Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1077: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (85) – A Life Full of Misfortunes

Boom—!

Su Zijun, who believed in being simple, direct, and forceful, smashed her fist into a wall of the massive metal structure.

The metal wall caved in under her punch and soon gave way, leaving a jagged hole.

Frowning, Su Zijun stepped through. This damned place was far larger than she had imagined, and the metal it was made of was surprisingly tough.

Still, she had finally broken in... Looking around, Su Zijun saw that the internal structure was undoubtedly complex.

Just as she prepared to move forward, strange floating boxes rapidly appeared around her—dozens of them, hovering in the air before she noticed.

Suddenly, each of the fist-sized metal boxes cracked open from the center, revealing a red orb that began flashing—then a beam of red light shot out!

Flames erupted around Su Zijun as the dozens of boxes launched a furious assault!

After over ten seconds of intense bombardment, the fire finally subsided. Su Zijun stood coldly in place, surrounded by a massive hand formed from Demonic Energy—gripping tightly, it had shielded her from all the attacks.

The metal boxes began flying again, rearranging into a new formation, ready for another round.“Tch... I was trying to save some energy,” Su Zijun scoffed coldly. “Since I’ve been discovered, I might as well go all out!”

The giant demonic energy hand extended outward like a tidal wave, sweeping across the space—metal boxes ahead exploded instantly, and even the corridor's metal wall was smashed apart.

Su Zijun chuckled lightly... and charged straight in!

…

Meanwhile, unlike a certain rich girl from the Jiangshi clan, Ming Tushan’s group was having a much harder time.

A sudden beam from one of the strange metal boxes pierced a Daoist Association survivor’s shoulder—the sheer force of it ripped the elite disciple’s arm from his body.

While the metal boxes were powerful, they weren’t hard to destroy. The team managed to take down the first wave and thought the danger had passed—only to discover that dozens more were coming!

Walls opened up, revealing rows of metal boxes. Ming Tushan and Hanyang Zhenren’s group gasped.

They were forced to scramble for safety, questioning whether sneaking into this place was even a good idea.

But with the relentless boxes chasing them, there was no time for second thoughts!

“Damn it! We should get out of here! Going deeper might mean facing something even worse!”

After barely surviving, they’d hoped to find a way out by exploring the underground perimeter. Instead, they had stumbled into this mysterious and dangerous place. The group no longer had the will to explore this massive structure.

But the interior was like a labyrinth, and the relentless metal boxes behind them had already thrown them off. They couldn’t tell if they were heading toward the exit—or deeper inside.

The Daoist Association member who had lost his arm was now pale and weak, even though his wound had been sealed using special techniques.

“Hang in there! We didn’t make it this far just to give up!” Hanyang Zhenren encouraged urgently. “Don’t let President Baijie’s sacrifice be in vain!”

To them, Baijie—who had gone back alone to find other survivors—was likely dead, as no word had come since.

“This way, everyone!”

Suddenly, a Demon race member in their team thrust his hands into the corridor floor and pried up a giant metal plate, blocking most of the path.

The boxes didn’t hesitate to blow it up—but after the explosion, Ming Tushan’s group was nowhere in sight. The boxes blinked a few times, then split up and scattered down the various tunnels.

At the same time, deep inside the labyrinthine structure, in a room with its door slightly ajar, Ming Tushan and the others quietly hid, suppressing their auras.

“They’re gone... for now.”

They let out a quiet breath of relief and began examining their temporary hiding spot—though anxiety lingered. Who knew how long they could remain undetected?

The room itself, however, was eerily strange—especially to a group desperate to survive.

Inside were rows of enormous circular glass tubes, neatly aligned. The room was dim, and its true size was unclear at a glance.

As they moved closer, they noticed that each tube stood on a sort of base and was filled with some kind of liquid.

Some tubes contained nothing but liquid, but others held... things. Or rather, creatures.

Some had human heads with snake bodies, some were covered entirely in fish scales, some were strange birds or beasts—an overwhelming sight that left a bone-deep chill.

These “things” showed no signs of life. They looked like specimens—motionless in their tanks. As the group continued walking past them, their unease grew.

Then Ming Tushan suddenly gasped and stopped.

Everyone followed his gaze—and froze.

Inside one of the tubes was a naked man. His chest was subtly rising and falling—clearly alive, unlike the others.

But that wasn’t the shocking part—they knew this man.

Flameflow!

He was the Vermilion Bird clansman who had been knocked out by Qu Xinghe before the massacre!

“Why... why is he here?” Ming Tushan frowned deeply.

“Was he captured and brought here?” Hanyang Zhenren speculated, his face grim. “This place is creepy, and the creatures in these containers are unheard of… Was he taken for some kind of experiment?”

“Either way, we need to get him out,” Ming Tushan said firmly. “He might know something.”

Hanyang Zhenren agreed. The container looked like glass, but it wasn’t ordinary. It took him some effort to cut it open.

The liquid gushed out, and Flameflow spilled out with it.

Ming Tushan quickly checked on him, but the moment he touched Flameflow’s arm, he recoiled in surprise.

“His… his body is ice cold?”

The Vermilion Bird clan had an innate fire attribute, so their bodies should naturally radiate heat. Ming Tushan had never encountered a Vermilion Bird clansman whose body was as cold as this.

“Elder Ming, take a look at this one’s injuries,” said Hanyang Zhenren. “We’ll check out the surroundings.”

Ming Tushan nodded. The group split up — some continued exploring the vast chamber, while others moved toward the entrance, keeping watch on the movements of the metallic boxes outside.

...

In the passage, four Gaia operatives had engaged. Three were killed by Gongsun Wuwei’s fists, while the fourth was mysteriously sliced into countless chunks upon nearing the alluring woman.

What Jiang Zuo could see was only the woman’s cold, smiling expression — along the way, nearly forty Gaia operatives had died at the hands of these two self-proclaimed demonic overlords from five centuries ago.

But it also confirmed their earlier claim — that these Gaia posed no threat to them.

Still, Jiang Zuo couldn’t shake a strange sense of discord — these two seemed very familiar with the layout of this place. Though they appeared to charge ahead at random, Jiang Zuo increasingly felt they were advancing with purpose. They never hesitated at junctions, as if they knew exactly where to go.

Finally, Jiang Zuo couldn’t resist asking, “You two seem... quite familiar with this place?”

The seductive woman looked back and replied with a smile, “If you were trapped here for years with nothing to do but observe, you’d memorize the layout by sheer boredom.”

“??” Jiang Zuo blinked.

Gongsun Wuwei explained, “Back when we were imprisoned, we could observe the outside world through that energy screen, remember? It was adjustable. Fanxing and I spent our time studying this place — so we have a rough idea of its structure.”

“Oh…”

So this seductive female demon’s name was Fanxing?

She added, “It’s simple. During our observations, we found several areas we couldn’t see into — likely due to security measures. That means they’re important. This direction leads to the closest one of those hidden spots.”

Jiang Zuo had a bad feeling about this — but since the two were absurdly powerful, he just followed along, terrified, nodding at everything they said. His only goal: survive by sticking close to the two demon lords.

Unexpectedly, things went extremely smoothly. The three of them reached the mysterious location very quickly.

Without a word, Gongsun Wuwei smashed the metal door open — not caring at all about making noise or attracting Gaia. Later, Jiang Zuo thought: maybe their movements were being tracked anyway. That would explain why Gaia kept coming in waves.

In that case, stealth seemed pointless.

“Wuwei, anything good in there?” Fanxing called into the room. Gongsun Wuwei was standing in the broken doorway, blocking their view.

“Bah, this creepy place is empty,” he said, stepping aside so Fanxing and Jiang Zuo could enter.

The room was stark white, empty and minimal. In the center were a few items: a pedestal, a cylindrical control console, and a crystal pillar connected to the base.

“There’s something inside that pillar,” Jiang Zuo muttered, frowning and stepping closer for a better look.

Gongsun Wuwei and Fanxing followed him.

“Looks like... a dog?” Gongsun Wuwei pressed his face against the pillar, scrutinizing it. “It’s made of metal?”

Inside the pillar was indeed a strange metallic dog, eyes wide open. It looked alive, mouth slightly agape with a confused expression — as if it understood something.

Gongsun Wuwei tapped on the crystal carelessly. “Hey, old mutt, what are you staring at? Do you know me?”

“I... I am not—”

But before it could finish, the dog slapped its own mouth with its paw, eyes full of panic.

“Yo, this weird dog can talk?” Fanxing grinned, then ran her hand along the crystal pillar.

The crystal instantly shattered!

The metallic dog bolted out the moment it was freed — only to be instantly caught by Gongsun Wuwei.

“What were you just saying? ‘I am...’ what?” Gongsun Wuwei lifted the dog to eye level.

The dog — Tai Yinzi — trembled, paw clamped over its mouth, hind legs flailing in the air.

“This metal mutt clearly knows something,” Jiang Zuo said seriously. “Since it was imprisoned here, it must be connected to this place. We can’t let it go.”

“But it’s refusing to talk,” Gongsun Wuwei frowned. He then casually tossed the dog to the floor with a loud crash.

The dog’s joints made a pained screech. Gongsun Wuwei stepped on its belly and applied some pressure. “Speak! What are you doing here? What do you know? If you don’t answer, I’ll melt you down!”

Tai Yinzi trembled violently, internally howling:

Dear heavens! Gongsun Wuwei... Fanxing... these two demonic scourges from back then — why are they here?!

Weren’t they hunted down and killed by Master years ago?!

They must never find out I’m a disciple of Huan Zhen Dao!!

“Still not talking?” Gongsun Wuwei sneered and lifted his foot again.

Tai Yinzi cried in terror, “No! Not the jewels! I’ll talk!!”

But Gongsun Wuwei stomped down anyway…

Crunch...

“Oh... lost control for a sec.”

WOOF————!!

Tai Yinzi, dead.

...

Special Combat-Type Valkyrie-Class Gaia

Completion Rate: 94%

(End of Chapter)