Chapter 32: A Condition
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The group hurriedly turned to look.
The woman who had already been dead began to age rapidly before their eyes. Her face withered until she became a white-haired crone, while her chest trembled faintly, as though something were about to burrow out from within.
At the instant the trembling reached its peak, a hole the size of a copper coin burst open in her chest.
A black insect barely an inch long crawled out.
Gu Xian reacted with lightning speed, flinging out a talisman. Its engraved script peeled away and transformed into countless strands, which bound the insect tightly in the blink of an eye.
The four of them stepped forward for a closer look. The creature resembled a centipede, with two rows of densely packed short legs beneath its abdomen, though its body was far softer than a centipede’s.
“What in the world is this thing?” Chu Yang asked in bewilderment.
Yang Mao had spent many years roaming the martial world and had seen a great deal. Sensing the aura emanating from the insect, he said uncertainly, “During my travels, I once encountered a sorcerer in the Shu Kingdom. The cursed insects he kept gave off an aura very similar to this one.”
“A cursed insect?”
The other three exchanged astonished glances.
Xia Qinghe could not help asking, “People from the Chili Grotto?”
It was one of the Seven Branches of the Demon Sect. Its disciples were skilled in cultivating cursed insects, each possessing an unyielding will and employing ruthless, vicious methods. To raise their insects, they stopped at nothing.
Unlike the Tower of Eternal Life, which had vanished without a trace for several centuries, cultivators from the Chili Grotto often appeared at the foot of the mountains.
After a moment’s thought, Gu Xian said quietly, “We cannot be certain yet. Before the wolf demon died, he mentioned a place called Peach Blossom Lane. Brother Chu, do you know where it is?”
Chu Yang shook his head. “I’ll have someone investigate it immediately.”
With that, he turned and left.
He soon returned, however. “We have been at this for most of the night, and everyone must be exhausted. I have already prepared food and lodging for you. Go back, eat, and get some rest.”
Gu Xian and the other two exchanged glances before nodding.
Tongyang City stood at the vital passage leading to Qingzhou. Merchants and travelers passed through it in great numbers, making it one of the largest cities in the entire Lingzhou. Its streets and alleys were countless, spreading in every direction like strands of hair. Finding a single lane in such a vast city was far from easy.
Midnight. The rear courtyard of the Demon-Slaying Office in Tongyang Commandery.
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Inside the room, Gu Xian lay sprawled across the table. Before him was the black insect bound by strands of silk.
He had stared at it for a long while, yet still could not determine what it was.
The blue-robed man sat down on the bed. With a thought, he entered the Wuwang Immortal Mirror and began to cultivate.
The insect remained on the table. There was no need to fear it escaping; the aura it gave off was merely that of the mid-stage Embryonic Breath realm, while the strands binding it were another application of the Iron Thread Talisman and exceptionally tough.
After entering Wuwang Tower, he sat cross-legged on the floor and activated the Wuwang Dao Scripture. The spiritual energy surrounding him was drawn toward his body, streaming into him one strand after another.
Gu Xian immersed his mind in cultivation. His lower abdomen swelled faintly. Looking inward, he saw that the space there was vast and empty, save for a golden pool roughly ten yards across at its center.
This was his sea of qi. The pool was the spiritual energy he had accumulated, something unique to those who cultivated the Wuwang Dao Scripture.
With every circulation of his energy through a complete cycle, the golden pool within him expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The spiritual energy here was abundant, and cultivation proceeded far faster than in the outside world.
Just as he was lost in cultivation, a gust of sinister wind suddenly swept past outside the door, and a vast aura instantly spread through the surroundings.
Gu Xian, who had been sitting on the bed, abruptly opened his eyes and turned toward the window.
A voice sounded from outside the door. “Young master, your senses are remarkably sharp.”
As the words faded, someone pushed open the door. Gu Xian placed one hand on the wooden sword beside the bed, his eyes narrowing slightly.
With the creak of the door opening, a woman dressed in red stepped inside.
It was none other than the female ghost he had encountered earlier in that abandoned residence.
Although he sensed no hostility from her this time, Gu Xian’s expression did not relax in the slightest. Instead, his body grew taut, like a bow drawn to its fullest extent, while a faint crackling sounded from his bones.
The woman showed no concern at all. She sat down carelessly beside the table and looked up at the blue-robed man on the bed.
The candlelight on the table flickered, its reflection shimmering in her brilliant eyes and revealing an inexplicable depth.
After a long while, the woman in red gave a soft laugh. “Young master, I have come without ill intentions. There is no need to be so tense.”
Despite her words, Gu Xian’s vigilance only grew stronger.
A moment ago, he had sent a mental transmission to Xia Qinghe and Yang Mao, but both had vanished into silence. Neither had responded. Clearly, the woman before him had used some technique to isolate the room.
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Gu Xian smiled bitterly to himself. He had thought he had already overestimated the woman’s strength, but it seemed he had still underestimated her.
After all, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it extremely difficult to isolate space. Only those fortunate few born with innate divine abilities could accomplish it with ease.
The woman in red picked up the little insect bound by the Iron Thread Talisman.
Her eyes glimmered as she examined it, clicking her tongue in wonder. “Well now, a thousand-legged insect. Did you catch this near Peach Blossom Lane?”
Gu Xian’s expression shifted slightly. “You recognize it?”
She replied indifferently, “It is only a cursed insect. What is there not to recognize?”
Gu Xian swallowed and asked tentatively, “Could you tell me more about it?”
The woman in the red dress was just about to speak when she suddenly thought of something. With a half-smile, she said, “Just now, you looked so wary, as if you could not wait for me to leave. Why have you suddenly begun asking me for advice?”
Gu Xian rubbed his nose and made no attempt to hide the truth. “I do not know whether you are friend or foe. That is why I have not dared lower my guard.”
He had not said this merely because she had identified the insect. Ever since the woman in red entered the room, Gu Xian had sensed neither hostility nor murderous intent from her.
“You are at least honest,” the woman said with mild irritation. “Stop secretly circulating your spiritual energy. With cultivation as shallow as yours, if I truly wished to do something to you, what chance would you have of resisting?”
After considering her words for a moment, Gu Xian relaxed.
The woman in red brought the thousand-legged insect close to her face and examined it carefully. Several times, Gu Xian wanted to speak, but in the end he said nothing.
Only after she placed the insect back on the table did he finally hear her murmur, “This fellow is truly extraordinary. He actually imagined using his own vital blood to raise a cursed insect—and what is most astonishing is that he really managed to take this step.”
Gu Xian walked over to the table and saw the woman looking up at him.
The blue-robed man froze for an instant, then sat down with an unchanged expression.
The woman in red slowly leaned toward him. Her breath was fragrant as an orchid when she said, “It is not impossible for me to tell you where this insect came from. But you must agree to one condition.”
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