A bizarre resurgence begins with a pact made by a weasel.

Raindrops drifted down.

White smoke swirled around.

Thanks to this acid rain, the perennial dampness in the valley has improved considerably.

Xie Qing picked up a few pieces of withered bark and returned to the edge of the well. He lit the bark and threw it into the well. The firelight illuminated the rock wall as it fell downwards. It took a full half-cup of tea time before he heard a tinkling sound.

The unobstructed path of the tree bark and the unextinguished flames indicate that there is ample air below.

Without further hesitation, Xie Qing jumped into the well.

Instead of plummeting downwards, he stepped back and forth on the rock face, slowly descending in very short distances.

Xie Qing flicked his sleeves,

Splash!

Sparse sawdust and wood chips fell downwards.

Then he opened his mouth and spat out.

call!

Flames swept through, instantly igniting the wood chips and blocks, which transformed into shooting stars that illuminated the dark space below and Xie Qing's vision.

He would do this every ten feet or so, in case something unexpected happened in the darkness.

"Young master, are you scared?"

"Don't you want to see your mother?"

·······

At the bottom, the mandrill's cries grew louder, indicating that the two were getting closer.

Xie Qing sneered inwardly, and a paper dagger slid out from his sleeve.

"Young master, come down quickly."

He listened intently.

call!

A gentle breeze is blowing.

Below, not only could one hear the mandrill's cries, but also the muffled sounds of breathing.

It is breathing.

close!

Very close!

Xie Qing gripped the crevice in the rock with one hand and hurled a piece of bark downwards with the other. The fireball fell incredibly fast, illuminating the well clearly. Xie Qing followed closely behind, plunging downwards like an arrow.

Six meters!

Four meters!

Two meters!

······

"Got you!!"

Xie Qing chewed up the gold.

It was at this moment that

The firelight illuminated a slightly protruding bluestone slab, upon which sat a green toad the size of a large bowl, its mouth opening and closing, emitting a sound exactly like that of a mandrill:

"Young master, are you scared?"

Xie Qing abruptly pulled out his dagger and plunged it into the rock wall, stopping his momentum. Hanging in mid-air, he showed neither shock nor panic at being deceived, but simply smiled:

"I've got you."

Two distinct voices suddenly rang out at the same time.

Xie Qing looked up and met the gaze of the mandrill that was rushing towards him from above.

"This is impossible!!!"

The mandrill bristled all over.

How did he find me?!

Its unique skill—Hidden Landscape—allows it to blend into its surroundings and also has the effect of holding its breath and concealing its presence. There's absolutely no way it could detect me!

But that cold gaze was definitely fixed on me.

at this time,

There is no room for it to back down.

The mandrill stretched out its sharp claws and lunged at Xie Qing, but it was faster than the scorching flames.

"Melting Gold!!!"

Rumble!

The golden flames struck its head directly.

The flames burrowed into the hollow eye socket.

"No!!!!!"

In extreme pain, the mandrill suddenly leaped upwards.

He can see me!

That little bastard could see me after all!

This meant that its greatest advantage was gone in this confined space. Fortunately, it still had the advantage of speed; the mandrill widened the distance and raced towards the well opening.

Once the mechanism is activated, the interlayer in the well will be completely restored to its original state, sealing Xie Qing completely within the tomb.

Just then, a golden paper talisman floated down from above.

"What is this?!"

Xie Qing chuckled softly from below:

"Hmph, may your power manifest!!"

Before the mandrill's incredulous eyes, golden light surged, and a divine general, ten feet tall and wielding a crescent-shaped blade, suddenly stepped forward.

"snort!"

The shout was like thunder, and the mountain demon's running body suddenly stopped. Then, the divine general swung his long sword and pinned it to the rock wall.

"Aaaaaah, young master, spare me! Young master, spare me!!"

Amidst screams, the divine general thrust his arm with tremendous force. With a snap, the blade embedded itself deeply into the rock face, while the mountain demon hanging from the tip was squeezed to the very end of the blade. The divine general then rammed the long handle with his knee...

Rumble!

The blade sliced ​​through the rock face, breaking through the stone.

Subsequently,

He landed in front of Xie Qing, carrying the crescent-shaped blade.

"Your subordinate Zheng Lun greets Your Excellency."

Xie Qing nodded.

As Huang Jue's most treasured possession, this deity possesses simple wisdom and is not a complete puppet.

"Lead the way."

"Yes, ma'am."

Zheng Lun sank downwards, and the mountain demon hanging on the blade was still alive. It stretched its neck towards Xie Qing, pleading incessantly. Xie Qing sneered inwardly.

This beast had a good plan, but unfortunately, its foul odor couldn't be concealed. As it fell, the rock face was covered with its scent. Even if Xie Qing couldn't see it, it didn't stop him from figuring out what the beast was thinking.

It was precisely by taking advantage of the difference in height between the paper talisman and himself that he managed to surround the beast from both sides.

"Sir, we've reached the exit."

A faint light emanated from below.

Xie Qing descended into the cave and saw that below the well was an extremely spacious cavern. Dozens of corpses, with human faces and fish bodies, were nailed to the damp rock walls. Their tongues had become wicks, and the dim light flickered between their mouths and tongues.

"Those are merfolk from the East Sea."

To demonstrate its effectiveness, the mandrill reluctantly explained:

"Xie Lan nailed them here as funeral lamps, and they have not gone out for twenty years."

Xie Qing did not respond.

His gaze was drawn to a coffin in the middle of the cave.

It was a coffin standing upright, inserted straight into the water.

The coffin was extremely thin and narrow, looking like a pillar, no, even thinner than a pillar. Dozens of bronze chains tightly bound it, forcing most of the coffin to be submerged in sewage.

The key is,

There was a hole in the top of the coffin.

A bright red, egg-shaped ball of flesh squeezed out of the coffin.

It stood straight towards the well opening, and a blood-red Ganoderma lucidum sprouted from the indentation of the goose egg.

Boom boom boom!

Boom boom boom!

Xie Qing's heart began to pound violently.

He instinctively reached out and clutched his chest.

"What is that?"

"That's Red Dragon Fungus."

Despite the extreme physical pain, the mandrill could not suppress the desire in its heart.

"Eating it will transform you completely, allowing your cultivation to reach a higher level. This is the great gift Xie Lan has prepared for you, young master! Eating it is equivalent to twenty years of arduous cultivation."

"What is that?"

Xie Qing asked again.

The mandrill shuddered.

It felt both joy and fear; it wanted to speak but was afraid of incurring the wrath of others.

When Xie Qing's gaze shot over, it finally spoke. In a shrill voice, it tried its best to suppress its gloating, and said:

"That is your mother."

"She was skinned alive, covered in blood, and stuffed into this coffin."

"Xie Lan soaked her in this poisonous water, letting it corrode her every moment. He also made an opening at the top, forcing your mother to crawl upwards. She wanted to survive, so she poked her head out and opened her mouth, calling out every day in this cave."

"She was forced to channel all her spiritual energy and blood essence into the tip of her tongue, which is how this Crimson Dragon Mushroom came to be."

The red dragon is the tongue.

The tongue is the spirit of the heart.

It is the pivot of human life, the place where all gains and losses converge.

Xie Qing's face was as cold as ice.

"She...she's still alive?"

The mandrill was now somewhat uncertain:

"Perhaps he's still alive?"

"Or perhaps it's some kind of zombie-turned-monster?"

Twenty years have passed.

Xie Lan made him feed the monster with fresh blood every day, and it really couldn't tell whether the monster was a human or something else.

Logically speaking, "she" should have died long ago.

but,

An ordinary person would have died long ago after suffering such a hardship, but in the first few years, "she" was in very good spirits.