Yefutidaolu

Chapter 380 Cultivation
Lord Jingjiang introduced his insightful opinion to the deep cave. Upon entering, the light suddenly dimmed, creating a stark contrast with the colorful halo and deep blue of the outside world.

The cave's interior space is enormous and was not formed naturally. It was clearly carefully excavated and reinforced. The stone walls are rough yet exceptionally sturdy, exuding a profound texture unique to the deep sea, honed by millions of years of water pressure.

The “simplicity” here is not the simplicity of bamboo fences and thatched cottages or plain wooden houses as described by the Divine Dynasty, but rather the roughness of the deep sea, which belongs entirely to rocks and darkness.

There are almost no carved beams and painted rafters, no magnificent jewels or various spiritual creatures like those in the Dragon Palace; only huge, uniquely shaped reefs serve as natural tables, chairs, and beds.

The air and water were filled with a strong smell of the sea, minerals, and a strange, indescribable aroma that was a mixture of herbs and flesh.

Gao Jian's gaze quickly swept across the interior of the cave, and alarm bells rang in his mind!

It's not deserted. On the contrary, it's strangely "lively".

Sea monsters of all shapes and sizes were everywhere, and in considerable numbers. There were giant crabs covered in bone spikes with glowing minerals embedded in their joints; there were humanoid sea monsters with fish tails as their lower bodies and several thick octopus tentacles grafted onto their upper bodies; there were strange fish with enormous heads and metallic skin, scraping their overgrown keratinous bodies with their claws; and even several giant anemones with twisted shapes, emitting faint spiritual fluctuations, and seemingly moving slowly...

This place is practically a showcase for physical transformation and breakthroughs in evil magic in the East China Sea! Every being here exudes an aura of "abnormal" wildness and a struggle for survival.

According to Gao Jian's experience in the East China Sea, such a large gathering of "abnormal" sea monsters often means that chaos and bloody battles may break out at any time!

His internal energy and blood surged instantly. Although the rusty knife was not drawn, his mind was already tense, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

However, the anticipated chaos did not occur.

The scene before him was somewhat unexpected.

The grotesque sea monsters were mostly lying quietly on the huge rocky beds, or soaking in strangely colored medicinal pools that were bubbling.

The real protagonists are the "service providers" who move among them.

The most numerous creatures were octopuses of all sizes. They were not in combat mode; their tentacles were flexible and gentle, each one a skillful masseur. Some of them used their suckers to attach themselves to the massive sea monsters, their tentacles moving like serpents, twisting, pressing, pinching, or rubbing, their force precisely landing on the sea monsters' taut, knotted muscles and twisted joints.

Takami could even hear some of the sirens emitting comfortable, low growls or hisses, like rocks rubbing together, as they were having their key pressure points pressed. These massages didn't seem to be simply relaxation, but rather helping them to heal the hidden injuries left by their intense training or fighting, loosening the fibrotic scar tissue that had even formed internal bone spurs.

What surprised Takami even more was a group of fish with slender bodies and a shimmering blue-green metallic sheen.

They moved nimbly among the wounded, like well-trained doctors. Takami recognized them as similar to the "splitterfish" he knew from his previous life, the fish that cleaned parasites from large fish. But here, they were clearly more "professional." They would precisely swim to the grotesque, gaping wounds on the sea monsters' bodies, carefully pecking at something. Takami looked closely and discovered that what they were pecking at was not flesh and blood, but rather wisps of energy of different colors and emanating different energy fluctuations that lingered deep within the wounds.

He understood instantly!

Many seemingly healed wounds leave indelible scars, or even continue to cause pain and hinder the flow of power, because the root cause lies in the foreign true energy or curse aura left in the wound by the attacker. These "mixed energies" are like maggots clinging to bones, or like a persistent "severely injured" state, stubbornly resisting the injured person's own healing power.

Even if the vital energy barrier is opened and powerful regenerative abilities are acquired, it is difficult to completely eradicate it. Either the injured person needs to spend a long time refining and erasing it little by little with their own cultivation; or they need to rely on external forces—such as these special fish demons in front of them, who seem to have the innate ability to devour and purify this "impurity energy"!

In addition, thick herbal steam wafted deep within the cave, and some more bizarrely shaped sea monsters, resembling jellyfish or shellfish, were brewing unknown medicinal liquids. These liquids condensed in the water and did not disperse, emitting a pungent or refreshing aroma. The entire cave was permeated with a strange atmosphere that intertwined pain and relief, despair and hope.

In the brutal East China Sea, a place rife with the naked law of the jungle, this place focused on "healing" has become a haven.

“Let’s talk as we massage,” Jingjiangjun’s voice interrupted Gao Jian’s observation. He was clearly very familiar with the place and walked straight towards the deepest part of the cave, a relatively quiet area, away from the noisy “patients” outside.

Gao Jian followed closely behind. The further they went, the dimmer the light became, with only some special minerals embedded in the rock walls that emitted a cool glow providing faint illumination. The stone beds here were larger and smoother.

Deep inside, beside the largest stone bed, sat a colossal creature.

It was a gigantic octopus, far larger than any other of its kind! Its body was round like a small hill, and its skin was a dark color like deep-sea rocks, covered with pits and wrinkles left by time and battles.

What is most striking is its eyes—as big as millstones, set in its enormous head like two deep obsidian stones from the ocean floor, gleaming with a light that blends wisdom and vicissitudes, gazing intently at the approaching Lord Jingjiang and Gao Jian.

However, when Gao Jian's gaze fell on its eight incredibly thick, python-like tentacles, even with his strong will, he couldn't help but let his pupils shrink slightly!

On the inside of the suction cups of each of the arms... there was a face!

These faces are all different in shape. Some are like old men, covered with wrinkles and serious in expression; some are like children, round and curious; some are like angry Vajras, full of murderous intent; and some are like compassionate people, full of sorrow... Eight faces, eight completely different expressions, together create an extremely bizarre and chilling scene!

"Hakkō, I'm here. Same old routine." The Lord of Jingjiang seemed oblivious to the horrifying sight, greeting him calmly. He swam to the stone bed, skillfully climbed onto it, and exposed his broad, mountain-like back. "Also, I brought a newcomer today. Let him test the quality of your place too."

"it is good."

"it is good,"

"it is good!"

"Leave it to us."

"No problem!" "A newcomer? Interesting!"

"She looks so delicate and fair-skinned..."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work!"

The responses rose and fell, but they did not come from the enormous mainframe; rather, they came simultaneously from eight different mouths on the eight arms.

The voices were either old or young, rough or high-pitched, with varying tones and even different emotional inclinations! They seemed like eight independent individuals, responding to Lord Jingjiang with a cacophony of voices!
What surprised Takami even more was that the faces on two of the arms seemed to disagree on the description of "delicate skin and tender flesh." The old man's face on one arm scolded, "Shut up! Be polite to your guests!" The child's face on the other arm retorted, "I'm just stating the facts! Look how smooth his skin is, much better looking than those rough stone turtles!" The two arms even lightly slapped each other, making a soft "smack" sound.

He remained silent, watching with some curiosity.

Lord Jingjiang was clearly used to the chaotic scene. He transformed into his true form, his hundred-foot-tall body lying on the stone bed, and explained in a muffled voice without raising his head: "The Eight Directions have nine brains. One main brain is in the body and is responsible for the overall direction and coordination. There are eight auxiliary brains, one on each arm and leg, each in charge of its own 'territory'. When the cultivation level is high, each auxiliary brain can think independently and has its own little temper. They have strong memory and learning abilities, but sometimes they don't agree with each other."

Gao Jian nodded, feeling a sense of awe at the wonder of creation.

He did indeed know that octopuses possessed a distributed nervous system, which had been amplified to such an unbelievable degree in this spiritually vibrant world! This was no longer a simple case of "multiple brains," but rather the formation of almost eight symbiotic entities with independent consciousness, or at least semi-independent consciousness! No wonder such a massive entity was needed to support this complex thought network.

“So, Lord Jingjiang,” Gao Jian also lay down on a slightly smaller stone bed next to him, mimicking Lord Jingjiang’s manner, and turned his head to look at him, “you brought me here with such seriousness, and mysteriously crossed the canyon, just to… get a massage?”

Jingjiang Jun hummed comfortably. The old man's face on one of his wrists was using a suction cup to attach to a deep scar on his shoulder blade, slowly releasing a kind of warm energy. The "technician's face" on the other wrist began to use the front of the wrist to perform a deep massage and kneading.

"When it comes to talking and doing things, there's no such thing as just chatting." Jingjiang Jun's voice was somewhat muffled due to the comfort of the massage. "Don't you need to take a bath and get a massage? Only when you're physically and mentally relaxed can you speak fluently." He paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and called out to the direction of Hachihong's main brain: "By the way, Hachihong, the usual, after you're done, save me a spot in the underwater volcano crater. I need to soak in it and get rid of the cold."

"Alright!" A relatively deep and steady voice responded from the direction of the main computer.

At this moment, an arm with a gentle, physician-like face floated above Gao Jian and asked in a gentle voice, "Sir, is there anything bothering you? Old injuries causing lingering pain? Blocked meridians? Or mental fatigue? We offer a variety of massage techniques and medicinal baths."

Gao Jian relaxed his body, feeling the cold, hard stone bed beneath him, and replied, "It's not particularly uncomfortable. You can do as you please. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and give it a try."

“Sir,” the physician seemed hesitant, a hint of confusion in his voice, “you…won’t you change your form? We can adjust the pressure of our techniques according to your physique and meridian characteristics.” Clearly, in its experience, anything that could penetrate this place and was brought here by the Lord of Jingjiang was likely some kind of powerful deep-sea monster.

Gao Jian calmly stated, "There's no need for transformation; this is my true form. I am a human."

"what?!"

"Human?!"

"Live?!"

"How could it be a human?!"

"Lord Jingjiang has brought a human here?!"

"Rare! Absolutely rare!"

As soon as Gao Jian finished speaking, the eight faces on the eight arms simultaneously showed expressions of extreme shock and disbelief, and eight different exclamations rose and fell, even drowning out the slight noise from the outside sanatorium!
Even the enormous obsidian eye on the mainframe suddenly widened, revealing intense curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Several tentacles even subconsciously retracted slightly, as if Gao Jian were some extremely dangerous unknown species.

Lord Jingjiang seemed a bit annoyed by the sudden "noise." He raised his head from his arms and swept his golden dragon eyes over Ba Hong: "What's all the fuss about! What's wrong with humans? Get to work! If you don't do it right, I'll twist all eight of your heads off and roast them!"

The eight faces of Hachiko fell silent instantly, revealing expressions that were a mixture of awe and grievance.

Gao Jian found it somewhat amusing, because on each wrist and toe, each face expressed grievance in a different way.

The main AI's calm voice rang out again: "Yes, yes, Lord Jingjiang, please calm down. Please forgive us, sir. We will serve you immediately. Since this is your first time visiting as a human... Third brother, fifth brother, you two come over here. Be gentle and explore your meridians first."

Two arms, one with a gentle doctor's face and the other with a focused technician's face, cautiously approached Gao Jian.

Their movements became much gentler, with a sense of novelty and caution. The suction cups at the tips of their wrists gently adhered to the acupoints on Gao Jian's arms, and a warm and peaceful energy tentatively seeped in, beginning to explore the unique meridian pathways and blood circulation of the human race within his body.

A cool, smooth sensation came through, carrying the unique temperature of deep-sea creatures.

Gao Jian closed his eyes, relaxed his mind, and felt the strange energy flowing through his body, which indeed brought a sense of comfort that relieved fatigue and cleared blockages.

However, Takami's physical body did not have any particular hidden injuries, so he felt nothing other than comfort.

Moreover, he had not completely let down his guard. He knew that the massage was just a prelude, and that the Lord of Jingjiang must have something important to discuss with him.

Sure enough, after enjoying a moment of comfortable tranquility, Lord Jingjiang's deep voice rang out again. This time, it lacked its previous casualness and instead carried a heavy solemnity, like a boulder thrown into a calm pool:
“Kid, does that feel good? Relax a bit, because what I’m about to tell you…” He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, or perhaps gathering his courage, “…may be even more sleepless than when you came to the Dragon King’s place this time.”

(End of this chapter)