After leaving the valley where he had parted ways with Linley, Lin Qin continued flying east. Several days later, a small town built against a mountain range appeared below. It wasn't large and seemed to be a gathering place for adventurers and miners. He decided to stop and rest, and ask around for news while he was at it.
He landed outside the town and kept his presence concealed as he walked in. The streets were narrow, lined with shabby taverns, blacksmiths, and general stores. The air was thick with the smell of ore and sweat. Dusty adventurers, many carrying weapons, came and went.
He entered a tavern that looked reasonably clean, took a seat in the corner, and ordered some food.
At a nearby table, several adventurers were loudly complaining.
"Damn it, another wasted trip! There's no way into the depths of that mine!"
"Tell me about it! That place is cursed. People who go in either lose their minds or disappear!"
"I heard the Blood Wolf mercenary group went in with a squad a few days ago, thinking they weren't afraid of anything. Only one person made it back, and he'd gone mad. He keeps yelling 'black water' and 'monsters' all day!"
"I bet there's something wrong with that mine. Maybe there's treasure in there, and some powerful magical beast has claimed it."
Lin Qin listened in silence. A mine? Something strange happening? His interest was piqued.
Just then, the tavern door was flung open, and a man in battered leather armor stumbled inside, his face filled with terror. He rasped, "It's bad! The mine! The monsters in the mine have gotten out!"
The tavern fell silent in an instant. Everyone turned to look at the man.
"What happened? Explain!" demanded an old hunter who appeared to hold some standing in town, rising to his feet.
The man's face was deathly pale, and he spoke incoherently. "Black water... So much black water came pouring out of the mine! Anything it touches rots away! And... and monsters! Monsters crawling out of the black water! They bite anyone they see! John and the others... they were dragged into the black water!"
The crowd stirred, panic beginning to spread.
"What do the monsters look like?" the old hunter asked gravely.
"I couldn't see clearly... They looked like people, but like mud too... They were really strong... Our blades didn't do a thing!" The man gestured wildly, his eyes unfocused. He was clearly terrified.
The old hunter's expression darkened. He called to everyone, "Grab your weapons! We can't let those things into town! Women and children, get down into the cellars!"
The adventurers in the tavern and the town guards grabbed their weapons, tense as they looked toward the mine at the eastern end of town.
Lin Qin stood and walked up to the old hunter. "Which way is the mine? I'll go take a look."
The old hunter studied Lin Qin. He seemed composed and unlike an ordinary person, but the hunter still tried to dissuade him. "Young man, that thing is unnatural. It's no ordinary magical beast. You should—"
"It's fine," Lin Qin cut him off. "Just point me in the right direction."
Seeing that he wouldn't be dissuaded, the old hunter pointed east. "Go three miles east out of town. You'll see the abandoned mine. Watch out for that black water!"
Lin Qin nodded. In a flash, he was out of the tavern and racing east. His speed left the old hunter and the others staring in astonishment.
"Now that's fast!" someone exclaimed.
"Could he be... a powerful expert?" the old hunter murmured, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart.
Lin Qin soon reached the abandoned mine. The sight before him made him frown. A viscous black liquid, reeking of rot and radiating a corrosive aura, poured endlessly from the largest mine entrance, spreading outward like a living thing. Grass and trees withered wherever it passed, and even the rocks sizzled as they were corroded.
More unsettling still, several humanoid monsters made of mud and unidentifiable filth were crawling through the black water. They had no distinct features, only blurred outlines, and made hoarse, wheezing sounds. Their movements seemed sluggish, but their arms swung with considerable force as they headed toward the town.
Lin Qin could sense a chaotic, tainted energy emanating from both the black water and the monsters. It was somewhat like the evil aura of the Soul Gathering Array in the Death Desert, but different—more focused on physical corrosion and distortion.
One of the monsters spotted Lin Qin, let out a hoarse growl, and lurched toward him, flinging foul-smelling black water everywhere.
Lin Qin didn't dodge. He merely raised a hand and clenched it toward the monster.
"Condense."
The space around the monster seemed to freeze in an instant. Its charge abruptly halted as the mud and black water forming its body were compressed and solidified by an invisible force. In the end, it became a twisted, hardened clay figure, then shattered with a bang, scattering fragments across the ground.
The other monsters seemed mindless. They continued advancing on Lin Qin.
Lin Qin dealt with them in the same way, dispatching them all with ease. But they were only underlings. The real problem was the mine from which the black water kept pouring.
He walked to the mine entrance and sent his spiritual power into the depths. The passage was filled with dense black water and tainted energy, and extended far beyond the reach of his spiritual perception. The deeper he sensed, the more powerful the distorted, chaotic energy became, even interfering with his perception.
"Looks like I'll have to go in." Lin Qin circulated his Saint Power, forming a faint ocher glow over his body that kept the spreading black water at bay. Then he stepped into the mine.
The interior was pitch-black, lit only by the glow around him. Viscous black water covered the ground, giving off a nauseating stench. The walls were pitted from corrosion, with traces of mining still visible.
He followed the main passage downward. The deeper he went, the higher the black water rose and the denser the tainted energy grew. New mud monsters occasionally coalesced from the water and attacked him, but he destroyed them with a casual wave of his hand.
After traveling several hundred meters, he reached a vast underground cavern. At its center was a pool that churned ceaselessly, bubbling black water out like a spring. A heap of human and animal bones lay beside it, clearly belonging to victims.
Floating above the black pool was a mass of shadow that twisted and constantly changed shape. It radiated both powerful mental corruption and physical corrosive force. It was the source of all the black water and monsters!
"Another twisted creation." Lin Qin's gaze turned cold. He could sense that the core of the shadow contained a trace of artificially produced soul resentment and evil energy, like the Grudge Devourer in the Death Desert, though its form and powers were different.
The shadow spotted Lin Qin too, releasing a silent shriek that pierced straight into the soul! At the same time, the black pool churned violently. Several huge tentacles formed from black water and lashed toward Lin Qin, carrying terrifying corrosive power and physical force!
The entire cavern trembled!
Facing the overwhelming attack, Lin Qin remained calm. He formed a hand seal before his chest as his Saint Power and the power of the earth around him surged together.
"Thick Earth Seal, suppress evil!"
A denser ocher seal than before instantly took shape, golden purification runes flowing across its surface. It bore down on the shadow and the black pool below, radiating righteous power and an intent to suppress all things!
Wherever the seal passed, the tainted black-water tentacles crumbled and evaporated as if they had met their natural enemy! The mental shriek from the shadow was also neutralized and quelled by the seal's purifying power!
"Boom—!!"
The Thick Earth Seal slammed squarely into the shadow's core and the spring at the center of the black pool!
A piercing sound rang out, as if countless souls were shrieking together! The shadow twisted and struggled wildly as the black pool boiled violently!
But it was all in vain. Under the suppression of the Thick Earth Seal, imbued with the pure Laws of the Earth and purifying power, the resentment at the shadow's core was forcibly erased, and the source of the black water was completely sealed and cleansed!
The shrieks stopped abruptly, and the shadow vanished like a burst bubble. The black pool stopped churning. Its liquid rapidly faded in color, and the nauseating stench and corrosive aura quickly dissipated.
The source of the tainted energy in the mine had been completely eliminated.
Lin Qin dispelled the Thick Earth Seal and looked over the cavern as it gradually settled. He confirmed once more that the Dark Church or some other similar evil organization had to be behind this. They seemed to be conducting all kinds of dangerous experiments in various places, creating these twisted monsters.
He cleared the site to make sure no threats remained, then left the mine.
When he returned to town, the residents and adventurers were standing on guard, tense and alert. Seeing Lin Qin return unharmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sir, what about the mine...?" the old hunter asked cautiously as he came forward.
"The source has been cleared. It's safe now," Lin Qin said. "Try not to go near the depths of that mine again."
The crowd looked grateful and thanked Lin Qin repeatedly.
Lin Qin didn't stay long. After replenishing his water supply, he set off again. What had happened to the town made him even more certain that the turmoil on the Yulan Continent was intensifying.
Before you continue