Chapter 283: The Alchemy Chamber

Feeding pigs?

Mo Hua blinked in slight shock, then slowly furrowed his brow.

He had wandered through Great Heishan for so long—he didn't recall seeing any pigs anywhere…

And what were these cultivators of evil doing raising pigs?

It couldn't possibly be for meat…

Then what kind of pig was this?

Was it a demonic beast?

For some reason, Mo Hua suddenly became deeply concerned.

He felt that the phrase "feeding pigs" felt strangely out of place in Great Heishan.

"Want to take a look?"

Mo Hua looked up at the sky; night had just fallen, dark and heavy.

Time was still early—he'd go take a peek, then slip back under cover of deep night.

He couldn't stay in Great Heishan any longer.

With his mind made up, Mo Hua concealed his form and quietly followed the scar-faced man.

The scar-faced man stuffed Kong Sheng into a sack, slung it over one shoulder, and walked on, leaving a trail of blood that dripped all the way to the rear gate.

The scar-faced man pushed open the door and went inside.

But Mo Hua's gaze sharpened, and his brow furrowed.

So it was in the rear compound—he'd never seen it before.

"Should I go in?"

The Third and Fourth Chiefs, both Foundation Establishment cultivators of evil, lived in the rear compound; Mo Hua's concealment could fool their spiritual senses for a while, but one misstep might expose him.

Just then, he heard the scar-faced man speaking with another old cultivator of evil:

"Is the Third Chief here? I've brought the goods."

Kong Sheng's corpse was merely "goods"—not even considered a person.

Or perhaps, to these cultivators of evil, every cultivator who died in Great Heishan was merely "goods," not a person at all.

The old cultivator of evil rasped: "The Third Chief just went out, and the Fourth Chief isn't here either—but I have the key. I'll open the door for you."

Mo Hua froze in surprise, then his eyes brightened slightly.

If both chiefs were away, he could enter the rear compound.

He had always wondered what lay inside Great Heishan's rear compound—now was the perfect chance to take a look.

The old cultivator led the scar-faced man deep inside, finally stopping before a massive door forged of bronze, its surface carved with demonic beast faces and fangs, dark and heavy with dread.

The old cultivator pulled a white skull from his robes and shoved it into the beast's gaping mouth on the door.

Blood-red array markings across the door ignited one by one, crimson light swirling and converging inward, pooling at the beast's mouth.

Like blood pouring into a demonic beast's mouth.

And as the beast drank its fill, it opened its jaws wide—the door crashed open.

Mo Hua's eyelid twitched.

This array!

It was no normal Five Elements array, nor any orthodox Daoist array.

It was a true evil array!

Those crimson lights were not demonic blood—they were human blood;

That skull was not demonic bone—it was human bone.

Studying evil arrays and cultivating evil arts were both strictly forbidden by the Dao Court, and anyone caught was immediately beheaded.

If this door was guarded by such an array, what lay beyond it?

Could it hold Great Heishan's true secrets?

Mo Hua had long wondered—did this band of cultivators of evil gather here merely to find shelter?

Did the First Chief build Great Heishan and gather so many evil cultivators for some other purpose?

Was that purpose hidden behind this door?

Mo Hua suddenly felt tense.

The old cultivator pushed open the door and said to the scar-faced man: "Go in."

The scar-faced man, seemingly no stranger here, nodded and carried the sack through the bronze door.

The old cultivator did not enter—he remained outside, watching.

His cultivation was only Qi Condensation Ninth Layer—he couldn't pierce Mo Hua's concealment.

As long as the Foundation Establishment cultivators were absent, these Qi Condensation cultivators of evil were practically blind before Mo Hua.

Mo Hua quietly extended his spiritual sense to peer inside the door.

Only the scar-faced man's living aura was present inside; no other traps or arrays.

Mo Hua relaxed slightly, then, while the old cultivator wasn't looking, slipped silently and soundlessly through the door.

The moment he stepped inside, the stench of blood hit him like a wall.

A faint mist of blood hung in the air, carrying a dull, rotting stench and a nauseating, unnatural odor.

Mo Hua wasn't surprised by the smell—it was everywhere in Great Heishan, just stronger here.

What surprised him was the layout and arrangement inside.

Before the hall stood a massive alchemical furnace.

A massive alchemical furnace stood before the hall.

The alchemy furnace was white, as if made of bone.

Below it burned eerie green ghost flames, swaying strangely, licking the furnace; inside, something unknown was being refined, sizzling softly.

Around it were placed all kinds of herbs, bizarrely shaped and vividly colored.

Some herbs even seemed alive, their stems writhing strangely, leaves opening and closing, occasionally emitting screams.

The entire room resembled an alchemy chamber.

A bloody, eerie alchemy chamber where something unknown was being refined.

Merely looking at it, Mo Hua felt physical and mental discomfort.

"What kind of pill are these evil cultivators refining?"

Mo Hua frowned in thought.

Suddenly, Scarface's voice rang out: "This pig eats like a disgusting slob!"

Mo Hua followed the sound and indeed saw Scarface on the other side of the furnace, facing a giant pig demon.

The pig stood four men tall, its eyes blood-red, saliva like blood, its body covered in patchy bloodstains.

It looked both terrifying and deformed, and utterly strange.

Scarface was feeding Kong Sheng's corpse to it.

The pig appeared dull and stupid, seemingly knowing only how to eat.

Mo Hua was momentarily confused.

Even if they were refining pills, why keep a pig in the alchemy chamber?

What exactly was this pig for?

Before he could figure it out, Mo Hua suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.

His spiritual sense sensed someone approaching.

The newcomer's aura was obscure and profound—exactly the Third Boss!

Mo Hua immediately activated the Flowing Water Step, leaping up in three strides to the beam, lying flat and still on the wide rafters, holding his breath, not daring to make a sound.

In just a moment, the Third Boss entered.

Scarface, seeing the Third Boss, bowed respectfully: "Third Boss."

The Third Boss, seeing him feeding the pig, nodded and said: "You may leave."

"Yes."

Scarface respectfully acknowledged, bowed, and departed.

The alchemy chamber now held only the Third Boss and Mo Hua, secretly crouched on the beam.

Mo Hua lay motionless on the beam, unable to move, unable to suppress his thoughts:

"Wasn't the Third Boss out? Why did he come back?"

Had he merely stepped out temporarily for some matter, and now returned after finishing it?

If the Third Boss stayed here the whole time, would he never be able to leave?

Mo Hua's heart grew cold.

After a while, the room fell silent. Mo Hua cautiously poked his head out and glanced downward.

His gaze swept past the furnace, past the pig demon, and landed on the Third Boss's figure.

Mo Hua jumped in fright, immediately pulling his head back, burying it, not daring to move.

After a while, the Third Boss showed no reaction.

"He didn't notice my gaze?"

Mo Hua wondered inwardly.

He poked his head out again, stole a glance at the Third Boss, then quickly pulled back.

The Third Boss remained utterly unresponsive.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and understood.

Among the two bosses of Great Heishan, the Fourth Boss had weak spiritual sense but keen senses—he'd instinctively sense even a glance.

The Third Boss was the opposite: his spiritual sense was strong, but he lacked that almost beastlike sensitivity.

So when Mo Hua secretly watched him, as long as it carried no malice or killing intent, he wouldn't notice.

Mo Hua exhaled slowly.

Not noticing was good.

Otherwise his situation would be even more dangerous.

He then grew curious: why was the Third Boss alone in this alchemy chamber so late?

Mo Hua poked his head out again, quietly observing.

The Third Boss sat on a meditation cushion, calm and focused, meditating in deep contemplation.

It was the same as what he usually did.

The Third Boss appeared serene and composed.

He simply didn't realize that inside this seemingly impregnable Great Heishan, inside this mysterious blood-red alchemy chamber, a young cultivator had already sneaked in.

And now this young cultivator was poking his head out, curiously peering at him.

After meditating for a while, the Third Boss felt his mind calm and his spiritual sense clear, then took from his storage pouch a painted scroll and laid it before him.

The Third Boss formed a hand seal, sat cross-legged, fixed his gaze on the painting, and meditated deeply.

The beam blocked Mo Hua's view—he could see what the Third Boss was doing, but not the painting's content.

Even so, Mo Hua was deeply shocked.

The Third Boss really had a contemplation painting?

In his current state, could he be comprehending the visualization diagram?!