Ruling Martial World by Infinite Insect Swarms

Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Fury! Surging Snake Demons

A blood sacrifice of Cyan Peak County!

Qin Yu’s eyes instantly turned red. He had long suspected their intentions, but hearing the words spoken aloud ignited an uncontrollable rage within him.

That was the place where he was born and raised!

He was born and raised in Cyan Peak County, living there for eighteen years.

His family and friends were all in Cyan Peak County. He was intimately familiar with every blade of grass, every tree.

But someone wanted to destroy it!

’They all deserve to die!’

In his fury, the Insect Swarm lurking within the valley grew agitated.

The Insect Swarm was an extension of Qin Yu’s own body.

His will was the will of the Insect Swarm.

As he seethed with anger, the entire Insect Swarm became frenzied.

’Monitor all surrounding areas! Do not let a single Evil Demon escape! The Blood Demon Sect? Good. Very good!’

His command roared through the Insect Swarm.

After a moment, however, Qin Yu forcibly suppressed his anger. He turned his attention to the ferocious giant with the torso of a man and the tail of a snake. Beside him stood two similar beings.

A ruler must not mobilize his army in a fit of anger; a general must not engage in battle out of spite.

He didn’t have the luxury of being reckless!

’What are these things? Humans? Demon Fiends?’

Looking at its upper body, the creature was almost indistinguishable from a human, though parts of its flesh were rotten and covered in sores. Its lower half, however, was a serpentine body, decaying and swarming with maggots.

’The Human Pill Evil Technique!’

He instantly recalled the intelligence from the Golden Wind Pavilion regarding the Human Pill Evil Technique.

The art of creating Elixirs is a Magic Skill used to seize the Heaven and Earth Spirituality.

Normally, Elixirs are made from herbs and plants. Some even use Heaven and Earth Spirit Fruits or Exotic Treasures as ingredients. They are refined using special methods to balance Yin and Yang, thereby strengthening the body.

Even so, there’s still the matter of pill poison.

Taking them in large quantities can be harmful.

The Human Pill Evil Technique is far more brutal—it uses humans as Elixirs. It is a form of cannibalism!

Cannibalism is an offense against nature itself, so the backlash from this pill poison is severe. The slightest misstep can drive a person to madness, their body rotting until they are little more than a walking corpse.

Those who survive experience a drastic surge in power, but their bodies may mutate, twisting them into something resembling a Demon Fiend!

’These three before me are likely the products of the Human Pill Evil Technique!’

As he was pondering this, another voice spoke.

”Master She? Hmph! If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this miserable state, looking like this—neither human nor ghost!

We, the Seven Heroes of the Zhang Family, used to live carefree lives.

And now we’ve been reduced to this!”

The speaker was a middle-aged woman with a curvaceous figure standing beside the giant. Her body was likewise covered in rotting sores, and her expression was filled with indignation.

”Fifth Sister!”

The giant barked, his face turning grim as he glanced at the surrounding swarms of snakes.

”Have you forgotten where this is? Don’t you know the consequences of defying Li Tianyi?”

The middle-aged woman’s face turned pale, and her whole body trembled.

She couldn’t help but recall the dozens of people who had been abducted and brought here. Nearly all had been reduced to Pill Slaves, suffering a fate worse than death, only to be devoured by a myriad of snakes in the end.

It was an utterly wretched fate.

”Get to work! The people from the Demon Suppression Bureau are about to enter Snake Valley.”

The third figure spoke.

The three of them said no more. Instead, they let out sharp, hissing calls that carried for a great distance. In response, the very ground around them seemed to churn.

Countless vipers, tangled together, began slithering out from the caves.

Without exception.

The eyes of these vipers were blood-red, filled with rabid frenzy.

...

”Go!”

On the mountain ridge, five figures moved cautiously through the dense forest before breaking into a sprint down the slope.

Despite their incredible speed, the five of them were careful to muffle their sounds.

”We will slay the Evil Demon today!”

Li Wanqing’s voice was cold, but anyone could hear the killing intent laced within it.

The peak wasn’t far from Snake Valley—only a few miles. For five experts, all at least at the Qi and Blood Like a Tiger level and able to leap dozens of feet at a time, the journey was short.

HISS! HISS! HISS!

Upon entering Snake Valley, even the mentally prepared Zhang Shun couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. The valley floor was a writhing carpet of snakes.

Some were coiled together into enormous, terrifying balls of scales and flesh.

”Follow me!”

The lean Chen Sheying took the lead. He took out a bottle of Secret Medicine, sprinkled it on his clothes, then produced a Jade Bottle and offered it to the others.

”This is a Secret Medicine from my Spiritual Snake Sect. It makes snakes mistake us for their own kind—demonic ones—and avoid us. It has no effect on true Demon Fiends, however.

I also have Antitoxic Pills. They can neutralize common snake venoms. Keep one in your mouth once we’re inside the valley.”

With that, he strode forward. Vipers within a ten-foot radius hissed and scattered. Seeing this, Zhao Zhenshan, Zhang Shun, and Lin Jianqing quickly took the Secret Medicine he offered.

Li Wanqing, however, shook her head. A light seemed to shine in her pale cyan vertical pupils.

The surrounding snakes retreated on their own.

The five figures bounded through the valley. On Chen Sheying’s wrist, a pure white, eyeless snake pulsed with faint vibrations, guiding their path.

The group didn’t stop until they reached the mouth of an enormous cave, roughly thirty feet high, deep within Snake Valley.

The cave mouth was dark and deep, its floor covered in a six-inch-thick carpet of shed snakeskin.

Silvery-white, jet-black, and cyan scales were interwoven, rustling underfoot. The cave walls were pocked with irregular holes, through which countless snakes slithered.

The air thrummed with hissing. A foul, musky stench washed over them, and a faint, poisonous mist hung in the air, refusing to dissipate.

On both sides of the cave entrance, there were snake-shaped statues with strange patterns.

”This is...? The mark of the Five Poison Sect!”

Chen Sheying’s expression changed as he looked at the snake-shaped statues.

As a core member of the Spiritual Snake Sect, he knew very well that his own Sect’s rise was due to obtaining a partial inheritance from the Spiritual Snake Lineage.

The Five Poison Sect had five major internal branches: Spiritual Snake, Holy Scorpion, Cang Centipede, Jade Toad, and Celestial Spider.

Each branch was different and had its own unique characteristics.

For example, the Spiritual Snake Lineage was the most skilled at tracking and close-quarters fighting.

”A thousand years ago, the Five Poison Sect was destroyed, but it left behind many legacies. It seems this is one of them. No wonder Li Tianyi is hiding here!”

Zhao Zhenshen gripped his long spear tightly and said in a low voice.

”There might be a residual Array inside. We can’t be careless!”

”Understood!”

The mood of the group grew visibly heavy.

If this were just an ordinary valley, they could have simply fought their way through the snakes. But a lair of the Five Poison Sect? They would have to give it their full attention.

At its peak, the Five Poison Sect’s influence spanned several prefectures. And while the Demon Suppression Bureau razed its main headquarters a thousand years ago, its legacy lived on in hidden enclaves.

Some powerful members who escaped even managed to survive by taking on new identities.

A glint flashed in Li Wanqing’s eyes, as if she had thought of something.

But she did not speak.

The Spiritual Snake Sect had started by relying on the legacy of the Five Poison Sect, so naturally she paid close attention to it.

She had once read in the Demon Suppression Bureau’s archives that a surviving Primordial Mansion Realm expert from the Five Poison Sect had disappeared in this area.

A Qi Sea Powerhouse can commune with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and has a long lifespan.

A Primordial Mansion Realm expert, however, can live for five hundred years. Their power is on a completely different level from the Qi and Blood Realm.

It’s just that too much time had passed, so she couldn’t be certain.

”Li Tianyi should be inside, but the smell is too strong, and there are several auras that even my tracking snake fears. I can’t pinpoint his exact location.”

Chen Sheying gently stroked the small white snake on his wrist. His touch seemed to soothe it, and its trembling body gradually stilled.

”Let’s go!”

Li Wanqing’s face was an icy mask. She drew a ten-foot-long whip from her waist, the light in her pale cyan pupils intensifying as she charged straight in.

The others hurriedly followed.

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

The moment the five of them entered the cave, the sound of slithering erupted all around them. From both sides, tides of vipers surged forward.

”Not good! The Snake Demon Li Tianyi has discovered us! Retreat!”

Chen Sheying shouted sharply, drawing the snake-shaped long saber from his waist and slashing down like a phantom. In an instant, he had cut down dozens of venomous snakes.

His Secret Medicine had clearly lost its effect.

Zhao Zhenshan snorted coldly and leaped to the front of the group.

His spear struck like a dragon, seeming to issue a draconic roar as it thrust out, piercing through a snake demon dozens of feet long.

Li Wanqing’s brows were sharp. Her whip lashed out like a striking viper, transforming into a giant white python that breathed a frosty mist, instantly freezing the tide of snakes in a radius of over a hundred feet.

”We can’t retreat! Find Li Tianyi and kill him!”