Chapter 490: Acrobat Troupe (8/10, Autumn Subscription)

Only a tightly organized, deeply backed, and richly funded major organization could excavate such a vast space and even finish it off like a secret base — hidden, secure, and solidly dependable!

The first thing Fang Yue thought of was those sects.

It's just that the most top-tier sects Fang Yue knew of were things like the Extreme Ice Sect and the Blazing Fire Sect.

Whether these two sects actually had the strength to plant such a foreshadowing here in Qingsi County, Fang Yue didn't know.

But Fang Yue was quite certain that Ning Mansion had absolutely no connection with these two sects.

Because this place still falls under the jurisdiction of Qingsi County, in the neutral Heiqing Shanmai region — neither the Extreme Ice Sect nor the Blazing Fire Sect would pour in such a huge cost without first gaining Heiqing Shanmai's acknowledgment and support.

Unless… the sects had some other scheme, with grander ambitions?

Shaking his head, Fang Yue couldn't figure out the reason.

Earlier, when he had jumped down from the iron gate, all those servants of Ning Mansion had scattered in a panic and fled.

Fang Yue casually locked onto one person and chased after them through twists and turns, only to find he'd lost them completely.

The terrain here was so complex that anyone unfamiliar with it could be led in circles until dizzy.

With no one to guide him now, Fang Yue could only rely on himself.

Anyway, Lord Han and Lin Ling were probably locked up here — dig three feet into the ground, find them, rescue them, then leave, head back to Qingsi County, and this trip to Ningguang Mountain wouldn't be for nothing.

That was what Fang Yue thought, and that was what he prepared to do.

Only when he followed the road, walking in a straight line through the tangled maze of paths, and reached the end of that straight line, did he freeze.

At the end of that straight line was a large room.

The wooden door was tightly shut; Fang Yue tried opening it and found it locked from the inside.

Silently stepping back two paces, Fang Yue raised one foot and kicked it.

Boom!!

Wood chips flew everywhere as the door was kicked open with a hole.

With an expressionless face, Fang Yue reached through the hole, found the handle inside, opened the door, then strode in boldly.

Unlike the outside, where a Human Soul lamp hung at regular intervals.

The room was very dark — so dark you could barely see your hand in front of your face.

But on a cabinet just two steps inside the room sat a large Human Soul lamp.

It had a structure similar to an oil lamp, except the way it fueled its flame was by burning the lamp-bearer's remaining lifespan.

He picked up the large lamp and poured in his lifespan.

Hiss!

The flame ignited, illuminating the surroundings.

Just one glance, and Fang Yue froze on the spot, his pupils contracting sharply.

This was a collection room — row upon row of counters held the collector's collected items.

They were… heads! Human heads!

Each head was soaked in a pale green liquid, sealed in a translucent bottle, gently rising and falling. The effect was probably similar to formalin.

Each head also had a label attached, recording the year, and even detailed usage counts.

Some heads were incomplete — only a cerebellum or an eyeball remained — still soaking in their bottles.

This made Fang Yue feel a wave of nausea.

What the hell kind of place is this?!

Forcing down his nausea, Fang Yue picked up the nearest bottle, which contained only a tongue, and carefully read the record.

"Human, female, seventeen years old, cold nature, moist flavor, left ear contains 【Guilt Element】 1.6%, barely usable for medicine."

"Second Extraction, Extraction failed, took brain, burned it, cut open, added ingredients, one cycle three hours, no result, discarded."

"Third Extraction, took ear, mixed ingredients, ice-chilled, dissolved solute, removed impurities, three cycles seven days, no result, discarded."

"Fourth Extraction…"

Line after line of cold text, as if merely recording some simple little white mouse experiment.

Fang Yue couldn't understand exactly what experiments were being done here, but from the words "seventeen years old" and "human," and the fact that only a tongue remained soaking in the bottle, an unnamed fury welled up in Fang Yue's heart.

"These… monsters!!"

Fang Yue had more or less figured out what these people of Ning Mansion did.

He was even a little afraid to look at the remaining bottles — he feared that the next bottle might contain Lord Han's or Lin Ling's head, which would truly make him want to unleash a killing spree!

After briefly checking the heads in these bottles and finding no one he knew, Fang Yue breathed a sigh of relief and left the room.

There were no clues he needed here, but one thing was now certain to him.

Anyone from this Underground Secret Chamber — he'd kill every single one he met!

Whether it was because he'd been lost too long, or because the people of Ning Mansion actually had some special way of communicating.

After leaving that head room, Fang Yue wandered around for quite a while, only wasting time on the roads.

Just as Fang Yue, frustrated, was preparing to bull his way forward in a dead straight line — smashing through any wall with his fists if he had to — the passage ahead suddenly spilled out a large, swaggering crowd of fully armed martial artists, well over a hundred of them.

They wore matching armor, matching spears, marched in unison — clearly well-trained.

And behind the spearmen stood five men with vacant eyes.

Their faces had bulging veins, taut blood vessels, wore prisoner-like white clothes, complete with numbers.

Fang Yue squinted and carefully read the number — Jia-18.

What does that mean? Prisoners?

Weren't Lord Han and Lin Ling captured? They should be prisoners too.

He'd leave one alive later to ask where the prisoners were being held — maybe he could find Lord Han and the others quickly.

Seeing the enemies jump out on their own, Fang Yue was actually quite pleased.

He was stewing over the bounty mission on this side.

Before the spearmen could even charge, Fang Yue had already rushed forward first.

1 versus over 100.

Despite holding an absolute numerical disadvantage, Fang Yue charged in without the slightest hesitation, a savage grin on his face.

"Killing you lot? I don't feel the slightest burden!"

Like a wolf among sheep, Fang Yue's methods were utterly brutal.

Amidst successive bursts of flame, the well-equipped hundred-plus martial artists were sent sprawling by Fang Yue, not even given a chance to strike back.

These martial artists, who had just stepped onto the Martial Dao at the Houtian Third-rate Realm, couldn't put the slightest pressure on Fang Yue.

Other powerhouses, when facing such numbers, would still have to consider the problem of bodily damage from attacks and such.

Fang Yue just charged straight in, letting them attack however they liked—abandoning all defense, it was pure brute force.

With Night Breathing here, was there any fear of not recovering health?

In the one-sided battle, all hundred-plus martial artists were beaten to the ground, wailing endlessly.

But soon, Fang Yue made most of them shut their mouths forever.

"You! You! You…"

The survivors scrambled away on all fours, while some were so terrified they collapsed on the ground, unable to move.

And after Fang Yue finished off these unlucky-E spearmen, five prisoners who had been standing at the back stepped forward.

But that single step…

Boom!!

Number 【Jia-18】 abruptly exploded into a mist of blood that filled the entire space.

"System prompt: You have fallen into…"

"System prompt: You have been released from…"

(End of chapter)