Chapter 17: Soul-Devouring Gu

  In Tang Feng's memory, Ouyang Old Ancestor treated him like his own grandson, taking care of him with extra attention. Even when he got into trouble in the Wind Slashing Sect, this old ancestor would unhesitatingly support him and even broke the rules to reward him with a low-grade spiritual artifact.

  At this moment, Zhang Heng was also very puzzled. In his heart, he had an increasing aversion to this old ancestor, Ou Yang. To ordinary people, Ou Yang seemed like a frail old man on the verge of entering his grave, but who would have known that he was actually a cultivator in the Golden Elixir stage with boundless magical powers? What kind of unspeakable secrets lay behind his actions?

  Ou Yang laughed loudly for a moment before shifting his gaze back to Zhang Heng, and in an instant, an unstoppable spiritual pressure descended upon Zhang Heng once again.

  Zhang Heng's face showed a look of horror, his body involuntarily backing away, as he stuttered: "Y-you... what do you want to do?"

  "You know my true strength, do you think I'd let you leave so easily?" A flash of murderous intent crossed Ou Yang's eyes, and Zhang Heng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Was Ou Yang really planning to kill him?

  Zhang Heng understood that in front of the Jiedan period cultivators, he had no power to fight back. However, he still made up his mind in his heart that if the other party really wanted to take action against him, he would absolutely not sit and wait for death! Even if the chances of success were less than one in ten thousand, he would still do it.

  But immediately, Ou Yang's old ancestor revealed a hint of a smile: "Of course, if you want to save your life, that's not impossible either."

  Zhang Heng let out a slight sigh of relief in his heart, it seemed that his inference was not wrong. If this Ouyang ancestor really wanted to kill him, he would have made his move long ago. Why bother with all the fuss and intimidation here? It's likely that next, the other side will use both carrot and stick tactics again.

  But Zhang Heng didn't know what it was about himself that had moved his ancestor's heart?

  He hastily put on a frantic expression and asked urgently: "What instructions does the old ancestor have, the disciple will definitely do it for you."

  Ou Yang Old Ancestor stroked his white beard with a hint of appreciation and said, "Hmmm, you're an intelligent person. I won't say much more. As long as you follow my will, I definitely won't treat you unfairly. This is my uniquely cultivated Soul-Devouring Wasp, capable of devouring the Yuan Shen of cultivators. Even a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator who gets infested by this ancient desolate species would find it extremely difficult to shake off the calamity brought about by the Soul-Devouring Wasp."

  Only then did Ou Yang's ancestor take out a specially made transparent crystal bottle from his storage bag, and inside the crystal bottle floated black light spots about the size of fireflies.

  After seeing these flickering black bright spots, Zhang Heng couldn't help but feel a sense of fear in his heart. This fear didn't come from his body, but rather a instinctive reaction deep within his soul.

  But immediately, a silver light flashed out of the silver-white jade cylinder in Zhang Heng's mind, covering his primordial spirit, and then this silver light disappeared, and that extreme fear also disappeared.

  Zhang Heng's heart couldn't help but feel a thrill, it seemed that this jade cylinder had some restraining effect on the Soul-Devouring Wasp. However, on the surface, he still pretended to be frightened, looking at the black Soul-Devouring Wasp in the crystal bottle with fear.

  "This Soul-Devouring Gu is a kind of strange Gu left over from the Primordial Era, specializing in destroying one's Yuan Shen. Although the ones I've raised are still immature, they're more than enough to deal with cultivators below the Core Formation stage."

  Ou Yang Old Ancestor chuckled, lightly opening the crystal bottle's lid. His hand flashed with a dark light, and instantly two Soul-Devouring Wasps flew out of the bottle. He faintly whispered an obscure incantation, producing a strange fluctuation within the room.

  A dark light flashed, and the Soul Devouring Gu instantly pierced into Zhang Heng's body under Old Man Ouyang's control, its speed was not much slower than ordinary flying treasures.

  At Zhang Heng's speed, he should have been able to barely dodge the incoming Corpse Soul Bee at such a close distance, but instead, he allowed it to enter his body.

  He knew that he would have no resistance in front of the Jiedan period cultivators, and it was better to hide some of his strength, who knows, maybe there will be a chance to turn over in the future.

  Zhang Heng unfolded his inner vision, and he only felt that the two Soul Devouring Wasps inside his body were dormant and motionless, in a state of deep sleep. The surface of the wasp was wrapped in a layer of crystal clear white silk, seemingly unable to pose any threat to Zhang Heng for the time being.

  "Once the outer layer of white cocoon breaks open, it's when the Soul Devouring Gu starts attacking you. This layer of white cocoon can only last for a month, so within a month, you must come here to receive a special antidote once, to make the cocoon last another month and keep the dormant Soul Devouring Gu inside."

  Zhang Heng involuntarily took a cold breath, never expecting that Ou Yang would use such a method to deal with him. If he didn't come here to report for a month, the Soul-Devouring Gu would break out of its cocoon and devour his primordial spirit and soul.

  It can be said that Zhang Heng's life was already in the hands of Ou Yang, and if he wanted to survive, he had to let the other party control him.

  However, Zhang Heng had a faint feeling in his heart that the Soul-Devouring Gu seemed to no longer pose any threat to him. Was it because of the silver jade cylinder in his mind?

  Just then, Zhang Heng thought of the transformation skill that could transform all things into their true nature. He felt a sense of clarity in his heart, thinking that if he could enter the first layer of the transformation skill, he might not need to fear this Soul-Devouring Wasp. At that time, it was possible that he could refine and eliminate this Soul-Devouring Wasp. After all, the transformation skill was known for refining all tangible things in the world and transforming all intangible objects. This Soul-Devouring Wasp might not be able to escape the scope of this universal principle.

  Looking at Zhang Heng's unpredictable expression, Ou Yang Lao Zu smiled and said: "As long as you follow my plan, you will definitely not lose your benefits. Who knows, you may even have the opportunity to enter the foundation period. At that time, I will take you under my wing and remove the Soul Devouring Gu from your body."

  Zhang Heng couldn't help but curse inwardly, and when things were done, he was afraid it would be the moment of his own death. As for whether he could build a foundation, Zhang Heng had never considered it at all, with his abnormal abilities, he was destined to take a path of cultivation that was vastly different from ordinary people.

  "This is an intermediate-grade spiritual artifact that I, the Old Ancestor, have bestowed upon you. If you follow my plan and accomplish the first task, I will bestow upon you a high-grade spiritual artifact, and it's even possible that you'll obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill."

  Medium-grade spiritual equipment? Zhang Heng's heart couldn't help but stir, after all, in the Wind Flow Sect, only two or three disciples possessed medium-grade spiritual equipment. With this piece of medium-grade spiritual equipment, combined with his own abnormal strength, as long as he didn't encounter a cultivator above the Great Circle of Refining Qi, he wouldn't need to fear anything.

  Laozu took out another mid-grade spiritual artifact in the shape of a crescent moon from his storage bag and handed it to Zhang Heng.

  Zhang Heng took over the mid-grade spiritual instrument in his hand, and a joyful expression appeared on his face.

  Ou Yang's expression was very satisfied, and he said calmly: "This mid-grade spiritual artifact is called Yue Xuan, with an additional effect of freezing. Every attack will automatically trigger the second-level ice sealing technique. It can be said that the value of this mid-grade spiritual artifact is already comparable to that of a general high-grade spiritual artifact."

  Zhang Heng's hand stroked this mid-grade spiritual artifact, and a chill emanated from the silver frost-colored surface, making his hand feel numb.

  This was indeed not an ordinary medium-grade spiritual artifact, and Zhang Heng couldn't help but feel a sense of fondness for it. After putting the Moon Sorrow into his storage bag, Zhang Heng bowed to Old Master Ouyang and said: "Thank you, Old Master, for bestowing this gift upon me. If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to command."

  Ou Yang's face showed a warm smile: "Don't worry, as long as you help me complete two things, I will restore your freedom. At that time, you can safely leave Fang Yun Mountain and also become my disciple. Ou Yang Tian De will never deceive you."

  Ou Yang's words were sincere, but how could Zhang Heng easily believe him? However, he did learn the old man's real name. Ou Yang Tian De? This name I will remember, and in my lifetime, I must find out the truth, Zhang Heng secretly made up his mind.

  "I don't know what two things the Old Ancestor wants me to help with?" Zhang Heng still referred to himself as a disciple, and Ouyang Old Ancestor also acknowledged his identity as Tang Feng's substitute.

  "Let's put the second matter aside for now and talk about the first one, which is related to Fang Yunshan's gathering a month later." A solemn expression appeared on Ouyang Laozu's face.

  Zhang Heng thought to himself, this Fangyun Gathering is indeed not as simple as a mere competition. Even the old master Ouyang from the Jiedan stage is so concerned about this matter, it can be seen that there must be some unspeakable secrets in this Fangyun Gathering.

  "Ah, this matter is connected to a secret on Mount Fangyun..." said Ou Yang with a hint of nostalgia.