Restraining Forces

"What method? Let's hear it." Feng Qingping's eyes fixed on Li Nanzhu, sparkling with expectation.

This junior sister always brought her unexpected surprises, and this time surely wouldn't be an exception.

Li Nanzhu gently picked up the cold object she had just touched—it was Suisui!

"That day in the Forest of Demonic Beasts when we were surrounded by blue mycelium," she said in a clear voice, "it was Suisui who opened a path to survival for us."

Feng Qingping was stunned for a moment, looking at the little skeleton with hesitation. "You don't mean to let Suisui..." Before she could finish, Suisui was already shaking its head like a rattle, its jawbone clicking rhythmically.

"It's the star-patterned iron." A sharp light flickered in Li Nanzhu's eyes, and her speaking pace unconsciously quickened. "Since these monsters bred by the Blood Fiend Sect all come from the same source, wouldn't they also fear star-patterned iron? That day, Suisui used star-patterned iron powder to tear open a path for us through the mycelium."

"I have some!" Jiang Yifan quickly pulled five or six fist-sized pieces of star-patterned iron from his storage bag. "But we can't be certain that star-patterned iron definitely restrains them. We can't just go out and test it; if it goes poorly, we might not be able to retreat back here."

Feng Weilan nodded silently. This was also his concern. Everything was just a guess, and they had no way to verify it yet.

"There is a way," Li Nanzhu pointed at the walls. "If star-patterned iron really restrains those tentacles, then this mine itself should contain star-patterned iron. That's why those tentacles can't get in."

"As long as we find the star-patterned iron in the ore vein..." Li Nanzhu's voice carried an eager expectation.

"We can fight our way out!"

The four of them shared a smile, and their collective realization eased the tense atmosphere. Suisui's soul fire also jumped cheerfully several times, casting flickering shadows on the rock walls.

"No time to lose!" Jiang Yifan was the first to act, his slender fingers tracing every crack in the rock wall.

The other three immediately dispersed, using the faint blue soul fire to search the damp passage for a trace of hope.

Feng Weilan suddenly let out a low cry. "Here!" His fingertips were stained with some silver-grey metal powder that glittered under the light of the soul fire.

Li Nanzhu leaned in to observe and confirmed, "That's it, star-patterned iron! That means my hypothesis was correct. The star-patterned iron really does restrain those tentacles!"

"I hadn't noticed this before." Jiang Yifan rubbed the powder between his fingers, his voice tight. "But this also proves... the Blood Fiend Sect is researching two types of variants simultaneously: the blue mycelium and these tentacles. And star-patterned iron happens to be their bane."

Feng Qingping's expression turned exceptionally grim. "What exactly are they trying to do? Cultivating two different parasitic organisms at the same time..."

"Perhaps... it's not just two." Li Nanzhu suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility. "Could it be... they're conducting comparative experiments? To see which parasitic method is more effective?"

Silence fell over the passage, broken only by the sound of their breathing.

This deduction was too horrifying, yet it was perfectly logical.

"Madmen!" Feng Weilan punched the rock wall. "What do they think these living people are?!"

Li Nanzhu recalled the corpses controlled by mycelium in Xiao Yan's cave dwelling. Her stomach churned, and she took a deep breath to steady her heart. "We don't have time to think about that now. Leaving is what matters most."

"Junior sister is right." Jiang Yifan looked around. "But the residue of star-patterned iron in this passage is too sparse. We need more."

Feng Qingping suddenly remembered something. "Wait, Fourth Senior Brother, you said you came for mysterious yin iron. Mysterious yin iron veins are usually accompanied by..."

"Star-patterned iron!" Jiang Yifan's eyes lit up. "Exactly! This mine was originally a mysterious yin iron mine. There must be star-patterned iron accompanying it!"

He immediately pulled out that strange disk and bit his finger to draw a rune on it. The compass needle spun wildly before finally pointing deep into the passage.

"That way!" Jiang Yifan's voice held a long-awaited excitement. "There should still be unmined star-patterned iron deep within the vein!"

The four of them immediately followed the compass's guidance.

The deepest part had completely collapsed, so Jiang Yifan used the Mountain-Moving Disk to gradually widen the path. As they went deeper, the star-patterned iron powder on the walls increased.

Li Nanzhu noticed that the tentacles thumping behind the rock walls grew quieter, or even fell silent, in areas where there was more star-patterned iron.

"It really works..." she whispered to herself.

Jiang Yifan, leading the way, suddenly stopped. "We're here."

Before them was a mine entrance partially buried by rubble. The rock walls were covered in silver-grey veins that emitted a faint starlight in the darkness.

Feng Weilan used his scabbard to clear the rubble, revealing the ore shimmering with starlight inside.

"So much star-patterned iron..." Feng Qingping marveled. "It's enough to forge several magic tools."

Jiang Yifan had already pulled out his tools and began mining. "Help me, we don't have much time."

Li Nanzhu also crouched down, prying a piece of star-patterned iron loose with her dagger. She remembered how pathetic Liu Qingyang had looked while searching for star-patterned iron and felt a moment of irony—the thing he had searched for everywhere was right here.

Liu Qingyang of the Water Moon Sect: "Achoo! Who's badmouthing me now?!"

The ore was cold to the touch. The naturally formed star-like patterns on its surface seemed to contain a special energy. Li Nanzhu suddenly recalled something. "Fourth Senior Brother, does this star-patterned iron... also have a restraining effect on demon qi?"

Jiang Yifan paused his movements. "How did you know?"

"I guessed." Li Nanzhu pointed to the demon qi crystals in his hand. "If it can restrain parasitic hosts contaminated by demon qi, it should be effective against pure demon qi too."

"Smart." Jiang Yifan offered a rare word of praise. "It is indeed so. Star-patterned iron is one of the few materials that can completely isolate demon qi." He paused, his voice low. "This is likely why... the Blood Fiend Sect chose to conduct their experiments here."

Feng Weilan snapped his head up. "What do you mean?"

"If my guess is right... they likely need star-patterned iron." Jiang Yifan continued mining. "Just as alchemy requires a catalyst, they use star-patterned iron to... control the direction of the experiments."

Li Nanzhu suddenly understood. "So that's why they chose an abandoned mysterious yin iron mine! They could use the existing tunnels and have ready access to star-patterned iron to control the experimental subjects!"

Li Nanzhu's words left everyone in deep thought.

Feng Qingping tapped a piece of star-patterned iron ore with her finger and looked up. "If this guess is correct, then why did the Blood Fiend Sect let the news leak out? This kind of experiment should be strictly confidential."

Jiang Yifan's body visibly stiffened for a second.

Li Nanzhu noticed his right hand unconsciously rubbing a piece of star-patterned iron, his knuckles white from the pressure.

"Fourth Senior Brother..." Feng Weilan's voice grew heavy. "Which family member exactly told you there was mysterious yin iron here? This is no longer just your family's internal conflict!"