at him. “Speak, where are the Lin Family’s core secrets?”

A flicker of determination crossed the Cultivator’s eyes, and he suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. “Haha… you wish… Young Master won’t let you off…”

Before he finished speaking, the Demonic Qi in his body violently reversed, and a wild energy was about to explode.

“Want to self-destruct? Too late!” Li Dong’s eyes turned cold, the golden light on the Demon Suppression Ruler surged, and he pressed down hard.

“Bang!”

With a muffled thud, the Cultivator’s body rapidly shriveled like a punctured balloon, eventually leaving only a pool of foul blood.

Having dealt with the guard, Li Dong didn’t dare to delay and immediately began his search. This warehouse was so huge that important items must be hidden in a secret place.

“System, scan for high-value item areas.”

“Scanning… High-energy reaction area found, located on the third underground level in the southeast corner.”

Li Dong’s eyes lit up, and he immediately followed the System’s guidance.

Behind a hidden door disguised as an ordinary wall, he found a downward passage. At the end of the passage was a heavily guarded secret chamber.

After forcefully breaking through several Restrictions with the Mystic Iron Demon Suppressing Ruler, the sight inside the secret chamber made his breathing quicken.

There were no mountains of Materials here, only a few bookshelves and a large experimental table. On the bookshelves were thick leather-bound ledgers, and on the experimental table lay a meticulously drawn map.

Li Dong picked up the topmost ledger and quickly flipped through it.

“Beep! High-value information data detected! Core Ledger (Duplicate)!”

The System prompt sounded: “The ledger meticulously records the financial flow of ‘demon-attracting incense’ and related Forbidden Experiments, the source of Materials (including some internal supply channels of the Demon Suppression Division), experiment progress, personnel lists (involving multiple Families and high-ranking officials of the Demon Suppression Division in the Prefecture), and even… mentions ‘regular secret reports on experiment results to a certain adult in the capital’!”

“A certain adult in the capital?!” A monstrous wave surged in Li Dong’s heart. He had originally thought the Lin Family had immense power in the Prefecture, but he never expected it to involve the capital! This water was even deeper than he had imagined!

He suppressed the shock in his heart and picked up the map.

“Beep! High-value geographical information detected! ‘Soul-Devouring Demon Flower’ secret cultivation base distribution map!”

“Soul-Devouring Demon Flower!” Li Dong’s eyes narrowed. This was precisely what “Doctor” had been obsessed with until his death, and it was the key to the “Artificial Dao Body” plan!

“Good! Excellent!” Li Dong felt his blood boiling. With these two things, the Lin Family and the dark forces behind them, none of them would escape!

He immediately ordered the System: “Copy the ledger and map information, not a single piece missed!”

“Copying information… Estimated time: three minutes.”

During the wait, Li Dong’s gaze swept over the various bottles and jars in the secret chamber. Many were unstable experimental semi-finished products, emitting a dangerous Aura. A bold plan formed in his mind.

“Since I’m here, I might as well give the Lin Family a big gift.” He chuckled, “System, analyze if I can create a big stir using the Materials here?”

“Analyzing… This place stores a large amount of unstable ‘demon-attracting incense’ catalysts and high-energy Demonic Crystals. If detonated, the power is sufficient to destroy the entire underground warehouse and cause violent energy fluctuations. The ‘demon-attracting incense’ Aura will cover most of the Prefecture city.”

“That’s it!” A hint of madness flashed in Li Dong’s eyes. He wanted to expose the Lin Family’s crimes completely to the light of day!

At the same time, in the western part of Prefecture City, outside the Lin Clan Silk Shop.

Lin Yunzhi looked at the mess in the shop and his bruised and swollen subordinates, his face ashen. The Wang Family and Inspector Zhou of the Demon Suppression Division were like mad dogs, fiercely attacking any of his Lin Family’s properties they could find.

“Useless! A bunch of useless people! You can’t even guard a silk shop!” Lin Yunzhi cursed at the manager.

Just then, a jade pendant at his waist, engraved with complex Formations, suddenly grew hot and a tiny crack appeared.

“Hmm?” Lin Yunzhi’s heart skipped a beat. This jade pendant was connected to the core Formation of the secret warehouse in the south of the city. It would warn him if there was a strong invasion or if the Formation was damaged!

“Not good!” He suddenly looked up towards the south of the city, an ominous premonition rising in his heart. “Could it be… a feint?!”

He no longer cared about the mess in the west of the city and roared, “Everyone, follow me back to the mansion! Quickly!”

Inside the secret warehouse, Li Dong had already put away the copied Jade Slip close to his body.

He cleverly placed several powerful, specially made detonation talismans in areas storing high-concentration “demon-attracting incense” catalysts and Demonic Crystals, and then used Spirit Energy to activate several unstable energy sources in the secret chamber.

“Lin Yunzhi, I hope you like this big gift.”

Having done all this, he estimated the time. Lin Yunzhi should have received the news by now.

“Time to withdraw!”

He no longer hesitated, turning to return the way he came.

Just as he was about to slip into the drainage tunnel, he suddenly turned back, a playful smile on his lips. He flicked his finger, and a faint wisp of Spirit Energy struck the last detonation point he had set.

“Boom—Rumble—!”

An earth-shattering roar came from deep beneath the Lin Family mansion!

Immediately after, the earth trembled violently, as if a Dragon had turned over!

A black column of smoke, mixed with a strong stench and a strange fragrance, burst through the ground of the Lin Family mansion, soaring into the sky! That unique “demon-attracting incense” Aura, like a plague, rapidly spread across the entire Prefecture city!

Countless residents of the Prefecture were awakened by the sudden loud noise and tremor, looking in horror towards the direction of the Lin Family mansion.

“What is that?!”

“It stinks! What is that smell?!”

“The Lin Family… something happened to the Lin Family!”

The shockwave of the explosion overturned most of the secret warehouse. Countless Forbidden Experiment Materials, incomplete demonic limbs, and even some experimental subjects that had not completely died were blasted everywhere, exposed to the air.

Although many core pieces of evidence were destroyed by the high temperature and shockwave in the explosion, the soaring “demon-attracting incense” Aura and the vaguely visible devastation after the explosion had become undeniable proof of the Lin Family’s crimes!

What made the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division even more troubled was that, with the spread of the “demon-attracting incense” Aura, some hidden, low-strength demons in the city seemed to be stimulated, becoming restless, and scattered disturbances quietly began in the dark corners of the city.

The moment the explosion occurred, Li Dong had already slipped back into the foul-smelling drainage System.

Feeling the violent tremors from behind him and that familiar smell, he knew that the Lin Family, this time, could no longer hide its true nature.

And he had completely poked a hole in the sky.

“Heh, this is going to be lively now.” He wiped the mud from his face, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “A bigger storm is still ahead!”