Insect Valley

Pang Jian once again became the group's guide, responsible for planning their next route.

Luo Hongyan's behavior afterward had not only surprised Pang Jian; it had also left the people from the Su and He families dumbfounded.

She left all the decisions about their subsequent exploration and route to Pang Jian. Wherever he went, she firmly supported him.

She told Su Yuntian and He Rong that the territory the two families had originally planned to explore was frequented by hunters from the Dark Ghost.

She also candidly explained that Pang Jian had saved many lives and knew the terrain and dangers of these mountains better than anyone.

At her strong recommendation, the Su and He families agreed to let Pang Jian guide them.

Under his lead, the group continued northward, deep into the Cenji Mountains.

Along the way, she stuck close to Pang Jian at every turn, always finding something to chat about, even when she had nothing to say.

Another night fell.

He Rong, seething with anger, watched from a distance as the two whispered beside a campfire.

Every so often, Luo Hongyan would let out a soft giggle, which irritated him to no end.

"They look like a couple."

Su Meng added fuel to the fire in a low voice.

He Rong shot to his feet in a rage, but Su Yuntian grabbed him and forced him back down, asking in bewilderment, "What are you even angry about?"

"Remember, Ziren is already dead, and the two of them never married. That girl isn't your He family's daughter-in-law!"

He Rong growled, "When I see her acting like this, I think of how Ziren was infatuated with her, and how he might not even have left a corpse behind. It makes me furious!"

"The dead can't come back to life. There's no need to take it this far." Su Yuntian tried to reason with him, urging him not to act rashly or cause trouble now.

Su Yuntian was also baffled. The Ning family's young lady, who had always been cold toward others, was unusually forward with Pang Jian. As long as he wasn't practicing, she would immediately go over to him.

He had no idea what she and that boy talked about, but every now and then she would laugh like silver bells, seeming to be in high spirits.

Ning Yuanshan's death and the deaths of the Ning family's servants didn't seem to have affected her.

Could it be that she simply didn't care?

Rubbing his chin, Su Yuntian watched Luo Hongyan from afar as she warmed up around Pang Jian. He, too, was full of questions.

"Sister Ning ignored the world's judgment and didn't choose Brother Ziren. Instead, she fell for this mountain hunter. I really admire her!" Su Meng whispered.

Her words made He Rong's expression beside her grow even uglier.

"Father, you're not allowed to interfere when I get married!"

Su Meng blurted out, planning ahead.

Su Yuntian glared at her and said with a headache, "Given your aptitude, even the Su family has no right to interfere."

"Once you go to the Blazing Sun Sect, a master will take you in. Your master will arrange your marriage, so it won't be up to the family."

"Then I'll have to choose a good master!" Su Meng said warily.

"Crackle!"

Pang Jian poked at the firewood, sending sparks flying, and studied the woman across from him.

Lately, whenever he wasn't practicing, she would come over and talk with him about the cultivation world.

Sometimes, she would also tell him about the wonders and curiosities of the Third Realm's sects.

Through their conversations, Pang Jian learned that the Dong and Su families, two of the seven great families, had long-standing ties to the Blazing Sun Sect in the Upper Realm.

The girl named Su Meng had been chosen by the Blazing Sun Sect.

The Zhou family had ties to Red Mountain in the Upper Realm, while the Ning and He families were on good terms with the Galaxy Alliance.

The Shangguan and Ouyang families were considered Blood Moon's vassals in the Lower Realm. Their talented young people would do everything they could to go to Blood Moon and cultivate.

Above them lay the Third Realm, where countless fragments floated like suspended islands. Among them were two continents called Gantian and Xuanyou.

The most powerful cultivation forces had established their sects on those two continents. They were the Blazing Sun Sect, Red Mountain, Blood Moon, Yin Spirit Temple, and Galaxy Alliance.

The Blazing Sun Sect and Red Mountain were on the Gantian Continent, while Blood Moon, the Galaxy Alliance, and the Yin Spirit Temple were on the Xuanyou Continent.

The Ning family's young lady had long since earned the Galaxy Alliance's recognition. She would cultivate with the Alliance in the Third Realm in the future; for now, she was merely tempering her cultivation in the Lower Realm.

After surviving the life-and-death ordeal at Blackwater Pool, the aloof girl seemed to have undergone a complete change in temperament.

After sincerely apologizing in the tree hollow, she stopped putting on airs. Everything she did afterward was beyond reproach, leaving Pang Jian unable to find fault with her.

When he wanted to find a quiet place to cultivate with the spirit stones in his Bamboo Basket, the girl would tactfully leave at once.

When he felt like talking, she would seek him out again and explain the common knowledge of the cultivation world in detail, giving him an entirely new understanding of the world.

She also got plenty of food and clean water for him from the Su and He families, and persuaded them to follow him.

Her recent behavior had made Pang Jian feel at ease at every turn. He didn't even have an opportunity to pick a fight.

Sometimes, Pang Jian even wondered if the Ning family's young lady, who had nearly drowned in Blackwater Pool, had hit her head.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing him looking distracted, Luo Hongyan stopped describing some of the Third Realm's wonders and asked with a smile.

"There are three forbidden zones in the Cenji Mountains. I never used to go near them. Blackwater Pool is one, and another place is called Insect Valley. The third is a small island in Wulan Lake."

Pang Jian gathered his wandering thoughts and looked into the distance. "We're almost at Insect Valley. I'm going to take a look."

Luo Hongyan's brows twitched, and surprise slipped from her gleaming lips. "Who told you about these three forbidden zones?"

Neither the memories of the real Ning Yao within her nor those of the many Spirit Sha contained any mention of three forbidden zones.

"Some old hunters."

Pang Jian naturally wouldn't tell the truth. His father had simply warned him never to enter those three places.

"Oh, all right. Then, Insect Valley..."

Luo Hongyan was curious but tactfully didn't press him. Smiling, she asked, "I'll follow your lead, anyway. Wherever you say we should go, I'll go with you."

Pang Jian stared at her in surprise.

"Get ready, everyone. Once we've eaten, we're going to Insect Valley."

Luo Hongyan rose and walked toward the Su and He families, but stopped short of actually joining them. She said coolly, "Pang Jian says Insect Valley is somewhat dangerous, so be careful."

After giving her instructions, she swayed back toward Pang Jian, her hips rolling gracefully, utterly unaware of the anger in He Rong's eyes.

In her mind, He Rong and Su Yuntian were nothing more than two higher-ranked Spirit Sha.

She had left them alive only because she needed them around to better maintain her identity as Ning Yao.

"Let's keep going."

Pang Jian slowly rose and set off through the night, Dragon-Patterned Spear in hand and Bamboo Basket on his back.

In the stillness of the night, the group kept close together, not daring to spread out.

After informing the Su and He families, Luo Hongyan immediately went back to Pang Jian, drawing so close she was almost pressed against him.

Pang Jian had grown used to it. He could smell her pleasant fragrance, and stray thoughts would occasionally stir within him.

An hour later.

Beneath the pitch-black sky, Pang Jian reached Insect Valley, which he had passed by several times before but had never ventured into.

It was so dark that he couldn't see a thing when he arrived. He didn't see the other Phoenix Bone stuck in the earth of Insect Valley.

After he entered the valley, the people from the Su and He families arrived one after another. They lit the candles in their lanterns, and only then did he see what was there.

A Phoenix Bone had pierced a gigantic beehive, its sharp end burrowing deep into the ground. Bones were scattered all around it.

Pang Jian had never seen a beehive that large. He couldn't imagine how many Bee Insects had once lived inside it.

Remembering the giant python's mangled state at the bottom of Blackwater Pool, Pang Jian guessed that this enormous beehive was the terrifying source of Insect Valley's danger.

Like the giant python, the beehive had been targeted by the falling Phoenix Bone, which had pierced straight through it as it fell.

Countless Bee Insects must have died in Insect Valley, their blood and essence drained by the Phoenix Bone until they became another drop of Phoenix Marrow.

"Those clothes belong to the Ouyang family!"

Su Yuntian held a torch as he stepped closer to get a better look. He cried, "Ning Yao, this was a group from the Ouyang family!"

"You said you encountered Ouyang Duanhai, and that he turned into something neither man nor ghost before the Dark Ghost killed him at Blackwater Pool. This must be where Ouyang Duanhai met his end!"

"A Humanoid Monster, Ouyang Duanhai, killed by the Dark Ghost?" Pang Jian exclaimed.

He gave Luo Hongyan a meaningful look and immediately realized she hadn't told the Su and He families the truth. That monster named Ouyang Duanhai had clearly been eaten from within by a Blood-Colored Phoenix Bird, which had eventually disappeared into the Bronze Plate inside him.

"There's nothing of value here."

Now that she knew the Phoenix Marrow had already formed and been taken by Ouyang Duanhai, Luo Hongyan had lost interest. "Whatever strange things once happened here, they won't happen again."

Pang Jian could see that as well.

With the Phoenix Bone's fall, the beehive pinned to the ground, and the formation of the Phoenix Marrow, the place indeed held nothing of value anymore.

"We'll rest here for the night. Tomorrow, we'll head to Wulan Lake and see whether there's another Phoenix Bone stuck on the island."

He had a powerful intuition.

Since Blackwater Pool and Insect Valley, two places his father had marked as forbidden zones, had both been chosen by Phoenix Bones, there was a good chance that a fourth Phoenix Bone lay on the small island in Wulan Lake.