Volume 1 Chapter 8: The Mantis Hunts the Cicada
Tn: Edited at 5 / 15 /2025
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Early Core Formation Realm?
No— This man was already the pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm—half a step into true Nascent Soul.
Feng Yudie stared warily at the demonic cultivator before her, cold sweat beading on her forehead despite herself.
There was no time to wonder why someone of this level and identity had appeared so deep within sect territory.
The Poison Gu Sect was one of the Five Demonic Sect of the Eastern Region. And this man… bore the title of Grand Elder.
Just with her current strength alone, she stood no chance of withstanding him.
『Yudie, don't just stand there—run!!』
Xiaotian's voice rang in her ears, urging her to flee.
But Feng Yudie knew… there was no way she could escape.
Her flying speed was fast—faster than most Foundation Establishment cultivators could ever hope to catch.
But this man wasn't just any cultivator. He was in the pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm.
And if she turned her back to run… she'd be even more vulnerable.
'What do I do—?!'
Feng Yudie's mind raced, trying to find a way out.
But just then—
A sharp, stabbing pain exploded from her chest, so intense it stole her breath.
She stumbled and fell to her knees, clutching her throat.
"Cough! Cough!"
『Ah?! Yudie, what's happening?!』
Xiaotian flew toward her in alarm.
The man smiled faintly and approached, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.
"My dear, don't get agitated. The more you resist, the more restless the gu worm in your body becomes—and the more pain you'll feel."
"Gu… worm…?"
Yudie looked up at him with trembling eyes, her hand still at her throat.
"When… when did you…?"
Warm blood gushed from her lips uncontrollably.
The man's smile only deepened at the sight.
"Relax. Just let go. Don't resist it. Rest… sleep, and it'll be over soon."
At that moment, his voice echoed in her ears, impossibly gentle and ethereal, like the whisper of a god.
Her consciousness began to slip—devoured, consumed by that voice.
She had no energy left to wonder what would come next.
『Yudie!! YUDIE!! Stay awake! The gu worm's eating at your mind! Just hold on a little longer—just a little longer!!』
Xiaotian's voice echoed desperately in her ears, but she could no longer understand the words.
Her eyelids grew heavy.
Then—her body crumpled forward.
The man caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground.
"Heh~ I thought that Foundation Establishment cultivator from a few days ago would be my biggest haul this trip."
"Who would've guessed I'd stumble upon a top-tier cauldron with a Heavenly Spiritual Root here in the middle of these barren mountains?"
"What incredible luck."
He chuckled lightly, slinging her over his waist like a bundle.
Then, summoning his flying sword, he prepared to take off—
But the moment he stepped onto the blade, his spiritual sense flared.
Something was wrong.
The gu worm he'd planted in Feng Yudie's body—it was dying.
Being destroyed by something.
"What…?"
He looked down at her unconscious form in disbelief.
That worm… even mid Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't be able to remove it so easily.
There was no way…
How could a mere Qi Refining Realm girl possibly have the power to fight back against his gu worm?
After pondering briefly, the man didn't hesitate.
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a small dagger from his storage bag.
If she had some unknown method of resisting the worm, then he'd simply cripple her cultivation now and deal with the rest later.
But just as the dagger's tip was about to touch Feng Yudie's back—
A blinding beam of golden light erupted from her chest.
BOOM—!
Before he could even react, the man was blasted backward by the force of the explosion.
And then, a golden dragon coiled into existence around Feng Yudie's unconscious form.
Its shimmering tail gently cradled her in mid-air, while its head turned sharply toward the man, eyes glaring, claws bared in fury.
『Impudent wretch.』
Hearing that voice and seeing the divine beast before him, the man's pupils dilated in shock.
"A dragon spirit—? Wait—this girl… could she be of the Immortal Emperor's bloodline?"
A mixture of disbelief and realization crossed his face.
But that surprise quickly twisted into manic delight.
He had come here with a purpose—to find promising young cultivators with rare spiritual roots to take back as cauldrons.
Just a few days ago at a wedding banquet, he'd spotted a girl already at Peak Qi Refining.
Back then, he thought the trip had already paid off.
Capture that girl, refine her as a cauldron, and he might finally break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
And now—he'd stumbled upon an even rarer prize.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root girl…
A descendant of the Immortal Emperor himself.
This wasn't just a good haul—this was destiny.
If he could bring this girl back to the Poison Gu Sect and offer her to the sect master…
He'd never have to worry about pills or spirit herbs again.
He might even become the very blade that let the Poison Gu Sect devour the entire Eastern Region righteous sects.
"Heh… hehehe…"
The man let out a low laugh, no longer in the mood to toy around.
With a wave of his hand, three high-grade magical tools appeared in the air, each brimming with killing intent.
"Let's see what a dragon-bodied royal descendant is really worth… Allow me, Wu You, to weigh your value."
. . . . . .
Above the bamboo forest, thunder cracked and fire roared.
Wu You unleashed every gu worm he'd cultivated over decades.
They surged forward like a plague, darkening the sky.
But, the dragon's aura seemed to be a natural bane to them.
The moment the worms touched the radiant golden scales of the dragon's body, they combusted in bursts of sacred flame, reduced to ash in an instant.
Wu You could tell—the golden dragon was merely a residual projection.
He'd initially believed that, with his cultivation, he could still handle it.
But clearly, he had underestimated the sheer might of the Immortal Emperor's bloodline.
"Guh—!"
A golden bolt of lightning split the sky and came crashing down upon him.
The sinister energy that cloaked his body, his proud shield of demonic aura, was torn apart like thin paper the moment the lightning struck.
The bolt hit him directly.
In that instant, Wu You felt his meridians shatter, his five viscera and six bowels convulsing violently.
He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
"Tch!"
He wiped the blood from his lips, forcing his breath back under control.
His eyes shifted to Feng Yudie, still suspended mid-air in the protective coil of the golden dragon's tail.
'I can't keep going head-to-head with this thing.'
If he fought the dragon spirit any longer, he might die right here.
The dragon was clearly being channeled through the Qi Refining girl's body—A vessel that was fragile couldn't possibly sustain its manifestation for long.
'I'll come back later. For now…'
『WRETCH!! PREPARE TO DIE!!』
The golden dragon roared in fury.
Its maw opened wide—then—
FOOOOM—!
A pillar of dragonfire surged toward Wu You with unstoppable momentum.
He barely spared it a glance.
With a flick of his fingers, he recalled his magical tools into his storage bag, then raised his hand in a swift sword seal.
Whoosh—!
His figure vanished into thin air, escaping through a high-level evasion technique.
The golden dragon's eyes narrowed, ready to give chase—But just then, Xiaotian fluttered in front of it, waving its tiny arms in alarm.
『Don't chase him!! Yudie can't handle you any more! If you stay out longer, her spiritual root will shatter!!』
The dragon blinked, pausing.
Its gaze turned back to the girl nestled in its tail.
Seeing her pale face and shallow breathing, it furrowed its brow.
『That man will return. If I don't finish him now, I won't be able to help you again.』
『Yudie's only at Qi Refining realm! How can her body survive your presence any longer?! Please—go back!』
Xiaotian shouted with uncharacteristic urgency, gripping onto one of the dragon's whiskers and tugging hard.
『GO BACK! I'll find another way to deal with the rest!!』
The dragon's whiskers trembled slightly—then in the next instant, its body dissolved into a stream of golden light and flowed back into Feng Yudie's body.
With the support of the dragon tail gone, Feng Yudie plummeted from the air—
Thud!
She hit the ground with a dull thump, unmoving.
At the same time…
Ten miles away, Wu You finally released his evasion spell.
His feet hit the ground—and he immediately staggered, clutching his chest as he dropped to one knee.
He hacked up a glob of pitch-black blood.
"This Immortal Emperor bloodline… truly powerful. Just a single hit, and I've lost nearly half of my cultivation."
He wiped the remaining blood from his lips, then sat down cross-legged on the spot, forcing his energy to circulate and begin the healing process.
But it didn't take long for him to realize the damage ran deeper than expected—His meridians had been scorched by the golden flame of the emperor's dragon.
To heal it with mere Qi gathering and medicine pills would take decades.
At best, a few dozen years.
At worst… a full century.
"Too slow."
Wu You scowled.
Then he remembered—Back at that wedding banquet, he'd encountered two other promising cultivators.
One was at the third layer of Qi Refining.
The other, Peak Qi Refining.
He'd originally intended to use the latter as a cauldron.
But now that he'd found a girl with an Immortal Emperor's bloodline, the other one wasn't all that important anymore.
Instead, he would use their spiritual roots and blood to nourish his injuries.
After that, he'd return for the real prize.
Wu You inhaled deeply and pulled out a pill, swallowing it in one gulp.
Then, he reached out with his senses to locate the gu worms he had planted in those two back then—
And his eyes narrowed in surprise.
"Hm? Only a hundred feet away?"