Blood Jade Insect

Fang Huai's face darkened as he glared at Zheng Fengzu.

After Lin Qian and Wu Sanli jumped down from the Corpse Sha Bird's back, he and Liu Xiange had immediately urged the bird to leave.

But they had never expected the Zheng Family members to have activated the Clan Protection Array without anyone noticing, trapping the two of them inside.

Whether they cast spells or had the Corpse Sha Bird crash into it, an invisible barrier would appear along the edge of the formation, keeping them trapped within.

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

Fang Huai spoke up. Since Lin Qian wasn't dead, and no one had seen the two of them escape, he still had to maintain the image of a good man who always had Lin Qian's best interests at heart.

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

"You beasts of the Corpse Sha Sect!"

Zheng Fengzu's face twisted with malice, his words thick with hatred. "Our Zheng Family used to be a Foundation Establishment family!

"Our Foundation Establishment elder fell in battle for the Corpse Sha Sect, and every clan member above the mid-stage of Qi Refining fought to the last man. But how did you treat the Zheng Family?

"Not only did you show us no mercy, but you raised our annual tribute year after year!

"Two years ago, you demanded 1,300 Spirit Stones, then tricked us into believing we'd only have to pay 1,000 the following year.

"Last year, you demanded 1,500 Spirit Stones and told us we'd only have to pay 1,000 the next year.

"But what happened? This year, our annual tribute jumped to 2,000, and you're forcing ten of our Qi Refining clansmen to join the sect.

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

As soon as he finished speaking, he summoned the Fish Leap Boat, leaped aboard, and disappeared beneath the water.

Lin Qian cursed inwardly. If he'd known that the people collecting the annual tribute in previous years had acted the same way he had, he should have shown more restraint this year.

Now, not only had he gained nothing, but he was about to die here.

In the blink of an eye, Zheng Fengzu had piloted the Fish Leap Boat beyond the formation.

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

With that, he muttered a spell, his incantation echoing through the formation.

"Senior Brother, don't listen!" As someone from Curse Insect Peak, Liu Xiange immediately realized that he was casting a spell.

Fang Huai's entire body itched unbearably, as though thousands upon thousands of insects were gnawing at his flesh.

He quickly clamped his hands over his ears and circulated his energy to seal off his seven orifices, but the itching only grew worse.

Countless tiny lumps rose beneath his skin, with living things wriggling and struggling inside them.

He gritted his teeth and pried one open. Fang Huai's pupils shrank—the lump was packed with insects.

Gu insects drawn out by the spell?

Focusing his thoughts on the insects, he finally identified them.

[Blood Jade Insect]

[Gu insect]

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

[Concealment (Red): When hidden within a cultivator's body, even a spiritual sense search will have difficulty finding it]

[Insect-Leaf Body (Black): When clustered together, they resemble red leaves; when a spell is cast, they scatter into gu insects]

He looked toward Liu Xiange. Fortunately, she had a Gu Poison Body and could just barely resist the Blood Jade Insects devouring her.

But Lin Qian was in a truly miserable state.

Although his cultivation was high, and he constantly forced the insects out of his body with spiritual energy, they seemed endless, gnawing at his flesh.

"Lin Qian, did you enjoy sucking the Zheng Family's blood and qi? Did you enjoy the Zheng Family's women?"

Zheng Fengzu laughed viciously. "For the way you abused the Zheng Family, I'll make you repay us a hundred, a thousand times over."

Fang Huai's mind raced as he searched for a way out.

The Zheng Family members were nothing but low-level cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining. How had they managed to plant the Blood Jade Insects inside them without anyone noticing?

Why were there so many more Blood Jade Insects inside Lin Qian than inside him and Liu Xiange?

He had checked the food, and there had been nothing wrong with their lodgings. They hadn't had any contact with the Zheng Family members when hunting the Azure Wave Jade Carp, either.

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

It had to be the red mist!

After inhaling it, the Blood Jade Insects had lain dormant inside their bodies, waiting for the spellcaster's command.

These insects were not only difficult to detect, but could also affect cultivators' minds, making them feel pleasure.

They could even help cultivators improve their cultivation to a certain extent.

That was why the cultivators had mistakenly thought the red mist was a rare substance and willingly inhaled it.

Thinking it over, everything made sense.

The Zheng Family must have already been harboring murderous intent at the first banquet; they had just hesitated to act.

When Lin Qian had emerged from the demonic beast's gaping maw just now, red mist had come out with him. Zheng Fengzu had probably seized the opportunity to release another batch of Blood Jade Insects.

But he seemed to have seen this red mist once before, back at the Corpse Sha Sect.

Lin Qian was filled with regret. His exploitation of the Zheng Family had become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

But regret was useless now.

The Blood Jade Insects were far more terrifying than he had imagined. They not only gnawed at his flesh but also wantonly damaged the meridians through which his spiritual energy flowed.

By now, he could no longer hold on. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony like a maggot.

Just as Fang Huai was growing anxious, the Little Corpse Meteor Insect stirred.

The little fellow crawled all over Fang Huai's body. Wherever it went, the Blood Jade Insects lost their vitality and fell dormant once more.

How could he have forgotten about the little fellow?

If it could suppress poisons and Bewildering Sha, then dealing with these gu insects would be a piece of cake.

There was no way to escape, so he might as well pretend to be afflicted and see what the Zheng Family did next.

With a thought, he pretended his meridians had been damaged and fell to the ground with a thump.

At the same time, he gave Liu Xiange a look, signaling for her to fall too.

Lin Qian was already in this state, and the Zheng Family still hadn't made a move. They clearly had another use for them and wanted to keep them alive.

Liu Xiange understood and fell to the ground, convulsing.

"First, get that Corpse Sha Bird down!"

Seeing that they had all lost the ability to resist, Zheng Fengzu made a streak of light flicker at his fingertips. A long rope tipped with an anchor-shaped iron hook shot from the front of the Fish Leap Boat and snagged the Corpse Sha Bird.

Seeing this, the other clansmen also directed their Fish Leap Boats to shoot out ropes.

With no one directing it, the Corpse Sha Bird reverted to looking like a dead object and was slowly dragged to the surface.

When Zheng Fengzu walked up to him, Fang Huai spoke, making one last attempt.

"Patriarch Zheng, let Junior Sister Liu and me go. We swear on our Dao Hearts to tell everyone that the two senior brothers died in the jaws of a demonic beast. We'll never reveal today's secret."

"You already know the Zheng Family's secret, so there's no way we can let you go back."

Zheng Fengzu shook his head. "Since the two of you haven't done anything heinous in the Zheng Family, I can at least grant you a quick death later."

Fang Huai said nothing more and silently circulated the Body Forging Technique to repair his body.

Zheng Fengzu looked at the dead Azure Wave Jade Carp and murmured, "What a pity. The clan's demon beast, left to us by our ancestor, could have come with us to enjoy the good life at the New Sect. Now it can only become nourishment for the Divine Tree."

"Divert the water. Summon the Divine Tree!"

At Zheng Fengzu's furious shout, the Zheng Family members around him answered in unison, pouring all their spiritual energy into the Formation Stone Pillars.

In an instant, the water's surface churned violently, raising a gigantic whirlpool as the green waves receded from beyond the stone pillars.

In less than half an hour, all the water in the marsh within the formation had been driven away.

Beneath the water, there was another world entirely.

The corpses of demonic beasts and humans lay piled in layer upon layer, their killing intent almost condensing into solid form.

And in the midst of the bones stood a strange plant known as the [Blood Jade Tree].