MTL NOVEL Chapter 52: The Horror of the Mist Spewing Mouth
Chapter 52: The Horror of the Mist Spewing Mouth
As City Lord Liu’s words fell, it felt as if everyone’s hearts had been tied to a heavy stone, sinking into the depths of despair. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that the crowd remembered to breathe.
Just as everyone was beginning to regain some composure, City Lord Liu continued, “Do you know what it did after it opened its eyes?”
“W-what…?” Ge Hongxuan, the Sect Leader of the Iron Control Sect, stammered. His bronze skin, rugged face, and a deep scar running from his left temple to his chin usually gave him the appearance of a fierce, unyielding man. But now, his lips trembled with fear.
“It opened a mouth so vast that it seemed to blot out the sky. A thick, almost tangible mist gushed out from its mouth, flooding toward Chuyun City. After it finished spewing the mist, it vanished back into the fog, as if it were some kind of deity periodically sprinkling mist upon the mortal world…”
As City Lord Liu spoke, his voice gradually softened. Although the others hadn’t witnessed the scene themselves, they could imagine the horror from his description.
The crowd fell into a long silence. How could anyone hope to stop a towering, god-like evil being?
“So the strange mist outside must be the work of this evil entity,” City Lord Liu said, regaining his composure for the first time. He continued, “As we all know, evil entities can generally be divided into three categories based on their abilities: flesh and blood, the five elements, and dream lords. The mist beast outside the city is most likely an evil entity of the five elements, and it must possess an extremely high level of authority!
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to create such a large-scale phenomenon. I’ve seen five-element evil entities on Divine Mountain before, and the strongest among them was only capable of being engulfed in flames. This also explains why even Senior Brother Gu, a cultivator of the Feather Transformation Realm, couldn’t escape from it.”
“This…” Qi Daodong was so shocked that he couldn’t even finish his sentence. He had traveled far and wide in his youth and had more knowledge about evil entities than most. He asked hesitantly, “But… isn’t it true that the higher an evil entity’s authority, the more invisible it becomes? With such divine abilities, could someone at the Water Condensation Realm… even see it?”
City Lord Liu shook his head, tightening his grip on the Evil Repelling Token. “You haven’t seen an evil entity with your own eyes. If we want to actively see an evil entity, there are indeed cultivation restrictions. But there’s another scenario – if the evil entity decides to step out of invisibility and show itself to you.”
“Before the Divine Light Stones were discovered a thousand years ago, the coastal areas were filled with privately built shrines by mortals. These shrines were filled with statues of various evil entities. The mortals worshipped these entities, hoping to gain power by becoming their servants. How do you think they carved these lifelike statues? Did they rely on their imagination? No, it was because some mortals had seen them with their own eyes”.
“Then… why would they let us see them?” Qi Daodong asked, his voice trembling even though he already knew the answer.
“Sometimes, it’s necessary for them to use their abilities. Other times, it’s to lure in their prey. And sometimes it’s because, in their eyes, we’re no different from ants that can be crushed at will. Would you go through the trouble of putting on a show for a dying ant?”
No one expected that just seven days ago, Gu had warned everyone not to become complacent under the protection of Divine Mountain and forget about the existence of evil entities. Now, an evil entity was lurking outside the city, and Gu had paid with his life to remind them once again.
“But how did it get here? Weren’t the Divine Light Stones supposed to keep all evil entities beyond the coast? Even if some did manage to set foot on land from time to time, wasn’t that what the Exorcism Bureau was for? How could such a powerful evil entity have infiltrated and appeared in Chuyun City? Chuyun City isn’t near the coast,” Qi Daodong asked in confusion.
You Su shook his head inwardly. Having faced the terror of an evil entity firsthand, he sighed at how sheltered people had become under the protection of the Divine Mountain. Even someone like Qi Daodong with his level of cultivation still relied heavily on the Divine Mountain and the Exorcism Bureau, let alone the others.
City Lord Liu didn’t directly answer the question. Instead, he turned to look outside the main hall, where the eerie mist continued to spread silently. “Do you know why Chuyun City is called Chuyun City?”
“Chuyun City is surrounded by mountains on three sides. When the city was built, this area was always shrouded in a faint mist, making the entire city seem as if it were born from a sea of clouds. Hence, it was named Chuyun City,” an elderly man with graying hair explained. This man, Lu Muchun, was also a sect leader and had lived in Chuyun City for over a hundred years, making him one of the most knowledgeable people about the city’s history.
“Exactly. But have you ever wondered where this mist comes from?”
“Of course, it’s because of Chuyun City’s geographical location. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and with a humid climate, it’s natural for mist to form,” Lu Muchun replied, though he sensed that there was more to City Lord Liu’s question.
“What if I told you that this fog might not be entirely natural?” City Lord Liu’s tone was ominous.
Lu Muchun’s eyes gleamed with realization. “City Lord, are you saying…”
“That’s right. This evil entity hasn’t infiltrated from the coast recently. The reason it bypassed the Divine Light Stones and the Exorcism Bureau is that it has always been here! It has been hiding deep under Chuyun City for a thousand years!”
“A thousand years ago, the Divine Mountain created the Divine Light Stones, which completely blocked the evil entities beyond the coast. After that, the Exorcism Bureau began a large-scale purge of the remaining evil entities on land. Since then, except for the occasional evil entity that managed to set foot on land, life on the five continents has been relatively peaceful, almost making us forget the existence of evil entities.”
“But in truth, there has always been a theory that a thousand years ago, there were many powerful evil entities that even the Exorcism Bureau couldn’t find, hiding deep in the earth! A thousand years of peace has made people forget. The entity outside the city is most likely one of them. It has been hiding beneath Chuyun City, using the natural mist as a cover, waiting for the day it could re-emerge. And today is that day!”
Everyone fell silent. As the city lord, he shouldn’t have been amplifying the atmosphere of despair in the face of such a sudden calamity. But deep down, everyone knew that City Lord Liu wasn’t exaggerating. He was simply stating what he believed to be the truth.
“We’re doomed… we’re all going to die…” someone in the crowd muttered, breaking the deathly silence. It was Sheng Ziling, the burly man with the thick limbs.
“Silence!” City Lord Liu roared in fury. An invisible force shot past Sheng Ziling’s cheek, striking a wooden pillar behind him and sending splinters flying.
The crowd was stunned by the city lord’s outburst, as if they were seeing him in a new light.
“We’re not dead yet! If you want to die, go hide and kill yourself! Don’t disgrace yourself here!” City Lord Liu’s teeth audibly ground together. “I told you all this not to scare you, but to prepare you mentally! Whether for our sake or for the sake of the thirty thousand citizens of this city, pull yourself together!”