C4 Blood Worm!

"What?" Ning Ji looked down, his gaze fixed intently on Yu Cann, his voice tinged with confusion. "What blood worm?"

"It's not a mere fever that's put my grandfather into a coma; he's been afflicted by a Blood Worm that's latched onto his Earth Soul, siphoning off his fragmented memories." Yu Yuan gestured towards the elder's forehead, indicating a slender, hair-like bloodline. "See this? It resembles a thread of blood, but it's actually the Blood Worm!"

Ning Ji was taken aback. "What exactly is a Blood Worm? And why are you so certain about this? How did you come to know?"

He harbored a multitude of questions for Yu Yuan. The young scion of the Yu family, who had awakened both the Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul, exhibited many behaviors that defied logic.

The Yu Yuan who had awakened bore no resemblance to the one Ning Ji had previously encountered or heard about. It was as if he were a completely different person.

"The Blood Worm originates from the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea in the northern reaches of the Quietus Continent. This venomous creature, fine as a thread of blood, can latch onto a being's forehead and strip away the memories held within the Earth Soul," Yu Yuan explained, his expression grim. "Based on what you've told me earlier, Yinn Jue's attempt to extract my grandfather's memories wasn't due to his own abilities, but rather the use of the Blood Worm!"

"It hails from the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea?" Ning Ji exclaimed, visibly alarmed.

The northern expanse of the Quietus Continent was known as the most fearsome and wild place on earth, home to the notorious Demon Palace and Devil Palace, bastions of supreme evil.

Not even the mightiest practitioners from the upper sects of the Heavenly Source Continent would dare venture there lightly, lest they provoke the ire of the Demon and Devil Palaces.

In the vast expanse of the Boundless Land, with its three continents and numerous secluded regions, the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea of the Quietus Continent was recognized as the source of the world's most bizarre and lethal insects.

Upon learning that the Blood Worm came from the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea, Ning Ji feared the worst for his old friend.

"Yes, the Blood Worm is one such venomous insect from that region, and it's also a key component in crafting the Shehun Pill. The genuine Shehun Pill can extract an individual's entire Earth Soul memories while preserving their life. However, the Blood Worm, being unrefined, can only draw out bits and pieces of memory. Furthermore, this worm's intense heat can induce a lethal fever in its host."

"The extent of memory extraction depends entirely on how long the absorbed individual can resist death," Yu Yuan concluded, his body quivering slightly with rage.

In his past life, during his final years, he struggled to break through his obstructed meridians and had once delved deep into the art of poison crafting. The Shehun Pill, a type of poison pill, could seize the memories of cultivators who failed to ascend to Yin God status, uncovering their deepest secrets.

Once a cultivator's Earth Soul evolved into a Yin God, it became immune to the Shehun Pill's influence. The Yin God could even exit the body, infiltrate the pill, and annihilate all the enhanced Blood Worms within, using them to fortify and expand its own power.

For those beneath the Yin God Stage—Pulse Opening, Spirit Accumulating, Yellow Court, Profound Break, and Penetrating realms—without special protective secret arts or spiritual weapons, escaping the Shehun Pill's malevolent effects was nearly impossible. They risked having all their concealed secrets stripped away, leaving them utterly vulnerable.

"How can we eradicate this venomous worm?" Ning Ji demanded.

For the moment, he set aside his questions about how Yu Yuan came to know secrets of the Blood Worm that even he was unaware of. His immediate concern was for Yu Yuan, shrouded in suspicion, to resolve the affliction plaguing his dear friend.

The Blood Worm was relentlessly siphoning memories from his friend's Earth Soul, and the toxic heat persisted unabated. If this continued, his friend would inevitably succumb to the poison.

"Do you trust me?" Yu Yuan asked abruptly.

Ning Ji gazed at him, a moment of hesitation passing before he replied, "Your awakening of the Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul is peculiar. Yet, I trust you wouldn't harm your grandfather. After all, the hardships he's endured these years have all stemmed from you."

A pang of pain struck Yu Yuan's heart. Drawing a deep breath, he responded, "Very well, since you trust me, help me gather some items. I'm determined to not only ensure my grandfather's well-being but also to use the Blood Worm to give the caster a bloody lesson they won't forget."

"Isn't the spellcaster Yinn Jue?"

"No, it's not."

"If not him, then who?"

"Likely someone from the Cold Yin Sect."

"Ah?!"

...

On the outskirts of Darkmoon City, within a barren forest.

A desolate Dwarf Mountain stood, its shadowy flank pierced by a cave just large enough for three or four people. Jagged rocks mostly concealed the entrance.

Inside, the cave was chilling and eerie.

Lyu Yue, seated against the stone wall in meditation, occasionally glanced at the fist-sized jade stone before her knees.

Within the clear, green jade, a crimson line was visible. Magnified a hundredfold, one could see strands of light converging within it.

This crimson line was the essence of the Blood Worm, refined from a drop of its blood, and the strands of light were the extracted memories of Yu Cann.

"Yinn Jue requests an audience with Master Lyu!"

A soft call echoed from outside the cave.

Lyu Yue's brow furrowed as she opened her eyes and spoke with calm authority, "Enter."

Yinn Jue hurried in, contorting his body, wary of taking up too much space and displeasing her.

"In Darkmoon City, there are practitioners I must be wary of. Even I must tread carefully to avoid unwanted attention," Lyu Yue expressed her displeasure. "Follow my instructions, and unless there's an emergency, refrain from visiting me often. Your cultivation level is low, making you an easy target, which could inadvertently reveal my presence."

"Master, I wouldn't dare to intrude unless it was truly urgent," Yinn Jue assured her quickly.

"What kind of emergency?" Lyu Yue inquired, intrigued.

"Yu Yuan is alive. Not only has he survived, but he has also regained consciousness," Yinn Jue reported, his voice barely above a whisper, his head bowed. "He's no longer incoherent; he can even speak. Master, could there be a flaw in the technique you taught me? Or perhaps an error on your part?"

"How dare you question my methods?"

As Lyu Yue sat motionless, her dark gray robe suddenly shimmered with rings of silver light.

Upon closer inspection, one could see dozens of silver-white serpents, like living poison, slithering across the fabric of her garment.

"Hiss!"

Silver-white venomous pythons, their tails seemingly tethered to Lyu Yue, arched their menacing heads high into the air.

Their neck scales shimmered like silver, casting a cold metallic sheen, while their oily green eyes sent shivers down one's spine.

"Swoosh!"

One of the pythons, swift as a flash of icy lightning, lashed out and coiled around Yinn Jue's neck like a vine, swiftly constricting.

"Master, have mercy on me!"

The night before, at the Yu family's old mansion, a vicious Yinn Jue was now drenched in cold sweat, falling to his knees and pleading, "The fault must be mine. Master, I beg your forgiveness! Just grant me a few more days, and I swear I'll sever Yu Yuan's head, ensuring he has no chance of revival!"

"You're worthless. Death might be the best option for you." Lyu Yue watched dispassionately as the python squeezed the life out of Yinn Jue. "Rest assured, once you're gone, the Lim family will provide a new servant for my bidding."

"Please, I beg..."

Yinn Jue's pleas grew faint and sporadic.

Then, in that moment.

"Bang!"

The green jade stone before Lyu Yue's knees ignited with a bizarre flame.

"Crack crack!"

The stone fractured as the red bloodline within it burned, its interior turning from crystal clear to a murky, inky black.

"Who dares?!"

Lyu Yue, poised to execute Yinn Jue, let out a ghastly, fierce shriek. The essence of the Blood Worm in her middle dantian's profound gate also ignited without warning.

As the essence burned, it stabbed at her profound gate like a razor-sharp sword, threatening to rip it apart.

For cultivators, the lower dantian, known as the Yellow Court, is where the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth is gathered and refined, eventually flowing through the body in its purest form.

The so-called profound gate, located in the middle dantian, is a sacred reserve for Qi and blood energy, essential for healing and tempering flesh and bones, and it directly connects to the heart.

The Upper Dantian is the dwelling place of the three souls and the convergence point for Spiritual Sense.

The Lower Dantian accumulates the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, the Middle Dantian sustains the life energy of Qi and blood, and the Upper Dantian is the foundation of the soul.

A severe injury to any of the three great Dantians can cause unbearable agony and pose a threat to life itself.

Lyu Yue, struck by a surge of blood essence in the profound gate of her Middle Dantian, was thrown into disarray. Wracked with pain, she involuntarily coughed up blood.

"Bind!"

In a flurry, Lyu Yue conjured a Spiritual Spell, transforming dozens of silver-white venomous serpents, including those entwined around Yinn Jue's neck, into bundles of cold, ghostly lightning that shot into her Middle Dantian.

"Crackle!"

The miniaturized silver-white pythons darted within her Middle Dantian, ultimately destroying the mutated blood essence.

"Let the Blood Worm latch onto Yu Cann's brow," Lyu Yue commanded, wiping the blood from her lips, her eyes chillingly cold as she glared at the nearly dead Yinn Jue. "Are there any formidable figures in the Yu family you've failed to report? My spell was not only broken, but I've been injured by the backlash!"

"Impossible! There's no way the Yu family has such a person!" Yinn Jue asserted with conviction. "If they did, why would they allow me free rein?"

"Do you think I made this blood on my mouth appear myself?" Lyu Yue barked.

"I wouldn't dare."

"Go back and investigate thoroughly! Who else from the Yu family has arrived recently, besides Ning Ji? And find out if there's anyone unusual lurking in the shadows of the Yu family!"

Lyu Yue took out a dark red pellet, exuding a rich aroma, and swallowed it, her complexion gaining a touch of rosiness.

Yinn Jue scrambled out of the cave in a panic, vanishing from sight in no time.

He feared another outburst from Lyu Yue, who might take out her frustrations on him again.

"The Yu family..."

Lyu Yue stepped to the cave's entrance, gazing towards Darkmoon City with a brooding air. "Could the Yu family be harboring a formidable figure? Why did the Lim family insist on honoring the marriage agreement against all advice? Whoever can shatter my spell and wound me is no ordinary individual!"

In the northern quarter of the city, within the Yu family estate, a thick black paste was daubed between Yu Cann's brows. Ning Ji wrinkled his nose at the acrid stench, his expression one of bewilderment.

Yu Yuan stood by, cradling a white porcelain bowl filled with what he had offhandedly concocted and proclaimed a spiritual medicine to cure the Blood Worm. This so-called remedy consisted of twelve toxic herbs Yu Yuan had instructed him to gather, combined with the carcasses of centipedes, scorpions, and bamboo snakes, resulting in a foul, viscous concoction.

The paste-like black "Spiritual Medicine" applied to Yu Cann's forehead sealed the crimson bloodline beneath, and miraculously, Yu Cann's fever subsided.

Unseen by Ning Ji, beneath the black paste, the slender Blood Worm, fine as a hair, writhed as it was consumed by shadowy flames. As it burned, the scattered memories of Yu Cann's soul, once harbored within the worm, dispersed and drifted back into Yu Cann's consciousness.

Ning Ji remained unaware that Lyu Yue of the Cold Yin Sect, lurking beyond the outskirts of Darkmoon City, had been simultaneously struck a severe blow by the very same spell.

"It's nearly complete," Yu Yuan declared after a moment.

With a gentle motion, he peeled away the now solidified black paste from the patriarch's brow. It appeared as though the scarlet streak had been drawn into the substance from the skin.

With the fever gone, Yu Cann's breathing steadied, and the fiery flush left his face.

"All is well now. I'll retire to rest. Should anyone inquire, Elder Ning, simply tell them the old man's fever has abated and he has awakened on his own."

With these words, Yu Yuan departed, leaving under the peculiar watch of Ning Ji.

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