Seeing an unexpected guest appear halfway through, the disciples of the Chihua Sect were once again infuriated. Tian Fangfang asked from the side, “Senior Uncle, why are you here?”
“The younger generation doesn’t know any better, so us elders have to keep an eye on them,” Gu Baiying replied.
Upon hearing this, Tan Tianxin sneered, “You’ve got some nerve, but it’s too late. You’ve angered our Chihua Sect, so you’re as good as dead!” With that, he thrust his sword towards Gu Baiying’s chest.
With a gentle wave of his hand, the young man in white clothes caused the silver spear in his hand to suddenly elongate, piercing towards the sword tip like a streak of silver light. Then, with a loud crack, the figure was heavily slammed onto the gambling table, causing it to flip over.
The other two, Huang Fan and He Ri, seeing the situation, both rushed forward with their swords. However, the long spear suddenly changed direction, and countless snowflakes flew out from its tip, surrounding the two like a cage woven from goose feathers, trapping them and preventing them from getting closer.
The young man, dressed in snow-white attire with a crimson headband, looked bright and fervent. He calmly walked to Tan Tianxin’s side, then proceeded to step on his face.
The surrounding people gasped in shock.
With just one move, the situation was resolved.
His gaze was cold and intense, but the smile on his lips carried a hint of provocation. Looking down at the people on the ground from a position of superiority, he spoke calmly, “It seems you’ve made a mistake about who I was referring to as the younger generation.”
“Stop!” The cultivator called He Ri struggled to break free from the restraint of the spear wind, but he couldn’t approach and could only threaten with a lack of momentum. “Who are you? When did the Taiyan Sect produce such a lawless madman? Release my senior brother now, I…”
“Rules?” Gu Baiying glanced at him. “Who set the rules, you?”
The young man’s tone was arrogant, and his domineering attitude shocked the surrounding people. Tan Tianxin was at the late stage of Core Formation, and among the disciples participating in this trial, he definitely had a reputation. However, in the hands of this person, he seemed like a helpless child. Who exactly was this person?
“Who are you?” Tan Tianxin asked with difficulty. He was a genius among the new generation of disciples of the Chihua Sect, while the Taiyan Sect hadn’t recruited any outstanding talents in decades. Last time, they could only recruit talents from ordinary cultivators in the mortal world. This person had just fought with him, and his cultivation was profound, almost completely suppressing him. His cultivation level was at least in the mid-stage of Nascent Soul. But when did the Taiyan Sect have someone like this? If they did, the elders would have told him!
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you,” the young man retracted his foot and spoke calmly. “I am Gu Baiying of the Taiyan Sect.”
In an instant, the gambling hall, where people had been whispering and discussing, fell silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
All eyes were on the handsome young man holding the silver spear.
In the world of cultivation sects, perhaps not everyone had heard of the name Gu Baiying before, but it was impossible for no one to have heard of the name Qinghua Fairy. And the son born to the Qinghua Fairy was always a mysterious figure in the cultivation world.
As the youngest disciple of Shaoyang Zhenren, it was said that he had exceptional talent. He had broken through the Nascent Soul realm at the age of fourteen, inheriting almost perfectly the appearance and cultivation of the Qinghua Fairy. However, few people in the cultivation world had actually seen him. There were those who, when visiting the Taiyan Sect, wanted to catch a glimpse of his glory, but ended up disappointed. Gu Baiying was rarely seen in the sect, often traveling with his senior brothers. His absence led to speculation in the cultivation world, with some believing that the Qinghua Fairy’s son, Gu Baiying, was nothing more than an ordinary mortal with mediocre aptitude, and that the so-called teenage genius was just a lie fabricated by the Taiyan Sect to save face.
But now, if this young man claimed to be Gu Baiying, all those rumors would immediately be dispelled.
“Impossible,” Tan Tianxin’s expression was uncertain. “How could Gu Baiying possibly come to the Li’er Country’s secret realm?”
It was worth noting that Gu Baiying had never participated in the secret realm trials of the cultivation sects. The spiritual fruits and herbs in the secret realm of Li’er Country had long been picked clean, with little profit left to be gained. So why would Gu Baiying bother to make the trip himself?
Ignoring him, Gu Baiying turned to ask Zanxing and the other two, “Are you all uninjured?”
“Yes, Senior Uncle, you arrived just in time,” Tian Fangfang replied.
Zanxing thought to herself, How could he not come in time? She only had a few sound transmission talismans on her, and she had just used one.
Gu Baiying then looked at the two disciples from the Liuli Sect lying on the ground. The brother who owed the debt was already unconscious from the beating, while his junior brother held him, hurriedly thanking Zanxing and the others, “Thank you, fellow cultivators. When Rong Yu returns to the Liuli Sect, he will surely inform the elders of this matter and offer gratitude.”
“Forget it, Brother,” Tian Fangfang said. “Your senior brother looks seriously injured. He probably won’t be able to participate in the secret realm trial anyway. It’s already a losing business, and giving more thanks would only empty your sect’s coffers, wouldn’t it?”
The Liuli Sect was indeed a small sect with limited resources. Rong Yu’s face showed some embarrassment, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something but didn’t dare. Zanxing looked at his senior brother, intending to inquire about his injuries, when she noticed the slight tremor of the flower-patterned staff at her waist.
Why would the staff move on its own?
As Zanxing was pondering this, she noticed something squirming under the skin at the back of Rong Yu’s unconscious senior brother’s neck. She instinctively called Gu Baiying over to take a look, “Senior Uncle, look at this.”
The next moment, Gu Baiying suddenly reached out and slapped the back of the unconscious man’s neck. Before everyone could see clearly, a sharp screech echoed through the gambling house, like a sharp object scraping against the bottom of a pot, piercing their heads and making them feel like they were going to split open.
A one-inch-long golden light and shadow flew out from Rong Yu’s senior brother’s back neck. It moved extremely quickly and rushed towards the crowd. Whoosh— A silver spear descended from the sky and pinned the light and shadow to the ground, unable to escape.
Everything happened so quickly that no one had time to react. When they came to their senses, they saw the light and shadow that was pinned to the ground by the speartip thrashing violently, struggling and letting out unpleasant screams. It took about a quarter of an hour for it to slowly subside.
It was a golden bug, only about the length of a finger. The dense belly feet made one’s scalp tingle. It looked like a centipede, but it was softer than a centipede. There was a pair of ugly pincers under its head, and there was a bit of blood on the pincers.
A timid person in the gambling house asked in fear, “What is this? It looks a bit scary.”
Mu Cengxiao frowned and said, “A gambling bug?”
“Correct. It’s a gambling bug.” Gu Baiying retracted the silver spear and cast a control spell to trap the bug in a light prison, confirming his answer.
“Junior Brother Mu, what is a gambling bug?” Tian Fangfang asked.
“A kind of demonic insect that often hides in gambling houses and casinos. It seizes the opportunity when people are off guard to parasitize their bodies. Those who are parasitized gradually lose their intelligence and become addicted to gambling. Until they die of gambling addiction, there is no cure.” Mu Cengxiao replied, and then he found it a bit strange, “However, I read in the records that once a gambling bug successfully parasitizes, it will not leave its host unless the parasitized person dies. How did Seventh Senior Uncle discover it?”