Heretical Gu Insects, No Match at All

"Stop him! I'll save him!"

Qin Honglian shouted, forming a hand seal. In an instant, countless blood-colored insects flew from her red dress and latched onto Han Gang's severed arm, stopping the bleeding and restoring his vitality.

At the same time, Liu Lianxiang moved like a ghost, wielding a judge's brush as he continuously circled Chen Yuan.

He moved so fast that his figure was nearly an afterimage, impossible to predict.

Xin Ziyin suddenly leaped up. The densely packed blades on both his hands instantly tore open the ground, allowing him to burrow straight underground.

Chen Yuan sensed movement beneath the earth and fiercely slashed downward. A blood-red blade aura instantly ripped through the ground.

But Xin Ziyin suddenly sprang out behind him, cackling. "I'm over here!"

In an instant, countless tiny blades on his armor shot out, blanketing Chen Yuan.

At the same time, Liu Lianxiang attacked Chen Yuan with his judge's brush, every strike aimed at a vital acupoint across his body.

Chen Yuan snorted coldly. His Autumn Wind Slash descended, filling the sky with blade shadows like a raging gale. The dense crimson flashes easily shredded Xin Ziyin's tiny blades.

Xin Ziyin immediately let out a strange cry and burrowed underground again.

Liu Lianxiang was also forced back. Several blade marks appeared on his judge's brush, making him grimace in distress.

His judge's brush was a genuine Mystic Weapon. Once it struck a person, true qi could flow through it into the opponent's body without obstruction, tearing apart their meridians and acupoints.

Yet its material was, at best, that of a low-grade Mystic Weapon. Against Chen Yuan's Azure Dragon Blooddrinker, it was simply no match at all.

Seeing Xin Ziyin escape underground, Chen Yuan sneered. Blood Fiend Power gathered around him as the calamity of slaughter descended, transforming into a massive palm print that crashed down.

Bloodslaughter Heaven-Calamity Hand!

The tyranny of a Heaven Tier martial skill far exceeded Xin Ziyin's imagination.

Even though he had burrowed more than ten feet underground, he still could not withstand the immensely penetrating power of the slaughter calamity.

In an instant, a blood-red palm print roughly ten feet wide appeared on the ground, and torrents of blood gushed forth from within it.

Xin Ziyin had been directly crushed to death underground by Chen Yuan's palm strike!

Qin Honglian had only just finished treating Han Gang's injuries. By the time she wanted to help, it was already too late.

Among the Five Ghosts of Yin Mountain, the one with the strongest ability to survive was not Liu Lianxiang, despite his superb lightness skill, but Xin Ziyin, who was proficient in secret earth-burrowing techniques.

Once he burrowed underground, even Sea Wheel Realm martial artists could not dig him out from three feet beneath the earth.

Xin Ziyin had burrowed far deeper than three feet—more than ten feet deep.

Yet Chen Yuan had forcibly smashed him to death underground with a single Bloodslaughter Heaven-Calamity Hand. Just how terrifying was his strength?

Chen Yuan turned around and gave Liu Lianxiang a sinister smile.

"You're next. The way you look at me makes me sick."

Liu Lianxiang shrieked and instantly turned into a streak of white as he fled toward Qin Honglian.

"This guy's a monster! Make Wei Guangming pay more! No—even more money isn't worth risking our lives against him!"

The Startling Swan Slash fell. A crimson blade aura streaked forth like flowing light, its red blade shadow chasing Liu Lianxiang's white figure without respite.

Qin Honglian shouted as countless scarlet threads appeared in her hands, spreading before Chen Yuan like a great net.

But beneath Chen Yuan's Startling Swan Slash, those incomparably tough threads, woven from the silk of Blood Fiend gu insects and comparable to Mystic Weapons, shattered inch by inch under his blade.

At the same time, the pale-faced Han Gang swung his greatsword. True qi erupted wildly around him as he smashed down with a single strike, finally blocking Chen Yuan's attack.

A greatsword had no edge, and Han Gang did not need any sword techniques. As long as he could swing that massive sword, he was at his strongest.

"Liu Lianxiang! What good is running? If we die, you won't escape either!"

Qin Honglian snorted coldly. Swarms of gu insects poured from beneath her red dress, surging toward Chen Yuan like a tide.

Liu Lianxiang seemed deeply afraid of Qin Honglian. Hearing that, he gritted his teeth and attacked Chen Yuan alongside Han Gang, one from each side.

"Miao Borderlands gu arts from Tanzhou? Interesting."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Nearly ninety percent of these unusual secret arts known as gu arts were found in the Miao Borderlands region of Tanzhou.

Tanzhou was extremely far from a northern major province like Youning. Moreover, most gu masters were unwilling to leave the Miao Borderlands, so Miao Borderlands gu masters were rarely seen in the north.

Some of the overwhelming swarm of gu insects spewed venom, while others had sharp, hardened shells and smashed toward Chen Yuan like concealed weapons.

There were so many that there had to be dozens of different kinds.

"Judging by your appearance, you should be a proper Miao Borderlands gu master with a legitimate inheritance. But didn't your master ever tell you that greedily learning too much leaves you mastering nothing?

"A true Miao Borderlands gu master can roam the martial world with just one natal gu. What use is raising a pile of trash like this?"

The violent crimson fiendish aura around Chen Yuan suddenly erupted, extending three feet beyond his body.

Qi Forging Realm martial artists could project their true qi outward, but to conserve strength, most kept it on the surface of their bodies or condensed it onto their weapons.

If an ordinary mid-stage Qi Forging Realm martial artist used Chen Yuan's method of projection, it would consume nearly half of their internal power at once.

More importantly, what Chen Yuan projected was not merely true qi, but that incomparably violent and terrifying Blood Fiend aura!

The Blood Fiend aura around him had evolved from the Source of Killing Intent within the divine artifact, the Seven Kill Stele.

How could such power possibly be endured by these low-grade gu insects?

Stimulated by that violent Blood Fiend aura, the gu insects filling the sky died instantly, raining down onto the ground like snowfall.

Qin Honglian immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning as white as paper.

These gu insects were linked to her very lifeblood. Losing a few would not matter, but having so many die at once was enough to inflict severe injuries on her.

Just as Chen Yuan had said, if she had only nurtured one natal gu, she could at least have held on for a while instead of ending up in such a miserable state.

Azure Dragon Blooddrinker swept left and right in Chen Yuan's hand, filling the sky with dazzling crimson blade shadows that concealed killing intent at every turn.

Han Gang and Liu Lianxiang attacked from either side, yet Chen Yuan forced them back until neither could get close.

Liu Lianxiang excelled in lightness skill and was incredibly fast.

When he fought others before, he relied entirely on speed. His judge's brush pierced vital acupoints as swiftly as the wind.

But while he was fast, Chen Yuan's blade was even faster.

Among all Earth Tier saber techniques, the Autumn Water Startled Swan Saber was one of the rare fast-blade secret arts.

By the end, Liu Lianxiang did not even dare to attack. He feared that the instant his judge's brush struck out, Chen Yuan's blade would sever his arm.

Han Gang, on the other hand, was exceptionally fierce. Though he had only one arm left, he could still swing his greatsword one-handed and madly smash it toward Chen Yuan.

But after Chen Yuan unleashed his Blood Fiend aura, his strength became overwhelmingly tyrannical, numbing Han Gang's arm with every slash.

Just then, Liu Lianxiang's expression suddenly changed. He shouted, "Han Gang! Watch your sword!"

Han Gang instinctively looked at the greatsword in his hand and discovered that, at some point, Chen Yuan had carved a massive notch into it.

During their exchange, Chen Yuan had not only fought two opponents alone and forced them back, but had also struck the same spot with every slash.

His greatsword was too broad and thick for Chen Yuan to cut through quickly.

But by now, the notch covered more than half the blade. That was enough.

The muscles in Han Gang's single arm bulged as he tried to pull back his greatsword, but it was already too late.

A greatsword had to be swung. Its power came from its momentum, and while that made it stronger, it also made it impossible to retract.

The power of Chen Yuan's acupoints gathered and erupted. Surging inner force roared within him, and beneath the Wave-Treading Slash, his blade momentum rose like raging waves.

With a deafening blast, Han Gang's greatsword was cleaved in two by Chen Yuan's strike!

Yet Han Gang advanced instead of retreating, and a crimson, violent true qi suddenly ignited around him.

Qin Honglian's expression changed as she shouted, "Stop! You'll die if you use the Blood Explosion True Art!"

"If we don't kill him, we'll all die!"

Han Gang's face turned purplish red. The blood and qi throughout his body boiled and burned furiously, transforming into a sky full of bloodlight that crushed toward Chen Yuan!

This was power gained purely by burning one's blood and qi as the price.

An ordinary martial artist might only gain several times their usual strength by doing this.

But Han Gang was extraordinarily gifted. He had been born with immense strength, and his blood and qi were astonishingly abundant.

Now, by using the Blood Explosion True Art to burn his blood and qi, he gained twenty or even thirty times more power—an explosive force comparable to that of a Sea Wheel Realm martial artist.

In an instant, Chen Yuan was blasted away by that force, and even some of the Blood Fiend aura around him was scattered.

Qin Honglian did not want to waste the opening Han Gang had created by sacrificing himself. She gritted her teeth, thrust out both hands, and sent more than ten scarlet threads, each connected to a bee stinger, shooting toward Chen Yuan.

Seeing an opportunity, Liu Lianxiang also acted decisively. His inner force erupted as a black gleam flashed from his judge's brush, stabbing toward Chen Yuan's back with chilling killing intent.

Yama's Thorn!

Chen Yuan had been sent flying by Han Gang's blow and was still in midair, but pure Blood Fiend Power gathered upon Azure Dragon Blooddrinker. He suddenly twisted with the momentum and turned to slash back at Liu Lianxiang.

Liu Lianxiang had not expected Chen Yuan to unleash such power even now, but he had no way out and could only meet attack with attack!

With a ringing metallic crash, the judge's brush in Liu Lianxiang's hand was shattered by Chen Yuan's slash, and even his right hand was cut off.

Liu Lianxiang groaned. A vicious glint appeared in his eyes as, taking advantage of Chen Yuan's exhausted blade momentum, he turned into a streak of white and rammed into Chen Yuan's reach.

His left hand formed sword fingers as black true qi gathered around them. Using his fingers in place of the brush, he unleashed Yama's Thorn again, stabbing toward Chen Yuan's dantian!

But in the next instant, Chen Yuan directly used the Coiling Silk Shattered Jade Hand. His left hand coiled like a spirit snake, deflecting the force of Yama's Thorn.

Shattered-Jade Force suddenly erupted, followed instantly by the sound of cracking bones!

Liu Lianxiang screamed miserably and turned to flee.

But as the force in Chen Yuan's hand erupted, Liu Lianxiang's entire left arm was forcibly torn off!

Both his hands had been ruined and his blood and qi had collapsed. Liu Lianxiang had completely lost his ability to fight.

Chen Yuan directly seized his throat and lifted him before him, then sharply twisted toward Qin Honglian.

Qin Honglian's bee stingers had already arrived before him, and she had no way to withdraw them.

She could only watch as her bee stingers pierced Liu Lianxiang's body. The gu poison erupted, turning Liu Lianxiang's face black in an instant. A torrent of black blood poured from him, and he died immediately!