[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-33":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After the Immortals Disappeared",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283917,4468,"Chapter 33: Purple-Gold Toad","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-33",33,"\u003Cp>It’s just that one cannot turn back, and it’s hard to retreat, but it’s not as if one is bound hand and foot; why stand there acting like a spectator? Is this the time to be concerned about the camaraderie of fellow soldiers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group was just momentarily at a loss, but jolted by his sharp rebuke, they snapped out of it, gritted their teeth, and one after another raised their blades and axes against their possessed companions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a time like this, one’s own life is the most important; the camaraderie of fellow soldiers has to take a backseat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, all the puppets were killed, and the Three-Corpse Insects that had burrowed inside were squeezed out before they had even warmed the bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the walnut boat had passed the city gate, traveling through the undulating ruins of the old city, and also through the mottled light and shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some Three-Corpse Insects successfully burrowed back into the shadows, but when the last few were forced out, they were exposed directly to the sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Struck by the intense light, these phantoms immediately dissipated, leaving nothing behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without a skin-bag for protection, the Sun True Fire is their nemesis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The annexed city is not large, and there are not many buildings; the walnut boat soon moved far away from all the city walls, wandering once again among the sand dunes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheltered by the sunlight, everyone was panting heavily, and they could finally turn their heads freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nian Songyu’s voice came from another boat, reminding all the troops: \"Discard the corpses to reduce the weight! We must speed up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky is about to turn dark; they must hurry on their way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those lying dead on the deck had all been good partners who fought side by side. The living remained silent for a long while before they began to collect the food, water, and weapons from the corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Supplies are precious and cannot be wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua’s personal guard died with his eyes wide open; He Lingchuan walked back and closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua sighed: \"His name is Zhao Shaogang; he has been with me for five years and has handled many things for me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know, I remember.\" He Lingchuan pursed his lips and took out the last bag of naan bread, the last flask of water, and a silver hairpin of ordinary craftsmanship from Zhao Shaogang’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a man he had killed with his own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This hairpin is...\" He Chunhua was about to reminisce, but was interrupted by He Lingchuan: \"When a person dies, it is like a lamp going out; there is no use in saying more. His family will receive generous compensation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every living person has a story behind them, but so what? They were earning blood money to begin with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua stopped speaking and patted his shoulder: \"You are right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, self-pity is useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He revealed the broken comb he was clutching in his left hand: \"I always thought the resentment on the comb could repel these ghostly things; it seems it’s of no use.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This comb was the origin of all the trouble, yet in the desert, it seemed completely useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua was very disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan looked away guiltily: \"Perhaps the method of use was improper?\" The divine bone necklace hanging around his neck was also a \"token,\" perhaps the most important one, but no one else knew about this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then again, this pendant had never shown any peculiar use; were the trigger conditions insufficient?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pushed the corpse off the boat; below seemed to be a large pool, its edges built with black stone, though of course, there was no water now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sand burial has always been a tradition of Heishuicheng and the Panlong Desert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to the thud of the corpse hitting the ground, then looking at the bloodstains on his arm—accidentally smeared while killing and searching the body just now—he felt a tightness in his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strictly speaking, this was the first time he had killed someone since becoming He Lingchuan, and he had even killed his father’s personal guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew Zhao Shaogang; they had chatted and laughed together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, the situation was urgent and allowed for no hesitation, but now that he had recovered, He Lingchuan felt a sense of sorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you alright?\" He Chunhua saw him keeping his head down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A bit seasick.\" He Lingchuan lifted his water skin and took a gulp, suppressing the stifling agitation along with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Killing one’s own kind is different from killing chickens or dogs; he was surprised himself that he hadn’t leaned over the side of the boat to vomit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since coming to this world, his heart seemed to have hardened as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was it that was subtly influencing him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over there, Situ Han was also packing up his things, his eyes red. One of the sand bandits had been possessed and was killed by his own hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man had robbed wealth and women with him, and just a few days ago, they had gotten drunk together and slept side by side. Now, the warmth had not yet left the body before he threw it off the boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And everyone knew that such things would not be rare on this journey of exploration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was merely the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan took a few deep breaths quietly to calm himself down, then leaned toward He Chunhua and said: \"On the State Preceptor’s boat, the fewest people died.\" The fewest corpses were thrown overboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There has never been such a thing as fairness in this world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a person is possessed by a Three-Corpse Insect, they become a puppet; except for the Panlong City of those years, no one could produce a method for rapid rescue. It is said that by the late stages of the coalition siege, the Xianyou Kingdom already possessed several sets of treatment methods, but they were time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly; those who could successfully expel the insects did not exceed twenty percent, and it would take three to five days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three-Corpse Insects are originally hidden within the human body; the first step for a cultivator to attain the Dao is to sever their own Three-Corpse Insects. To try to expel them by other means, how could it be easy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, once possessed, the puppets go into a frenzy; how could they be docilely treated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, decision-makers like Nian Songyu had long ago agreed: once someone on the boat is possessed by a Three-Corpse Insect, they must act decisively and leave no future trouble!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every possessed person becomes a burden; they truly cannot afford to wait or save them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua shook his head, casting the troublesome thoughts to the back of his mind, then patted his son’s shoulder: \"Thanks to your timely action just now, several lives were saved. By the way, when did your aim with the flying knife get so good?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That flying knife just now had shot out right past his shoulder, with excellent accuracy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This good-for-nothing son had saved his life and helped him quell the chaos; he had truly improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prefect He felt greatly gratified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aim? Uh!\" He Lingchuan was embarrassed, \"Just now. Wasn't it because of the emergency?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua: \"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>￥￥￥￥￥\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't know if He Lingchuan’s words were a prophecy, but while the other two boats were fine, State Preceptor Sun’s walnut boat happened to encounter uninvited guests—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two enormous Purple-Gold Toads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These things were mutated monsters; not only were they shaped like toads magnified a hundred times, but even their attack method involved suddenly shooting out tongue-arrows to grab and swallow their prey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hill-sized Purple-Gold Toads leaped from the sand dunes, and their landing nearly capsized the walnut boat. The galloping earth dragons were reined in, nearly unable to pull the boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They ate people just as ordinary toads eat flying insects. They would even lift their forelimbs to help shove the prey into their mouths, then swallow them without even chewing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, when the Purple-Gold Toads encounter an enemy, the bumps on their bodies explode, releasing a purple-tinged golden toxic mist; anyone who smells it will become dizzy and foam at the mouth within a few breaths before collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the origin of their name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the Purple-Gold Toads eat very slowly, chewing and swallowing carefully for every person they eat, which gave State Preceptor Sun and his subordinates ample time to deal with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The He father and son were on another boat, unable to reach them, and could only watch the show with peace of mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1440,"2026-06-20T02:23:30.219Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","b8ad4fba562bbeb555c9e191f44f276cc1a9775f9dec69769a81b5db965fdc71","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-34","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-32",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]