Chapter 339: Gu

The Heaven-Reaching Tower was bizarre, but the Endless Immortal Palace was even more so.

The people who built the Endless Immortal Palace back then had a wild, unrestrained imagination, and their methods were nothing short of miraculous.

They hadn’t built the Endless Immortal Palace as a Sect, but rather as a small world unto itself. Each palace was a self-contained miniature world with its own ecosystem.

These worlds contained all sorts of terrain. The previous Beast Taming Hall was a Grassland, while this space was a primeval forest rich with water.

Moreover, to preserve the ecological integrity of these miniature worlds, the builders of the Endless Immortal Palace didn’t even use physical doorways to separate them. To travel between these small worlds, one had to pass through spatial portals.

This meant that the Endless Immortal Palace required a massive number of Arrays to be laid out in this place. The sheer scale of such an undertaking was staggering.

Chen Yuan looked up. Just like in the Beast Taming Hall, the very top of this space was inscribed with a glowing Array.

This Array didn’t just emit light; it was like a sun, radiating precisely controlled heat.

The surroundings were filled with tall, thick trees and vines. The species of these trees were completely different from those in a northern province like Ning Province, more closely resembling the flora of the southern regions.

The air was filled with a damp mist, the smell of rot and fermentation, and an indescribable foul, fishy odor. Upon closer inspection, he realized the mist contained a mild toxin. It could even be considered a miasma.

Just then, the sound of insects buzzing their wings filled the air. Chen Yuan looked up to see more than a dozen six-winged, blood-colored strange insects. Each was about half the size of a palm, and their mouthparts resembled a pair of huge scissors, looking incredibly fierce.

The Poisonous Insects had just flown halfway when a transparent net suddenly materialized in the void, trapping all the blood-colored insects in mid-air.

The next moment, an enormous, human-faced spider—jet black with spots and as large as a washbasin—suddenly dropped from above, swallowing the blood-colored insects one by one.

Then, the human-faced spider turned to Chen Yuan. Perhaps sensing the astounding Blood Fiend Power on him, the creature seemed to take fright and quickly fled along its invisible silk web.

Chen Yuan immediately understood where he was.

This was the Endless Immortal Palace’s Land of Gu Cultivation.

The thought of Poisonous Insects stirred something in Chen Yuan’s mind.

‘I still have a Six-winged Golden Cicada on me. It’s the main ingredient for refining the Blood Spirit Heaven-Tearing Gu, one of the Ten Great Evil Gu.’

‘However, to refine the Blood Spirit Heaven-Tearing Gu, I also need to find another Poisonous Insect, one that’s a rare, once-in-a-millennium find: the Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth.’

‘This thing has long since gone extinct in the outside world. It’s incredibly difficult to find even in the deep mountains and old forests of Miaojiang.’

‘But this Land of Gu Cultivation in the Endless Immortal Palace has existed for ten thousand years. There must be countless rare Poisonous Insects here.’

‘And no one has set foot here for ten thousand years. It’s a self-contained space where numerous Poisonous Insects have been breeding and multiplying. The probability of a unique insect like the Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth being born here is extremely high.’

Chen Yuan took out the Human Skin Evil Book and asked, “Do you know if there’s a Poisonous Insect like the Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth here?”

“The Ten Thousand Gu Hall of the Endless Immortal Palace was said to have raised a hundred thousand Poisonous Insects, with a variety that surpassed even that of the Gu God Sect in Miaojiang. However, the Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth is an exceptionally rare Poisonous Insect. It takes over a thousand years for one to be born. There was definitely a Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth in the Ten Thousand Gu Hall back then, but now, after ten thousand years, I can’t be sure if it’s still alive or if a new one has been born.”

The small figure on the cover of the Human Skin Evil Book watched Chen Yuan cautiously, terrified that a single wrong word would anger him and earn it another burning.

However, Chen Yuan just nodded, not angry at all.

‘This Human Skin Evil Book has been quite obedient recently after I’ve disciplined it. It’s behaving like a proper encyclopedia and even reminds me of things when necessary.’

‘Some Poisonous Insects have extremely long lifespans, but they are still living beings. Things are bound to change over ten thousand years, so it’s normal that the Human Skin Evil Book can’t be certain.’

Chen Yuan wasn’t an unreasonable person, so of course he wouldn’t burn it again.

“By the way, what was that Life Transformation Pearl that Han Chang was trying to snatch?”

“The Life Transformation Pearl is an Ancient Secret Treasure. It can extend one’s lifespan, restore Vitality, and even regenerating severed limbs or reconstructing the body is no difficult feat. The Hall Master of the Beast Taming Hall had the Life Transformation Pearl on his head, likely to use its power to maintain the fusion between himself and the Exotic Beast’s body.”

Chen Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

It was also Han Chang’s first time entering the Endless Immortal Palace, yet he seemed to have known from the start that the Life Transformation Pearl was in the Beast Taming Hall. He had been after it from the very beginning.

This wasn’t surprising, though. The Original Demon Palace was a top Major Sect with a history spanning several thousand years; it was normal for it to possess some secret information.

For example, Chen Yuan himself had the opportunity left behind by Qin Wuye to explore.

Thinking of this, Chen Yuan took out the Jade again to examine it.

Compared to when he first entered the Heaven-Reaching Tower, the Jade had actually changed.

When he first entered the Heaven-Reaching Tower, the Jade had only emitted a faint glimmer, but now the glow was quite distinct, and it pulsed with a gentle warmth.

Chen Yuan had a faint suspicion. ‘The opportunity left by Qin Wuye must be on the upper levels of the Heaven-Reaching Tower. The closer I get, the stronger the reaction becomes.’

“Do you know the habits of the Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth? If this Poisonous Insect is in the Ten Thousand Gu Hall, where would it be?”

Words immediately appeared on the Human Skin Evil Book: “The Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth is an extremely fierce Poisonous Insect. It only drinks the blood of other powerful Poisonous Insects or Qi Blood that contains immense power. If a Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth truly still exists in this Ten Thousand Gu Hall, it will definitely be at the center. But you must be careful, Master. The Blood Spirit Celestial Eye Moth is incredibly ferocious. Its poison can melt gold and dissolve jade. If it contaminates a Martial Artist’s Qi Blood, the poison will instantly melt the person into a pool of pus and blood! Furthermore, it has a celestial eye that possesses astonishing power, capable of even piercing a Celestial Soldier.”

The Human Skin Evil Book offered its warning cautiously. It truly didn’t want Chen Yuan to die here.

It was still sealed by an Array. If Chen Yuan died, it might be trapped in this Endless Immortal Palace, inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, for the rest of its existence.

The Heaven-Reaching Tower only opened once every thirty years, and the Endless Immortal Palace appeared intermittently. If Chen Yuan died here, there was no telling when it might be discovered by someone else.

Chen Yuan scanned his surroundings before heading deeper into the Ten Thousand Gu Hall.

At the same time, a thin layer of Blood Fiend Power materialized around him, guarding against any Poisonous Insects that might dart out from somewhere.

Although he had already reached the Dao Body Minor Achievement stage of his Innate Dao Body and had a strong resistance to toxins, he had to be on guard. This place was filled with rare Poisonous Insects that were extinct in the outside world.

Just then, a series of sharp, crackling pops echoed from ahead. Chen Yuan paused for a moment, then immediately headed in that direction.

By a pool of water, a dense swarm of black Poisonous Insects, like mosquitoes and flies, was besieging a person.

These Poisonous Insects looked like oversized mosquitoes, but their mouthparts were as sharp as needles. They dove at incredible speeds, even a touch faster than Chen Yuan’s swift blade.

Most importantly, there was an enormous number of them—tens of thousands, packed so densely that they completely enveloped the person in the middle.

Suddenly, a dazzling flare of light erupted from within the swarm. It rose like a fiery tornado scorching the heavens, instantly incinerating a large portion of the mosquito-like insects to ash.

Only then did Chen Yuan see what was releasing the flames. It was a Poisonous Insect, crimson as fire, translucent like jade, and shaped like a ladybug.

And the one controlling the flaming ladybug-like insect was a woman.

She wore a blue-and-black pleated long skirt, embroidered with all sorts of magnificent patterns in gold thread. Her head was adorned with exquisite and intricate silver jewelry. In fact, from head to toe—including silver horns, a silver crown, a silver choker, and silver bracelets—her entire body was covered in beautiful silver ornaments. It was the standard attire of a woman from Miaojiang.

The woman didn’t look very old, perhaps in her twenties. Her features were delicate and cold, her skin shockingly white and flawlessly smooth, like suet-fat jade.

Most of the mosquito-like insects had been consumed by the flames. The terrified survivors fled in a panic, swarming toward Chen Yuan. But in the next instant, the Nether Blood Fiend Power erupted, stripping the Vitality from every insect within ten feet of him and causing them to drop to the ground.

Although the dense swarm of these Poisonous Insects looked terrifying and they were extremely fast, the creatures themselves were incredibly fragile, which made them relatively easy to deal with.

At this, the woman from Miaojiang also looked over at Chen Yuan, her eyes filled with vigilance.

Chen Yuan, however, had some impression of the woman. It seemed she, like Luo Lie and the others, was part of the first group of people trapped in the Endless Immortal Palace.

Surviving being trapped in the Endless Immortal Palace with the first wave was enough to prove she had considerable strength.

Meeting her gaze, Chen Yuan said coolly, “Don’t look at me like that. I mean you no harm. Strictly speaking, I could be considered your savior. If we hadn’t acted, you all would have been trapped to your deaths by that Candle Dragon monster.”

“Central Plains People are cunning; one must be on guard. Just like that ‘Demon Child’ Han Chang from the Original Demon Palace. On the surface, he was saving people, but in reality, he was after a treasure. Besides, you are incredibly powerful. It’s only natural for me to be wary.”

The woman spoke in a cold, icy tone, but seeing that Chen Yuan had no intention of attacking, her expression softened slightly.

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Comparing me to Han Chang is a bit of an insult.”

The Miaojiang woman was about to say something when Chen Yuan suddenly drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and instantly loosed a Mulan Continuous Jail-Piercing Arrow.

She was utterly horrified. ‘These Central Plains People aren’t just cunning, they’re also capricious! What did I say wrong for him to attack so suddenly?’

But Chen Yuan’s arrow was too fast—so fast that she didn’t even have time to command her Poisonous Insects.

The next moment, however, the arrow zipped past her side and shot a blood-red, single-horned beetle behind her, blowing it to pieces.

Thick, black blood splattered onto the ground, releasing a plume of dense smoke.