Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

They are completely and utterly dead.

ended.

Zhang Ruoxue let out a long breath, a faint smile on her face, her face deathly pale. She collapsed to the ground as if exhausted, leaning against the cold stone wall behind her, panting heavily.

Fan Luo Kui slowly sheathed her knife, panting heavily, and looked at her Senior Sister Zhang with gratitude and excitement.

Seeing each other's disheveled appearance, the two unconsciously exchanged a smile.

"Finally, it's done."

43. A guess with extremely low probability

"So what exactly is this, an insect nest?"

Zhang Ruoxue casually fiddled with the corpse of the giant insect-like monster. To Fan Luokui, these were nothing more than disgusting limbs and shells, but Zhang Ruoxue was able to casually hold them in her palm and carefully examine how many barbs were on them.

To avoid letting those filthy things corrupt her eyes, Fan Luokui averted her gaze, crossed her arms over her chest, and stared at the eerie skeleton of the dead at her feet with her pale golden eyes.

This is indeed an insect nest. Whether it was the exaggerated black waves of ape-eyed insects that appeared outside earlier, or the mutated monsters that now look like various insects stitched together, it all proves that this cave has undoubtedly become a gathering place for insects.

But why?

Zhang Ruoxue's younger brother, Zhang Xiaohan, and the elderly couple had both mentioned that a cultivator with unfathomable strength had once visited this place. As for whether the cultivator's cultivation was truly unfathomable, Fan Luokui did not know, but the insects in this cave must be related to this cultivator.

But why here of all places?

Zhang Ruoxue tossed the broken abdomen and foot into a corner like trash, then turned her head and, seemingly noticing Fan Luokui's slowly calming, stunningly beautiful face, couldn't help but ask a question out of curiosity.

"Hey, Luo Kui, are you... afraid of bugs?"

"Huh?!"

Fan Luo Kui jumped like a startled animal, nervously brushing the strands of hair from her temples with her delicate hands, her eyes darting around, "No...it shouldn't be..."

"Should be?" Although Zhang Ruoxue wasn't as perceptive as Yu Chan, she could still somewhat see through Fan Luokui's seemingly stiff lie beneath her straightforward personality. "You're just afraid of bugs, aren't you?"

"……Yes."

Fan Luo Kui lowered her head in disappointment and sighed, "I've been afraid since I was little, there's nothing I can do... I've been afraid of small things since I was a child, I don't dare to touch small animals, and I don't dare to hug children."

"Waaah—I'm afraid to hold babies, what will I do when I have children in the future?"

"I will not have children."

Suddenly, a firm and serious expression appeared on Fan Luokui's face.

This bombshell statement nearly caused Zhang Ruoxue's brain to shut down. After failing to grasp the true meaning of Fan Luokui's words, she couldn't help but ask, "Does not having children mean—"

Fan Luokui remained expressionless, as if she had already considered this topic long ago. "It means I don't want to find a Daoist partner. In the future, I will take over as the Palace Master of the Northern Ice Palace and fulfill my vow with Lord Yin Hanxuebing. Romantic love is an unnecessary burden for me."

burden……

Zhang Ruoxue wiped the sweat from her forehead, thinking to herself that her junior sister's personality was simply that of a straight-talking, tough girl. With her outstanding looks that could make most men fall in love, she must have had countless people pursuing her like crazy since childhood.

With this in mind, Zhang Ruoxue tried to probe her junior sister indirectly.

"Then... Luo Kui, from childhood to adulthood, haven't you ever had a boy you liked?"

Fan Luokui hesitated for a second, then answered decisively.

"No."

"……ha?!"

"No, because almost all the men I've raised have been ignorant and foolish. Not only are they incompetent, but some of them also try to expand their power with money because of their wealthy families. They are also excessively arrogant. In other words—"

Fan Luokui was still gripping the hilt of the knife when she said this.

"Why should I like a man who can't even last three moves against me?"

……

Zhang Ruoxue couldn't think of any reason to persuade her in a short period of time.

—Well, I'm afraid the only person in this world who could make Junior Sister Luo Kui fall in love is someone with a strong and unique personality like that old rogue.

However, for some reason, my rogue teacher, despite being surrounded by many outstanding women, has never mentioned anything about "teachers' wives."

Let's put aside the topic of love between men and women for now. Fan Luokui straightened her expression and suddenly remembered that during the battle earlier, she had been whipped by that long whip covered in sticky fluid, and the bones in her waist were still aching slightly.

To her surprise, her extremely revealing and shameful red and white shrine maiden robe was completely free of any filth. Could it be that this robe was also a special magical artifact?

Let's leave that aside for now.

"Speaking of which, Senior Sister Zhang, did you find anything? From that... insect's corpse?"

“Nothing was found.” Zhang Ruoxue spread her hands helplessly, a worried look gradually appearing on her face. “It’s strange… I also took a quick look at the deepest part of the cave, and apart from the dense wormholes, there was nothing else.”

"So... there's only this one big bug in this cave?"

"Yes."

Zhang Ruoxue's words plunged Fan Luokui into silence.

That's strange...it's really strange.

Logically speaking, there should be quite a few clues here. If the cultivator was raising these insect demons, what was his purpose in doing so? Since he was a cultivator, killing these villagers and using them as food for the insects would be incredibly easy for him.

Moreover, where did that monk go? Did he leave? Or is he hiding in the village?

I don't know, I don't know anything about it.

Moreover, the very first problem still plagued the two of them.

Why is Jingyuan Village still exactly the same as it was two years ago? In the two years since then, nothing has changed, yet two years have truly passed.

The questions about the timing, along with the cultivator's whereabouts, all transformed into endless chains of gloom, binding the two of them.

buzz~

Fan Luokui narrowed her eyes. Her keen hearing allowed her to spot a black, ape-eyed insect flying slowly in the distance. A flash of light from her blade severed the insect in two.

"It seems the bugs here haven't been completely cleared out yet..."

"There are probably a few that slipped through the net, but they're just a few bugs, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Yes, that's right—"

Fan Luokui sighed. Insects are such a troublesome thing.

--Um?

Just then, Fan Luokui discovered that a small white egg had fallen out of the body of the dead ape-eyed black worm.

Zhang Ruoxue also noticed this, and used her spiritual energy to crush the egg of the ape-eyed black worm.

Inside the egg, a shrunken, ape-eyed black worm was also crushed into dust; the scene was, frankly, somewhat disgusting.

Fan Luo Kui turned her head away, refusing to look at the disgusting scene. To her, skeletons were far more adorable than insects. These people being used as food were truly...

A bright light shone in Fan Luokui's mind.

Ignoring the nausea that made her stomach churn, she fixed her gaze on the tiny flying insect, so small that she could barely make out its details, comparing it to the insects she remembered.

Xiaohan, you still don't like taking baths, just like before.

There's a little bug next to your ear.

Zhang Ruoxue's words kept replaying in his mind, serving as the most crucial evidence for a terrifying conjecture, connecting all the links of doubt.

Fan Luokui only glanced at the small insect that flew away quickly, but she was certain that the insect and the larva of this scarlet-eyed black insect were at least 70 percent similar.

Then a series of problems arise.

Who was it that first told them that a cultivator had been to the cave?

—It's Zhang Xiaohan.

This might be true; a certain cultivator did indeed come to this village, because not only Zhang Xiaohan, but even Zhang Ruoxue's parents echoed his words.

If he was lying, why would Zhang Ruoxue's parents assist him without any flaws? Fan Luokui wasn't stupid. She had been the captain of the trial team for a long time, and her ability to read people was superb. She could absolutely tell whether an ordinary person was lying or not.

Fan Luo Kui lowered her head and glanced back at the terrifying monster. If she were alone, could she really defeat this monster?

The answer is no. Even if one is not afraid of insects, killing this monster would be extremely difficult. Even if one were to win, one would certainly have to pay a heavy price.

Is this really a coincidence?

"Senior Sister Zhang," Fan Luokui suddenly called out to Zhang Ruoxue, her voice extremely heavy, "Do you... know about Gu worms?"

"Gu worms?"

Zhang Ruoxue scratched her head. "Is it some kind of demon?"

"Not quite, but it counts too." Fan Luokui recalled the ancient books she had accidentally come across in the library of the Northern Ice Palace. "Gu worms are a type of insect that disappeared during the Hundred Saints era. They are man-made demons that originated from a celestial demon in ancient times."

"Those who are possessed by Gu worms will have their souls controlled at will by the worm manipulator... Until the Gu worms are removed, they will be immersed in a state of unconsciousness and become the puppet of the worm manipulator."

“That is indeed quite scary… so…” Zhang Ruoxue still didn’t understand.

Fan Luo Kui choked up. She didn't know if her guess was true. Moreover, the Gu worms had already disappeared in the Hundred Saints Era. Now it was the Lingze Era, and countless years had passed. The possibility of the Gu worms appearing was extremely slim.

But what if it's true?

Fan Luokui looked up at Zhang Ruoxue with great seriousness.

"if……"

"If your younger brother, Zhang Xiaohan, is a worm manipulator and has implanted worms into the bodies of all the villagers..."

Do you believe it?

44. When traveling, use protective formations.

Zhang Ruoxue's face was ashen, her eyebrows furrowed, and her gaze towards Fan Luokui was filled with dissatisfaction.

"This guess is very unrealistic."

She would never believe that the somewhat timid and cowardly boy she had watched grow up and who had accompanied her through her wonderful childhood was the insect manipulator that Fan Luo Kui spoke of.

To her, Zhang Xiaohan was a close relative, and to ask her to believe that her closest relative would manipulate Gu worms and kill villagers...

She couldn't do that.