Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

Ying Muqing gasped in shock. “Anything containing spiritual energy? Does that mean, to these Mist Leeches, the cultivators here right now are like moving sources of spiritual energy?”

“Then how did the people who went into the mist area before not get affected?”

Gu Yao and Chi Changye both looked at him deeply. He was so naive. Ying Muqing hadn’t understood at first, but soon he realized why they hadn’t answered him — because what he was about to witness with his own eyes was far more shocking.

Not long after Ying Muqing asked his question, a chilling scream pierced the air again. A few cultivators riding magical tools suddenly lost control in mid-air. They desperately clawed at their bodies, and visibly, some parts of their bodies began to bulge outward, as if something was trying to crawl out. One of them, unable to bear it any longer, screamed:

“Kill me! End it quickly!”

Not long after that, the piercing scream continued to echo through the canyon. The cultivator’s body suddenly exploded with a loud bang. However, instead of being shattered into pieces, a black-purple creature crawled out of the blood mist. It opened its mouth, filled with sharp, needle-like teeth, and instantly devoured all the surrounding blood mist.

The horrific screams continued one after another. Then, several other cultivators exploded into blood mist mid-air, and once again, a black-purple creature appeared, devouring the remaining flesh and blood.

Ying Muqing was frozen in fear as he watched, because he recognized something. All of these cultivators shared a common trait: they had previously entered the mist area. When they returned, there had been no apparent abnormalities, but now, seeing the situation unfold, combined with Gu Yao’s earlier explanation, it became crystal clear. They had unknowingly allowed Mist Leeches to crawl into their bodies. Over time, the cultivators’ blood, flesh, and spiritual power nourished the leeches, and in the end, the leeches burst out from within them.

Not only was Ying Muqing stunned, but the other cultivators from the Changxian Sect, especially those who rushed down the fastest, were trembling all over. It seemed as if their own bodies had begun to itch, urging them to scratch. Ning Hui, who was trailing behind, had also lost his ability to react. How could this be? How is this possible?

The cultivators from the Tianlin Continent, including Tian Feirong and the little chubby one, were on the cliffside, swallowing nervously and feeling a deep sense of dread. They were fortunate they hadn’t coveted the Blood Liuli Fruit and had obediently followed Chi Changye’s instructions to stay behind. Otherwise, they would have shared the same tragic fate as those cultivators who exploded and had their flesh devoured by the strange creatures. The scenes unfolding before them were so shocking that it felt like their scalps might burst from the intensity.

“It’s you! Did you deliberately set us up? You were watching them die, weren’t you?” Ning Hui shouted at Gu Yao, his voice filled with rage.

Ying Muqing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and glared at Ning Hui. If Gu Yao had that kind of ability, wouldn’t he have already targeted their Changxian Sect cultivators? Could anyone have escaped if that were the case?

It was just that Gu Yao had discovered something but hadn’t spoken about it. Given the positions of both sides, Gu Yao had every reason not to share the truth with them.

Ying Muqing felt a sense of gratitude in his heart. His intuition told him that Gu Yao and Chi Changye had saved their lives, and it was because of their unusual behavior that he had realized it. He cast a grateful look at both Gu Yao and Chi Changye.

Gu Yao didn’t bother to respond. He cautiously glanced at the situation below and said, “Can we go down now?”

“Mm, hold my hand,” Chi Changye extended his hand, and Gu Yao quickly grasped it tightly.

The two of them showed no reaction to Ning Hui’s words, as if they hadn’t heard his accusations. This blatant disregard was even more unbearable to Ning Hui than being slapped in the face. His eyes were nearly blazing with rage.

Chi Changye’s eyes flashed with amusement. He took out a Thunder Armor talisman, newly crafted in the secret realm, and slapped it onto Gu Yao. It was a relatively rare Thunder Element defensive talisman, and an eighth-grade one at that. The method of crafting it came from the jade slip he had stolen from the attic of Lou Huaijing and others, and he had recently hunted a Thunder-type magical beast. Its skin and fur made the perfect materials for crafting talismans.

A layer of lightning shield armor enveloped Gu Yao, turning him into a human-shaped lightning bolt. Chi Changye also added a spiritual shield to himself before flying down with Gu Yao. Ying Muqing, seeing this, gritted his teeth and added a Fire Element shield around himself before following them.

He thought that although Mist Leeches fed on spiritual energy, they should be somewhat restrained by lightning and fire elements. As long as the creatures didn’t burrow into their bodies, they should be fine.

It turned out Ying Muqing’s hunch was right. As he followed behind Gu Yao and Chi Changye through the area, the Mist Leeches lunged at them. However, it seemed they were wary of the fire element spiritual energy, and in that moment of hesitation, Ying Muqing accelerated his descent while using his spiritual energy to knock the Mist Leeches away.

At that moment, he saw Chi Changye calmly use his sword energy to obliterate the Mist Leeches. Any leech that approached him was instantly shredded to pieces. This wasn’t what shocked Ying Muqing the most, though. What left him in awe was how Chi Changye’s control over his sword energy was so precise and detailed.

The Mist Leeches weren’t large, so Chi Changye didn’t waste his sword energy. He only used a small burst, just enough to destroy the leeches. When several leeches attacked at once, Chi Changye instantly controlled multiple bursts of sword energy, hitting each leech with perfect accuracy. Not a single strike missed.

Unlike Chi Changye, it was difficult for others to kill the Mist Leeches. The leeches’ skin was extremely tough and slippery. When they struck them with a sword, the blade would simply slide off the surface of their bodies. Only by striking with tremendous speed, concentrating force on a single point, and quickly piercing through them could one kill the leech. This required precise control over both force and spiritual energy.

If one couldn’t manage that, it was better to follow Ying Muqing’s approach—simply driving the leeches away. As long as they used the brief window of time to quickly pass through, they could ensure their safety.

Gu Yao realized that he, too, couldn’t kill the Mist Leeches, so he didn’t waste spiritual energy. Instead, he focused on knocking them away. However, most of the leeches were dealt with by Chi Changye, so the two of them moved faster than the others. Although they had started later, they reached the bottom of the canyon not much later than the others.

Ying Muqing arrived at the canyon floor shortly after. Looking back at the dense black and purple dots in the sky, as well as the efforts of other cultivators struggling to break through, he realized just how lucky he was. He had chosen to follow behind Chi Changye, and because of that, many of the Mist Leeches in his path had already been dealt with by Chi Changye, significantly reducing the pressure on him.

The others saw the benefits too. Those who had arrived later chose to follow the same path.

“Thank you, Daoist Chi and Master Gu. Take care!” Ying Muqing said gratefully. He knew that due to their opposing positions, staying with them wouldn’t benefit either side, so after expressing his thanks, he wisely turned and went toward the Changxian Sect.

Chi Changye and Gu Yao turned their attention to the Blood Liuli Tree and the beast coiled around it. The roots of the Blood Liuli Tree were planted above a spiritual vein and connected to an underground fire vein. Combined with other unique factors, this caused the branches of the Blood Liuli Tree to resemble blood-red glass, with its veins clearly visible.

The Blood Liuli Tree wasn’t particularly tall, nor did it have leaves. Its branches were bare, but nine Blood Liuli Fruits hung from them. The spiritual energy being absorbed from above was pouring into the entire tree, and then transmitted to the fruits through the trunk.

When they arrived, this process was still ongoing. The Blood Liuli Fruits were becoming increasingly transparent, almost as if they were not fruits but exquisite ornaments carved from blood jade.

At that moment, the spiritual energy swirling around them began to decrease, and the vortex above them was gradually emptying out and dissipating.

“Not good. Could it be that there’s not enough spiritual energy?” someone expressed concern. At this time, a faint, soothing fragrance wafted through the air, but it seemed to be losing strength.

If the fruit couldn’t mature, its effects would be significantly reduced. At most, it could help with cultivation, but it would be much more difficult to improve the chances of forming a core with it.

The beasts below were also growing restless, growling continuously. Their eyes turned hostile as they looked at the intruding cultivators. It seemed that their arrival was the reason the Blood Liuli Fruits were unable to mature.

There were more than a dozen beasts below, all at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, seemingly just one step away from breaking through.

Perhaps due to the special environment here, the external beasts hadn’t gathered in this area, and the fragrance was still confined within the canyon. If it had spread outside, the beasts would have sensed it, and it would have turned into a bloody and brutal battle.

But now, the beasts below were becoming increasingly agitated.

Suddenly, a small crystal snake darted out, its target the Blood Liuli Fruit hanging from the branches. It seemed that one of the fruits was about to fall into the open mouth of the crystal snake. These beasts were clearly worried that the spiritual energy supply would be insufficient for the fruit to mature, and if they waited any longer, the fruit might slowly decay and revert back into pure spiritual energy. So, they couldn’t hold back any longer.

It wasn’t just the crystal snake that couldn’t wait. A whip-like tail struck from beneath the tree, hitting the crystal snake and sending it flying. It turned out that beneath the tree lay an iron lizard, and the whip was its tail. The tail was solid and powerful, and even the crystal snake, whose strength was comparable, couldn’t withstand it.

“This is bad, the beasts can’t wait any longer. Let’s strike together, we can’t let them get what they want!” shouted a cultivator from the Changxian Sect, who had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. If they didn’t act now, the fruits would fall into the beasts’ mouths. They had to intervene and try to give the fruits more time to mature.

“Daoist Chi, please lend a hand,” the cultivator turned to Chi Changye.

“Alright.” Chi Changye drew his Purple Thunder Sword. “Xiao Yao, retreat and protect yourself.”

“Understood.” Gu Yao quickly moved away from the battlefield that was about to erupt into chaos, finding a safe spot to stand. His eyes never left Chi Changye and the beasts. At this point, the Blood Liuli Fruit seemed less important.

Ning Hui also arrived. Upon seeing Gu Yao’s actions, a shadow crossed his eyes.

“Attack!”

The first wave of cultivators, about a dozen in total, launched their attacks on the beasts. The beasts, their eyes now bloodshot, abandoned the Blood Liuli Fruits and pounced on the cultivators. The battle between cultivators and beasts erupted at the bottom of the canyon, a fierce clash so intense that the cultivators remaining on the cliffs of the Tianlin continent could feel it, and many crouched down to look below.