Devour You All

Inside Liu Feng's Stone Chamber, as usual, he had not lit a lamp.

He did not know how many days had passed. Immersed in the Buddhist Guidance Technique, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Zen Eye Technique." Liu Feng gazed at himself, looking at the bones within his body.

On the lowest bone of his spine, a faint glimmer of golden light had appeared.

The light was dim. Compared to the Buddha Light the White Bone Buddha had left on his spine, it was like a tender shoot mixed into a golden river.

Liu Feng could not help feeling a little disappointed. He muttered, "I have to grow a Buddha Root first. At most, I've only sprouted a few rootlets... Looks like it'll take some time before I truly enter the fold."

He sighed, unaware that the Ape Spirit had spent three years comprehending Buddhist power, then more than half a year growing its "rootlets."

With the Buddha Light left behind by the Buddha, Liu Feng had skipped the stage of comprehending Buddhist power and grown rootlets on his bones in a mere few days. He had no idea how arduous this path was!

"Hardy, all right. No wonder you're a mountain Spirit Monster." Composing himself, Liu Feng turned to the two Spirit Monsters.

The two creatures were on their last legs, but somehow they still clung to life.

He raised a hand, and the Soldier Gu Split-Tooth crawled back onto his back. The Gu insects scattered across the ground returned as well, like a swarm of bees returning to their hive.

He checked his injuries. The six flesh wounds were no longer a concern. His two broken ribs would need some time to heal, but they would not greatly affect his ability to fight.

Just as he was about to get up, two steady sets of footsteps sounded in the passage.

When he looked up, Third Senior Brother Zhu Li had appeared outside the Stone Chamber.

Beside him stood a handsome young man Liu Feng had never seen before. But from his cold, sinister gaze, Liu Feng had already guessed who he was.

"Liu Feng greets both Senior Brothers." Liu Feng cupped his hands without a trace of panic.

Zhu Li ignored the two Spirit Monsters on the ground and said solemnly, "Five of you successfully became Gu Masters after planting Exotic Gu. Master has ordered you all to come at once."

Liu Feng's expression turned grave. He nodded, his fists clenching involuntarily.

He spared the two monsters on the ground no further glance, nor did he pay any heed to Second Senior Brother's cold gaze. He followed Zhu Li out at a brisk pace.

"Master, save us..."

The Black Wolf Spirit and Ape Spirit, their blood essence drained dry, sprawled on the ground like livestock, rubbing their heads against Shen Yushu's feet.

Shen Yushu looked down at the two creatures and said coolly, "A Gu Servant will come by later and bury you in the medicinal fields, so you can rest in peace."

By "rest in peace," he naturally meant being sent to the medicinal fields as fertilizer!

As he spoke, two Green Vines shot from Shen Yushu's sleeves, piercing the creatures' eye sockets like spears.

With two wet pops, the Green Vines plunged through their eye sockets into their skulls and siphoned away their essence, wringing every last bit of value from them!

In Insect Valley, Gu Children hurried to and fro, carrying Medicinal Mud and Insect Medicine to the cliff on the eastern side.

Among those coming and going were now five youths in Gu Servant robes. Beneath their masks, their terrifying eyeballs bulged together in a mass.

At that moment, the eyes of these five and of all the Gu Children standing nearby were fixed on the five people climbing the eastern peak.

They were the newest Gu Masters to emerge from Insect Valley. In the eyes of the crowd below, they shone like the rising sun.

In front of a cave halfway up the mountain, the five new Gu Masters stood respectfully.

Besides Liu Feng, the other four were Liu Xing, Yan Hongda, and a young man and woman named Chen Xiaocui and Niu Yuanshan.

Liu Feng glanced at the other four. All but Yan Hongda made no effort to hide their hostility toward him.

"So this is to deal with my Split-Tooth!"

In his line of sight, Liu Xing carried the Ghost-Head Broadsword on his back, Niu Yuanshan shouldered a massive shield, and the girl Chen Xiaocui had a long chain fastened at her waist.

Yan Hongda stood beside Liu Feng and quietly warned him, "The three of them brought Red Refining Medicinal Gu. They're ready to fight you to the death."

At the mention of Red Refining Medicinal Gu, Liu Feng understood.

It was a rare Gu in Insect Valley, both Gu and medicine. Its effect was to temporarily stimulate the flow of qi and blood, strengthening the body.

"They're likely to have us fight each other until only one survives. Why don't you join forces with them?" Liu Feng asked, glancing sideways.

A smile appeared on Yan Hongda's face, and his expression remained calm.

"Join forces to kill you? The death match is just a rumor among the Gu Servants. We may also be expected to face the trial on our own merits."

"Besides, all the companions who entered Insect Valley with me are gone. If I can't pass this trial, I might as well die quickly. Maybe I'll still catch up with them..."

Liu Feng stared at him, at a loss for words. He knew the other man had nothing left to cling to.

But Liu Feng was different. No matter what, he had to survive. There were still people he cared about!

As each man's thoughts churned, a detached voice drifted from inside the cave.

"Come in."

Liu Xing and the two beside him tensed at the words.

Liu Xing in particular—his madness, held in check since his Metamorphic Rebirth, surfaced once more. His eyes were venomous.

Liu Feng and Yan Hongda, however, did not hesitate. They had to face this trial whether they lived or died, so they stepped inside one after the other.

The passage was not long. At its end lay a spacious natural cavern.

Dozens of Stone Chambers had been carved around this natural cavern, but the five had no mind to look over their surroundings.

"Greetings, Valley Master!" Whether sincere or not, all five knelt on one knee at the same time.

Inside the cave, an old man sat cross-legged atop a raised stone platform.

He wore a loose red robe. Small blue-black lumps of flesh dotted his exposed arms.

In the medicinal pool behind him, blood-red vines curled in coils, like dozens or even hundreds of crimson serpents writhing about.

Liu Feng lowered his head and said nothing. From the hurried glance he had caught on entering, he had picked out the Valley Master Lu Huai's visible traits.

"Exotic Gu, Ox Eater. Exotic Gu, Mountain God! He's planted two kinds of Exotic Gu, and he may even have a large Soldier Gu..." Liu Feng's eyes flickered beneath his lowered face.

Liu Feng was not the only one who noticed. The other four had also seen something moving beneath the Valley Master's wide red robe.

As the five bowed in greeting, Lu Huai's gaze fell on them. His expression was indifferent, as if he were looking at five Gu insects.

Without another word, he confirmed the rumor they had heard. They saw him raise his right index finger and point toward a Stone Chamber on the right. Weary, he said, "People and Exotic Gu are both nourishment. The five of you will enter. At most, two will come out."

"You have the time it takes one incense stick to burn. After that, I'll go in and eat every last one of you."

The five, Liu Feng included, felt their backs turn cold, their pupils contracting sharply.

Even Liu Xing, mad as he was, trembled from head to toe. He had drained other people's blood essence in front of all the Gu Children, but now he was terrified.

Compared to the Valley Master, what were Liu Xing's methods? He refined people's blood essence, while Valley Master Lu Huai said it plainly: he would not refine them. He would eat them!

"We will decide the winner within the time it takes one incense stick to burn," all five said solemnly, almost in unison.

On the stone platform, Valley Master Lu Huai closed his eyes. The weariness in his expression grew even more pronounced.

The five new Gu Masters exchanged glances, then turned their eyes toward the place the Valley Master had indicated.

The entrance to that Stone Chamber was tiny, barely the size of a dog hole, but the interior was spacious. A dense chorus of sharp chirps came from within.

The Valley Master had never considered them human. He regarded them as Gu insects.