The Ghost Gu Elder hid in the shadows behind a rockery, his eyes glinting with a sinister light as he carefully sized up the palace before him.
Nothing inside seemed different from the intelligence report, though it was a bit too quiet.
He didn’t dwell on it. ’What kind of extraordinary defenses could the residence of a dying old cripple possibly have?’
The Northern Desert Da Kuo Royal Court’s previous failure was a complete accident. Who could have predicted that a mere Palace Maid would possess a Protective Spirit Talisman? It was just a freak occurrence.
The Ghost Gu Elder used a Secret Technique to transmit his voice: "Spread out and follow the plan. Two of you will set up the Illusionary Poison Gu on the perimeter to isolate the area from all sound and movement. Two will sneak into the hall, find the elder Crown Prince, and place the Heart-Eroding Gu. I will personally take two men to plant the Bone Decay Gu and Sun-extinguishing Gu in key locations within the hall. Once we succeed and the Gu Insects are unleashed, no one in this Wenhua Hall will be left alive!"
"Yes, Master!" his six disciples replied, accepting their orders. A flicker of excitement and cruelty flashed in their eyes, all of them ready to wreak havoc.
They had no idea that they were already enveloped by an Extraordinary Level Spiritual Power, their every move observed with perfect clarity.
The very moment they were about to act, an incorporeal Spiritual Power—as vast as a sea of stars and as cold as an ancient, frozen abyss—descended upon them without warning, blanketing them all.
This Power didn’t target the body but struck the soul directly, and it was impossible to resist.
A deafening BUZZ erupted in the minds of all seven men at once, as if ten million bronze bells were ringing in their Seas of Consciousness, causing their entire beings to tremble.
The world before their eyes instantly blurred, twisted, and spun... transforming into something else entirely.
The Ghost Gu Elder had the highest Cultivation and the fastest reflexes. Horrified, he immediately tried to activate his Lifebound Gu for protection and retreat, completely disregarding his disciples.
But it was too late. He wasn’t fast enough.
The Spiritual Power was too immense, too refined, too formidable. It was as if an invisible net had long been woven, just waiting for them to walk right into the trap.
As the Soul Enchantment Technique activated, the seven of them felt their consciousnesses sink into the deepest, sweetest dream, utterly powerless to resist.
Their bodies were no longer their own to command, and their eyelids grew heavier and heavier...
"THUD... THUD..."
With a series of soft thuds, the seven men crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
They never even saw who attacked them. They were taken down before they could release a single Gu Insect.
A carved wooden window in Wenhua Hall opened silently. Xia Wuyang, dressed in loose sleepwear with his white hair unbound, leisurely strolled out, unseen by anyone.
He glanced down at the seven men lying haphazardly on the ground, his gaze lingering on the strangely dressed Ghost Gu Elder. A playful smile touched the corners of his lips.
’Southern Barbarian Poison Masters... Super Grade Celestial Humans... They certainly think highly of me. The Northern Desert Da Kuo just made their move, and now the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races can’t sit still either.’
He murmured to himself, then nudged the ebony staff next to the Ghost Gu Elder with his foot. "Bringing so many Gu Insects... were you planning to turn my Wenhua Hall into a Gu breeding ground, or the entire Imperial Palace?"
He crouched down, his Extraordinary Level Spiritual Power meticulously sweeping over the seven men, inspecting them with great care.
Sure enough, in the bamboo tubes, leather pouches, and even hidden in their undergarments, he discovered a large number of dormant Gu Insects, ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.
The variety was extensive: Heart-Eroding Gu as thin as a strand of hair; Bone Decay Gu that secreted a corrosive slime; and the Sun-extinguishing Gu, which specifically targeted a man’s Yang Meridian... All of them were insidious and incredibly potent Gu Insects from the secret traditions of the Southern Barbarians.
’This actually saves me some trouble. I can turn their own plot against them again.’ A cold glint flashed in Xia Wuyang’s eyes as an idea took root.
He had been mulling over how to teach a profound lesson to the Princes, Princesses, and certain troublesome members of Empress Xia’s Harem who had conspired against him, saving him the effort of taking revenge on them one by one.
He also needed to solidify the evidence of the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races’ crimes. He couldn’t just let the Northern Desert Da Kuo Royal Court take all the blame; the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races had to be exposed as well.
He never expected these Southern Barbarian Poison Masters to deliver the perfect tools right to his doorstep at this very moment. It was a heaven-sent opportunity, and it would be foolish to let it pass.
He activated the Soul Enchantment Technique again, but this time it wasn’t to knock them out or destroy them. It was for a much more delicate form of control.
His crystalline Spiritual Power seeped like silken threads into the seven men’s Seas of Consciousness, temporarily hijacking parts of their minds while planting powerful suggestions and commands deep within their subconscious to help him carry out his little plan.
’Release all the Gu Insects... Let the Gu Insects spread freely through the Imperial Palace and wreak havoc... Prioritize finding these people... They have...’
’The women... cripple their meridians... destroy their faces...’
’The men... extinguish their Yang Meridians... sever their very foundations...’
’Certain concubines of Emperor Xia... they must not be spared... They need to pay the price.’
...
The commands were clear and cold, branded into the depths of their muddled consciousness. They had no power to resist.
At the same time, Xia Wuyang used a Secret Technique from the Enchanting Heart Scripture to slightly alter the targeting mechanisms of some of the Gu Insects. This would temporarily confuse them, ensuring they would precisely find the people he wanted to deal with, leaving no room for error.
After finishing all this, Xia Wuyang withdrew his Spiritual Power, erased all traces of his presence, and with a flicker, retreated back into the hall and closed the window.
A moment later, the seven men in the shadow of the rockery slowly regained consciousness.
Their eyes were vacant at first, but were quickly replaced by a fervent sense of mission. A manic excitement took hold of them.
"Act!"
the Ghost Gu Elder ordered hoarsely, his voice filled with a strange, feverish excitement.
The seven men quickly dispersed, each moving to carry out the plan.
Two of them stealthily released the pale green powder of the Illusionary Poison Gu on the perimeter. The powder drifted on the wind, quickly blending into the night air.
It could make people drowsy, dull their senses, and mask the subtle presence of the Gu Insects’ activity. Even if the insects crawled onto someone, they might not notice.
The other five, including the Ghost Gu Elder, began moving through the various palaces like phantoms.
They carefully opened their bamboo tubes and leather pouches, releasing the dormant Gu Insects one by one. Using special techniques, they flicked Gu Worm Eggs onto the eaves of palaces, into window lattices, and among the flowers and trees... not a single spot was missed.
The Heart-Eroding Gu was as fine as ox hair, colorless, and odorless. It could float on the wind, enter a person’s mouth and nose, and erode their heart’s meridians—a truly vicious method.
The Bone Decay Gu resembled tiny beetles and liked to hide in the crevices of clothing, bedding, and ornaments. Upon contact with skin, it would secrete a corrosive mucus, burrow into the body, and gnaw on the bones, its lethality was astounding.
The Sun-extinguishing Gu was even more subtle. It appeared as a faint pink mist that had to be activated by a special catalyst. It possessed an incredibly strong attraction to and destructive power over a man’s Yang Qi, far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.
...

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