The man struck by the Golden Parasite Bug instantly flushed scarlet, then his entire body turned crimson. Blood gushed from him, and he tumbled into the gorge below. The process was disturbingly simple—especially since the masked mastermind was now holding the very bug that had just attacked. Under everyone’s gaze, the masked mastermind leapt into the red pool of blood and vanished from sight, leaving the group stunned and furious.
At this moment, the Golden Parasite Bug was clinging to a primordial spirit—the soul of the man just slain. The primordial spirit stared at the masked mastermind in terror and stammered, "Who are you?" Several cultivators tried to intercept the masked mastermind, but he escaped, leaving them angry and helpless.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What's important is that you can contribute your primordial spirit." The masked mastermind smiled. No matter how hard the group searched with divine sense, they could not locate him; Evan Yang and the others gathered to discuss the situation, their faces grim.
Hearing that he was to 'contribute' his primordial spirit, the soul was stunned, staring at the masked mastermind in disbelief. He tried to explain, to struggle, but the bug was latched onto him. Unable to escape, he could only let the bug slowly devour his primordial spirit. Meanwhile, Evan Yang explained to the group that the Five-Spirit Pill rumor was false, but the threat to their primordial spirits was absolutely real. Everyone listened, anxious and tense.
Meanwhile, the man's true self was wracked with agony, as if his body were being bitten away piece by piece by the bug. The group realized that Evan Yang was exceptional, and several thanked him for saving them from the bugs, their gratitude and relief palpable.
Watching this unfold, Evan Yang could hardly imagine what kind of enemy he'd provoked—why, back at Heaven-Earth Gate, someone had sworn to capture him and make trouble for him. He explained to the group that he had overheard the masked mastermind, revealing that the mastermind was behind the false Five-Spirit Pill rumor. The group listened closely, tension rising.
On top of that, this masked mastermind had lured everyone here. Evan Yang began to suspect he was targeting everyone's primordial spirit, since he'd already harvested one. Though Evan didn't know exactly what the bug was doing, it clearly prevented escape and left its victim in torment. The masked mastermind's body and blood merged into the canyon's blood pool, a chilling sight that made everyone shudder.
With his first success, the masked mastermind quickly got a second, then a third. He harvested several primordial spirits in succession. Some victims were powerful, but against the bugs' close-range, lightning-fast attacks, they were utterly helpless. Someone wondered aloud if the blood pool was left behind by ancient Soul-Forming experts, their voices trembling with fear.
"These bugs look so familiar—almost like the ones I saw in the misty mountains, in the Hundred-Vermin Sect." Evan Yang realized that these bugs strongly resembled what he'd seen before. The only difference was, those bugs controlled people, but these directly seized primordial spirits and drained blood into the gorge. Another cultivator speculated it would require countless Soul-Forming experts to create such a blood pool, their tone uneasy.
As Evan Yang pondered, more people began to realize how deadly this space was—especially after witnessing the masked mastermind's methods. Many had already surrounded him. The group was shocked at the amount of blood, realizing it must have been accumulated over years by many Soul-Forming cultivators. The realization sent a chill through everyone present.
A late-stage Soul-Forming expert shouted, "Damn you! Who the hell are you?" The group wondered about the blood pool's purpose and how to escape the sealed space, their voices full of anxiety and confusion.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is, today you'll all end up just like them—handing over your primordial spirits." The masked mastermind grinned, raising a transparent cage filled with golden bugs. Each bug had a primordial spirit trapped in its jaws. Evan Yang remained calm, observing the sealed space and warning the others against forcibly breaking out.
"You—!" Seeing the masked mastermind's ruthlessness, the crowd was horrified.
"Be good and offer up your primordial spirits." The masked mastermind sneered.
"Arrogant! You think we can't take you down?" The late-stage Soul-Forming expert roared in anger and charged at the masked mastermind.
The masked mastermind used the same trick—a Golden Parasite Bug shot out. The late-stage Soul-Forming expert saw something flash in front of him and dodged. Thanks to the earlier victims, everyone knew not to touch the bug.
The bug missed its target but didn’t give up, darting after the late-stage Soul-Forming expert at incredible speed.
The expert tried to kill the bug, but it was impossible. He could only watch as it zipped toward him, and, faced with such a monstrous pursuer, he fled in anger and humiliation.
The others exchanged glances, then organized themselves to attack the masked mastermind together.
The masked mastermind just laughed, "Don't worry, there's plenty for all of you." With that, he released more bugs from his other hand—their targets were all the nearby Soul-Forming cultivators.
Each bug was bizarre—golden, blindingly fast, and incredibly tough. They couldn't be destroyed.
Everyone gave up on fighting and scrambled to find a way out, desperate to escape this deadly place. The whole space was filled with people searching for an exit.
Some newcomers didn't believe the danger at first, but when they encountered the bugs, they too had no choice but to flee.
But the entire space was sealed. Even Soul-Forming Great Perfection experts couldn't leave.
Seeing the panic, the masked mastermind laughed. He had already collected over seventy primordial spirits and was ecstatic.
Evan Yang was also targeted by a bug. The Golden Parasite Bug was fast, but Evan was faster. While everyone else was busy fleeing, Evan hid in the shadows, fighting a bug alone.
This bug was quick, but Evan Yang's speed was even greater. Only someone who had mastered Phantom Step like Evan could dodge the bug; others needed powerful treasures to escape its attacks.
"Damn it, another Golden Parasite Bug. Others can't deal with you, but let's see how my flame fares." Evan smirked to himself, then summoned the Sacred Flame and Ice-fire Sacred Flame from within.
With Evan's cultivation now stronger, his control over the Sacred Flame and Ice-fire Sacred Flame had reached the level of direct spiritual communication.
Receiving Evan's command, the Sacred Flame and Ice-fire Sacred Flame surged from his body, engulfing the bug in a sea of fire.
The golden bug seemed to encounter terrifying flames and tried to flee, but was frozen in place by the Ice-fire Sacred Flame. The Sacred Flame’s destructive power combined with the ice-fire delivered a fatal blow, easily reducing the bug’s supposedly impregnable shell to blackened ash.
"Good thing I have the Sacred Flame and Ice-fire. Otherwise, even I would have trouble dealing with it." Evan Yang smiled at the result and recalled his flames.
The masked mastermind knew exactly how many bugs he had and their status. He was waiting for his harvest when his expression suddenly changed. He sent out his divine sense and saw the mist-shrouded figure standing by a lump of black ash.
Black ash? The masked mastermind stared—it looked just like a scorched golden bug. Unbelieving and furious, he rushed over to Evan Yang. "Who are you?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Evan Yang smiled, meeting his gaze.
"Ridiculous. You're not qualified." The masked mastermind scoffed, then, furious at the dead bug, released another one toward Evan Yang, wanting to see how he killed it.
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Evan Yang did exactly as before, summoning two flames and incinerating the bug.
The masked mastermind’s eyes lit up, then grew suspicious. "What are those two flames? Why are they so powerful?"
"Looks like you’re confused. First, we’re not acquaintances, so I have no reason to tell you. Second, you’re trying to kill me—why would I share my secrets?" Evan Yang smiled.
The masked mastermind’s face twitched. He really did want Evan Yang dead—and needed Evan’s primordial spirit to complete his goal—but now Evan could destroy his bugs, something he’d never expected.
Seeing the masked mastermind speechless, Evan Yang pressed, "Tell us who you are, or all your bugs will die."
He pointed at the golden bugs currently attacking other Soul-Forming experts.
The masked mastermind was shocked, but refused to reveal his identity. "I won't tell you."
"Is that so? Then I won’t be polite." Evan Yang smiled, sending out two flames to rescue the besieged experts.
Once the crisis was resolved, the experts realized it was Evan Yang who had saved them. They rushed over, thanking him, some even standing beside him and glaring at the masked mastermind. "You—I’ll kill you!"
The voices grew louder as the danger eased. Only the masked mastermind’s expression grew uglier—he needed a hundred primordial spirits to complete his mission, but now had barely seventy, the rest lost thanks to Evan Yang.
Seeing the crowd, the masked mastermind realized he had no way to deal with so many Soul-Forming experts. Step by step, he retreated, warning Evan Yang, "If you have guts, tell us your name!"
"You haven’t told us yours—why should I tell you mine?" Evan Yang sneered. If this continued, the masked mastermind would surely be besieged by everyone.
The masked mastermind retreated to the edge of the gorge. One more step and he’d be in the gorge itself. He glanced behind him, then sneered at everyone, "Without me, none of you will leave this place!"
Under everyone’s gaze, the masked mastermind leapt into the red pool of blood and vanished from sight.
A few people rushed to intercept him, hovering above the gorge in fury.
Just like that, he was gone. No one could find him, not even with their divine sense—not even Evan Yang. All they could do was sit together and discuss their situation.
When asked about the Five-Spirit Pill and the masked mastermind’s identity, Evan Yang told everyone, "The Five-Spirit Pill rumor is probably fake, but the threat to our primordial spirits was real."
"How do you know?" By now, everyone realized Evan Yang was extraordinary. If not for him, they would have lost their bodies and been tormented by those strange bugs.
"I overheard it." Evan Yang explained that he’d eavesdropped, and revealed the masked mastermind was behind the false Five-Spirit Pill rumor. When everyone heard this, they stared at each other in disbelief—one person had played them all, and cost them over seventy lives.
Even their bodies and blood had merged into the gorge’s pool.
"Could this blood pool be left behind by ancient Soul-Forming experts?" Someone stared at the surging blood and exclaimed.
"Wouldn’t that require countless Soul-Forming cultivators?" another person chimed in.
Everyone was stunned. So much blood—how many Soul-Forming cultivators would it take? It looked like it had accumulated over years.
What was the purpose of all this blood? Why was it here, and where was the exit to this space? Everyone furrowed their brows in confusion.
Only Evan Yang remained calm, gazing around. He realized the space was truly sealed. If they tried to force their way out, everyone might fall into the unknown, so no one dared attack the space itself.