189: Chapter 189 The Oriole's Scheme

Under the web of starlight, the center of the basin was a scene of devastation.

The massive body of the Peak-stage Tier 2 Yao Beast, the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox, lay quietly on the scorched earth like a collapsed mountain.

Crimson Yao blood gathered into streams, flowing along the gullies of the earth, rising in pungent white smoke.

In mid-air, the specialized cage engraved with complex runes was slowly descending, bearing down on the shivering cyan-furred cub.

Several elite Disciples of the Beast Taming Sect showed joy, about to step forward to activate the technique to capture the Yao Beast.

The unexpected occurred.

From the massive abdomen of the mother beast, whose life had clearly ended, a muffled, thunderous roar suddenly erupted.

This sound was not caused by an explosion of Yao power, but by pure physical resonance.

The final breath of natal True Essence that the mother beast had forcibly swallowed before dying had been injected entirely into the depths of the rock layer beneath her.

The earth cracked, and the ground shook.

The scorched earth beneath the cub instantly collapsed, revealing a bottomless, massive black hole.

The roar of a rapid, icy current surged from the depths of the black hole, and freezing water vapor shot into the sky.

Hidden beneath this earth vein was a surging, ceaseless underground river.

The cyan-furred cub let out a mournful cry, its body falling into the black hole along with the rubble and soil, instantly swallowed by the surging underground river, leaving no trace.

The specialized cage landed just in time, but it missed, crashing heavily onto the edge of the collapse.

"Damn it! The earth vein has collapsed!"

"That beast has fallen into the underground river!"

The surrounding Disciples of the Beast Taming Sect were horrified. Several nearby Cultivators immediately steered their Magical Artifacts, intending to enter the hole to pursue, but were forced back repeatedly by the violent currents surging from the underground river.

High above, Core Disciple Qin Wuyan stood on a jade Flying Sword, his expression remaining calm, devoid of any trace of anger.

His slender fingers gently stroked the edge of his Tuning Spirit Ruler, his gaze falling onto the collapsed black hole.

"A mother beast protecting its young, forcibly shaking the earth vein before death to pierce the rock layer and connect to the underground river—this instinct to protect its offspring is truly admirable."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's voice was warm, but his commentary was entirely cold.

"Senior Brother Qin, this underground river network is dense and interconnected, leading directly to the water system of the Yunmeng Great Swamp. If this cub escapes into the depths of the Great Swamp, finding it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Won't the Sect's plans come to nothing?"

An attending inner Sect deacon, looking anxious, stepped forward to ask for instructions.

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan nodded slightly and waved his sleeve.

"The cub was just startled, its aura is scattered, and it must have left its unique scent along the water veins. Teams A, B, and C, listen to my command: form the Water-Evasion Spirit-Seeking Formation and enter the underground river immediately to pursue. I want to see the Yao Beast alive, or see its corpse."

At this point, Core Disciple Qin Wuyan turned his gaze to the mountain-like corpse of the mother beast.

"The remaining four members of Team D will stay here. The skeleton of this adult Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox is incomparably tough and contains the Earth-element Oscillation Law. You must strip away its flesh and skin, and carefully extract and collect the intact main bones. When we return with the captured cub, we will take it back to the Sect to complete the mission."

Military orders were like mountains.

Dozens of Beast Taming Sect elites responded in unison.

Flashes of light appeared one after another as a large number of Cultivators, like arrows released from a bow, leaped into the deep black hole, pursuing at high speed along the surging underground river.

The massive hunting formation dispersed by more than half in an instant.

In the vast scorched basin, only four Team D Disciples clad in starry Daoist robes remained, along with the massive corpse exuding a strong, bloody stench.

In the darkest part of the cliff, the heavy shadow cast by a withered pine perfectly concealed Gu Shen's body.

He stood still as a pine, his Cold Jade Bone concealing all his aura, like a cold jade statue merged with the night.

His gaze pierced through the heavy night miasma, taking in all the changes in the basin.

"Master, the large-scale high-energy heat source has left the current area. Four carbon-based lifeforms remain in the center of the basin, with energy levels assessed at approximately Qi Refining Level 8."

The black iron buckle at his collar warmed slightly as Crab's standalone computing module continued to operate, feeding precise data analysis into Gu Shen's ears.

Gu Shen's eyes were deep as he watched the four Beast Taming Sect Disciples below, who had begun to busy themselves around the giant corpse.

The four of them held specialized ox-dissecting daggers and skinning Magical Artifacts, struggling to cut through the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox's thick, tough skin.

The Physical Body of a Peak-stage Tier 2 Yao Beast had long been tempered like refined steel; even in death, its residual Yao power and muscle fibers still posed a great obstacle to this group of Qi Refining Stage Cultivators.

Every time the blades fell, they were accompanied by harsh screeching sounds and flying sparks.

The four were panting with exhaustion, their foreheads covered in sweat.

Gu Shen was not in a hurry to act, continuing to monitor patiently from the distant cliff.

"Crab, pay attention to concealment. Go and analyze the material structure of that Yao Beast's skeleton."

Gu Shen moved his mind slightly and issued the command.

"Understood. Microwave perspective scanning initiated."

The Crab at the iron buckle instantly switched forms, and a mechanical spider with eight legs was seen quickly crawling toward the corpse of the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox.

A moment later.

The non-spiritual mechanical form seemed to give Crab a very reliable disguise.

Until it reached the massive corpse of the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox, Crab had not been discovered by the four people working hard on the corpse.

Extremely faint, invisible spectra shot from Crab's mechanical eyes, instantly penetrating the distance in front of it and enveloping the broken giant beast's body.

An incense stick's time later, the mechanical spider crawled back to Gu Shen's feet, climbed back up his robes to the collar, and Crab's electronic voice carried a clear tone of excitement.

"Master, the scan results are amazing! The interior of this giant creature's bones presents an extremely complex honeycomb-like porous structure. Its bone composition contains some kind of unknown superconducting mineral crystal."

"Analyzed from the perspective of Materials engineering, this kind of bone is a perfect natural damping matrix. It can absorb, deflect, and cancel out high-frequency physical shockwaves."

"The young man just now used reverse sound waves to neutralize the attack, which was a clever way to resolve it; but this skeleton itself is excellent for resisting infrasonic resonance!"

This detailed physical analysis struck every word into Gu Shen's Sea of Consciousness.

He recalled the moment Core Disciple Qin Wuyan clashed with the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox just now.

The titanium-tungsten alloy armor of the Demon Bone Iron Guard Puppets was indeed indestructible, able to defend against blades, swords, and Spells, but it could not defend against ubiquitous infrasonic resonance.

Once encountering that kind of frequency attack that struck directly at the internal circuits, the miniature batteries and formation patterns would instantly paralyze.

The skeleton of this Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox could perfectly patch this newly discovered defensive weakness of Gu Shen's Demon Bone Iron Guard.

As long as this skeleton is put into the [Heaven and Earth Furnace] for refining, supplemented with some special Materials, it will definitely be possible to formulate a sound-insulating coating that completely isolates physical resonance, turning the Demon Bone Iron Guard under his command into even more formidable killing machines.

"If Heaven bestows something and you do not take it, you will instead suffer the consequences."

Gu Shen already had a plan in his heart.

He was determined to obtain this great Yao Beast skeleton.

The night grew deeper, and the cold wind whistled through the valley.

The four Beast Taming Sect Disciples in the center of the basin were still struggling to dismember the Yao Beast's body.

The massive workload consumed a great deal of True Essence, the four's movements had slowed down, and the protective spiritual light around their bodies appeared somewhat dim.

"This job is really not meant for humans. This beast's skin and flesh are harder than refined iron; carving out these few ribs is practically killing me."

A Disciple wiped the blood from his face and complained repeatedly, leaning on his Magical Artifact long saber.

"Stop blabbering and get to work. If we mess up what Senior Brother Qin ordered, both of us will have to go to the Ice Cave for confinement when we return to the Sect."

Another older Disciple scolded, and the skinning Magical Artifact in his hand cut forcefully into the Yao Beast's spine again.

They were focused on dealing with the giant corpse before them, their vigilance having dropped to the lowest point due to the heavy labor and fatigue.

In their view, with the Beast Taming Sect's army passing through, the low-level Yao Beasts on the outskirts of Mang Mountain had long since fled, and absolutely no one would dare to stroke the tiger's whiskers here.

Gu Shen stood at the Peak of the cliff, the cold wind blowing his gray robes.

The time had come.

He raised his right hand, his slender fingers slowly gripping the cold hilt of the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade at his waist.

The dormant deep cyan liquid True Essence in his body began to flow steadily along his Meridians.

The Cold Jade Bone stored explosive power beneath his skin and flesh.

Gu Shen tapped his toes lightly on the protruding rock at the edge of the cliff, floating down the cliff with a light posture.

The thunder shadow boots shimmered with dark light, perfectly blending the sound of his descent into the boundless night.

Like an elusive shadow, he approached the four unsuspecting prey in the center of the basin silently.