Chapter 453 Of course I'll listen to my sister!
Upon learning that Shi Yuezhen had died in the insect pool, Gu Gan immediately rushed over with Xun Zhiya.
The scene before him was breathtaking. The pillars on this floor were densely packed and tall, supporting the high roof, and the steps piled up, making the black lake appear to sink even deeper.
The building was dimly lit, and the insect pool was dotted with countless dense, enormous, bluish-purple specks. The dim space felt both mysterious and dangerous.
As Xuehe walked forward, the lampposts beside her were lit one after another, illuminating the edge of the insect pool and reducing the darkness of the water.
“This is it,” Xuehe said to Gu Gan. “These are all artificial venomous insects. I just asked the others, and they said the venomous insects in the pool have been a bit aggressive lately and might come ashore to attack people. They are still trying to figure out a solution.”
Gu Gan asked, puzzled, "They're all man-made insects, can't they completely control these insects?"
Xuehe stroked his beard and said, "Young Master, do you know the legend of the viper?"
Gu Gan nodded: "I know. The transformation of a viper into a dragon—isn't that Xun Zhan's goal?"
"That's an ancient legend, more like a pipe dream. They discovered those things on their way to creating the artificial worms; the toxin crystals are the main ingredient for refining Orchid Poison." Xuehe pointed, letting Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya see the strange corpses underwater.
The toxins crystallized on the corpses and needed to be collected and brought back up.
Xuehe said, "The shiny thing is a viper. When you pull it out of the water, it looks like a long, glowing line."
Xun Zhiya bit her lip, revealing a hint of disgust towards those things that seemed beautiful but were actually dangerous.
"Back then, the people who refined the worms suffered heavy losses in an avalanche in Nanjing. Later, by a twist of fate, Xun Zhan met Zhu Laosan and learned about the toxin crystallization. So Zhu Laosan proposed a collaboration. He could provide Xun Zhan with a new location and medicinal materials to continue refining the worms, but he also wanted the toxin crystals to refine the Orchid Poison."
This was a win-win situation for Zhu Laosan and Xun Zhan at the time.
At that time, Zhu Laosan was being closely watched by the Criminal Investigation Department, so he cut off contact with Xuan Kui, kept a low profile, and dared not collect or purchase materials related to Lan Du.
The secret stronghold of the underground royal city remained undiscovered by those above. Zhu Laosan lived there in retirement, and after discovering the toxin crystals, he began to plan his expansion and rise to power. With Xuehe's consent, he conspired with Xun Zhan and received the protection of a renowned sage, and his life improved day by day.
Xuehe agreed to Zhu Laosan's plan on the condition that he search for news of Gu Gan outside.
Zhu Laosan didn't seem to care about this matter.
Gu Gan looked at the insect pool in front of him, his eyes revealing a cryptic expression.
"If it's not for the transformation of a viper into a dragon, then what is it for?" he asked thoughtfully.
Before Xuehe could answer, Xun Zhiya beside him uttered in a deep voice, "Insect transformation."
Her voice became ethereal: "Possessing the power to resist the Heavenly Punishment of the Legalists, the ultimate form of the Dao Gu Insect Body."
Gu Gan looked over in surprise: "The body of a Dao Gu worm?"
Xuehe nodded: "You're right."
Xun Zhiya's expression was complicated, and his words were extremely heavy. "Xun Zhan is my third cousin. Back then, he was dismissed from his post and exiled because of the Snow Mountain Castle incident. He could only come back once every three years, and he could only go to the royal mausoleum to pay respects to his ancestors, not enter the palace."
"The one who destroyed the snow mountain castle back then was Chen Xiao, the sage of agriculture."
Xun Zhiya closed her eyes briefly: "Chen Xiao accused my father of using his third uncle to refine worms from children, but that was, after all, my father's relative... He couldn't bring himself to kill him, he only exiled his third uncle. Chen Xiao was dissatisfied with this, and not long after leaving Nanjing... he passed away."
This matter was a secret of the Nan Jing royal family, and only a limited number of people knew about it. Xun Zhiya also heard about it from her mother.
The current king of Nanjing has no biological children, but he has many brothers and sisters, totaling seventeen. The selection and rules for the succession to the throne are entirely determined by the current king.
The children chosen by the king are called saints and saints. Compared to the other countries, Nanjing is completely ruled by the current emperor.
Because Wang Shanghe of Nan Jing is currently the only dual cultivation saint in the Xuan Gu Continent.
He Xinsi cultivates both Dao and magic, but it's rumored that his old injuries haven't healed, and his strength seems to be inferior to those who cultivate only one path to sainthood. However, this is just a rumor, and no one has had the opportunity to test the truth.
Xun Zhiya seemed to have been shocked by something; she appeared somewhat dazed and frightened. Gu Gan reached out and touched her face, warming her cold skin: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
She looked up at Gu Gan, and only after witnessing the determination and tenderness in his eyes did she compose herself and pour out the worries that had been weighing on her heart for many years:
"Father is a saint who cultivates both Taoism and magic. When he chooses a successor, he must be a genius from one of the two schools. Talent alone is no longer enough to meet Father's standards, so... some people choose to cooperate with the Han family from the land of the Legalist school, so that some of their children can have the bloodline of the Legalist Heavenly Punishment."
Xun Zhiya looked down at her palm, without explaining in detail the origin of the Legalist Heavenly Punishment bloodline, and said in a difficult tone, "Father also values children who possess the Legalist Heavenly Punishment, so others came up with another way."
"It can surpass the power of Legalist Heavenly Punishment, and the power of Daoist Gu insect body and insect transformation."
Xun Zhiya looked at the insect pool with trembling eyes, her heart filled with shock or fear: "My uncles... are still not giving up. After killing so many people, they still refused to stop. Even after being exiled, they secretly continued to study the worms behind my father's back."
Gu Gan said, "Your uncle is clearly here for you. Because of your Heavenly Punishment bloodline, he wants to create a Dao Gu worm body that is even more powerful than Heavenly Punishment."
"It's all my fault," Xun Zhiya said softly.
“How can you blame yourself? It’s your uncles who are too greedy. It’s their insatiable desires that led them to do these heinous things!” Gu Gan disagreed. “Zhiya, you don’t need to be sad about these things, and you must not let their conspiracy succeed.”
Xun Zhiya still looked very sad.
Because of the family scandal, Xun Zhiya never told anyone about these things.
On the flying dragon chariot, Shi Yuezhen questioned Xun Zhiya about why the viper could not attack her. It was not because she had participated in the research of the viper, but because after the incident, He Xinsi gave her a protective method to prevent her from being harmed by the secret research institute of her several uncles.
While Gu Gan was comforting Xun Zhiya, Yu Sui, who was hiding in the dragon ladder, managed to figure out the situation from their conversation.
Still confused, Ah Ling asked Yu Sui, "Sister, what do we do next?"
Yu Sui raised a finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet. Ah Ling immediately covered her mouth and nodded.
The renowned masters and sages outside should not be underestimated.
"It seems Shi Yuezhen is dead here, and her remains are unlikely to be found," Gu Gan pondered. "Even without Shi Yuezhen as a witness, there's still Zhu Laosan. He's even more crucial than Shi Yuezhen."
“But they are your father’s men.” Xun Zhiya stared at Gu Gan in astonishment.
Gu Gan wasn't stupid; he could see that Zhu Laosan was only paying lip service to him. Zhu Laosan had been the king of the underground city for many years, but now a young master had suddenly appeared and was favored by Xue He, so he was bound to take away most of Zhu Laosan's power.
Zhu Laosan would definitely not be willing to accept this.
If Zhu Laosan had truly wanted to find Gu Gan over the years, there would have been news of him long ago.
"I will do anything I can for you," Gu Gan said resolutely. "Zhu Laosan has direct evidence of his cooperation with Xun Zhan. Uncle Xue, do you agree to me doing this?"
He looked at the snow crane.
Xuehe pondered for a moment and said, "Just do everything as you wish, young master. If it weren't for your father leaving this stronghold, Zhu Laosan wouldn't have been able to survive for so many years. But young master, there's one thing that might not be as bad as you think."
What is it?
“I have set up a magic array blessed by a master around this insect pool, sealing the memories of those who enter the pool. On the surface, I do not interfere in any of their businesses or manage their affairs, but it is impossible for me to really know nothing.”
Xuehe stroked his beard, his expression inscrutable. He raised his hand and drew a line in the air, and the surrounding magic array appeared, with golden characters and runes crawling all over the dark water.
Beams of light shone directly into the water, illuminating the underwater world. The corpses, resembling both humans and insects, were densely intertwined, like seaweed beneath the deep sea.
Hidden in the center of these aquatic plants, there is a thread of insects emitting a faint, shimmering white light.
Other insects emitting a bluish-purple glow are mysterious and dangerous; their light is more like the warm glow of jade, possessing the power to soothe the soul.
"Xun Zhan and Zhu Laosan used the method of refining Gu to create worms. The one at the bottom of the pool is the worm mother, and the other worms are its derivatives and imprints."
"According to Zhu Laosan and his group's plan, successful insect transformation means that the viper will have a normal human body. After the viper body becomes connected with the spirit of heaven and earth, it will transform into a human through qi. In their goal, the final viper can be like the Dao Gu viper body, using the viper body as a carrier to continuously evolve, master more powerful Nine Streams Techniques, and even become immortal."
Xuehe spoke of the final form he was researching, a hint of anticipation in his eyes: "When everything is transformed into insects, we can effortlessly obtain an army of insect-transformed beings!"
"However, the corpses you see before you are the result of failed insectification."
With Xuehe's explanation, Gu Gan had a different perspective on the things in the insect pool.
"Then why did they capture Shi Yuezhen?"
Xuehe said, "According to their research, successful insect transformation can only be achieved after two conditions are met. First, it must share a body with the viper to capture the five elements of energy from the outside world and the human body; second, the captured five elements of energy must be able to generate the Nine Streams Technique."
"Her eyes evolved into something resembling beadless eyes, and she was among the first hosts to exhibit this. They believed it to be a sign of successful body sharing with the viper."
Xun Zhiya listened in silence.
At that time, Xun Zhan, the third uncle, killed all the other children to prevent Chen Xiao, the sage of agriculture, from finding a handle against them. Therefore, all the previous experimental subjects were gone. Later, they discovered that Shi Yuezhen and Cang Shu were the two unfortunate survivors.
"Don't all the experimental subjects nowadays have eyes similar to those of someone without eyes?" Gu Gan asked, puzzled.
Xuehe: "The worms inside them are in a semi-dormant state, so they have defects and cannot share the worms' vision, which brings danger and pain to the worm host itself."
Gu Gan raised an eyebrow: "I don't think Shi Yuezhen is much better off. She can't see either, can she? Otherwise, she wouldn't have risked attacking Taiyi's students to prevent the worms from devouring the Five Elements Qi and dying."
"Because she was one of the first test subjects to exhibit this condition, and her cultivation level was not low, she mastered multiple Nine Stream Techniques. None of the second-generation test subjects mastered Nine Stream Techniques, which gave Zhu Laosan hope. However, this girl died after re-contacting the Insect Mother, failing to live up to Zhu Laosan and the others' expectations and failing to become a perfect host." Xuehe explained the research over the years to Gu Gan. Yu Sui quietly lowered the dragon ladder without attracting the attention of the three.
Zhu Laosan has brought his men over, and it will be troublesome if they are discovered now.
Xuehe's explanation of the underground castle was impressive, but Gu Gan felt that the goal was somewhat unreliable. As for the story of the serpent transforming into a dragon, which was recorded in the book, Gu Gan had always considered it a pipe dream, an exaggeration.
Now that someone wants to use vipers to create the legendary Dao Gu Insect Body Technique, Gu Gan still thinks it's unreliable. There aren't many ninth-rate sorcerers in this underground who are extremely skilled in this area, are there?
Zhu Laosan's mind was only focused on getting back to the peak of Xuan Kui with Lan Poison. His uncles in Nan Jing... didn't seem to have any talent in this area either.
However, the worms in this pool are very useful against orchid poisoning.
Gu Gan fell into deep thought. He could hand over Zhu Laosan for Xun Zhiya's sake, but he wouldn't hand over this underground stronghold. This was left to him by his father, and he had to find a way to protect it and not allow anyone to destroy it.
In Gu Gan's memory, he spent more time with his mother. His father always came and went in a hurry. Although they had a happy family life, his father's gentle and cheerful image was completely different from the "poison god" described by others.
“Snowman, I can let the Viper’s plan continue here, but I also need to give Zhiya an explanation.”
Gu Gan thought Xuehe didn't want him to destroy all the vipers.
Xuehe shook his head: "Young Master, although that girl named Shi Yuezhen is no good, the death of the other boy they captured caused some strange changes in the Insect Mother."
"You mean Cang Shu?" Gu Gan had almost forgotten about such a person.
“But wasn’t Cang Shu not parasitized by worms?” Xun Zhiya was also surprised.
"The queen insect absorbed all his blood, slept for a day and a night, and became active after waking up, starting to absorb other vipers," Xuehe pondered. "The number of vipers in this pool is already less than at the beginning."
"What does this mean?" Gu Gan asked in surprise. "Does it mean that Cang Shu's blood caused the insect queen to evolve?"
“He must have been parasitized by the worm at some point without realizing it, and there was no sign of him having a purpose like that of a pearl,” Xuehe said. “That worm perfectly shared his body and the five elements with him.”
Xuehe's people were the first to discover this, without informing Zhu Laosan and Xun Zhan. Xuehe had no intention of letting Xun Zhan obtain the Insect Mother, not even as a collaborator, but who wouldn't want to snatch such a rare treasure?
Only Gu Gan was the one Xuehe was willing to give up the treasure for.
"...It was him!" Xun Zhiya exclaimed in shock. "Does that mean the current Insect Queen has succeeded?"
"We need to have someone try it first. If it works, young master, this is..." Before Xuehe could finish speaking, the dragon ladder creaked, and Zhu Laosan and his group rushed out. Before they even appeared, they exclaimed, "Old Xue! Young master! Are you alright? This damned intruder dared to come here!"
"What are you shouting for?" Xuehe asked in a deep voice.
"Elder Xue! Someone has deciphered the Dragon Ladder's cipher and used it to get here. I was worried about Xuehe and the young master, so I rushed over!" Zhu Laosan was so anxious he almost fell over.
"Where is he?" Xuehe asked.
"Isn't it here?" Old Zhu was shocked and looked around.
"A few intruders, how come they can't even handle this simple matter? And they even let people control the Dragon Ladder and move it around at will!" Xuehe questioned angrily.
Zhu Laosan thought to himself, "Why are you scolding me now? Isn't it you who does the work of catching intruders?"
But now he could only force a smile and say aggrievedly, "Elder Xue, we've probably underestimated the intruders this time. Mu Jin and Xiang Zhiyuan, both protectors, are gone in the blink of an eye!"
"Strange things also happened at the workshop. All those Wang Jun suddenly lost their Five Elements Qi and were captured by a bunch of 'white-eyed' people!"
Zhu Laosan stopped hiding it now, glancing at the insect pool behind Gu Gan out of the corner of his eye, intending to draw their attention to the intruder.
Xuehe's eyes widened: "Even the workshop has been hijacked?"
"No, no, no! Don't worry! Ye Shuiya and Dou Wu are working on a solution over there. They've already used the Water Transport Divination to control it. They'll freeze everyone inside. Who knows where these rats came from this time!" Zhu Laosan was both angry and resentful.
“They are all disciples from Taiyi, I know them.” Gu Gan walked towards Zhu Laosan, a look of doubt on his face. “But how did they have the strength to kill two protectors? Tell me in detail how these two died.”
Only a handful of people would come for Shi Yuezhen and Cang Shu.
Gu Gan knew that Xing Chun and Kong Yiyi were looking for Shi Yuezhen, and that they were most likely the ones who broke into the underground city. But how could these two, who were injured, still manage to kill two thirteenth-realm protectors in such a short time?
If there are intruders in the workshop and intruders in the castle, would these two still dare to act separately?
Black-faced Seven stepped forward and reported the news of the deaths of the two guardians.
The intruders operating within the royal city were secretly brought in by Ah Ling. The manager who usually cooperated with Ah Ling has now been arrested and interrogated, and has confessed to all the ways he and Ah Ling had swindled merchant caravans over the years.
So they continued their investigation and learned that Ah Ling had brought back a man and a woman from the city, and the one who followed her into the royal city was a woman.
Upon further questioning, Gu Gan became certain that the man and woman were not Kong Yiyi and Xing Chun.
Who could it be?
Whoever leaks the information will expose this base.
Xun Zhiya walked to the dragon ladder and tried to control it, but failed. He then turned back and shook his head at Gu Gan.
"We need to find the rats that have entered the royal city first," Gu Gan said in a deep voice. "Uncle Xue."
Xuebo nodded, his hands forming a hand seal, and a large number of golden characters and incantations appeared before him. He ruled the underground royal city and possessed the names of everyone within it.
Gu Gan only searched for Kong Yiyi and Xing Chun. The five elements energy surging in the room searched for the location of their names within the space designated by the master.
The silent flow of the five elements' energy was like an unstoppable winter, with a sudden chill descending upon the land.
Yu Sui and A Ling stood inside the dragon ladder. A Ling, oblivious to the impending danger, excitedly asked Yu Sui, "Sister, did those people up there kill your friends? I'll punch them all in a minute and make them kneel down and apologize to you!"
“The people up there are very powerful; you can’t beat them.” Yu Sui touched the Dragon Ladder inscription, her expression calm and unhurried.
She had originally planned to avoid it, but after hearing the second half of the conversation about the vipers, she changed her mind.
"If you get arrested later, just say that I kidnapped and threatened you."
"How could I betray my sister!" Ah Ling disagreed.
"Didn't you say you'd listen to everything I say?" Yu Sui looked at her questioningly.
Ah Ling quickly replied, "Of course I'll listen to my sister!"
“Then do as they say. Tell them that you used a little eye roll to help me bypass Wang Jun’s investigation, and when I loosened my grip, you used a little Bagua technique to break free.”
Ah Ling listened attentively to Yu Sui's instructions and nodded to show that she had remembered them.
Yu Sui planned to expose A Ling's abnormality in front of everyone, so that Zhu Laosan and Xue He would not dare to kill A Ling. She was the best host for their research on the viper.
Xuehe wanted to test the insect mother after it was evolved by Cangshu's blood. A-Ling, who was parasitized by the viper, had fulfilled the second requirement of evolution. The five elements of Qi generated the Nine Streams Technique in her body, making her the perfect experimental subject.
And Sister Yuezhen
Yu Sui lowered her eyes and said to A Ling, "If a fight breaks out and things get chaotic, find a chance to go into the pool to look for people."
"Give me your hand."
Ah Ling obediently did as instructed.
Yu Sui placed the spirit of the search for Shi Yuezhen and Cang Shu in her palm: "Thank you."
The icy air seeped in through the cracks in the dragon staircase. Before Ah Ling could even feel happy after hearing Yu Sui's thanks, she shivered. Just as she was wondering about the sudden drop in temperature, Yu Sui, dressed in a black windbreaker, grabbed her by the throat and blocked her way.
The ascending dragon ladder exploded with a bang, forcing it to stop. Ah Ling's eyes widened in fright, and she gasped for breath. As the smoke and dust cleared, she saw the crowd standing outside the dragon ladder.
Yu Sui tightened his grip on A Ling's neck, and A Ling immediately understood. With tears in her eyes, she cried out to Xue He and the others in a state of tension and fear, "My lords! Please save me!"
"This crazy woman keeps threatening me to lead the way for her! I'm being forced into it! She'll kill me if I don't obey her!"
Ah Ling shouted loudly, her blood-stained clothes still on, suggesting she was seriously injured, confirming what she said.
Gu Gan stared at the person in the black trench coat, and some unpleasant memories were awakened, but he calmed down after a moment.
Hearing Ah Ling's cries for help, Lord Zhu angrily said, "Shut up! You traitorous wretch, if it weren't for you bringing her in..."
"I was forced, sir! I... I thought it would be fine like before. I covered their eyes, I thought we would never be discovered. I was wrong, sir, please save me!"
When Yu Sui spoke, her voice was androgynous: "This little girl can make other people's eyes look like hers. In this underground place, you distinguish people by their eyes. I was able to get in here smoothly thanks to her."
"Your eyes have become like hers? How is that possible, you..." Zhu Laosan stopped mid-sentence, his expression turning strange.
Seeing this, Xuehe realized that A-Ling was acting strangely and quietly circulated her energy and made a hand seal.
Before he launched his attack, Yu Sui loosened his grip on A Ling's hand, then bowed and coughed twice as if he were injured.
Ah Ling feigned nervousness and fear, waving her hand with a gust of wind to escape from Yu Sui's side, only to be grabbed back by Yu Sui, causing her to scream in surprise.
Old Zhu's expression changed. Had that glaring little girl just used the Eight Trigrams Life-Giving Technique?!
Could it be that this little girl shares the five elements with the worms inside her body, thus developing the Nine Schools of Arts?
Xuehe's eyes darkened, and he silently uttered: Flying Serpent.
Two golden spirit characters transformed into flying birds and long snakes, plunging into the Dragon Ladder. The spirit birds spread their enormous wings, their feathers flying like arrows, filling every space of the Dragon Ladder. Their dense attacks nearly shattered the Dragon Ladder. The spirit birds, trailing their long snake tails, swiftly and domineeringly snatched Ah Ling away from Yu Sui.
Zhu Laosan assumed Xuehe was unaware of worm research and didn't understand A-Ling's importance, so he shouted urgently, "Old Xue! Don't kill that damned girl!"
He rushed to Xuehe's side to stop the flying snake, but a loud bang came from inside the dragon ladder. The snow-white ice shards that exploded were like tiny silver needles, forcing Zhu Laosan to retreat repeatedly.
The cold air was biting; frost had formed beneath the feet of the seven dark-faced soldiers, freezing them in place. The Dragon Ladder was shrouded in a chilling mist, obscuring what lay within.
The cry of the immortal Vermilion Bird emanated from within the Dragon Ladder, its golden-red wings whipping up a hurricane that crushed the feathers of the spirit bird and flying serpent, and the icy breath instantly transformed into blazing flames.
Yin-Yang Arts?
A look of surprise flashed across Xuehe's eyes.
Zhu Laosan shouted, "Old Xue! The Immortal Vermilion Bird of the Four Heavenly Spirits! It was she who used this move to kill Mu Jin!"
Hurry up and get on it!
Xuehe didn't move. Gu Gan stood at the forefront, unafraid of the pressure from the immortal Vermilion Bird. He relied on the Divine Mechanism Official to slip into the Dragon Ladder, pass through the icy mist, and confront the person hiding behind the black wind robe.
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