Chapter 440

Liu Xiankang, who had been nervously watching beside them, couldn't help slamming his thigh hard, his face flushed with excitement and pride.

"Big brother, it's done! The seal, power, and maneuverability—all perfect! We've finally cracked this replica of the 'Deep-Striding Python'!"

Liu Xianbo also exhaled deeply, a rare smile spreading across his face as he circled the gliding mechanical fish, inspecting every detail with clear satisfaction.

"Indeed excellent—more successful than expected. With this, our chances of exploring that 'Sunken Abyss' have greatly increased."

"Of course!"

Liu Xiankang grinned, rubbing his hands. "You don't think just anyone could've pulled this off…"

"Perfect, indeed."

A calm, emotionless young man's voice suddenly echoed through the cavern, cutting off Liu Xiankang's words.

"Perfection is mandatory."

Liu Xianbo instinctively followed up, but halfway through his sentence, he froze solid.

The smile on his face instantly hardened, as if frozen in ice.

Liu Xiankang reacted like a cat with its tail stepped on—every hair on his body stood on end as he roared sharply.

"Who's there?!"

The brothers spun around in unison, backs pressed together, eyes flashing like lightning as they instantly scanned the direction of the voice, hands already gripping the hidden daggers and control cores for their mechanical beasts.

The mechanical wolf and tiger inside the cave also lit up their eye crystals simultaneously, entering standby mode with low, threatening hums.

From the shadowed corner where debris was piled, a tall, slender figure stepped slowly forward.

The glow of the moon-luminous stone fell upon him, revealing a pale, refined face—cold and expressionless, with eyes as deep and still as an ancient well, calmly observing the terrified Liu brothers.

"So you've already forgotten me?"

Chen Mu spoke, using his true face and voice, making no further disguise.

"You… you… Chen… Chen Mu?!"

Liu Xianbo's pupils shrank to needle points; the color drained from his face in an instant, his voice cracking with shock and sudden terror.

Liu Xiankang trembled violently, lips quivering, pointing at Chen Mu but unable to form a coherent sentence.

How could they forget this face?

Back then, when Chen Mu still ranked on the Hidden Dragon List, he had crushed them under his shadow.

Now Chen Mu had climbed onto the Master Rank!

Just one glance from him now made them feel as if a primordial beast had locked onto them, stealing their breath.

Run!

They had to run!

The only thought left in the brothers' minds was this one word.

Simultaneously, they reacted with their most instinctive, most direct move.

They whirled around and exploded forward at full speed—two arrows loosed from a bow—racing toward the two nearest mechanical tigers!

The mechanical tigers had built-in defense cabins; if they could reach them and activate the beasts, they might still have a chance!

But the moment they moved—

Shh!

Shh!

Two faint yet razor-sharp piercing sounds cut through the air simultaneously, faster than sound itself.

They were two slender, solidified golden sword auras, no thicker than a finger, as if conjured from nothing, crossing dozens of meters in an instant!

Liu Xianbo and Liu Xiankang felt a sudden chill behind their knees, then searing, bone-deep agony—accompanied by the crisp, clear crack of shattering bones.

"Ahh—"

"Ughhh~!"

Two agonized screams erupted at once.

Their forward momentum halted instantly; their legs buckled, and they collapsed face-first onto the ground, each knee now pierced by a bloody, gaping hole—clean through, blood gushing out, soaking the floor instantly.

Clutching their shattered legs, they convulsed in pain, sweat drenching their clothes, their faces twisted with terror too thick to dissolve.

The eye-lights of the two mechanical tigers flickered weakly, as if trying to activate—but with their controllers wounded, the control link severed, they dimmed rapidly and fell still once more.

Chen Mu stepped forward slowly, each footstep clear in the silent cavern, each step like a hammer striking the Liu brothers' hearts.

"Spare us! Master Chen, spare us!"

Liu Xianbo, struggling through the pain and terror, screamed through tears and snot, "Back then, we were blind fools, offending Master Chen! We know our mistake—we truly do!"

"If you spare our lives, we'll give you everything—our wealth, materials, even… even all the mechanical blueprints we've collected over the years!"

"Yes, yes, Master Chen, spare us!"

Liu Xiankang abandoned all dignity, joining in his plea, voice trembling with pain and fear: "We'll serve you as slaves! Even as dogs—we'll be your dogs! Just spare our lives!"

To survive, they would sacrifice every shred of dignity.

"Be my dogs?"

Chen Mu stopped five steps before them, looking down with calm indifference.

"You're barely qualified."

At this, Liu Xianbo and Liu Xiankang's pale faces lit up with desperate hope—as if clutching a lifeline—and they nodded frantically, babbling.

"Yes, yes! We swear loyalty! We'll serve you faithfully, without a single thought of betrayal!"

"But."

Chen Mu's tone shifted; his gaze swept over the fine mechanical beasts in the cavern—especially the newly completed mechanical fish, still gliding slowly—then settled back on the brothers' terrified faces.

"Rather than take two unruly dogs, I'm far more curious: why did you sneak to this remote border of Shannan Road, right under the nose of the Juling Sect, to build this aquatic mechanical fish?"

He leaned down slightly, his voice dropping even lower.

Don't tell me you two came all the way to this remote backwater just because you had nothing better to do—touring mountains and rivers, casually studying mechanism arts.

This imitation of the 'Deep-Traveling Jiao' must've cost a fortune. Its target probably isn't some ordinary stream or creek.

Liu Xianbo and Liu Xiankang's bodies stiffened simultaneously; hope in their eyes swiftly gave way to panic and struggle.

They exchanged a glance and saw hesitation and fear in each other's eyes.

Speak? Or stay silent?

If we speak, we might reveal our sect's mission—the consequences are unpredictable.

If we don't speak, this demon before us will kill us instantly!

Chen Mu did not press them; he simply watched them in silence.

The invisible pressure, mixed with the throbbing pain in their knees, finally shattered Liu Xianbo's mental resistance.

He gritted his teeth hard, as if making a final decision, and rasped, "Chen… Chen my lord, please understand. We… we came here… indeed… indeed to investigate a newly discovered ancient ruin!"

"An ancient ruin?" Chen Mu's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Yes!"

Seeing his elder brother speak, Liu Xiankang hurried to add, his voice broken by pain: "This ruin, after repeated investigation and deduction… is very likely… very likely the remains of a branch outpost established in this location by an ancient sect called the Hanhai Sect!"

"The ancient Hanhai Sect?"

A flicker of unusual interest passed through Chen Mu's eyes.

He had encountered that name in classified records of the Zhenwu Bureau—it was said to specialize in water elemental manipulation and the search for deep-sea secrets, a mysterious and ancient sect.