61: Underground Ink City

Above the Qingyang Ruins, the setting sun finally sank below the horizon, leaving only a sky full of purplish-red afterglow, like solidified blood splattered across the firmament.

The terrifying pressure of Han Li's arrival during the day, the destructive collision of the poisonous cloud storm, the mournful wails of the ancestral shrine's vengeful spirits, and the holy radiance of the World-Cleansing Lotus blooming… all the earth-shattering commotions seemed to be quietly absorbed and buried by the heavy dusk.

The ruins returned to dead silence, with only the whimpering night wind rustling through the broken walls and crumbling ruins, stirring up dust mixed with burnt and bloody scents.

However, beneath this silent land, a hundred zhang deep, a silent but even grander, more perception-defying undertaking was progressing at an almost frantic pace!

Rumble… A deep, continuous roar, muffled to the extreme, faintly emanated from deep underground, as if countless giant steel earthworms were tirelessly gnawing at rocks and earth veins.

On the surface, an inconspicuous corner of the ruins would occasionally collapse slightly, sending up a cloud of smoke mixed with rock dust and a metallic, bloody smell. That was a subtle sign of the surface being unable to bear the load after the underground structure was completely hollowed out.

The cellar entrance had long been meticulously disguised and reinforced, becoming the only gateway to the underground.

Mo Yuan stood on the head of a Stone-skinned Turtle, the aura of his Chaos Lightning Body faintly resonating with the rumbling from deep within the earth beneath his feet.

Wang Linger and the Vajra Battalion warriors stood solemnly behind him, all eyes fixed on the massive tunnel, a zhang in diameter, with edges as smooth as a mirror, carved straight into the heart of the earth by the Ironclad Earthworms.

From deep within the tunnel came a grating sound of metal friction, the cracking of rocks, and an indescribable dull thud, like a giant beast swallowing.

In the depths of Mo Yuan's dark golden pupils, chaotic gray light flowed, sharing the “vision” of nearly a hundred Ironclad Earthworms underground.

Darkness! Heavy! Yet not emptiness!

The underground world a hundred zhang below had been completely transformed into an unprecedented underground kingdom, filled with a cold industrial aesthetic and biological strangeness!

Countless giant circular tunnels, uniformly in diameter, crisscrossing and extending in all directions, like the roots of a steel giant tree, spread and expanded wildly throughout the entire underground area of Qingyang City, with the space beneath the original princely mansion's cellar as their core!

The tunnel walls were not rough rock, but solid well walls, smooth as glazed glass and shimmering with a cold metallic luster, formed by the high-speed rotating drilling of the Ironclad Earthworms' alloy mouthparts and the compaction by their tail hooks!

The well walls were also coated with a special mucus secreted by Worker Bees mixed with demonic liquid residue, forming a natural waterproof and anti-Spell post-solidification layer!

These tunnels were not chaotic but followed an extremely precise geometric structure!

The main passages were wide enough to accommodate giant beasts like the Stone-skinned Turtle side by side, secondary passages were slightly narrower, and tertiary passages were like the capillaries of a human body, penetrating every corner of the underground.

The connections between passages were not simple right angles, but smooth, curved transitions, maximizing the dispersion of pressure from deep within the earth.

And this was only the skeleton!

The true miracle lay in the main structure of this underground city!

Under Mo Yuan's absolute control, the Ironclad Earthworm swarm worked together with frightening efficiency.

Some Ironclad Earthworms, like tireless miners, continued to open new tunnels deeper and further, their alloy mouthparts tearing through all obstacles.

Others served as “architects.”

They mixed the enormous amount of rock fragments and soil produced by drilling with a special hardening mucus they secreted, and under the macroscopic guidance of the magic bottle's will, precisely stacked, compacted, and shaped them into load-bearing giant pillars, arches, platforms, and even the rudimentary forms of rooms in the pre-set large cavities, much like 3D printing!

The surfaces of these stone structures were smooth as mirrors, but their internal structure was exceptionally tough, far exceeding the strongest granite on the surface!

But this was not enough!

“Green Vine Demon… for beams!” Mo Yuan's cold thought penetrated the strata.

Buzz!

At the top of a newly formed, plaza-sized giant cavity deep underground, dozens of Green Vine Demons, lurking in the rock walls, moved!

Their thick, dark green vine bodies, like giant pythons, suddenly extended, precisely coiling around the tops of the newly shaped giant stone pillars like living steel cables!

The vines grew wildly, branched, and intertwined, rapidly weaving into an immense living vine network covering the entire dome of the cavity!

The surface of the vines shimmered with faint dark green demonic patterns, not only providing powerful tensile support but also acting like the nervous System of the architecture, connecting the entire cavity's structure into one, with a toughness far exceeding any metal beam!

“Stone-skinned Turtle… for gates!” Another command was issued!

At the entrances of several key main passages of the underground city, and at the four sides of the largest central dome plaza, a total of eight Stone-skinned Turtles, each further enhanced by demonic liquid, larger in size, with carapaces over three chi thick, and naturally formed more complex jade demonic patterns on their surfaces, received the command.

They let out low, thunderous roars, their massive bodies slowly moving, finally prostrating themselves in their designated positions like the most loyal ancient giant beast statues!

The demonic patterns on their carapaces lit up, resonating with the power of the earth, forming invisible but indestructible earth force field barriers!

Their bodies were the strongest gates of this underground city!

Ordinary Golden Core Cultivators would not even think of easily breaking through!

This was not simple stacking, but a terrifying creation that perfectly combined the characteristics of sequential creatures with architecture!

As the excavation deepened, the Ironclad Earthworm swarm continuously dug up scattered Spirit Stone veins and associated profound iron ore discovered underground, which were then transported by the Worker Bee swarm and embedded or smelted into the nodes of critical structures, further strengthening their resistance to spiritual sense probing and Spell attacks.

The entire Underground Mo City became three-dimensional, complex, and magnificent at a visible speed!

The central grand dome plaza was dozens of zhang high and nearly a hundred zhang in circumference, its dome covered by the living network of Green Vine Demons, adorned with underground fluorite collected by the Worker Bee swarm that emitted faint luminescence, resembling a starry sky.

Around the plaza were terraced stone platforms, rising layer by layer, which would be the residences and workshops of the core sequences in the future.

Hundreds of large and small passages connected countless caves of various functions: honeycomb-like nurseries, roaring demonic liquid reaction pools (the production line had been moved here), the Vajra Battalion's training grounds, warehouses, and even a specially designated purification zone, covered by the soft white light emitted by sub-plants separated from the World-Cleansing Lotus, used to alleviate the lifespan-shortening pain and repair injuries of the sequential warriors.

Intricate ventilation ducts were cleverly designed, with sequences possessing keen senses of smell responsible for monitoring air flow, ensuring air circulation underground.

Underground rivers were diverted to form a water supply System.

This was a living city! A war fortress buried deep underground, constantly breathing, growing, and strengthening!

Mo Yuan's consciousness was like a god, overlooking this underground miracle born wildly under his will.

Even his cold blood seemed to faintly boil with this world-changing power.

Suddenly!

A team of Ironclad Earthworms, responsible for excavating deeper to the west, transmitted abnormal feedback!

After their alloy mouthparts drilled through a layer of unusually hard basalt, they did not encounter the expected rock layer, but rather… emptiness!

An extremely pure, violent, yet familiar and attractive energy fluctuation, like a volcano suppressed for ten thousand years, surged from the massive cavity below!

That energy fluctuation caused Mo Yuan's Chaos Lightning Body to resonate strongly!

“Stop!” Mo Yuan's thought instantly locked onto that area!

The Ironclad Earthworm swarm immediately ceased drilling.

Mo Yuan shared the metallic compound eyes of the foremost Ironclad Earthworm to “see”—behind the broken rock layer was an unimaginably huge underground cavity!

The rock walls of the cavity were densely embedded with countless crystal formations shimmering with purplish-golden lightning!

These crystals ranged from the size of a fist to the size of a house, covering all visible rock walls like stars!

They constantly emitted pure and violent lightning energy, illuminating the entire massive cavity with a purplish-golden glow!

The air was filled with a rich ozone scent and hair-raising static electricity!

A Thunder Crystal Mine! And one of extremely high quality, with reserves so vast it defied imagination!

Even before the Ironclad Earthworms could report, the magic bottle in Mo Yuan's arms had already emitted an extremely eager, greedy hum!

His demonic hand, flowing with chaotic gray light, had the Chaos Lightning Seed and the phantom of the Heavenly Gang Lightning Talisman deep within its palm stirring restlessly, transmitting a strong desire to devour!

“Heaven helps… me too!” A cold curve finally appeared at Mo Yuan's lips, devoid of warmth, yet enough to make heaven and earth change color.

Underground Mo City not only gained absolute defense but also discovered an endless source of energy to support its frantic expansion!

This sequential Dynasty, buried deep beneath the Qingyang Ruins, finally had the true confidence to look down upon the surface!

“Seal this passage! No one is allowed near except me!”

“All units… accelerate construction!”

“Within three days… Mo City… must be initially formed!”

The cold command, like a final oracle, resounded through the Soul links of every sequential life.

The rumbling deep underground became more urgent, more fervent.

An unprecedented underground fortress was rapidly advancing towards its final form at an unprecedented speed!