What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

I looked down at my left arm.

The black stitches are slowly fading away, and my arm has returned to its normal skin color.

But that powerful feeling I just experienced still leaves me feeling uneasy.

I never expected that the Self-Sewing Technique could unleash such power after being empowered by the Sha-Covering state.

Lu Yan took out a fragrant pill from her bosom and put it into my mouth. Then she tore open my clothes and skillfully treated the penetrating wound on my shoulder.

"You were in a very dangerous state just now."

While bandaging her wound, Lu Yan said in a low voice, "That's a forbidden technique, isn't it? Don't use it unless absolutely necessary."

I could sense that if things got out of control, you wouldn't be able to come back.

I nodded. "I know. But if we don't fight with all our might, we'll both probably be dead here today."

I stood up, bracing myself against the slippery tube wall. Although Lu Yan had stopped the bleeding from the penetrating wound in my right shoulder, the pulling pain from each breath made my eyes twitch slightly.

Lu Yan tried to come over and help me, but I waved my hand to indicate that I could still walk.

The old woman's body lay across the muddy water, and the broken snake-head cane lay not far away.

I stared at her face for two seconds, and I already knew who the person behind the curse was.

Or rather, I had a general idea of ​​what was going on ever since the people from Wandie Valley appeared.

"It's not over yet. Zhou Yuanshan is still inside, as is the person who cast the curse."

I whispered to Lu Yan, "Since there are people guarding the gate here, it means we're not far from the truth."

Moreover, time is running out; we've already been delayed for too long.

After I finished speaking, I looked deep into the pipe opening.

Lu Yan fell silent for a moment, because she knew that what I said was true.

After resting for half a minute, we decided to continue, as time was of the essence.

We continued deeper into the largest pipe opening.

The further in you go, the shallower the water becomes, but a sweet, cloying fragrance fills the air.

After walking about fifty meters, the space in front of us suddenly opened up.

This is a semi-circular abandoned water storage room, with moss and cracks covering the surrounding walls.

In the center of the water storage chamber, there is a raised, dry stone platform.

Zhou Yuanshan lay on the stone platform.

After seeing Zhou Yuanshan's appearance clearly, Lu Yan and I both sharpened our eyes.

At this moment, he was curled up in a ball, his skin was a strange bluish-gray, his eyes were wide open, and his pupils were completely dilated.

He's dead. Just now, while we were fighting with the old woman, his last bit of life was completely drained.

His clothes were torn and his flesh was rolled up at his chest.

A Gu worm, about the size of a fingernail and shimmering with a dark golden metallic luster, slowly crawled out of his heart.

The worm had six pairs of transparent, thin wings, and a pattern resembling a ghost face was faintly visible on its back.

With each step it crawled, Zhou Yuanshan's corpse rapidly collapsed, as if it were absorbing some unseen essence.

"Heh... As expected, you still managed to find this place."

A slightly amused voice came from the shadows behind the stone platform.

Immediately afterwards, a tall figure slowly walked out.

She wore a fitted black Miao dress, the silver ornaments gleaming faintly in the dim light, and an exquisite white jade mask covering her face, revealing only a pair of captivating yet icy long-lashed eyes.

In her hand, she held a crystal-clear jade flute.

Seeing this outfit, I felt inexplicably relieved.

Sure enough it was her.

Valley of Ten Thousand Butterflies, the Holy Maiden.

The woman who managed to escape even when Lei Zhenshan led his team to encircle and annihilate me is now standing less than ten meters away from me.

"Who are you? Did you kill Zhou Yuanshan?"

Looking at the person in front of her, Lu Yan pointed her peach wood sword diagonally at the ground, a faint purple lightning crackled around her, and her eyes were full of vigilance.

She didn't recognize the masked woman, but as the director of the Folklore Bureau, she instantly realized that the person in front of her was the source of all this.

"Who I am is not important, Director Lu."

The saintess tilted her head slightly, lightly twirling the jade flute between her fingers, her tone as casual as if chatting with an old friend.

"The important thing is that you arrived too late."

Even if it were just five minutes faster, you might actually have been able to save this Mr. Zhou, and in the process, undo all the hard work I've put in over the past six months.

As she spoke, she extended her other hand, which was gloved with silk, and gently beckoned above the dark golden Gu worm.

The Gu worm let out an extremely sharp cry, its six pairs of wings suddenly vibrated, transforming into a dark golden stream of light that obediently landed on her fingertips.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world.

The saintess looked at the Gu worm on her fingertip, a hint of almost pathological tenderness in her eyes.

"I put a lot of effort into fixing it."

I stared at the Gu worm, recalling Lei Zhenshan's words to me, and frowned: "Is this the Gu you used to take someone's place in the back mountain of Huilong Village?"

"Oh? You still remember the young master of the Chen family?"

The saintess chuckled softly, and even through the mask, I could still feel her teasingly scrutinizing me.

"That's right, this is the Gu King of Ten Thousand Butterfly Valley."

It almost shattered completely in its attempt to escape from that madman Lei.

To repair it, I traveled across half of China, collecting the fortune and essence of thirty-six extremely wealthy and powerful people.

And this Mr. Zhou is the final piece of the puzzle.

Her words were spoken casually, but the bloodthirstiness emanating from them made Lu Yan's face turn completely grim.

Thirty-six lives were lost, and all of them were prominent figures in Jiangcheng and even the whole country.

This is not just murder; it is a blatant provocation against the order of the entire folk community.

"He's absolutely insane," Lu Yan said coldly.

"You think you can escape today?"

"Escape? Why escape?"

The saintess countered with a question that carried a natural air of arrogance.

"With less than 30% of your magic power left? Or with this Chen family heir who's barely able to stand?"

She slowly raised the jade flute and placed it to her lips.

"Since you two are determined to find this place despite the hardships and dangers along the way, then I will show you what kind of thing is fed with the lives of thirty-six people."

"Waaah—"

A mournful and eerie flute melody suddenly resounded in the underground space.

As the flute music rippled, the dark golden Gu worm on her fingertip suddenly swelled up, instantly transforming into a giant poisonous butterfly the size of a washbasin.

The ghostly face patterns on its wings seemed to come alive, emitting mournful howls.

Instantly, I felt as if a steel needle had been plunged into my head, and my already weakened aura began to dissipate once more.