Chapter 177: Yao Chen's Rotten Idea

Black Stone City.

It was already morning; the various tribes within the city had not slept a wink all night, for too much had happened during those hours, leaving everyone awake and the elders of the great cultivation clans gathering with exhausted spirits, their faces etched with grave seriousness.

"One trouble barely settles before another arises; the matters of the Great Yin Dynasty remain unresolved, and now this mess has occurred as well."

"The Plague Demon Gu! Heh! To think I would encounter a Forbidden Gu said to have been lost since ancient times in legend! Truly, my luck is terrible."

"Why must the actions of Black Moon City drag us in Black Stone City down to destruction as well? Do we hold a grudge against them too?"

Yan Pojun had been busied to the point of frenzy all night, and now he appeared utterly irritable.

Long Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "We may have subconsciously overlooked one issue: people are mobile. People from Black Moon City will flow to other cities, and people from other cities will flow into Black Moon City."

"The people of Black Moon City from fifty years ago are not necessarily still in Black Moon City; they have long since scattered across various regions."

"The auction held this time in Black Stone City attracted a massive influx of Gu Cultivators from Black Moon City; indeed, more than half of Black Moon City's Gu Kings are here with us, and they were all masterminds behind that incident."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was startled, their faces turning exceedingly ugly.

Long Yuan continued, "If he does not intend to spare anyone involved in the events of those years, then the cities he needs to slaughter will likely extend far beyond just Black Moon City."

"With people from Black Moon City mixed among the populations of other cities, it is difficult to distinguish them; he will not waste time filtering out who belongs to Black Moon City, so his method will likely be to slaughter everyone in the entire city, rather kill ten thousand by mistake than let one escape."

"If this is truly his intention, then the number of cities he must slaughter is vast, and the number of people who must die is enormous," Long Yuan stated with a grave expression and a chilling tone.

Hearing this, everyone present could not help but feel their scalps go numb, their eyes revealing terror.

"In other words, the number of great cities destroyed recently may not be limited to just Black Moon City; many other great cities may have already been massacred, but the news has not yet reached us," someone said, unable to remain calm.

"You seem to have forgotten what kind of Gu he is refining; to successfully refine a single Forbidden Gu, how could slaughtering just one city be enough?"

"The number of cities lured away by a single auction trick extends far beyond just Black Moon City; the targets he intends to strike are likely not limited to just Black Moon City either."

"Indeed, before he even slaughtered Black Moon City, he likely had already destroyed many other cities."

At this moment, Cai Xuan walked over, sneering coldly.

This Gu King Peak expert from a remote region had surprisingly not yet left the city.

It was not just him; many Gu Kings from other regions had not yet departed, for after the auction ended, it was already late night.

Some Gu Kings from outside regions chose to travel overnight, while others temporarily remained in Black Stone City, some intending to leave after spending the night, never expecting to encounter such a massive incident.

By now, news of the emergence of the Forbidden Gu had spread to everyone in the city; no one failed to show shock, and the very mention of it caused their expressions to change.

The news that there were insects in the waters of the Black River caused an uproar throughout the entire city; many people, after being educated, learned for the first time that this world actually contained countless insect species so small they were invisible to the naked eye, which simply shattered their worldview and left them finding it hard to believe.

"You still have not left?"

"If you leave now, there is still time; I fear that if you delay any longer, you will be unable to depart," Yan Pojun said, turning his head to glance at him.

"It is not that I do not wish to leave, but that I cannot; have you forgotten that Heaven and Earth Decree?"

"The Heaven and Earth Decree stipulates that the heavens and earth forbid anyone from refining Forbidden Gu; those who violate this decree shall be jointly exterminated by all powerful beings in the world, and any powerful faction must unconditionally participate in the duty of slaying the demon. No one may disobey; those who fear the demon and avoid battle shall be executed alongside the demon."

"This invisible decree is binding and enforced by the Gu World Law Enforcers; if Demon Cultivators or Scattered Cultivators flee, they may escape, but my family possesses vast enterprises and assets—we can flee like a monk, but the temple cannot run, so there is no way for us to escape."

"Now, if all the Gu Kings band together, there is still a path to survival; those who have already fled the city will, according to the Heaven and Earth Decree, be executed alongside the demon."

"They may escape this calamity today, but soon they will be hunted down by people across the world, even pursued by the enforcers of Gu Imperial City; this provides a perfectly legitimate excuse for killing and seizing treasures, and everyone will participate in the pursuit."

Watching Gu King after Gu King fly out of Black Stone City, Cai Xuan helplessly shook his head.

It was simply that the Plague Demon Gu was too ancient; those with limited knowledge might not be aware of it, and the Gu Kings of small families and Scattered Cultivators, lacking broad experience, probably did not know just how severe the consequences of failing to participate in the demon-slaying mission truly were, otherwise, even given a hundred times their courage, they would not dare to flee.

Upon hearing this, the worried expressions on the faces of the Gu Kings of Black Stone City relaxed considerably.

Putting it this way, Black Stone City would gain a large contingent of powerful allies at the Gu King level; with the assistance of so many Gu Kings from other regions, their pressure would be greatly reduced, and this battle might not be difficult to fight after all.

The assistance of numerous Gu Kings from outside regions served as a strong tonic for them, giving them considerably more confidence for the upcoming battle.

Cai Xuan looked at Yan Pojun and added, "Even if Shi Haojun does not make a move against Black Stone City, Black Stone City still has the obligation to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Shi Haojun; with our assistance, City Lord Yan, what degree of certainty do you have in eliminating this Demon?"

Yan Pojun glanced in the direction of Black Moon City, pondered for a moment, and said, "If we possess a method to counter the Mutation Domain, and we numerous Gu Kings join forces, I have more than an eighty percent chance of eliminating him."

"If there is no method to counter the Mutation Domain, then this battle is fundamentally unwinnable; with a swarm of insects biting chaotically inside one's body, how can one fight? Even if more Gu Kings arrive, they will not be enough for him to slaughter."

Hearing this, Yao Chen's eyes first lit up, and he spoke first: "Under the condition that there is a method to counter the Mutation Domain, does the City Lord truly have more than an eighty percent chance of destroying him? Could you reveal the source of the City Lord's confidence?"

Yan Pojun snorted coldly and said confidently, "Do you truly think I fear this Shi Haojun?"

"I may not be able to defeat him, but even if I cannot defeat him, escaping is no problem."

"What I fear is his ability; his ability to slaughter cities is simply too fast, capable of easily exterminating my entire clan—this is what truly frightens me."

"Actually, the difficulty lies not in eliminating Shi Haojun, but in how to defend Black Stone City and how to protect my entire clan."

"This immobile Black Stone City is the fatal weakness of all us Gu Kings; once battle commences, we will be constrained and hampered."

"If not for this city weighing us down, Shi Haojun would actually not be difficult to deal with."

"You have all been frightened out of your wits by the Forbidden Gu; the Plague Demon Gu is far less terrifying than you all imagine."

"Perhaps the Plague Demon Gu was powerful during the Age of Gods, but in the present era, the heavens and earth have extinguished most materials; given that the Gu Formula for the Plague Demon Gu requires tens of millions of ingredients, a considerable portion of those materials must surely have gone extinct."

"Therefore, the Plague Demon Gu in Shi Haojun's possession must be a reduced version, its power weakened by who knows how many folds, making it not difficult to deal with."

"This is why I say that, provided there is a means to counter the Mutation Domain, I have more than an eighty percent chance of eliminating him."

"Saying 'more than eighty percent' is an extremely conservative estimate; consider that after an entire auction, there are currently over a hundred Gu Kings stranded in the city; with so many Gu Kings joining forces, how could there be any possibility of defeat?"

Hearing the City Lord's explanation, everyone began to display expressions of confidence.

The City Lord's explanation was reasonable and sound; indeed, the vast majority of Spirit Insects in this world have long gone extinct; since the Plague Demon Gu requires so many materials, how could some of them not have been lost?

That Plague Demon Gu must be an incomplete version, with limited power, far less terrifying than recorded in the History Books; they truly did not need to be so fearful.

Moreover, with so many Gu Kings from outside regions currently assisting within the city, the odds of victory in this battle were even greater.

At this moment, due to the City Lord's words, the confidence of everyone present surged dramatically, morale soared, many ceased to be pessimistic, and confident smiles began to appear on their faces.

"Since the City Lord speaks thus, I am reassured."

A smile appeared on Yao Chen's face, and he laughed, "Speaking of methods to counter the Mutation Domain, my Yao Clan indeed possesses one."

"The method is very simple: my clan has a type of Poison Pill that has miraculous effects on any living creature in the world; my idea is for everyone to ingest this Poison Pill, and just at the moment before being poisoned to death, immediately consume the Jie Du to neutralize the poison."

"In this way, all microbes within the human body will be poisoned to death, yet the person can survive."

"Once there are no microbes inside the human body, one naturally need not fear the Mutation Domain of the Plague Demon Gu." Yao Chen revealed a confident smile.

Hearing this divine proclamation from the old fellow, Long Xuan in the distance was utterly stunned.

This was the method he had devised? Very good, very powerful; only he could think of feeding people poison.

Long Xuan was truly shocked by this flashy maneuver; after all, the human body contains many beneficial microbes, such as Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus, Yeast...

There were simply too many microbes beneficial to the human body to count, and these microbes were indispensable; lacking any single kind would cause major problems for the body.

Good heavens, this old man actually planned to kill them all off; ignorance is truly terrifying—what kind of twisted logic was this?

One thing was certain: the human body could not be one hundred percent devoid of microbes; if someone had not a single microbe inside them, their body would surely encounter major issues, and even if they didn't die, they would suffer terribly.

This old man was uneducated; what a rotten idea this was.

Yet just as he thought this, a large group of Gu Kings nodded in agreement one after another.

"Good idea, let's do it! Truly well thought out."

"This plan is excellent; let's proceed with it!"

Seeing all the Gu Kings nodding and smiling in agreement, Long Xuan felt completely numb.

However, in the end, he did not step forward to voice any objection.

After all, his Identity was lowly, his Cultivation Realm was lowly, and he was merely an unknown nobody; how could he step forward to interrupt? What right did he have to speak here?

If he were to reject the Gu Kings' proposal, would they still have any face left?

Perhaps this was the only solution available.

The Plague Demon Gu could control all living creatures smaller than itself, which naturally included beneficial bacteria.

If they did not kill off every microbe inside their bodies, this battle would likely be unwinnable.

Moreover, the harm caused by the absence of microbes in the human body would take some time to manifest and would not strike instantly; they would have enough time to surround and exterminate Shi Haojun while at their peak.

In that case, there was no need for him to interfere; he should quickly swallow the Poison Pill to eliminate that Great Demon Shi Haojun. As for the problems the Gu Kings' bodies would face later, what did that have to do with him? Once Shi Haojun was eliminated, it was no longer his concern!

He presumed the Gu Kings were strong and robust, and would not die simply because their bodies lacked microbes.

Long Xuan thought irresponsibly.

At this moment, that unreliable old man spoke again: "However, this trick only renders the Mutation Domain ineffective against microbes inside the human body; it has no effect on microbes in the air."

"Therefore, when surrounding and exterminating Shi Haojun, everyone must activate their Spirit Armor with full power, using maximum defense to guard against those tiny Spirit Insects in the air that are invisible to the naked eye."

"Doing so will inevitably consume a terrifying amount of energy, so this battle must be concluded quickly and decisively; we absolutely cannot drag it out for too long."

"Naturally!" Yan Pojun laughed confidently: "With so many of us ganging up on one person, if we still cannot resolve the battle swiftly, we might as well find a block of tofu and smash our heads against it; I cannot afford to lose that much face."

"Exactly; with such a numerical advantage, if we still cannot achieve a quick victory, we might as well commit mass suicide; I cannot afford to lose that much face either." The others also responded loudly and confidently one after another.

(End of Chapter)