I, who was turned into a woman by the Jade Maiden Master, want to rebel against the Heavenly Gang.

Upon seeing such a distorted monster, everyone stood frozen in place.

Qin Rufeng could sense that this demon's cultivation level was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. It seemed that it still didn't have enough "food and nutrients," otherwise it would have grown even faster.

Although Ru Feng was only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, her cultivation was very solid. Each breakthrough required the use of rare and precious materials with the five elements.

The monster in front of them had clearly reached the late Foundation Establishment stage in a very short time because of the blood cloud's corruption and devouring of the villagers.

Qin Rufeng could deal with this monster with ease. Even so, its terrifying appearance still took her quite a surprise.

After a brief moment of surprise, Ru Feng immediately observed the reactions of the people around him...

Senior Sister Xiao Hongjin remained calm and composed, showing no fear whatsoever.

That annoying Tang Cheng came over again, and shamelessly said, "Fairy Liu, don't panic. Although I am not talented, I will never let this monster harm you in the slightest."

Jiang Lu, the woman in white, frowned and said righteously, "This monster looks dangerous. We must work together."

She spoke sweetly, but in reality, she secretly pulled Xiao Nan Niang and hid behind Qin Rufeng and the other two.

Just then, the bloodskin beetle's elytra, covered with blood vessels, suddenly opened, emitting a sharp, piercing cry like a cicada's mournful wail.

It felt like scratching a blackboard with your fingernail, extremely uncomfortable. Beneath its elytra, instead of the usual cicada-like trembling, more barbed tentacles emerged.

Just then, the bloodskin beetle suddenly jumped down from the roof and landed in front of everyone. Its sizzling chirping grew increasingly piercing, and its barbed antennae flared wildly.

Standing at the front, Xiao Hongjin drew her copper coin sword from her waist. She held the sword horizontally in front of her chest with her right hand, while her left hand traced each copper coin along the blade. She muttered incantations as she did so.

The bloodskin worm folded its wings, curled its body, and prepared to attack. Xiao Hongjin also brandished her copper coin sword, ready to fight. However, the monster completely ignored her and charged directly towards Qin Rufeng and the others behind it.

Xiao Hongjin swung her sword at the Bloodsheath Worm, severing only one tentacle. Her own arm was even scratched by the barbs of the tentacle.

Seeing the demonic beast charging towards them, Tang Cheng didn't hesitate to step in front of Qin Rufeng and the other two. His folding fan flashed white light and spun out.

One could sense a trace of spiritual energy gathering on the folding fan. However, unsurprisingly, it bounced off the beast's hard shell.

Qin Rufeng couldn't bear to watch any longer. So, when the swirling folding fan landed back on the beetle, she frowned and unleashed a sword aura!

With a crisp "clang!", the carapace shattered, juices splattered, and three of the barbed tentacles were severed.

It must be said that although it is only a Foundation Establishment level demon beast, this thing that was infected and mutated by the blood cloud is indeed very tough. Moreover, its regenerative ability is even more terrifying than that of the Horse-Face Demon and the Crimson Moon Saintess.

Tang Cheng was completely baffled when he saw that his attack had inexplicably "worked." After a moment of thought, he suddenly realized, "Ah! I understand now, it must have been attacking that cluster of arthropod-like pupae on the split on the back of this monster."

"My Iron Fan Wheels hit directly but failed to harm it. It bounced off and landed right on the beast's vital point, severely injuring it."

Fortunately, the monster pounced after being hurt, otherwise even if Qin Rufeng could keep it in check, Li Qingshi and Xia Jinghong would have burst out laughing.

Faced with the counterattack of the demonic beast, Feng Hua, who had landed on Ru Feng's shoulder, spread her wings to protect her master. Xia Jinghong also opened the Crimson Moon Umbrella and spun rapidly.

With a series of loud cracking sounds, the monster's arthropod shells were torn to pieces by the rapidly spinning bladed canopy.

The bloodskin beetle tumbled and crawled, kicking and flapping its broken elytra, and stumbled in front of Jiang Lu, Jiang Xue, and Xiao Nan's mother, Wei Changxiao.

Chapter 183 is full of...

Xiao Nan Niang glanced at Tang Cheng with disdain, "Hmph! It's just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. I saw through this monster's weakness a long time ago."

Having said that, she leaped high into the air, more than three zhang in the air. Her head tilted back, her arms spread like crane wings, her legs slightly bent, and her body arched like a crescent moon.

She swooped headfirst down towards the monster, like a kingfisher. As she reached the monster, she shouted, "Chasing Clouds and Treading the Moon!"

Then, her slender waist tensed and she exerted force, her tender, white legs drawing a beautiful arc in the air. Her small feet, adorned with red toenails and enchanted wooden clogs, stomped hard on the "weak point" on the Bloodskin Worm's back!

"boom!!"

Smoke and dust rose... but the bloodskin worms remained unharmed.

Seven or eight barbed tentacles instantly wrapped around Xiao Nan Niang. Her proud legs were folded in half and tightly bound, then pulled apart at a wide angle. Her hands were also tied behind her back.

Immediately afterwards, the pupa-like structure on the back of the bloodskin worm opened its tail tip, revealing several even thicker tentacles!

These tentacles instantly wrapped around and enveloped Xiao Nan Niang, like seven or eight snakes tearing apart a poor little white rabbit.

The tentacles stretched and writhed. Little Nanniang had lost her former imposing presence; her body was engulfed by the swarm of snake-like tentacles. Only her two snow-white feet remained exposed, twitching incessantly.

She could only let out muffled sobs, "Ururu~~6~~~6 lives~~Ugh~Ugh!"

It was that overconfident Tang Cheng who came to the rescue again. He once again unleashed his folding fan. But without Qin Rufeng's secret assistance, his attack was completely ineffective.

It can't be said that it had no effect at all... at least it lured the monster back to Rufeng's side.

Xia Jinghong rolled her eyes at him in annoyance and unfolded the Crimson Moon Umbrella again. However, Qin Rufeng gently put his arm around Jinghong's waist and gracefully switched positions with her as if dancing, while also drawing the hidden sword from the umbrella handle.

Immediately afterwards, she spread her fiery phoenix wings and flashed forward to appear behind the demon beast. Then, with a silken touch, she returned to Xia Jinghong's side and sheathed her sword.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Moon Umbrella in Jinghong's hand was still spinning...

At this moment, Jiang Xue, the "slave sister," rushed up, and Xiao Hongjin, the "senior sister," also turned around and attacked back.

The two attacked together, and with a loud "bang!", the bloodskin worm shattered into pieces.

The two of them froze on the spot, speechless...

At that moment, several more flying swords slanted down from the sky, embedding themselves in the shattered body of the demonic beast and completely destroying the still writhing, pupa-like creature. Jiang Lu, dressed in white and who had been hiding behind the group, finally made her move.

The bloodskin worm just inexplicably shattered.

Jiang Lu immediately stepped forward to try to rescue Xiao Nan Niang, but the disgusting tentacles made her hesitate.

She then glanced at her younger sister and scolded her as if ordering a servant, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help save people!"

Jiang Xue immediately stepped forward and swung her sword to sever the tentacle. She then discovered that the tentacle had also shattered.

Seeing that no disgusting liquid was flowing out, Jiang Lu pushed Jiang Xue aside and helped Xiao Nan Niang, Wei Changxiao, remove the tentacles binding her body. Tang Cheng was bandaging his senior sister's wounds.

Jiang Xueli, who had been pushed aside, held the broken tentacle in her hand and stared wide-eyed in surprise.

She found that the thing was ice cold, the outer skin was still somewhat elastic, but the inside was completely frozen and brittle.

Jiang Xue hurriedly examined the other remains and fragments of the bloodskin worm... They all looked fine on the surface, but were frozen brittle inside.

She knew in her heart that although the beast's outer shell was intact, its flesh and blood inside were actually frozen solid. Before she and Xiao Hongjin attacked it together... it was already dead.

She looked at Qin Rufeng again, her expression full of confusion.

Ru Feng remained with his eyes half-closed, seemingly unaffected... though a barely perceptible smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.

She thought to herself, "This time, the little maid probably won't be able to tell." She might be able to guess that it was her who made the move, but she certainly wouldn't be able to figure out what method she used.

They clearly saw flames erupt and a flash of sword light, but the monster was frozen solid. Yet, Qin Rufeng's sword showed no sign of freezing.

In reality, Qin Rufeng didn't need any freezing energy to pierce the monster's carapace. The Crimson Moon Umbrella Sword was a magical artifact meticulously crafted and upgraded by Ye Qingyun. The sword hidden within its handle contained sharp metallic energy, and the artifact's own power alone was enough to break through the monster's carapace.

Ru Feng moved too fast; no one saw that her delicate feet had actually kicked at the opening created by the sharp sword.

She did this to test her new technique. She always felt that the [Golden Lotus Emerging from the Earth] was actually very powerful. After breaking through to the Golden Core stage, she secretly tried it herself and found that its power had more than doubled.

It would be a real shame not to use such a powerful spell, but using it would be... awkward.

Therefore, Qin Rufeng created his own technique, allowing the icy spiritual energy to gather along his legs and reach the soles of his feet. This greatly enhanced the "Lotus Steps" technique taught by his master.

Although its power is far less than that of the Earthly Lotus, it is more flexible to use.

Qin Rufeng had already held back as much force as possible with that kick, otherwise the bloodskin worm would have been pulverized on the spot.

In fact, countless tiny ice lotuses have crystallized inside the blood sheath worm's body, which is a distinctive feature of the "Golden Lotus Emerging from the Earth" technique.

The monster's entire body was frozen into an ice sculpture. However, Qin Rufeng simultaneously activated his Fire Phoenix Wings, using his True Fire Qi to counteract the freezing air and prevent the Bloodskin Insect's carapace from freezing completely.

Thanks to her master, Qin Rufeng's ability to manipulate spiritual energy was unmatched even by those a level higher than her. Therefore, she could easily balance ice and fire spiritual energy.

This is why the bloodskin worms were shattered into pieces by Jiang Xue and Xiao Hongjin's combined attack.

The rescued girl, Xiao Nan, looked rather pitiful. She lay on her back on the ground, convulsing, her eyes rolled back, and her belly swollen like a drum, as if she were drowning.

Milky white fluid kept gushing from its mouth and nose. A large puddle had also accumulated beneath it, and its proud, beautiful legs and silk stockings were covered in sticky insect fluid.

Xiao Hongjin immediately gave her a pill. She vomited violently for a long time, and then took some pills to replenish her qi and blood before she could barely recover some of her vitality.

Even so, Wei Changxiao's belly was still round and plump. But at least she was able to meditate and regulate her breathing.

After a long while, she finally recovered and glared at Tang Cheng, saying, "You worthless bastard, you've ruined everything for me! What monster you're talking about, that's pure bullshit!"

Tang Cheng also looked puzzled, "My first attack was indeed effective."

"Actually, Xiao'er's move, 'Chasing Clouds and Treading the Moon,' was the key to victory," Xiao Hongjin comforted her. "My combined attack with Jiang Xue was just the finishing touch."

Jiang Lu, who was standing to the side, also said, "Yes, Xiao'er deserves the most credit. It's just that your move was too self-destructive. Who would have thought that the Bloodskin Worm would be so strange?"

“We had absolutely no idea,” she said sarcastically, glancing at “senior sister” Xiao Hongjin.

Seeing this, Tang Cheng quickly smoothed things over, saying, "It's all my fault for not testing them a few more times."

Jiang Lu chuckled again, "Young Master Tang always has others on his mind. It's already quite remarkable that you can always think about the safety of others, there's no need to blame yourself." As she spoke, her eyes glanced at Qin Rufeng again.

This woman is so meddlesome, she can't sit still for a moment...

Chapter 184 Deep into Hell

Xia Jinghong couldn't stand it any longer and retorted, "I don't know who it was just now, but they secretly pushed Fellow Daoist Wei from behind, encouraging her to go forward. And I don't know who it was, but after the Bloodskin Worm was killed by my family... and we worked together to kill it, they used flying swords to whip the corpse."

"You waited? What effort did you put in while you waited?" Jiang Lu looked at Xia Jinghong with feigned surprise, then covered her face and smiled, "Oh, I misspoke. The three of you at least fulfilled Young Master Tang's kindness in helping others. Otherwise, he might have really been able to test the strength of the demon beast, and Xiao'er wouldn't have suffered like this."

"Fellow Daoist Liu's sword strike, which came and went without a trace, truly broadened my horizons. It's a pity that it didn't harm the demon beast in the slightest, which is a bit of a shortcoming."

This woman was sharp-tongued, and Xia Jinghong was so angry that she wanted to retort, but Qin Rufeng stopped her. Tang Cheng also tried to smooth things over, but Jiang Lu ridiculed him before things calmed down.

Qin Rufeng had no interest in arguing with these dying people. Her curiosity was still focused on her "senior sister," Xiao Hongjin.

Although Xiao Hongjin was slightly injured, it was more like an accidental scratch. After all, the monster's thinner tentacles were covered with sharp barbs.

The bloodskin worms, however, seemed to completely ignore Xiao Hongjin. They were so close; their tentacles could easily have scratched her arm, yet the beast didn't attack her at all.

Is this a coincidence? Or... for some reason, is she immune to attacks from the infected monsters here?

That doesn't make sense. Wasn't she initially pinned down by that infected host?

Wait, that posture with legs bent over the shoulders... that doesn't necessarily mean he was being attacked, right? I didn't see the details clearly at the time.

Qin Rufeng discreetly observed Xiao Hongjin, only to see Xiao Nanniang, Wei Changxiao, stagger to the large pool of insect fluid Xiao Hongjin had sprayed out. She picked up a silver object from it…

This thing looks like a badge, or maybe a bottle cap. It has a ring with a hemispherical cap that can be opened and closed, and a hole in the center of the cap. I don't know what kind of magical artifact it is.

Although Xiao Nan's mother suffered, she wasn't actually injured; her legs were just a little weak. After taking a medicine to restore her energy and blood and meditating to regulate her breathing, her condition improved significantly.

This barely resembles a cultivator; one could say he's at the Qi Refining stage. An ordinary person would probably be dead by now.

The group, having narrowly escaped danger, "joined forces" to eliminate the bloodskin worms. Far from feeling any reluctance to retreat, they gained even more confidence.

Xiao Nan's mother regained her spirits, muttering, "Bloodskin worms, is that all? If that good-for-nothing hadn't been so loud and boastful, would I have been so careless?"

Tang Cheng, having gone through this battle, still didn't understand his own limitations. Although he didn't claim any credit, he still buzzed around Qin Rufeng like a fly, driving him crazy.

The little maid Jiang Xue, meanwhile, kept her brows furrowed, probably still pondering why the bloodskin worm's interior was frozen. Her little brain was likely overloaded.

She waited for a long time until Tang Cheng was no longer by Qin Rufeng's side, then walked over and whispered, "Senior Sister Xiao was interrupted when she was talking to Fairy."

"She had told her sister before that the infected host covered in mycelium was harmed by bloodwort worms. This is because the blood of bloodwort worms contains spores, and if it gets contaminated, the skin will ulcerate and mycelium will grow at the wound."

"Fortunately, the beast's flesh and blood were all frozen, which saved everyone from disaster. Fairy... what magic did you use?"

Qin Rufeng never wanted to get a drop of blood on himself when fighting. This was a kind of fastidiousness passed down from his master, Liu Bailian.

Not to mention that no amount of insect blood could pass through Xia Jinghong's Crimson Moon Umbrella Sword, even if some did leak out, it wouldn't be able to break through Qin Rufeng's protective freezing aura.

These guys were lucky, though. If Rufeng hadn't frozen the bloodskin worms, they probably would have grown hair by now.

Qin Rufeng had no intention of revealing her cultivation level. So she answered directly with a question: "If that's the case, why do you still engage in close combat?"

"When your companions are in trouble, you can't worry about anything else."

Qin Rufeng sneered and said, "But it seems that Fellow Daoist Wei has no idea what you're talking about."

Jiang Xue frowned and fell silent...

She hesitated for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but Jiang Lu, who noticed that she was talking to Ru Feng, immediately stopped her and called her back to her side.

Qin Rufeng understood; Jiang Lu must not have told everyone this information... Xiao Hongjin obviously didn't either.

Jiang Xue's close-quarters combat might have been forced by Jiang Lu, but what about "Senior Sister" Xiao Hongjin? Her behavior is just too incongruous...

The group continued forward, and the decay around them became increasingly severe. It seemed as if the soil beneath their feet was breathing.

The dirt road was covered with bulges, like bamboo shoots sprouting from the ground after rain. But upon closer inspection, they turned out to be dark red fleshy buds.

The tree roots that should have been buried deep underground were now curling up and arching out of the ground. Some of the root veins had an eerie, translucent appearance. One could vaguely see scarlet liquid flowing through the wood grain, like blood centipedes crawling in the veins of leaves.

The abandoned mud house was entangled by these mutated root systems. The door frame was twisted into a jagged shape, its surface covered with a pulsating network of wooden veins.