Chapter 678: Senior Brothers

"There's smoke over there. Is that where it is?"

"Let's go and see!"

"Catch up, quickly!"

Amidst a flurry of footsteps, a large team of constables from the Nanda County magistrate's office hurried to the end of the street. However, when they arrived, there was only a patch of smoke that hadn't completely dissipated, and a distinct smell of burning.

"Was something just burned here? Is it related to the suspect's escape?"

"Who would be burning something here in the middle of the night?"

The constables lingered around for a moment but continued to press forward.

The men in black had already left Nanda County, carrying Xu Jun's ashes. Ji Yuan's only recourse was to preserve Xu Jun's residual soul, as his physical body could not be saved.

Ji Yuan had now arrived at the courtyard with the ancestral hall and the secret passage. Standing there, he looked around the now quiet premises. With a thought, he directly entered the dreams of those infected with the plague.

A short while later, Ji Yuan left the courtyard. He circled Nanda County, taking any insects he could find. He then flew rapidly south, with the scenery beneath him rushing backwards. Over an hour later, Ji Yuan arrived at a large camp behind the Zuyue army. After a brief stop in the air, he continued flying to the next location, repeating this process as he searched camp after camp.

This type of insect is part of a very rare form of evil magic. Although the plague's spread appears autonomous, the caster can influence and even control all the insects.

Ji Yuan flew over many large camps, sensing that more and more people had been infected with the plague. He could even imagine that many who had escaped the military camps by various means might have carried this plague to different parts of the Zuyue Kingdom's hinterlands.

This was no longer something Ji Yuan could simply resolve by himself by removing the insects. Besides spreading the information, the immediate priority was to find the caster.

The caster's cultivation must be significant to control so many insects. Either they have undergone a refining process with the insects, similar to crafting magical artifacts, or they rely on a mother insect or a special magical artifact. Essentially, even if the caster refuses to yield, eliminating them, killing the mother insect, and destroying the artifact would cause the swarm of insects to weaken and even die, making treatment much easier.

The main camp of the Zuyue allied forces was now within Zuyue's original borders. Dawn was approaching, and inside a large military tent, lights still blazed. Several rows of cultivators, male and female, of various ages and attires, sat cross-legged within. Some, of course, had frightening appearances.

This group was discussing how to resist the vanguard of the Dazhen army.

Among this group, two white-haired old men stood out. Their faces were withered and gaunt, and as they sat cross-legged on prayer mats, they resembled two clothed, disheveled skeletons. Both had their eyes closed, seemingly deaf to the discussions of others.

"Uh, esteemed elders, as you mentioned before, if the insect soldiers are complete, one could stand against a thousand. A long time has passed now, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers feeding the insects. When will they be effective? And how do we deal with the increasing number of cultivators in the Dazhen army?"

The two skeletal-faced old men said nothing, seemingly unwilling to even acknowledge the question. An awkward silence fell over the large tent.

After a long time, one of the old men slowly opened his eyes. A pair of somewhat murky eyes scanned the surrounding cultivators; both humans and demons instinctively flinched from his gaze.

"Heh heh heh, the refining of insect-humans is not as simple as you imagine. Currently, those infected in the army are all vessels for the parasites. Human bodies are used as hosts to multiply the insect swarm, competing within the host. If successful, one person can give birth to one insect, and only by eating through the brain and emerging can an insect king be obtained."

"Devouring tens of thousands of soldiers to nurture insects will yield only one or two insect kings out of ten. However, an insect king can cultivate, bore into the heart and brain to control people as puppets, and even influence thousands of smaller insects around them, making ordinary people infected with the bug disease obey orders. It would be effortless to defeat mortal armies."

The old man spoke slowly, pausing slightly after this, then continued with a smile.

"As for the Dazhen cultivators, they are not worth worrying about. As long as we can obtain ten thousand insect kings and feed them with the flesh and blood of strong adults, an insect emperor will be born. This emperor, combined with ten thousand insects, will transform into a true insect-human, capable of flight, burrowing, and anything else imaginable. Even if there are capable individuals in the Dazhen army, they will only have the strength to protect themselves and flee."

After saying this, the old man closed his eyes again to rest. Although the cultivators present had some doubts, they dared not say much. This was simply because these two men's cultivation was far superior to theirs; they had even dared to go alone to Tingqiu Mountain to find the mountain god on the day they appeared, and returned safely.

The other old man now also opened his eyes.

"Since it can now be confirmed that the Tingqiu Mountain god has not sided with Dazhen, there will be no major problems as long as you don't provoke him and stay away from Tingqiu Mountain. My fellow disciple and I will leave once the insect soldiers are fully refined. The insect emperor in our possession has already been handed over to the Emperor of Zuyue, so you all need not think of relying on us to help you deal with the cultivators in the Dazhen army."

This art of cultivating insect soldiers is indeed cruel, but its secrecy is excellent. Its outward manifestation is a plague, and it can even be affected by medicines brewed by doctors, making it extremely difficult for even cultivators to detect. Only under certain specific moonlight conditions might something seem abnormal.

With spring warming up and corpses strewn across the battlefield due to the war between the two nations, a plague outbreak is highly probable. Even if people realize how terrible the disease is, outsiders would at most keep their distance to avoid infection.

Hearing the two old men state their position, some cultivators within the tent raised new concerns.

"But within the Zuyue Kingdom, there is still the Boundless Ghost City, with astonishing power. The ghosts in this city serve neither Zuyue nor Dazhen, yet their actions clearly favor Dazhen. Do you two esteemed elders have any advice on how to deal with this?"

"Heh heh, the lord of that ghost city is blinded by self-interest, delusionally attempting an unprecedented feat to prove the path of ghost cultivation. Acting like a deity, it won't have much impact."

As the two were speaking, they suddenly felt a jolt in their hearts. A treasure on their person was rapidly growing hot, even scalding. After exchanging a look, both immediately stood up.

"Could we have been discovered?"

"Esteemed elders, what has happened?"

The two old men looked around, their skeletal faces twitching into a smile.

"We two are in trouble. We must leave first. Farewell!"

Several cultivators in the tent who considered their cultivation decent also stood up.

"Esteemed elders, is there anything we can help with?"

"You? Heh, just stay seated. You should act as if you know nothing about the insect soldiers."

In a few steps, the two left the large tent, then rose directly from the ground, and, using the cover of night, disappeared into the sky.

However, after the two had been flying rapidly for a little over a quarter of an hour, the sense of danger grew stronger and stronger. Not long after, a streak of sword light was rapidly approaching from behind. The two merely glanced back, with no intention of conversing. Each squeezed out a drop of vital blood from their brow, fusing their magical power into a rainbow light. Displaying their escape art, they vanished from their spot in an instant.

A moment later, Ji Yuan's sword light streaked straight through the air where the two had just been. With his Dharma Eyes fully open, he scanned the surroundings but found nothing. While maintaining his sword escape, he used his dream-traveling technique to project a dreamscape, allowing his own dream to overlay reality along with the artistic conception. As his mental power rapidly depleted, a colossal Dharma Form, reaching to the heavens and standing on earth, manifested in the void, scanning the universe. Then Ji Yuan's sword escape shifted, slightly changing direction to continue the pursuit.

The two gaunt old men had originally created a considerable distance with their escape art, but on a spiritual level, they suddenly felt the world light up, as if there was nowhere to hide under a bright light. Although this feeling disappeared quickly, both immediately understood the gravity of the situation.

The elder of the two immediately gave his junior disciple an urgent reminder.

"What you fear most will surely come to pass. Although it feels absurd, the one approaching is likely Mr. Ji Yuan himself!"

"He actually came to act in person? Senior brother, what should we do? Can we shake him off?"

The elder disciple shook his head.

"I'm afraid it's very difficult. Even our senior-most brother wouldn't dare confront Mr. Ji Yuan directly. Among us two disciples, I'm afraid only one of us can escape tonight."

"If that's the case, then junior brother, I will stay. I'll take the opportunity to experience Mr. Ji Yuan's methods and hold him off for you, senior brother!"

"Junior brother, do not speak rashly. With your cultivation, you won't be able to escape for long. At most, you can hold him off for a moment before he gets serious. Once he does, you won't be able to withstand a few moves. If you stay to block him, neither of us will escape. Let me, your senior brother, do it!"

"Senior brother, you..."

The junior disciple was about to argue further when, from afar behind them, a calm and steady voice faintly drifted over, as if it were right next to their ears.

"I am Ji Yuan. I ask you two to stop."

The elder disciple looked back at the distant horizon, then turned to his junior disciple and said gravely.

"Do not say more. Leave quickly, otherwise, neither of us will escape. I, your senior brother, will stake my lifelong cultivation in a fight; it's not necessarily a death sentence. Hurry and leave!"

"Senior brother, take care!"

Without saying anything more, after leaving this farewell, the junior disciple again forced out a drop of vital blood and fled far ahead. Meanwhile, the senior disciple slowly reduced his escape speed and turned to face the direction from which they had fled.

Soon, a sharp sword light had caught up to him. Ji Yuan, cloaked in light and shadow, stood suspended in the air before him.

Ji Yuan scrutinized the man before him, then looked in the direction behind him.

"What is your origin? Since you are not allied with Zuyue, why are you helping them with this insect sorcery? Hmm, let's set that aside for now. Undo this spell, and I will spare your lives tonight. How about that?"

Although the elder disciple was extremely nervous internally, he showed no outward sign. Instead, he let out a cold laugh.

"Mr. Ji Yuan, why do you deceive me? If you spare us tonight, less than half an hour remains until dawn. I might as well tell you, sir, I have already handed the insect emperor to Emperor Song, and it has merged with his body and soul."

"So, will you undo it or not?"

Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes after asking this. The next moment, as the other party had only just managed to utter a "No...", Ji Yuan directly made his move.

"Clang!"

A dazzling sword light instantly illuminated the night. The gaunt old man's eyes were blinded by a dazzling light, and at the moment the warning sign blared, he was already struck by the sword.

"Bang!"

A jade pendant at his waist exploded. The old man, who should have been cut in two, had already appeared a hundred *li* away, regulating his breath with lingering fear.

"As expected, a life-saving item!"

Ji Yuan let out a cold laugh and immediately pursued him.