C4 This Treasure Is Not Fated with You
The more remote the location, the greater the hidden darkness.
Life at the Hidden Corpse Hall was unremarkable. Many saw it as a sanctuary for the apocalypse, a place where dreams of a simple, conflict-free existence could be realized.
Yang Huang lay on his stiff bed, pondering his future until sleep overtook him.
Nights passed quickly and simply. By morning, Yang Huang was already up, anticipating his sister's visit to the Hidden Corpse Hall. He consulted his divination tools several times and downed a bottle of liquid medicine from the lab before heading to the lobby on Level One.
No.8 Hidden Corpse Hall was split into two levels. Level One housed "ordinary corpses" in cabinets along the walls, each with a body inside. A sophisticated refrigeration system ensured they remained preserved.
After making some preparations around the Hidden Corpse Hall, Yang Huang returned to the lobby and waited in silence.
"Yang Huang!"
Around eight o'clock, a thunderous shout echoed at the entrance, nearly rupturing his eardrums.
Expecting visitors, Yang Huang calmly stepped out of the Hidden Corpse Hall, making sure to secure the door behind him. The sight at the entrance, however, took him aback.
It wasn't his sister who had arrived, but a man and a woman. The man was cloaked in black, his face hidden by the hood. The woman sported red hair, tight jeans, and a white shirt.
Shockingly, the cloaked man carried a lifeless female body on his shoulder, the corpse battered and ghastly.
"Yang Huang, I have a question for you," the red-haired woman's voice boomed, rattling Yang Huang's mind.
As she spoke, a piercing pain shot through his brain, nearly causing him to black out, as if his soul were ensnared by invisible chains.
"Where were you yesterday morning at eight-fifteen?" The authority in the red-haired woman's voice was commanding, leaving no room for defiance.
"I ventured into the wilderness of West City," Yang Huang said, his eyes glazed over, his expression vacant.
"Very good. What were you doing out there?" the red-haired woman pressed on.
The air around them seemed to solidify, an endless pressure locking down the space, making it seem impossible for anyone to remain composed under such conditions.
Yang Huang's Brain Sea Courtyard had yet to open. Though his body had undergone a transformation, making his constitution stronger, he was still no match for the overwhelming pressure and the shackles binding his soul.
"Hold on, you must hold on! Don't say a word!" This was a desperate cry from the depths of his soul, but to no avail. The force imprisoning his soul was impenetrable.
"I went to kill someone." Yang Huang hesitated for a mere second before speaking in a trance.
The red-haired woman let out a sneer, but as she was about to continue her interrogation, she was interrupted.
"Yu Huan, that's enough. I believe he knows something, but it's unlikely he's the killer," a voice interjected. Suddenly, a wisp of green smoke materialized in the air, quickly expanding and taking the shape of a girl—Yang Xiaoyan.
"Xiaoyan, have you lost your mind? He just confessed to the murder. Just wait, I'll have him spill everything in no time," the red-haired woman said dismissively, intent on resuming her questioning.
"Brother, there's no need to pretend. I know what you're trying to do, but I'm here to tell you, you won't be able to kill anyone with me here," Yang Xiaoyan declared, her words surprising, clearly directed at Yang Huang, who seemed lost in his stupor.
"What?" The red-haired woman was taken aback by Yang Xiaoyan's words. As she turned to look at Yang Huang, her face contorted in shock.
Yang Huang exhaled deeply, his eyes clearing, pupils focusing, and his expression returning to normal.
"You weren't under control! That's impossible!" The red-haired woman was in disbelief. In her eyes, Yang Huang was nothing more than an ordinary person.
In this world, being an 'ordinary person' signified belonging to the lowest echelon, powerless in the face of absolute strength.
"Nothing is impossible. My brother is a genius in the field of biology. In times of peace, he single-handedly invented thousands of new drugs," Yang Xiaoyan declared once more. She wasn't the least bit surprised. Earth had expanded significantly, and its resources had become infinitely more abundant than before, giving rise to numerous new species. In her view, someone with Yang Huang's biological prowess would undoubtedly have developed numerous drugs capable of countering the super abilities of Evolvers.
"Hmph, Yang Huang. I didn't expect you to have an ace up your sleeve. But I despise people like you the most," the red-haired woman sneered after hearing Yang Xiaoyan's words, her expression contorting with the intent to eliminate Yang Huang once and for all.
Her pupils shifted to a dark red hue as she stood motionless, yet a red Energy Body emanated from within her, rapidly coalescing in front of her into an identical, albeit illusory, form of herself.
The spectral body glided towards Yang Huang as soon as it materialized, like a ghost.
"You're caught," he muttered.
In the nick of time, Yang Huang reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny sealed container filled with a clear liquid. He flicked the cap off with his fingernail and downed the contents in one gulp.
He then intentionally ran towards the red-haired woman's phantom form and merged with it.
Once overlapped, an eerie occurrence unfolded.
The red-haired woman, who had remained still since the illusion's inception, suddenly sprang into action. Her heels dug in, her waist quivered, and she shot towards Yang Xiaoyan, who was a few meters away, with incredible speed.
Thud!
In her motion, the red-haired woman's body whirled around. Upon reaching Yang Xiaoyan, she turned her back to her, her shoulders crackling like a string of firecrackers. Her spine, initially bowed, snapped straight with explosive force, delivering a mountain-shaking blow to her opponent.
Yang Xiaoyan, seasoned as she was, couldn't help but be startled by the abrupt assault. She was unable to react in time and was sent tumbling backward, landing three meters away.
Blood was seen gushing from her seven orifices. Yet, her Life Aura remained undiminished, clearly indicating that the Mountain Shaking Bash hadn't inflicted any real damage to her core.
Even with that, her consciousness grew foggy, nearly causing her to pass out.
"Ding Yuhuan, the successor of Shanghai's Eight Extreme Sect, has mastered the essence of the Eight Extreme Fist. In times of peace, she cultivated her martial arts to the Strength Transforming level, making her one of the rare martial arts experts of our time." Bits and pieces of information about the red-haired woman surfaced in Yang Huang's mind.
"Regrettably, this woman got her priorities wrong. She abandoned her immense potential in martial arts to become an Evolver. After consuming the Ancient Fruit, she gained a peculiar Super Ability that proved to be as unsatisfactory as chicken ribs, yet she believed it to be a treasure." Yang Huang gleaned from the scriptures in his mind that martial arts, when cultivated to their pinnacle, could lead one to enlightenment. The Earth of old was in its twilight, where martial arts struggled to make an impact, but the world has since transformed, promising boundless prospects for the path of martial arts.
At that moment, the cloaked man who had accompanied Ding Yuhuan could no longer stand idly by. Their true objective wasn't Yang Huang but rather a corpse within the No.8 Hidden Corpse Hall. They had intended to use Yang Huang merely as a means to access the corpse.
To their dismay, Ding Yuhuan couldn't control him; instead, she found herself under his control, a turn of events that left the cloaked man in a state of utter frustration.
Indeed, by coming to the Corpses Processing Center, they had already bent the rules given their status. Their plan had been to swiftly subdue the Evolver managing the center, control Yang Huang, and abscond with the corpse.
Now, it seemed that plan was no longer feasible.
"Even though your actions have left me astounded, you are still just an ordinary person. You can't possibly comprehend what Evolvers are like," the cloaked man finally said, his voice rough and deep.
"To tell you the truth, I never intended to contend with you. Shocking you is satisfaction enough for me," Yang Huang replied, his real body breaking into a strange yet radiant smile.
As he smiled, the cloaked man sensed something amiss, but by then it was too late. A wave of weakness swept over him, and as his consciousness dimmed, he slipped into unconsciousness.
The faint red light flickered around Yang Huang's body, each pulse intensifying the grimace on his face. It was clear he was in agony, but thankfully the ordeal was brief, lasting only a few seconds.
During those seconds, Yang Huang felt as though several mines had detonated inside his head, the severe pain nearly ripping through his nerves. Yet he was acutely aware that he couldn't afford to lose consciousness now—it was time to harvest the fruits of his labor.
Summoning his indomitable willpower, Yang Huang fought to stay alert and clear-headed.
Once the pain subsided, Ding Yuhuan's body collapsed to the ground with a thud.
...
At the heart of Hanjing City, where power converged, lived the elite atop the urban hierarchy.
Within a courtyard sat an elderly man with a white beard and hair, his posture rigid with dignity. In his hands, he held an ancient coin.
"In three days, a Strange Treasure will emerge at the Taoism Ancestral Court on Dragon Tiger Mountain, harboring a vast opportunity," the old man said calmly, as a middle-aged man sat across from him, a tea set arranged between them.
"This must be the first Strange Treasure since the Earth's transformation. I'll make the journey there," declared the middle-aged man, his face square, eyebrows like drawn swords, and a beard framing his jaw. Upon closer inspection, he bore a resemblance to Yang Huang.
"There's no need. If my calculations are correct, this treasure... it's not destined for you, but it shares an inseparable bond with a younger member of the Yang family," the old man replied with a smile, gently lifting his teacup for a sip.
"Ah, then it must be Xiaoyan," the middle-aged man concluded, not pressing further. He had complete faith in the predictive prowess of his family elder.
The old man simply smiled in response to the middle-aged man's musings.
