Parasitism

Misty Cloud Sect.

At the peak of the back mountain, clouds and mist swirled around like a fairyland.

On a protruding black boulder at the cliff's edge, Nalan Yanran sat cross-legged, forming cultivation seals with her hands as she cultivated with her eyes closed.

When she finished cultivating, the maid who had been waiting nearby hurried forward and reported respectfully:

"Miss, I heard that your fiancé, Young Master Xiao Yan, seems to have regained his cultivation talent!"

Nalan Yanran opened her eyes, her expression calm. "I understand. You may leave."

"Yes!"

Once the maid disappeared down the mountain path, the calm on Nalan Yanran's face instantly crumbled. Her delicate brows furrowed as she paced back and forth irritably.

"How could it happen so quickly? Then wouldn't my plan..."

"Yanran!"

Just as Nalan Yanran's thoughts were in turmoil, a gentle breeze swept past. The figure of Misty Cloud Sect's leader, Yun Yun, appeared by the cliff, her gaze full of concern as she prepared to ask about her disciple's cultivation progress.

"Teacher, why are you here?" Nalan Yanran hurriedly went to greet her.

"I came to see how your cultivation has progressed."

Yun Yun raised a hand and affectionately stroked Nalan Yanran's head. Seeing the admiration in her eyes, she smiled gently.

"You are already close to becoming a two-star Dou Zhe. Mm, there is no need to rush. Lay a solid foundation first. Once you break through to Da Dou Shi, I can teach you an Earth-tier cultivation method."

"Yes, Teacher! I will work hard!"

"By the way, Yanran," Yun Yun changed the subject, "I noticed that something seemed off about you earlier. Is something troubling you?"

"Ah, it's nothing! I can handle it myself." Though Nalan Yanran refused verbally, her left hand unconsciously twisted a lock of her pink hair between her fingers.

Noticing Nalan Yanran's little gesture, Yun Yun insisted, "Yanran, just tell me. Trust your teacher!"

"Actually..." Seeing the persistence in Yun Yun's eyes, Nalan Yanran laid out the matter of the marriage agreement in full, making it clear that she had absolutely no desire to marry a stranger like Xiao Yan, whom she had never even met.

"Mm... This matter... does need to be resolved." After learning the details, Yun Yun felt a little troubled. After all, it was not quite appropriate for her, as a teacher, to interfere in such matters.

"Sect Leader, Elder Gu He wishes to see you." At that moment, Elder Ge Ye came looking for her.

"Alright, I understand. Yanran, I have some matters to attend to. If you need help, speak with Elder Ge Ye."

"Yes, Teacher."

"Young Sect Master?" Ge Ye looked at the suddenly excited Nalan Yanran.

"Elder Ge Ye, please help me prepare some compensation for breaking off the engagement. Oh, and don't let my grandfather find out."

"Elder Gu He, what is it?"

Seeing the beauty before him, Pill King Gu He was briefly dazed before quickly recovering. He concealed the affection in his eyes and spoke gently.

"Sect Leader, I am preparing to travel abroad."

"Mm?" Yun Yun's face showed a trace of inquiry.

"I recently encountered a bottleneck while refining pills, so I plan to seek out a flame to assist me."

"Do you need my help?"

Gu He gazed at Yun Yun's face, his desire to travel with her nearly overflowing from his heart. Yet when the words reached his lips, they became, "There is no need. I can go by myself."

"Very well." Yun Yun nodded slightly. "I happened to hear that an auction house in the Chu Yun Empire intends to auction off the formula for the Dou Ling Pill soon. I am also planning to go there. When the time comes, I will need to trouble Elder Gu He."

Magic Beast Mountain Range.

"Brother Yuhao~ Help me suppress the poison again, please!" Xiao Yi Xian grabbed Huo Yuhao's hand and gently shook it, her voice deliberately tinged with coquettishness.

"Didn't I just suppress it the day before yesterday?"

"I've already broken through to a three-star Dou Zhe, so the poison in my body must be stronger now. Brother Yuhao, just help me one more time!" Xiao Yi Xian casually came up with an excuse.

Having just fulfilled his dream of flying, Xiao Yan put away his Purple Cloud Wings and sat beside Huo Yuhao and the others to recover his Dou Qi. Seeing the two of them, he wore an indignant expression and muttered softly.

"Hmph! Animal abuse!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Yao Chen's soul form floated behind Xiao Yan as he vigorously shook Xiao Yan's head. "Young people these days are truly impossible to understand!"

"Stop shaking me, you weird old man!"

"Who are you calling a weird old man? I'm still in my prime!"

"Oh? Then who was just talking about 'young people these days'?"

After the playful banter, they packed up and continued on their way, preparing to help Huo Yuhao gather the remaining medicinal ingredients.

As they walked along the somewhat rugged mountain path, Yao Chen said seriously, "We are now heading toward the core region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. The magical beasts you face will only grow stronger from here on, so you must remain prepared at all times."

"Yes, Teacher! Master!"

The group became alert. But after walking for a while, Xiao Yan suddenly realized something and took out the map to compare it.

"Wait, according to the map, aren't we still several days away from the core region?"

Yao Chen's serious expression instantly vanished, and he covered his mouth as he chuckled.

"Oh my, it is good to prepare early and get used to it in advance!"

"Teacher!" Xiao Yi Xian suddenly crouched by the roadside and pointed at the ground. "Look around here. Doesn't it seem like there are traces of poisonous insects and gu insects moving about?"

"We are not too far from the cave you discovered. It is not strange for such things to be here."

"Why is that, Master?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"The faction the owner of that cave abode belonged to was very skilled in such things. You should have realized that from those Dou Techniques."

After hearing Yao Chen's explanation, a trace of doubt arose in Huo Yuhao's heart. If it was because of the owner of that cave abode, why had they not found any traces of those gu insects on the way to the cave back then?

However, sensing vigilance in Yao Chen's emotions as well, Huo Yuhao kept his doubts to himself. He merely activated Spirit Probe again, extending it in a single direction and sweeping the surroundings over and over, making sure there was no danger that could threaten them.

The magical beasts in this area had been having a terrible few days. Every so often, they felt as if they were being watched completely naked. After their initial irritation, aside from a few stubborn fools, most of the magical beasts became uneasy and suspicious, no longer as active as usual.

After traveling for some time and dealing with quite a few magical beasts that had come looking for trouble, the group gradually became more proficient with the newly learned Dou Techniques.

As they passed through a dense forest, the sounds of fierce combat rang out from ahead and to the side. Huo Yuhao immediately mobilized his spiritual power to conceal the group's presence.

"It is two magical beasts fighting. There is no need to provoke them. We can just go around."

"Let me see what's going on." Xiao Yan became interested and wanted to try the Spirit Probe he had learned from Huo Yuhao. However, even after exerting every ounce of his spiritual power, he could only probe a radius of just over a hundred meters.

"I can't even see as far as I can with my eyes?"

"Your spiritual power is still insufficient. If you want to probe farther, you can focus your spiritual power in a single direction," Huo Yuhao explained.

Xiao Yan tried as instructed, but unfortunately, with his current level of spiritual power control, he could not achieve it. He could only give up for the time being.

At that moment, Yao Chen's voice sounded. "I have found something good. Let us go take a look."

The group stealthily approached the edge of the woods, where the battle came into view: a first-tier Blue Eagle was being attacked by a strange-looking spider magical beast. A sticky white spiderweb was tangled around its wings, preventing it from taking flight and escaping. The spider magical beast was clearly stronger than the Blue Eagle, and this battle was nothing more than it toying with its prey.

After examining the spider magical beast closely, both Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan could not help frowning. There was no other reason—it was simply rather ugly. Not only was its body covered in gaudy colors, but it also had a pair of butterfly-like scaled wings.

"This is a Blue Demon Spider, a second-tier magical beast," Yao Chen introduced. "It is sinister by nature, skilled at disguising itself, and fond of ambushing prey. Its main methods of attack are binding opponents with spiderwebs and using venom."

"Master, why does this thing look like that? It looks like some kind of stitched-together freak."

"This is related to its method of reproduction," Yao Chen explained. "The Blue Demon Spider is a parasitic magical beast. It likes to secretly place its larvae into cocoons formed by the larvae of other butterfly-type magical beasts. Once the host breaks free from its cocoon and becomes a butterfly, it takes over the host's body. That is why it grows into this form as an adult."

Then Yao Chen smiled again and looked toward the struggling Blue Eagle. "As for this Blue Eagle, it most likely swallowed a parasitized cocoon by accident, allowing a Blue Demon Spider larva to parasitize its body. But the Blue Eagle is not a butterfly-type magical beast, so the larva cannot take over its body. Thus, the larva within it has yet to mature. This is quite a rare outcome. Such immature larvae can be refined into..."

Yao Chen's voice slowed more and more. He noticed that Huo Yuhao's expression had grown increasingly strange, as though several different emotions had been stitched together on his face.