19: A paradise in a bottle

The deathly silence of the Herb Garden was like congealed ice.

The rich scent of blood, mixed with the bitter aroma of crushed herbs, weighed heavily on the hearts of every survivor.

Behind the herb racks in the distant shed, those cowering figures were like frozen quails, even their breathing cautious, fearing to disturb the invisible core of the thunderous storm in the center of the Herb Garden.

Han Li was silent.

The wisps of hair on his forehead cast a faint shadow over his calm, water-like eyes, making it impossible to discern whether what surged within them was scrutiny, understanding, or a deeper inquiry.

The verdant little green bottle in his palm emitted a soft, warm glow, like a tender sprout emerging in early spring, completely out of place in this bloody and defiled land.

In the pool of blood, the old, yellowed "Corpse Rotting Manual" was half-submerged in the viscous gore, a few ferocious dark-red characters, illuminated by the green light, like a solidified curse.

Mo Yuan stood with his back straight, like a cold battle flag planted in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The few dark red stains on the hem of his grey robe were the iron-blooded rules he had just established.

His Thunder Corpse Claw, wrapped in silver-grey electric arcs and inscribed with purple thunder patterns, hung naturally, but his fingertips were slightly tensed, betraying his extreme vigilance.

The Ant King's massive body was like a fortress cast from red copper, its lava-like compound eyes fixed on Han Li, a low, threatening growl suppressed in its throat, and viscous blood slowly dripped from the edge of its giant mandibles.

Time flowed in the suffocating silence, every breath feeling like an eternity.

Finally, Han Li's lips moved ever so slightly.

No sound was made.

But his left hand, holding the verdant little green bottle, slowly, as if bearing an invisible weight, retracted.

The warm, verdant light receded with it, shrinking back into the bottle like a receding tide, leaving only the warm luster of the jade itself.

He no longer looked at the "Corpse Rotting Manual" in the pool of blood, nor at Mo Yuan's ferocious ghost claw.

His gaze, like the most precise probe, swept one last time over Mo Yuan's right hand, which was pressed against his chest and whose knuckles were white from the force—that was where the black magic bottle was deeply hidden.

His gaze remained calm, yet it carried an understanding that pierced the Soul, as if he had long since seen through the deeper secret hidden beneath the lie of "evil cultivation backlash."

Then, Han Li moved.

No turning, no stepping.

His figure, like an ink drop dissolving in water, naturally and silently faded, blurred, and finally disappeared completely from its original spot.

Leaving only the muddy clearing at the Herb Garden entrance, trampled by the Ant King and stained with flesh and blood, as if he had never appeared.

The pressure, that cold, heavy, invisible pressure, like mercury flowing across the ground, also dissipated with his departure.

“Hoo…” “Ugh…” From behind the distant shed, the extremely suppressed gasps and low whimpers, like those of a drowning person rescued, instantly rose and fell.

The immense exhaustion after surviving the ordeal caused the remaining Herb Garden Disciples to collapse to the ground, sweating profusely.

Mo Yuan's taut nerves, however, did not relax in the slightest.

Han Li's final knowing gaze was like a cold brand, deeply imprinted in his Soul.

He knew that Han Li did not fully believe the explanation of "evil cultivation backlash."

That phrase, "we're even," was more like a temporary, unspoken truce.

The little green bottle's suppression and attraction to the magic bottle were fated; the entanglement between them was far from over.

But no matter what, the immediate crisis was temporarily resolved.

“Roar…” The low growl in the Ant King's throat subsided, its lava-like compound eyes still cautiously scanning its surroundings, its massive body shifting slightly, approaching Mo Yuan, in a silent posture of guardianship.

Mo Yuan slowly exhaled a turbid breath tinged with blood, the dull pain in his chest and abdomen and the emptiness in his Dantian surging back like a tide.

The series of fierce battles, the activation of heavenly thunder, the purification of the demonic liquid backlash, and the extreme mental pressure he had just faced from Han Li, had already pushed this body to its limits.

He clung to his last shred of clarity, his cold gaze sweeping over the figures slumped on the ground, still shaken, his voice hoarse yet imbued with undeniable authority:

“This place belongs to Mo Sect.”

“Get out within three breaths.”

“Trespassers will die!”

The cold voice was like a final judgment.

The Herb Garden Disciples, as if hearing a pardon, scrambled, crying for their parents, helping each other, and crawling away from this bloody battlefield, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.

In an instant, the vast Herb Garden, apart from the glaring pool of blood and debris in the center, was left with only Mo Yuan and the Ant King, and the lingering scent of blood and deathly silence in the air.

“Back… to the Stone Crevice…” Mo Yuan’s voice, imbued with undeniable weakness, was transmitted to the Ant King via their Soul link.

The Ant King let out a low growl, its massive body lowering slightly.

Mo Yuan no longer forced himself to stand, his body swayed, and he almost leaned against the Ant King’s hard, cold red copper carapace to barely steady himself.

The Ant King moved its heavy segmented legs, like a moving fortress, carrying its exhausted master, crushing over the muddy, bloody ground, slowly heading towards the depths of Shen Shou Valley, to the Stone Crevice covered by vines.

Inside the Stone Crevice, it was still cold and damp.

In the corner, Supple Bone Rabbit was still curled up on a pile of dry grass, in a deep coma.

Her silver-grey hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to her pale little face, her long eyelashes covering her eyelids, her breathing faint and even.

The ferocious, wriggling dark-red bloodlines beneath her skin had disappeared, leaving only an extreme weakness from being over-purified.

The air was filled with a faint scent of blood and the strange, clean fragrance emanating from her, belonging to a demonic liquid creation.

Mo Yuan almost stumbled into the Stone Crevice, sliding down to sit on the ground with his back against the cold rock wall, panting violently, each inhale tearing at his chest with excruciating pain.

The nascent purple Thunder Spiritual Root light core in his Dantian was extremely dim, like a candle flickering in the wind, transmitting waves of empty palpitations.

His spirit was exhausted to the point of death, as if he would completely sink into darkness the next second.

He struggled to pull out the half-scroll of the Incomplete Thunder Array Diagram from his embrace.

Beneath the scorched edges, a few array patterns containing the ancient Thunder Dao rhyme emitted a faint, eerie glow in the dim light.

This was originally the greatest gain of this trip, the hope for future rise.

However, at this moment, he didn't even have the strength to study it carefully.

Just as his mind and body were utterly exhausted, on the verge of his consciousness sinking—

Buzz—!!!

Deep within his chest, the silent black magic bottle suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, violent tremor!

It was no longer the struggle of fear and resistance it had shown when facing the little green bottle, but a… an extreme craving!

A greedy and pure desire—a desire to devour—like a desert traveler parched for billions of years seeing an oasis!

A powerful suction force, without warning, burst forth from the bottomless mouth of the magic bottle!

This suction force was not directed at physical matter, but at… the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi permeating the Stone Crevice, and even the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the Shen Shou Valley outside the Stone Crevice!

Shen Shou Valley was originally located in the Seven Mysteries Sect's back mountain; the mountainous terrain gathered Qi, and the vegetation was lush, so although the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was far from being as abundant as a true Grotto, it was still several times denser than the mundane outside world.

At this moment, this invisible suction force was like a terrifying vortex that suddenly formed, frantically seizing all the surrounding Spiritual Qi!

Whoosh—!

Inside the Stone Crevice, an invisible gale seemed to suddenly blow!

The originally thin, invisible, and insubstantial Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the air was now forcibly gathered, compressed, and materialized!

It transformed into countless tiny light spots, visible to the naked eye, shimmering with faint white light, like a swarm of fireflies disturbed on a summer night, or a nebula stirred by an invisible giant hand, frantically surging towards Mo Yuan's chest—or, more precisely, towards the location of the black magic bottle in his embrace!

The speed at which the Spiritual Qi light spots gathered became faster and faster, and their density became higher and higher!

Mo Yuan's chest garment billowed violently without any wind!

Countless tiny white lights, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, rushed one after another into the deep mouth of the bottle!

The entire Stone Crevice was bathed in a hazy, soft white light formed by pure Spiritual Qi, illuminating the dark corners a little!

“Ugh!” Mo Yuan grunted, his body trembling slightly from this sudden anomaly.

He could clearly feel that the magic bottle in his embrace was like a bottomless abyss, frantically devouring the converging Spiritual Qi!

The few dim silver-purple thunder patterns on the bottle's body, under the infusion of surging Spiritual Qi, were like ignited wicks, suddenly erupting with an unprecedented, blinding purple light!

The light flowed, and the thunder patterns, like living things, meandered and moved on the bottle's surface, emitting an ancient, majestic, terrifying aura that seemed to contain the power to create Heaven and Earth!

This process of devouring lasted for about half a cup of tea's time.

When the last trace of free-floating Spiritual Qi light spots in the Stone Crevice was also greedily devoured by the magic bottle, the bottle's tremor and the dazzling purple light finally slowly subsided.

However, the anomaly did not end!

Buzz—!!!

A deeper, more profound fluctuation suddenly spread from within the magic bottle!

This fluctuation was not directed at the outside world, but… acted upon Mo Yuan's Soul link!

Mo Yuan's consciousness suddenly shook!

As if being forcibly dragged by an invisible force, he was thrown into a… new, indescribable place!

Before his eyes was endless darkness and Chaos.

There was no light, no sound, no distinction between up, down, left, or right.

There was only the most primitive nothingness, as if the Universe had not yet opened.

Viscous, heavy, and silent, like solidified ink, it enveloped Mo Yuan's consciousness.

However, right in the center of this Chaos, an extremely faint but incomparably pure and profound purple light, like the first ray of light at the dawn of creation, quietly lit up!

That light… Mo Yuan was extremely familiar with it!

It was the color of the several thunder patterns on the magic bottle's body!

It was the color of the mutated Thunder Spiritual Root light core!

It was… the color of the Thunder Origin!

This speck of purple light, as if alive, slowly rotated and expanded in the boundless Chaos!

As it rotated, the surrounding viscous Chaos rippled with invisible waves, like water into which a stone had been thrown!

Wherever the ripples passed, the Chaos was forcibly pushed aside and purified!

An extremely tiny, yet incredibly stable space, centered around that speck of purple light, slowly came into being!

The space, once formed, was barren and silent, with only endless dust and cold Void Realm currents.

Just then!

Boom—!!!

A terrifying thunderclap, as if from the depths of the Soul and the splitting of Heaven and Earth, suddenly exploded in this newborn space!

It wasn't a sound, but the roar of rules!

Accompanying this thunderclap, the purple light at the core burst open violently!

Transforming into countless dense, violent, purple Thunder, filled with the dual great power of destruction and creation!

These Thunder, like the most nimble craftsman's hammer, and also like the most violent whip of the Creator God, fiercely struck the newborn space barriers and the barren ground!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder raged!

The space barriers became more solid and stable under the impact of the Thunder, faintly revealing a purplish-gold luster!

The barren ground was plowed, shattered, and reshaped by the Thunder!

Hard rocks melted, flowed, and cooled in the thunder-fire, turning into patches of dark fertile soil shimmering with a faint metallic luster!

Deep within the Earth's pulse, wisps of faint but pure Spiritual Qi were forcibly extracted and condensed from the Void Realm by the power of Thunder, like nascent blood vessels, beginning to flow slowly across this new land!

Thunder is both destruction and new life!

When the last purple Thunder disappeared, this newborn space completely stabilized.

Mo Yuan's consciousness, like a deity overlooking Heaven and Earth, 'saw' clearly his own—Bottle Grotto!

The space was not large, about a hundred zhang in circumference.

Above was a stable dome flowing with purplish-gold light, like an inverted glazed bowl.

Below was dark black, fertile soil shimmering with a cold metallic luster, exuding a strange aura that nurtured life.

The air was incredibly fresh, containing a rich Spiritual Qi far exceeding that of the outside Shen Shou Valley!

Wisps of almost visible milky-white Spiritual Qi permeated the air, like flowing gauze.

What shocked Mo Yuan most was the time flow rate of this space!

His consciousness could clearly 'perceive' that the flow of time here… was completely different from the outside world!

It was as if an invisible large hand had accelerated it by several times!

One breath of time outside, within this Bottle Grotto, seemed to have already passed several breaths!

The time flow rate reached an astonishing 1:5!

One day outside, five days inside the bottle!

This was simply a Heaven-Defying cheat!

It was a peerless Holy Land for cultivating Sequences and accelerating growth!

Mo Yuan's consciousness excitedly scanned this nascent Bottle Grotto.

Barrenness was the main theme, but it was not entirely devoid of life.

At the edge of the space, near the barrier flowing with purplish-gold light, several extremely young sprouts, translucent emerald green and appearing as if carved from jade, were stubbornly poking their heads out of the dark metallic soil.

On their leaves, a mysterious silver-purple thunder pattern shimmered faintly, similar to those on the magic bottle's body!

These were the first batch of life naturally conceived when the magic bottle devoured Spiritual Qi and opened the Bottle Grotto, combining its own Origin Dao rhythm with the newborn space!

Full of vigorous vitality and infinite possibilities!

“Sequence cultivation base…” Mo Yuan's consciousness let out a silent roar.

With this Bottle Grotto, with this five-fold time flow rate, his Sequence Legion would grow, evolve, and expand at an unprecedented speed!

Just as Mo Yuan's consciousness was immersed in the shock and ecstasy of this newborn Bottle Grotto—

Hum!

In the Soul link, the Bee King's chaotic and bloodthirsty consciousness suddenly transmitted an extremely clear thought wave!

It was not a reconnaissance image, but a kind of… strong spatial resonance!

Mo Yuan's heart stirred, and his consciousness instantly returned to his body.

Inside the Stone Crevice, he suddenly opened his eyes!

The feeling of fatigue remained, but his eyes burst forth with an unprecedented brilliance!

He saw that not far in front of him, the Venomous Stinger Bees King, entirely dark green and exuding a fierce aura, was suspended in mid-air, the few clusters of strange blood-red sprouts on its carapace swaying slightly, emitting an extremely faint hum.

Its chaotic compound eyes stared fixedly at Mo Yuan's chest—at the location of the magic bottle, conveying a strong desire to enter that newborn Bottle Grotto!

Not just the Bee King!

In the Soul link, the Ant King's violent consciousness also transmitted the same desire!

Even the unconscious Supple Bone Rabbit in the corner, its Soul fluctuations slightly rippled, as if even in slumber it sensed that vibrant Bottle Grotto!

They… could all sense the Bottle Grotto!

And instinctively yearned to enter it!

Mo Yuan's heart pounded wildly!

He suppressed his excitement, his mind sinking into the magic bottle, trying to communicate with that newborn Bottle Grotto.

“Receive!”

A thought command was given to the Bee King through the Soul link!

The moment the command was issued!

The figure of the Venomous Stinger Bees King, suspended in the air, suddenly became blurry and transparent!

Like a reflection cast into water!

The next moment, it completely disappeared into the air of the Stone Crevice!

Mo Yuan's consciousness instantly sank into the Bottle Grotto!

He saw a faint spatial ripple spread across the dark black, metallic-lustered fertile soil above!

The dark green figure of the Venomous Stinger Bees King instantly solidified!

It seemed a little bewildered by this sudden change of environment, but in just an instant, its chaotic and bloodthirsty compound eyes burst forth with an unprecedented light of ecstasy!

Hum—!!!

The Bee King let out an extremely excited, sharp hum!

Like an arrow shot from a bow, it fiercely rushed into the milky-white Spiritual Qi in the Bottle Grotto space, which was so rich it was almost inseparable!

The few clusters of strange blood-red sprouts on its carapace greedily stretched out, frantically absorbing the pure Spiritual Qi!

Its entire bee body seemed to be bathed in Holy Light, exuding a visible aura that became more solid and fierce!

It succeeded!

Sequence creatures could freely enter and exit the Bottle Grotto!

And could directly absorb the pure Spiritual Qi within the Bottle Grotto to accelerate their growth!

Mo Yuan's eyes shot out brilliant light!

He no longer hesitated, immediately issuing commands to the Ant King and the unconscious Supple Bone Rabbit through the Soul link!

“Ant King! Rabbit! Come in!”

Hum! Hum!

Spatial ripples spread again!

The Red Copper Ant King's massive, fortress-like body, and the unconscious Supple Bone Rabbit on the pile of dry grass in the corner, instantly disappeared from the Stone Crevice!

The next moment, their figures solidified on the dark black fertile soil of the Bottle Grotto!

“Roar!” The Ant King let out a roar filled with shock and ecstasy!

Its lava-like compound eyes curiously surveyed this strange space, feeling the rich and pure Spiritual Qi in the air and the fertile, solid ground beneath its feet, a sense of belonging and satisfaction, stemming from instinct, spontaneously arose!

It even excitedly dug at the black metallic soil beneath its feet with its large segmented limbs, leaving deep furrows.

And the unconscious Supple Bone Rabbit, the moment she entered the Bottle Grotto, the tightly furrowed brows on her pale face seemed to relax slightly.

She unconsciously curled up on the dark black soil, her silver-gray hair spread out.

The rich and pure Spiritual Qi in the Bottle Grotto space, like the gentlest sweet dew, automatically seeped into her extremely weak body, thread by thread.

The fluctuations from the Soul link, though still faint, seemed to be slowly and steadily soothed and repaired by this rich vital Spiritual Qi, the extreme fatigue and weakness!

The speed was far beyond the outside world!

Bottle Grotto!

The Holy Land of Sequences!

The cradle of growth!

Mo Yuan leaned against the cold rock wall, looking at the instantly empty Stone Crevice, feeling the clear and incomparable waves of satisfaction, excitement, and accelerated recovery coming from the Bee King, Ant King, and Supple Bone Rabbit in that newborn Bottle Grotto through the Soul link, an indescribable heroic feeling and sense of control erupted in his chest like a volcano!

He lowered his head and looked at the front of his clothes.

Although he couldn't see it, he could clearly feel the presence of that dark magic bottle.

The bottle body was warm and cool, and the silver-purple thunder patterns flowing on it seemed to carry a hint of satisfied glimmer.

“Bottle contains the Universe…” Mo Yuan whispered, the corners of his mouth slowly curving into a cold and ambitious arc.

The Stone Crevice of Shen Shou Valley was still cold and damp.

But Mo Yuan knew that from this moment on, his Foundation, his future, his Mo Sect, had taken root in a Bottle Grotto that transcended the mundane and reversed time and space!