Chapter 88

The voice of Jiesha, who owed a whipping, echoed in Bai Chen's mind: "It's your own fault for getting into this mess, not mine."

"Find a suitable martial arts manual for this little girl. I want to indulge myself and make it a token of affection."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, hurry up." Bai Chen said impatiently.

"Alright, then, 500,000 merit points."

"What... robbery..." Before Bai Chen could stop him, he found an additional manual in his arms.

Bai Chen took it out and saw it was "Dragon and Snake Transformation," an external cultivation method, ranked as middle-grade ninth level.

Damn, this is too extravagant, right?

In Bai Chen's mind, indulgence meant a few tens of thousands of merit points, but Jiesha actually found him a middle-grade top-level external cultivation method worth 500,000 merit points. This damned bald guy.

Looking at the little girl's starry-eyed gaze, Bai Chen steeled his heart.

"Girl, this is a token of affection for you. Don't practice the martial arts in it recklessly."

Aguduo took the manual, flipped through it, and then looked at Bai Chen with confusion: "Why?"

"Anyway, you can't practice it recklessly. If you reach the innate realm in the future, then you can practice it."

"What is the innate realm?"

Bai Chen felt like crying. Why explain so much to a girl who has never been exposed to martial arts?

Moreover, Bai Chen didn't think Aguduo had a chance to reach the innate realm.

He inwardly blamed Jiesha, who clearly did this on purpose.

He asked Jiesha to find a suitable manual for Aguduo, thinking that a random low-grade internal cultivation method would be enough, costing at most a few tens of thousands of merit points.

But who knew, Jiesha directly found him a top-level middle-grade manual, this damned scoundrel.

A low-grade internal cultivation method would at least give Aguduo a chance to reach the innate realm.

Now, this manual in Aguduo's hands could only be a decoration.

But thinking about it, without any martial arts foundation, she wouldn't be able to practice it even if she wanted to.

"It's fine, just like it if you do."

At this moment, Mu Wan'er, who had been chatting happily, suddenly collapsed silently.

Bai Chen was stunned, seeing Mu Wan'er's lips trembling and her face looking extremely pale.

Alan reacted the fastest, quickly supporting Mu Wan'er and checking her pupils, then said with relief: "It's nothing serious, she inhaled some mountain fog. We just need to find some herbs and let her rest for a night."

"Where can we find the herbs?" Bai Chen was also anxious.

"On our way here, we saw some three-leaf grass. I'll go and pick it."

"You help me take care of Miss Wan'er. Tell me the location, and I'll go and pick it."

The sky was already dark, and there were few small animals in the forest, which meant there were predators around. Bai Chen didn't feel safe letting Alan go.

Following Alan's directions, Bai Chen found the three-leaf grass along the way.

The three-leaf grass was a common material in alchemy, so Bai Chen recognized it.

Bai Chen also found a few other herbs and started to head back.

However, due to the thick fog, Bai Chen walked a bit slower. When he returned, he found that Mu Wan'er and Aguduo were gone.

Alan was lying on the ground, and Bai Chen's heart sank as he quickly supported her.

But Alan had already been dead for some time, with a shocking blood mark on her originally fair neck, making Bai Chen's heart ache.

Anger and grief! Bai Chen felt a heavy stone in his chest, unable to move it.

Ah—

Bai Chen's roar broke the night, startling the insects and beasts. His eyes were bloodshot.

Suddenly, a strange fragrance entered his nose, which Bai Chen remembered came from Aguduo.

"Miss Alan, it's my fault. I will save Aguduo and come back to bury you." Bai Chen gently placed Alan down.

Bai Chen now wanted to kill, desperately. This impulse was hard to suppress.

Bai Chen searched frantically, following the fragrance to find the direction of the culprit.

Bai Chen didn't realize his own transformation. His limbs were changing, and his skin was covered with scales, shimmering with a metallic luster under the moonlight.

Suddenly, Bai Chen found his target. Two figures in front of him also noticed his arrival.

One of them was Bai Chen's old acquaintance, Yin Jueqing!

He was holding a tearful Aguduo, and the other was dressed in gray, wearing a mask. Bai Chen smelled a putrid odor from him, which was nauseating.

And Mu Wan'er was carried on his shoulder. Bai Chen roared and pounced at the two.

The two calmly retreated a few steps, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Suddenly, Bai Chen felt the ground give way. There was a hidden trap, and a red liquid spurted out from underground.

"Ah—"

Bai Chen screamed as the red liquid sprayed on his body, causing unbearable pain as if he were being cut by a knife.

Even Bai Chen couldn't resist the poison. The upper half of his body felt like it was being burned by fire, and his skin was completely shriveled.

"Brother Bai Chen!" Aguduo cried out.

"Heh heh— Does the corpse-dissolving water feel good?"

"Heavenly Swirl, didn't you say not to kill him so easily? I still have unfinished business with him." Yin Jueqing sneered.

Bai Chen didn't fall, his eyes still filled with a fierce light: "Give them back to me!"

"At the brink of death, you're still thinking about protecting women." Heavenly Swirl laughed, his black fingertips brushing against Mu Wan'er's face, leaving a shocking black mark.

"Ha ha... How about we play a game?" Yin Jueqing looked at Bai Chen with a venomous gaze, at the boy who had destroyed everything he had.

If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have betrayed the Yin Valley, and he wouldn't have had to join the Liáo King to survive.

Seeing Bai Chen's miserable state and his murderous gaze, he felt a sense of satisfaction, but it still couldn't satisfy his twisted desire for revenge.

"These two little girls, I will kill one and destroy the other, her appearance, limbs... and her chastity!"

Yin Jueqing's words made Heavenly Swirl laugh: "These two little girls are rare beauties, especially the younger one. How about I take care of her?"

"Then I'll leave it to you, ha ha..." Yin Jueqing's gaze returned to Bai Chen: "Now, choose who lives and who dies."

Bai Chen stood silently, the pain in his body nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

"What? Can't make a choice? If so, I'll choose for you."

Yin Jueqing forced Bai Chen, the more anxious Bai Chen was, the more he enjoyed it.

"Brother Bai Chen, Aguduo doesn't want to trouble you. Farewell..."

Aguduo was in tears, suddenly grabbing Yin Jueqing's arm and biting down hard.

"Damn, you bitch!" Yin Jueqing groaned in pain, forgetting his plan in anger and striking Aguduo's crown with his palm.

"I'll kill you!"

Bai Chen was completely driven mad. The delicate, pitiable face now had no life, her eyes still looking at Bai Chen.

Heavenly Swirl saw that Bai Chen wasn't dissolving as he had imagined, though his upper body was burned and bloody, he emitted a terrifying aura.

"Damn, this kid is crazy!"

"Stop!" Yin Jueqing suddenly lifted Aguduo's corpse: "If you don't want me to turn this little bitch into a zombie, you'd better behave."

Bai Chen finally stopped, but his eyes were like a wild beast's.

"Heh heh... This kid is dumb, using a corpse as a hostage, Tianquan, you're really something."

Suddenly, the ground rose, and the huge body of the Insect King burst out of the earth, its stinking mouth roaring to the sky.

"Don't move, let the Insect King swallow you. Don't move, or you know the consequences!"

Yin Jueqing's twisted desire was finally satisfied, seeing Bai Chen's grief and despair.

The Insect King's mouth was already descending, and Yin Jueqing's cruel laughter echoed through the night.

"Insect King, don't eat too quickly. I want to see his expression before he dies, his miserable state."

Bai Chen suddenly leaped into the Insect King's mouth. The Insect King instinctively swallowed, directly swallowing Bai Chen.

This sudden change left Heavenly Swirl and Yin Jueqing stunned, staring at the Insect King.

"Is this kid too quick?"

"Hmph... He's smart, knowing it's better to die quickly than to wait."

Yin Jueqing, still unsatisfied, waved to the Insect King, who obediently lay on the ground.

Heavenly Swirl and Yin Jueqing stood on the Insect King's head, slowly wandering in the night.

"Tianquan, are you still reluctant to let go of this corpse?"

"Throwing it away would be a waste. I'll turn all of his relatives into zombies, and all those related to him, not a single one will be left!"

Suddenly, the Insect King's body stopped moving.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Move, you beast, why are you stopping?"

But the Insect King seemed to ignore Yin Jueqing's command, its body twitching as if in a spasm.

"Your pet doesn't seem to be listening."

"Strange, this beast has never disobeyed my orders before. Why is it acting up now?"

Yin Jueqing, still unaware of the Insect King's abnormality, said in confusion.

Suddenly, the Insect King's body rose sharply, throwing Heavenly Swirl and Yin Jueqing off, along with Aguduo's corpse and Mu Wan'er.

The Insect King began to thrash wildly, as if it had fallen into boiling water.

"What's going on?" Yin Jueqing finally noticed the Insect King's abnormality.

"Is that kid still alive?"

Heavenly Swirl initially suspected this, but then realized it was impossible. His knowledge of insects was no less than Yin Jueqing's, especially the Insect King, which would turn anything it swallowed into mush, dead or alive.

The Insect King thrashed for a dozen breaths, then suddenly stopped.

Heavenly Swirl looked at Yin Jueqing, who understood his meaning and walked to the Insect King, about to reach out.

Suddenly, the Insect King roared again, a sound full of agony.

Yin Jueqing realized something was wrong and tried to escape, but the Insect King's huge body already charged at him, throwing him dozens of feet away.

The Insect King didn't stop, charging at Heavenly Swirl.

"Quick, get out of the way..." Yin Jueqing shouted, warning Heavenly Swirl.

Heavenly Swirl tried to escape, but suddenly saw the Insect King's body burning, rushing at him with overwhelming force.

The Insect King, over a dozen feet long, covered in flames, moved incredibly fast, carrying incomparable power.

Heavenly Swirl felt as if the sky was collapsing. The Insect King's impact turned his body into charcoal, sparks flying, no blood spilling, or rather, his blood was instantly ignited into sparks.