Chapter 105: Changes In Yun Cang
The phantom of the Green-scaled Poisonous Flood Dragon had already transcended its original form, surrounded by poisonous gas and malevolent energy, like a vicious beast flood dragon escaping from the abyss.
The insect-type White Ape’s divine might was awe-inspiring, like the spirit of a mountain lord, perfectly opposing the Green-scaled Poisonous Flood Dragon.
Although the two phantoms had not yet transformed from illusory to real, becoming True Intent Beast Spirits.
But the combined pressure of the two overlapping greatly enhanced their ability to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.
Su Yan fully circulated his power, with insect bones emitting pressure from his body, insect armor covering his entire body, like a heavily armored demon general.
Spiritual energy gathered into his body, constantly circulating through the meridians, transforming into true essence.
The meridians swelled immensely, and simultaneously activating two beast spirit phantoms to absorb spiritual energy was not easy even for his body to endure.
He gritted his teeth and persisted, his eyes firm, continuously converting endless spiritual energy into true essence within his body.
After enduring like this for half a shichen, as true essence continuously gathered into the dantian, suddenly like a silver bottle bursting open, the dantian acupoints formed a vortex, true essence circulation accelerated, and even the meridians absorbed a wave of true essence at this moment, strengthening considerably.
【Golden Ape True Skill: 1/400(Great Accomplishment）】
Golden Ape True Skill reached Great Accomplishment, Su Yan naturally advanced to Spirit Nurturing Realm Minor Accomplishment.
His true essence circulated smoothly, and his physical body was also slowly improving.
Su Yan withdrew the two beast spirit phantoms, his eyes with restrained divine light, focusing to check his own status.
【Second-order Insect Master 235/1000】
【Insect Realm: 100 cubic meters】
【Body Tempering Realm: Spirit Nurturing 1/200（Minor Accomplishment）】
【Poison Dragon Golden Body Technique 196/400(Great Accomplishment）】
【Golden Ape True Skill: 1/400(Great Accomplishment）】
……
【White Bone Poison Centipede 13/400(Mature Stage）】
【Red Armored Mad Scorpion 21/400(Mature Stage）】
【Blood Fiend Mother Worm: 1/100（Nascent Stage)】
【Gold-Eating Demon Insect 12/100（Nascent Stage）】
“The Blood Fiend Mother Worm already has strength rivaling a second-order feral beast, and the Gold-Eating Demon Insect has this potential. Presumably, in the Growth Stage and Mature Stage, it can also possess such power. By this calculation, my strength already rivals the first echelon of Yun Cang Town.”
Yun Cang Town’s first echelon consists of True Intent Realm martial artists. Although powerhouses like Liang Ying, Lin Nianzu, and Zhao Pan are True Intent Realm second layer Ruyi Stage experts whom he still cannot match, he is not afraid of the others.
However, he immediately shook his head slightly: “Still not safe enough. Without breaking through to True Intent Realm martial artist, I myself am the biggest flaw. Moreover, True Intent martial artists have a lifespan of two hundred…”
Su Yan was clear-headed; strength is strength, lifespan is lifespan, and his own power was the way to make up for shortcomings.
The next thing to do was to continue letting the fierce insects undergo metamorphosis, especially the White Bone Poison Centipede and Red Armored Mad Scorpion, to get them to the Metamorphosis Stage as soon as possible.
If he could complete their metamorphosis before the Beast King Sect arrived, Su Yan would have much greater confidence.
“And Jiao Yang Sou and the others…”
Su Yan went out through the gate and sat on the Blood Fiend Mother Worm.
Grasping the ridge spines on its back, it flew into the sky, directly entering the desolate mountains old forest.
Buzzing Blood Bees were released, searching for feral beasts in this old forest.
In one or two shichen, they gathered no less than a hundred large and small wild beasts and feral beasts from the desolate mountains.
The blood bees swarmed up, devouring them clean, gathering all the flesh and blood to the Blood Fiend Mother Worm.
“Roar”
A Leopard Bear over a zhang long fled frantically, at First-order Perfection, with thick skin and tough flesh. Although the blood bees surrounded it, its natural restraint made it unafraid of the blood bees.
At that moment, the Blood Fiend Mother Worm passed through the dense trees and landed directly in front of it.
The Leopard Bear raised its arms, its pitch-black sharp claws extended, about to drag the Blood Fiend Mother Worm down.
The Blood Fiend Mother Worm spat out a stream of dark red blood fiend gas from its mouthparts, instantly staining half of the Leopard Bear’s body.
Terrifying decay spread, its fur dull and withered, flesh and blood gray and shrunken…
The pain of corrosion made the Leopard Bear roar madly in rage, wanting to turn and flee in another direction.
But the next moment, red light flashed, the tail hook had pierced its body, suspending it in mid-air.
Blood fiend enveloped its body, continuously devouring the flesh and blood.
In less than a few minutes, the flesh and blood were devoured clean, and the skeleton fell to the ground.
Rustle rustle rustle
The White Bone Poison Centipede crawled out and devoured all the bones.
“The flesh and blood of over a hundred wild beasts and feral beasts should be enough to condense…”
Su Yan looked at the Blood Fiend Mother Worm shrouded in blood fiend and silently gave a command:
Breed Blood Marrow Worms!
The Blood Fiend Mother Worm landed on the bed, its surrounding blood fiend power continuously gathering into its body. The devoured flesh and blood essence was also constantly circulating within, streams of energy converging to the Blood Fiend Mother Worm’s abdomen.
Bright red threads continuously intersected. In Su Yan’s view, he could see ten red clumps the size of half a fist at the intersection, pulsing like hearts.
These were the Blood Marrow Worms, the new servant insects bred by the Blood Fiend Mother Worm.
“Fuse blood into marrow, born together with the marrow, gather malevolent energy, refine insect people…”
If the blood bees’ control was only a temporary method, then the Blood Marrow Worms were the true control method, the condensation of flesh and blood and malevolent energy.
Unfortunately, the current Blood Fiend Mother Worm could only breed ten Blood Marrow Worms.
About a quarter of an hour later, the insect eggs of the Blood Marrow Worms were fully condensed.
The Blood Fiend Mother Worm’s aura weakened somewhat, the consumption was undoubtedly huge.
Su Yan took out an entire bottle of Blood-Strengthening Pills and fed them to the Blood Fiend Mother Worm, eating three bottles in a row before its aura slightly recovered.
“The Blood-Strengthening Pills’ effect in supplementing qi and blood is truly insufficient for demonic essence. Need to find a way to refine another batch of Beast Essence Pills or even First-order high-grade or second-order pills.”
As strength advanced, the required resources would also continuously increase.
Yun Cang Town was too small; it could still satisfy Su Yan now, but not necessarily later.
“They should be back by now.”
Su Yan tidied up a bit and had the Blood Fiend Mother Worm bring him back to Grindstone Stockade.
As he expected, after probing news all day, Yang Kun and the others had already returned.
Seeing this massive flying insect beast, they all showed shocked expressions.
‘That’s the previous insect beast?!’
The Blood Fiend Mother Worm still faintly retained some Blood Locust features, but it was even more ferocious, even more chilling.
Su Yan landed in front of them, and they immediately snapped out of it.
“Congratulations, Lord, on your pet beast’s great advancement and further strength.”
They offered congratulations. Although they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they had heard that if feral beasts were properly nurtured, they could indeed continuously progress.
Presumably, that second-order feral beast had become a stepping stone for this insect beast.
The group entered the Grindstone Stockade hall, where Su Yan sat boldly in the main seat, with the Blood Fiend Mother Worm at his side.
Yang Kun and the other four stood respectfully below the steps, standing straight.
From the Blood Fiend Mother Worm, they felt a sense of oppression.
This feeling seemed similar to the aura on the Rock Mud Fierce Tiger.
This fierce insect probably already had second-order strength, comparable to a True Intent Realm martial artist.
“What news did you gather?”
Su Yan looked at Yang Kun.
“Reporting to Lord, Yun Cang Town has changed drastically.”
Yang Kun’s face was serious: “Last night in the Ancient Forest Mountain incident, Little Mountain Association Vice Leader Xiao Feng and Lin Tianlang led a large number of bladesmen to night raid Hundred Herbs Hall. Through successive schemes, they not only severely wounded Third Shopkeeper Zhao Ji, but also assassinated Second Shopkeeper Tang Yuxuan, who was already heavily injured by the Rock Mud Fierce Tiger.”
“One dead, one injured—what about Head Shopkeeper Zhang Tianhong?”
“He chopped off one of Lin Tianlang’s arms without getting injured himself. But now he has gathered all disciples. It’s said he’s preparing to trade the mountain guarding rights of Ancient Forest Mountain to the Lin Family in exchange for help.”
Over half the disciples dead or wounded, and the three shopkeepers in such a state.
Even if Hundred Herbs Hall had deep foundations, it couldn’t end well.
Seeking protection was their only option.
“What about Little Mountain Association?”
“Little Mountain Association mobilized fully, squeezing and occupying Hundred Herbs Hall’s original business and forces everywhere, seizing a medicine mountain in a desolate mountain, and encroaching on medicine fields in the inner and outer mountains. However… Captain Commander Zhao Pan intervened, stopping Liang Ying’s further actions, not allowing them to exterminate completely.”
Beneath the mask, Su Yan smiled.
As expected, it was a struggle between the Lin Family and the Prefect.
Otherwise, with Liang Ying’s arrogant and domineering nature, he might have razed Hundred Herbs Hall’s home base.
With Little Mountain Association breaking Hundred Herbs Hall’s pill monopoly, the various families and households would follow suit next, dividing up Hundred Herbs Hall’s industries.
Such huge profits would surely lead to plenty of open and covert struggles ahead.
Even Golden Ape Martial Arts School would likely get involved to some extent.
“What about Golden Ape Martial Arts School?”
“Golden Ape Martial Arts School also gathered disciples to guard their own industries. School Master Bai Changlin personally went to Seven Blades Martial Arts School to fight Long Qidao, outcome unknown, but Seven Blades Martial Arts School has ceased other actions, at least not striking deadly blows at Hundred Herbs Hall.”
Hundred Herbs Hall and Golden Ape Martial Arts School were on good terms, not easy to directly intervene, but Bai Changlin still helped from the side.
Ding Meng hesitated slightly, then said: “There’s also a piece of gossip that Bai Changlin acted this time not for Hundred Herbs Hall, but for a disciple.”
Beneath the mask, Su Yan’s mouth twitched—surely not me.
Calculating the time, it seemed he hadn’t sent word back for about half a month again.
“Tell me more.”
“Rumor has it it’s his true disciple Su Yan, who entered the desolate mountains half a month ago without sending word back. Bai Changlin worried someone might target him, so he acted to deter and clearly stated his stance.”
Spirit Nurturing Realm martial artists aren’t that easy to kill in the mountainous areas; half a month without word isn’t long.
But with the current turbulent situation, they couldn’t find Su Yan for the moment.
Bai Changlin resorting to this was not without reason.
‘Handle the Greenwood Gathering first, then go back and see.’
Su Yan looked at Cai Peng, who proactively said: “Lord, due to the short time, and the Greenwood Gathering mostly dealing in black goods, there aren’t many messages dared to be revealed. Only rumors say a second-order pill prescription might appear, to exchange for a pill master to refine pills, truth unknown.”
News had truth and falsehood, sometimes even black-on-black fishing messages.
Even as a veteran of the martial world, Cai Peng couldn’t fully discern them, so he only told Su Yan the news concerning him that he deemed relatively important.
Su Yan pondered briefly; not knowing what kind of pill the second-order pill prescription was for, but it was worth checking out.
He looked up at them and slowly said: “You’ve done well this time. Here’s a chance for you—depends on your own fortune.”
Their expressions immediately turned surprised and uncertain. At this moment, the Blood Fiend Mother Worm moved in front of them.
Its evil ghost-like face was no more than a foot from theirs.
Pfft
The sharp tail hook pierced into Yang Kun’s body.
“Big Brother!”
Yang Lun panicked and instantly drew his Ram Horn Sword.
“Stop! This is Lord’s reward!”
Intense pain assaulted Yang Kun’s body. Though unclear what was happening, the old man immediately glared fiercely at his brother to halt him.
Ding Meng, Cai Peng, and Wang Cang stepped back half a step, faces changing uncertainly.
Su Yan’s expression was calm as he watched Jiao Yang Sou Yang Kun.
Setting aside cunning, as a forest bandit, his boldness for such a gamble was indeed impressive.
‘A sixty-year-old man with declining qi and blood, but what if he swaps in blood marrow and remakes his bone structure…’
He suddenly grew curious, wanting to see the effect of such symbiotic servant insects on a martial artist.
The Blood Fiend Mother Worm’s tail hook pulsed, beginning to inject the Blood Marrow Worm eggs into Yang Kun’s body.
In everyone’s view, they could only see a red clump, along with the swelling of the tail hook tendril, entering Yang Kun’s body from the chest position.
The whole process made everyone shudder.
Yang Kun’s face paled, his body trembling uncontrollably.
“Lord, Big Brother has no intention of rebellion, willing to die for Lord in exchange for a chance to break through to True Intent. My words are absolutely true; if there’s half a lie, let me be cut by a thousand blades and blades…”
Yang Lun knelt and pleaded, thinking some sign had displeased Su Yan.
Su Yan smiled: “Isn’t this his fortune?”
The tail hook withdrew, blood immediately flowing out.
Yang Kun clutched the wound with one hand, then his face suddenly changed as the clump of insect egg in his body hatched.
He felt a wriggling thing at his chest, like soft boneless flesh and blood, akin to a leech.
The wound quickly healed under the fusion of special energy.
He tore open his clothes; the flesh wriggled, bleeding had stopped, and soon the blood hole was left only with light-colored flesh buds.
The strange flesh and blood clump in his body quickly surged toward the spine.
Beneath the unseen skin and flesh, the blood-red Blood Marrow Worm extended countless threads of flesh and blood like blood vessels, attaching to the entire spine.
Its main body squeezed into the spinal cord, gradually melting, then completely merging with the spinal cord, indistinguishable.
Yang Kun felt the bizarre changes in his body; the intense pain in the spinal cord turned into a surge of abundant power.
It was as if the entire spine had become youthful.
Thump, thump
His heartbeat synchronized, as if even the spinal cord was pulsing with the heartbeat.
No, not with the heartbeat.
It was the spinal cord injecting new vitality into his heartbeat.
“Boom”
Jiao Yang Sou’s Ghost Sheep True Intent phantom appeared behind his body, strands of malevolent energy from the spine converging within, actually gaining a bit more solidity.
He was overjoyed inside, his face unable to suppress the delight.
He knelt with a thud, kowtowing loudly, fists clenched tightly in utter submission.
“This humble one Yang Kun thanks Lord for the gracious gift.”
He had already felt it: the thing above the spinal cord was refining his blood, strengthening his body, and the malevolent energy was aiding his cultivation.
The Blood Marrow Worm was equivalent to an built-in pill, continuously assisting his cultivation.
“Not bad, looks like you’ve felt it.”
Su Yan’s tone remained flat as he deliberately said: “The Blood Marrow Worm can strengthen your qi and blood, refine malevolent energy, but it can also control your life and death. Not afraid?”
“This old man had no hope of True Intent in this lifetime. Now with this malevolent energy, even without a visualization diagram, I might cultivate True Intent. What’s to fear? Thank you, Lord, for the gracious gift.”
The remaining four looked on in shock at this change—it was truly a reward?
Such divine methods, even some beast taming of Beast King Sect probably couldn’t reach this level.
This Sacred Insect Dao, could it really be Sacred Insect Dao—what great power was behind it?
“You four, receive the gift together.”
