The next morning.
Jiang Huai was awakened by the crackling fireworks outside the cave.
As he emerged from his quilt, Wen Wanwan also drew closer, looking at the daytime fireworks with confusion. Jiang Huai explained, “This should be a signal from the sects on Aolai Continent, meaning to gather where the fireworks are being set off. It seems they’ve also discovered the corpses and are preparing to band together to face the enemy.”
Jiang Huai got up and went to the two Fang family young ladies, waking them. The two Fang sisters quickly awoke and followed him to where the fireworks were being set off. About thirty cultivators had already gathered there, all with grim expressions. The one releasing the fireworks was Xu Qing, the Saintess of the Guanxue Sect from Aolai Continent. She wore a grey Daoist robe, her long black hair casually tied back, her figure slender, and the exposed neck of her robe was snow-white.
Jiang Huai and this Saintess of the Guanxue Sect, Xu Qing, had met once at the Daoji Ancestral Land. A few years ago, they were both at the Late Stage Foundation Establishment, but why was her cultivation level still at Late Stage Foundation Establishment at this moment?
Through the crowd, Jiang Huai merely glanced at Xu Qing from afar before retracting his gaze. He remembered Xu Qing’s name because she was also very beautiful. No matter how one argued, a man would indeed be deeply impressed by a particularly beautiful woman. Now that these cultivators were gathered together, he surmised that the evil cultivator would not dare to be so reckless. Jiang Huai then had the two Fang young ladies seek shelter in the crowd as well.
“Then where are you going, Saint Son Jiang?” asked Miss Fang the Sixth, her eyes full of reluctance.
“I still have something to do,” Jiang Huai didn’t explain much, but instead took Wen Wanwan’s hand and left. He felt uneasy leaving Wen Wanwan here. At this moment, he needed to go to the tomb of the Ninth Realm Immortal Venerable in the Daoji Ancestral Land, where he had obtained his inheritance, to ask that Immortal Venerable if she had any way to track down the evil cultivator.
The Ninth Realm Immortal Venerable was named Qingxuan, and her tomb was not far from their current location. Jiang Huai and Wen Wanwan arrived outside the imprint of her tomb. He touched the tomb’s restrictions with his divine soul, then activated the aura of Qing, the divine soul secret technique he cultivated, and said, “Inheritor Jiang Huai requests an audience with True Person Qingxuan.”
The tomb’s restrictions soon opened, and Jiang Huai and Wen Wanwan entered. The remnant soul image of True Person Qingxuan immediately appeared before Jiang Huai.
“Why have you returned here?” True Person Qingxuan looked at Jiang Huai, her voice tinged with confusion. She quickly sensed that his cultivation aura had returned to the first level of Qi Refining, and her confusion deepened.
“I accompanied my Dao Companion to seek Heavenly Way Spiritual Qi and encountered some trouble in the secret realm, so I came to seek guidance from True Person Qingxuan.”
“Speak.”
Previously, Jiang Huai had passed all of True Person Qingxuan’s tests. He was the only one to pass that test. His one-time encounter with Xu Qing, the Saintess of Guanxue Mountain, also happened here. Xu Qing ultimately failed to gain True Person Qingxuan’s recognition, so only he obtained the Heavenly Way Spiritual Qi.
True Person Qingxuan’s impression of Jiang Huai was clearly still quite good, and she wasn’t angry about him disturbing her slumber. Thus, Jiang Huai revealed everything he had seen since arriving in the secret realm.
“Can you draw the patterns on that Gu snake for me to see?”
Jiang Huai raised his hand and drew the appearance of the Gu snake. A moment later, True Person Qingxuan’s voice grew more serious and excited, “This is the Refined Yin Demon Gu.”
“Refined Yin Demon Gu?”
“I saw a Refined Yin Demon Gu once in my life. That evil cultivator who refined the Refined Yin Demon Gu cultivated all the way to the Ninth Realm. Relying on the combined efforts of Ninth Realm Immortal Venerables from several regions, they finally managed to kill it. However, a tiny portion of that Gu worm eventually split off and escaped. Several Ninth Realm Immortal Venerables searched for a long time but could not find it. If we calculate the time… it seems to be indeed time for it to revive.”
“How much does True Person Qingxuan know about the Refined Yin Demon Gu?”
“The Refined Yin Demon Gu is not a single Gu worm, but a Gu spirit. It possesses its own consciousness but relies on a host for survival. As far as I know, the Refined Yin Demon Gu commands several different Gu forms: Snake Gu, Blue Bone Gu, Red Worm Gu, Soul Devouring Gu, Joyful Union Gu, Blood Devouring Gu. It was even deemed irreconcilable by the Heavenly Way the moment it descended into the world, but I don’t know how it escaped the heavenly tribulation. Now that it has reappeared… I didn’t expect it to return here first.”
“What is it going to do?”
“It intends to use the Soul Devouring Gu and Blood Devouring Gu to consume flesh and blood and nascent souls, to create a perfect physical body for its host to cultivate. Therefore, it requires at least two hundred cultivators at the Late Stage Foundation Establishment. It disregards the worldly rules of this secret realm. Now that it is still doing this for its host, it means it has not fully grown… Jiang Huai, you have received my inheritance, you must eliminate it as soon as possible!”
“Of course… I trouble True Person Qingxuan to tell me more of what you know. If I am prepared, it will naturally be easier to act.”
“The Refined Yin Demon Gu coexists with its host. They possess independent consciousness. Among them, the Soul Devouring Gu and Blood Devouring Gu are its means of improving its host’s cultivation. The dried corpses you saw earlier were placed on the Snake Gu as a carrier by the Soul Devouring Gu and Blood Devouring Gu, whose spiritual flesh was consumed to improve the host’s cultivation. The Blue Bone Gu is a Gu worm refined from the bone powder of collected corpses, possessing some of the combat power the corpse had in life. As for the Red Worm Gu… it is a means of reconnaissance and escape. Whenever it encounters danger, it can entrust its consciousness to the Red Worm and escape danger.”
“Among these Gu worms, the most terrifying is the Joyful Union Gu… The Joyful Union Gu is its means of controlling others. Those implanted with the Joyful Union Gu will lose their consciousness, regardless of whether they are men or women, and will become licentious beasts. If they cannot have intercourse with the Gu master, they will suffer the torment of a thousand worms gnawing at their hearts. After intercourse, they will experience unimaginable bliss. The Ninth Realm Immortal Venerable who once possessed the Refined Yin Demon Gu even kept several Eighth Realm female cultivators as servants by her side.”
*What? This is even more powerful than my system’s cheat?*
Hearing this, Jiang Huai’s eyebrows twitched involuntarily. He then asked, “True Person Qingxuan, can you find the location of the Gu worm now?”
“No, the true Gu worm is hidden within the host. Unless the host deliberately reveals it, I cannot see it… Even if I could see it, I, with this wisp of remnant soul, am powerless against it.” True Person Qingxuan sighed softly. “However, I have a piece of Bicuì Jade here. Bicuì Jade is pure spirit jade. It will become slightly warm when it senses blood qi and evil energy within a certain range. You should keep it safe.”
True Person Qingxuan’s gaze suddenly fell upon Wen Wanwan. She softly exclaimed, “Is she the Grand Xuan Sacred Body?”
Jiang Huai had already told Wen Wanwan about her physique before, but she herself only had a superficial understanding of the Grand Xuan Sacred Body. She only knew that her talent for sword practice was mediocre, but her spiritual soul talent seemed extremely high, and cultivating sword moves related to the divine soul was twice as effective.
“Yes.”
“Then she is actually more suited to inherit my Qing than you are. You were disliked by my Qing Sword before; why not let her try to impress my Qing Sword Spirit?”
Jiang Huai’s face lit up, and he turned to Wen Wanwan. “Wanwan, do you want to try interacting with the Qing Sword Spirit? True Person Qingxuan’s Qing Sword is also a semi-perfect peerless sword, but its sword spirit dislikes men, so it ignored me before. Wanwan might have a chance.”
Wen Wanwan was a little confused for a moment, but she still nodded softly. “I’ll listen to Senior Brother Jiang Huai.”
“You can leave her here for now. I will seal the Legacy Secret Realm, and no one will be able to reach this place… Will you go and search for the Refined Yin Demon Gu that has re-cultivated,?” True Person Qingxuan asked calmly.
Jiang Huai nodded gently and looked at Wen Wanwan. Wen Wanwan’s eyes were full of worry. Jiang Huai gently hugged her and comforted her. “Since this Refined Yin Demon Gu needs to absorb those cultivators to cultivate, if left unchecked, it will likely be a great disaster in the future. I will naturally go to find it. Don’t worry, I will protect myself. If I encounter danger, I will come back to find you, and we can hide here together.”
Wen Wanwan felt somewhat relieved but couldn’t help but hold Jiang Huai tighter, whispering into his ear, “Senior Brother Jiang Huai, you must be careful…”
“Don’t worry, you can slowly tame the Sword Spirit here.”
Jiang Huai released Wen Wanwan and clenched the Bicuì Jade that True Person Qingxuan had given him. “I’m going.”
“Although the divine soul of the Refined Yin Demon Gu is not at its peak right now, even in its nascent stage, it is extremely terrifying. You must be extremely careful,” True Person Qingxuan couldn’t help but remind him.
Jiang Huai nodded heavily and turned to walk out of True Person Qingxuan’s Legacy Secret Realm.
…
“Xiao Ning, Xiao Ning, it’s time to wake up, we have work to do.” Jiang Huai softly called to the Sword Spirit sleeping in the Yening Sword Tomb.
“I was sleeping so soundly,” the Yening Sword Spirit’s cute, aggrieved voice came out.
“There’s a big job this time, you need to go all out.”
“You didn’t call me last time when you were chopping up evil cultivators, and everything was fine. What’s going on this time?”
“Refined Yin Demon Gu.”
“Re-re-re-Refined Yin Demon Gu?!” The Yening Sword Spirit’s voice suddenly became sharper. “Mas-mas-master, how about we, we don’t chop it?”
“Oh? You also know about the Refined Yin Demon Gu?”
“My master was one of the Ninth Realm Immortal Venerables who killed it before. It took a lot of effort. The Refined Yin Demon Gu is terrifying. How about we hide in the secret realm… and not go out…”
“Your master wasn’t afraid then, and now I am. Won’t you look down on me?”
“I was clinging to my master’s thigh, begging her not to go. My master didn’t listen, so I had no choice but to accompany her to fight. Fortunately, she was killed in the end… My master was even gravely injured in the soul by the Refined Yin Demon Gu’s backlash before its death, and it took her a hundred years to recover.”
“…That makes me a little cowardly too.”
