Turmoil in the Small Town

After parting ways with Linley in the valley, Lin Qin continued his flight to the east. Several days later, a small town built against the backdrop of a mountain range appeared below. The town was not large, appearing to be a gathering place for adventurers and miners. He decided to descend to rest and perhaps gather some information.

Landing outside the town, Lin Qin suppressed his aura and walked into the town. The streets were narrow, flanked by crude taverns, blacksmith shops, and general stores. The air was thick with the scent of ore and sweat. Many adventurers, covered in dust and carrying weapons, moved to and fro.

He entered a tavern that looked relatively clean, sat in a corner, and ordered some food.

At a nearby table, several adventurers were complaining loudly.

"Damn it, this trip was a waste of time! We couldn't even get deep into the mine!"

"You're telling me! That godforsaken place is evil; anyone who goes in either goes crazy or goes missing!"

"I heard that a few days ago, the Blood Wolf mercenary group didn't believe the rumors and sent a squad in. Only one person made it out, and he was insane, screaming about 'black water' and 'monsters' all day!"

"I think there's definitely something wrong with that mine. Maybe there's some treasure there that's been claimed by a powerful Magic Beast."

Lin Qin listened silently. A mine? Abnormalities? He felt a spark of interest.

Just then, the tavern door was kicked open. A man in tattered leather armor, his face twisted in terror, stumbled in, shouting hoarsely: "It's bad! The mine! The monsters from the mine have broken out!"

The tavern fell silent instantly, and everyone looked toward the man.

"What's going on? Speak clearly!" an old hunter, who seemed to hold some authority in the town, stood up and asked.

The man's face was deathly pale, and he spoke incoherently: "Black water... so much black water gushing out of the mine! Anything that touches the black water rots away! And... and monsters! Monsters crawling out of the black water! They bite everyone they see! John and the others... they were all dragged into the black water!"

A commotion broke out in the crowd, and panic began to spread.

"What kind of monsters?" the old hunter asked in a deep voice.

"I couldn't see clearly... they look like people, but also like sludge... they're incredibly strong... swords do nothing against them!" The man gestured wildly, his eyes unfocused, clearly terrified.

The old hunter's expression turned grave as he shouted to the crowd: "Everyone, grab your weapons! We can't let those things into the town! Women and children, hide in the cellars!"

The adventurers in the tavern and the town guards grabbed their weapons, looking nervously toward the mine at the east end of town.

Lin Qin stood up and walked over to the old hunter: "Which direction is the mine? I'll go take a look."

The old hunter looked at Lin Qin, noting his calm demeanor—he didn't look like an ordinary person—but still advised: "Young man, those things are evil; they aren't ordinary Magic Beasts. You should probably..."

"It's fine," Lin Qin interrupted, "just point the way."

Seeing his persistence, the old hunter pointed east: "Go three miles east out of town, and you'll see the abandoned mine. Watch out for that black water!"

Lin Qin nodded, his figure blurred, and he was already out of the tavern, speeding toward the east. His speed left the old hunter and the others stunned.

"What incredible speed!" someone exclaimed.

"Could he... be an expert?" the old hunter muttered, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart.

Lin Qin soon arrived at the abandoned mine. The scene before him made him frown. A viscous black liquid, emitting a foul, corrosive stench, was continuously gushing from the mouth of the largest mine shaft, spreading outward like a living thing. Wherever the black water touched, vegetation withered, and even the rocks hissed as they were corroded.

Even more unsettling were the humanoid monsters made of sludge and unknown filth struggling to crawl out of the black water. They lacked distinct facial features, possessing only vague outlines, and emitted strange, guttural sounds. Their movements seemed sluggish, yet their arm swings carried immense power as they moved toward the town.

Lin Qin could sense that both the black water and the monsters radiated a chaotic, filthy energy fluctuation. It was somewhat similar to the evil aura of the Soul Gathering Array in the Death Desert, but different—more focused on physical corrosion and distortion.

One monster spotted Lin Qin and let out a hoarse roar, stumbling toward him while splashing foul-smelling black water everywhere.

Lin Qin did not dodge; he simply raised his hand and clenched the air in front of the monster.

"Solidify."

The space around the monster seemed to freeze instantly. Its forward momentum halted abruptly, and the sludge and black water composing its body were forcibly compressed and solidified by an invisible force, eventually turning into a twisted, hard clay statue before shattering into pieces with a "bang."

The other monsters seemed to lack intelligence and continued to swarm toward Lin Qin.

Lin Qin repeated the process, easily disposing of them all. But these were just small fry; the root of the problem lay in the mine shaft from which the black water kept pouring.

He walked to the mine entrance and extended his spiritual sense into the depths. The interior was filled with dense black water and filthy energy, far exceeding the range of his spiritual detection. Moreover, the deeper he went, the stronger that twisted, chaotic energy became, even faintly interfering with his perception.

"Looks like I have to go in," Lin Qin muttered to himself. He circulated his Saint Realm power, forming a faint, earthy-yellow halo around his body to isolate the encroaching black water, and stepped into the mine.

The interior of the mine was pitch black, illuminated only by the halo around him. Beneath his feet was viscous black water, emitting a nauseating odor. The walls were pitted with corrosion, with some remnants of mining marks still visible.

He followed the main shaft downward. The deeper he went, the deeper the black water became, and the thicker the filthy energy grew. Occasionally, new sludge monsters would coalesce from the black water to attack him, only to be effortlessly destroyed by a wave of his hand.

After traveling about several hundred meters, a massive underground cavern appeared ahead. In the center of the cavern was a pool that churned and gushed black water like a spring. Beside the pool lay piles of human and animal bones—clearly the victims.

Suspended above the black water pool was a mass of shadow that constantly twisted and changed shape. That shadow emitted a powerful force of both mental pollution and physical corrosion; it was the source of all the black water and monsters!

"Another twisted creation." Lin Qin's eyes were cold. He could feel that at the core of this shadow, there was also a trace of man-made soul resentment and evil energy. It was of the same origin as the Grudge Devourer from the Death Desert, though its form and power manifestation were different.

The shadow also discovered Lin Qin and let out a silent, soul-piercing shriek! At the same time, the black water pool below surged violently, condensing into several massive tentacles made of black water, which lashed out at Lin Qin with terrifying corrosive power and physical impact!

The entire cavern trembled!

Facing this massive attack, Lin Qin's expression remained unchanged. He formed seals with his hands in front of his chest, his internal Saint Realm power and the external Earth energy converging wildly.

"Thick Earth Seal, suppress the evil!"

A massive, earthy-yellow seal, more solid than before and etched with pale golden purification runes, formed instantly. Carrying a majestic righteousness and the will to suppress all things, it crushed down toward the shadow mass and the black water pool below!

Wherever the seal passed, the filthy black water tentacles crumbled and evaporated as if meeting their nemesis! The mental shriek emitted by the shadow was also neutralized and smoothed away by the purification power radiating from the seal!

"BOOM--!!"

The Thick Earth Seal slammed solidly onto the shadow core and the spring of the black water pool!

A piercing sound, as if countless souls were screaming in unison, erupted! The shadow twisted and struggled frantically, and the black water pool boiled violently!

But all of this was in vain. Under the suppression of the Thick Earth Seal, which contained the pure laws of earth and the power of purification, the core resentment of the shadow was forcibly erased, and the source of the black water was completely sealed off. Purify!

The shrill shrieking came to an abrupt halt, and the shadow dissipated like a pricked bubble. The pool of black water stopped churning, the color of the liquid within it rapidly faded, and the nauseating stench and corrosive aura quickly receded.

The source of the filthy energy within the mine had been thoroughly cleared.

Lin Qin dispersed the Thick Earth Seal and watched the hollow space gradually return to calm. He confirmed once again that the Dark Church or some other similar evil organization must be behind this. They seemed to be conducting various dangerous experiments in different places, creating these twisted monsters.

He cleaned up the scene to ensure no lingering threats remained, then left the mine.

Returning to the small town, the townspeople and adventurers were on high alert. Seeing Lin Qin return safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"My lord, what about the mine..." the old hunter stepped forward and asked cautiously.

"The source has been cleared; it is fine now," Lin Qin said. "Try not to go near the depths of that mine in the future."

Upon hearing this, the crowd showed expressions of gratitude and thanked Lin Qin repeatedly.

Lin Qin did not stay long. After replenishing his supply of fresh water, he set off once again. The encounter in this small town made him even more certain that the chaos across the Yulan Continent was intensifying.