The Return of the Vanished Arcane Artifacts?

A grotesque symphony of slurping and gnashing echoed throughout the second level of the ‘Fine Meat’ breeding base. Two-Headed Huhuhu Beasts, tails thrashing, swarmed everywhere. These mutated creatures had formed circles of three to five, gnawing on something amidst rivers of blood – crimson and violet alike – and countless mangled limbs! The mutated Huhuhu Beasts were devouring people, Violet-Bloods no less! Judging by the tattered clothing of the incomplete corpses, these were members of the Brockman family who had ventured down earlier.

Du Chen’s gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over the scene. Based on the attire and remaining hair, Elder Elizabeth was not among the fallen. His brow furrowed as one Huhuhu Beast raised a small head on its tail, glancings at Du Chen descending, then erupted in a joyous cry: “More fresh meat! Heh-gakka! This one smells delicious!” Its nostrils flared, and with a leap, it lunged at Du Chen, followed swiftly by a multitude of other Huhuhu Beasts who had not yet been assigned ‘food’!

‘Wanna eat this venerable one!?’ Du Chen snorted, flinging forth an ice bullet that exploded with a *boom*, shattering the charging Huhuhu Beast.

‘Damn it, these Huhuhu Beasts have reached the strength of a Level Two to Three Battle-Warrior! And a rough estimate puts at least five hundred of them on this level!’

“Heh-gakka, he killed my brother! Let’s get him together and eat him!”

A Two-Headed Huhuhu Beast roared skyward, fangs bared, as it charged at Du Chen, followed by a surging tide of its brethren.

Du Chen’s heart trembled. The Huhuhu Beasts, which had served as food for the citizens of the City of Penance for centuries, had now mutated, suddenly transforming from prey to predator. The killing intent he’d felt seeing them devour people earlier subtly dimmed. ‘Yes, you Violet-Bloods have eaten us for centuries, raising us as livestock. So what if we, in turn, eat you Violet-Bloods now!?’

It was as if something within him had been profoundly touched.

With no time to ponder, Du Chen waved his hand to disperse the surrounding Huhuhu Beasts and summoned the *Precious Lotus Scripture*. Concealed within its essence, he vanished before the creatures’ eyes. The Huhuhu Beasts stood bewildered for a moment before returning to their ghastly feast.

Upon reaching the third level, the same horrific scene unfolded. However, in the ‘Honeyed Meat’ base of the third level, the number of mutated Huhuhu Beasts was smaller, only two to three hundred. Yet, they were significantly more powerful, possessing the strength equivalent to a Level Four or Five Battle-Warrior!

It seemed the stronger, or perhaps the more succulent, the Huhuhu Beast, the more formidable it became after mutation!

Still finding no trace of Elder Elizabeth on this level, Du Chen followed his map to the deepest, fourth level—the ‘Exquisite’ Huhuhu Beast zone!

Here, no bloody scenes of cannibalism played out. Instead, a bizarre and utterly strange spectacle unfolded before him…

A dozen or so Huhuhu Beasts—whose concealed aura indicated they were Aberrant Beasts of Level Six or higher—were seated around a circular table, mimicking a human round-table conference, seemingly discussing something. Elder Elizabeth, meanwhile, was not only unconscious but had been crammed into a large cage meant for Huhuhu Beasts, just as the Violet-Bloods typically treated their captives!

Just a dozen Level Six Aberrant Beasts, Du Chen thought nothing of them. He was about to act when their conversation gave him pause.

One Huhuhu Beast declared, “Third Brother, a Huhuhu Beast should not be ‘heh-gakka’ to such an extent! I am the Eldest Brother, the oldest Huhuhu Beast here, so I should be the leader of these mutated Huhuhu Beasts and have the right to enjoy this most delicious Violet-Blood!”

Another Huhuhu Beast countered, “No, I am the strongest Huhuhu Beast here, so I alone have the right to be the leader and enjoy this Violet-Blood!”

A third one proposed, “I believe the first thing we should do after electing a leader is not to eat, but to figure out *why* we transformed into this state!”

“In my humble opinion…”

A cacophony of voices filled the air. A dozen pieces of ‘food’ that, just days ago, were waiting on plates to be served, were now holding a meeting to discuss how to most effectively eat humans…

It turned out that after these Huhuhu Beasts mutated, they gained freedom. Although they hadn’t yet figured out the reason for their mutation, they had begun contemplating a question that any intelligent species would consider: ‘We need a new social order!’ Simply put, they sought to elect an Old One, then follow that Old One’s lead!

Du Chen found the scene both ridiculous and poignant, and the profound realization within him intensified. Humans eat food, so is protecting food a good deed? Du Chen had validated this with experiments; the *Precious Scroll* considered it a good deed! So, what about food eating people in return!? If he were to eliminate the ‘food’ now to protect humans, would that be a good deed? His past experiences told Du Chen that this, too, was unequivocally correct!

‘Then who the hell is in the wrong!?’

His Heart Devil resurfaced! Du Chen’s mind reeled!

At that moment, a Level Five Huhuhu Beast descended, holding a Violet-Blood arm in its mouth, grinning obsequiously. “Old Ones, the brethren upstairs just discovered two things: someone broke in but suddenly vanished!”

“What?! Go find him! What’s the other thing?!”

“Well, some of our mutated brethren couldn’t get any ‘food’…” It shook the Violet-Blood arm it dropped on the ground. “These brethren went to eat soft earth, but they found… any of our kin who’ve changed like this can’t eat soft earth anymore; they just throw up. It’s like the soft earth tastes different now!”

One of the meeting Huhuhu Beasts wagged its tail, asking, “Does that mean we *must* eat people from now on!?”

The Huhuhu Beasts at the meeting exchanged glances, then looked at the arm brought by the Level Five Huhuhu Beast, simultaneously gulping with urgency. They quickly cried out, “Hurry, let’s elect a leader, then occupy this place and turn it into a Violet-Blood breeding base! Heh-gakka!”

It was a ludicrous scene, yet Du Chen’s mind was struck as if by a divine thunderbolt!

In the City of Penance, Violet-Bloods could not survive without eating Huhuhu Beasts. Now, the Huhuhu Beasts were eating people, and they couldn’t survive without it either… Who was wrong!?

‘Absolutely no one is wrong!’ Du Chen experienced a sudden enlightenment. Previously, from a human perspective, he had been confused. But now, seeing the Huhuhu Beasts and Violet-Bloods—two races unrelated to him—from the perspective of a Red-Blood, he suddenly understood!

Everything was simply a law of nature. Tigers eat people, people eat cattle and sheep, cattle and sheep eat grass, and grass absorbs sunlight… Everyone exists within the food chain; all are part of nature’s laws. There is neither right nor wrong!

“Master Grape! You are truly ruthless!” Du Chen suddenly realized another crucial point: Why did the *Precious Lotus Scripture* only count good deeds and not evil ones!? It was simple. If Du Chen were to lead all the Violet-Bloods out of the City of Penance now, saving them from being eaten by Huhuhu Beasts, that would be a good deed for the Violet-Bloods. But for the Huhuhu Beasts… Du Chen would be cutting off their food source, condemning them all to starvation!

“Good and evil are relative; for every cause, there must be an effect; for every good, there must be an evil. What I must do is simply to be true to my good heart. Master Grape, is this what you mean!?” Du Chen’s Divine Sense cried out to his Primordial Spirit. Was a good heart the answer to overcoming his Heart Devil? Though Master Grape offered no reply, immediately after…

Suddenly, Du Chen felt an inexplicable itch on his backside. A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed…

Five more lotuses on his behind! They were precisely the five lotuses that had vanished from his Fourth Trigram cultivation! The Arcane Artifacts had returned, hah, the Arcane Artifacts were back! Du Chen was ecstatic, but then… the lotuses defied Du Chen’s commands. No matter how he summoned them, the five blooming lotuses remained stubbornly affixed to his body, utterly unresponsive!

What was happening? The Arcane Artifacts were found, yet he couldn't use them. Was something still missing!?

Du Chen stood frozen, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, the Huhuhu Beasts were not idle. Their meeting continued, the question of who would be the Old One proving to be a lengthy debate. Yet, the final conclusion reverted to the most fundamental principle: the strongest shall be the Old One!

After a brief scuffle, *thud*, one Huhuhu Beast leaped onto the table. “I won! Heh-gakka, I am the strongest! Line up in order, you all, let’s go eat Violet-Bloods!”

The dozen or so Huhuhu Beasts quickly formed a line before him. Their newly appointed leader glanced at them, then burst into laughter. “Interesting! It seems the stronger we are, the bigger our tails!”

Indeed, the sizes of the Huhuhu Beasts’ tails varied according to their strength, and the ultimately chosen leader possessed the largest tail!

The leader chuckled, “I understand now! From now on, whoever has the biggest tail will be the leader!” He then cast a glance at Elder Elizabeth in the cage and suddenly roared, “Charge out! Capture all the Violet-Bloods outside! We will build a Violet-Blood breeding base! This tastiest one… Heh-gakka, we’ll celebrate with her when we return!”

With that, he leaped off the table, wagging his tail as he charged out ahead of the others!

Du Chen, still immersed in the lingering haze of his Heart Devil, was startled by the Huhuhu Beasts’ roars. He sharply shook his head, clearing his mind somewhat. Seeing the Huhuhu Beasts had departed, he rescued Elder Elizabeth from the cage, placed her carefully on a lotus, and swiftly flew out of the base. ‘Heavens! There are eighteen thousand Huhuhu Beasts in this base! Chek was truly right—even if only one-tenth of them mutate, it would be a disaster!’

Flying out of the base, the lotus hovered high above as Du Chen gazed down upon the land…

Innumerable Huhuhu Beasts swarmed from the caverns. The Brockman family members waiting outside bore the brunt of the attack, but Chek was organizing his kin, resisting fiercely, their safety for the moment remained assured. However… a figure rushed from afar, upon seeing the scene, immediately shouted, “Damn it, this place has turned into this too! Uncle Chek, our family’s Huhuhu Beasts have mutated as well!”

From another direction, several scouts swiftly arrived, crying out, “Gods, it’s mutated here too! Brother Chek, when we scouted the allied armies, we noticed they suddenly slowed their march because, because their military rations—the Huhuhu Beasts—have also mutated!”

*Bang! Bang!* Several signal flares flashed in different directions. Chek gasped, “Distress signals from nearby families!? Could their Huhuhu Beasts have mutated too!?”

Yes! Huhuhu Beasts were mutating everywhere, and Huhuhu Beasts were devouring people everywhere!

These ‘food’ animals, suddenly grown tails, were now turning the tables to devour their former masters!