The night was as dark as ink, the stars had lost their brilliance, and the stilted houses of Gu Village were faintly visible in the mountain mist.
A gentle breeze in the woods carried the scent of damp earth, lightly brushing the treetops and quietly ruffling Liu Feng's clothes.
He carried Jiu'er in his arms, his steps steady. Beside him, Ayi, draped in a Miao silver-embroidered shawl, followed closely behind with faltering steps.
As we passed through the village gate, torches suddenly lit up the surroundings. Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, we saw more than twenty members of the Gu Village clan kneeling neatly on the ground, holding torches, their expressions both devout and excited.
In the firelight, the clan chief's cloudy eyes shone with excitement. He stepped forward shakily and said gratefully, "My benefactors, you have finally returned!"
Liu Feng didn't say much, but took out an ancient book and solemnly handed it over: "Clan leader, this item is to be returned to the Gu Village."
With trembling hands, the clan chief accepted the "Secretly Transmitted Hundred Gu Diagrams" by Wu Xian. His fingertips caressed the yellowed pages, and his eyes shone with barely concealed excitement. His aged face was wet with tears: "This item is a family heirloom of my Gu Village. To have it lost and found again... Thank you so much, benefactor!"
When his gaze fell on Jiu'er, he was taken aback.
Upon learning that Jiu'er had been afflicted with the "Crescent Moon Gu," the clan leader's expression turned grave, his eyes filled with worry.
“What should we do…” he murmured, his brows furrowed. “The Gu King that Chi Yan stole from the Gu Village back then was the ‘Crescent Moon Gu.’ This Gu is extremely insidious, and once it enters the body, there is never a cure…”
Liu Feng's heart sank. He wasn't without options, but if he tried to save her, Jiu'er would most likely lose all her cultivation, which was the worst possible outcome and an option he couldn't accept.
The clan chief arranged a quiet residence for Jiu'er, and Ayi stayed by her side to take care of her.
As night deepened, a gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo grove, bringing a touch of chill.
Liu Feng sat cross-legged beside Jiu'er, closed his eyes and concentrated. Warm spiritual energy flowed from his palms, like a spring drizzle, gently enveloping Jiu'er's weak body.
The Crescent Moon Gu was rampaging through his body. Every attempt to suppress it was like fighting a ferocious beast on a tightrope. Liu Feng's face was pale from overexertion.
Jiu'er was sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. When she was conscious, she saw Liu Feng's tired face and felt both moved and guilty.
"Junior brother, don't worry too much about me. Life and death are predestined..." Her voice was as soft as a whisper, yet every word was heavy.
Liu Feng interrupted her, saying, "Senior sister, don't talk nonsense. You won't die."
In the days that followed, Liu Feng and the clan chief ventured into the secret chamber filled with ancient books and herbs, studying the Crescent Moon Gu day and night.
They read through the "Secretly Transmitted Hundred Gu Charts of Wu Xian" again and again, and combined it with the Gu techniques passed down through generations in the Gu Village to try to concoct an antidote.
However, the crucial ingredient for the medicine could not be found.
Ayi also did not stop, leading the Gu Village people to search for possible medicinal herbs, hoping to find a glimmer of hope.
A few days later, Liu Feng paced back and forth in the Gu Village, lost in thought, when he overheard that there was a forbidden area behind the village, where poisonous creatures roamed and it was extremely dangerous.
Legend has it that the cave was once used to nurture the "Crescent Moon Gu," and may contain the key to curing the Gu.
He immediately decided to go.
Despite everyone's strong dissuasion, he still ventured into the forbidden area alone.
Liu Feng stood at the entrance of the cave. The cave was pitch black, and gusts of cold wind howled out from inside, carrying a chill.
Stepping inside feels like being cut off from the world.
The surroundings were eerily silent, with only the sound of water droplets falling on rocks echoing in the darkness.
Liu Feng gripped his sword and proceeded cautiously.
The ground was uneven and pitted, and dark purple poisonous vines clung to the jagged rock walls. Occasionally, fluorescent insects would swim by, illuminating some of the pale skeletons clinging to the rock walls.
Suddenly, a black bat the size of a palm darted out, its fangs menacing, and lunged straight at Liu Feng's neck.
Liu Feng dodged to the side, a flash of sword light, and black blood splattered onto the ground, immediately emitting a hissing sound of corrosion, actually burning a small pit into the rock.
As they ventured deeper, the atmosphere grew increasingly chilly.
In the shadowy corner, venomous snakes and scorpions lurked, their cold tongues flicking, as if spying on any intruders.
Until he stepped into the deepest part of the cave, an ancient statue came into view.
It was a statue of a sorcerer god, half-human and half-snake, wearing a crescent crown, with dark blue eyes, exuding a strange and ancient aura.
The statue's surface is covered with traces of time's erosion, with bronze rust and cracks everywhere, yet it still retains its majesty.
Its hands are folded in front of its chest, with several dim moonstones embedded between its fingers and palms, emitting a faint cold light that illuminates the stone wall behind the statue.
Liu Feng stared intently at the stone wall and saw that it was covered with obscure and difficult-to-understand runes, one of which was particularly eye-catching.
A crescent moon hung in the night sky, its light falling on a cultivator sitting cross-legged. His body was entangled by countless tiny Gu worms, yet he felt no pain. Instead, he seemed to be absorbing the power of these Gu worms, and a mysterious radiance flowed around him.
"Moonlight method."
Liu Feng was shocked and vaguely understood the true meaning of this secret technique. This technique could actually be cultivated with the help of the Crescent Moon Gu!
Before the base of the statue, a cluster of silvery-white herbs grew quietly, with faint crescent-shaped patterns on the leaves, emitting a faint glow in the dim light.
Moonshadow Grass!
It was the key ingredient he had been searching for!
Liu Feng was overjoyed and was about to reach out and pick it.
A sudden rustling sound rang out, and then a giant, jet-black python darted out from between the rocks, its blood-red eyes staring straight at him, its breath emitting a nauseating stench!
This is a monstrous creature that has devoured countless lives. Its belly is covered with white barbs, and as it moves, it scrapes deep marks on the rocks.
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