My master gave me a death mission: to go down the mountain and retrieve his granddaughter.

The rock serpent's cackling laughter abruptly stopped, and a look of surprise flashed in its turbid eyes as it stared intently at the poisonous insect suspended in mid-air.

Those venomous insects, which should have been his most effective weapons, now seemed to be bound by invisible shackles. Even the flapping of his wings stopped, his six legs stiffened, and his venom sacs swelled slightly, yet he couldn't spit out a single drop of venom.

Yanlong was also stunned. His tense body relaxed instantly. He subconsciously swallowed and turned to look at Su Muchen, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Just who is this kid?

Su Muchen slowly took two steps forward, his hands in his pockets, a faint smile playing on his lips:

"Old man, you do have some skill in playing with insects, but unfortunately, your tricks are no match for mine."

"Kid, you dare to ruin my plans!" Rock Serpent finally reacted, his face contorted with wrinkles, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Su Muchen.

"Who exactly are you, Qin Zhengyuan? You actually had a backup plan!"

Old Qin was also surprised, but then smiled with relief: "Rock Serpent, I told you long ago that you would not escape this place today. Doctor Su's abilities are beyond your comprehension."

"Speculation?" The rock serpent laughed in anger, then suddenly slapped his chest, releasing a strong, fishy stench.

"Boy, don't think you can put on airs in front of me just because you have some tricks up your sleeve! Today I'll show you what it means to be devoured by a thousand poisonous insects!"

Before the words were finished, the tattered clothes on the rock snake suddenly bulged up, and countless black shadows emerged from the seams of the clothes—they were venomous scorpions the size of fingernails, completely black, with their tail hooks gleaming with a ghostly blue light.

There were also centipedes as thick as a thumb, their legs flapping and making rustling sounds;

Even several pure white Gu moths fluttered their wings and rushed towards Su Muchen.

This time, the Rock Serpent held nothing back and unleashed its trump card, its natal Gu swarm!

"Not good!" Yanlong's expression changed drastically. He tried to step forward to stop them, but Shen Beishan grabbed him.

"Don't worry," Shen Beishan said calmly, his eyes full of confidence. "With the teacher's help, these things are nothing but clay chickens and earthenware dogs."

Sure enough, facing the overwhelming swarm of Gu worms, Su Muchen didn't even lift his eyelids. He simply raised his right hand and flicked his index finger lightly.

"Disperse..."

A single word fell lightly, seemingly carrying some mysterious and profound Daoist charm.

The next second, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The swarming Gu worms panicked as if they had encountered their natural enemy. The scorpion turned and crawled onto the rock snake, the centipede curled up into a ball, and the Gu moth fell to the ground, fluttered its wings twice, and then fell silent.

Even more terrifying, the poisonous insects that had been suspended in mid-air visibly withered and shriveled, eventually turning into a pool of black pus that fell to the ground with a sizzling sound, corroding small pits.

"What...what's going on?!" The rock serpent trembled violently, all color draining from his face. He staggered back two steps, pointing at Su Muchen, his voice trembling, "What...what did you do to my Gu worms?!"

Su Muchen slowly walked up to him, looking down at him with an indifferent gaze: "Your Gu is too malevolent, harming others for your own benefit, and should not exist in this world."

He paused, his gaze falling on the venomous insects wriggling on the rock snake's body, the corner of his mouth curving even colder:

"Also, the Soul-Devouring Gu Mother on your body is quite interesting. However, aren't you afraid of divine retribution for using living people to raise Gu?"

"The Soul-Devouring Gu Mother?!"

Upon hearing those four words, the rock serpent reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jerking its head back with terror in its eyes: "You...how did you know?!"

That was his natal Gu Mother, nurtured over thirty years with the essence and blood of ninety-nine living people, hidden deep within his dantian. Even Gu Masters of the same level might not be able to detect it. How could this young brat see through it at a glance?!

Su Muchen didn't answer his question, but simply raised his chin slightly: "Speak, who sent you to cause trouble for Elder Qin?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about!" The rock serpent's eyes flickered, and it stubbornly retorted, "I'm just doing this to avenge my son. How could I be acting on someone else's orders?"

"Oh?" Su Muchen raised an eyebrow, his fingertips twitching slightly.

The rock serpent suddenly let out a piercing scream. He clutched his stomach, crouched on the ground, his body convulsing, veins bulging on his face: "It hurts...it hurts so much! My Gu Mother...my Gu Mother is burning!"

Su Muchen's voice was as if it came from the deepest hell, icy and chilling:

"I'll ask one more time, who is behind this?"

The rock snake curled up on the ground, its body convulsing like a leaf, the burning pain from its dantian feeling as if it were burning its internal organs to ashes.

He could clearly feel that the Soul-Devouring Gu Mother, which had been hidden in flesh and blood for thirty years, was dissolving at a terrifying speed. Every inch of the Gu worm's scales and every tendril of the Gu worm was turning into ashes under Su Muchen's invisible power.

"I'll talk... I'll talk!" Rock Serpent finally broke down, tears streaming down his face, his cloudy eyes filled with despair. "It's... it's the 'Ten Thousand Gu Sect'! They said they'd help me get revenge, on the condition that after it's done, I give them Qin Zhengyuan's... his life essence!"

"The Ten Thousand Gu Sect?" Old Qin frowned. This sect was cunning and ruthless, specializing in refining gu from living people. It had been listed as a forbidden area in the martial arts world decades ago, but he never expected that it would still dare to show up and cause trouble now.

Su Muchen loosened his grip slightly, and the burning pain on the rock snake lessened considerably. He gasped for breath, as if he had just escaped death.

Before he could even recover, Su Muchen's icy voice rang out again: "Where is their stronghold? Also, was your son Rock Wolf's rebellion back then also related to them?"

The rock serpent trembled, a hint of hesitation flashing in its eyes.

He knew that once he revealed all the secrets of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, even if he survived today, he would be hunted down to death by the sect.

But the power in his dantian that could tear him apart at any moment made him dare not hide anything.

"The stronghold... the stronghold is located deep in the mountains of Miao territory, at Blackwood Cliff!" Rock Serpent gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse.

"Back then... back then, Rock Wolf was bewitched by the Wan Gu Sect! They said they could help Rock Wolf become the number one in Miao territory, and they even put a mind-controlling Gu on him, making him cruel and bloodthirsty... I only found out later!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to have all his strength drained away, and collapsed to the ground, unable to move any further.

Su Muchen's eyes flickered slightly. Mind-Controlling Gu, another method of the Myriad Gu Sect.

It seems that the Ten Thousand Gu Sect cannot be allowed to remain.