Chapter 40: Falling into the Nest
“Yongchuan!”
Just as the Blood-Sucking Mosquito pierced into Yongchuan’s body, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from a hundred miles away.
Huaiyou was shaken by this cry, while Qu Yi was even more severely pushed by the sound wave, flying a mile away.
The moment the sound ceased, four figures flew over. Leading them was Han Yue Shangren from the Fire Moon Sect, who had uttered that cry earlier. Behind him were Yong Shan, the sect leader of the Fire Moon Sect, along with Huai Qing from the Immortal Cloud Sect and Dong Zhen Shangren.
It turned out that the disciples at the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages from the four sects had entered the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters a month ago. The cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage of these four sects believed enough time had passed for their disciples to search the entire Abyss and locate the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes’ nest.
Thus, eight Nascent Soul cultivators from the four sects, along with some Golden Core elders, entered the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters together.
Just then, Han Yue Shangren’s spiritual sense detected that Yongchuan had been pierced by the Blood-Sucking Mosquito. This discovery filled him with horror, prompting him to unleash a powerful wave of spiritual energy.
Yongchuan was none other than Han Yue Shangren’s direct disciple!
While Han Yue Shangren discovered Yongchuan, Dong Zhen Shangren also sensed Huaiyou’s presence. Seeing Han Yue Shangren teleport away, fearing for Huaiyou’s safety, he immediately teleported over along with Huai Qing.
By this time, Yongchuan’s body was already filled with the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes. He rapidly shriveled until he disappeared, after which thousands of them swarmed back into the hole.
Witnessing this tragic scene, Han Yue Shangren emitted an even stronger aura of coldness, which now targeted Huaiyou and Qu Yi.
“Han Yue, what are you doing? Do you intend to attack my two disciples from the Immortal Cloud Sect?” Seizing the opportunity, Dong Zhen Shangren immediately shouted, drawing a sword emitting red light from his hand.
Although his strength couldn’t compare to Han Yue Shangren’s, he couldn’t stand by idly as his sect’s disciples were bullied right before his eyes. Otherwise, such a blatant humiliation would surely cause him constant distractions in his cultivation, making things even more dangerous in the future.
Saving Huaiyou and Qu Yi was essential for both the Immortal Cloud Sect and Dong Zhen Shangren himself.
“You, Huaiyou, and that Foundation Establishment kid—tell me honestly: how did the Blood-Sucking Mosquito get inside Yongchuan?” Ignoring Dong Zhen Shangren’s warning, Han Yue Shangren demanded an answer directly.
Huai You and Qu Yi were locked in place by the spiritual awareness of Han Yue Shangren. Moving even a little became an immense struggle. Though terrified, they maintained a resolute expression on their faces.
“Han Yue Shangren, you saw Yong Chuan’s death too. It was he who deliberately attacked the Blood-Sucking Mosquito. Out of carelessness, it pierced into his body, and he died. Could it be that you still suspect me and my junior disciple of attacking Yong Chuan?” Huai You said calmly.
From Han Yue Shangren’s words, Huai You deduced something: he had only seen that Yong Chuan had been consumed and killed by the Blood-Sucking Mosquito, but he hadn’t noticed that Yong Chuan’s Golden Core was extremely weak, so naturally, he wasn’t aware of the fight that had taken place earlier.
Han Yue Shangren stretched out his hand and pulled Qu Yi beside Huai You, using his spiritual pressure on them.
Qu Yi wasn’t afraid at all of Han Yue Shangren’s spiritual pressure. After all, he had a being like the Instrument God in his soul—what was there to fear? Yet, he pretended to be terrified, as it was necessary to act that way.
“Han Yue Shangren, things are exactly as Uncle Huai You said,” Qu Yi said firmly.
This made Han Yue Shangren hesitate. He could doubt Huai You’s words, but since he believed that Qu Yi, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, couldn’t withstand his spiritual pressure, Qu Yi’s words must be true.
How could Han Yue Shangren know that there was also an Instrument God in Qu Yi’s soul?
Had Yong Chuan really gone to his own death by attacking the Blood-Sucking Mosquito?
Han Yue Shangren wasn’t sure. But his disciple’s death had ignited his fury, which was still hard to calm. Naturally, his icy spiritual awareness continued to lock onto Huai You and Qu Yi.
“Han Yue, my two disciples from the Xianyun Sect have already told the truth. Why do you still bully the weak? Do I, Dongzhen, really fear you?” At this moment, Dongzhen Shangren was also furious.
Meanwhile, cultivators at the Xuanyang Temple and the Yusu Sect who were at the Nascent Soul stage also arrived. Dongzhen Shangren had managed to hold back earlier, as only people from the Huoyue Gate and the Xianyun Sect were present. But if he didn’t speak up now in front of the people from the Xuanyang Temple and the Yusu Sect, his face would truly be lost.
“Your disciples? Heh, your disciples are precious. Does that mean my disciple’s death is acceptable? Dongzhen, I’ll show you what tyranny and true strength mean! You two, go feed the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes too!” Han Yue Shangren suddenly turned icy-faced and shouted.
In an instant, Huai You and Qu Yi plummeted rapidly downward, falling into the muddy ground below.
Elder Han Yue actually wanted Huai You and Qu Yi to be buried with him, which showed just how important Yong Chuan was in his heart.
“Scoundrel! You’ve gone too far!” Elder Dong Zhen flew into a rage; his black hair flew apart as he immediately swung his Liu Xia Sword.
Huai Qing also rushed forward, attacking Yong Shan head-on.
The Fire Moon Sect and the Immortal Cloud Sect—two pairs of cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage—fought fiercely.
Cheng Chang from Xuan Yang Temple and Elder Qing Yang, along with Qiu Yu from the Jade Inn Sect and Elder Bing Yu—this last one had just teleported over and saw the two sects fighting. Though surprised, they wisely chose to observe from the side.
At that moment, Huai You and Qu Yi found their bodies enveloped in a stream of true energy. No matter how hard they struggled, they could only manage to break free slightly, filled with terror. As they neared the nest of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes, Qu Yi suddenly activated his internal cultivation technique, drawing in the true energy bestowed upon him by Elder Han Yue and refining it with his combined true energy.
It was the reminder from the Artifact God, informing Qu Yi that his combined true energy could absorb the energy of true essence.
Inside Qu Yi’s body, besides the five internal organs storing the energies of the five elements, his dantian held combined true energy—a very unique feature. The special nature of this combined true energy seemed capable of embracing all kinds of energies; even the true essence that only cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage could possess could be absorbed by Qu Yi.
Indeed, Qu Yi instantly absorbed Elder Han Yue’s true essence. Not only was his own true energy restored, but it seemed to double as well. At this point, the amount of true energy in his body was likely comparable to that of a cultivator in the early Jin Dan stage.
Regaining his strength, Qu Yi immediately used both hands to catch Huai You, absorbing the true energy from Elder Han Yue attached to him as well. Then, with a fierce throw, Huai You was sent flying into the air.
Meanwhile, Qu Yi alone fell into the nest of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes.
The nest of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes was peculiar—its entrance appeared completely ordinary on the surface. But as soon as Qu Yi threw Huai You away, his body approached the entrance, where he encountered an immense suction force, forcing him to fall in.
Above the abyss, the battles between the two pairs—Elder Han Yue and Elder Dong Zhen, Yong Shan and Huai Qing—were extremely fierce. True energies of wood and metal were released in enormous amounts, resulting in thunderous collisions and explosions. The entire Wan Yao Abyss was filled with roaring sounds, scaring the various monsters within into continuous cries.
Han Yue Shangren’s magical weapon was a bright red long spear named the True Fire Spear, a mid-grade precious artifact. With each thrust, true flames would erupt, shaking the heavens. Dong Zhen Shangren’s magical weapon was the Liu Xia Sword, also a mid-grade precious artifact. Its red glow flowed ominously, giving the impression that anyone struck by it would wither and die.
As a cultivator in the later stages of the Yuan Ying phase, Han Yue Shangren dominated the fight, delivering fierce blows with his spear. The true flames drifted like petals across the abyss, creating a spectacular sight as well as a terrifyingly powerful display.
Dong Zhen Shangren struggled to defend himself but showed no sign of retreating. With each swing of the Liu Xia Sword, a red beam would shoot out, carrying a withering effect—anyone touched by it would see their body wither and suffer severe damage to their vital energy.
Thus, though Han Yue Shangren held the upper hand, he was also afraid of being struck by those red beams. If that happened, he would be forced to expend vast amounts of energy to heal himself, and the people from Xuan Yang Guan and Yu Su Sect might take the opportunity to kill him.
In this way, the battle between Han Yue Shangren and Dong Zhen Shangren ended in a stalemate.
“Dong Zhen, do you really want to keep fighting me? Huai You is safe now. Your Xian Yun Sect has only lost one disciple at the Zhu Ji stage. Do you really want us to fight to the death over this?” Considering the situation around them, Han Yue Shangren spoke up.
In fact, Dong Zhen Shangren didn’t want to continue fighting either. His strength was indeed inferior to Han Yue Shangren’s, and Huai You wasn’t dead. He couldn’t risk fighting to the death just because of Qu Yi, allowing Xuan Yang Guan and Yu Su Sect to take advantage.
“Alright, Han Yue. This time, Xian Yun Sect has suffered a loss—I admit it. After all, my strength is not as good as yours. But you said one thing…”
Han Yue Shangren merely smiled slightly and slowly retracted his True Fire Spear.
On the other side, the two sect leaders, Huai Qing and Yong Shan, seeing that Han Yue Shangren and Dong Zhen Shangren had stopped fighting, also lost interest and ceased combat.
“Everyone, the nest of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes is below. Should we discuss what to do next?” The leader of Xuan Yang Guan, who had been watching from the side, spoke up now that the battle was over.
This time, the four sects had come to the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters for the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes. Now that their nest had been found, another round of competition and strategy would surely follow.
The cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage from the four sects immediately flew to a safe spot in the abyss to discuss their next steps.
Meanwhile, Qu Yi, who had fallen into the nest of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes and was thought to be dead, landed safely on the ground.
The walls of the cave were covered in blood-like substances, strikingly red and terrifying, with tens of thousands of blood-sucking mosquitoes surrounding them. Qu Yi was inside the Wildfire Formation, watching these blood-sucking mosquitoes warily.