Chapter 110: The First Poisonous Gu

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The old gray woman gave a sinister smile, as if our capture of her was exactly what she had hoped for.
I knew well how much the old gray woman valued her life; there was no way she would come to Shanhaiguan to walk into a trap without a purpose. Her presence here must be driven by some ulterior motive.
Seeing this, I immediately said, "This rat spirit is extremely cunning. Even if we manage to question it, its words cannot be trusted. It would be better to kill it outright to prevent future troubles."
Upon hearing this, the old gray woman’s expression changed abruptly. She quickly said, "You cannot kill me! I, the old gray woman, came here precisely to inform you of the movements of Hu San Taiye. He is currently holding his position for a reason. If you kill me now, Shanhaiguan will surely fall tomorrow!"
"Is that so? You’re so kind-hearted as to reveal the movements of that old fox spirit?" the old mountain god also asked.
"Kind-hearted is not the right word. But Hu San Taiye has repeatedly oppressed my Gray family. I, the old gray woman, was originally supposed to be the guardian immortal of the Gray family, but unexpectedly, Hu San Taiye gave the opportunity to Gray Haozi, that bastard outsider of the Gray clan. This grievance, I, the old gray woman, can never swallow!" the old gray woman said angrily.
"In that case, tell us then, what are Hu San Taiye’s movements? If you dare utter a single false word, the Mountain God’s Order will be your end," I said, glancing at the old mountain god, who nodded slightly.
"I dare not. I would never lie," she replied.
The old gray woman paused briefly, then continued, "My lords, Hu San Taiye has remained unseen because he is hiding behind the army, waiting for the right moment."
"What kind of moment?" I asked.
The old gray woman looked at me with a crafty smile and said, "You, Lin Yi, are the Planet of Confusion. The fate tied to the Planet is so strong that even Hu San Taiye said that even if he captures you, he cannot kill you. So he sent someone here to use Gu magic to harm your soul, to make the Planet seek a new master, to take your Planet from you..."
This revelation surprised me, and everyone was momentarily stunned. At that moment, a black mist suddenly emanated from the old gray woman, spreading out in all directions.
We all took several steps back.
Two of the nearest female disciples collapsed to the ground, frothing at the mouth and dead.
Seeing this, the old mountain god immediately used the Mountain God’s Order against the old gray woman. A bolt of heavenly thunder struck, but after the black smoke dispersed, she was nowhere to be seen.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow dart not far away.
"There!" I said, leaping into the air and swiftly pursuing. The old gray woman was trying to climb over the city wall to flee inside Shanhaiguan. I arrived before her, blocking her path.
"Trying to escape?" I asked, a yellow talisman in hand, striking toward her.
However, the old gray woman gave a wicked smile and pulled out a small vial from her pocket. She pinched it, causing cracks to appear on the vial, then hurled it at me.
The vial shattered in midair, releasing a swarm of small black insects. These must be the harmful creatures. I quickly dodged and launched a fire talisman, incinerating the swarm completely.
At this moment, Weiyang and the others caught up. Weiyang glanced behind me, her expression changing, and shouted, "Leader, watch your back!"
Hearing this, I flipped over and saw a black moth with compound eyes lunging at me. It flapped its wings, and the black scales dispersed like smoke toward me.

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Knowing this creature must be poisonous, I immediately dodged.
But the black moth was incredibly fast and lunged at me. Just as I was about to use a fire talisman against it, it nearly reached my face, making it impossible to use the talisman.
I sprang up with force, leaping onto the city wall, but the black moth was nowhere in sight.
However, Weiyang quickly flew toward me. She reached out to grab the back of my neck, so I instinctively dodged. When I looked back, she was holding the black moth.
Weiyang chanted softly, summoning a ball of blue-green flame that reduced the moth to ashes.
The old gray woman tried to seize the opportunity to flee.
Weiyang’s eyes flashed sharply, and in an instant, she appeared before the old gray woman. The latter tried to attack, but having little strength, was quickly grabbed by the throat and lifted by Weiyang.
"Why did you use such despicable means to harm my husband?"
Weiyang’s eyes were bloodshot. The old gray woman struggled madly but couldn’t break free.
Then, a blue-green flame ignited in Weiyang’s hand, enveloping the old gray woman, who was thrown off the city wall.
Before hitting the ground, the old gray woman was already reduced to ashes, scattered by the wind.
Just now, Weiyang had grabbed the black moth to save me, which worried me.
That thing was likely a kind of Gu magic, silently harmful. I immediately approached Weiyang and asked, "Weiyang, is your hand okay?"
She smiled faintly and said, "Leader, don’t worry. I burned the black moth with Yin Fire, so it couldn’t harm me."
The old mountain god and others came over, seeing both Weiyang and me unharmed, he finally exhaled deeply and asked, "Are you both all right?"
"All fine," Weiyang replied swiftly.
I went to the old mountain god and asked if he’d ever heard of black moth Gu insects.
He shook his head and said, "Gu magic is endlessly varied. Many poisonous insects can be cultivated as Gu. Black moths can indeed be made into poisonous Gu insects. But no matter the type, one must not touch them, lest the Gu poison invade the body, harm the soul, or kill, or transform one into a puppet of a Gu sorcerer."
This made me worry about Weiyang. Looking at her, I asked, "Even if one has cultivated a Yin body, can one still be harmed?"
"If the Gu targets the soul, even a Yin body cannot come into contact with it. If harmed, the Yin body is unstable and it remains extremely dangerous," said the old mountain god.
Weiyang had just killed that black moth with her own hands to save me.
I checked her palm, and she said, "Don’t worry. I burned it with Yin Fire before the poison could invade. I’ll be fine."
Her palm looked perfectly normal, which eased my concerns slightly.
That Hu San Taiye was truly devious. No wonder he hadn’t deployed troops yet; he was secretly plotting. Fortunately, Weiyang was unharmed. We should have killed that old gray woman outright when we caught her to avoid such dangers.
After this incident—

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Huayu Yan immediately ordered that any wild immortals outside the city walls approaching Shanhaiguan with suspicious behavior were to be killed on sight with Daoist magic, no arrests necessary.
Then, Huayu Yan came to this room, asking if Weiyang was alright.
Weiyang said she was fine. After what just happened, Huayu Yan’s attitude toward Weiyang seemed to have changed significantly. She said, "Sister Weiyang, I didn’t expect you to risk your life for Lin Yi… I truly feel ashamed…"
"I owe him too much," Weiyang glanced at me meaningfully.
"Sister Weiyang, I really envy you!" Huayu Yan said.
At this moment, Weiyang looked at me and said, "Lin Yi, please step outside. I have something to discuss privately with Miss Huayu."
I was a bit surprised. What could the two of them possibly have to talk about? Then the flower maiden came over and said, "Leader, let’s go!"
Though reluctant, I followed the flower maiden outside.
I asked her what Weiyang was up to. Why did they want me out? She glanced at me and said, "Naturally, it’s about some very private women’s matters. You’re a man; how could they talk with you there?"
"Really? But they don’t know each other well. Why would they want to talk about such things?" I said, amazed at how unfathomable women’s hearts truly are.
"Lin Yi, you look nervous. Did you do something to betray my mistress?" the flower maiden asked.
"No, really not," I replied.
"You seem scared, but I think I know. Huayu Yan has deep feelings for you. My mistress can’t not notice. So, you can imagine what they’re talking about," the flower maiden said.
"Will they fight?"
"Hard to say!" The flower maiden giggled, seeming to enjoy the thought.
They chatted inside for half an hour before Huayu Yan and Huayu Yan came out—thankfully, no fight broke out.
When they emerged, Huayu Yan’s expression toward me was strange, and so was Weiyang’s. Especially Huayu Yan’s gaze, which seemed to carry a hint of affection.
This made me even more reluctant to meet her eyes.
I grew increasingly curious about what Weiyang told her.
Just then, the old mountain god arrived holding several small porcelain shards. I recognized them as fragments of the vial the old gray woman used to carry the black moth. I asked what he intended to do with them. He said, "I’ve seen this kind of vial before. Come see—the bottom of the vial bears the name of its owner."
I took a look and indeed found six seal-style characters engraved: Southern Gu King Luo Jinhong.
"Young Master Lin, if I’m not mistaken, the vial contained the legendary most potent poison Gu in the world, the Liuyiao Worm," the old mountain god said.