Chapter 109: Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse

What the hell is this!

Yunhe retreated while clenching his fist and throwing a punch.

Although there was still some distance to the opposite skeleton, the red-ringed gold-spotted bees beside him gathered into a fist-sized shape like his.

He smashed it down hard.

Crack-crack-crack—

Under the impact of the red-ringed gold-spotted bees, the skeleton was predictably shattered.

Just.

In the short span of a breath after being shattered, the skeleton returned to its original state.

This was merely one of them.

But in Yunhe's view, there were at least nearly a hundred!

Most were the skeletons of demonic beasts, and most of them were not strong.

But these things simply cannot be killed.

Just felt.

'What is controlling these skeletons?'

While Yunhe swiftly retreated, he extended his divine sense, trying to find a clue from these skeletons.

But as his divine sense swept over them, aside from the strange spiritual aura shrouding these skeletons, he found nothing else unusual.

Suddenly.

The ground beneath his feet writhed, and he quickly pulled away to the side.

Boom!!

A huge bone claw burst from the wall on the side, followed by a creature reduced to a skeleton, resembling a tiger, lunging out.

Its aura was completely different from those before, reaching Foundation Establishment!

At the same time, more and more of these things appeared within the range of Yunhe's divine sense, as if no matter how he ran, they were always these things.

'Could it be that the Heavenly Insect Sect was destroyed precisely because of these things?'

After nearly ten thousand years, the Heavenly Insect Sect has completely vanished, yet these things still exist?

After dodging another attack, Yunhe's expression turned grave as he flicked his finger.

The red-ringed gold-spotted bees surged forward again, instantly covering a skeleton whose aura had reached Foundation Establishment.

But this time the bee swarm did not scatter after striking; instead, it clung firmly to the skeleton, accompanied by a fine gnawing sound, and within less than three breaths the skeleton was completely devoured.

'Could it be that only this can completely kill these things?'

Having reached that conclusion, Yunhe's face looked grim.

Even if the red-ringed gold-spotted bees could gnaw these skeletons, the time and cost to crush them versus to chew them completely are entirely different.

Leaving aside whether Yunhe can endure in this place of corrupt spiritual energy, even the red-ringed gold-spotted bees cannot sustain this indefinitely.

Huh?

However, after the red-ringed gold-spotted bees completely devoured a skeleton, Yunhe's divine sense finally detected a faint anomaly.

He lightly flicked his storage ring, summoning the Lihuo Pearl to repel the surrounding skeletons.

He swiftly stepped forward, cast a spell, and a mass of water surged forth, shaping into a palm.

From the ground where the skeleton had been completely gnawed, he scooped up a thin, weak black creature, like a hair, constantly wriggling as it tried to burrow underground.

This is

Gu worm?!

Yunhe's pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed in surprise.

Gazing at the black, slender creature wrapped in the water yet still tenaciously wriggling, Yunhe slightly exerted his palm, clenching his fist.

Splash—

The condensed water also surged with force as he clenched.

Sizzle—

Accompanied by a faint hum, the black creature turned into a wisp of black vapor and dissipated.

Seeming to have thought of something, Yunhe retracted his divine sense and focused on the nearest skeleton.

Finally, after condensing his divine sense to the extreme, from the position of that skeleton's spine, beneath the layers of decaying spiritual aura, he locked onto that well-hidden black creature.

Then he pinched a seal.

Pulling Technique!

Amidst the 'sizzle' sound, he pulled that creature out from the skeleton.

Then, with a surge of mana, that creature was easily slain, turning into a wisp of black vapor.

Indeed, after that black creature vanished, the skeleton seemed to lose all support, like a broken-string puppet half falling apart, showing no sign of recovery.

Although he had confirmed his suspicion, Yunhe did not relax; instead, his expression grew even grimmer.

Yes, these unidentified black gu worms themselves appear not particularly strong, easily slain.

But to find this gu worm, he had to focus his divine sense, capable of covering 160 zhang, onto a single skeleton just to barely locate it.

Here, how many skeletons are there?

Numbering in the hundreds!

Even numbering in the thousands!

This is merely a corner of the Heavenly Insect Sect ruins.

How vast is the entire Heavenly Insect Sect ruins?

Back then, how many cultivators and demonic beasts did the Heavenly Insect Sect have?

He thought towards a worse direction.

Perhaps even the corpses of third- to fourth-level demonic beasts have been possessed!

Most importantly, these unknown gu worms awaken at the same time; there might even be a mother worm controlling them.

So, knowing the reason these skeletons can still move only lets him feel a bit relieved and allows him to take targeted precautions against being influenced by the black gu worms.

Now the biggest problem is still how to leave here.

If we say, earlier Yunhe wasn't that urgent, thinking that even if he stayed here he couldn't stop his cultivation, then now he is eager to leave.

Because no one knows when a creature comparable to a Golden Core cultivator might suddenly appear.

Or maybe we still need to go to the main hall?

Wanting to find a way to leave, perhaps the pivot of the Heaven Insect Sect's mountain-protecting grand formation in the main hall might yield a clue.

But the commotion just now started from the main hall; it's estimated that place has now become the most dangerous spot of the Heaven Insect Sect ruins.

Right, we can go to the Administrative Hall; if we can find the token that Wei Ming held back then, we might find a way out!

Yunhe, his thoughts racing, didn't dare hesitate; after making a decision, he quickly rushed toward the Administrative Hall.

Encountering skeletons controlled by gu worms on the way, he didn't linger; if he could avoid them, he did so as much as possible.

If he really couldn't avoid them, either he let the red-ring gold-spotted bee swarm repel them, or he simply used the 'Li Fire Pearl' to scorch them.

Although the 'Beast Soul Banner' is stronger, it also consumes the most mana.

Now every bit of mana is especially important.

Heaven Insect Sect ruins, outside the main hall.

Bear!!

The scorching crimson-gold flames swept over, and a large number of skeleton corpses were directly incinerated into ashes.

Xiao Qiyuan had a solemn face, but his gaze toward the main hall was especially fervent.

Accompanied by a gold fire centipede, after realizing he had inadvertently entered the Heaven Insect Sect ruins, he rushed straight to the Heaven Insect Sect's main hall.

He took two crimson pills from his storage bag and threw them to the gold fire centipede.

Seeing the red pills, the gold fire centipede's tiny eyes flashed with fervor, and after swallowing both pills in one gulp, the crimson-gold color on its carapace became even more vivid.

"I didn't expect that after ten thousand years, the Heaven Insect Sect would have become this ghastly state."

In his low mutter, there was a hint of sentiment and also an excitement he couldn't suppress.

"But for things that are only skeletons now, no matter how strong you were in life, you're nothing but a pile of bones."

He could imagine that.

Back then, the demonic beasts and cultivators that ran rampant inside the Heaven Insect Sect certainly weren't just skeletons; they must have been extremely difficult to deal with.

After all, the demonic beasts' bodies, scales, claws, sharp teeth, etc., are their most formidable weapons.

But now only a pile of skeletons remains, and they have been eroded by long ages.

Even if their aura is strong, they're still just a pile of bones.

If it were just him, he might still need to be wary, but having a third-level gold fire centipede doubles his confidence.

"As long as I can obtain it, even if I break this gold fire centipede, the ancestor will surely not blame me!"

But just as he was full of confidence and about to step into the main hall,

A wave of chilling qi made his body stiffen.

The gold fire centipede also instantly tensed its body in that moment.

The next moment.

Two figures appeared in his field of vision.

"Heaven Capital Gu Corpse?!"

Xiao Qiyuan exclaimed in shock.

He forcefully pushed off with his legs and quickly retreated.

"How is that possible! How did it do that?"

While quickly pulling away, he formed a hand seal.

The gold fire centipede, very wary, glanced at the two gu corpses, then, like a centipede shadow, retreated together with Xiao Qiyuan.

Xiao Qiyuan, standing on the gold fire centipede's back, had an extremely grim expression.

He had thought the Heaven Insect Sect interior was merely filled with skeleton corpses, but he never expected that gu corpses were hidden in the main hall, which far exceeded his expectations.

Gu corpses are a type of refined corpse.

Those that are only skeletons cannot be compared to gu corpses.

And these two Heaven Capital Gu Corpses are existences comparable to Golden Core cultivators!

Bang! Bang!

Before Xiao Qiyuan could catch his breath, two figures smashed down from the air, creating two huge pits.

Then, from the rising dust, the Heaven Capital Gu Corpses stepped out slowly.

Xiao Qiyuan dared not linger at all, driving the gold fire centipede to flee quickly.

But those two Heaven Capital Gu Corpses fixed on him; although their movements seemed slow, the gold fire centipede couldn't shake them off.

At this point Xiao Qiyuan finally realized that he had underestimated the thing that had destroyed the Heaven Insect Sect back then.

Bang!!

After shattering a skeleton, Yunhe exhaled lightly.

"Let's rest a bit."

He made a hand seal to recall the red-ring gold-spotted bees, leaving only a few as sentries.

Then he threw several defective 'Breeding Pills' and many low-grade spirit stones into the spirit insect bag.

He, sitting in a corner of the Administrative Pavilion, wore a worried expression.

He couldn't find the token!

Or rather, even if he had found the token, after so much time the identity token of a Heavenly Insect Sect disciple would have long rotted away; without special means of preservation, it's hardly possible for anything to last this long.

He took out two medium-grade Spirit Stones and held them in his hand.

Taking advantage of the lack of corpses nearby, he hurriedly recovered his magical power, recovering as much as he could.

At the same time he pondered how to leave this damned place without a token.

"What should we do?"

If he continues to stay, he will be worn out to death.

Boom!!

But not long after, a faint disturbance came from afar, and it seemed to be approaching this way.

"Divine sense?"

Yunhe, who was in the midst of recovering his magical power, suddenly opened his eyes, feeling a sweep of divine sense pass over him.

"Xiao Qiyuan?"

Xiao Qiyuan, riding a Goldfire Centipede, came swiftly.

Yunhe immediately jumped out the window of the Administrative Pavilion, flung out a few talismans, and his speed surged.

But because he couldn't conceal his aura while cultivating just now, Xiao Qiyuan's divine sense had already locked onto him.

Feeling Xiao Qiyuan drawing ever closer behind him, Yunhe's expression grew solemn.

"Even if you have the protection of a Third-Level Goldfire Centipede, that is merely external power; don't push too far."

"Brother Yunhe, I mean no harm! But if we want to leave now, we probably have to join forces!"

Xiao Qiyuan's earnest voice sounded in his ear.

As the distance closed, Yunhe's divine sense finally noticed the two figures trailing behind Xiao Qiyuan.

He sensed their aura.

Yunhe's face darkened, and he almost burst out cursing.

"Brother Yunhe, I sincerely want to cooperate. I know I did something wrong before, but this time is truly different. Seeing you come out of the Administrative Pavilion, I suppose our thoughts align, but you likely didn't find a token in the Administrative Pavilion."

"And I had previously gone to the Main Hall, but before I could even enter the doors I encountered these two Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpses; if we want to survive we must join forces!"

"Framing you would do me no good either, and I likewise cannot hold off two Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpses at once; it's just a matter of dying sooner or later."

There's actually something like this in the Main Hall?

Yunhe secretly felt glad he hadn't rashly gone to the Main Hall earlier.

"This is at least comparable to a Golden Core-refined corpse, right? A Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpse?" Yunhe pondered.

"To show sincerity, I will first hold off one Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpse; you only need to help me delay the other for at most one and a half sticks of incense! If you also want to leave this place, you can only go to the Main Hall to find the core hub of the Grand Formation; without joining forces, we probably can't even get through the hall doors!"

Xiao Qiyuan, fearing Yunhe would doubt him, even voluntarily offered to first step forward to block one Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpse.

Although Xiao Qiyuan's actions made Yunhe feel angry.

But he also had to admit that if the Main Hall really was as he said, then without joining forces they truly couldn't even get through the hall doors.

But

"Even if we manage to kill these two Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpses and enter the Main Hall, wouldn't an even greater danger appear?"

Yunhe couldn't help but have that thought flash through his mind.

Listening to Xiao Qiyuan's increasingly urgent voice transmitted through divine sense, Yunhe still did not agree, even as the distance between them shrank; he at least still needed some time.

"If Brother Xiao truly has sincerity, why not first tell me what exactly is going on in the Heavenly Insect Sect Ruins? And what exactly are those Heavenly Capital Poisonous Insect Corpses?"

A brief silence.

After a while, Xiao Qiyuan's voice sounded again.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either. I only once heard my Elder Ancestor mention that the reason the Heavenly Insect Sect, once flourishing, was destroyed overnight might be because a certain Nascent Soul Elder Ancestor of the sect refined a fourth-level poisonous insect."

He paused.

"Fourth Level Heavenly Corpse Poisonous Insect!"

(End of chapter)