Blood Jade Insect

Fang Huai's face was covered in black lines as he stared fixedly at Zheng Fengzu.

After Lin Qian and Wu Sanli jumped off the Corpse Sha Bird, he and Liu Xiange had immediately urged the bird to flee.

But they never expected that the Zheng Family clansmen had already activated the Clan Protection Array without anyone noticing, trapping the two of them inside.

Whether they cast spells or had the Corpse Sha Bird ram the barrier with all its might, an invisible wall would always appear at the edge of the formation, blocking them inside.

"Senior Brother, we've been set up. The Zheng Family activated the formation to trap us here to die!"

Fang Huai spoke up. Since Lin Qian hadn't died and hadn't seen the two of them trying to escape, he still had to maintain his image as someone who always looked out for Lin Qiang's best interests.

"Junior Brother Fang, I deeply regret not heeding your advice!" Lin Qian gritted his teeth and glared at Zheng Fengzu.

"You beasts of the Corpse Sha Sect!"

Zheng Fengzu's face was venomous, his words dripping with hatred: "Our Zheng Family was once a Foundation Establishment clan!

For the Corpse Sha Sect's war efforts, our Foundation Establishment elder fell, and every clansman above mid-stage Qi Refining was sacrificed to the last man. But how did you treat the Zheng Family in return?

Not only did you show no mercy to the Zheng Family, but you increased the annual tribute year after year!

The year before last, you levied one thousand three hundred Spirit Stones, tricking us into believing the next year would only require one thousand.

Last year, you levied one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, telling us the next year would only require one thousand.

But what actually happened? This year's tribute has risen to two thousand, and you're forcibly conscripting ten Qi Refining clansmen into the sect.

Since the Corpse Sha Sect won't let the Zheng Family live, then we rebel!"

With those words, he summoned a Fish Leap Boat, leaped aboard, dove underwater, and vanished from sight.

Lin Qian's heart sank. If only he had known—given that the person collecting tribute in previous years had the same attitude as him, he should have held back this year.

Now, not only had he gained nothing, but he was about to lose his life here.

In an instant, Zheng Fengzu had piloted the Fish Leap Boat outside the formation:

"The Corpse Sha Sect wants to devour the Zheng Family alive? Then taste what it's like to be devoured alive by Blood Jade Insects first."

With that, he muttered under his breath, and the sound of the curse echoed within the formation.

"Senior Brother, don't listen!" Liu Xiange, who came from Curse Insect Peak, immediately recognized that he was casting a curse.

Fang Huai's entire body itched unbearably, as if millions of insects were gnawing at his flesh and blood.

He immediately covered his ears and circulated his qi to seal his seven orifices, but even so, the itching only grew worse instead of better.

His skin bulged with countless tiny tumors, and within them, living things could be faintly seen writhing and struggling.

Gritting his teeth, he sliced one open, and Fang Huai's pupils contracted—the tumor was packed with dense swarms of insects.

Curse insects drawn by the curse technique?

Focusing his mind on these insects, he finally understood what they were.

[Blood Jade Insect]

[Curse Insect]

[Concealment (Red)][Insect-Leaf Body (Black)]

[Concealment (Red): When dormant inside a cultivator's body, even spiritual sense probing finds it difficult to detect.]

[Insect-Leaf Body (Black): When gathered, they take the form of red leaves; when the curse is triggered, they scatter as curse insects.]

He looked up at Liu Xiange. Fortunately, she had a poison-gourd constitution and could barely resist the Blood Jade Insects devouring her body.

But Lin Qian was in a miserable state.

Though his cultivation was high and he constantly used spiritual qi to force the insects out of his body, the insects seemed endless, gnawing away at him.

"Lin Qian, did you enjoy sucking the blood and qi of the Zheng Family? Did you enjoy playing with the Zheng Family women?"

Zheng Fengzu cackled viciously: "For the insults you've heaped on the Zheng Family, I'll make you pay back a thousandfold."

Fang Huai's mind raced, searching for a way to break the deadlock.

The Zheng Family clansmen were only low-level Qi Refining cultivators—how could they have planted the Blood Jade Insects inside them without a trace?

Why did Lin Qian have far more Blood Jade Insects in his body than he and Liu Xiange did?

He had checked the food, and their lodgings were fine. When they hunted the Azure Wave Jade Carp, they hadn't had any contact with the Zheng Family clansmen.

The only suspicious thing was the red mist that drifted out of the incense burner during the Zheng Family banquet.

That red mist had to be the problem!

After inhaling the red mist, the Blood Jade Insects had lain dormant inside their bodies, waiting for the caster's command.

And these insects were not only hard to detect, but they could also affect a cultivator's mind, inducing a sense of pleasure.

They even provided some benefit to a cultivator's training.

Because of this, cultivators would mistakenly believe the red mist was a rare treasure and willingly inhale it.

Thinking it over, everything made sense now.

It seemed that from that very first banquet, the Zheng Family had already harbored murderous intent—they just hadn't made up their minds until now.

Just now, when Lin Qian retreated from the giant beast's maw, a red mist emerged alongside him—likely Zheng Fengzu seizing the chance to release another swarm of Blood Jade Insects.

Yet this red mist seemed familiar, as if he had seen it once before within the Corpse Sha Sect.

Lin Qian was consumed by regret. His exploitation of the Zheng Family had become the final straw that broke them.

But regret was useless now.

The terror of the Blood Jade Insects far exceeded imagination; they not only devoured flesh but also wantonly destroyed the meridians through which spiritual power flowed.

At this moment, he could no longer hold on. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony like a maggot.

Just as Fang Huai grew frantic, the Little Corpse Meteor Insect stirred.

The little creature slithered along Fang Huai's body, and wherever it passed, the Blood Jade Insects lost their vitality, sinking back into a dormant state.

How could he have forgotten this little one?

Since it could suppress toxins and Bewildering Sha, dealing with these parasitic insects was naturally no trouble at all.

Since escape was impossible, he might as well pretend to fall for the trap and see what the Zheng Family would do next.

With a flicker of intent, he feigned damaged meridians and fell to the ground with a "thud."

At the same time, he shot Liu Xiange a glance, signaling her to fall as well.

Lin Qian was already in such a state, yet the Zheng Family still hadn't made a move—clearly they were keeping them alive for some other purpose.

Liu Xiange understood the hint and dropped to the ground, convulsing.

"First, bring down that Corpse Sha Bird!"

Seeing that the group had lost all ability to resist, Zheng Fengzu's fingertip shimmered with spiritual light. A long rope tipped with an anchor-shaped iron hook shot out from the head of the Fish Leap Boat, catching the Corpse Sha Bird.

The other clan members followed suit, directing their Fish Leap Boats to shoot out ropes as well.

Once it lost its commander, the Corpse Sha Bird reverted to a lifeless object and was slowly pulled down to the water's surface.

As Zheng Fengzu approached, Fang Huai spoke, making one last attempt:

"Patriarch Zheng, let me and Junior Sister Liu go. We swear by our Dao heart that we will claim both senior brothers died in a beast's maw and never reveal today's secret."

"You already know the Zheng Family's secret, so there's no way I'm letting you return."

Zheng Fengzu shook his head. "Considering you two did nothing heinous within the Zheng Family, I'll grant you a quick death later."

Fang Huai said no more, silently circulating the Body Forging Technique to repair his body.

Zheng Fengzu gazed at the dead Azure Wave Jade Carp and murmured, "A pity about the guardian beast left by our ancestors. It could have come with us to enjoy the New Sect's blessings, but now it can only serve as fertilizer for the Divine Tree."

"Drive back the waters! Summon the Divine Tree!"

With a furious roar from Zheng Fengzu, the surrounding Zheng clan members responded in unison, pouring all their spiritual power into the Formation Stone Pillars.

In an instant, the water's surface churned violently, forming a massive whirlpool as the azure waves receded beyond the stone pillars.

Within half an hour, the marsh water within the formation had been completely expelled.

Beneath the water's surface lay a hidden world.

Corpses of beasts and humans were piled layer upon layer, Sha Qi nearly condensing into a tangible form.

And at the center of the skeletal mound stood a bizarre plant named the Blood Jade Tree.