The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 351 - 221: Bringing Disaster on Oneself

Chapter 351: Chapter 221: Bringing Disaster on Oneself

"Young Hero Li, what... what kind of Gu is this?"

Consternation filling his heart, Yan Bo Nian grew even more furious.

How could he not guess that his wife had fallen victim to a dark plot?

As his words fell, the bizarre insect began to struggle madly, its body trembling and emitting a sound.

"Chirp—!"

The sound was piercingly sharp, as if suddenly causing tinnitus.

Bang!

Without another word, Li Yan pressed down forcefully with the sewing needle and pinned the strange bug’s head to the wooden table.

The noise ceased abruptly, and the insect stopped moving.

"This is not a Gu worm."

Li Yan’s expression stern, he slightly shook his head and said, "Does your household have any peach wood branches? Find some and burn this insect to ashes, then have the lady ingest them."

"Quick, get the peach wood!"

Yan Bo Nian immediately instructed the maid to fetch it.

Such an odd method, he had never heard of, but with so many others unable to detect the poisoning, Li Yan’s ability to find the anomaly made him all the more trustworthy.

The customs of Ezhou held a particular reverence for five types of plants.

First, the Spirit Lance Sacred Reed, believed to be capable of communicating with gods.

Second, peach wood and maple trees, thought to ward off evil.

Third, bamboo, symbolizing good and bad fortune, especially taboo was bamboo flowering.

Thus, many households would hang peach charms and make peach bows and willow arrows to hang at the door, with many mythological tales containing similar scenes.

The Yan household was large and wealthy; naturally, they were not short of peach wood.

Crackle and pop!

As the peach wood burned, the onlookers watched, amazed, as the insect quickly shriveled and turned yellow, then became a thin layer of black ash, similar to the residue from burnt fire paper.

Li Yan carefully picked it up and mixed it with water with a stir.

The robust woman immediately took it carefully and fed it to the already unconscious Mrs. Yan, after which her breathing clearly steadied.

Only then did Li Yan breathe a sigh of relief. With a solemn face, he inquired, "Before the madam fell ill, had she visited any peculiar place?

Especially caves of any kind."

"This..."

Yan Bo Nian’s face slightly reddened with embarrassment as he shook his head, "To be honest, my wife is devoted to Taoism and visits various Taoist temples to offer incense in her leisure time, always accompanied by maidens and elder maidservants."

"Just when the incident occurred, I was in a foul mood, and those people didn’t serve with all their hearts, so I sent them all away."

Li Yan furrowed his brow, "This complicates things..."

"Sir."

At that moment, the robust woman hesitated, then spoke up resolutely, "I just recalled something about this creature that I’ve heard of before."

Seeing everyone looking at her, she sighed, "Sir knows that I come from Xishan’ao village, not far from the Turen Mountain ranges."

"When I was little, I heard the elderly speak of a tale. They said there was a demon in the mountain known as the Silkworm Woman, who often hid in the caves. Anyone caught by its gaze would go mad and die."

"I thought it was just a legend since I had never heard of anyone seeing it. Could the lady have been harmed by this demon?"

"That’s not a demon."

Li Yan shook his head, "This is an evil technique, the cultivators of which are mostly women who must hide in caves for years, never to see the sunlight."

"They lure people into caves, play tricks to frighten them, and cast evil spells. This insect hides within the human body, feeding on the Divine Soul in dreams, driving people mad."

"Day by day, the insect grows, and when the person dies, it turns into a human-faced moth that flies out of the mouth to be absorbed by that demon."

"This technique is not Gu, and since the human-faced silkworm absorbs the host’s divine soul, their aura is almost identical, making it very difficult to detect..."

In fact, he was hiding quite a lot.

At Taibai Mountain, after capturing a yin criminal, Yu Linzi told him about the "Eternal Immortal Vault," a taboo secret technique from Ancient Times discovered by a secretive group of Fangshi, digging at the remnants of the Sealing God war.

These Magic Methods were each bloody and cruel and required the worship of an Evil God.

As some disrupted the boundary between life and death, they were targets for living Yin messengers. Therefore, he had requested the Taixuan Orthodox Sect’s help in collecting information.

The original records of the "Eternal Immortal Vault" had already scattered throughout the Divine State.

The scriptures of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect did not reveal the cultivation methods but did record the characteristics of these evil techniques.

Although the records were incomplete, they described about thirty different types.

Moreover, as a living Yin messenger, he also knew much more hidden lore.

These so-called Longevity Techniques were all malevolent legacies, involving not just the Longevity Method but various secret techniques.

More troubling, the Demon Gods worshiped by those who cultivated these methods actually existed and were suppressed under Luo Feng Mountain.

Now, this "Divine Silkworm Longevity Technique" was one of them, and the Demon God it worshiped was named Peach Slave.

Perhaps it was even related to the great Sealing Gods war of Ancient Times.

Every cultivator of the "Eternal Immortal Vault" could potentially allow the escape of Demonic Qi after long periods of worshiping Demon Gods.

In Shangjin City, he had captured a strand of Demonic Qi.

Though it was dangerous, it offered him great advantages.

By apprehending Demonic Qi, one could obtain a Yin Bureau Divine Evil, not only repairing the Daluo Dharma Body but also strengthening the Soul Hook.

With this in mind, Li Yan already had a vague suspicion.

Near the village of the robust woman, there definitely were people cultivating evil techniques, but their Dao was likely insufficient, having caused neither a disturbance between life and death nor the descent of Demonic Qi.

"Turen Mountain ranges?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bo Nian on the side, suddenly realized and swore furiously, "This tribe of Tusi, they had actually cast a curse on my family three years ago!"

Seeing Li Yan’s puzzled look, he sighed, "This is a family matter, but since you are involved, young friend, it would be improper to keep you in the dark, please come with me."

Having said that, he instructed the maids to take good care of Mrs. Yan and led Li Yan into the main hall’s back courtyard and into a study.

The study of the Yan family was undoubtedly the most beautifully decorated.

The bookshelves and curio shelves were all made of the finest Phoebe, with a simple design, a rich patina, and a solemn and rustic appearance.

On the desk sat a block of Hui ink, faintly emitting a gentle scent of ink.