Chapter 240: I Say This Is an Accident, Do You Believe It?

Under Lu Yang's explanation, everyone finally understood that they had made a huge mistake. The black 'golden core' they had been studying for half a day was not a golden core at all.

It wasn't the group's fault. While the mountain-carrying pig is known for its courage (literally, "full of gall"), excessive bile secretion leading to gallstones only occurs in beasts at the Golden Core stage and above. The Five Hawks of Eagle Mountain had never been qualified to encounter Golden Core stage demonic beasts, so their ignorance was understandable.

The most crucial point was: who would have thought a Golden Core stage beast could get gallstones?

"That's perfectly normal," the Immortal Fairy said matter-of-factly, responding to Lu Yang's question. "Mortals get ordinary gallstones, so naturally, Golden Core stage beasts get Golden Core stage gallstones. It's perfectly logical."

"You just lack experience. You know about viruses, right? They grow inside the body and make you sick. I've even seen viruses grow alongside a cultivator's cultivation level. Have you ever seen a Nascent Soul stage viral cold?" The Immortal Fairy proudly showed off her bizarre knowledge.

Lu Yang shook his head. Not only had he never seen such a thing, he had never even heard of it.

"In ancient times, viruses grew alongside living beings' cultivation, causing significant trouble. The Heavenly Response Immortal established the Heavenly Tribulation with the consideration of helping high-level cultivators eliminate these viruses, allowing them to kill off viruses during their tribulation." The Immortal Fairy revealed another secret.

"Third Brother, if you don't know what you're looking at, don't just shout nonsense!" the hawk-nosed leader scolded Third Brother, who was responsible for the dissection.

Third Brother felt wronged. Just moments ago, everyone was guessing enthusiastically, and none of them recognized it as a gallstone. Now it was his fault?

Even as a leader, one shouldn't be unreasonable.

As Third Brother thought, he conveniently pulled out the mountain-carrying pig's gallbladder.

One, two, three, four, five... The phrase "the mountain-carrying pig is full of gall" was not an idiom, but a literal description.

"The mountain-carrying pig truly has remarkable courage. It charges at any demonic beast it sees; even the Dragon and Phoenix clans are no exception," the Immortal Fairy explained, offering a factual account.

"Wouldn't that provoke widespread anger?"

"No, everyone avoids them. Think about it: demonic beasts mainly fight by biting and clawing. If you defeat a mountain-carrying pig, you'll be splattered with bitter, acrid bile. Who could stand that?"

"However, based on the mountain-carrying pig's characteristics, I created a delicious dish that was widely praised."

"What did the Fairy create?"

"Gallbladder stewed bitter melon, for clearing heat and detoxifying."

Lu Yang shivered instinctively. "That was widely praised? Who was fortunate enough to taste it?"

"The Nine-Fold Immortal. He hadn't ascended to immortality yet at the time. He was poisoned, and I saved him. Seeing him on the verge of death, I made him a bowl of gallbladder-stewed bitter melon to clear heat and detoxify."

"He slowly woke up, took a sip, uttered a single word, 'Good,' and then fell back into a coma."

"Perhaps it was due to the poisoning at the time; his body was out of control. He was struggling desperately when he saw me bringing the food. When he said 'Good,' his face was contorted. Truly pitiful."

"...That's quite pitiful."

"Was the poison cured then?"

"Yes, it was. After he woke up, he vomited for most of the day and expelled all the poison."

Lu Yang was speechless.

This detoxification method was quite different from what he had imagined.

"Enough talk, let's go fight." With that, the Immortal Fairy kicked Lu Yang out of the mental space once more.

"Fight?"

Lu Yang muttered to himself, then suddenly reacted, extending his divine sense to probe the surroundings.

"Nobody? No, it's underground!"

Lu Yang looked down and saw the ground caving in, indicating a demonic beast beneath.

"Prepare for battle!" Lu Yang shouted, warning the others. The demonic beast underground gave him a sense of dread.

*Boom—*

An earthworm as thick as a water vat emerged from the soil. It had four silver rings that shimmered in the moonlight. It opened its cavernous mouth and swallowed two newly dissected wild boars in a single gulp.

Thanks to Lu Yang's warning, everyone dodged in time, quickly jumping away and evacuating the area before the earthworm appeared.

"What is that?" Meng Jingzhou exclaimed in shock. An earthworm could be that powerful?

"It's a Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm!" Lu Yang recognized the demonic beast immediately.

Old Man Ba had a pair, oh, now two pairs, of these Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworms responsible for tilling the soil in his medicinal garden. They were the kings among earthworms.

The pair in the medicinal garden had five silver rings, with a sixth one forming, signifying peak Soul Transformation cultivation.

The earthworm before them had four silver rings, indicating Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

What was more troublesome was that Lu Yang's proud sword techniques would likely pose little threat to this earthworm. It was possible that one strike would simply cut it into two, creating an even greater problem.

As the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm devoured the third wild boar demon, which had been roasting over Samadhi True Fire, it turned its gaze, still unsatisfied, towards Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had never faced a Nascent Soul stage opponent before, and in this situation, the Five Hawks of Eagle Mountain couldn't offer any help.

"Six Forms of Heaven Shaking!" Meng Jingzhou struck first, clenching his fists, veins bulging, with an imposing momentum that seemed capable of shaking the heavens.

To his surprise, the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm was covered in a layer of mucus. Meng Jingzhou's full-force punch didn't even break its skin; the force was simply absorbed.

The Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm swung its tail, directly sweeping Meng Jingzhou away, breaking several of his bones.

If he weren't a body cultivator, that single blow would have killed him.

The gap between the Nascent Soul stage and Foundation Establishment stage was immense, with an entire Golden Core stage separating them.

"Break!"

Lu Yang roared, unleashing the "Break" technique. His sword light, like a waterfall, tore through the sound barrier and ripped apart the darkness. The sword, carrying moonlight, resembled a strike from a god of slaughter.

This was the strongest move Lu Yang could execute.

The Azure Edge Sword pierced through the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm's mucus and into its body. The earthworm, in pain, tried to crush the human to death.

It thrashed violently. Whenever Lu Yang touched the ground, he used the "Shrinking Ground" technique to avoid being thrown onto the ground and crushed.

Lu Yang twisted his wrist, attempting an upward flick, but the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm's physical body was too powerful. Its body tensed, effectively wedging the Azure Edge Sword within its flesh.

"Roar, roar..." The Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm emitted a low sound, seemingly mocking Lu Yang's futile efforts.

Of course, it could speak, but it disdained communicating with these weak humans.

It suddenly opened its mouth and lunged at Lu Yang. In the nick of time, Lu Yang pulled out the Azure Edge Sword and dodged the attack.

Lu Yang's heart sank. The "Break" technique was his full-power strike, capable of slaying late Golden Core stage, or even half-step Nascent Soul stage demonic beasts. Yet, this strike hadn't fundamentally harmed the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm; it had only angered it.

Most importantly, this single strike had drained most of his spiritual energy.

"Tsk, this is troublesome."

Meanwhile, Meng Jingzhou, seeing that Lu Yang was also out of options, remembered something and pulled five directional teleportation talismans from his pocket.

However, there were seven people present. If he and Lu Yang escaped, the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm would certainly not spare the Five Hawks of Eagle Mountain.

"Young heroes, don't mind us, hurry and go!" the hawk-nosed leader shouted when he saw the directional teleportation talismans in Meng Jingzhou's hand.

Those in their line of work had long since disregarded life and death.

What to do! What should be done!

Meng Jingzhou gritted his teeth. Running away wasn't his style, but if they didn't flee, everyone would die here!

Finally, he closed his eyes, pulled out one talisman, and threw it to Lu Yang: "Lu Yang, catch!"

Lu Yang leaned forward and charged. Who would have thought the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm would let out a cold snort, its massive body stretching between him and Meng Jingzhou, pinning the directional teleportation talisman beneath it.

"Trying to run?" The Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm spoke for the first time, scoffing repeatedly and mocking Lu Yang's futile effort.

"Now!" Lu Yang shouted.

"Do I need you to tell me?" On the other side, Meng Jingzhou's leisurely voice sounded as he activated a directional teleportation talisman.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

An invisible, cubic light barrier enveloped the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm. It didn't understand what was happening and struggled to shake it off, but the barrier was exceptionally solid and unbreakable.

The moment Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou saw the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm, they recalled the merchant's attendant's introduction: "If you encounter a life-or-death crisis in the dense forest, simply activate this teleportation talisman, and it will transport you back to Demon Suppressing Pass. Even if demonic beasts, including those at the Nascent Soul stage, attack, they cannot interrupt the teleportation process!"

Thinking conversely, if it could safely transport people back to Demon Suppressing Pass, why couldn't it also transport demonic beasts back?

The cubic light barrier, encasing the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm, transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Demon Suppressing Pass.

The three large characters "Demon Suppressing Pass" inscribed above the city gate instantly froze the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm in place.

The guards were bewildered by the sudden appearance of a Nascent Soul stage demonic beast. In over ten years of service, they had never seen such an arrogant beast, one that didn't even bother to disguise itself and directly charged Demon Suppressing Pass.

"What audacity, vile creature! To dare attack Demon Suppressing Pass under the cover of night!"

A deep voice boomed from within Demon Suppressing Pass. It was the Soul Transformation stage cultivator on night duty.

The Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm watched helplessly as a burly man flew out from the city towards it, feeling utterly desperate.

"Would you believe me if I said this was an accident?" The Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm tried to force a smile.

The burly man sneered, "Guess if I believe you!"

He extended his enormous hand and slapped the Silver-Ring Heavenly King Earthworm to death.