Chapter 31 - Frigid Pool Snow Worm

Returning to Mountain Lord’s chamber, the guard begged for his life, “Lord, Young miss, spare me. Young-, no, Yang Ming that bastard forced me…” 

Lei Yuting was clueless as Zhuo Fan waved, “Stand aside.”

The guard curled up in a corner.

Then Zhuo Fan walked to the old man’s bed. Zhuo Fan smiled at the naked killing intent in the old man’s eyes, “I can heal you, but you have to listen to me afterwards.”

Lei Yuting was moved, “You can heal godfather?”

Zhuo Fan only stared at the old man in the eye.

The old man hesitated but Zhuo Fan dispelled it with a smile, “Relax, I won’t do anything that might jeopardize your clan. I am Zhuo Fan, Luo clan’s steward. We have a common enemy and I am missing a Bone Tempering expert that I hope you can fill in for.”

His words worked to intensify the glare in the old man’s eyes.

Zhuo Fan grinned, knowing he agreed, with a wave of his finger the Blood Infant left the guard and floated in front of Zhuo Fan.

At the sight of the bloody light, the guard shivered. This was the one behind his partner’s gruesome death.

Lei Yuting was shocked, having also suffered at the hands of this light, “Zhuo Fan, what are you trying to do?”

“Heal him.” Zhuo Fan flitted his eyes over her.

“Can… this thing heal?” Lei Yuting was doubtful, having seen Zhuo Fan using it to attack and humiliate her before.

[What if this thing worsens godfather’s illness?]

Zhuo Fan sneered, “Young miss, your godfather agreed already. I have no reason to hurt him.”

“Then what is that thing?” Lei Yuting watched the old man with worry.

“Demonic creature!”

Zhuo Fan explained coldly, “Us, demonic cultivators, refine demonic creatures. Be it for attacking or defending, these creatures are essential. Do you know why Yang Ming snapped when I said the old man had a foreign object inside?”

Lei Yuting shook her head, “Didn’t you say it was a blind guess?”

Zhuo Fan almost spat blood, “Now I know why he fooled you. You’re a blockhead. Did you also believe me when I was fooling him? I see now why he left so at ease, even while you are alive.”

Lei Yuting blushed and lowered her head.

Godfather always told her she had a talent for cultivation, a genius. But Zhuo Fan was the first to call her blockhead.

“The reason why he flipped was because my words hit him where it hurts.” Zhuo Fan spoke gravely, “As for why the old man is immobilized, it’s because of a demonic creature! I will now use mine to expel the one inside him.”

Even so, Lei Yuting was still worried, “Your demonic creature can expel his?”

“Ha-ha-ha…”

Zhuo Fan laughed as he heard the biggest joke in his life.

Based on his early diagnosis, Yang Ming’s demonic creature was refined from a parasitic worm, the lowest among demonic creatures. But his was the Blood Infant, feared by even the ten Emperors of old. How could they ever be equal?

[Sigh, ignorance is terrifying!]

Zhuo Fan no longer wasted words on Lei Yuting and waved his finger so that the Blood Infant entered the old man.

A flash of red passed and the old man’s skin crawled. As it started to wiggle, a light flashed over that spot.

Wherever the light went, the wiggling stopped.

After a few dozen breaths, the Blood Infant returned to Zhuo Fan’s body while the old man began to move his finger. His lips parted to let a faint whisper, “Ting’er…”

“Godfather!”

Lei Yuting grabbed his hand as tears fell. But Zhuo Fan frowned and muttered, “Damn it. This old man won’t move anytime soon, his blood vessels atrophied. He needs at least half a year to recover; I helped him for nothing.”

Even with his low voice, Lei Yuting picked up his every word.

Lei Yuting glared at him, “Make no mistake, my godfather owes you and I will do everything to repay it. You won’t lose out.”

He shrugged. He wanted a Bone Tempering expert, not a run of the mill cultivator stuck at the cusp of entering Bone Tempering Stage that he could easily deal with.

It was at this time the old man’s body trembled and an inch-long snow-white worm crawled out of his mouth.

“Ah…”

Lei Yuting shrieked. But when she saw the worm, her anger got the best of her.

“So you’re the cause of my godfather’s illness!” Lei Yuting poured all her power into the lightning between her two fingers and stabbed at the worm.

“Stop!”

Zhuo Fan grabbed her hand. Lei Yuting saw his eyes flash with an odd light.

“What are you doing? We need to kill this parasite!”

“You know nothing!”

Zhuo Fan looked for a box to put the worm carefully. Before closing the lid, he dropped a few drops of blood essence and smiled with satisfaction as he hid it in his chest. 

Never did he expect to earn so much on this trip.

This creature was called Frigid Pool Snow Worm, one that lived in the coldest waters and was very rare. It was a parasite that would die if the larva didn’t find a host in two hours after hatching.

But the cold pool it lived in hardly had any living beings and most of the worms would die soon after being born.

A demonic cultivator would raise it into an inferior demonic creature since most poisonous worms or insects could be turned into parasites. This was why many demonic cultivators considered the Frigid Pool Snow Worm a mere parasite, albeit a rarer one.

Yet even in the Sacred Domain, one would be hard-pressed to find someone who knew of Frigid Pool Snow Worm’s fatal flaw. It would only leave its host when it was on the brink of death.

Just now, the Blood Infant used the Demon Transformation Art to kill its larva and make it believe its life was threatened so it would come out willingly. Another way was to kill the old man.

By destroying all its larva, the worm had now become a common parasite.

However, a treasure such as this could be refined into an unprecedented demonic creature in Zhuo Fan’s hands.

He started to let out an evil smile. His grin only made the other three’s hearts shudder, thinking Zhuo Fan was worse than Yang Ming.

“Carry him, we’re returning to Windgaze City.”

Zhuo Fan then turned to the remaining guard with a kind smile, “Thank you for opening the door for us.”

With a strained nod, the guard squeezed a smile.

Then a steel grip lifted him by the throat, “But now, you’re expendable.”

“No!”

Lei Yuting was late in stopping him. Black energy burrowed into the guard and he soon blew up in a cloud of dust.

She froze seeing Zhuo Fan kill a man for the first time.

He was so ruthless, he didn’t even leave a corpse. Lei Yuting recalled how she spent the last few days next to such a murderer and fear swelled inside her.

Even the old man’s eyes squinted. He was a seasoned cultivator yet also felt his courage falter from Zhuo Fan’s act.

Lei Yuting looked at her godfather with a heavy heart, unsure if joining Zhuo Fan was a good choice. But one thing was certain, she should never ever make an enemy out of him!

Sighing, she resigned in carrying her godfather behind Zhuo Fan.

Bodies were strewn everywhere they looked around the camp. Each man had a peaceful death, but it was this calm expression that struck the greatest fear in the two’s hearts.

The mountain camp had around four hundred men, yet they all died without a sound, including those who weren’t corrupted by Yang Ming.

The old man had tears streaming down his cheeks when he recalled drinking with his brothers.

But far from hating Zhuo Fan, he was more grateful. He was the lord of Blackwind Mountain and knew decisiveness was needed here. Once word got out about his rescue, not only the ones here but also the ones living in Windgaze City would find themselves dead.

If Zhuo Fan didn’t do it, the old man would’ve asked him to.

He was grateful that Zhuo Fan spared him from giving out the kill order.

“Steward… Zhuo, thank… you.” His strained words shocked Lei Yuting, while Zhuo Fan understood.

The old man was both in admiration and fearful as he watched the bodies.

“You… did a great deed…”