Chapter 327: The Filthy Green Mountain of Flesh in the Black Demon Hall

The Father's Garden is lush yet chaotic, a manifestation of the disordered essence of life itself—a conglomeration of decay, rebirth, and proliferation.

On the boxwood trees with their twisted branches, pustule-like galls have erupted; on the hornbeam branches, the bark has rotted away to expose writhing crimson fungal colonies, from which hang sporangia that continuously disperse a putrid stench.

Parasitic fungi crawl over the fan-shaped leaves of palm trees, their veins swollen and blackened like rotting blood vessels, interwoven with the decaying banana leaves dripping sweet, viscous slime; combined with the pervasive thick fog and swarms of buzzing flies like clouds, the light throughout the entire garden is dimmed.

And in the microscopic world beyond Zhou Yun's sight, doubtless even more abundant, more lush, and more twisted fungi, bacteria, and viruses lurk.

Were a mortal to stand here, they would likely be infected by hundreds of thousands of diseases in a short time, becoming nourishment for the thick fungal carpet and meadow beneath Zhou Yun's feet.

But when Zhou Yun entered the Garden of Nurgle, he used the body of Fat Tiger Great Demon, a physique whose quality is even superior to that of some Chief Great Demons.

To be safe, Zhou Yun also directed the Adaptation Lamp upon himself.

This artifact, which allows life to adapt to any natural, physical, and chemical environment, enables Zhou Yun to be completely immune to the extreme climate of the Garden of Nurgle for twenty-four hours.

Yet Zhou Yun still dared not let his guard down; this is, after all, the domain of a Chaos God of the Warp, inhabited by countless Nurgle Daemons, every inch of land soaked in the blessings of the High Heavens; these demons serving the Father are far more powerful here than in the Material Universe.

The danger is self-evident; Zhou Yun was prepared for Fat Tiger Great Demon to be killed once.

However, according to Sanguinius and Xi Xi Xi Gaoqi's judgment, Fat Tiger Great Demon possesses all the properties of a daemon; even if killed, theoretically, he can be resurrected again, though it may require time, rituals, emotions, and faith to reshape his body in the Material Universe.

But the situation was still somewhat unexpected by Zhou Yun.

Rain Father Luo Ti Ge Si, like a truck with its accelerator floored, transformed into a ball of dark green flesh and rushed wildly before Zhou Yun toward the Black Demon Hall, knocking Nurgle Plaguebearers over as he ran, smashing trees along the way, and even clearing a path for Zhou Yun.

While running, Rain Father Luo Ti Ge Si also shouted loudly things like "The demon-eating pocket has attacked!", "The demon-eating pocket has landed in the Garden of Nurgle!", "The Reaper has entered the Maw-Thicket!", and so on.

Hearing this, Zhou Yun's expression twitched uncontrollably.

With that tone of speech, was Napoleon's gastric ulcer your doing? Was the rain at Waterloo also your handiwork?

It seems also due to the influence of Rain Father that the Plaguebearers along the way, like encountering bacteria or antibiotics, hid from Zhou Yun, trembling behind the swollen, fissured Maw-Trees and watching him pass.

This made Zhou Yun feel particularly regretful; if they had attacked actively, Zhou Yun could have stuffed a few into his pocket.

But with them trembling and hiding like this, Zhou Yun truly felt a bit embarrassed to take the initiative to catch them.

Not only the Plaguebearers, but other Nurgle Daemons, upon seeing Zhou Yun, also scattered like encountering the God of Antibiotics, daring not approach even a fraction.

What a pity; originally, he wanted to bring them a bit of free trade.

But since even the dignified Rain Father Luo Ti Ge Si, the second most favored in the Garden of Nurgle, was scared into such a state, even without knowing Zhou Yun's background, these Nurgle Daemons instinctively felt fear.

This left Zhou Yun somewhat helpless; he truly did not come to cause trouble.

Since that God of Plague is interested in communication, Zhou Yun is also willing to talk with him.

The plagues released by the Father can cause too much destruction to Octarius, and the artifacts Zhou Yun needs to combat plagues beyond bacteria are far too expensive; caring for every planet is also extremely difficult.

If he could negotiate with the Father to resolve the issue, that would naturally be best.

Moreover, if he could make the Father actively sabotage some of Tzeentch's actions afterward, that would be highly beneficial for Zhou Yun, Guilliman, and Sanguinius returning to Terra.

After all, even with the Anywhere Door, Zhou Yun, due to the ten-light-year limit, cannot go directly to Terra; he must first pass through intermediate planets for over a thousand transfers, which is not only laborious but also carries a high probability of being attacked in between.

This is also one of the reasons Zhou Yun previously obtained the Webway map from Xi Xi Xi Gaoqi.

As long as he has the Webway map, relying on the vague spatial concepts within the Webway, with just one or two transfers, Zhou Yun can arrive directly; more importantly, the safety of the Webway far surpasses transferring among the myriad strange planets in the galaxy.

Of course, this does not mean the Webway is absolutely safe.

The Eldar maintain the Webway very poorly, especially in the ten thousand years since the collapse of the Eldar Empire; many parts of the Webway have collapsed, and some have even been invaded by Chaos Daemons and occupied by followers of the Dark Gods.

For example, Tzeentch's Chosen, Ahriman, possesses a "Great Compendium of Labyrinths" in his hand, allowing him to come and go freely within the Webway; during the Battle of Cadia, he even nearly killed the Eldar Deathwatch led by Yvraine within the Webway.

So Zhou Yun hopes the Father can help harass the Tzeentch faction.

He looked around; the Nurgle Daemons within his sight were all trembling.

"Why are you all hiding from me? I have come to answer the Father's invitation!"

Zhou Yun raised his voice and spoke to the Nurgle Daemons around him:

"Who among you will go and announce my arrival?"

The Nurgle Daemons immediately began to whisper among themselves.

Moments later, a daemon was forcibly pushed out, seemingly having suffered exclusion and bullying.

Zhou Yun looked slightly curiously at that daemon, who timidly approached him.

That Nurgle daemon had a bull's head, and its body and face were covered in a layer of pockmarks forming patterns like flowers.

It trembled as it came to Zhou Yun's side.

"You, you really are invited by the Father?" that small Nurgle daemon asked Zhou Yun with fear and trepidation.

Its eyes held suspicion, as if wondering: since the Father invited you, why did you scare Rain Father into such a state?

"Go ask at the Black Demon Hall, wouldn't you know? Or go ask Mong and Malchit?" Zhou Yun said, frowning.

Communicating with Nurgle Daemons has this drawback: their minds are generally not very smart, rather simple.

That small Nurgle daemon paused upon hearing the two names Mong and Malchit.

"I'll go ask right away; I know Mong and Malchit, we have a good relationship." Saying this, the small Nurgle daemon nodded repeatedly, turned, and ran toward the Black Demon Hall.

"Wait." Zhou Yun called out to that small Nurgle daemon, unable to help asking with some curiosity: "What is your name? You seem unpopular?"

He noticed that this Nurgle daemon seemed to be excluded, even bullied, within the Garden of Nurgle, which theoretically should be very rare within the same family's Garden of Nurgle.

"I am Cowpox. A long, long time ago, I helped life on many worlds discover vaccines, so they hate me."

While speaking, that small Nurgle daemon ran toward the Black Demon Hall.

So it is a daemon born from Cowpox!

Zhou Yun suddenly understood; no wonder it is unwelcome in the Warp.

Humans created the first vaccine, the smallpox vaccine, through Cowpox, allowing humanity to completely defeat the smallpox virus.

It is normal for the Cowpox daemon to be excluded; it belongs to the level of sitting at the same table as the Penicillin daemon.

Before long, Zhou Yun heard the sound of writhing rising from not far away.

The trees that had been destroyed by Rain Father Luo Ti Ge Si's wild running suddenly began to repair themselves; Skeleton Roses, Witch Bushes, and Maw-Trees began to grow all around.

Zhou Yun saw a huge, writhing snail crawling from not far away; on the snail's twisted, tree-like back leaned a Nurgle daemon with a lean, muscular body, holding black iron shears, looking like an old farmer or gardener.

The snail crawled to a halt before Zhou Yun, and the old-farmer-like Nurgle Demon leaped from the snail's shell, bowing with proper decorum before Zhou Yun.

"Salutations to the Great Lord Doraemon Zhou Yun."

"I am Slimukos, the Grand Cultivator beneath the Father's throne, Chief Gardener of the Glorious Garden of Life, Death, and Decay."

"Old Sour Seed!" a group of little Nurglings suddenly chattered and laughed in mockery.

Slimukos extended his hand at a speed that made the body he controlled, the Fat Tiger Daemon, feel fast, grabbed the heads of two frolicking Nurglings, and threw them into the mouth of the great snail beside him; the Nurglings giggled as the snail chewed them to pieces.

Slimukos bowed again with rigid formality to apologize to Zhou Yun, then continued speaking:

"By my Lord's command, I have come to welcome you, honored guest. Please mount Mous's shell; I shall take you to the Father's banquet."

Slimukos, Chief Gardener of the Nurgle Garden; this Nurgle Demon was not a Great Unclean One, but it was said to be the first demon created by the Father, older than all Nurgle Demons and even the Great Unclean Ones, and deeply cherished by the Father.

It was the caretaker of all plants in the Nurgle Garden, able to sow the seeds of every plant within the garden, and even possessed the ability to draw a portion of the Nurgle Garden into the real dimension, creating a tiny replica of the Nurgle Garden.

Thus, Slimukos earned the unique title "Grand Cultivator," yet he rarely left the Nurgle Garden, so his fame remained obscure.

However, his personality was pragmatic and lacked humor, making him out of place among other Nurgle Demons; thus, he was often mocked by the Nurglings as "Old Sour Seed."

By the way, he was a member of the Nurgle Garden Depression and Loneliness Exchange alongside Kuagas and Mortarion.

Zhou Yun mounted the shell of the snail named Mous; Slimukos casually grabbed a Nurgling from beside him and hung it in front of the snail's head.

The Nurgling, whose limbs were bound, seemed to find it amusing, laughing and giggling, while the snail Mous shifted its body and began to crawl forward.

But in the Warp, distance held no meaning; Zhou Yun felt the black demon mansion on the distant horizon suddenly enlarge, arriving before him almost instantly.

"We have arrived; this place is my Lord Nurgle's lair and private residence, the Withered Mansion of Suffering and Joy—the Black Demon Mansion."

Zhou Yun beheld the eternal, filthy-green mountain of flesh standing before the demon palace, waiting for him.

(End of this chapter)