Chapter 5: Planting the Cocoon

Feeling a bit unnerved by Zhu Tong's gaze, Zhang Nuo involuntarily stepped back two paces, a look of panic appearing in his pair of childlike eyes.

Zhu Tong did not notice Zhang Nuo's change at all; it was only when Zhang Nuo had already retreated quite far away that he realized it, hurriedly restraining his strange behavior and waving a hand toward the bewildered child.

With no other choice, Zhang Nuo bit the bullet and walked back to Zhu Tong's side, his two legs trembling slightly. He bit his lip with his snow-white teeth, saying nothing.

"This thing is a treasure of the Cultivation World; countless people have broken their heads fighting for it, risking their lives to contend for it, yet you don't know its value!"

Picking up that white insect cocoon from the ground, Zhu Tong spoke to Zhang Nuo as if trying to persuade and educate him.

Staring at the insect cocoon for a long time, Zhang Nuo could not see what was good about it, and he still looked at Zhu Tong with fear.

"This insect cocoon is an unhatched Spirit Insect, a Heavenly Sky Grade Spirit Insect. It is very hard to find in the Mortal World, and legend has it that even in the Immortal World, those immortals fight for it at the cost of their lives. I obtained this cocoon by chance; I originally intended to wait until it showed internal movement before hatching it and having it recognize its master. Once it becomes my Spirit Insect, its terrifying abilities will surely make me the number one extraordinary person in the Cultivation World. I never expected that I would wait for ten years!"

Speaking up to this point, a flash of wild joy first appeared on Zhu Tong's face, followed by a look of regret.

"That Hongfa Nanzhi who is hunting me down also wants to obtain this cocoon, hehe! But even if I were to give this cocoon away cheaply, I wouldn't give it to them!"

A sinister grin appeared on Zhu Tong's pale face, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhang Nuo's arm. Zhang Nuo, who had no defenses, was caught right in the act. Just as he wanted to open his mouth to scream, he only felt a wave of dizziness in his head, his body went limp on the ground, and his eyelids slowly closed. The moment he closed his eyes, Zhu Tong's voice reached his ears.

"Kid, remember this! I am planting this 'Mysterious Heaven Spirit Insect' cocoon inside your left arm. Do not let anyone know, or else your life will be in danger! It will absorb the blood from your body as nourishment, which is equivalent to it recognizing its master. The day the Spirit Insect hatches, it will be yours forever! If you achieve great success because of this Spirit Insect in the future, you must help me take revenge and kill Hongfa Nanzhi and the others!"

After finishing, a green glow an inch long flashed on Zhu Tong's finger, and he lightly slashed at Zhang Nuo's arm. A long gash immediately appeared on the skin, and fresh blood slowly flowed out. Afterward, Zhu Tong placed this "Mysterious Heaven Spirit Insect" cocoon into this wound.

As soon as it touched the blood, the cocoon twisted violently a few times. In an instant, its snow-white body was dyed red by the blood. Slowly, this blood-colored cocoon, as if it had found a home, plunged headfirst into the flesh of Zhang Nuo's arm.

All of this happened extremely quickly; Zhang Nuo, who had already fainted, did not notice anything at all. After finishing all this, the look of loss on Zhu Tong's face grew deeper. He backhanded a light wave over the wound on Zhang Nuo's arm, and the wound immediately disappeared, the skin looking completely as if it were new.

The next morning, Zhang Nuo felt a light breeze blow across his face, and he slowly opened his eyes. By this time, Zhu Tong had long since disappeared, leaving him lying on the ground alone.

Sitting up from the ground, Zhang Nuo felt his body was very weak. Everything that happened last night felt like a dream. He looked at his left arm, and there was nothing unusual, but while he was unconscious, he had clearly heard Zhu Tong say that he had planted some kind of insect cocoon in his arm.

After thinking for a long time, Zhang Nuo could not make sense of it. He stood up from the ground and ran quickly toward Heiniu Village. Having not returned home for the night, he feared he would not be able to escape a beating.

Pondering this in his heart, after more than an hour, Zhang Nuo ran to the entrance of Heiniu Village. At this time, the village was very quiet, without even a shadow of a person. As a breeze blew by, he suddenly smelled a bloody stench, a scent that made one want to vomit.

"Strange, it's not the New Year? Whose family is slaughtering a pig!"

When he first smelled this scent, Zhang Nuo thought it was the villagers slaughtering livestock. He walked slowly toward the village. Heiniu Village was not very large, and after a moment, Zhang Nuo arrived at the center of the village. However, everything before his eyes gave him a huge shock; his two legs felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he could not move a step forward. His mouth opened a few times, but he could not make a sound. In his heart, there was nothing but fear!

He saw that in the center of the village, a pool more than three zhang wide had appeared at some point. On the edge of the pool, Kuluotou were neatly arranged, and inside the pool, it was filled with bright red blood. It turned out that the bloody stench was coming from here.

This terrifying scene before his eyes—let alone a child, even an adult would feel their scalp go numb upon seeing it. The blood in the pool rippled in circles as the morning breeze blew.

Suddenly, as if waking from a dream, Zhang Nuo ran quickly toward his home. He wanted to find his parents; he wanted to hide in his loved ones' arms.

But when he returned home, he discovered that the house was completely empty; let alone people, there wasn't even a living thing! The entire Heiniu Village was like a ghost village, without any sign of life.

"Dad! Mom!"

Fear! Loneliness! Helplessness! These things were driving Zhang Nuo crazy. He screamed at the top of his lungs, and suddenly everything went black before his eyes, and he fainted on the ground.

The entire village fell silent once again as Zhang Nuo collapsed, with only the blood in the pool at the center of the village rippling as the wind blew!