Chapter 68: Am I Really a Scourge? (Seeking First Subscription!)

Although, strictly speaking, Sun Sanniang and Jiao Qing, the parents of his original body, never had any formal interaction with Li Yu, they were already dead beyond dead by the time he possessed the body.

Yet to this day, Li Yu still brings them up to "flog their corpses" from time to time.

But in all seriousness, this couple were merely ordinary commoners who accidentally embarked on the path of cultivation; whether in terms of temperament or aptitude, they were actually inadequate, so it is perfectly normal that they explored without knowing how to adapt.

A scourge like Li Yu, who loves to stir up trouble, is the rare exception.

Holding Hongdou, who had transformed into a mechanical fox, he arrived before that pitch-black airship.

He appeared not to be carrying any luggage, as if he were truly just leaving the city to seek materials for secret elixirs and would return home soon.

In reality, he had already packed up all his worldly possessions.

As for that residence and the sweet, official position in the City Lord's Mansion... compared to freedom and his life, they could all be discarded.

Especially after his further contact with the six members of the Ninth Pioneer Team today, the evil that radiated from them so naturally made him even more determined to escape Wanfu City.

You must know!

Compared to the controllers of the other four districts, the people from the City Lord's Mansion were already considered restrained; they even followed the rules and would compensate the sole survivor of accidents, yet they were still, every one of them, vicious and wicked evil cultivators.

As these thoughts flickered, Li Yu had already arrived before a black-robed evil cultivator who had been staring at him from in front of the airship.

Upon drawing near, he immediately saw the other party's body, which had clearly undergone "flesh-mechanical modification": one mechanical arm and one mechanical prosthetic eye flickering with red light.

Glancing at the airship, the remaining two people responsible for operation were of a similar appearance.

A faint realization dawned in his heart, and he guessed:

"That makes sense!"

"It seems this smuggling industry chain in the South District is likely controlled by some officials under the jurisdiction of the hegemon, the [Holy Nest], who are responsible for guarding the city."

"It's normal, after all; only a fool wouldn't use their power. This is even better—safe and reliable."

"Are you Number Thirteen? You're the only one left. You're really dawdling, and you even brought a mechanical fox pet."

"Pay up, and hold out your hand."

The half-mechanical evil cultivator said with an impatient look.

Li Yu wore a fox mask, his expression hidden, and he silently handed over a stack of banknotes of significant value: eight thousand taels.

That’s right, he had money again, and it was a huge sum he had just collected.

The source was simple: the wages and remuneration from the City Lord's Mansion were paid daily; this official position was truly sweet.

As for this smuggling fee, which was much lower than the legitimate fee for renouncing one's status and redeeming oneself, it seemed quite reasonable.

But based on this, Li Yu was also absolutely certain that the so-called legitimate channel for redeeming oneself and leaving the city must be a scam.

Because the next moment, he had no choice but to hold out his hand and let this half-mechanical evil cultivator use brutal means to forcibly implant an object resembling a "bronze chip" into the back of Li Yu's hand.

Afterward, this thing seemed to have a life of its own, or perhaps it was drawn by Li Yu's heartbeat, as it moved directly along his blood vessels toward his heart.

"This is a spiritual energy copper core, to prevent you from running away."

"But don't worry, it will be removed immediately after returning to the city. This little thing is very expensive."

"Get on board, we're leaving immediately."

Li Yu boarded the airship and sat in the only remaining empty seat.

He muttered in his heart: "Heh, they even use such methods to ensure that paying smugglers return. Clearly, Wanfu City implements a policy of easy entry and strict exit. A mere ten or twenty thousand taels for redemption is nothing; the citizens of Wanfu City only have two paths: either climb upward at all costs, or be squeezed until they die."

At the same time, the mechanical fox in his arms, which appeared to be fidgeting, suddenly leaned toward his ear, and a mechanical voice that only he could hear transmitted:

"Master!"

"The [Spiritual Energy Copper Core] has been locked; I can use my authority to modify or destroy it at any time."

"Don't move."

Li Yu said, using a double entendre as he pressed Hongdou back into his arms.

The next moment, the entire airship trembled slightly, and accompanied by rapidly dissipating black smoke, it floated up like a ghost, perfectly blending into the night after a layer of black Qi barrier appeared, heading toward the outside of the South Gate.

During this process, everyone on the airship could see various mechanical fortresses and towering artillery turrets that could be described as strict below, as well as beams of searchlights sweeping back and forth.

Logically, the alarm should have been triggered long ago, and they should have been shot down.

But it didn't happen; this black-light airship just left the city so brazenly.

Immediately, many of the smugglers who, like Li Yu, were doing this for the first time, breathed a sigh of relief and let out exclamations.

Perhaps because everyone was gathered together to commit an illegal act in secret, they were all grasshoppers on the same string, and now that safety was confirmed, their mental defenses relaxed. Soon, some chatterboxes among the dozen or so people began to chat warmly.

From their attire, idle talk, and the occasional leaking of Qi, Li Yu could vaguely guess the purpose of some people smuggling themselves out of the city.

"The ones with the thick stench of corpses on them want to go to the Three Kingdoms to steal the corpses of practitioners from the Orthodox God Sects?"

"Those women who are wrapped up tightly but are all emitting seductive Qi should all be heading to various cities in the Three Kingdoms to snatch the title of top courtesan and complete their rituals."

"And those few monks from the West District are probably going to Buddhist territory to commit some acts of stealing Buddhist essence."

"Heh, those two 'human livestock' in the corner—did they hear that a certain city in the Gan Kingdom suffered a disaster and a great famine, making it suitable for the two of them to promote to blood slaves?"

It was indeed as Luo Sheng said: the reasons for leaving the city were varied, and they were either difficult to execute within Wanfu City or the cost was prohibitively high.

Since that was the case, it was reasonable that this smuggling industry chain had gradually matured. Li Yu observed silently; all sorts of signs seemed to indicate that he would likely get his wish on this trip.

Just as he was thinking this, the airship suddenly trembled again. Amidst the flashing black light, everyone saw a gale carrying ghostly blue ice mist sweeping toward them.

Ahead, a truly shocking scene appeared:

A continuous, boundless, and endless tundra violently intruded into the eyes of all the smugglers.

Every part was shrouded in cold mist that never dissipated all year round. Even through the barrier, everyone seemed to be able to feel the bone-chilling cold within. Because of this mist, no one could see the specific scenery on the tundra—those frozen soils, the plants upon them, or whether there were living creatures... these were all shrouded by the mist.

As the airship climbed sharply in altitude, everyone occasionally caught glimpses of terrifying shadows or eerie ghostly lights flashing through the mist.

With every extra look, the great terror accumulating in their hearts increased by a point.

Li Yu couldn't help but feel horrified in his heart and chose to close his eyes.

Suddenly, at this moment, a man with a stench of corpses on the seat next to Li Yu, not knowing what he had seen, first revealed a look of obsession, and then, as if he had encountered the most terrible torture in the world, began to wail and scream without warning.

His body also underwent a sudden, strange change.

One after another, fist-sized pustules flickering with green light grew all over his body in almost two or three breaths.

=9+Shu_Ba

Before Li Yu could frown and retreat, beams of laser light shot over, and after precisely squeezing the pustules to burst, strange insects with twisted human faces and slime-covered bodies appeared, their tails rooted in the evil cultivator's body while their heads poked out.

They were even divided into "male and female"; the female insects had protrusions on their chests, and the male insects had foreign objects below.

It was as if real human men and women had been shrunk and alienated into this appearance.

At this moment, they swayed in the air and tried to lean toward each other, embracing and mating, while emitting eerie cries in human voices: "Corpse~ Corpse~ Corpse."

The half-mechanical evil cultivator who had brought everyone onto the airship walked over quickly while lowering his smoking mechanical arm.

He grabbed the corpse cultivator who had fallen into some kind of negative state, laughed loudly, and tied him to the bronze pillar in the middle of the airship, then began to pull out the insects, laughing:

"Good luck this time. This idiot was accidentally chosen by the [Corpse Mother Forbidden Ghost], which used his body as a hotbed and sent so many seeds."

"The value of one corpse insect is not cheap; this trip is going to be a huge profit."

After saying this, he turned his head and, not caring at all, revealed a sinister look and smiled at the crowd.

"You are all smart people; you should be able to realize the danger of a forbidden area like the Ten Thousand Ghost Tundra."

"If you don't have the ability, you shouldn't covet the secrets within the tundra."

"Otherwise, if something happens, you will become the fun and profit for this trip of ours."

Clearly, the reason his warning was late was also intentional.

On a smuggling trip, they deliberately didn't mention some taboos so they could find fun while gaining some benefits.

They must also have the means to shield themselves from dangers that exceeded their limits.

And after this half-mechanical evil cultivator finished speaking, he changed the subject and pacified the crowd:

"Don't worry, one bit of fun is enough."

"We have only just started, and we are still in the outer area of the forbidden zone. As long as you don't court death, I guarantee you can pass through the Ten Thousand Ghost Tundra safely."

"This path has been opened for many years, and we have made so many trips without ever having an accident..."

This guy—it would have been better if he hadn't said these things.

Whether it was the corpse cultivator's change or his posturing intimidation, Li Yu felt no ripples in his heart after hearing them.

It wasn't until these two sentences entered his ears that Li Yu's expression changed slightly, and an extremely ominous premonition emerged in his heart for no reason.

And it was at this moment!

An unexpected turn of events, which no one had anticipated, suddenly descended.

Accompanied by a series of violent explosions, a mechanical tower ship suddenly rushed out from the cold mist ahead at high speed.

It was engulfed in flames, its barrier was damaged, lasers were firing wildly, and it instantly collided with the smuggling airship.

Although the mechanical tower ship was already severely damaged, there was a difference in size between the two.

In just an instant, there was a result.

Both crashed!

Two mechanical fireballs, one large and one small, fell straight toward the Ten Thousand Ghost Tundra.

Inside the airship, Li Yu grabbed his seat tightly.

In his ears, Hongdou's mechanical voice kept coming:

"Beep beep beep!"

"Warning, warning. An accident has occurred; the master is at risk of losing his life."

"Activating transformation module, currently restoring human form..."

Li Yu could hear these words, and even he himself subconsciously began to consider which of the spiritual elixirs on his person he should swallow to better save his life.

But at the same time, some uncontrollable thoughts emerged in his mind:

"How many times has this been?"

"In the Spirit Realm of the Strange Domain, such changes are reasonable, but why is the real world like this too?"

"Could it be that that night, the Disaster Star Token had intended to choose me all along?"

"Am I truly a disaster?"

(End of chapter)