Chapter 260 – A Thorough Sweep; Wood Demon Subjugation - Part 2

The next night.

Beyond the third gate of the Holy Tree Temple’s city stronghold, rows of sedan-like palanquins built from dark green wood emerged. Each palanquin was carried by two sturdy men and guarded by six more. A veil of drapery concealed the interior, where a faint flute melody played.

As the flute’s notes drifted through the night, crimson swarms of insects gathered overhead with a low, buzzing hum, trailing after the procession like vast crimson clouds that surged swiftly toward the city outskirts.

Standing atop the gray-black walls, dressed in white, Cui Wuji looked down at the palanquins with Li Yuan by his side.

“They’re called insect wardens,’” Cui Wuji explained. “They use music to command these insects, which are extremely sensitive to Yin energy. There’s no chance those undying husk can hide from them now.”

“Insect wardens?” Li Yuan repeated. “If the Holy Tree Temple had them all along, why not send them out sooner? The undying husks might never have grown so bold if you had.”

Cui Wuji replied mildly, “Every great faction holds a few trump cards in reserve. If we used them at every turn, no number of hidden assets would ever suffice.”

“Is it that the insect wardens are weaker than I realize?” Li Yuan wondered. “Maybe there was concern about losing too many of them?”

Cui Wuji nodded, then shook his head, leaving the question hanging. Gazing at the red clouds of insects drifting across the sky, he murmured, “Perhaps that’s not really the point; maybe it has more to do with the insects themselves. Master Li, you’re a genius at smithing weapons and taming beasts. Before long, you’ll likely get a chance to study these creatures. You might be the one teaching me a thing or two.”

Li Yuan let the matter drop, sensing that Cui Wuji himself knew little about these insects or the insect wardens.

Soon, the palanquins passed beyond sight. Above them, Li Yuan glimpsed shapes flitting through the sky, powerful martial artists following from on high. He let out a soft sigh.

“Sheng'er will be alright,” Cui Wuji said quietly.

Li Yuan nodded. The two of them then joined the procession, following beneath the drifting red clouds as they approached the outermost gate.

At the first gate, which most of the undying husks had managed to infiltrate, the purge began in earnest. Though Qing Hancheng had slain hundreds of them in the ancient ghost street, those were only the undying husks scattered across the greater Silkfloss Province. Plenty remained hidden right here within the Holy Tree Temple. Now, through unknown methods, Liu Luzi had lured them all out, ready for a decisive sweep.

Most of the undying husks were seventh or eighth rank; sixth rank martial artists were rare among them. Because of that gap, the undying husks lacked the sharp awareness possessed by higher rank martial artists, like blind men before an enemy who could sense them from miles away.

Moreover, it took at least two incense sticks’ worth of time for the undying husks to retreat into the ancient ghost street, no matter how quickly they fled.

As the swarm of crimson insects hovered over the first gate, it paused in midair at the sound of the haunting flute, then dispersed in all directions, guided by some special scent.

Screams started echoing through the streets. Each time a scream rose, a sixth rank inner disciple from the Holy Tree Temple would rush over to check it out, while fifth rank elders floated above, overseeing the battlefield.

Some of the undying husks used sugar as bait; others wielded burlap sacks or mirrors, each trying different tricks to fend off the insect swarms. None of it worked.

Yet contrary to expectation, the confrontation wasn’t entirely one-sided.

After only a few moments, a terrible shriek came from nearby, the cry of a sixth rank disciple in distress. He was suspended in midair, trapped in an invisible web of some sort, and his body was quickly dissolving into a bloody mess.

Others tried to pull him free but couldn’t budge him. His skin turned crimson, as though scorched by fire, and he thrashed wildly. He launched himself upward in a desperate bid for escape, but as if tethered by a giant spring, he was yanked right back down, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact.

An elder arrived swiftly, landing next to him. With a wave of the elder’s hand, powerful blood-tinged energy flared forth. Normally, such energy would chase away any ghost, but the disciple remained stuck.

Surprised, the elder increased the output; this time, it finally burned through the strange substance holding the disciple. He dropped to the ground, body gruesomely melted; but sixth rank vitality was tenacious. Even in that horrifying state of exposed bone, he could still be saved.

With trembling fingers, he drew blood talismans in the air, slapping them onto his own body. Each strike caused flesh to regrow at an astonishing rate. Seeing that the man would survive, the elder left to rejoin the fight.

All the while, Li Yuan and Cui Wuji strolled through the streets, looking for Sheng'er. Though Li Yuan knew she wasn’t here, he at least put on a show of it. Turning a corner, they heard rapid footsteps.

A man in black darted past, seemingly phasing through walls without leaving a mark, racing for the outskirts of the city stronghold. Overhead, the crimson insect swarm doggedly pursued him.

Cui Wuji clicked his tongue. “All my years, I’ve never seen a skill like that.”

Li Yuan realized it was one of the undying husks who had gained a ghostly ability after lifting a curse.

In fact, most undying husks had likely grown stronger by now. Besides using ghost items, they each possessed a unique ability from whatever ghosts they had bonded with, a bit like Li Yuan’s own power to open a door to the carpenter’s workshop.

That said, these abilities only worked within the boundary of the corresponding ghost domain. Li Yuan, for example, could open a door to the carpenter’s workshop in the northern half of Gemhill County or in Flowerpath County, where the carpenter’s workshop was located but not much farther.

It struck Li Yuan as curious that the area around the Holy Tree Temple must also contain a ghost domain—and a sizable one at that. Otherwise, so many undying husks wouldn’t be able to wield these abilities here. The temple itself apparently lay in the outer perimeter of that ghost domain, shielding its members from experiencing bizarre deaths.

A flood of thoughts churned in Li Yuan’s mind. At last, he decided to capture that fleeing undying husk and interrogate him. He was just about to move when a hand gently blocked him.

“We can’t have our genius beastmaster risking his neck on the front lines,” a cool chuckle rang out.

A figure in white flashed forward, releasing a pulse of red radiance that sent the

wall-phasing

undying husk flying backward. He collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed.

With a sweep of his long sleeves, Cui Wuji swatted aside a fresh wave of encroaching insects.

Li Yuan strode over to the black-clad undying husk and demanded fiercely, “My name is Li Yuan. Where’s my daughter?!”

The undying husk blinked. Then, coughing weakly, he rasped, “If...if I tell you...will you let me go?”

Li Yuan glanced at Cui Wuji, who unexpectedly nodded.

“I swear upon my inner demons,” Cui Wuji said calmly. “Give us real information on Master Li’s daughter, and we’ll let you walk away. This is by the temple master’s own decree; you have nothing to fear.”

Li Yuan’s face shone with grateful relief.

The captive, reassured, continued, “Earlier today, at noon...I saw Gong Jiuwei dragging a girl into a patch of wilderness, muttering something about avenging his fallen comrades. His younger brother died in that massacre on the ancient ghost street, so I guess he wanted payback.

“I heard him call her Sheng'er, talking about how if her father had joined us sooner, we could’ve been gone by now. He mentioned how his brother wouldn’t have died, and that she should blame her father for what was happening to her! The kid was crying and calling out for help. Then...Gong Jiuwei lit a fire...”

Li Yuan stood there, stunned. Quickly he recovered and questioned the undying husk for more detail—descriptions, clothing, anything—and every detail matched Sheng'er’s appearance. Were it not for the fact he had two blackbirds perched on the real Sheng'er’s shoulders at that very moment, keeping watch, he might have believed this was truly his daughter. But right now, all he felt was rage.

Li Yuan grabbed the man. “Take me...there.”

Soon, the three of them arrived at a barren wilderness. A small, charred pile remained there, already kicked apart. On the ground they found a few little trinkets, almost identical to the jade beads Sheng'er often wore around her wrist.

Li Yuan rushed over, scooping up the beads with trembling hands, letting loose a grief-stricken, animalistic howl. His eyes burned with hatred, though inside he felt a grim chill.

So the Holy Tree Temple has gone so far as to kill some innocent girl just to tighten their hold on me. What a cold-blooded scheme...

He also grew more vigilant. Had he not secretly sent Sheng'er away in advance, she might have met the same fate after entering the Holy Tree Temple’s innermost territory—perhaps torn to pieces by those insects, or worse.

He continued to wail, voice echoing across the wilderness. Cui Wuji looked aside, unable to bear the sight. Off in the distance, Liu Luzi sensed the commotion and, hearing Li Yuan’s anguished roar, exhaled softly in relief. At least this time, it appeared she had done exactly what was expected.

Under the sweeping night sky, red clouds of insects whirled amid the lonely, drifting flute melody. The insect wardens rode in their curtained palanquins, borne by sturdy men, swarming through the tangle of alleys.

By dawn, nearly every undying husk within the first gate had been exterminated. If any remained, it could only be a handful hiding in the shadows. Yet beyond the undying husks, some innocent bystanders also fell victim to the insects that night, perishing in horrifying ways.