225: Chapter 225 Entrustment

Yunmeng Great Swamp, the water waves are vast and boundless.

Thick miasma, which never disperses throughout the year, shrouds this vast, boundless water and lake area. On the horizon, a grey stream of light breaks through the heavy toxic fog like an arrow released from a bow, diving into the churning waves without hesitation.

Gu Shen's body was surrounded by flowing dark golden light, and the black flood dragon black gold armor pushed away all the bone-chilling water currents around him.

He continued to dive downward all the way.

At a water depth of one hundred zhang, the light had already vanished. At a water depth of five hundred zhang, the undercurrents were like nooses; ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator would have their bones shattered upon reaching this point. At a water depth of eight hundred zhang.

At the bottom of the gloomy deep water area, a towering basalt mountain range sat quietly in the silt at the bottom of the water. Gu Shen skillfully avoided several natural underwater currents and steadying his figure in front of a hidden cliff face in the heart of the mountain range.

The surface of the cliff was covered with a thick layer of waterproof algae. Gu Shen extended his right hand, pressing his palm against a protruding stone on the rock wall. With a slight release of True Essence, a specific spiritual energy waveform was transmitted into the rock layer.

"Rumble—"

Accompanied by the heavy and deep sound of mechanisms operating, the camouflage algae on the surface of the cliff fell off one after another.

A blast-proof door, three zhang high and cast entirely from dark grey titanium-carbon alloy, slowly revealed its true form. This door was cut by Gu Shen from the wreckage of a Wasteland blast-proof cabin and served as the entrance to his Immortal Cave.

The hydraulic bearings, driven by a mixture of Formation patterns and Wasteland high-energy batteries, slid open to both sides.

Gu Shen stepped into the doorway.

The blast-proof door closed tightly behind him, locking out the terrifying water pressure outside that was enough to crush steel.

This square Immortal Cave, about twenty zhang long and ten zhang wide, was a foothold that Gu Shen had spent great effort to excavate. The four walls, the dome, and even the floor of the Immortal Cave were evenly cast with a layer of titanium-carbon alloy mixed with high-polymer energy-absorbing gel. This excellent physical coating was sufficient to completely isolate any Divine Sense probing and spell fluctuations, with concealment far exceeding the ordinary concealment Formation of the Cultivation World.

Several night-luminescent pearls emitting a soft halo were embedded in the top of the Immortal Cave.

Gu Shen walked to the bluestone table in the center of the Immortal Cave and untied the special Spirit Beast pouch from his waist. The mouth of the pouch opened, and a green light flashed.

"Thud."

That Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox cub, over two zhang in length, fell heavily onto the flat titanium-carbon alloy floor.

Its originally tough green fur had long been soaked in blood. Just now, in the enclosed space of the Spirit Beast pouch, it had barely managed to maintain its life force. Now that it saw light again and realized it was in a completely strange, enclosed space, extreme panic and violence instantly surged in the depths of the cub's eyes.

"Moo!"

The cub let out a shrill low roar, attempting to force itself up on its sturdy single leg to attack Gu Shen. However, its injuries were too severe; just as the single leg exerted force, it collapsed to the ground again, and large mouthfuls of black blood spilled from its mouth and nose.

Gu Shen stood three steps away, his expression cold and solemn.

He naturally knew what kind of arrogance was carved into the bones of the descendants of such ancient great Yao. If he used forceful means to suppress it, it would only cause it to fight back desperately, or even cut off its own heart meridian.

Gu Shen dissipated the bone-chilling extreme Killing Intent around his body, and the deep green poison Evil Qi True Essence within his Dantian Qi Sea shifted accordingly.

The circulation path of the Longevity Art traveled through his meridians.

A strand of extremely pure Wood-type True Essence, filled with the meaning of vegetation recovery, slowly extended from Gu Shen's palm, turning into a gentle green light rain that softly covered the broken body of the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox cub.

Among the Five Elements, Water generates Wood, and Wood contains life force.

This pure Wood-type True Essence was like sweet rain after a long drought, slowly smoothing out the chaotic and violent Qi and blood within the cub's body. The several deep lacerations that reached the bone stopped bleeding under the nourishment of the True Essence, and even small buds of healing flesh grew on the edges of the skin and flesh.

The cub felt this pure kindness and warmth, and the violence in its eyes gradually receded, replaced by a trace of confusion and fatigue.

Seeing this, Gu Shen took out a Spirit-Sealing Jade Box from his Storage Ring with a backhand motion.

The jade box opened, and a drop of essence white dew, emitting a refreshing and exotic fragrance, floated out quietly. This was the pure Origin of life refined by the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

Gu Shen flicked his finger, and this milky white droplet accurately fell into the mouth of the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox cub.

"Boom!"

The majestic life essence melted within the cub's body. This high-level nourishing sacred object instantly protected its heart meridian, which was on the verge of failure. The cub let out a very comfortable hum, its heavy eyelids slowly closed, and it fell into a deep slumber and self-repair, enveloped by the Wood-type True Essence.

Having pacified this hot potato, Gu Shen stood up and took out a sound-transmitting jade talisman engraved with water wave patterns from his sleeve.

A wisp of True Essence was injected into it.

"Brother Ao, Fellow Daoist The Green Lotus. Gu has returned from Mang Mountain. There is an item in the Immortal Cave that I need to ask you both to examine." Gu Shen's transmission was concise.

Putting away the jade talisman, Gu Shen sat quietly on the meditation cushion to adjust his breath.

It was only the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.

Outside the underwater Immortal Cave, the originally calm and deep water area suddenly became incomparably violent. The water currents within a radius of several miles rolled violently as if boiling, forming huge undercurrent vortexes.

Two terrifying Yao auras, enough to make ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator tremble with fear, descended without any concealment outside the basalt mountain range.

"Brother Gu, you caused quite a stir on your trip to the Ten Thousand Mang Mountains. Even in the depths of the Great Swamp, I could smell that sky-high bloody scent."

A rough and heroic voice, like muffled thunder, penetrated the thick rock layer and went straight into the Immortal Cave.

Gu Shen stood up, pressed his palm against the rock wall, and activated the hydraulic bearings.

The heavy blast-proof door slowly opened.

In the water outside the door, two huge figures had already transformed into human shapes.

The big man on the left had a tall figure, wearing heavy black armor, with curly beard and cloud-like hair, and a pair of eyes showing a shocking dark golden color, surrounded by extremely violent Water-type Law fluctuations. It was the overlord of this Yunmeng Great Swamp—the Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon, Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon.

The woman on the right was wearing a green palace dress, with a slender figure and a beautiful face that revealed a coldness that kept strangers at a distance. As she walked, faint shadows of green lotuses bloomed in the water waves, and the Wood and Water dual-type spiritual energy was endless. This was another tycoon of the Great Swamp—the Ten Thousand Year Empty Green Lotus, The Green Lotus.

The two stepped into the Immortal Cave. The blast-proof door slammed shut again.

As soon as Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon stepped into this square Immortal Cave, those dark golden dragon eyes immediately locked tightly onto the green-furred giant beast lying beside the bluestone table, which was in a deep sleep.

"This is... the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox?!"

Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon gasped, taking a few steps forward. His thick, large hand brushed over the cub's characteristic single leg, his expression becoming extremely grave. "That bunch of scum from the Beast Taming Sect were acting like madmen, sealing the earth veins on the outskirts of the Mang Mountains. So it was to hunt down this rare cub with an ancient Bloodline."

The Green Lotus also walked over slowly, a trace of Evil Qi flashing in her blue-green beautiful eyes.

"The Beast Taming Sect has always taken pride in enslaving our Yao Race Bloodline. Those so-called Sect-protecting Spirit Beasts they keep in captivity, which one of them isn't a Puppet whose consciousness was forcibly erased and whose spine was extracted? These Human Race Cultivator are all hypocritical wolves."

She turned to look at Gu Shen, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry: "Fellow Daoist Gu, to be able to snatch food from the tiger's mouth in the net laid by a Prodigy like Core Disciple Qin Wuyan, and even bring this cub back alive, this means of yours is truly unfathomable."

Gu Shen's expression was calm, pointing to the cub: "In the Desolate Valley, this beast was almost suppressed by Core Disciple Qin Wuyan with a Spirit-Locking Cage. Gu happened to encounter it, broke their Nine Stars Spirit Binding Array, and brought this calf back by the way."

His tone was flat, as if breaking a great Sect Formation and severely injuring a Sect Prodigy was just a trivial matter. But to these two old Yao, Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon and The Green Lotus, who had lived for a long time, every word was like thunder.

"Brother Gu, you brought this hot potato back to the Great Swamp, are you trying to use my water territory to avoid the limelight?" Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon straightened his body and looked at Gu Shen.

Gu Shen shook his head slightly, his eyes as clear as an abyss.

"Brother Ao misunderstood. This Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox cub is a rare Earth-type great Yao seedling. Leaving it by the side of a Human Race Cultivator like Gu, who only knows how to kill, will only bury its Bloodline. Gu invited you both here today to formally entrust this beast to your care."

As soon as these words were spoken, both Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon and The Green Lotus showed shock.

The value of a living ancient Bloodline cub was high enough to exchange for several top-grade Magical Artifact, or even to invite a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor to take action. Gu Shen was actually going to give away such an Opportunity for free?

"Fellow Daoist Gu, do you know the value of this beast?" The Green Lotus frowned slightly.

Gu Shen looked directly at the two Yao kings, his tone cold, solemn, and open.

"No matter how high the value is, you have to have a life to enjoy it. Gu's actions this time have completely offended the Beast Taming Sect. I don't know how many eyes are staring at me in this Great Yu Cultivation World. Keeping this cub in my hands has a hundred harms and no benefits."

He stopped his pace and said bluntly, "You two are both overlords of this Great Swamp, with deep foundations, and you have always disliked the style of those big Sect. Giving this beast to you to raise will not only preserve its great Yao Bloodline but also add a foundation to the Yao Race of the Great Swamp for no reason."

Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon and The Green Lotus looked at each other, both understanding the movement in each other's eyes.

The Yao Race values Bloodline, and even more so values Legacy. Being able to personally teach a Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox was an immeasurable improvement for the foundation of the entire Great Swamp Yao Race. As for the revenge of the Beast Taming Sect? This is eight hundred zhang underwater in the Yunmeng Great Swamp, their home turf. Even if the Nascent Soul Old Ancestor of the Beast Taming Sect came in person, once he enters this water area, he would have to bow down!

"Good! Brother Gu, I accept this boldness!"

Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon stepped forward and patted Gu Shen on the shoulder heavily. This palm had great force; if Gu Shen hadn't cultivated the Cold Jade Bone, he would have been struck until his bones were broken and tendons snapped.

"Brother, rest assured, once this calf arrives in my Yunmeng Great Swamp, even if the Heavenly King himself comes, he won't be able to take it away! You gave away such an Opportunity to us for free, this great favor, my Great Swamp Yao Race will never forget."

The Green Lotus also bowed slightly, performing an extremely solemn ancient Yao Race ritual.

"Fellow Daoist Gu is righteous. If you encounter difficulties in the Cultivation World in the future, as long as you retreat into this Yunmeng water territory, Brother Ao and I will definitely ensure your safety."

Sea-Covering Black Flood Dragon used his magical power to carefully lift the sleeping Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox cub. The two great Yao bid farewell to Gu Shen and, carrying the cub, quickly disappeared into the vast deep water.

The Immortal Cave returned to silence.

Gu Shen walked to the bluestone table and sat cross-legged.

With a backhand wave, more than sixty Beast Taming Sect Storage Pouch embroidered with star patterns, along with the white jade thumb ring belonging to Core Disciple Qin Wuyan, piled up into a small mountain on the table.