The Great Seminary

Chapter 272 It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death
Although Zhang Gui did not understand the methods of torture to extract confessions, he knew a simple way to put psychological pressure on people.

As the question was asked, it caused the 'Tai Sui Enters Life' shrub to grow more mycelium, which densely wrapped around the entire body of the giant human-headed worm.

Just like a woodpecker, it picks out a small insect, holds it in its sharp beak but doesn't swallow it, instantly destroying all the giant human-headed insect's tricks and schemes.

He honestly told the truth.

It turns out that this insect was actually Liu Shanzhen, the county magistrate of Shanhai County.

The name Liu Shanzhen was merely a pseudonym he adopted after he began his studies; his original name was Daduoshanzhen.

They are descendants of the chieftain "Dashan Xiang," who held a position second only to the vassal king in the former barbarian kingdom of "Shanqiang Dayong" at the original site of Haishan County.

Their ancestors were considered wise and shrewd, and they were extremely obedient to the Ming and Song courts' orders, whether it was the joint rule of local officials or the conversion of local officials to central government.

This stands in stark contrast to the outward compliance but inward defiance of the 'Great Brave Warriors of the Mountain Qiang' vassal king.

Finally, on a rainy night, they conspired with a mountain guard unit of the Ming and Song dynasties to massacre the stronghold of the Qiang chieftain.

He became the largest local powerful family in Shanhai County.

From then on, they openly imitated the behavior of the noblemen of the Ming Dynasty, claiming that "the family tradition of farming and studying is passed down" even though few of their family members were literate.

A century has passed since then.

By the time it came to Liu Shanzhen's generation, there were more than thirty brothers in the clan, all of whom were literate, but only he could truly absorb the knowledge from books.

He eventually became the county magistrate of his hometown, although he was only a local assistant official of the eighth rank, and his superiors were always powerful figures.

But in remote, impoverished rural areas far from the emperor's reach, the scion of a powerful family that has been operating in the area for hundreds of years combines the identities of a local official who holds the second-highest position in the region.

It's not as simple as 'one plus one equals two'.

"From then on, the official social interactions of the 'Dashan Xiangjia' were all handed over to me."

Over the past ten years, I've been able to visit not only the county seat, but also the residences of provincial officials during festivals, bringing gifts with me.

If it weren't for the fact that I didn't want to or couldn't get promoted, I could at least become a sub-prefect in the prefecture.

Just when everything was going smoothly for me, I suffered a qi deviation during my cultivation.

Damaging a small amount of innate vital energy in the lungs caused the body to weaken rapidly.

This kind of injury is considered a divine punishment, and you can only endure it on your own.

But I knew I wouldn't make it; I was going to die soon!
But I still want to live!
There is great terror between life and death; even ants cherish their lives!

I'm terrified, but wanting to live can't be considered wrong, can it?

At this point, the giant worm with the human head nodded slightly when it saw Zhang Gui transformed into a giant.

Feeling a glimmer of hope for survival, he was overjoyed and continued speaking even more honestly:
"Later I remembered that when I was a child, my grandfather also practiced the family's 'Five Qi of Mountain Delicacies'. He went astray and became possessed by a demon, but then he suddenly disappeared mysteriously."

At the time, they insisted that he had died suddenly at night.

They even sent out funeral notices.

However, according to etiquette, the body should have been kept for nine days before being laid to rest, but in the end, not a single day was wasted.

They burned the coffin at dusk and buried it in the ancestral grave at night.

I used to find all of this strange, but now, like my grandfather, I've also gone astray while practicing the 'Five Elements of Mountain Delicacies'.

I just want to find out whether he is dead or alive.

They were trying their luck, even if it seemed hopeless, to find a glimmer of hope for themselves.

But the result was nothing.

I feel utterly hopeless.

Suddenly, Jiang Lianpeng, a former head steward of the Ciren Society, came to their door.

He hit the nail on the head...

It turns out that although Shanhai County is remote, the indigenous villages and settlements outside the county town are densely populated.

The various chieftains together raised over 300,000 able-bodied men, who cultivated terraced fields on the vast, boundless mountains to grow crops, tea, and medicinal herbs.

They also dug up wild, precious medicinal herbs and felled giant trees; in short, they lived off the land with great pleasure. And of these hundreds of thousands of slaves, some had to be sold off in good years when there were too many offspring.

If too many people die at an unhealthy age, we need to buy some more.

So I've been doing business with the 'Tzu Chi Association' for many years, and we're old acquaintances.

Liu Shanzhen never imagined that the "Ci Ren Hui" was actually her grandfather's savior.

Now they're coming to 'save' me again.

"For millions of years, the human race and the hundred races of the earth demons have been natural enemies, irreconcilable sworn enemies."

But everything blends in with the world.

Even if a blood feud between races falls on a particular nation, sect, family, gang, or individual, it does not prevent them from profiting from each other.

This "Compassionate Society" is connected to the "Phosphorus-Free Earth Dragon" among the Hundred Earth Demon Races.

It turns out that this phosphorus-free dragon is oviparous.

If hatched naturally, only one or two intelligent offspring will emerge from ten thousand eggs, which is why they can be called 'phosphorus-free earthworms'.

Those that remain, devoid of reason and driven solely by instinct to hunt, eat, and obey orders, are called 'phosphorus-free giant worms'.

But what if the eggs were buried inside the flesh and blood of a human superhuman?

During hatching, the non-phosphorus eggshell produces a putrefactive toxin that turns the host's flesh and blood into a thick sap.

Only the brain matter cannot be dissolved.

Once the eggs hatch, the newborn phosphorus-free dragons will feed on the thick sap.

After growing rapidly, it devours the host's brain and grows a head that looks exactly like the host.

Wisdom naturally arises from this.

After consuming a sufficient amount of blood and surviving thirteen days in the soil, it transforms into a 'phosphorus-free earth dragon'.

Initially, they burrowed underground and traveled a hundred miles a day.

Continuing for a thousand miles.

Then, they can even 'leap through the air' and move around on the ground.

Grazing hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of phosphorus-free giant insects.

Even within the entire 'Hundred Races of Earth Demons', this is not considered ordinary.

"Actually, if there is no human 'superhuman' as a host, an ordinary person can also be used."

However, only young and strong individuals can be selected, and even among one or two hundred individuals who lay their eggs, it is not guaranteed that a single larva with a head will hatch.

However, unsuccessful hosts will automatically bury themselves around the successfully hatched larvae, letting them devour them, so it's not a waste.

This action is for the "Earthly Fiend Calamity".

"Are the creatures at the bottom of the cave really that 'opposite'? They seem to be staying obediently in the 'human world'."

"Being an island emperor and living a carefree life suits me better."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gui temporarily forgot the reality that he had just used his mental energy to devour two phosphorus-free larvae, and silently thought to himself.

Then Liu Shanzhen, with his human head and worm body, said again:
"But I think the way to survive is different."

A thousand people must be killed and buried in the ground first.

Then, make a small hole the size of a grain of rice in the skull and insert a non-phosphorus egg.

When the eggs hatch, the toxins produced on the outer shell are neutralized by the brain, resulting in extremely small worms that can only slowly gnaw at my brain to survive.

My will can be transferred to it little by little…

"You suffer like this just to live. Wouldn't it be better to die?"

Zhang Gui was horrified and muttered something under his breath.

(End of this chapter)