Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 568: A just and awe-inspiring death
Before Zheng Fa could speak, soft footsteps could be heard inside the room.

I really underestimated Luo Yun—she seems to have a way of breaking through the soundproofing talisman and is eavesdropping.

It seems that she heard Shi Nandang's words and couldn't help but get excited, so she took two steps closer before Zheng Fa noticed her.

The four of them, including Shi Nandang, showed no unusual expression, but stared at Zheng Fa as if waiting for his reply.

"Master, if the entire Haori Mountain has to be sacrificed for the sake of Gu God's recovery?"

Master Shi Nandang's face twitched, and he said decisively, "Then we have no choice but to do it."

Zheng Fa fell silent. How could he feel that if he did nothing, these people would just kill him?

Seeing that he remained silent, another elder of the Lu clan said righteously, "The Holy Ancestor's condition is unknown, and the Nine Mountains Sect is eyeing us covetously. We need the protection of the Gu God even more. Moreover, if we cannot obtain the Holy Ancestor's treasure, we will ultimately face certain death!"

"Those two clans have received great favors from the sect, and now is the time for them to repay their kindness!"

A hammering sound came from the inner room. Zheng Fa chuckled inwardly, but kept a straight face: "That's our fellow disciple."

"you are not willing?"

"I really can't bear it."

Master Shi Nandang sighed and swept his long sleeves across the table.

On the table in front of him, there was a strange and eerie statue made of black stone. The main body of the statue was a throne, and the legs, backrest, and armrests of the throne were carved with a variety of Gu insects.

On the throne sat the Goddess of Gu, her eyes like those of a living being, staring intently at Zheng Fa.

"This is……"

"We were master and disciple..." Master Shi Nan looked down at the statue, his tone nonchalant, "I really don't want you to die at the hands of the Gu God."

"..."

The statue had a strange, eerie aura. It seemed that the four members of the Lu clan had come to see him because of this thing.

Zheng Fa wasn't afraid. He had already fought living Gu Gods, so why would he be afraid of a dead one?

But a hint of shock and anger flashed in his eyes: "Master, are you threatening me?"

"Of course not, I just hope you will see the error of your ways. After all, you are my disciple. It's not impossible for you to change your surname to Lu in the future."

Shi Nandang said no, but his eyes told the opposite.

An elder from the Lu clan beside him spoke much more frankly: "The Gu God must have blood sacrifices; if it's not them, it's you!"

"This was bestowed by the Gu God, and its power is extraordinary. No one on Haori Mountain can stop it now. If you resist, don't blame my Lu Clan for being ruthless."

Zheng Fa stared at the statue of the Gu God for a long time before finally saying, "...Disciple understands."

Seeing that his tone had softened, Master Shi Nandang nodded in satisfaction, got up and walked outside. He stopped at the door, turned back, and said:
"Whether it's Luo Yun or Xiang Hao from the Yun Clan, they'll all be yours once things are done."

Zheng Fa remained silent, while Luo Yun slowly walked out.

She was neatly dressed, with a cold expression, looking at Zheng Fa.

The two remained silent for a long time before Luo Yun suddenly spoke up: "Master Shi, when that day comes, this disciple only asks for a swift death."

After saying that, she left resolutely without waiting for Zheng Fa to speak, as if she felt that with the help of the Gu God in the Lu Clan, Shi Nandang's choice was no longer important.

Zheng Fa watched Luo Yun leave, and now he appreciated her more than he had seen her undress.

On the contrary, the situation of the Lu Clan gave him some ideas—these people are just delusional.

He didn't know who gave them the courage to play mind games with three True Immortal Demon Ancestors. To be honest, Zheng Fa didn't even dare to enter the Nine Luminaries Heaven now, precisely because he was wary of these three.

The Lu Clan is really daring now. Although they have some tricks up their sleeves, this move is like playing with fire.

Zheng Fa, however, was very interested in their methods...

Shi Nandang and his three companions remained silent until they arrived in front of their own cave dwelling, at which point one of them spoke: "Now, you've really offended your beloved disciple."

"My beloved disciple?" Master Shi Nandang sneered, "He doesn't even have the surname Lu, nor is he of the Lu clan bloodline!"

"You're really willing to spend that much."

Master Shi Nandang chuckled and said, "This boy is no longer of one mind with us, but his strength is indeed extraordinary. Even I, as his master, cannot see through him. He is just right to be used to counterbalance the Gu God."

Speaking of the Gu Goddess, the other three also looked grim. One of them muttered, "The Gu Goddess is far too greedy. Doesn't her need for so much blood food hinder our important plans?"

"That's why we need to use Shi Nandang's power to make both races submit and make them support the Gu God," Shi Nandang's master said. "As for Nandang, he's all alone and his strength is no match for the Gu God, so he's not a threat. We'll deal with him later."

……

"You intend to use the methods of the Lu Clan to deal with Creation and White Bones?"

Within the Nine Mountains Realm, Senior Sister Zhang and the others exchanged bewildered glances as they listened to the Heavenly Emperor's account.

“Exactly.” The Heavenly Emperor nodded and said, “Entering the Nine Luminaries Heaven is too risky, but since the Lu Clan is so confident, they must have some trump cards up their sleeves.”

The people in the Heavenly Palace exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

The Lu Clan is, after all, the descendant of Lu Yao, the oldest clan in Haori Mountain, and Jiuyaotian is their sacred land.

It's normal that they have some trump cards up their sleeves.

Senior Sister Zhang pondered, "The Lu Clan is not strong enough, this thing should be quite powerful..."

This was also Zheng Fa's thought. No matter how crazy the Lu clan is, if they dare to risk their lives like this, they probably do have something special.

This thing might not be of much use in the hands of the weak Lu Clan.

But if Zheng Fa can be used, it will be like adding wings to a tiger.

"On the other hand, I'm also afraid that the Lu Clan will cause trouble after I enter the Nine Luminaries Heaven." The Heavenly Emperor said, mentioning Zheng Fa's second consideration. "At least we need to figure out their methods, just in case."

Everyone nodded.

To put it bluntly, Zheng Fa's current goal is to enter the Nine Luminaries Heaven and then come out safely.

What the Lu Clan has revealed now will be very useful to Zheng Fa.

The Heavenly Emperor turned to Elder Han and said, "Have our disciples at Haori Mountain prepare to replace some key Lu Clan disciples. The Heavenly Emperor himself will look after them."

"Yes!"

Senior Sister Zhang suddenly spoke up: "It's not just the Lu Clan, but also the Gu God."

The Heavenly Emperor paused for a moment, then realized and said, "That's right, the Lu Clan wants to use the power of the Gu God to fight against the two Demon Ancestors, so can we!"

To put it bluntly, given the strength of the Lu Clan, they would be courting death if they tried to play these kinds of games.

But it would be perfect for the Nine Mountains Sect to play with...

"Qingyan".

"exist."

"You should continue your research. Ideally, you should be able to influence the Gu God without anyone noticing..."

Mu Qingyan nodded confidently upon hearing this.

This surprised even the Heavenly Emperor. How could his disciple be so confident?
Seemingly noticing his confusion, Mu Qingyan said, "Besides various hormones, Elder Jiao and we are also cultivating the King Insect."

"King Insect?"

"We've already made progress in identifying a type of Gu worm that can control other Gu worms and obey our commands through genetic methods."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa suddenly felt a strong longing for the God of Gu.

……

I saw the God of Gu again at Haori Mountain.

It wasn't actually the Gu God; it was still the same statue, only a hundred times larger than the one we'd seen before.

Hao Ri Hou Shan, in a valley.

Zheng Fa and the others stood at the bottom of the valley, where the statue of the Gu God stood in front of them, almost taller than Haori Mountain.

The Gu God's eyes were fixed on the summit of Haori Mountain. Beside Zheng Fa lay hundreds of Haori Mountain cultivators, including rogue cultivators, members of the Luo Clan, and even members of a branch of the Yun Clan.

Bound by magical artifacts, they glared at Zheng Fa and the Lu clan elders beside him, cursing, "Demon Ancestor's lackeys!"

"Shi Nandang, you've also sided with the Demon Ancestor!"

"Even as ghosts, we will not let you go!"

The other cultivators from Haori Mountain stood on the two sides of the mountain, looking at Zheng Fa with grim expressions.

They originally thought that Shi Nandang Returning to the Mountain would stop the increasingly ruthless Lu tribe.

Unexpectedly, the two sides joined forces to capture cultivators within the sect and support the Gu God.

The Lu Clan was already the strongest, and it had already required the Yunluo Clan and the Lu Clan to join forces to barely contend with them.

With the addition of the incredibly powerful Shi Nandang, no one in Haori Mountain can stop them now.

"Shi Nandang! Do you think you can survive by siding with the Gu God?"

"The Lu Clan will not trust you! I'll be waiting for you in the Underworld!"

To be honest, this was the first time Zheng Fa had been scolded like this. Fortunately, he was now in a difficult situation and listened to these words without any change in his expression.

The elders of the Lu clan beside him wore smiles, seemingly unconcerned, but their gazes were intentionally or unintentionally fixed on Zheng Fa.

The cursing gradually subsided. Zheng Fa initially thought that the group had stopped cursing because they were too shameless, but then he realized that the people lining up for food had arrived, and the group was too scared to speak.

Perhaps because he was badly beaten by Zheng Fa, or perhaps because he was afraid of being found, the Gu God is now very cautious about accepting blood offerings.
One group of Gu worms after another, in order.

Only after the first group of worms has eaten, climbed out of the valley, and disappeared underground will the next group of worms enter.

In this way, even if they are ambushed like last time, they will only lose a small portion of the insect swarm.

In Zheng Fa's view, the bottom of the valley was like a canteen for the insectoids, where these gu insects lined up to get their food.

A black wave slowly surged towards Zheng Fa and his group from outside the valley.

There was a rustling sound and a foul stench; the grass and trees on the ground were corroded beyond recognition by the slime.

Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore.

"Stone Ancestor! Save me!"

"Master!"

"I am the true disciple of Haori Mountain!"

A cold shout echoed from the valley: "Murdering your fellow disciples! You've gone mad!"

Dozens of rainbow beams shot out from the mountainside and struck the valley.

Today, finally, people from both races could no longer resist and began to join forces in rebellion.

Leading the group was Luo Yun, with several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Yunluo and Yunluo clans beside her.

Before Zheng Fa could make a move, Shi Nandang's master sneered, muttered a few words towards the Gu God statue, and looked devout.

Countless moths flew out from the Gu God statue, knocking down Luo Yun and the others' magical treasures before disappearing into the surrounding mountains.

These moths opened their mouths and spat out long white threads toward Luo Yun and the others.

Luo Yun and the others were bound together like cocoons and rolled down from the mountainside to Zheng Fa and the others' feet.

Zheng Fa looked down and saw Luo Yun glaring at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

An elder of the Lu clan laughed and said, "We knew you had rebellious intentions long ago. Today is the perfect day to wipe you all out!"

"You have harmed your fellow disciples of Haori Mountain; you have betrayed Haori Mountain!"

The elder of the Lu clan sneered, "My Lu clan is the true master of Haori Mountain! Your two clans exist because of my Lu clan, how dare you defy us now?"

"..."

"From beginning to end, only as long as my Lu Clan exists, Haori Mountain will exist. For the prosperity of my Lu Clan, you have died a worthy death!"

The Gu worms in the valley drew ever closer.

Luo Yun, standing at Zheng Fa's feet, tilted her head and looked at him with pleading eyes.

But Zheng Fa didn't look at her, seemingly ignoring her.

Luo Yun closed her eyes.

However, Shi Nandang's master seemed to have noticed her gaze, glanced at Zheng Fa with a playful expression, and said:

"Junior Nephew Luo perished in the insects' jaws today, merging with the Gu God. In the future, he will continue to protect my Haori Mountain."

"Pah!" Luo Yun's temper grew fiercer as the situation progressed, and she even opened her eyes and cursed, "You still have the nerve to mention Haori Mountain?"

"I know that Junior Nephew Luo does not understand our good intentions." Master Shi Nandang smiled instead of being angry. "As fellow disciples, I also do not want you to lose your lives."

"But only the Gu God can help us inherit the Holy Ancestor's treasures and resist the Nine Mountains Sect."

"Even if it were me, a member of my Lu clan, who died today, let alone you, I would still be willing!"

These words made Luo Yun grit her teeth in anger. Shi Nandang continued, "For the sake of Haori Mountain, we can even disregard life and death, so what is there to talk about in terms of reputation?"

Zheng Fa listened, flicking his fingers lightly.

Luo Yun was so angry she couldn't speak. She resigned herself to her fate, lay on the ground with her eyes closed, and her ashen face showed unconcealed fear.

She heard a sound that sent shivers down her spine:
Those very faint buzzing sounds grew closer and louder.

The rustling sound of countless slender insect legs scraping against the ground was right beside her ears.

Even her hair looked like something was crawling over it, swaying from side to side.

Luo Yun finally couldn't help but open her eyes, and a beetle the size of half a head brushed past her cheek.

Its fist-sized mouthparts even brushed against her ear, as if it were thinking about where to start feeding.

At that moment, she finally couldn't hold back her tears.

To her surprise, the beetle seemed uninterested in her and crawled straight past her.

It's not just this beetle.

The Gu worms crawled over the Yunluo and Liang clansmen on the ground without any hesitation.

"This……"

The Lu people stared wide-eyed, bewildered, as swarms of Gu worms rushed toward them.

The swarm of insects attacked the Lu clan members at the bottom of the valley. A few of the stronger members, such as Shi Nandang, managed to escape, but most of the Lu clan members were overwhelmed by the Gu insects, leaving only a few screams:
"what!"

"Get out, get out!"

"help me!"

Luo Yun, lying on the ground, stared blankly at the scene, not even realizing what was happening.

In the valley, all was in a daze. No one expected that these Gu worms would chase after and bite the Lu clan!

For a moment, confusion, surprise, and even satisfaction intertwined on Luo Yun's face.

"It's you?"

Shi Nandang, the master, suddenly turned his head and looked at Zheng Fa with a suspicious expression.

“No, she is clearly the God of Gu.” Zheng Fa said with a serious expression, “She prefers to be one with the Lu people.”

"..."

"These senior brothers of the Lu Clan sacrificed themselves for my Haori Mountain, even to the point of being devoured by insects. It can be said that they died a worthy death!"

(End of this chapter)