Divine Level Witch Doctor

”Watch out!”

Director Song’s and Pan Mei’s warnings, along with the nurse’s shriek, rang out in the operating room all at once.

Zhao Yuan reacted far faster than they did!

In fact, Zhao Yuan had sensed something was wrong long before they even saw the dark green light.

Faced with the sudden attack, Zhao Yuan showed no signs of panic. His eyes locked onto the incoming dark green light as he swiftly turned his scalpel sideways, blocking the projectile with speed and precision.

TSSSSS!

A sound like boiling water filled the operating room.

Everyone watched as the scalpel in Zhao Yuan’s hand, now covered in a glob of dark green slime, began to rapidly corrode and dissolve. It was as if the blade wasn’t made of steel at all, but of wax melting under intense heat.

Director Song, Pan Mei, and the nurse were horrified. They all scrambled back several steps, terrified that the bizarre parasite hiding in the patient’s abdomen would spit another glob of slime at them.

That slime was terrifying—it could dissolve steel. If even a drop of it touched their skin, their flesh would be eaten away to the bone in an instant.

Only Zhao Yuan didn’t retreat. Not even a single step.

He loosened his grip, and the scalpel, more than half corroded, fell to the floor with a CLANG.

’Ordinary instruments are useless against this parasite.’ The thought flashed through Zhao Yuan’s mind. He opened his Storage Ring Space again and retrieved a pair of stone forceps.

This set of stone surgical tools was, strictly speaking, a set of Magical Artifacts. Zhao Yuan was confident that no matter how potent the parasite’s venom, it couldn’t possibly damage them.

Forceps in hand, Zhao Yuan’s arm shot out like lightning. He reached into the patient’s abdominal cavity, intending to clamp down on the bizarre parasite and pull it out.

The parasite was clearly intelligent. Sensing Zhao Yuan’s intent, it spat another stream of venom. It was trying the same trick again—even if it couldn’t harm Zhao Yuan, it would destroy the forceps in his hand.

This time, however, the parasite had sorely miscalculated.

With a muffled SPLAT, the venom struck the forceps. But unlike the steel scalpel, the stone forceps didn’t corrode or melt. They were completely unharmed.

A smirk touched Zhao Yuan’s lips. ’My forceps are made of Spirit Medicine Stone,’ he thought. ’They’re a Magical Artifact. No matter how potent your venom is, you can forget about damaging them in the slightest.’ Simultaneously, he channeled a surge of Wish Power into the forceps.

Venom and Wish Power were like fire and water. Previously, the amount of Wish Power on the Golden Needle had been small, so the venom gained the upper hand, corroding both the needle and the Wish Power before being devoured by the parasite. Now, however, the Wish Power in the forceps clearly overwhelmed the venom. The liquid instantly evaporated, turning into a plume of acrid, foul-smelling smoke.

Throughout this process, the speed of Zhao Yuan’s forceps never faltered.

The instant the venom evaporated, the forceps plunged into the patient’s abdominal cavity and clamped down firmly on their target.

Fortunately, Zhao Yuan had already used the Exorcism Talisman and the Fearless Pearl to stun the parasite. This had not only rooted it to the spot, preventing it from burrowing deeper into the patient, but had also greatly weakened it. Otherwise, he never would have been able to catch it so easily.

As the forceps were withdrawn from the patient’s abdominal cavity, everyone finally got a look at the bizarre and terrifying parasite.

It was about four inches long and as thick as a thumb. Its entire body was blood-red and covered in sharp protrusions. At first glance, it looked rather like an oversized, elongated caterpillar.

The protrusions covering its body writhed freely, like countless tiny arms. On its head, two spiral-patterned eyes glared at Zhao Yuan, burning with a rage and hatred one would only expect from an intelligent creature.

This only confirmed Zhao Yuan’s earlier suspicion: the parasite was sentient, and a clever one at that.

Below its eyes was its mouth—the very organ that spat venom—clamped shut by Zhao Yuan’s forceps, rendering it unable to open.

The protrusions on the parasite’s body flailed toward its head, trying to pry the forceps open, but they were too short to reach. It immediately tried a new tactic. Its body snapped into a ball, and the protrusions on its tail whipped toward the forceps and Zhao Yuan’s hand.

Mid-strike, sharp spikes suddenly erupted from the tips of these protrusions!

Based on the parasite’s other traits, these spikes were almost certainly venomous as well. If he were pricked, even Zhao Yuan couldn’t be sure he’d come out unscathed.

At the critical moment, Zhao Yuan had no time to hesitate. He opened his Storage Ring Space again, grabbed a second pair of forceps with his left hand, and clamped down on the parasite’s tail just before it could pierce his right hand.

With two pairs of forceps clamping the parasite’s head and tail, Zhao Yuan pulled them taut. The creature immediately went rigid, unable to curl its body any longer.

It was at this moment that information about the parasite appeared on the Information Leaf:

Teng Mo larva. Must parasitize a mammal, feeding on its blood for nourishment.

After absorbing enough nutrients, it will form a cocoon. In just one day, it can transform from larva to moth. Upon emerging, it will devour the host’s heart before exiting the body through either the mouth or the anus. While consuming the heart, the Teng Mo releases a paralyzing toxin, allowing the host to die without pain.

Zhao Yuan raised an eyebrow. ’So this thing is a Teng Mo larva,’ he thought. ’But what exactly is a Teng Mo?’

The moment he had the thought, a new message appeared on the Information Leaf:

Teng Mo. A type of Evil Gu, commonly created by forcing a ferocious and venomous species of moth to fight to the death against other poisonous creatures.

The surviving moths are then made to fight each other until only one remains. A Secret Technique is then used on this final victor, causing it to absorb the essence and toxins of all the other creatures before it lays its eggs.

The eggs must be implanted in a human body. After a larva hatches, it will drain its host of all their vital essence and blood.

A person parasitized by Teng Mo eggs dies a gruesome death, their body left like a withered husk.

The Gu Raiser then selects a new human host for the larva, allowing it to continue feeding on blood and growing until it finally becomes a moth.

The Teng Mo is naturally ferocious, fast, and highly toxic. Its body is hard enough to be impervious to blades, and it is exceptionally obedient, able to understand its Gu Master’s intent. Its only weakness is White Phosphorus—contact with it causes immediate incineration. If the larva is inside a human body, Shu Pepper Worm-Transforming Pills can be used to expel it, at which point it can be destroyed with White Phosphorus.

With the information from the Information Leaf, Zhao Yuan now knew both the Teng Mo’s origin and how to deal with it. ’In that case,’ he thought, ’there’s no reason to let this Teng Mo larva live any longer!’