65: Chapter 65 Artificial Dao Body? Top Secret File

Underground Third Level, Medical Zone, Medicine Storage Room.

A thick, acrid stench filled the sealed room. Gu Shen glanced at the fused poisonous corpse that had turned to ash on the ground. Confirming nothing was left behind, he carried the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade and retreated to a relatively clean corner against the wall.

After consecutive battles above his level, his magical power and physical strength were greatly depleted.

Gu Shen sat cross-legged and waved his hand to set up a simple soundproof and alert Restriction.

He probed his Divine Sense into his Storage Ring.

He took out a can of iron-sealed meat paste and a bottle of pure water. Using the blade's edge, he pried open the iron cover and swallowed the salty, fishy meat paste mixed with water in large gulps.

Warm energy dissolved in his stomach, rapidly replenishing the vast blood Qi required for the operation of the Bone Refining Art.

Subsequently, he took out a drop of essence white dew (inferior) and swallowed it.

Weak yet pure spiritual power dispersed into his parched Meridians, allowing his depleted Dantian to once again fill with a cyan vortex of magical power.

After finishing all this, Gu Shen took out the silver-white metal recording tablet and pressed it against the black terminal strapped to his left leg.

"Crab, explain the ins and outs of this so-called Ascension Project to me clearly." Gu Shen's voice was cold.

A faint blue light flashed on the terminal's iron plate. The Crab's voice came through his leg bone, carrying an extremely anthropomorphic tremor:

"Master, this tablet is a classified memo from the highest person in charge of the Medical Zone. Back when the reactor on the Thirteenth Underground Level leaked, the Shelter's upper management knew that conventional medical means could not save those with severe radiation sickness. To continue human civilization, they went completely insane."

"They set their sights on the Aberrations on the fourth floor, specifically the extremophilic bacteria colonies within those captured Aberrations, attempting to forcibly stitch their gene fragments into human DNA."

The Crab's speaking speed increased, as if reciting a terrifying curse:

"They called this evolution. They delusionaly tried to use genetic modification to give humans the ability to ignore radiation, or even absorb radiation energy. This was supposed to be a research project lasting hundreds of years, but they didn't have the time, so they conducted crude Fusion experiments directly on living people!"

Gu Shen listened quietly.

Even though countless terms he didn't understand popped out of the Crab's mouth, within his system of understanding as an indigenous cultivator, this theory was extremely clear.

"Extracting the Origin of extremely yin poisonous substances and forcibly grafting it onto a Mortal body. They were deluded enough to artificially refine a type of Innate Dao body that fears no world-extinguishing poisonous light."

Gu Shen gave an extremely precise summary in his heart. Such behavior was a Demonic Path practice that would make one's hair stand on end even in the Great Yu Cultivation World!

In the Cultivation World, anyone who wanted to rely on evil arts to forcibly reshape their Dao body would, nine times out of ten, suffer backlash from the Heavenly Dao, fall into Qi Deviation, and turn into a monster that was neither human nor ghost.

"And the result?" Gu Shen asked coldly.

"Total annihilation." The Crab's voice was filled with despair, "The test subjects' rejection reactions were extremely violent. The extremophilic bacteria colonies bred crazily inside them; not only did they fail to grant them anti-radiation capabilities, but they also turned them into highly aggressive Fusion Aberrations that constantly secreted strong acid and poisonous spores. The one you killed just now was one of the failed products."

A trace of mockery flashed in the depths of Gu Shen's eyes.

"A group of Mortals without any cultivation, actually delusional enough to try and forcibly tame such violent, mutated Origin—it's nothing but a pipe dream."

But immediately after, Gu Shen's heart burned with heat.

Although this Ancient Sect failed, their line of thinking coincided with Gu Shen's current cultivation path!

They used instruments for forced Fusion and turned into monsters.

Yet Gu Shen could use the Great Furnace to refine jade-green marrow fluid without any Impurities, and then use the demonic Bone Refining Art to steadily temper his Physical Body.

"The path to Ascension that the Seniors in this underground palace couldn't walk, I can!"

Gu Shen clenched his fists, and his pitch-black bones made a dull clanging sound within his body. He was now absolutely certain that the source of the leak on the Thirteenth Underground Level might not only hide massive amounts of thunder magnetic fine sand, but also nurture the most terrifying and pure mutated Origin in this world!

As long as he kept devouring, his Physical Body's foundation would reach a level that would make the entire Great Yu Cultivation World tremble with fear.

"Master, you'd better not think so far ahead yet."

The Crab seemed to sense the fluctuations in Gu Shen's emotions and poured a bucket of cold water at the right time.

"I just hacked into the remaining local area network of the Medical Zone. There is some extremely bad news."

"Speak."

"The only passage leading to the Fourth Underground Level must pass through the core area of this third level—the Critical Lockdown Zone. That is exactly the main ward where the live experiments for the Ascension Project were conducted back then."

The blue light on the terminal flickered violently, projecting an extremely complex area map.

"After the experiment went out of control back then, the Shelter's security forces used the thickest lead-steel gates to weld that place shut. It is highly likely that hundreds or thousands of severely infected people are locked inside."

"To go downstairs, we must chisel through that biochemical Hell."

Gu Shen stared at the illusory map in front of him.

That Critical Lockdown Zone occupied almost half of the area of the third level, like a huge black tumor standing in front of the stairs leading to the fourth level.

There was no avoiding it.

"How thick are the lead-steel gates?" Gu Shen asked coldly.

"One meter. Anti-nuclear explosion grade." The Crab replied, "Even if you, Master, use that electric saber to violently break it open, it would take at least a day and a night of hacking, not to mention the damage this violent dismantling would cause to your Magical Artifact."

"No need for that much trouble."

Gu Shen stood up, grabbed the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade, his eyes extremely cold.

He had the Qi pulse blueprints. He didn't need to hack that explosion-proof door at all; he could completely follow the secret pipes in the ceiling and drop directly into the interior of that Hell!

"Guide the route of the Qi pulses. Go to the Critical Lockdown Zone."

Gu Shen leaped, like a nimble night owl, and dove back into the square refined iron pipe above the ceiling.

"Master, you are going to strike at the heart of the enemy! This is so exciting!" The Crab's voice trembled with excitement.

Inside the pipe, it was pitch black.

Gu Shen slid silently along the intricate Qi pulse channels toward this most dangerous and ominous place on this level.

About an hour later.

The pipe walls in front were no longer dry rust, but had begun to show a layer of extremely sticky, dark green fungal mats that emitted a pungent, acrid stench.

Even the air he breathed in carried a nauseating smell of rotting flesh.

"Master, stop. We're here."

The Crab's prompt was extremely low and faint, "Below is the No. 1 Hall of the Critical Lockdown Zone. Detecting extremely dense human life signs below... No, those can no longer be called humans."

Gu Shen restrained all his aura, lay on the louver covered in fungal mats, and looked through the gap toward this biochemical purgatory that had been sealed for thousands of years.