Chapter 105: The Life Crystal of the Bug Clan

"Oh oh, I get it. But why don't you call those weird bugs 'human-bugs' instead of 'bug-humans'?" Xue Chiluo asked again.

"Because they were once human—living humans—and later swallowed and transformed into bugs by the nest. That's why we call them bug-humans. Bug-human means a person who became a bug."

"Human-bug means a bug that looks like a human shape."

"They were originally people, so calling them bug-humans is more accurate," Su Hanlin said sadly.

He thought to himself: the Starry Bug Clan's ability to assimilate other beings was utterly depraved!

Turning good, living humans into bugs, then sending these bug-humans out to fight human cultivators—just like the demon clan's "Swallows." They were a perfect pair of depravity's "Wolong and Fengchu!"

"Oh, I see. Then I'm off," Xue Chiluo said. Su Hanlin instantly felt dread—but his hand suddenly went numb, and Xue Chiluo dissolved into a green light, merging into the wooden pillar beside them and vanishing. Wood Shun!

Who said this Xue Chiluo could only use Earth Shun?

Su Hanlin shook his hand in disbelief, noticing the tiny puncture wound he'd made had miraculously healed and vanished.

As for the blood he'd bled, he saw it: the moment it flowed out, it turned into faint red light and was immediately absorbed by Xue Chiluo.

No wonder everyone said the Witch Clan's biological weapons' symbiotic spirit were terrifying!

In the blink of an eye, a young cultivator dressed as a Patrol Office member appeared before Su Hanlin.

He arrived with a smirk on his lips: "I saw it—Xue Chiluo ran off. Will it come back?"

"Who are you? A Swallow?" Su Hanlin's eyes flashed with cold light.

"You're quite familiar with Swallows? Too bad I'm not. I'm just a lazy bystander who happened to see something interesting," the other replied.

Su Hanlin continued to watch him warily.

He even silently hoped Xue Chiluo wouldn't return.

That brief flash had made Su Hanlin acutely aware: he was no match for this man at all.

If Xue Chiluo came back, even if he fought to the death, he couldn't protect it.

"Don't be tense—I just came to watch the show," the man smiled. "I'm Xu Yunrui. And you? Su Hanlin?"

Su Hanlin immediately realized: this man had been here all along, and had heard every word he and Xue Chiluo exchanged—but neither of them had sensed him earlier.

This was truly…

Terrifying!

"Who exactly are you?"

"I'm just a passerby," Xu Yunrui smiled.

"Did you come here for Xue Chiluo?" Su Hanlin guessed.

"Mm-hmm. I was actually hoping I could trick one Xue Chiluo into following me—but I never expected it to be this small and already stealing from nests! Such a clever Xue Chiluo is hard to deceive. Who said little Xue Chiluo are easy to fool?" Xu Yunrui frowned slightly, muttering.

"Not all Xue Chiluo are the same," Su Hanlin's lips curled slightly.

"I've never understood why having Witch Clan blood allows one to hatch Xue Chiluo," Xu Yunrui's expression held clear confusion. "Why can't ordinary human blood hatch Xue Chiluo?"

"Who knows?" Su Hanlin was equally speechless.

"I've always wanted to study it," Xu Yunrui said, smiling in a way so unnatural it made the hair on Su Hanlin's neck stand on end.

"Don't you dare experiment on Witch Clan descendants in Xiancheng—or your name will be on the Sect's wanted poster," Su Hanlin snapped, chilled to the bone by that smile. "Instead of studying why Witch Clan blood can hatch symbiotic spirits, why not study why Starry Bug Clan nests can turn humans into bugs?"

"After all, there are plenty of physical examples—plenty for you to study."

Su Hanlin spoke with implied meaning.

Indeed, there were many decapitated bug-human corpses outside.

The Shell Bug had already spat out over a thousand bug-humans.

It probably didn't have many left inside.

After all, the success rate of turning living humans into bug-humans was always low—only about one in ten. Failed transformations were reclaimed and digested by the nest.

"You make a good point, Su Hanlin," Xu Yunrui said. Every time he said Su Hanlin's name, Su felt as if an icy, evil beast had locked onto him. "Why not leave the Intelligence Bureau and come with me? I can give you far greater room to grow."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm quite happy with my current job. I have no plans to change places."

"You… eh? It came back so fast? Amazing Shun technique," Xu Yunrui said, his voice barely finished.

A green light burst directly from the wooden pillar.

It coalesced into a Xue Chiluo!

Both Xu Yunrui and Su Hanlin noticed a dark-black crystal ring hanging from its main root.

Must be a storage item!!

"Hey, how'd you get from the roof into the building?" Xue Chiluo asked, surprised to see Xu Yunrui.

"You noticed me long ago?" Xu Yunrui exclaimed.

"Was it hard to notice you?" Xue Chiluo was clearly delighted with its outing.

Not only had it stolen something incredibly fragrant, it had also toyed with a group of bug-humans. Those bug-humans couldn't Shun through earth at all—not even close. One quick burst, and it left them completely behind.

"Not hard," Xu Yunrui suddenly recalled the investigation reports he'd read on Xue Chiluo. "Only I and blood—only I and blood couldn't escape your detection."

Su Hanlin drew a sharp breath.

Just as he'd suspected.

Xue Chiluo likely had special abilities over blood!

"By the way, what did you steal?" Xu Yunrui asked again.

"If you promise not to tell anyone I stole from a nest, I'll share some with you," Xue Chiluo said.

"Fine."

"If you break your word, your future son will call someone else 'Dad,'" Xue Chiluo said.

Xu Yunrui froze.

"Who taught you that phrase? So vicious—your son calling someone else 'Dad'? That's cutting off your lineage entirely!"

"Mm-hmm, exactly. My ancestors said: when threatening someone, always strike their weakest point. You're a human male—cutting off your lineage is definitely the worst thing you'd want, right?" Xue Chiluo said.

"You win. I agree," Xu Yunrui said, looking at it and laughing outright.

"Here, one for each of you. These transparent little stones were hidden by it in the deepest part of its nest. They must be precious treasures." Xue Chiluo shook the dark black crystal ring and tossed out two transparent crystals the size of quail eggs.

These two crystals were not insect crystals.

They were... "These are the Life Source Crystals of the Insect Clan." Xu Yunrui and Su Hanlin both drew in a sharp breath.