I can understand what the furry creatures are saying, and I've become the number one beast tame

Chapter 398 begins with a ninth-tier Mahayana-stage Insect King.
"If you keep going forward, you'll reach the lair of these vine insects."

"Not only are there countless vine insects, but deep within the nest, there is also an insect king at the ninth level of the Great Ascension stage."

After Nan Ran finished speaking, everyone's faces turned pale.

"You said that's the lair of those vine worms, so it really is the lair of those vine worms?"

"Yes!"

"We've already made it out. If we just keep going, we'll definitely be able to get out of the insect swarm, won't we?"

"I think you just can't stand to see us doing well, and you're just spreading alarmist rumors."

Each accusation seemed to bring a sense of reassurance, and each one grew louder than the last.

They talked a lot, but none of them dared to step out of the safe zone centered on Nan Ran.

“If you think I’m exaggerating, that I’m deliberately trying to make things difficult for you, that I’m giving you hope only to let you go into despair, then you’re free to leave now.”

“I will absolutely not stop you.”

"Perhaps you will find a way to survive if you leave me!"

Everyone immediately fell silent.

go?
leave?

They're not stupid; someone just got bitten. They must be out of their minds to leave at this time.

It wasn't that no one tried releasing a few wild pigeons to see if they would fly away.

If the pigeons can fly away, it proves that they still have a chance to escape this hellish place using flying monsters.

Unfortunately, they were disappointed.

Fortunately, it was someone who wanted to use flying monsters to leave this place, so they carefully selected two wild pigeons to release.

Otherwise, they would probably be nothing but bones by now!

because--

When the wild pigeons first flew out, there were no problems; they even circled in the sky for a long time.

Just when everyone was about to have hope, the wild pigeon, which had been flying for a long time without escaping the sea of ​​insects, was soon surrounded by those disgusting insects in mid-air and pulled back to the ground.

Perhaps, as long as we fly fast enough to escape the area surrounded by the swarm of insects, there is still hope of leaving this hellish place.

but--

Where is the edge of the insect sea?
Nobody knows!

The entire Changming County, including the surrounding area, has been overrun by these insects.

There's no way to escape, there's really no way to get out!
"What a ghost!"

How did these insects even appear?!
"Even if a beast tide gathers, it will take some time and there will be some noise, right?"

But how long have they been back in Changming County!

At this moment, they even regretted that they should have left Changming County immediately!

Even if we have to wait for the sect's response, we can find a safer place and set up a defensive barrier.

But now, no matter how much I regret it, it's too late!

Hindsight is always 20/20.

"There must be a traitor! Otherwise, how could these insects appear so silently? Could it be that the people we've seen in Changming County these past few days aren't human at all, but puppets whose bodies have been taken over by those insects?"

This person was just saying it casually.

Unexpectedly, his words provided Nan Ran with a new idea.

"It doesn't seem impossible."

Who says that all the people they've seen these past few days were actually human?
"How can it be……"

These disgusting insects, though seemingly numerous, are simply beyond their ability to withstand.

But in reality, the strength level of each insect is not very high.

This thing doesn't have the ability to take on a different form at all.

How can one disguise oneself in Changming County and speak fluently like a normal person?

especially--

"Even if others are, it's possible that their bodies have been taken over by these insects, and they are puppets that carry these insects."

"Where is the person we're in contact with?"

"Where are those who sent distress signals to the Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect?"

"It can't be that, can it?"

If we say that these people colluded with those insects, or that these insects were something they created, then perhaps the situation would be more plausible.

But this makes those who lured them here to kill them even more hateful.

"Senior brother, haven't you heard of—parasitic demonic beasts?"

Nan Ran only thought of this matter after hearing the man say that the people in Changming County were very likely puppets whose bodies were possessed by those insects.

Of course, she hadn't thought of it before, mainly because she didn't seem to have seen many records about parasitic demonic beasts in the Beast Taming Sect's library.

Even the basic knowledge that every outer disciple needs to master is the Illustrated Compendium of Myriad Beasts.

There is no information about parasitic monsters in this book.

The reactions of the Beast Taming Sect members confirmed Nan Ran's idea.

The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, at least the outer and inner disciples, are basically unaware of parasitic demonic beasts.

"Parasitic monster?"

"What is that thing? Are there really such monsters?"

The others also looked at Nan Ran with curiosity and confusion.

"I don't know how to explain it, but it's basically that it can parasitize the bodies of humans or other monsters, manipulating their thoughts, behaviors, and other abilities."

"Moreover, the people or monsters that are parasitized do not die."

"Parasitic monsters can coexist with them within their bodies."

"Slowly absorb its flesh, cultivation, and essence."

"What that senior brother just said reminded me and made me wonder if those people who contacted us before and provided us with a lot of incorrect information were really the same people?"

"Could it be that they are actually being controlled by the parasitic monster?"

"They asked the Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect for help, luring us elite disciples here. Was that what those parasitic beasts did by manipulating their hosts?"

Nan Ran's words were like a stone thrown into water, instantly creating a huge ripple.

"Such terrifying monsters exist in this world?"

“Unheard of, unseen.”

"Isn't that a bit too exaggerated? If such powerful monsters really existed in the world, we would surely have heard of them, wouldn't we?"

"yes……"

"Moreover, controlling the thoughts of the host and influencing the behavior of the host... sounds too far-fetched."

"Are you overthinking it?"

Everyone doubted Nan Ran's statement.

However, some people believe that it is not impossible.

"Even if we take a step back and assume that what you say is true, and it is indeed very possible that there are such monsters that we have never known or even heard of... But even if those parasitic monsters can influence the thoughts, cognition, and behavior of the hosts they parasitize, can they even steal memories?"

“Changming County is not an unknown small town. In fact, due to its geographical location, although it is not a very large town, it is quite well developed.” “It can even be said that it has some influence in the Supreme Alliance.”

"Therefore, they will naturally have quite a few acquaintances!"

"If it's true, as you say, that these people are controlled by parasitic monsters, wouldn't their behavior, speech patterns, and even their cognitive memories give them away?"

Why didn't anyone notice?

This question was immediately accepted by many people.

They had never heard of such a thing as a parasitic monster before.

Therefore, we can only analyze it from the perspective of common sense.

They felt this was highly unreasonable.

But Nanran said—

"Isn't Senior Brother overcomplicating things?"

"Is it complicated?" the person who raised the question asked, puzzled.

He looked at Nan Ran with a somewhat bewildered expression, as if waiting for her to explain.

"The question is—why would a parasitic monster want to know, or rather, steal the memories of its host?"

"Don't you need it?" The man was even more confused.

He frowned: "But if we don't understand this person's personality, habits, way of speaking, and the details of their interactions with others, won't people notice something is wrong?"

Upon hearing this, many people nodded in agreement.

Yup!

If you don't understand the host you're parasitizing, how can you integrate it into the relationships of the people around it without them noticing anything unusual?
"Of course not!"

Nan Ran carefully analyzed with them: "The senior brothers believe that in order to be controlled by the host without being discovered by those around him, he has actually changed his core. He needs to understand everything about the host's past, including personality, habits, and way of speaking."

"But in reality, it's not necessary at all."

"You might want to think about this carefully: what is the purpose of a parasitic beast inhabiting a person?"

"Is it so that I can completely take over this body and live in his place?"

"It's not——"

Nan Ran's words made everyone ponder.

After a long while, they finally stammered, "Isn't that right?"

If not, then what is the purpose of these things going through all that trouble to parasitize?
"Of course—it's not entirely true."

"However, that's definitely not the main purpose."

Nan Ran gave them a brief explanation of the survival rules of parasites.

"For example, obligate parasites must rely entirely on the host they parasitize for survival."

"But if it is a facultative parasite, it can both parasitize and survive independently."

"Different parasites have different needs and survival strategies, and their purposes in seeking hosts are also different."

"What I said before was just a guess."

It is speculated that the vine worm is likely a parasitic monster.

However, it's not quite the same as the evil fleece.

"It is actually very simple for this kind of parasitic monster to manipulate the behavior of its host. It only needs to influence the host's mind, making it stop at nothing to achieve its goal, or get infinitely close to it, until it finally achieves its goal and can abandon the host."

Therefore, there is no need for such complicated methods, such as stealing memories or mastering habits, personality, and way of speaking.

No one would doubt the identity of the host being parasitized.

Because from beginning to end, the host being parasitized is still himself.

However, his mind was corrupted and controlled.

"The parasitic beast only needs to convince the host that the command issued by the parasitic beast is the only truth, the thing that the host needs to pursue in his life, and the thing that the host needs to do."

"that's enough."

The group of people seemed to have just attended a lecture on esoteric texts, and their minds were somewhat dazed.

"You've been going around in circles, and it's giving me a headache."

Finally, someone got impatient and refused to listen any longer.

"Let's get straight to the conclusion: Is there really a way to overcome this kind of problem?"

"Let's not worry about what it is or what it wants to do for now. Our most pressing issue right now is not discussing these things, but how to survive."

If people are eaten by insects, nothing else matters.

Anyway, they're going to turn to ashes.

"I previously discovered that these vine insects have slightly weaker defenses against metal."

"But I'm not sure if so many vine insects gathered together can still be restrained by the metal element."

If possible, they could actually try to fight their way out.

Even if it doesn't work, it's okay to try.

Perhaps, we can accumulate some experience and directly kill the Great Perfection Ninth Stage Insect King in the vine insect's lair?
"Metallic properties?"

Upon hearing this, everyone pondered for a moment.

"Since we're just waiting to die here anyway, we might as well give it a try. Whether it succeeds or not, there will be a result."

Since we can't move forward, we can't go back to where we were and wait to die again, and there's no other way to escape, we might as well try a few more times.

What if one of these methods actually works?

The group was quite proactive.

They said they'd do it, and they started doing it right away.

boom!
Several attacks of the metal element struck down, and indeed, only briefly, a small clearing was torn open in the swarm of insects.

"It works! It works! It works! Metallic properties really do work for them!"

"Quick! Quick! Everyone, as long as you've mastered the metal element, get moving! Concentrate and attack in one direction!"

"I refuse to believe it, surely we can tear a hole today?"

result--

It really can't be torn apart.

At first, the ability to briefly carve out a clearing from the swarm of insects brought joy to everyone and gave them hope for survival.

But soon, that familiar feeling of despair returned.

They could indeed tear a gap in the swarm of insects, but it was useless.

In just half a breath, the torn gap had healed again.

Everything seemed to be in vain.

"Are we really going to be trapped here and die?"

After all, if you can't move forward or backward, you can only stay here and wait to die.
"I've heard that these kinds of monsters, which are not very intelligent or high-ranking, but live in groups and are completely driven by their king beasts, actually have king beasts that are not very powerful in attack. However, they can breed monsters with strong combat power to protect themselves and their tribes."

Is it possible that this is also the case?
Even the Great Perfection Stage 9 Insect King deep within the insect nest was no match for it.

If that's the case—

They might as well take the risk and give it a try.

What if it's a chance for survival?