Chapter 127: The Heavenly Curse Demon Clan's Human-Beast Experiment Base

Xuanzhe asked, "Master, the spies sent by the medical and cultivation worlds to track and investigate Yang Jiutian—did they ever uncover his true background? Is this Yang Jiutian related to the Soul-Seizing Technique?"

Master Shangheng replied, "The secret agents from the medical and cultivation circles shadowed Yang Jiutian for several months, yet discovered no flaws or secrets. Just as they were growing disillusioned, they noticed a trusted aide of Yang Jiutian’s, named Yang Youren, preparing to leave the palace on an errand. Among the sects that sent these spies, a fellow practitioner named Li Youqian told me that his disciple, Li Jinxuan, was also involved in the investigation. Upon seeing Yang Youren depart, Li Jinxuan decided to shift his focus to this subordinate. He followed Yang Youren out of the palace, intending to find a secluded spot to capture him and use coercive measures to extract information about Yang Jiutian.

"Li Jinxuan is a Taoist priest from the Lingrui Temple. Having cultivated immortality there for eight or nine centuries, he has attained a profound level of mastery in both martial arts and the Tao. Consequently, his pursuit was remarkably stealthy and remained undetected by Yang Youren.

"After following Yang Youren far beyond the capital of the Barbarian Kingdom, Li Jinxuan watched as the man headed west. Soon, Yang Youren entered a dense forest. Once he reached the heart of the woods, he scanned his surroundings to ensure he was not being followed, then leapt to the canopy and took flight toward the west. Seeing Yang Youren flying, Li Jinxuan realized he was a practitioner of the immortal arts—one who must have cultivated for at least eight or nine centuries to be capable of such a feat. Li Jinxuan leapt to the treetops as well, trailing him from a distance of eight or nine miles.

"After roughly four hours of travel, they reached a vast expanse of water. Within this basin lay an island roughly half the size of Linghuang Prefecture, covered in towering trees. Giant predatory birds circled the skies, while ferocious beasts roamed the island floor; the air was filled with the wretched cries of creatures being hunted.

"Yang Youren, unfazed by the predators, landed before a cave entrance the size of a small cottage. No sooner had he touched the ground than five men emerged to greet him. They wore black robes emblazoned with a white 'Heaven' character on the chest and a white 'Curse' character on the back. Their black hoods covered their heads down to their necks, leaving only holes for their eyes, noses, and mouths. The stark white characters made them look particularly ominous.

"Li Jinxuan waited for them to enter the cave before descending into a hidden spot. He crept closer and observed guards at the entrance. He surmised that this cave was likely the base of the Heavenly Curse Demon Clan. If so, it must be vast to house an entire sect. Furthermore, a cavern of such scale would require multiple exits to allow natural light to penetrate, as torches alone would be insufficient for their work. Thus, Li Jinxuan climbed to the top of the mountain. After a few hours of searching, he found exactly what he expected: nine large openings, each the size of several rooms, arranged in the shape of the number '9' across the summit. Each was three or four miles apart, revealing the immense scale of the cavern below.

"Li Jinxuan inspected each opening. Through the first eight, he saw thousands of Heavenly Curse members practicing martial arts, refining pills, and casting spells. This was only what he could see from the openings; the darker corners of the cave held even more.

"Master Shangheng paused briefly before continuing, 'According to Li Youqian, his disciple observed that the martial arts practiced by the clan were bizarre. He didn't elaborate on the specifics, only that after performing strange movements, the members would stand still and chant toward captives dressed differently than themselves. As they chanted, these captives would break into a frenzy, grabbing stones or sticks to attack one another.

"After examining the eighth opening, Li Jinxuan moved to the ninth. There, he saw dozens of massive, ferocious beasts—great apes, snarling leopards, tigers that could shake the mountains with their roars, and wolf-lions with ghostly blue eyes—all caged in stone enclosures.

"In one enclosure containing two apes, two Heavenly Curse members were present. They pierced various acupuncture points on the beasts and injected an unknown liquid. Within a quarter of an hour, the previously calm apes became agitated and began to tear each other apart, biting and clawing until they were drenched in blood. Just as the fight reached its peak, the clan members chanted a beast-control spell, and the creatures instantly halted and retreated.

"Li Youren told me that after witnessing this, his disciple concluded that this cave was not the clan's primary residence, but an experimental base for humans and beasts. As Li Jinxuan prepared to depart, a messenger arrived and addressed one of the two men in the enclosure, 'Elder Yang, the Demon Lord requests your presence.' The man replied, 'Very well, tell the Lord I shall follow shortly.' It was only then that Li Jinxuan realized that one of the men experimenting on the apes was the very man he had been tracking—Yang Youren. Because he had been observing from a great distance, he hadn't recognized him until that moment, nor had he realized that Yang Youren himself was conducting these horrific experiments."