"Go ahead, tell me—where did they all go?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
The woman also looked at Evan Yang curiously, pondering what he had just said.
The big worm stared at Evan Yang. "They haven't been born yet."
"Not born yet?" Evan Yang asked skeptically.
The woman was also curious about what the big worm meant. She listened as it explained, "I didn't want my children to go out, so I kept them inside me to rest and recover."
"They're your children? Then you're a Void Grub too?" Evan Yang exclaimed, and the woman also looked surprised.
"Yes, that's right. They're my children. Originally, they could grow slowly outside, but you humans kept capturing them. I had no choice but to bring them back inside me," the big worm explained.
"So that's how it is." Evan Yang finally understood why the Void Grubs had disappeared, even to the point of extinction—the progenitor was right here.
The woman also wore a look of realization.
"I've answered your question. Can you let me go now?" The big worm stared at Evan Yang.
Evan Yang thought for a moment and said, "I'll let you go—but you lied to us."
"What?" The woman looked at Evan Yang, confused, and the big worm hadn't expected Evan to expose it.
Actually, Evan Yang had no idea if the big worm was telling the truth. It was just that Eldon, the Ancient Tree Soul, sensed something off about this refined bug, so Evan decided to test it. Unexpectedly, the worm slipped up right away.
"Trying to run, huh!" Seeing the worm attempt to escape, Evan Yang blocked its path, and the woman quickly moved to intercept as well, staying alert for any black gas it might release.
"Spare me!" Realizing it had been exposed, the big worm immediately begged for mercy.
"Tell us—why did you lie to us?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled as to why it claimed the Void Grubs were its children and that it was their progenitor.
The big worm realized it couldn't keep lying, so it finally said, "I'm a Hornfiend Mite."
"Hornfiend Mite?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously, while the woman exclaimed, "You're a Hornfiend Mite?"
"Yeah." The big worm replied gloomily.
"What's a Hornfiend Mite?" Evan Yang asked the woman. She directly transmitted the Hornfiend Mite's information to him.
It turned out that hiding in the void were some strange insects—Hornfiend Mites. They specialized in eating other bugs and could inhale and exhale baleful qi. They're extremely rare, even rarer than Void Grubs. If the Void Grubs hadn't nearly gone extinct in recent years, they wouldn't have become more valuable than Hornfiend Mites.
"So that's how it is. Then tell me, why did you pretend to be a Void Grub just now?" Evan Yang asked curiously after understanding the truth.
Knowing it couldn't keep up the lie, the Hornfiend Mite said, "They're my food. I was afraid you'd take them away, so I claimed they were my children."
"So where are they?" Evan Yang asked in surprise after hearing this.
"I've eaten some of them, and I've hidden the rest." The Hornfiend Mite replied obediently.
"Where are they?" Evan Yang asked in shock. The woman was also stunned, never expecting the disappearance of the Void Grubs was because a Hornfiend Mite was hiding below and devouring them.
The Hornfiend Mite had no choice but to obediently lead Evan Yang and the woman down a side tunnel. Soon, they arrived at another cavern.
Inside the cavern were many thumb-sized eggs, some already hatched, and others nearly fully formed but trapped inside, unable to get out.
"So many!" Evan Yang was shocked to see so many Void Grubs. Just these alone could earn him a lot of contribution points.
The woman was also stunned. She had never expected there would be so many Void Grubs.
The Hornfiend Mite was feeling pretty gloomy now. It never expected humans would come in, and even less that Evan Yang could ignore its baleful qi.
"I'll take them all," Evan Yang said as he reached the spot. There was a simple barrier formation that worked on the bugs but had no effect on him. With a wave of his hand, they all vanished into Evan Yang's ring.
"Hey, leave me some!" the woman exclaimed in shock.
"Leave you what? I'm turning them in for contribution points anyway. If you want some, go to the Merit Hall and claim them. Don't tell me you're not familiar with the DSOP." Evan Yang grinned, knowing the woman had plenty of authority.
"You brat," the woman muttered. She didn't really need the Void Grubs; her main purpose was to check out Evan Yang, but she ended up getting nothing and was even tricked by a Hornfiend Mite. Feeling a bit disgruntled, she turned to the Hornfiend Mite: "Those are his, but you're mine now."
"Weren't you going to let me go?" The Hornfiend Mite cried out in shock.
"I said I'd let you go, but you lied to me, so I'm not responsible anymore. If you want to be released, ask her." Evan Yang smiled, then flashed away, not wanting to stay. He wanted to find a place to inspect the Void Grubs.
The woman didn't give the Hornfiend Mite a chance to explain. She directly sealed it away and laughed, "Let's see if you dare mess with me again. I'll teach you a lesson when we get back."
Walking ahead, Evan Yang heard the woman's words and felt a bit sorry for the Hornfiend Mite.
Evan Yang quickly walked out the way he came, with the woman following close behind. She started questioning him, "You brat, you've got so many tricks. What kind of artifact is that sword? Why does it emit black gas?"
"None of your business," Evan Yang shot back, then headed toward the Fiend Palace.
"You—" The woman followed Evan Yang angrily, but he ignored her along the way. He didn't want to spend too much time with her, since her strength was far beyond his expectations. If she ever discovered something suspicious, his identity could be exposed.
Seeing Evan Yang ignore her completely only made the woman angrier. She kept trying to force him to speak, but he just wouldn't respond.
Rushing all the way back, Evan Yang returned to the Fiend Palace and headed to his quarters. In the Fiend Palace, everyone had their own space—especially generals of Fourth Rank and above, who got single rooms without any disturbance.
He opened the door and saw the woman still following behind. Evan Yang smiled, "I'm about to take off my clothes and go to bed. Are you still going to follow me?"
"You!" The woman hadn't expected Evan Yang to say something like that, and immediately blushed.
Evan Yang hadn't expected his words to make her blush, so he laughed even more. "I'm really about to undress," he said.
Then he closed the door.
"Damn it!" The woman stomped her foot, then left the doorway to Evan Yang's room.
After the woman left, Evan Yang extended his divine sense into his space ring to check on the Void Grubs.
When he saw what was happening inside, he was stunned. The bugs born from the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects were connecting their mutated tails to the Void Grubs.
"What the heck?" Evan Yang couldn't believe what he was seeing.
As each bug joined together, they formed a new insect.
"What kind of mutation is this?" Evan Yang was speechless. He never expected things to turn out like this. Seeing all the Void Grubs about to suffer the same fate, he quickly moved the three survivors to the area where Jade Rabbit and Golden Fur were resting.
At that moment, Golden Fur and Jade Rabbit were still resting with their eyes closed, like sleeping spirit beasts. Whenever the bugs saw Golden Fur and Jade Rabbit, they would keep their distance, as if instinctively afraid of these two powerful spirit beasts.
As for the Void Grubs moved over, they were trembling with fear, as if these two sleeping spirit beasts might wake up at any moment.
"It's just their nature," Evan Yang thought. He knew Jade Rabbit and Golden Fur weren't ordinary spirit beasts, so it was normal for the bugs to fear them.
But the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects didn't. It seemed unafraid of Jade Rabbit and Golden Fur, quietly lying there, unconcerned with anything around it, only responsible for periodically producing bugs.
"These bugs must be pretty strong," Evan Yang muttered. He hadn't tested them yet, but he could guess they weren't simple.
Seeing the current situation, Evan Yang took out the remaining three Void Grubs, left his room, and headed for the Merit Hall.
When the registrar saw Evan Yang bringing three Void Grubs, he was stunned. "How did you find them?" he asked.
"I happened to discover them after staying there for ten days," Evan Yang replied casually.
"Your luck is incredible," the registrar said in amazement.
"Heh, this should be worth three thousand contribution points, right?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
"That's right. One is worth a thousand, so three makes three thousand." The registrar found a container to lock up the Void Grubs, then smiled.
Evan Yang nodded and handed over his token. The registrar registered the contribution and smiled, "All done. Congratulations, keep it up."
"Thanks," Evan Yang replied with a smile, then turned to see what tasks were available. He wanted to accumulate more contribution points to eventually enter the magical Fiend Demon Palace.
"Void Grubs are impossible to find now. Let's look for something else," Evan Yang thought. He knew Void Grubs were gone, since his bugs had already merged and mutated with them.
He glanced at the top-level tasks; they all seemed difficult, and he didn't have the strength for them yet. So he aimed for a mid-level, tenth-rank task worth two thousand contribution points.
"Fiend Realm's master thief, Xu Tian, rumored disciple of the God of Thieves," Evan Yang muttered suspiciously.
There was a description of this master thief. Evan Yang chose him because he was at the peak Divine Cauldron stage, but his whereabouts were unpredictable and he was hard to catch. Even if encountered, his speed would allow him to escape.
"Is he really that fast?" Evan Yang wanted to see for himself whether the thief's speed was as legendary as the task claimed.
The reason the Fiend Palace wanted him caught wasn't explained in detail. Evan Yang would have to capture him first to find out.
So Evan Yang prepared to track down the master thief Xu Tian, but he had no idea where to start.
For this kind of thing, Evan Yang had to seek out the Tracking Hall. He'd experienced their tracking methods before; if he weren't so special, he wouldn't have escaped them. Evan Yang also wanted to use this chance to learn more about the Tracking Hall and Elder Liu.
"Tracking Hall... I wonder what it's like inside," Evan Yang muttered as he walked.
In a flower patch nearby, a woman in a black dress used her divine sense to observe Evan Yang's direction, muttering, "Is he going to the Tracking Hall?"
Evan Yang had no idea the woman was monitoring him again, as if she wouldn't be satisfied until she'd figured him out.
"Tracking Hall." Evan Yang arrived at the hall, which was a grand building with many people coming and going, most seeking information.