Dragonfly Claw
Ren Xiangxiang and the others chased after the swarm of black dragonflies, only to see them disappear without a trace after entering the rugged cave.
This area already belongs to the Flying Squirrel Clan. She had previously saved a Flying Squirrel Clan member who was being controlled by the Rat-Head Flower here.
Now, this empty forest is devoid of any demonic aura, not even a trace of life.
This unusual silence seemed even more unbearable than the wildflowers covering the hillsides.
The flying squirrels seemed to have vanished into thin air.
"The rugged cave is just ahead. If there's still no one there..."
Ren Xiangxiang looked solemn. When she left, He Wenwen had told her that the situation in the Yin Palace seemed to be no better than that in the Yang Palace.
There was no reply from Wen Ting, and the spread of the demonic gu was too fast. Besides the gu woman and others near Yanshi Ridge, they might have other companions who had scattered elsewhere.
"Wait a minute," Mo You suddenly shouted.
Inside the rugged cave.
Huge rocks rise and fall, forming a magnificent stone forest. Suddenly, a sharp arc of light streaks across the stone forest, chasing after a person. The person moves lightly, and as the arc of light violently crashes into the rocks, the other person nimbly uses the force to leap over the rocks.
The rock flew through the air, and the arc of light circled once before rapidly returning to its owner's hand.
However, the opponent stood on a rock half a zhang away, holding a square-shaped weapon in his hand, and ordered the four sides to seize it, which was similar to the fan blade of Yan Biegu.
"Shu Zhuo, do you even remember your identity? Besides Liu Gong Xian, you are also a member of the Flying Squirrel Clan!"
"I was too concerned about my status back then, which is why I was deceived by you. What? You want to use that to pressure me now?"
"I lied to you?" Yan Biegu was furious. "Back then, we were just following the overall situation. The ones who contributed the most and suffered the most casualties were Ye Hong and Xi Shou. You were just cooperating."
"Yes, I cooperated in wiping out Yu Wen's entire clan and some of the Night Red Clan members associated with him, cooperated in exterminating those two little kids, cooperated in leaving no one alive, from the old to the young. Should I be proud of that?" The arrogant Shu Zhuo laughed in extreme anger.
Yan Biegu was so angry that she paced back and forth, the half-fan in her hand about to spill out but she forcefully pressed it down.
She's so angry, she's really about to be driven crazy by this kid.
The problem is that if a real fight breaks out, both sides will suffer heavy losses.
"Then what do you plan to do? You insist on going to the Night Red Clan? Do you even know what's happening inside? Why are you rushing off to your death!" Yan Biegu roared.
Shu Zhuo toyed with the Four-Sided Sword in his hand and said casually, "You don't need to worry about that."
"Don't forget that you also participated in the massacre of her entire clan and even her parents—"
Yan Biegu blurted out, but unexpectedly a cold light suddenly appeared before his eyes. The light flashed from all directions as fast as lightning. Yan Biegu took a half step back, turned around and threw out half of the fan.
The sharp, piercing sound of weapons slicing through the air blasted a giant rock apart.
Stone chips flew everywhere, dust billowed, and the surging demonic energy confused the two people's vision. Half of the fan and the four-sided fan swiftly returned to their respective owners' hands.
Yan Biegu broke out in a cold sweat. "You think I'm really afraid of you? I'm afraid you'll go to your death!"
“I told you not to bother!” Shu Zhuo’s tone grew even colder. “If she wants to avenge her clan or parents, she can take my life at any time. I have no objections. But before that, I must ensure her safety. This is the only thing I can do for the rest of my life.”
"You think you can atone for your sins by doing this?" Yan Biegu felt that the other party was beyond redemption.
He had committed the heinous crime of killing his own family, and he still dared to think he could atone for it?
"Atonement?" Shu Zhuo suddenly burst into laughter. "In her eyes, I am already beyond redemption."
"You're really sick!" Yan Biegu slammed the half-closed door shut. "Get out! I don't want to see you again."
Seeing this, Shu Zhu put away his Four Directions Sword and suddenly glanced behind him. "Farewell! Also... you have a guest here."
After saying that, he vanished in a flash.
"A guest?" Yan Biegu subconsciously touched the upper half of the fan.
Just as Shu Zhuo finished speaking, fearing that Yan Bie would make a move, Ren Xiangxiang appeared in time.
"Aunt Yan!"
Yan Bie paused, and when she saw the fox demon youth following behind her, she couldn't help but tense up again.
"You? This is..."
The flying squirrel tribe prefers to be active at night, so the caves beneath the rugged grottoes are large and deep, forming a network of interconnected passages that create a world completely different from the surface.
The flying squirrels hanging upside down on the rock ceiling reminded Ren Xiangxiang of the golden-robed people she had seen before.
"...So Yang Palace has also fallen?" Yan Biegu sighed after listening to Ren Xiangxiang's account.
She looked at the antidote and said, "If only you had sent this sooner, many people would have died in the meantime."
“But I see there are no more rat-head flowers here,” Ren Xiangxiang asked.
Yan Biegu nodded. "I don't know either. Some were burned before, but they suddenly disappeared at some point. However, some strange black dragonflies have appeared in the west. Have you seen them?"
Ren Xiangxiang was also curious about what those things were, so she nodded and asked.
Yan Biegu, hearing that she didn't know, slowly said, "I don't know either. It appeared suddenly and can control people. Its function seems to be similar to that of the Rat Head Flower. Since the people guarding the west side didn't come back, I withdrew the defense there and retreated back into the cave."
"Are there people being controlled? I mean..."
Yan Biegu naturally understood what she meant, and shook his head, "No, none of them have returned. I've killed everyone I encountered. I don't understand these things, and I dare not take any risks right now. Let's protect the other members of our clan first."
Ren Xiangxiang's expression was solemn. "There is also some poison inside that can be used to deal with demonic insects. If you apply it to your weapons, it might have some effect."
"Alright, thank you." Yan Biegu smiled wearily. "Now I just hope those things don't find us. Back when the Five Clans were in chaos, it wasn't this bad. There's been no news from the Yin Palace. I'm afraid they've already fallen."
"Not a single word?" Ren Xiangxiang frowned.
Yan Biegu sighed, "You know that the elites of the five clans are in the Yin Palace. The Yin Palace Master is still a child and it is difficult for him to command respect. Sending members of the five clans there is also a way to check and balance each other."
“My apprentice Yan Qing was still replying to messages until a month ago. Since you returned to Qiling Mountain, we have lost contact with him, which coincides with the appearance of the Rat Head Flower.”
"At that time, I was focused on the situation in the northeast Yanshiling direction and didn't pay attention to the west. When I came to my senses, I realized that the strange black dragonfly had controlled a lot of my people."
Ren Xiangxiang couldn't help but interrupt, "So, the rat-head flower and the black dragonfly can be said to have appeared at the same time?"
“You could say that,” Yan Biegu said, and continued, “If you’re going there, I advise you to go at night. Keep your movements quiet at night, and they won’t move. But if you make too much noise, you’re doomed. I’ve tried to go in, but I didn’t dare to go too deep.”
"besides……"
Yan Biegu led Ren Xiangxiang and the others out of another cave. It was dusk, and the sun was setting.
"Go straight along this road, it should lead to the wisteria forest. It's full of black dragonflies now, and you'll probably see quite a few controlled demons. But don't even think about saving them. Even if they don't die, they won't survive. Go see for yourselves!"
Yan Bie sighed helplessly.
"Aunt Yan," Ren Xiangxiang turned back and asked as she was leaving, "what do you plan to do if the Gu Nu and her gang find your hiding place?"
"There's really no other way but to fight with our backs against the wall." Yan Bie smiled bitterly, trying to appear relaxed.
Ren Xiangxiang nodded, "But we can't sacrifice our entire clan, can we?"
Yan Biegu was taken aback, and suddenly understood what she meant.
The setting sun cast a long, thin shadow of Ren Xiangxiang. She suddenly remembered the first time she met this half-human, half-demon girl. People were afraid of her, and demons laughed at her, but she beat up a flying squirrel boy who was laughing at her until he was black and blue, and he came back crying for her help.
She chuckled and ran over to secretly observe the little girl adopted by the Stream Shadow. The girl was disheveled and was humming an off-key tune as she washed up by the stream.
She skipped and hopped home only after she had washed herself clean.
She noticed that the other person had bruises all over their arms and legs, but the girl seemed completely unconcerned.
How could such an interesting girl not be lovable?
That's why she would tease her from time to time later on.
Who would have thought that she would grow up so quickly?
Buzzing...
Suddenly, a mosquito-like creature the size of a palm flew over from behind. Ren Xiangxiang looked up and saw the creature land precisely on her hand, displaying a line of small characters.
—If I die, the loss of my soul will be a testament to my faith.
...
As night fell and all was quiet, the dense wisteria grove, which was originally a beautiful sight outside the Floating Forest, was now shrouded in gloom.
The drooping vines were covered with black dragonflies, their tails curled slightly like scorpion barbs.
These creatures, called Dragonfly Claws, multiplied as they went deeper, eventually forming a massive encirclement around the Floating Forest.
On the stone tablet inscribed with the name of the Lizard Hunter Clan in the Floating Forest, a young man dressed in black was sitting.
The young man was short and had dark skin; he was Cun She, who had appeared in Yang Palace earlier, wanting to earn money to buy wine for his brother.
Unlike his previous honest and simple demeanor, Cun She's eyes were now red, and it seemed as if another person was hidden deep within his pupils.
He sat on the stone tablet, and a tree branch behind him that resembled a human figure swayed.
The thing was very short, with a dark tree trunk and strangely bent limbs. If it weren't for the dragonfly on its head, you wouldn't be able to tell at first glance that it was once a human.
"Don't worry, Mother-in-law, I'll get you all together soon."
Cun She turned around and smiled, his whole body exuding a sinister aura.
With a wave of his hand, a dragonfly claw flew out from his elbow and headed towards the Floating Forest behind him.
Not long after, a scream came from the woods, which attracted more black dragonflies to swarm over it, and then silence fell instantly.
"Since you've already run away, why come back to die?" Cun She muttered to himself.
A swarm of black dragonflies enveloped the man and flew out, landing at his feet a struggling young man.
The young man had thin wing membranes on his arms, suggesting he was a nocturnal flying squirrel.
No wonder he was able to react quickly and escape when Granny Lizard was controlled by him and stormed into the Yin Palace. The agile and nimble Night Red Cat Clan also escaped with him, but they have not been seen since.
That cat is quite clever.
As Cun She pondered, the flying squirrel youth's eyes widened in anger, and the veins on the side of his neck bulged, as if he was fighting with all his might against the control of the dragonfly claws.
"Who...are you...?"
Before he could finish speaking, the barbs on the dragonfly's tail pierced his head, and his wide-open pupils suddenly lost their life.
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