Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

A day later, Gu Yao revealed the current findings of his tests. “The mist does indeed contain something else. These toxins aren’t very obvious, but they cling to the skin without leaving a trace, and even permeate through spiritual shields. By the time you notice them, it may already be too late.”

“Can you determine what kind of toxin is responsible for this?” Chi Changye asked, standing at the edge of the cliff. He had already searched several times without finding anything, so he was even more cautious. The toxins had apparently evaded his spiritual sense, and it seemed that before this, a cultivator had escaped, possibly misleading others.

Gu Yao scratched his head. “I need to do a direct investigation. I have some guesses, but I can’t be sure until I see the substance itself.”

Without saying another word, Chi Changye accompanied Gu Yao out of the tent and to the edge of the cliff. Opposite them, Ning Hui was frowning as he looked at the mist inside a vessel. He too had noticed that the mist was unusual, but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact problem.

He was somewhat alarmed. If it weren’t for Gu Yao and Chi Changye’s actions, would they have rushed down into the canyon and found themselves in endless trouble?

“Alchemist Ning, they’ve come out again. What are they planning to do now?” a cultivator assisting Ning Hui asked.

Ning Hui was frustrated inside. When did Gu Yao become their compass, guiding their actions? Had they really come to the point where they had to follow his lead? But he had to admit that he was currently at a loss and couldn’t figure out where the other side had advanced to.

Gu Yao paid no attention to their reactions. He extended his spiritual sense, splitting it into threads and weaving them into a dense spiritual network. He needed to search the mist thoroughly, back and forth multiple times. Finally, he detected a subtle change and quickly wrapped the spiritual net around it, pulling it out.

“Snap!”

Something fell onto the stone, and Tian Feirong and the little chubby guy quickly rushed over to take a look. As the mist around it dispersed, it revealed a transparent object about the size of a fingertip. After the mist was removed, the object fluttered a bit on the stone and then slowly started to exude a black-purple color.

“What is this?” Tian Feirong exclaimed in confusion. He and the little chubby guy had collected a lot of mist to give to Gu Yao for research, but they had never noticed anything else in the mist. Neither had their spiritual senses detected any foreign objects. “Can this thing escape our spiritual sense?”

“Mist Leech!”

Xu Chen’s voice suddenly rang in Gu Yao’s mind. Xu Chen had been silent ever since arriving, watching Gu Yao busy with his tasks. After uttering these two words, he continued to explain:

“This is a Mist Leech, an almost extinct aberrant insect. I didn’t expect to find one in this secret realm. Mist Leeches rely on spiritual mist to survive. Without spiritual energy, they cannot live for long. Like this one, once it’s exposed, you can see its true form, but in the spiritual mist, it is transparent and hard for spiritual senses to detect. It uses the mist to gradually infiltrate the bodies of both cultivators and beasts. Once it hides inside, it will begin to slowly feed off any part of the body that contains spiritual energy, like spiritual power or the flesh and blood of cultivators.”

Gu Yao felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately transmitted this information to Chi Changye, Tian Feirong, and the others.

Chi Changye saw Gu Yao’s expression freeze for a moment and immediately guessed that this information must have come from Xu Chen.

Tian Feirong and the little chubby guy, realizing what it was, jumped back in shock, afraid that the creature would burrow into their skin and begin feeding off their flesh and blood. After cultivating, everything in a cultivator’s body, including their flesh, is nourished with spiritual energy, which is exactly what these Mist Leeches feed on.

“How do we deal with it?” Gu Yao asked. Who knew how many of these Mist Leeches lived in the mist-covered area of the canyon? Just imagining being surrounded by countless Mist Leeches once they entered… Gu Yao shivered.

Xu Chen responded, “Your little cat’s Black Infernal Flame, or that boy’s Qing Flame, if they grow stronger, you wouldn’t have to worry about the Mist Leeches in the mist. Once the leeches get close, they’ll be burned to ashes. But right now, they’re still a bit weak. Also, I suspect that a leader has already evolved among the Mist Leeches below, so…”

This time, Chi Changye also heard: “So if we capture the leader, we can solve the problem here?”

“Exactly,” Xu Chen smiled. “But you have to find that thing first.”

Chi Changye responded nonchalantly, “Since the senior seems in a good mood, this should be easy for you, right?”

Gu Yao raised an eyebrow. What did that mean?

Chi Changye smiled, “Mist Leeches feed on spiritual energy, so they shouldn’t pose a threat to non-spiritual beings, right?”

Gu Yao suddenly realized. That meant Xu Chen’s soul body wouldn’t be affected by the Mist Leeches! He quickly asked, “Senior, is that the case? Senior, we are all in the same boat now. Helping us is the same as helping yourself.”

“…Tch!” That shameless scoundrel.

A hint of amusement appeared in Chi Changye’s dark eyes. It seemed that this Xu Chen still had some use after all.

The two of them were communicating through their spiritual senses. Tian Feirong and the little chubby guy could only see the changes in their expressions but didn’t understand what was happening. However, from their expressions, it seemed like this matter wasn’t very troublesome.

On the other side, except for Ning Hui, the other Changxian Sect cultivators were also keeping an eye on Gu Yao and his group’s movements. Especially after Gu Yao went into the tent for a day and night and then came out, they placed even more importance on his actions. They saw him standing at the edge of the cliff, seemingly using his spiritual sense to investigate the mist area. Then, the mist stirred, and something seemed to be thrown out. However, they couldn’t see exactly what it was, nor could their spiritual senses detect it.

“Are they just creating a diversion, or have they really discovered something?” one of the cultivators asked doubtfully. Ying Muqing stroked his chin and said, “I suspect they’ve found something. After all, the mist has been strange, and they were the first to notice it.”

When Ying Muqing was negotiating with Chi Changye earlier, he had seen the changes in the vessel in Gu Yao’s hand and no longer underestimated the genius alchemist, who had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

The cultivator remained uncertain and said, “But we’ve tried many methods over the past day, and we haven’t discovered anything unusual in the mist. Perhaps the mist itself just carries toxins. Wouldn’t one detoxification pill solve the problem?”

While Gu Yao was busy in the tent researching, they had tried methods like burning, soaking, and lightning strikes—everything they could think of. However, all they managed to do was disperse the mist, and before long, it would spread out again. Instead, it startled the beasts below, who frequently roared and demonstrated their strength.

Ying Muqing shook his head. Though there was no solid evidence, his intuition made him trust the other side. He thought back to not long ago when these people had seemed useless in his eyes, and it was only Chi Changye who had earned their respect. Otherwise, no cultivators from Tianlin Continent would have dared to step foot in this canyon.

Ning Hui was getting anxious. He had no choice but to consult Lou Huaijing, but Lou Huaijing told him he couldn’t provide any answers. Ning Hui was furious and unwilling to go to Gu Yao for confirmation, as doing so would mean bowing his head.

He, the talented alchemist of Changxian Sect, would have to lower himself and ask a small, remote alchemist for help? If this reached Changxian Sect, he’d lose all his face.

After dealing with Xu Chen, Gu Yao and Chi Changye found a stone at the cliffside and sat down. They were petting the cat while enjoying the scenery. The view was quite nice, as long as you ignored the countless Mist Leeches in the mist.

Tian Feirong and the little chubby guy followed their example and sat by the cliff, chatting and laughing, looking relaxed.

Other cultivators, seeing this, also relaxed a lot. To them, it seemed that Chi Changye and Gu Yao had found a solution, which gave them confidence. It was clear now that they were not just playing tricks, as others might have thought.

Xu Chen cursed Gu Yao and Chi Changye in his mind, but he had no choice but to do the labor for them. His soul body could temporarily leave the space. Though he was indeed the best candidate to deal with the possible leader of the Mist Leeches, it still frustrated him.

He wanted to remain unseen, so he made sure no one could see him, silently slipping into the mist area, unnoticed by anyone.

The eyes of a soul body were quite different from those of a human, whether through the physical eyes or spiritual sense. Once inside, he saw many transparent dots of light, which were the Mist Leeches. Well, seeing these creepy creatures made his scalp tingle. He felt like they would cling to him at any moment. Once back at the Alchemy Pavilion, he would have to thoroughly clean himself.

The longer the departure time and the greater the distance, the more Xu Chen’s soul body would be consumed, so he didn’t dare to delay and quickly began searching.

In the end, he found a giant Mist Leech lying on the ground in a stone cave on a mountain wall. It looked similar to a water boa, but it was slimy all over, soft and boneless. Xu Chen felt that if he had to fight it one-on-one, the Mist Leech leader wouldn’t be easy to deal with. A regular sword probably wouldn’t even penetrate its skin.

Its color was no longer transparent but a deep black-purple. Its eyes were hard to make out, but there were two holes—one would suck in the surrounding spiritual mist, and the other would expel a burst of light black-purple gas. After merging with the mist, the gas lost its original color.

The giant Mist Leech seemed to sense something unusual nearby and began to squirm, looking around. Xu Chen no longer hesitated. He suppressed his disgust and projected his consciousness at the Mist Leech. Yes, the method was to control the leader of the Mist Leech. Although physical attacks wouldn’t work, manipulating it mentally was easy for Xu Chen’s soul body.

For a brief moment, the entire mist area stirred, but it soon settled down and returned to its original state.

Gu Yao and Chi Changye exchanged glances, both showing joy in their eyes. With the senior’s intervention, success came swiftly!

“What was that disturbance just now?” Ning Hui and the others also noticed it. Although it quickly subsided, the brief stir was enough to raise doubts. Could there be a special beast in the mist area that could conceal its presence?

After Xu Chen controlled the giant Mist Leech, he quietly returned. As soon as he entered the space, he was too exhausted to speak. He was mentally drained.

While Gu Yao was nibbling on a spiritual fruit, he noticed that several cultivators from Changxian Sect had cautiously entered the mist area. He widened his eyes in shock, thinking about the possible consequences, then shivered. Chi Changye’s eyes flashed with amusement.

“Brother Ye, do you think the cultivator who escaped from the canyon earlier is here now?” Gu Yao asked.

Chi Changye shook his head. “They’re not here. Maybe they’ve already…” he trailed off, “been completely devoured. The Mist Leech can remain dormant inside the human body for a while, so the effects aren’t immediate, which is why people don’t realize the danger in the mist area.”

The cultivators who had gone to investigate hadn’t reached the bottom of the canyon. Although they had heard the roars of beasts below, they hadn’t encountered any danger. After multiple entries and exits without discovering anything abnormal, some Changxian Sect cultivators cast suspicious glances at Gu Yao and the others. Many assumed he was pretending.

The cultivators from Tianlin Continent didn’t show much reaction. They were simply happy to be involved and didn’t care about the competition for the Blood Liuli Fruit. They treated it as watching a show and pointed fingers at the Changxian Sect cultivators, which infuriated them.

Suddenly, the surrounding spiritual energy surged downward.

“They’re here!” Chi Changye and Gu Yao quickly stood up and looked toward the depths of the canyon.

“Daoist Chi, it’s time to act, right?” Ying Muqing flew over on his sword.

Chi Changye looked at Gu Yao, who nodded firmly. “I’ll move with you.”

“Good.” Chi Changye didn’t hesitate further and turned to Tian Feirong and the other cultivators present. “You stay here. Watch for the right moment, and then decide whether to go down.”

“Brother Ye, don’t worry. Just make sure you stay safe too,” Tian Feirong advised, glancing over at the Changxian Sect. His look suggested they especially needed to be cautious of the Changxian Sect cultivators, as they couldn’t be trusted.

Gu Yao had already sent a message to Tian Feirong and the chubby guy, explaining how they could pass through the mist area. The method was actually just one word: wait.

Chi Changye, with Gu Yao, stepped onto sword energy and soared into the air. At this moment, the spiritual energy began to gather downward at an increasing speed, as if the entire sky had turned into an inverted funnel vortex. Some of the Changxian Sect cultivators couldn’t wait any longer, fearing that if they were too slow, the Blood Liuli Fruit would ripen and be taken by the beasts guarding it below. One of them shouted loudly, “Let’s go!”

At this moment, they didn’t care about the abnormalities in the mist. Besides, when others had entered the mist area before, nothing had been discovered, which reassured them. So, they rushed downward ahead of everyone else.

However, Chi Changye and Gu Yao weren’t in such a hurry. They were both watching the situation below. The large amount of spiritual energy being drained was gradually changing the situation down there, though it wasn’t something that could be immediately noticed. Other cultivators continued to rush down like dumplings falling into a pot, while the beasts below continued to roar.

Gu Yao thought to himself that the beasts hadn’t made any moves on the cultivators above. They only released a bit of their aura to intimidate, likely because they were wary of the Mist Leech in the mist area.

For some reason, Ying Muqing, seeing that Chi Changye and Gu Yao weren’t moving, stopped as well and, like them, watched the situation in the mist. What exactly were they looking at? Gradually, Ying Muqing’s expression turned to one of shock, and he shouted loudly, “Quick! There’s something in the mist, get ready to defend!”

The things in the mist finally started to show themselves—each one was a black-purple object floating in the air. Someone suddenly screamed, “Ah!!! What is this thing? Get away, don’t crawl into my body, go away!”

“Daoist Chi, Master Gu, what exactly are these things?” Ying Muqing asked. He noticed that neither Chi Changye nor Gu Yao showed any signs of surprise. The only difference was that Gu Yao had a shiver run down his spine, so they definitely knew what was going on.

Gu Yao gave him a cold glance and said, “They’re called Mist Leech, a type of bizarre insect that survives by absorbing spiritual energy, feeding on anything that contains spiritual energy.”