The night wind swept through the pine forest, gust after gust.
On either side of the mountain gate, four disciples of Pinewind Abbey stood guard with swords on their backs.
One of them yawned.
His face heavy with sleep, he said, "It's almost midnight."
"Just bear with it."
Another lowered his voice.
"The abbot said yesterday that Chu Ni from the south has already fought his way here. He told us to strengthen our defenses."
"Defend against what? Out here in these desolate mountains, not even a ghost would come."
As his words faded,
he sniffed.
He noticed nothing.
But a gray shadow had already entered his nostrils with that breath.
Then his throat.
Then his bloodstream.
He did not sense the slightest thing amiss.
In the dense forest,
Li Qingshan crouched behind a slab of gray stone, holding his breath.
"Master Gu, all four of them have inhaled the Man-Eating Gu."
Within his sea of consciousness,
Master Gu spoke.
There was a trace of smugness in his voice.
"Don't underestimate the Man-Eating Gu just because it's only a first-tier gu insect. I'm telling you, once it takes effect, it's more formidable than even third-tier gu insects."
"How formidable?"
Li Qingshan asked curiously.
Although he had refined the Man-Eating Gu under Master Gu's guidance, he had never used it in actual combat.
Master Gu snorted.
"How formidable?"
"In a quarter of an hour, the Man-Eating Gu will lay eggs inside their bodies. Thousands upon thousands at a time."
"Another quarter of an hour later, those eggs will hatch."
"Once they hatch, they'll rapidly grow by devouring flesh and blood."
"They eat from the inside out."
"Keh heh heh! In less than half a quarter of an hour, there won't even be a scrap of bone left of these people."
At