"Yu Qi?"

Another familiar name.

Qin Xuan’s interest was suddenly piqued.

He spoke coolly, "Take me to see him. How could a Foundation Establishment Cultivator be injured by mere Demon Insects?"

Wei Long gave a bitter smile and led Qin Xuan to a dilapidated shack.

Inside the shack was only a single, filthy straw mat. The place was a mess, and the air was thick with the stench of sourness and herbs. Qin Xuan frowned instinctively.

"Old Yu, wake up! The Valley Master is here to see you!" Wei Long called out to the paralyzed Cultivator on the straw mat.

"Hngh..." Yu Qi struggled to turn his head. When he saw who had arrived, his entire body suddenly trembled.

He gasped for air, wheezing, but couldn’t speak a single word.

Seeing Yu Qi, Qin Xuan’s frown deepened.

The man was nothing but a torso. One of his eyeballs was gone, his Cultivation had plummeted to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, and he couldn’t even turn over on his own.

Both his legs were severed at the waist. The stumps were mangled, as if chewed away by some kind of Demon Insect. Jagged white bone protruded, stained with a layer of greenish Demon Poison.

"Qin... Qin..."

Yu Qi struggled to sit up, panting heavily, and the rotten, foul smell intensified.

"No need for formalities. Let me see your wounds."

Qin Xuan placed a hand on Yu Qi and infused him with Demonic Essence.

Shock filled Yu Qi’s cloudy eyes as he felt his injuries faintly begin to recover.

’The Demon Poison of these Blood Marrow Golden Insects... Starlight Rejuvenation can neutralize it!’

Qin Xuan calmly withdrew his Demonic Essence, his expression unchanged. "Steward Wei, what happened here?"

Wei Long, who stood to the side, explained, "Ten days ago, a swarm of insects suddenly erupted in Spiritual Field 127, which Junior Brother Yu was in charge of. Twenty-seven mid-stage Qi Cultivation Blood Marrow Golden Insects appeared."

"In order to protect the Blood Marrow Rice Seedlings, Junior Brother Yu was careless and got infested by five of the Blood Marrow Golden Insects. He then fought to the death, killing twenty of them. Two escaped, and... he ended up like this."

"Mere mid-stage Qi Cultivation Demon Insects can chew a Foundation Establishment Cultivator into this state?"

"My lord, you may not be aware. A single Blood Marrow Golden Insect is indeed weak, but when they appear in a swarm, their power increases dramatically. The Demon Poison, in particular, stacks... Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator can be killed if they’re not careful."

At these words, the other Foundation Establishment Spirit Plant Cultivators standing by all nodded in agreement.

The Blood Marrow Golden Insects possessed extremely powerful life force.

Their carapaces were impervious to fire and water, and ordinary Magic was completely ineffective against them. Yet their Demon Poison could seep in through any opening.

Many Foundation Establishment Spirit Plant Cultivators had suffered terribly at their hands.

Wei Long continued, "But logically speaking, this year’s pest control was even more effective than last year’s. There shouldn’t have been any eggs left in the Blood Marrow Rice Fields."

"Even if there were, there shouldn’t have been so many."

Qin Xuan’s eyes narrowed. He smelled something fishy.

Ten days ago...

Wasn’t that precisely when he had obtained his fief?

Qin Xuan asked again, "Blood Spring Mountain and Withered Marrow Cliff—which Incense Masters’ fiefs are they now?"

"Reporting to my lord, they are the fiefs of Lord Fang Mingshan of the True Body Altar and Lady Wang Qianru of the Zishan Altar. They have also just arrived."

Wei Long recited two names Qin Xuan had never heard before.

The names alone sounded unfamiliar to Qin Xuan.

He had no history with these two. They’d be more likely to try and curry favor with him, so why would they suddenly become his enemies?

’Wait... True Body Altar, Zishan Altar?’

Aren’t those the subsidiary altars under the Vast Qi Tower?!

As if suddenly remembering something, Qin Xuan asked, "Who was the previous Valley Master of my Heart Rot Valley?"

Wei Long said, "Before you, my lord, there was no actual Valley Master during the ten-year Righteous-Demonic War. The Holy Sect managed it directly..."

Tan Fu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interjected, "Valley Master Qin, it was Ji Bochang, Vice Tower Lord Ji!"

"Ten years ago, before the Righteous-Demonic War began, our Heart Rot Valley was under Master Ji’s jurisdiction. Later, after Lord Dark Flame Blood Prison Demon Monarch successfully achieved Nascent Soul Formation, our Rot Heart Altar, along with Withered Marrow Cliff and Blood Spring Mountain, was supposed to be merged and placed under Master Ji’s command."

"Unfortunately, the Righteous-Demonic War suddenly broke out."

"The Holy Sect requisitioned all the fiefs. After the war ended, the territories were redistributed, and Master Ji was assigned elsewhere..."

Just as Tan Fu was about to say more, two Foundation Establishment Spirit Plant Cultivators came staggering over, drenched in blood.

One of them was clutching a severed arm, also stained with the green Demon Poison, and was trembling and wailing in agony.

"Valley... Valley Master, a tide of Blood Marrow Golden Insects has erupted in Spiritual Field 127! There are at least a hundred Demon Insects, all at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer! Senior Brother Zhang has fallen! Not even a scrap of his bones is left!"

And it wasn’t just Qin Xuan’s Heart Rot Valley.

Insect tides had also erupted on Blood Spring Mountain and Withered Marrow Cliff!

Before Qin Xuan could even ask a question, another Foundation Establishment Spirit Plant Cultivator in a Gray Robe appeared. His face was deathly pale, and he moved like a walking corpse, as if he had seen something terrifying.

It wasn’t until Wei Long slapped him hard across both cheeks that the Gray-Robed Spirit Plant Cultivator slowly came to his senses.

"It... it mutated! The Tier Two Ghost Wood Vine mutated!"

SPLAT!

Before he could finish his sentence, the Gray-Robed Spirit Plant Cultivator’s eyeballs suddenly burst, turning into a foul-smelling spray of pus as he collapsed limply to the ground.

The skin of the Spirit Plant Cultivators nearby who were splattered by the foul pus sizzled and began to rot on the spot.

Wei Long said anxiously, "My lord, we must hurry to Spiritual Field 127 and deal with the Blood Marrow Insect tide."

"The Tier Two Ghost Wood Vine only harms people, not the Spiritual Fields. Mutations are common; it was probably caused by another Spirit Plant Cultivator accidentally infusing the wrong Demonic Essence."

"But if the Blood Marrow Insect tide isn’t eliminated in time, they’ll reproduce, their Demon Poison will stack, and it will cause an infestation in the Spiritual Field! We won’t be able to plant Blood Marrow Rice for at least a year, and the harvest will be a total loss!"

The crowd of Spirit Plant Cultivators nodded in agreement.

They knew the threat of the Blood Marrow Golden Insects all too well. Just thinking about the terror of being dominated by them made their scalps tingle.

Qin Xuan, however, sensed something wasn’t right.

’Isn’t this a bit too coincidental?’

’Something like this happens the moment I arrive at Heart Rot Valley.’

「At that moment.」

The golden orb of light in his mind suddenly began to flicker.

Four Ancient Bamboo Sticks flew out.

[Middle-Upper Draw: Choose to subdue the Hundred-Eyed Yin Vine. You will receive a Ninth-Grade Opportunity. Auspicious.]

[Middle-Middle Draw: Choose to exterminate the insects. You will minimize the loss to the Spiritual Field. No gains. Neutral.]

[Middle-Lower Draw: Do not choose to subdue the Yin Vine. The Spiritual Field will suffer great losses, and the field tax will be incomplete. Inauspicious.]

[Middle-Lower Draw: Do not choose to exterminate the insects. The Spiritual Field will suffer the greatest losses, affecting the surrounding area. Inauspicious!]

After reading the Divinations,

Qin Xuan understood in an instant.

There was a spy in his Heart Rot Valley!

’Since the Bloodthirsty Golden Insects will affect the surrounding areas, I won’t be the only one to suffer. There’s safety in numbers. Let them deal with the headache.’

There was safety in numbers; he wouldn’t be the only one unable to meet the Blood Marrow Rice quota.

On the other hand, there was this Hundred-Eyed Yin Vine. Wei Long had said to ignore it, but the Divination indicated an opportunity.

"Let’s go. Take me to see that Tier Two Ghost Wood Vine."

"Huh?"

The Spirit Plant Cultivators were stunned and exchanged glances.

Wei Long was the most shocked of all.

He pleaded earnestly, "Valley Master, you mustn’t! If the Spiritual Fields yield no harvest, the Holy Sect will hold us accountable! This... this..."

Qin Xuan backhanded him across the face, slapping him into silence.

They arrived at the Spiritual Field.

In the field that should have been full of Tier Two Ghost Wood Vines, there was now only a single, massive black vine, as thick as a water bucket and over a hundred feet long. The vine was densely packed with ghastly white pupils the size of pigeon eggs.

Thousands of ghastly white pupils swiveled, opened in unison, and emitted a grating "GURGLE."

The Spiritual Farmers who had followed Qin Xuan felt a piercing pain in their seas of consciousness as thousands of delirious whispers exploded in their minds.

"AHH!"

A Qi Cultivating Spiritual Farmer immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed unconscious.

"Vile beast, you dare!"

Qin Xuan barked coldly as his immense Divine Sense erupted from his body.

The thousands of eyeballs on the Hundred-Eyed Yin Vine trembled in terror.

The main vine suddenly arched, and its eyes burst forth with a desolate gray light.

"What a powerful Divine Sense attack... It’s probably no weaker than a Foundation Establishment Seventh Level’s!"

One of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Plant Cultivators’ minds trembled.

Ordinarily, they would never have dared to get this close.

A mutated Tier Two Ghost Wood Vine was a Hundred-Eyed Yin Vine, something infinitely close to a Tier Three Spiritual Plant!

But unexpectedly, Qin Xuan advanced instead of retreating.

In an instant, he was within thirty feet of the Yin Vine’s main body.

The time had come!

Qin Xuan formed a sword with his fingers and slashed casually through the air.

"CLANG!"

A clear sword cry ripped through the gloom, forming a three-foot-long blade of light wreathed in fierce flames.

"Heaven-Burning Fire Rain, go!"

With a soft shout, the pure Demonic Essence of his Foundation Establishment Ninth Level cultivation surged out from his body.

The flames on the sword light flared, and lightning crackled around it.

Sensing the mortal threat, the Hundred-Eyed Yin Vine’s eyes, large and small, flickered wildly with terror.

SQUELCH!

The sword light precisely pierced its core eye!

CRACK... A grating sound filled the air. A crack appeared on the Hundred-Eyed Yin Vine’s core eye, then spread across its entire body.