The Terrifying Mind Control Gu

Seeing that Yuan Ling didn't even know she was dead, there was no hope of her explaining who killed her.

Jiang Li sorted out the general outline.

First, Yuan Ling killed everyone in the two small towns, used Corpse Gu to control them all, and made them produce normally—but with her level, she could probably only use the Dantian Corpse Gu to control the corpses' actions, not their thought processes.

Then someone killed Yuan Ling, used a Corpse Gu to control her, and applied Sea of Consciousness Gu Worms to everyone else. This way, the people of the two towns were indistinguishable from the living, and even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't spot anything wrong.

But what Jiang Li couldn't figure out was the motive.

What was this mastermind's goal? The Pure Heart Saintess smiled brightly and told Jiang Li to leave, saying she and Yuan Ling needed to be alone. Jiang Li, creeped out by her smile, walked far away.

However, Jiang Li's intuition was extraordinary, and he could still faintly hear sounds coming from the room.

The sounds grew quieter and quieter until they stopped. The Pure Heart Saintess used magic to clean the blood off herself, walked out of the room with a bright smile, and then heard Jiang Li's message.

"It looks like something's wrong with Du Xiner. I'll go check it out."

The Pure Heart Saintess quickly arrived at Lower River Town and found Jiang Li and Du Xiner. The two were in a kitchen, with something steaming on the stove.

"What happened?"

Jiang Li was holding a handful of rice, lost in thought, while Du Xiner stood blankly in place, her eyes vacant.

"I was keeping an eye on this place with my Divine Sense, and I noticed Du Xiner pouring these things into the already-husked Spiritual Rice."

This defied common sense. The eight towns didn't send Spirit Grain directly to the Red Dust Pure Land; instead, they husked the Spirit Grain into Spiritual Rice, sent the Spiritual Rice to the Red Dust Pure Land, and kept the rice husks to bury in the soil to increase its spiritual energy content.

Du Xiner didn't need to do this herself—she only had to supervise—but not only did she fail to supervise, she also brought a jar of rice from the cellar and poured it into the pile of freshly husked Spiritual Rice.

Jiang Li pointed to the side. The Pure Heart Saintess followed his gaze and saw that it was just a jar of Spiritual Rice, nothing unusual.

"I suggest you don't use your Divine Sense on that jar of rice. Your heart won't be able to take it."

If Jiang Li hadn't said that, the Pure Heart Saintess wouldn't have done it. But precisely because he warned her, she felt compelled to scan it with her Divine Sense.

Hm, it can resist Divine Sense?

The Pure Heart Saintess increased the intensity of her Divine Sense, penetrating the surface of the Spiritual Rice to see what was hidden inside.

"Ugh—"

The Pure Heart Saintess's face turned pale, and she dry-heaved.

She had long since stopped eating, her body free of impurities, so nothing came up.

That wasn't a jar of Spiritual Rice at all—it was a jar of Gu Worms disguised as Spiritual Rice! "Junior Sister Xiner, what are you doing?!"

Du Xiner snapped back to reality and asked in confusion, "Isn't there a sect rule that this jar of Spiritual Rice must be mixed into the pile?"

"Who said that? When did the Red Dust Pure Land have such a rule?"

Du Xiner tried to recall, but she only remembered the rule itself, not who had told her.

Jiang Li pried open a grain of rice with his fingernail, revealing an extremely tiny white Gu Worm inside, and showed it to Du Xiner.

"Do you know what this is?"

Jiang Li's action only confused Du Xiner further. "Isn't it just Spiritual Rice? Is there something else?"

Jiang Li said nothing more and told Du Xiner to leave.

"Someone altered her perception, making her believe this was a jar of ordinary Spiritual Rice. It's the work of a Corpse Gu."

Jiang Li lifted the lid of the steamer on the stove, revealing a bowl of fragrant Spiritual Rice.

He picked up one grain, pried it open, and again revealed a white Gu Worm—this one alive, its vitality seemingly even stronger than before! "Someone added Gu Worms to the Spiritual Rice, making your people in the Red Dust Pure Land eat them. The question is, what's the purpose of these Gu Worms?"

The Pure Heart Saintess's face was as pale as gold paper.

The Remote Communication Talisman flickered, and Jiang Li answered.

"Brother Jiang, I found the Gu people!" Zhang Konghu, built like a black bear, appeared before Jiang Li, his voice rumbling. "They said that to make a Corpse Gu that can make corpses move normally, you'd need at least the Body Integration Realm."

"But they weren't sure either—they were just guessing based on records. After all, the Gu tribe has no experts now; the strongest is only at the Nascent Soul Realm."

Zhang Konghu sighed with emotion. He only knew the Gu tribe lived in seclusion, but he never imagined they'd fallen so far. Back in the day, the Gu tribe had produced great figures who ascended to the Immortal World!

"I also asked who could practice Gu Arts. They said you'd have to read the ancient texts enshrined in the ancestral hall. The Gu Arts scriptures are strictly guarded, and outsiders can't possibly cultivate them."

"But I tried it—I could easily steal the ancient texts without anyone noticing. Of course, I returned them."

"Oh, right, they also said that the Mind Control Gu, which is forbidden to cultivate in the Gu tribe, has gone missing. They can't leave seclusion, so they hope our Human Emperor Palace can spread the word and warn everyone."

"Mind Control Gu?"

"Yeah, the Gu tribe said this Gu Worm is extremely terrifying. Once someone takes it, even if they later reach the Integrated Body or Spirit Transformation realm, the Gu Worm's master can control their mind, and they won't even notice! That's why the Gu tribe has an ancestral decree forbidding the cultivation of Mind Control Gu!"

"Is this the Mind Control Gu?" Jiang Li opened his palm, showing the white Gu Worm.

"Yeah, that's it! Its cocoon looks like Spiritual Rice, it's as thin as a hair tip, sinks in water, and activates in fire. Brother Jiang, where did you find it?"

With a clatter, the Pure Heart Saintess's legs gave out, knocking over pots and bowls as she collapsed weakly to her knees.

How many years had they been adding Gu Worms to the Spiritual Rice? How many junior sisters had eaten it? Had any senior uncles who had stopped eating occasionally tasted it? How many people in the Red Dust Pure Land had Mind Control Gu inside them? The Pure Heart Saintess didn't dare to think about these questions!

"Did the Gu tribe say how to break the Mind Control Gu?"

"Same as other Gu Worms—either the master voluntarily removes it, or you kill the Gu Worm inside your body. That's why the Mind Control Gu is useless against the Tribulation Stage; the Thunder Tribulation during ascension destroys the Gu Worm."

"I'll explain later. Cut off!"

Jiang Li hung up the Communication Talisman, his expression extremely grave. "The Mind Control Gu hasn't been activated yet. Things haven't reached the final step! Your junior sisters are still waiting for you to save them! As long as I'm here, anything can still be salvaged!"

Jiang Li's low, stern tone carried an unshakable confidence that gradually restored the Pure Heart Saintess to her senses.

Yes, things hadn't reached the final step. The mastermind had been pulling strings in the shadows for decades without activating the Mind Control Gu, which meant the timing wasn't yet ripe for them.

Mistakes could be corrected. There was still a chance for everything!

"Jiang Li, thank you!" The Pure Heart Saintess's gaze turned resolute. She slowly rose and flew toward the Red Dust Pure Land.

Jiang Li followed close behind.

But just as the two were about to re-enter the Red Dust Pure Land, they were blocked by a barrier of light formed by the Sect Protecting Array. Behind the light screen, someone was sneering coldly at their belated arrival.

The instigator, the elder expelled from the Red Dust Pure Land—Xuan'ai Daoist!