Using a poison-immune person to cultivate a human gu naturally couldn’t rely on just any ordinary venomous creature!
Ordinary poisons had essentially no effect at all on someone with complete poison immunity, which meant that even obtaining a poison-immune individual didn’t count as half the battle for successfully raising a human gu!
The truly critical requirement was still finding a large quantity of creatures carrying medicinal poison!
This type of poisonous creature differed entirely from what was needed for raising an insect gu. Insect gu required venomous insects—mostly small, poison-bearing bugs—but the venomous creatures needed for a human gu weren’t limited to insects at all.
Rather, anything carrying medicinal poison would do—from the smallest insect to the largest beast, even, as Yanzi had put it, “poison death-warriors!”
If a poison-immune individual could survive as these creatures devoured one another, by the end, there would likely be no venomous creature left in existence capable of standing against them.
Hearing this from Yanzi, a chill flashed through Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes, but he offered no response!
Let alone poison death-warriors—even a single tiny venomous insect, she would never lay a hand on Ziqing with!
Even if it cost him his life, he would save Ziqing, no matter what.
This life of his, from birth until now, had always belonged to Great Qin—until this woman appeared, and gave him a purpose beyond that: to protect her.
If he had no right to love someone, then having fallen in love regardless, the only thing left for him to do was protect her silently.
If he was destined to remain forever opposed to the man she loved, then the only thing left for him to do, still, was protect her silently.
Han Ziqing—aside from Jun Beiyue’s life, there was nothing else in this world I wouldn’t give you.
Thinking of this, a faint, almost imperceptible bitter smile curved at the corner of Xuanyuan Lige’s lips.
“Hey, are you even listening? Scared speechless?” Yanzi pressed closer, clearly enjoying herself, reaching out to tilt up Xuanyuan Lige’s chin, wanting to see exactly what he was thinking!
But before her hand could even reach him, Xuanyuan Lige stepped back, saying coldly, “I have no interest in you. Keep your distance.”
Yanzi froze for a moment, then let out a cold laugh. “This face of mine is a thousand times, ten thousand times more beautiful than Han Ziqing’s—why won’t you even look at me properly?”
Yanzi had certainly noticed—Xuanyuan Lige still hadn’t once looked her directly in the eye.
“Tell me, exactly what is it about Han Ziqing that you like so much?”
“Nothing about her compares to even an inch of Xichu’s territory. And neither do you.” Xuanyuan Lige’s voice was as cold as ice water. At these words, Yanzi froze, while the man in black beside her let out a rare, soft chuckle, clapping his hands in what seemed like appreciation, though he said nothing.
“What’s wrong with being a woman? Let me tell you something—forget comparing a woman to an inch of land, a woman can topple the entire Longyuan continent!” Yanzi said, growing genuinely angry, turning to walk away.
Xuanyuan Lige stopped her, saying, “Since we’re about to set out, you’d better not touch Han Ziqing. You know full well what happens if the gu cultivation is interrupted.”
Yanzi paused mid-step, not turning around, but a smug smile curved at the corner of her lips. To think she’d believe Xuanyuan Lige had truly given up on Han Ziqing—that was simply never going to happen.
“Why couldn’t it be interrupted?”
At these words, Xuanyuan Lige immediately grew alarmed. “What have you done to her!”
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his own loss of composure—but by then, it was already too late.
The man in black took it all in silently, still standing with arms crossed, leaning against the tree trunk in apparent rest. Whether that earlier clap of his hands had been genuine admiration or appreciation for Xuanyuan Lige’s convincing act remained impossible to say.
“So worried about him? Come here, let me show you!” Yanzi said generously.
Even having exposed his true feelings, Xuanyuan Lige had no choice but to press forward—he had no other options, gravely wounded and alone, utterly unable to overpower these two.
Never in his life had he felt so thoroughly humiliated, yet he had to endure it! Without enduring, there would be no hope at all!
“If you want to bring a human gu along on this journey, forget East Sea Cliff—you won’t even manage half a li. Once the gu cultivation begins, if it’s interrupted without proper supply, all that awaits you is the backlash!” Xuanyuan Lige explained.
Yet Yanzi said nothing, instead curling a finger mysteriously toward Xuanyuan Lige, beckoning him closer.
Xuanyuan Lige eyed her warily, then hurried to follow. The man in black followed as well!
It turned out that, all these recent days, Yanzi hadn’t actually gone far at all—she’d been staying in a nearby mountain cave the entire time!
The moment they approached, a beast emerged from the cave—resembling a wolf, yet also a leopard, yet also somewhat like a tiger. More precisely, it had the head of a wolf, the body of a leopard, and the claws of a tiger!
Xuanyuan Lige’s heart lurched violently. Though he’d never seen anything like it before, he immediately recognized what it was—this was a beast gu!
Positioned somewhere between insect gu and human gu, a beast gu was cultivated from wild animals!
Carrying no poison of its own, yet embodying the combined abilities of countless different beasts, this creature had transformed entirely from its original form through a year of mutual slaughter and devouring during its cultivation.
“You raised this?” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly. There was no question—Yanzi’s capability in gu cultivation far exceeded anything he’d estimated.
“Not bad eyesight! How is it, impressive, isn’t it?” Yanzi said proudly, stepping forward, and the wolf-leopard-tiger creature immediately crouched low and submissive before her.
“What did you feed it!” Xuanyuan Lige’s voice turned cold, as though he’d already guessed the answer.
“People, of course. To cultivate a beast gu, you absolutely must use human feed. What, didn’t you even know that much?” Yanzi’s smile grew even more self-satisfied as she asked, “You’re not from the Poison Den, so how do you know so much about gu cultivation? Don’t tell me you’re also a guardian of the Solitary Island ruins! Heh heh!”
Xuanyuan Lige didn’t answer her. He had to admit—this was the first time in his life he’d ever encountered a woman so ruthless and merciless. Compared to her, even Xichu’s Chu Feiyan or Dongqin’s Xuanyuan Zhaoxi seemed almost harmless.
He had no time to consider any of that now. Walking toward the mouth of the cave, his mind had gone entirely blank—he’d wanted to see her for so long, yet dreaded what he’d do once he actually did.
Ziqing—how was she now?
Seeing that Xuanyuan Lige offered no answer, Yanzi feigned a moment of thought, then suddenly appeared to have an epiphany, laughing. “Oh… I understand now. You must be a guardian of the Solitary Island orphans, aren’t you! Hahaha!”
Letting her laugh, Xuanyuan Lige didn’t even glance at her, paying no mind to whatever suspicions she held about his true motives for surrendering. He walked step by step deeper into the cave, the ever-thickening stench of decay making each step heavier, slower.
His heart raced like an ant on a hot skillet, yet his feet simply refused to move any faster.
Gradually, the smell of decay gave way to something else—the stench of blood, growing stronger and stronger, until finally he stopped in his tracks, drenched in cold sweat, the veins on his clenched fists bulging out entirely.
He knew what Yanzi had done. He knew exactly what she’d done to Ziqing.
A wave of fury surged instantly to his chest, burning behind his eyes!
How could he possibly endure this?
Yanzi stood not far behind him, watching his agitated state with satisfaction, tilting her chin toward the man in black, murmuring, “See? How could a woman not measure up to an inch of land? A single woman can topple the entire Longyuan continent! Because women are born to be men’s downfall!”