Please be my partner.

What made Mellen frown even more was that he recognized the face; it was an inner disciple of the Jade Purity Sect. Mellen had met the person when he entered the sect because their assigned residences were close by.

Judging from the appearance, this inner disciple must have accepted a ranch mission, but unfortunately died. His body was then used by the strange creatures in the ranch to create a human-faced rat.

Moreover, judging from its appearance, the human-faced rat seems to have inherited some of the inner disciple's power from his previous life.

Mellen's face darkened, and he unleashed starlight and flames, burning all the rats, including the human-faced rats, to ashes.

However, the gray-black aura was not found on the human-faced rat.

Without stopping, Mellen continued digging downwards and quickly located the area with the anomaly.

When Mellen arrived at a fairly spacious underground cave, he saw a large number of alien rats and human-faced rats. Guarded by them in the center was an ordinary rat, which looked just a size larger than a regular rat, a female rat.

The mother rat had empty eyes and seemed to be mechanically gnawing on a corpse. As she ate, her belly grew rapidly, and in just a short time, she gave birth to dozens of baby rats.

These little mice were initially pink and even looked somewhat cute, but within seconds they began to grow larger and their fur grew wildly. The ordinary mice became part of the swarm, while the special alien mice and the rare human-faced mice continued to eat and their size continued to grow visibly.

Mellen remained expressionless, the Jade Purity Divine Light sweeping across him in an instant.

A few minutes later, Mellen flew out from underground, trailing a wisp of gray-black energy in his hand, which he had obtained from the mother rat.

Having gotten what he wanted, Mellen didn't linger and quickly left.

Finding a quiet valley, Mellen began studying the newly discovered second gray-black airflow and quickly reached new conclusions...

Both are weak reality rules, filled with distorted rules. The difference is that the No. 1 gray-black airflow is filled with 'interference' and 'distortion', which can cause physical damage, such as draining life's blood out of thin air, or breaking a neck through sight.

The second gray-black airflow is a kind of grafting that leans towards the conceptual level. It involves grafting limbs of other life forms to seize some of their abilities.

This includes not only the physical abilities themselves, but also the extraordinary power of cultivating immortality.

Mellen suddenly realized that studying the twisted rules of these otherworldly demons was also a good direction for improvement.

And so, as Mellen continued forward, he studied the No. 1 and No. 2 gray-black air currents in his hands.

The next few missions all involve ordinary demons and monsters, so there's no need for Mellen to intervene.

It wasn't until the last mission that a new discovery was made. By then, Mellen's cultivation had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from entering the Core Formation realm.

The last task involves a strange clinic hidden in the mountains. To a normal person, it appears abandoned and dilapidated, but those with external injuries or obvious illnesses who enter the clinic will see its true nature.

This clinic possesses considerable healing capabilities; currently, it appears to be able to cure almost any known or unknown injury or illness. However, the treatment process and its outcomes may not be acceptable to everyone.

For example, if someone breaks their leg and enters a clinic, they might receive a futuristic, sci-fi-style mechanical prosthesis, or they might receive a grafted insect arthropod.

For example, if someone has a cough and fever, they might be injected with a nanomedical robot to help clear viruses from their body and lung ailments, or they might have their internal organs replaced to fundamentally eliminate the disease.

It is precisely because of this random treatment method that some people are cured or even become better, but others experience various rejection reactions shortly after treatment and eventually die.

This chaotic situation is quite in line with the characteristics of the Otherworldly Demons, not to mention the outrageous cyberpunk art style.

Looking at the dilapidated clinic before him, Mellen was speechless. This clinic had the characteristic of moving, appearing randomly within a certain range, and it took Mellen quite a bit of effort to find it.

The clinic was an ordinary three-story wooden building with two white lanterns hanging in front of the door. You could still vaguely make out the writing on them, but it was no longer clear.

Mellen reached out and brushed against the wall; with a little force, a large hole appeared in the wall.

At this time, the clinic was operating normally, without any supernatural features.

Under these circumstances, Mellen guessed that even if it were dismantled, it would most likely be impossible to obtain the gray-black airflow.

After thinking for a moment, Mellen took out a magical longsword from his storage bag, activated the Jade Purity Divine Light, and slashed it towards his arm.

As a bloody gash appeared, a strange and terrifying aura suddenly emanated from the clinic.

In an instant, it seemed as if the space had been refreshed; the dilapidated clinic became brand new, and expanded from its original wooden structure into a massive reinforced concrete building.

At the same time, a mixed electronic voice announced: "A patient has been detected... Immediate treatment is required... Immediate treatment is required..."

"Injury: Arm laceration; Treatment plan: Amputation and replacement with a soft beetle arm."

"Execute immediately! Execute immediately!"

Mechanical arms emerged from the doors and windows of the clinic, reaching out to grab Mellen.

Chapter 727 Return and Subjugation

"Hey, I just have a minor arm injury that will heal on its own with a little treatment, and you're going to amputate it?! You're really unreliable!"

Mellen muttered something in exasperation, his body flashing with divine light as he shattered all the incoming mechanical arms.

As Mellen strode into the clinic amidst a barrage of attacks, a chaotic corridor stretched endlessly before him, lined with doors of varying shapes and materials.

Mellen chuckled softly, and with a flick of his hand, the chaotic space was instantly reorganized and mended. The corridor was no longer infinite, and a large door appeared at its end.

Without even looking, Mellen made a fist and suddenly pulled, disrupting the stable space once again. The entire clinic gradually crumbled into pieces, with doors, walls, and the floor breaking apart to reveal a dark and void beneath.

At the center of this jumble of fragments was a mottled hospital bed, covered in bloodstains and filth.

Having found the core of the medical clinic, the rest was simple. With a sweep of Jade Purity Divine Light, the sickbed was easily destroyed, and Mellen then extracted the gray-black airflow from it.

As the space shifts, Mellen returns to the outside world, and the medical clinic gradually fades away amidst the constant displacement and transformation of its forms—from wooden kiosks to brick buildings and metal structures.

Having obtained the No. 3 gray-black airflow, Mellen did not rush to study it. He looked up at the sky; it was already evening, and night was not far away.

Mellen continued deeper into the forest, found a low hill, sat down cross-legged, and began to close his eyes, concentrate, and adjust his state.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, Mellen had reached his peak condition.

An invisible wave dissipated, and the stars in the sky suddenly became brighter and more dazzling.

With the strength that Melon can currently exert, he naturally cannot affect the overall celestial phenomena of the Azure Moon Realm. He can only absorb a large amount of stellar power in a small area, which creates the illusion of stars shining nearby. In reality, these changes cannot be seen as long as you are far away.

The power of the stars flowed into Melon's body like a gentle stream, causing his magical power to surge.

When the water naturally overflowed, a halo of light shone within Melon's body, instantly sweeping in and out, absorbing all the magical power.

A golden, round elixir rose up and floated three inches above Mellen's head, with star patterns on it.

The power of the stars in the world rushed in and poured into the golden core. The star patterns on the golden core lit up one by one, shining with a dreamlike light like a river of stars.

Mellen opened his eyes, swallowed the golden pill again, and couldn't help but chuckle: "Is this what they mean by 'once a golden pill is swallowed, my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven'?"

Around Mellen, beams of light appeared, and the dogs emerged one by one.

When their cultivation levels were lower, the dogs couldn't offer much help. Now that Mellen has reached the Core Formation stage, the dogs have naturally reached the same level as well. They now have the initial ability to protect themselves in the Azure Moon Realm and can act independently.

Mellen took out the three wisps of gray-black energy she had collected and placed them in front of the dogs, saying, "You know the mission: to find something similar. If we can find the sleeping King of the Otherworld directly, that would be best."

The dogs took turns stepping forward, recording the information about the gray-black airflow in their own way.

Once the recording was complete, Spike, Garuru, Little Liuli, Golden Retriever, Nasus, Void Dog, and Forest Wolf each chose different directions and quickly left.

Little Red Lotus perched on Mellen's shoulder, barking to cheer on her friends, while Little Li watched them go.

After seeing the dogs off, Mellen said, "Let's go. What we need to do most now is to continue improving our strength."

Once you have a certain level of cultivation as your foundation, the rest is simple.

One day later, at Yuqing Gate.

The appearance of Mellen immediately caused a stir among some people.

Before long, a group of inner disciples dressed in the uniforms of the Enforcement Hall blocked Mellen's way. The leader said in a deep voice, "Mellen, you've been caught. Come with us!"

Mellen sized up the man in the lead and learned from the surrounding disciples' discussions that his name was Sheng Feiang and that he was a disciple of the Guizhen lineage.

Murren laughed and said, "I have a lot on my plate. Which one has made the announcement?"

Sheng Feiang frowned and shouted, "Stop grinning like that! Is the disappearance of Junior Brother Ren and the others related to you?!"

Mellen's expression turned calm as he said, "You're right, they did indeed die at my hands."

“You…” Sheng Fei’ang was stunned. He didn’t expect that Mellen would admit his crime so easily in public. But then he shouted, “Very well! Harming a fellow disciple is an unforgivable crime! Since you have admitted it, then come with me to receive your punishment!”

"Is this how you convict someone? You didn't even ask me why I did it?" Murren asked.

Sheng Feiang didn't reply at all and reached out to grab Mellen.

Mellen curled his lip, pointed a finger and shattered the energy palm released by Sheng Feiang, then said, "They attacked me first, and I killed them entirely in self-defense."

Although Sheng Feiang was somewhat surprised that Mellen could break his spell so easily, he still snorted coldly and said, "You will have a chance to explain yourself when we get back to the Enforcement Hall."

Mellen clicked his tongue and shook his head, saying, "How boring."

To be honest, it wasn't actually 'boring', but rather that things didn't go as Mellen had anticipated, which is why he called it 'boring'.

However, it was just a sudden whim of mine, and it wouldn't really interfere with my business.

As Mellen became slightly more serious, a powerful aura flowed out like mercury, pressing down on all the Yuqing Sect disciples around, including Sheng Feiang, so that they could not move. Some of the lower-level disciples even fell to the ground, like fish out of water, unable to get up no matter how much they struggled.

Sheng Feiang's legs trembled as he suppressed the fear rising in his heart and exclaimed in shock, "Foundation Establishment? Pseudo-Core Formation? No! This is... a Golden Core Domain?! You're a Golden Core expert?!"

The Core Formation Realm is also divided into many levels. Only those who can condense a flawless Golden Core can be called Golden Core True Persons, who are naturally a level stronger than ordinary Core Formation Realm cultivators and have a higher potential for the future.

However, in the Azure Moon Realm, those who have reached the Core Formation Realm are already considered senior experts, and those who have reached the Golden Core Realm are even rarer. To achieve this, one needs talent, resources, comprehension, and cultivation techniques, and none of these can be lacking.

Therefore, very few Golden Core cultivators are "wild" individuals; only the direct descendants of major immortal sects have the potential to achieve such success.

And who is this Mellen in front of us?

Born into a small family, he managed to enter the Yuqing Sect by chance due to some shady rules, but he has only been a disciple for a few days and has probably only reached the Qi Refining stage of the sect's fundamental techniques.

How could such an insignificant person suddenly become a Golden Core expert?!

Regardless of what Sheng Feiang thought, Mellen had already taken to the air, unleashing the aura of a Golden Core expert, which directly alarmed the entire Jade Purity Sect.

Powerful auras surged into the sky, and soon five figures blocked Mellen's path. Three of them were in the early stage of Core Formation, one was in the middle stage of Core Formation, and the other was also in the middle stage of Core Formation, but he was a Golden Core True Person.

Yuqing Jindan shouted, "Who dares to be so insolent in my Yuqing Sect?!"

Mellen said calmly, "Bring Xuan Yi to see me."

Yuqing Jindan raised an eyebrow, while the other four Core Formation cultivators began to curse:

"How dare you! You actually address the ancestor by his given name?!"

"You audacious madman, don't you even know where you are before you dare to act so wildly?"

"Want to see the Ancestor? Hmph! You'll get to see him after we capture you!"

"..."

Mellen waved his hand and said, "Make a fuss."

A gentle breeze suddenly rose up and blew toward the few Core Formation cultivators.

The Core Formation cultivators didn't pay much attention at first, but when the breeze blew to their side, their expressions suddenly changed drastically, and they all wanted to use their abilities.

But it was too late.

How could a few cultivators from the lower realms possibly crack Mellen's methods?

A gentle breeze swept by, transforming into invisible yet tangible ropes that bound the Core Formation cultivators together. Even the Golden Core cultivator only struggled a fraction longer than the other Core Formation cultivators.

After being bound, the physical strength and internal magic power of the Core Formation cultivators were all sealed simultaneously, as if they had directly become mortals.

This turn of events caused even the disciples below to become restless, and even the Nascent Soul elder who had been hiding behind the scenes could no longer remain silent.

A streak of light flashed across the sky and stopped not far in front of Mellen, revealing a refined middle-aged man.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Mellen chuckled and said, "Xuanyi, you should have already guessed my identity, right?"

Xuan Yi remained silent, his gaze dark and gloomy.

Mellen was somewhat surprised, but after a moment's thought, he fell silent and laughed, "It seems you're still a little 'unwilling' to accept it. Well then, in that case, I'll prove myself."

As soon as he finished speaking, Melen's Golden Core Domain unfolded, and the sun and moon began to rotate, black and white were reversed, day was replaced by night, and countless stars twinkled incessantly.

Mellen unleashed a punch, and his immortal battle intent transformed into a long golden river that swept towards Xuan Yi.

Xuan Yi dared not be careless. Jade Purity Divine Light rose around him, and at the same time, a jade pendant carved with 'Dragon and Tiger' rose up. After absorbing the Jade Purity Divine Light, the dragon and tiger jade pendant transformed into a dragon and tiger phantom. This dragon and tiger phantom was like an amplifier, releasing ten times the power.

"Boom!~"

The golden river collided with the dragon and tiger phantoms. After only a brief stalemate, the dragon and tiger phantoms let out a mournful cry and were submerged by the golden river.

This scene caused Xuan Yi's expression to change drastically. He then threw out an ancient bronze bell, which transformed into a sturdy shield in front of him.

After the golden river has washed over it, only a thin layer remains of the ancient bronze bell, making it appear almost transparent.

Xuan Yi, disregarding his heartache, saw that Mellen was about to throw a second punch. He immediately forced a smile, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "True Immortal of the Upper Realm, please calm your anger! Please calm your anger! I... I was also unable to confirm the identity of the True Immortal before, which is why I tested you. Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"

Mellen retracted his fist, a half-smile on his face, and said, "So, are you sure you know my identity now? Or should I prove it again, just in case you're mistaken?"

"No need! No need!" Xuan Yi smiled ingratiatingly and shook his head repeatedly: "Your divine abilities are astonishing, you must be a true immortal from the upper realm!"