NOVPUBThe Red Lady Demon transmitted her message anxiously and in a flurry, a major disaster had occurred.
Tao Qian had placed his pieces in the dark, and according to his revealed Record, the Ninth Prince, Zhu Qi, had planned to refine Lady Mei in ten days.
But who would have thought?
The ten-day period was unexpectedly brought forward, and the change was clearly due to the last ingredient "Demon Soul Swallowing Corpse Essence".
This spirit monster, Tao Qian also knew.
It was even recorded in the Spirit Treasure Great Volume,
"It is rumored that there exist seventy-two types of spirit monsters between heaven and earth. These creatures are unrestrained by heaven, unmanaged by earth, not controlled by the five sacred mountains, not confined by the seas and mountains; they are prone to killing and chaos, promiscuous, and feed on flesh and blood... This Demon Soul Swallowing Corpse Essence is the first kind."
"They are said to look like twenty-eight-year-old women, with rosy faces and vermilion lips, green brows, and red cheeks, bodies like creamy balm, dressed in emerald blue, adorned with splendid crowns, making those who see them think they are Heavenly Girls descending from heaven. Who would expect them to be spirit monsters that specifically disrupt one's cultivation?"
"This creature is elusive and extremely rare, no wonder even with Zhu Qi's resources, he set a ten-day period. Has his good fortune turned, catching it ahead of time?"
In a flash of thought, Tao Qian's eyebrows furrowed tightly.
While comforting the Red Lady, his mind raced with thoughts.
"If Lady Mei is the Tribulation Leader, it means she plays a significant role in whether I can survive the tribulation."
"Even if she's not, as a benevolent woman, now that I know of her, I must think of some way to rescue her."
"I had no chance when I first arrived, only just succeeded in flipping 'Yin Qiye', and managed to devise some means to rescue people."
"But now with this sudden turn of events, Lady Mei is about to be thrown into the pill furnace to be refined, how can I rescue her?"
"Although Ninth Prince Zhu Qi is twisted and disgusting, his strength is undeniably formidable, being a Taishang Demon Son, his mansion is certainly no different from a real Demon Cave."
"With my current abilities, can I quietly infiltrate Prince Zhao Mansion and take her away?"
As the last question arose, Tao Qian immediately gave himself an answer.
No!
Even if he held himself in high esteem, and had achievements like defeating Lian Yulou, he could not simply barge into Prince Zhao Mansion to save someone.
Not to mention, if Zhu Qi's master, who might also be his own father, was present.
If that "Taishang Primordial Demon Manifestation Saint True Monarch" were in Prince Zhao Mansion, Tao Qian's infiltration would be akin to seeking death.
Even creatures like Substitute Demon and Invisibility Demon, with their peculiar abilities, would appear like child's play before a high-level cultivator of the Ultimate Happiness Realm, who could see through them in the blink of an eye.
Even without that True Monarch present, Zhu Qi still had a host of Demon Cultivators from the Taishang Demon Sect under his command.
The Alchemist Saint Child Huang Chong, the Squad Leader of Cao Gang who had cultivated the Blood River Scripture, and so on.
Saying the guards were formidable and Demons roamed everywhere was no exaggeration.
"Perhaps I should seek advice from Yuan Gong..."
Left with no choice, Tao Qian thought of his accompanying elder and was about to ask for guidance through transmission.
Suddenly, the Red Lady's urgent voice rang in Tao Qian's mind again.
This time, her tone held more confusion.
"Master, master, something strange has happened again."
"There seems to be a traitor among the Taishang Demon Son's subordinates, secretly adding ingredients to the alchemy materials."
"The immortal dew that silly woman just drank, ugh, it's all worms, save me, master, that silly woman has drank a belly full of worms."
"Hmm?"
A new turn of events, Tao Qian's eyebrows also raised.
He immediately had the Red Lady Demon send the scene directly to him, which, though such action consumed a great deal of Demon Thought, Tao Qian could not but promise some more Demon Pills in return.
Then, in the next moment, Tao Qian saw a series of very peculiar scenes:
The entirety of the grand Prince Zhao Mansion flashed by, bright and lit up, ancient pill furnaces floated midair, each one containing different spiritual materials.
In one of them, Lady Mei, who seemed as frail as Xishi, or a Heavenly Girl descending to earth, was sitting calmly.
Unperturbed, filled with indifference towards death.
The light and shadow flashed, entering her body swiftly.
"Hiss!"
Given Tao Qian's current Divine Power Cultivation, there were very few scenes that could surprise him.
But his eyes were opened again.
Lady Mei was originally a dead woman, who by chance merged with a "Jiangzhu Immortal Grass" and was reborn as an Alien Species.
Her inner world was vaguely showing the image of the Immortal Herb.
But at this moment, the Immortal Herb was covered by countless tiny insects.
Those worms were long and roundish, flesh-red in color, with bifurcated tails, their front ends splitting into nine petals like "blooming flowers", exposing the densely packed sharp teeth within, and a constant dripping of disgusting saliva.
Although these worms seemed to be in a state of half-sleeping and half-awake.
Clinging to Lady Mei's internal organs and intestines, some even flowed with the blood into her skull, flat-out clinging to the surface of her brain.
Her whole body was infested with insects!
The usually mighty and domineering Red Lady Demon now stood alone on Lady Mei's heart, looking frustrated as her temporary residence turned into a horrific nest of insects.
Tao Qian, with his expansive knowledge, looked on for a long while but couldn't recognize the creatures at all.
He thus settled on projecting it in the quiet room.
All the while, planning to call upon Yuan Gong for his opinion.
Unexpectedly, a sharp cry suddenly came from within Tao Qian's embrace. Yunrong lifted her head to look, and rare fear appeared in her green, bewitching pupils.
Without waiting for Tao Qian to inquire, Yunrong's voice came through:
"This insect is called the 'Huangquan Mite', a kind of extreme Yin poison, and a Gu Worm that can only be cultivated artificially."
"To cultivate this Gu, one must first nurture a land of extreme Yin, irrigating it day and night with precious Yin Source Qi. Thereafter, 'plant people' whose Life Charts are special and whose bodies are extremely Yin, forcibly burying them in the soil and allowing them to endure the torment of Source Qi, suffering painfully until death."
"Such being the case, once nine hundred ninety-nine people are planted, then go on to draw in some water from Huangquan to irrigate, followed by sealing it off."
"After nine years, upon reopening, all those extreme Yin human trees will have had their flesh dissolved, their skins shed, and their bones will have transformed into something like black jade."
"Crush the bones, and from within the marrow, you'll find the worm."
"Huangquan Mite, a Gu worm between tangible and intangible with a single use: controlling others."
"As long as one's body is entered by this Gu, even a high-level cultivator, I'm afraid, will have to obey another's command."
"At least cultivators of the Cavernous Mystery Realm cannot avoid this fate. It's unknown for those in the Ultimate Happiness Realm."
"This Gu comes from the Heterodox Great Book 'Gu God Scripture,' a powerful and terrifying Lifebound Scripture. Alas, the Gu God Scripture has long been lost."
Yunrong had just finished speaking,
When a red mist wafted around and Yuan Gong appeared.
It was rare for his face to show such solemnity as he pointed at the Huangquan Mite and said:
"In ancient times, there was a capable cultivator who practiced this scripture, self-titled 'Mad Plague God Gao Tianma.' He made an enemy of the Buddhist Sect over an incident, and after plotting for hundreds of years and refining thousands of Gu worms, he managed to devour the Buddhist Great Sect 'Dragon Sparrow Temple' from top to bottom in a single night."
"This act enraged the Buddhist Sect, provoking both the Great Reincarnation Temple and Vajra Temple to act. In the end, Senior Gao was caught by the Glazed Vajra Arhat of the Vajra Temple and was brutally hammered into dust."
"Even so, that Glazed Arhat, who could have achieved an even higher realm, had his Vajra Body ruined by a final Gu God's flesh-eating blow from Gao Tianma and soon reincarnated to cultivate anew."
"And that volume of the 'Gu God Scripture' likely fell into the hands of the Imperial Family at that time."
After Yuan Gong finished his last sentence, Tao Qian's face immediately displayed shock, and a guess formed in his mind.
"It's been countless years since ancient times, and the Imperial Family has changed through numerous generations. The Imperial Family that had the 'Gu God Scripture' back then probably has no connection to today's dynasty."
"Even if Prince Zhu Qi really had it, he wouldn't be crazy enough to use the Gu on himself, right?"
"Moreover, there is still one person in Prince Zhao Mansion today with an exceedingly close connection to the Imperial Family."
"Huang Chong!"
"This Saint Heir comes from the Alchemist Organization."
"This organization takes it upon itself to uphold the name of the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty, and within it, there's a bunch of old monsters and many lost Great Lifebook Scriptures which they seem to have collected."
"For instance, while in Southern Yue, that pretty boy Qin Wuxiang brought out the 'Emperor's Shocking Book' for Ji Xianxian to practice, which is also a lost Great Book."
"So is Huang Chong, who openly chose Zhu Qi as the Saint Heir he intends to support, actually a double-dealer in secret?"
"Planning to use this 'Huangquan Gu' to control Zhu Qi?"
As these thoughts surged forth, without concrete evidence, Tao Qian inexplicably felt he had guessed correctly.
Goodness! Not a single one of them is sincere, all secretly playing dirty tricks.
Tao Qian silently lamented, and at the same time, he did not forget to ask Yuan Gong if there was a way to rescue Lady Mei from Prince Zhao Mansion.
Then he received a cold sneer in response, Yuan Gong pointed at himself and said irritably,
"Although Lingwa, that old thing, is far from Duobao's match and certainly cannot beat me from back in the day,"
"he is, after all, an elder of the Taishang Demon Sect. His killing prowess and divine powers are far beyond what an ordinary cultivator in the Ultimate Happiness Realm can compare with."
"I just took a look, and that old thing has already returned to Demon City. Right now, he's in that damned Prince Zhao Mansion."
"At this time, unless you can bring Duobao or Kongchan, that old bald donkey, whoever goes will not escape a fate of death and Dao annihilation."
"If your cultivation were in the Cavernous Mystery Realm, you could summon a few high-level demons to orchestrate something. You couldn't fight, but sneaking someone out should be no problem."
"Just a mere Foundation Establishment Realm, better rest easy, restrain your killing and malicious intent, lest he detects it... Besides, that girl is now filled with Huangquan mites. Even if you save her, so what? Could you still want that body? The Gu worms detailed in the Gu God Scripture are more difficult to resolve one by one than the last. Weren't the bald donkeys from the Dragon Sparrow Temple stronger than you, lad? Yet, didn't they still get wiped out?"
Yuan Gong's last sentence, cruel yet realistic, delivered the coup de grâce to Tao Qian.
From the description of the two, it was not difficult to know that the Huangquan mite is an extremely venomous Gu worm; once infected, it is very difficult to cure.
Despite this, Tao Qian still hadn't given up hope.
Silently sitting cross-legged in contemplation, after a moment, as if thinking of something, he suddenly asked, "These Huangquan Gu, do they only contaminate the flesh and have no harm to the true soul?"
Yuan Gong heard this and nodded,
"Although the Huangquan Gu can enter the intangible, it was initially created to control others' bodies. It indeed can't reach the soul. If that child named Huang Chong has really cultivated the 'Gu God Scripture', he must have Gu worms that can control the true soul. But as the Ninth Prince is Lingwa's disciple, attempting on his soul is nearly impossible. Any movement would likely startle the snake instead of catching it." 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"Using the Huangquan Gu, however, is extremely appropriate."
"Even if the Ninth Prince has taken the [Six Desires Demon Pill] spiked with something extra, he would not dare to activate the Huangquan Gu unless he finds the opportunity."
"He only has one chance. If Lingwa notices, even if he momentarily can't eliminate the Gu, suppressing it wouldn't be difficult for him."
Hearing all this, and not knowing what inspiration it sparked, Tao Qian seemed to have an idea as a rare smile appeared on his face.
In the presence of Yunrong and Yuan Gong, he began to take out family affairs like the bronze tripod that had held the Corpse Evil Worm, Exotic Fire Elixir Scroll, and so on.
At the same time, he muttered to himself:
"Alchemizing definitely requires additional ingredients."
"Since Huang Chong, a subordinate of the Ninth Prince, can add something, I suppose I can also add some things into it, just have the demons help deliver from afar."
"It won't just be delivering demon pills. Apart from the flesh, there's still a lot that can be transported by Heavenly Demons."
"Lady Mei's body is beyond saving, but as long as her true spirit is rescued during the Elixir Fire's burning, and then brought to me, it should be undetectable by gods or ghosts."
"If she's compatible with the Jiangzhu Immortal Grass, she must also be a naturally born cultivation seed."
"If I rescue her soul, send it to the Spirit Treasure Sect, I can always find a suitable master for her, this could also be considered a turn of fate... Enter tribulation by inviting tribulation, was it meant to be here?"
"Wonderful, truly wonderful. I shall do exactly that."
Excited by his thoughts, Tao Qian was completely unaware that his actions appeared to others like a little devil secretly scheming against others.
Fortunately, in the quiet room, the two present, Yunrong as the Kitten Demon who did not mind her destined person being a Demon.
While Yuan Gong, watching Tao Qian's actions, was filled with a sense of gratification, inwardly he exclaimed:
"A natural Secret Demon Child, damn that Duobao."
