Alien Hotel.

Chapter 438 Conflict
The fox easily dug through the rock and crystal structure blocking the entrance to the fissure—after the death of the "Great Sage," the part of the crystal directly connected to him became extremely fragile, so much so that the fox girl could dig a large hole with a single paw. After breaking through the entrance, Yu Sheng and his group discovered a long passage leading deep underground, clearly showing signs of human intervention.

The inner walls of the passage are supported by sturdy man-made materials, and the severely weathered and eroded emblem of the Taixu Spiritual Pivot can still be seen on the supporting structure. As one goes deeper underground, one can also see ancient mechanical artifacts that have been abandoned for countless years, as well as arrays and talismans damaged by crystal substances. All these signs indicate that this underground structure was neither "dug out" by a star-shaped object, nor was it a nest secretly dug out by the hermit cult members. Instead, it was an ancient pioneering outpost built by ancient Taixu cultivators, but which has long been forgotten by the world.

Perhaps hundreds of years ago, this place had already become the nest of the Star Derivatives—and after those Hermitage followers colluded with "Yun Qingzi," this place became the stronghold that Yun Qingzi arranged for his "allies."

After descending hundreds of meters underground, Yu Sheng and his team discovered a large underground palace.

Like other places, this place has been completely occupied by countless pale crystals. Clusters of crystals, like roots and branches, have emerged from the cracks in various parts of the underground palace, crisscrossing and spreading across the ground and walls.

Because of the limited underground space, Hu Li transformed back into human form. At this moment, she nervously followed behind Yu Sheng, holding a large tail in each hand. Her large, furry ears on her head twitched sensitively, and trembled from time to time due to the various sounds coming from underground.

The strange rumbling continued without pause, and tremors would occasionally erupt from the depths of the underground palace, interspersed with unsettling sounds of crystals and rocks cracking, as if the underground structure were about to collapse at any moment, or something terrifying was about to emerge from beneath their feet.

But Yu Sheng paid no heed to these unsettling noises. He walked in front, knowing the way forward as if he knew his own home. He easily found the path to the deeper part of the underground palace among a bunch of forks in the road. After passing through the surrounding structure of the underground palace, he led Eileen, Luna and Huli to a hall.

There are a lot of machines here—they are completely different from the mechanical devices and magical formations we saw on the way, but they are consistent with the style of the various devices on the Otherworldly Inn, and are obviously left behind by the Sacred Retreat.

In one corner of the hall, Yu Sheng discovered several large devices arranged in neat rows, resembling hibernation pods.

The silo had ruptured, and the container was filled with eerie, pale crystals. Thin biomass solution dripped from between the crystals. Judging from the still-dry liquid, this "betrayal" that occurred deep underground must have happened not long ago.

……

In Mo City, on the high platform at the middle of the No. 4 Refining Tower, Mo Ran stood on the edge of the platform, staring intently into the distance.

The young city lord, who had only taken over as head of the Mo family a few years ago, looked somewhat pale.

Everything was no longer the familiar sight from memory. The once peaceful wilderness was now covered by an endless living crystal forest. The distant mountains had collapsed, and terrifying tentacles that reached the sky emerged from the shattered mountains. Another rift was closer to Mo City, and the tentacle that emerged from the rift was only a few kilometers away from the city's protective array at its closest point.

Not long ago, scouts who risked their lives to take to the skies sent word that more rifts were appearing on the western plains.

Communication with other cities has been cut off, and contact with the orbital station has been inexplicably interfered with. Half an hour ago, a celestial ship controlled by a spirit attempted to break through the atmosphere, but lost contact shortly after leaving the city's protective array. It is clear that its fate is grim...

The only good news is that the tentacles did not appear inside Ink City, and the crystals already in the city did not spread further.

The "awakened" Mo City has become the only pure land on this planet that has escaped the influence of the celestial bodies. At least for now, those terrifying crystals are still strongly suppressed within the Mo City area.

Mo Ran took a soft breath, her gaze falling downwards towards the ground outside the Refining Tower.

A hazy spiritual energy shield enveloped the entire Mo City. Where the shield met the open field outside the city, strange pale crystals slowly writhed like living things. The crystal clusters kept trying to spread towards Mo City, but as soon as they got close enough, some invisible force would violently stop them. In those repeated clashes, Mo Ran always felt that he saw strands of black lines... a structure like a spider web, which was sticking to the protective array of Mo City.

But when she looked closely, she couldn't see anything at all.

Mo Ran knew that it was those "spider web-like" things that awakened the city's residents. Although the process was somewhat brutal, these somewhat frightening spider webs pulled millions of people out of the cognitive barriers created by the asteroid and temporarily connected them into a kind of "conscious whole." Even now, these spider webs are still playing a role, fiercely fighting against the erosion of the asteroid.

But she didn't know how long this confrontation could last.

There are tremors coming from beneath the city, sometimes so strong that even ordinary people can feel them.

Those were tentacles—like those distant tentacles that had destroyed mountains and torn apart plains, they existed beneath Ink City as well. Those terrifying limbs had been trying to burrow into the city, but had not yet succeeded.

But it seems to be only a matter of time.

With a whooshing sound, a Mo family guard wearing a straw raincoat and a black cloud-patterned mask flew from the Refining Tower to the platform and knelt on one knee in front of Mo Ran: "City Lord, crystalline substances have been observed in the deep well of the earth veins below the tower, and there is also a tentacle moving at the bottom of the well - the tentacle is very large and it is difficult to see the whole picture."

Are there signs of an upward breakout?

“Not yet,” the guard shook his head. “That tentacle is suppressed by the city's protective array and is currently just slowly crawling underground.” “What about the other refining towers?”

"Refining towers No. 8, No. 9 and No. 12 have also reported the discovery of tentacles. The preliminary judgment is that they should be the same one at the bottom of tower No. 4. No abnormalities have been found at the bottom of the other refining towers yet, but crystalline substances are oozing out from the cracks in the earth veins."

Mo Ran closed her eyes and took a gentle breath.

Beneath the city of Mo lies a gigantic tentacle, its size likely large enough to encircle the entire city from underground—if it weren't for the timely intervention of that "puppet," the city would probably have been swallowed up unnoticed in its sleep.

"...Okay, I got it. Keep an eye on that thing. If it moves upwards, open the slag pipe."

"Order."

The guards left.

The cold wind pierced through the shield, and the cold rain swept over the tower. A faint unease suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart. Mo Ran immediately looked up and looked in the direction his mind was pointing.

In the wind and rain outside the city, she saw some shadows of all sizes suddenly pass through the clouds and rapidly approach the direction of Mo City from the bottom of the clouds.

Leading the group was a large immortal ship with a moon-white hull and towering superstructure, followed by various ships of different sizes, and countless cultivators flying on swords.

Mo Ran's heart sank, and then he saw a familiar figure appear on the immortal ship.

Lord of Tanyuan City, Lord Yunshan.

The refined middle-aged man standing on the deck of the immortal ship saw Mo Ran standing on the high tower guarding the city's protective formation. He immediately clasped his hands in a respectful gesture from afar, a hint of worry on his face. When he spoke, his voice pierced through the wind and rain: "Patriarch of the Mo family, I received news that Mo City is in great turmoil, so I brought people here to help—on the way, I encountered the forces of True Person Qingyun and Fairy Baihong. How is the situation in the city now?"

What was bound to happen has finally happened.

Mo Ran's heart sank, but she had already anticipated this situation, so her expression remained calm, and she replied in a deep voice: "Thank you for your concern, Lord Yunshan - Mo City is fine, it's just that there was a problem with the communication device. Once everything is restored, I will explain the situation to the other cities."

"Oh, that's good then," Yunshan Jun nodded. Despite the fact that the ground beneath his feet was covered with writhing living jungles and that the city of Mo was covered with crystals, he remained calm and showed no sign of being bothered by Mo Ran's obviously harsh attitude. He simply controlled the immortal boat beneath his feet to fly forward slowly for a while longer. "Since everything is alright, I'm relieved. Then please ask the head of the Mo family to open the city's protective array. It's been a long time since we've been guests in Mo City, so we might as well go in and take a look."

The refined middle-aged man spoke with utmost sincerity and with an exceptionally natural demeanor.

Because the world he saw was indeed normal—it was just that the atmosphere in Mo City seemed a bit strange.

He was somewhat confused as to why Mo Ran would open the city's protective array and why he would lead people to stand on the refining tower as if facing a formidable enemy... Could something really have gone wrong in the city?
If that's the case, then he absolutely must go into the city to confirm the situation. After all, in this remote border region, everyone's city is adjacent, and they often look out for each other...

They often look after each other...

Looking out for each other...

Large and small celestial vessels, along with the sword-wielding cultivators guarding them, slowly approached Mo City, carrying with them worries for their compatriots, a sense of responsibility as border guards, and...

Yun Qingzi's order.

Something's wrong in Mo City. Lord Mo Ran and the city's residents need help... Millions of nodes have broken out of the cognitive network, and the outcasts need to be corrected... An external force has severed the city's connection with the entire planet, and a despicable thief is vying with his benefactor for control of the city... There's a threat, and the threat needs to be eliminated.

The countless ancient formations on the surface of the Refining Tower slowly lit up, and the shield of the city's protective formation instantly became more solid. Fully armed cannons rose up in the city. Mo family guards wearing raincoats, cloud-patterned hats and masks walked up the tower, their weapons gleaming coldly in the rain.

“Lord Yunshan,” Mo Ran stepped forward, drawing his flying sword, “please return.”

"Oh, I see," Yunshan Jun's face showed a hint of realization, and he slowly nodded. "Patriarch of the Mo family, you have fallen into demonic possession."

(End of this chapter)