Beichen Sword Sect's Headmaster's Secret Records

Chapter 396 Centipede
Honestly, if he hadn't been to the Outer Heavens, seen missile rain, or witnessed tactical nuclear warheads sweeping the ground, Huangfu Yi would probably have followed the crowd to plunder some 'meteorite iron,' 'imperial nectar,' or 'heavenly treasures' to survive the great calamity.

But having seen that there are always higher realms, he naturally wouldn't rush over to ingest nuclear radiation and radioactive fallout...

Knowing what a 'meteor shower' is is one thing, but understanding why something like a nuclear warhead would appear in the Taiji Realm is quite another. Even though he has only just begun to grasp the basics of 'Inch Heart' and 'Taiyi,' it would be far too difficult for Huangfu Yi to truly comprehend such a world-class, unfathomable origin.

Fortunately, Huangfu Yi was resilient and decisive. After being momentarily stunned by the sudden change in the celestial phenomena and experiencing a brief period of confusion and hesitation, he quickly regained his composure and returned to the righteous path.

Matters in the heavens are not his concern for the time being. Even if he wanted to intervene, it wasn't the right time. For now, he just needs to focus on doing what he can do right now.

Go down into the cave, and the demons will surely be vanquished!
Indeed, let's exterminate the demon. This giant centipede is huge; it could eat at least one person in one meal. A single brood of them could number in the thousands. If they were allowed to wreak havoc, and both armies were preserving their strength and acting recklessly, they could devour the entire population within a thousand miles in just a few weeks, causing immense suffering and death.

Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that the large group of centipedes were also attracted by the meteor to compete for the Emperor's Dew, the underground demon cave was temporarily empty. Huangfu Yi planned to go down into the cave alone, burn the centipede nest, and clean up the egg sacs and larvae. Although it might not completely cure the problem, it could at least suppress them for a while.

So Huangfu Yi made full preparations, switching to the Five Immortals Sword Qi to protect himself from the poison, activating his magic weapon to burrow underground, and sneaking into the insect cave to raid the place. But unexpectedly, after traveling only a few miles through the underground canyon, Huangfu Yi suddenly bumped into a wall.

The drilling hat that He Guan picked up was a real treasure, having saved him from being chased twice. But now it suddenly stopped working. Huangfu Yi was also surprised. He tried to find it for a while, but the obstacle in front of him was made of metal. He didn't know if it was some kind of copper wall or underground mine. Helpless, he had no choice but to risk finding a centipede hole to peek out.

Peeking inside, the cave appeared to have been dug out by centipedes. It was damp, slippery, and filled with a strong demonic aura. The cave was drafty, and one end led outwards through a crack, while the other side sloped downwards, extending deep into the cave. However, this path, dug by the centipedes for passage, was flat and narrow, making it difficult to walk upright. Moreover, it seemed that they had severed some kind of gold or stone vein, blocking their earth-burrowing technique, forcing them to take a detour.

Judging from the fact that they would have to fight their way down from here, Huangfu Yi swept his iron rod, flashed his sword, and looked up, only to be stunned.

What we hit wasn't some kind of iron! It was a giant—a giant centipede!

Good heavens! Just one segment of the insect carapace is like the entrance to a treasure trove! Looking up, it's segment by segment, like a train buried underground, winding and spiraling, going straight into the earth's crust. It must be hundreds of feet long!
Damn, we dug up the centipede ancestor... But why isn't it moving? It seems to be dead.
Huangfu Yi examined it carefully, then thrust it with his sword light… The Five Immortals Sword Light of Yangming Yaoguang burst forth! A full-force thrust! Break!
Fortunately, it broke because it was empty inside. This was just a layer of skin shed by the centipede. Although the sword light was sharp enough to penetrate armor and could make a hole with a few more strikes, when Huangfu Yi peered into the empty shell, it was as if he had entered a pidgin subway tunnel. The clearly defined shell was like a slide leading straight to the center of the earth, extending all the way to the deepest layers of the earth's crust.

The monster's true form was unbelievably enormous; even if it were left here to be hacked and slashed, it probably wouldn't be able to scratch a hair on its head. Besides, centipedes only molt when they grow up, and the shed skin was already so hard and huge—it must have been from countless years ago! Just how big has it grown now...?

Logically speaking, seeing such a massive collapse, one should immediately turn back, head to the mountains, and find skilled individuals like woodcutters or sword immortals to vanquish the demon. However, thinking of their recent argument, Huangfu Yi couldn't bring himself to do it.

what's the point?
It's estimated that all the enlightened masters in the world are now attracted by the 'meteor shower and the emperor's nectar,' and everyone is immersed in the atmosphere of the calamity. Who would care about the insects on the ground?

And frankly, after traveling such a long way, what is there that we can't understand?

Born into a chaotic era, one is swept along by the tide, unable to control one's own destiny.

People are too busy taking care of their own affairs to care about other people's trivial matters.
Demons can never be completely killed, monsters can never be completely eradicated, and humans can never be completely wiped out.

When there is heavy rainfall throughout the year, the Gen River overflows and hundreds of thousands of people die. In front of the high and mighty gods, human life is not worth mentioning at all.

Ultimately, you have to do your own thing. Don't beg this person or that person all the time, hoping that some benevolent official or righteous partner will fall from the sky and take care of things for you.

but……

Could he possibly withstand such a demon god on his own...?

So what?

If you can't beat them or resist them, do you just give up?
Is it because you are weak that you want to run away, and then you have to beg the gods and ask others to help you?
Huangfu Yi, is this all there is to your path?

"...How can this be the end of it!"

For some reason, I was stirred by the inner monologue and the whispers of the divine court!

In a moment of impulsiveness, Huangfu Yi gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and shouted, "Ha!" He jumped into the centipede's shell, relying on a fleeting moment of courage!
Whoosh whoosh!
It slid straight down its spine, plunging headlong into the abyss!

Wow!
There was no room for hesitation or retreat! It was as if they were afraid that if they hesitated any longer, they would destroy their own Dao heart!

Whoohoo!
Never mind whether you win or lose!
Just decide whether to do it or not!
The sky is falling and the earth is collapsing! I'll hold it up!

Without hesitation!

This is my way!

It accelerated all the way, as fast as the wind!

Before Huangfu Yi could hesitate and regret amidst his chaotic thoughts, he had already burned his bridges and cut off all his escape route! He slid straight down the centipede's head and fell out!
"Oh!"

"evildoer--!"

With the determination to charge into the demon's lair and sacrifice himself in battle, Huangfu Yi unleashed the full light of his Five Immortal Swords, wielding his staff as he charged forward! He was ready to sacrifice himself for righteousness!
"A monster, a monster, a monster, a monster, a monster..."

However, what appeared before Huangfuyi was not some insect swarm or demonic cave, but only a vast and boundless darkness.

It was pitch black, both above and below ground, without a single ray of light.

Even when trying to probe with divine sense, one could only discover that the surrounding area was an extremely vast space, like an underground lava cave.

I sniffed hard, but couldn't detect any demonic aura. I guess I'd gone too deep, far beyond the range of the insect nest above.

Huangfu Yi thought for a moment, took out the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion and placed it on the flat ground. He then made a hand seal and released the Sun and Moon Twin Rings and the Yin and Yang Twin Rings.

Wow!
The Yin-Yang Twin Wheels suddenly shone brightly and soared into the sky!

These two magical artifacts, both born with spirits, naturally refused to submit to the villains who had killed and robbed them. They desperately tried to escape and return to the summit of Mount Song. Unfortunately, their magic wheels were bound by a strong light, like kites, tethered to the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion by the light. They couldn't escape too far, and could only fly and circle in the vast cavern like small suns, appearing from afar like a pair of butterflies.

So, using the light from the two wheels, Huangfu Yi looked around and involuntarily held his breath.

It's actually a city!
A magnificent palace, towering towers, an unprecedented architectural style, a city assembled from bronze, steel, and alloys! And from afar, you can even see distinctive demon statues!

Could it be the ruins of an ancient demon race?
Huangfu Yi is a legitimate heir of the Imperial Guard. Due to his childhood experiences, he harbors a strong sense of wariness towards the demon race. Naturally, he has made special inquiries and learned that tens of thousands of years ago, the demon race was the master of the land, while humans at that time seemed to be considered a branch of the monkey race...

Fortunately, the Immortal Venerable appeared out of nowhere and beat the Demon Emperor and Demon King to death with a flurry of punches and kicks. The survivors fled in panic to all corners of the world, thus establishing the vast land of the Immortal Palace.

Therefore, throughout the entire territory of the Three Enclosures and Twelve Kingdoms, deep in the mountains and forests, beneath the blessed lands, there are indeed many ancient ruins and remnants of various demon races.

Huangfu Yi focused his attention on observing the surrounding terrain. With the illumination of the sun and moon, and through his divine sense and arithmetic calculations, he gradually understood the current situation.

The underground cavity was deeper and wider than expected, perhaps a huge underground cavern formed naturally. The entire demon city was actually a suspended flying island, similar to the Three Enclosures Sky City, hanging in mid-air like a chandelier from a cliff, held by the teeth of a giant centipede that had shed its shell.

Yes, as he traversed the area, he encountered the enormous, hundred-zhang-long centipede shell, surrounded by eight chains that seemed to bind the edge of the ancient city. In the sunlight and moonlight, one could clearly see shimmering golden runes and magic arrays on the centipede's head.

Coincidentally, Huangfu Yi had studied this recently... no, there was no coincidence at all; it was a required course for palace guards.

Eight Golden Locks, Sealing the Demon Altar. This is a demon-sealing formation set up by the Celestial Palace Guards to guard and seal the ruins of demons in various places, preventing the demons from rising from the ashes. When the demon gods and demon lords break free of the seal and wreak havoc on the world, it is the duty of the Celestial Guards to stand up and stop them.

Perhaps it is fate, or perhaps this is his destiny.

Whether it was due to some kind of inspiration or a realization of one's own destiny, it is unclear.

At this moment, in this situation, Huangfu Yi calmed down and stopped hesitating. He picked up the sword in one hand and raised the iron rod in the other, igniting golden flames on the blade, as if he were holding a torch. He walked resolutely toward the bronze demon cave.

Amidst the interplay of Yin and Yang, and the flickering light of Yangming Yaoguang's sword, Huangfu Yi entered the formation alone, walking along the bronze ground into this desolate and lifeless ruin, the vast and incomparably powerful demon capital.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the place felt quite similar to Yangjingbang. There were towering, mountain-like buildings everywhere, and entrances that looked like beehives and wormholes. The crisscrossing passages and overpasses connected the entire underground city.

As Huangfuyi passed through the outer metal shell and entered the tunnel, the closer he got to the city's core, the more damp and gloomy the entire ruins became. Initially, he found rotten, mold-like filth in the corners, then visible, sticky fungal carpets appeared on the ground, and finally the entire city was covered by a layer of fungi, with colorful, fluorescent mushrooms everywhere, making it feel like he had entered a mushroom jungle.

These fungi were clearly not part of the city's original design; they were more like some kind of invasion from outside. The air throughout the city was covered with glowing fungal spores, which would occasionally spray out large amounts of fluorescent powder with a 'poof' sound. The particles suspended in the air reflected the light, covered the body, and infected the lungs. It was probably some kind of miasma containing high toxicity.

Fortunately, these fungal spores didn't have a particularly large impact on the human body. Moreover, Huangfu Yi had specifically practiced the Five Immortals Sword Scripture and tried to protect his body with poisonous energy. Surprisingly, he could directly refine the surrounding miasma for his own use, so much so that his cultivation level had noticeably increased along the way... cough cough, that's not the point...

In short, as Huangfuyi delved deeper into the city, his research into the distribution of mushrooms yielded some discoveries. The fungal growth seemed to follow a special type of water system within the city, similar to the power lines in a pidgin bridge, containing a fluorescent liquid that spread throughout the urban area like veins. However, whether due to years of disrepair or an accidental leak, the fluorescent liquid leaked from the pipes, gradually covering the spores and becoming the mushroom's nutrient tank.

However, this gave Huangfu Yi a better idea of ​​what to do. Even mushrooms know where to find nutrients, so he figured that if he followed the pipe to its end, he could find the centipede monster trapped in the formation.

So Huangfu Yi made a hand seal to retrieve his twin wheels, replaced the sword pavilion with a sword pouch in his hand, and following the guidance of the fluorescent mushrooms, he held his breath and continued to dive deeper and deeper. He walked for an unknown amount of time in the world of mushroom spores until he reached the deepest part of the city...

At the end of the pipe was a sewage treatment plant, a place that was probably originally a treasure trove, but was overgrown with mushrooms and fungi that chased after the smell of fluorescent liquid and burst open.

Squeezing through the gaps created by the mushroom thicket, one could see many enormous jars in the warehouse. The outer jars were covered by a fungal carpet of spores, but the inner jars appeared to have been deliberately damaged. A large amount of sap had been poured into a massive cauldron, overflowing and being absorbed by the fungal carpet. However, for some reason, the surrounding fungi only grew around the cauldron, as if afraid to approach…

Huangfu Yi jumped onto the tops of the surrounding jars to look around.

Found it, there's an egg soaking in the cauldron.

Are those centipede eggs? They look so strange...

This is an oval, dark brown egg case, mostly submerged in the cauldron, resembling fermented black beans in a pot. However, it is quite large, about the height of a person. At first glance, it looks a bit like a biological pod from Outer Heaven. Inside the egg case, something is faintly pulsating, as if there is something alive.

It doesn't look like a centipede... Anyway, just kill it, right?

Without hesitation, Huangfu Yi took out his sword scabbard, made a sword incantation with his hands, and spat out a condensed wisp of innate sword energy, attaching it to the key flying sword, locking the egg sheath, and pointing the sword at it!
"disease!"

"Kaka!"

With a swirl of silver light, the egg shattered.

……

……

That’s it?
"Aren't you going to eat...?"

Huangfu Yizheng looked puzzled when suddenly a man's voice rang out from a corner of the treasure vault!
Huangfu Yi shuddered and leaped to his feet, his sword energy surging! He controlled a flying sword that protected him, his eyes wide with fury, and roared angrily.

"who!"

"...You ask...who I am..."

Then, from the shadows, with a clanging sound like metal clashing, a pillar suddenly moved. It stepped to the left and swayed to the right, and a figure emerged, walking with a V-shaped gait, clanging and clattering as it stepped forward.

"A hundred feet trample a thousand mountains, a single blade cleaves the chaotic sky. Two iron hilts sever mountains, a thousand sections of black armor reflect the crimson sunset."

Frost has clung to the battle-axe for millennia, yet the spirit remains untouched by worldly dust. But at the call of General Mangdang, the flying general will shatter the palace of gods and demons!

Huangfu Yi saw that this person was 28 feet tall, with two swords on his back, fully armored, covered in iron armor, and had his face covered in red armor. At first glance, he looked like a giant. Huangfu Yi couldn't see through his cultivation level even with his divine sense. Huangfu Yi also saw through him clearly. He raised his staff, made a hand seal, and condensed a sword qi in his chest.
Centipede.

The Iron Man raised his head, revealing two cockroaches on the top of his helmet—cough, his centipede braids swung back—and he shook his head.

"The vanguard under the Left General! The Di Imperial Guard's Flying Cavalry Commander! Ling Baiyang! Is here!"

Huangfu Yi snorted coldly, made a sword gesture, and his eyes flashed with a cold light.

"You heretic, spouting nonsense! You're just a cavalryman, and I'm the General Who Conquers the West! Take this!"

"Wait! The tiger tally, the command arrow, the silver seal, and the blue ribbon are here. Please verify your identity!"

As a result, the iron man raised his hand and tossed out an iron plaque and a silver seal, which flew out and shimmered in mid-air...

What... what's going on...?

Huangfu Yi had planned everything meticulously, but he never expected the other party to directly show their credentials. He was genuinely stunned for a moment, and...

it is true.

Yes, he had indeed seen the silver seal and blue ribbon before; his father had one, which was equivalent to a rank of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

Then the Iron Man looked at Huangfu Yi.

"look at yours."

"Uh……"

Just kidding, where would he get a general's seal and ribbon...? Wait, that plaque looks like...

Huangfu Yi took out the iron plaque from his waist and held it up to compare it.

Although a few extra words were engraved, the design...

Then the steel centipede on the other side was overjoyed.

"Tiger tally! Great! Finally, someone's here to relieve us!"

(End of this chapter)