The Insect Nest

"The sharp hairs on this green worm have all withered, becoming as soft as hair!"

"The skin is all soft and limp!"

"Its body color is fading!"

Even after death, the green-haired worm still possesses a mystical quality. Its body is covered with sharp, long hairs that resemble thorns, protecting it. Its colorful body also makes it look like a dangerous creature.

Once Zhang Xuezhou retrieved the demon core, the enormous worm's body softened and became brittle, as if a light had been extinguished, losing its previous hardness and prickly feel.

"So, the fatal flaw of this thing lies in that round bead in its chest and abdomen?"

Zhang Xuezhou's actions of cutting the long worm were not exactly secretive, and he even played with the demon core inside the worm's body.

Just seconds after he removed the demon core, the insect corpse weakened as if it had been deflated, and everyone quickly learned the reason.

When Zhang Xuezhou casually mentioned that demon cores could be used for medicinal research, Ren Anran pondered for a moment.

Compared to aimless, random attacks, striking at a vital point is obviously much more effective. Even if the damage is minor, as long as it can affect the demon core, it will inevitably cause discomfort to the insect's body, thus affecting the performance of this type of alien insect.

This is a rare hunting opportunity, and also a chance for everyone to accumulate materials for medicinal pills.

Compared to Turcolando's research into demon cores in an attempt to advance gene sequence development, Zhang Xuezhou already had a ready-made path in realm techniques.

Everyone had great confidence in the future, but the thought of cultivating the Poison Repelling Technique was a real headache, making them feel that the path of realm cultivation was too difficult.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't the only one aware that they might be able to develop a pill that reduced side effects in the future; Ren Anran and the others were also aware of this, but no one could wait.

This situation is perhaps similar to that of Luo Zhong in the past. Knowing full well the potential for future troubles, Luo Zhong also had no choice but to push forward.

Only if they are the ones who go through this journey will they be able to adjust the path a little easier when they look back.

At present, they can only follow Zhang Xuezhou and overcome any difficulties.

As Ren Anran's mind drifted to the numbers used to ward off poison, the image of countless points of light controlled by the Emperor inevitably came to mind as well.

She needs to take pills to promote the Poison Repelling Technique, and then use the pills to advance the Realm Technique. The expansion of acupoints brought about by the Realm Technique can further promote the Poison Repelling Technique upwards. This is almost a closed loop of cultivation.

Ren Anran believes that Zhang Xuezhou's special abilities are unmatched, but the scene presented by the Emperor's Demonstration proves that the Poison-Avoiding Technique is achievable, and there must be some shortcuts to it.

Zhang Xuezhou has already begun researching pills for the Divine Ability Realm, so they also need to speed things up.

For example, the Poison-Avoiding Technique, and the acquisition of all the materials for the Creation Elixir.

After some discussion, the group began to walk around the insect corpse and move forward.

However, the group moved in close formation, their eyes scanning the four directions, wary that giant insects might still be hiding in the areas Ren Anran had explored.

"Fifty meters ahead, I found fragments of clothing, shoes, and a breathing mask. Perhaps we can use these as clues to track down these kinds of insects!"

Moving forward, they drew closer to the discovery Ren Anran had mentioned.

As everyone's gaze swept over, they saw that the item Ren Anran had mentioned was hidden behind a protruding rock in the cave, and a faint smell of urine wafted over.

"These people probably couldn't hold it in while building the wall, so they went to relieve themselves a bit further away, which may have led to the insect infestation," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"These insects are probably in the initial stages of contact with humans. They are not yet aware of the differences in individual strength, so they haven't dared to rush into the walled area to prey on humans," Zhang Manqian nodded.

"They should now realize that they can easily prey on humans," Ren Anran said. "Once they've subdued humans, they'll inevitably use the same methods to hunt; this is a natural process of evolution!"

"The same trick only works on non-intelligent individuals. If they see us as the bricklayers, that would be a good thing!"

Zhang Xuezhou used a metal rod to pick up the shoe, then looked at the remaining marks on the ground.

Once again, he needed to track them down. At this moment, he missed Dong Zhongshu very much. If he could be given a method similar to the Yin Entity Tracking Technique, it would be much easier for him to find these lurking alien insects.

Now they can only rely on the most primitive methods to search.

"Master Huang, do you have any good suggestions?"

Zhang Manqian fiddled with the Soul Jade, trying to get Huang to investigate the whereabouts of these alien insects.

I used to not eat insects!

Huang replied listlessly. He was clearly not confident in tracking the insects, and he had little knowledge of the excrement of these strange insects. The cave smelled extremely strange, making his judgment based on scent inaccurate.

However, Huang did provide some guidance and direction, but whether it would be effective or not was not guaranteed.

"You've been in the Tours district for so many years, didn't you notice these anomalies?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"This has never happened before," Huang replied sullenly from within the Soul Jade. "I feel this is likely a phenomenon that has only emerged in the last few decades!"

"I wonder how long these insects live," Zhang Manqian said. "If they're this strong after only a few decades of growth, what will happen if they develop for another few decades or even a hundred years? Wouldn't these insects be invincible?"

"We must find the source of their increased power," Zhang Xuezhou nodded and said, "In my personal understanding, a few Soul Jade pieces alone are unlikely to make them so powerful!"

"Could it be that they ate something, or perhaps they possess something even stronger than the Soul Jade?"

Zhang Manqian asked in confusion, and everyone couldn't help but think of the Qin Meng Secret Stone.

The Qinmeng Secret Stone is something that even ferocious beasts pursue, possessing extremely powerful abilities; it is also the spirit jade mentioned by Zhang Xuezhou.

It's not impossible that a magical jade could be discovered in the underground caves of the Tuer district.

The group exchanged glances, feeling that there were more and more unknown places to explore on this trip, and that they were increasingly drawn into them.

Guided by Huang, the group did not travel more than 200 meters before escaping to search Yangpo, but instead eliminated many sections of the road for their search.

"Stop!"

It wasn't until the Desolate One within the Soul Jade emitted a subtle fluctuation, indicating that its ability could only eliminate part of the tracking area, and the rest depended on the abilities of the others, that Zhang Xuezhou whispered a few words of advice.

As the searchlight beams were adjusted, Zhang Xuezhou also sat cross-legged and began his alternating Yang Soul patrol and inspection.

His yang spirit left his body and swayed away. Using the afterglow of the searchlight's indirect beam, he wandered over every high point, searching for possible traces of the alien insect.

This is a state that Zhang Xuezhou uses with great ease, and it's also a technique he frequently employs for observation and research.

Having grown accustomed to the powerful formation of Yang Soul in the other world, Yang Soul in the real world is as fragile as a wisp of smoke.

His yang spirit drifted aimlessly, and what he saw and heard was far inferior to that of his manifested yang spirit.

This state wasn't ideal, but Zhang Xuezhou used it to assess the Yang Soul abilities of other cultivators, providing him with a very direct comparison.

"When will I be able to find the Great Spirit Jade? I must transform the Yang Soul into a physical form, so that it will be easier for me to cast spells!"

As Zhang Xuezhou focused on his limited field of vision, he couldn't help but have some thoughts.

Suddenly, his yang spirit felt a slight chill.

In the distance, two red lights also turned their gaze toward his location.

Beneath the two red lights, Zhang Xuezhou saw at least ten clusters of long, pointed hairy creatures in red, green, and yellow.