Chapter 21: The Cold and Lonely Insect

  After crossing the Mercury River, Cha Qian and his group ventured deeper, but now things are getting a bit tricky as tiny lights like fireflies began to appear around them.

  These sparks splashed onto their torches, and incredibly, the flames instantly turned into ice blocks, rapidly spreading downwards towards the hands of those holding the torches.

  In the midst of their cries, the hands of those who had not yet let go of the torches froze and fell to the ground along with the torches, shattering with a crisp "crack" sound.

  But those who had their hands cut off didn't feel a shred of pain, as if the severed hand wasn't even their own.

  However, these firefly-like light spots did not continue to move forward, but instead all suspended in front of them, like a barrier blocking the way for Cha Qian and his party.

  Wu Jiang asked Cha Qian and his men: "Cha Er Ye, have you ever seen this thing?"

  Zha Qian shook his head and said, "Never, have you ever met?"

  Wu Jiang said similarly: "This thing has never been heard of, and never seen!"

  Jin Douzi, who was always behind Pang San Ye, looked at these firefly-like things and seemed to know what they were, but he didn't plan on saying anything.

  At this moment, Du Zhong took a step forward and said in a slightly low voice: "This is the 'Hanyou Worm'."

  It wasn't just Zhang Qian who was surprised, even Pang San, who had been like a father to Du Zhong for over a decade, turned his head to look at this adopted son of his, he had never thought that this adopted son would actually know these things.

  Pang San Ye asked strangely: "Du Zhong! How did you know these things?"

  However, Du Zhong didn't respond to Pang San Ye, but instead continued to stare at the firefly-like object he called "Han You Chong" and said: "According to legend, this thing was brought back from an extremely cold place and underwent special cultivation, making it a living tombstone screen."

  Du Zhong looked at him with a somewhat uneasy expression and told the origin of this thing. Cha Qian and his men were still easy to talk about, but Pang San Ye felt a bit trembling in his heart.

  He looked at this person he had known for decades, now completely like a different person, although he knew that the person himself had some ambition, but would never be so self-abandoned.

  "That's right, as Du Zhong said, this thing is a 'Hanyou Worm'. However, it's said that this thing shouldn't exist in the world, but unexpectedly, we've encountered it here."

  Zha Qianzong looked at Jintouzi who had been following him all the way, knowing that if he wanted to figure out the weaknesses of these "Hanyou worms", he could only get it from Jintouzi's mouth. That Du Zhong was clearly a bit off.

  Jin Duzi also knew that he had grasped the timing well, and waited for Cha Qianzong and Zhou Futong to speak next. He smiled meaningfully at them, waiting for these two leaders of the Haoziying to come and ask him for help.

  But the people of Huozi Camp wouldn't be so easy to deal with. Cha Qian sneered and said, "Jin Douzi, I know what you're thinking. Why don't you just say what you want to do? We'll see if we can help you make it happen."

  Jīn Dōu Zi thought for a moment, although he knew the origin of these "Hán Yōu Chóng" and had temporarily gained the upper hand, but everything that followed still required him to continue using the people from Huǒ Zǐ Yíng. It was better to follow up on Zhā Tiān's words and go with the flow, so that his next actions could be carried out as he wished.

  "That Jin Douzi smiled and said: 'Cha Qian, we are also straightforward people who don't speak in riddles. I indeed know how to break through the barrier of this 'Hanyou Worm', but I also want you, Huozi Camp, to do something for me.'"

  Zha Qianzong looked at Jintouzzi and said: "Just say it, as long as our Haoziying can do it."

  "Alright, since you, Cha Qianzong, have said so, I, Jin Douzi, have nothing more to say. I'll tell you about the 'Hanyou Worm'."

  These cold insects come from the border of Qing and Russia, where there is a place that leads directly to the underground, unknown depth, and is covered with ice all year round. These cold insects were brought back from that place, and at first, they were not used in tombs, but in imperial palaces, to help emperors and others cool down. However, someone later found that these cold insects had a huge effect, so they stole some out and cultivated them for use in tombs, making them the most critical barrier in the tomb.

  Moreover, this thing can emit a freezing aura that can instantly freeze people after encountering flames, just like the few people who had their hands frozen earlier.

  If you want to get past the screen of cold and gloomy insects, you must extinguish all the torches here, catch the cold and gloomy insects, and eat them.

  Only in this way can the temperature inside one's body be lower than the surface of the skin, so as not to attract the attention of those countless cold insects, and only then can one safely pass through this barrier.

  After hearing Jin Douzi say this, except for Du Zhong, everyone felt that this matter was too adventurous and there was no possibility of eating these things away.

  Even in Hāoziying, they were hesitant and Commander Cha couldn't let his men take such a risk without any guarantee of success.

  But the cold fireflies that were far away from the torches, were extinguished by the thousands of them. Now, the appearance of those firefly-like cold fireflies can indeed be seen more clearly than before.

  These ice worms are about the size of a human fist, their entire body is a pale green color, and you can see the split mouthparts on these ice worms, with some ice crystals remaining inside.

  No one dared to make a move, and even Jintouzi, who had suggested this method, did not dare to catch and eat these cold and eerie insects after seeing their true appearance.

  Just as everyone else didn't dare to take risks, Du Zhong walked forward, grabbed a cold insect with one hand, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then, with the sound of "吧唧", a fist-sized cold insect was swallowed by Du Zhong.

  However, no one dared to do so. Du Zhong walked through the barrier of Han Yougui under the gaze of everyone and the astonished eyes of Pang San Ye.

  At this time, everyone knew that the method was indeed effective, but still no one dared to do so. At this time, Wu Jiang and his eight men discussed it and finally approached those cold worms, caught them, and with great pain put them in their mouths, then swallowed them mouthful by mouthful.

  This time, the remaining people also watched Wu Jiang and the eight of them pass through the cold yin insect barrier safely. Under the gaze of Haoziying, Pang San and his men also ate the cold yin insect eggs and then passed through the cold yin insect screen.

  Jin Duzi was the last one, he looked at Cha Qianzong and said: "Cha Qianzong, what I want you to help me with is to get that thing inside here."

  Cha Qian always felt that this golden helmet was what he had been searching for, but still asked: "Golden Helmet, what is it that you are talking about?"

  "Exactly, it's the 'Zi Xu's Stolen Book' that everyone in the martial arts world wants to get their hands on."

  Zha Qianzong wondered if this golden helmet was indeed the same thing that Huoziying was looking for, but he had no idea how it had guessed that this place was where "Zi Xu's stolen book" was located.

  Zha Qian Dao said: "We will bring this thing out, but at most we can only give you a copy."

  Jin Douzi said: "Cha Qianzong is indeed a man of integrity."

  Zha Qianzong didn't continue to say anything, and the people from Huoziying who came with him, except for two whose hands were frozen off, all ate the cold yin worm together.

  When Zhang Qian and his men broke through the blockade of Han You's troops, only two people from Zhang's camp and three people from Pang San's side were left. Just as they were about to retreat, footsteps began to approach.

  It turned out that the five people who had been invited by Pang San earlier arrived here, and now the people of Haoziying with one arm broken and Pang San's people were not opponents of these five people. After being subdued, the people of Haoziying did not reveal the secrets of those cold worms, and they were directly strangled to death by these five people.

  That Pang San's person was also sent to Yan Wang Temple by these five people after being told about the cold and lonely worm.

  These five people also hesitated for a while before eating the cold yin insect and continuing on their way. Not long after these five left, Lao Si of Chuanshanmen arrived here too, and surprisingly, he directly grabbed a cold yin insect and ate it, then quickly passed through.

  It was quiet here for a while, but then voices appeared like boiling water, and those huge heads that emerged from the mercury river began to appear in this place.

  The huge brain and the cold insect had no conflict at all, and directly chased after the person in front.

  After a long time when the giant head had left, there was some movement here again. Zhou Futong and his men from Haoziying appeared here.

  At the first moment, Zhou Futong did not let the people of Huoziying approach those fireflies-like cold insects, and found that there were already dead people lying there, in addition to the people of Huoziying, there were also people from Pang San's side.

  Zhou Futong took a look and found that these people were all killed by having their necks twisted, and after thinking about it, he felt that only the few who left could have done it.

  Zhou Futong is now more anxious than before, he must cut off this hidden danger, otherwise many things will happen later. However, to get through here, you have to pass through the cold and lonely worm's barrier.

  For a while, Zhou Futong also didn't know what to do. He didn't dare to touch those cold and eerie insects easily, so he could only continue thinking of ways.

  At this time, a sudden flash of light appeared under the Emperor's Crown Mountain, and everyone within this range was aware of it.