ASER – Chapter 23

No one knew the principle behind the existence of the cavern. Was it an alternate dimension that had been released, or an existence that had always been beneath the ground?

Anyway, ordinary people wouldn’t know these secrets. Previously, A’Diao’s concept of it was merely the Spirit Gate cavern beneath the great banyan tree. But this cavern now should just be a cavern; there wasn’t much Spiritual Energy below, and the large centipede and its children had all gone out. So, if she just hid inside, it should be sa…fe?

Just as A’Diao vaguely saw a corner ahead, she suddenly felt a slippery patch beneath her shoes. Swoosh!

The moment her body nearly slipped and crashed into the wall, she reacted with swift hands and sharp eyes, her fingers desperately clinging to a protrusion on the wall.

She steadied herself. Heart still pounding, A’Diao looked down at her feet. What was this?

There was a lot of slime underfoot. Because it was too dark in the tunnel below and she had no lighting device, she couldn’t see clearly, which was why she had almost slipped.

But what was this slime? It carried a fishy stench, but it was quickly overpowered by the smell of alcohol.

Could it be? An answer flashed through A’Diao’s mind. Peering carefully in the dimness towards the side where the slime was concentrated, she was startled to see that what looked like a fork in the path was no path at all; below was clearly a slippery slope. It was pitch black down there, and she didn’t know what was hidden, but the smell was quite strong.

That was definitely not a good place. Was it the large centipede’s nest?

Terrified, A’Diao started to retreat. She hadn’t gone far when she heard faint movements in the passage she had come from.

The other person was already being very careful, but the enclosed space amplified the sound, allowing her to detect it.

The simple body tempering from the Spiritual Energy was indeed effective.

A’Diao hastily dodged. The person behind her probably realized she had discovered them and quickly opened fire.

The shot was silent, but light came.

A gun?!

Where did a gun come from?!

The laser bullet missed A’Diao, but the light it emitted allowed them both to see each other’s condition.

The terror on A’Diao’s face, the ruthlessness on Zhang Cheng’s face—both faces existed for an instant in the narrow tunnel. Then, after the light faded… A’Diao turned and fled.

That scoundrel Zhang Cheng actually still wanted to kill her even though Feng Ting and the others had already arrived!

It definitely wasn’t for the sake of Jiang Chun and his father. Either he was afraid she would grow stronger and retaliate later, or he believed she possessed a Spiritual Vessel and intended to seize the treasure.

Regardless of the reason, he had developed killing intent. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the opportunity during the chaos to snatch a laser gun dropped by a cultist. Perhaps he even intended to frame the cultists for her death in the end.

Seeing A’Diao flee into a dark area, Zhang Cheng couldn’t aim properly. But she was already injured, her steps staggering; she couldn’t run far. He hurriedly chased after her.

The sound of footsteps ahead grew closer. She was right in front.

However, just as Zhang Cheng thought he was about to catch A’Diao… Zhang Cheng’s shoe suddenly stepped on something slippery. His expression changed, and his body was already tilting downwards.

Bang! The moment he fell, the person he thought had fled ahead suddenly darted out from the corner, grabbing the arm that held the gun.

Damn it! She had deliberately feigned it. Those footsteps were also intentionally made by her to confuse him. As for this slipperiness underfoot, she must have known about it all along.

Realization dawned on Zhang Cheng, and he wanted to strike first. However, A’Diao had already activated “My little fist will beat you to death,” and her strength instantly increased.

Crack! A’Diao directly broke Zhang Cheng’s arm. As he writhed in agony, arching his back and intending to leap up and attack A’Diao, she had already swiftly taken the gun. Since it was her first time using a firearm, she knew she might not aim well, so she fired several shots at him consecutively.

The laser bullets whizzed out, streaking with light.

At such close range, let alone Zhang Cheng who was already severely injured, even in his peak condition, he couldn’t have dodged.

So, he was shot in the abdomen and chest.

As he lay there motionless, A’Diao didn’t dare approach. Instead, she quietly aimed at his unmoving head… Bang!

As blood spurted from his skull, Zhang Cheng’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

Indeed, the scoundrel was playing dead.

But he couldn’t pretend anymore. A’Diao cherished her life too much; she wouldn’t give him a chance to turn the tables. He could only kick the bucket.

After killing Zhang Cheng, A’Diao’s heart was still pounding violently.

“This is terrifying! I actually killed someone! Heavens, will I go to jail?”

Knowledge of law churned in A’Diao’s mind, but her body was more honest than anyone—she squatted down and began to loot the corpse.

After a thorough search, A’Diao’s eyes suddenly lit up. “A Star Card? This scoundrel has at least 1 million in deposits?”

Not everyone could open a Star Card; deposits had to reach a certain amount. However, looking at the star rating on the card, it was only one star. It was estimated that Zhang Cheng’s assets were only between 1 million and 3 million. But that was his assets when the card was opened; how much remained now was unknown.

A’Diao’s eyes turned green.

Although Spiritual Energy had revived, and it seemed Spiritual Vessels and Spirit Gates were the primary resources, the exchange rate of Star Coins in the financial market had been falling recently, meaning Star Coins were becoming less valuable. However, A’Diao had always felt that in the long run, Forbidden Items and mecha and other ultra-modern equipment would still play an extremely powerful role. Moreover, no one knew what materials cultivation would require, so the importance of Star Coins was self-evident.

That’s why A’Diao had been so desperate, even extorting Zhang Cheng. But now it seemed her extortion had been in vain.

His inheritance must belong to her.

“I don’t know the password… I’ll try fingerprint and facial recognition.”

A’Diao tried fingerprint and facial recognition for verification, but found that the Star Card gave an error message twice. It even warned her that she had one last attempt, otherwise the Star Card would automatically lock, requiring the owner to go to the bank in person to unlock it.

Damn it!

To have a treasure mountain but be unable to take from it… A’Diao was burning with anxiety, but then her eyes suddenly lit up. That’s right! There’s also iris recognition!

Left eyeball or right?

She only had one chance left.

Never mind, let’s go with the left!

A’Diao quickly pried open Zhang Cheng’s eyelid. He was already dead, and after a certain amount of time, his pupils would dilate and lose focus. But since he had just died, it should still work.

Beep… The Star Card flashed green and opened.

Account balance: 323,465.

Only 320,000?!!

Where did all that money go? Damn!

A’Diao’s current mindset was: That scoundrel Zhang Cheng spent 700,000 of my Star Coins!

A’Diao, who couldn’t even produce a thousand Star Coins a while ago, was now getting ahead of herself, even scorning 220,000. Nevertheless, she quickly transferred the money, then put away the empty Star Card, intending to destroy it later when she got out. As for the corpse… A’Diao was just about to push it down into the opening where the slime flowed when she suddenly stopped.

Zhang Cheng, as an assassin, had a source of Spiritual Energy. Could he also have a Spiritual Vessel on him?

If it didn’t leave his body after death, then it wasn’t an indwelling type.

“Most Spiritual Vessels have the ability to disguise themselves. Without equipment to check, it’s impossible to know which ones they are. So, on his body…”

A’Diao suspected this man also had a Spiritual Vessel, but looking at Zhang Cheng, whom she had already searched once, there were no strange objects apart from his clothes.

Was it kept somewhere else?

This person’s character was clearly introverted and calm, and he was skilled at disguising himself as an honest and kind ordinary person. Yet, in his attire, he deliberately leaned towards being well-dressed. This might have been to conceal some incongruous accessory, such as…” A’Diao reached out and removed the earring from Zhang Cheng’s left ear.

Ding dong, the Toilet chimed in with a reminder.

“Level 1 Spiritual Vessel earring detected. Energy level comparable to 8 points. Absorb?”

Previously, one Spirit Core was only 1 point. This Spiritual Vessel is only 8 points? It seems to be the weakest type of Spiritual Vessel, comparable to eight Fuqiu Spirit Cores.

However, the energy needed for an upgrade was 10 points. She was still one point short of upgrading.

Should she use the two Spiritual Vessels separately, or absorb this one?

She had never heard of Spiritual Vessels being able to devour each other before. She always felt that her Toilet was extraordinary.

Take a gamble?

If the Toilet hadn’t already occupied her core slot, she wouldn’t need to develop it.

Deliberation took only a few seconds. A’Diao quickly said, “Confirm absorption.”

Answered within a minute, right? Hehehe, I was faster than you this time!

Toilet: “…”

Toilet: “Absorption complete.”

Then, A’Diao pushed the corpse down. It tumbled, and with splatting sounds, crushed many things. Listening, it sounded like eggs.

But suddenly, a light was released from below.

A’Diao had intended to turn back and leave, to see if Feng Ting and the others had dealt with the large centipede, but she abruptly saw this sudden halo of light.

Huh?

This light seemed familiar.

The great banyan tree area…

A’Diao felt a thrill of excitement in her heart. She couldn’t help but lean against the edge of the wall and try hard to peer down.

Just one glance, and A’Diao’s scalp felt as if it were pricked by needles. Goosebumps rose all over her body, and cold sweat oozed out.

So many eggs?

Like the ‘succulent pearls’ in milk tea magnified hundreds of times, a huge cluster, no fewer than a thousand, were clumped together in the deep pit below. In the pit, there was also a shallow layer of liquid, like a shoal. These eggs lay in this liquid, but they were all surrounding something.

A door-shaped mass of light.

Not large, but it was indeed a Spirit Gate.

Originally, it was concealed by these eggs, and its light couldn’t be released. But just now, after she rolled the corpse down, the body crushed many eggs, exposing it.

A’Diao was surprised and suspicious. So, the Five Elements Cult’s summoning wasn’t a complete failure? It was more like a ‘buy one, get one free’ deal, with a demonic spirit colony from the cavern thrown in.

Truly terrifying. Such an evil formation could actually create a Spirit Gate.

If it were to become widespread… the mortal realm would become hell.

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Just as A’Diao thought this, she heard faint rustling sounds. Looking again, Zhang Cheng’s corpse, which had rolled down, was covered in tiny insects. They were clearly centipede larvae that had crawled out after their eggs burst. Apart from those that were underdeveloped and directly crushed to death, some mature insects, even if their eggshells were broken, could still survive for a while. But they were weak, and in their weakness, they needed nourishment. So, following the scent of blood, they crawled onto Zhang Cheng’s corpse.

They were too weak to break the skin directly, so they could only burrow into the wounds. Thus, A’Diao saw clumps of insects gathered on Zhang Cheng’s wounds. But it was visible to the naked eye that they secreted something unknown, causing Zhang Cheng’s wounds to rapidly rot and expand, making it easier for more and more insects to burrow in.

Those with trypophobia would ascend on the spot.

Moreover, it was clear these insects were venomous, and their venom was not mild. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have corroded the flesh so quickly.

This scene was too horrifying. A’Diao almost threw up. She should have fled, but she didn’t move.

Last time, the Spirit Gate at the great banyan tree was requisitioned by the Authorities. This time, one was right in front of her. Should she take the risk?

Fortune is found in danger…

A’Diao pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at her fingers. Besides her broken fingernails, there was some dirt under her other nails, all scraped from the wall earlier to keep her footing.

This dirt… A’Diao sniffed the scent on it, and her eyebrows twitched slightly.

I’ve got it!

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