Seeing that Yuan Ling had no idea she was already dead, there was no point in expecting her to explain who killed her. Jiang Li organized his thoughts and pieced together the rough sequence of events. First, Yuan Ling slaughtered the people of both small towns, then used Corpse Gu to control them.
She maintained their ability to work and live as if alive, though with her cultivation level, she could only use Dantian Corpse Gu—enough to move bodies, but not to manipulate their minds. Then, someone killed Yuan Ling and used another Corpse Gu to control her body, afterward implanting Consciousness Sea Gu in all the townspeople.
That way, everyone in the two towns appeared entirely normal. Even if a Nascent Soul Cultivator came to inspect, they would see nothing unusual. The problem was—what was the purpose behind all this?
What did the one behind it all want to achieve? The Holy Maiden Jing Xin smiled warmly at Jiang Li, asking him to leave while she remained alone with Yuan Ling’s corpse. Jiang Li’s scalp tingled at her deep, unfathomable smile, and he quickly distanced himself.
Yet his spiritual perception was extraordinary. Even after walking far, he could faintly hear sounds coming from the room. The cries grew softer and softer until they disappeared entirely.
Soon after, the Holy Maiden Jing Xin used a spell to cleanse the blood from herself, walked out smiling as if nothing had happened, and heard Jiang Li’s calm voice through his transmission.
“Something’s wrong with Du Xin’er. I’ll go check it out.”
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin quickly arrived at Lower River Town, where she found Jiang Li and Du Xin’er inside a kitchen. Something was steaming on the stove.
“What happened?” she asked.
Jiang Li held a handful of rice, lost in thought, while Du Xin’er stood blankly, her eyes unfocused, as if her soul had left her body.
“I was watching this place constantly with my Divine Sense,” Jiang Li explained, “and I discovered Du Xin’er pouring something into already-hulled Spirit Rice.”
That in itself was strange. Among the eight towns, none were supposed to send unprocessed Spirit Grain directly to the Red Dust Pure Land. They first had to hull it into Spirit Rice—the Spirit Rice went to the sect, while the discarded husks were buried in the soil to increase its spiritual richness.
Du Xin’er wasn't supposed to do this herself; her duty was merely to supervise. But not only did she not supervise, she fetched an entire jar of rice from the cellar and started pouring it into the freshly hulled Spirit Rice pile. Jiang Li gestured to the side.
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin followed his motion and saw a jar of Spirit Rice that seemed perfectly normal.
“I advise you not to probe this jar with your Divine Sense,” Jiang Li said softly.
“Your heart might not be able to take it.”
Had he stayed silent, she wouldn’t have done it. But since he said that, she was compelled to look.
Hmm?
It can resist Divine Sense? The Holy Maiden Jing Xin increased her Divine Sense intensity, scanning deeper through the surface of the rice.
“Urgh—!”
Her face turned pale as she gagged. She had long since entered the Inedia state—there was nothing impure in her body to vomit out. That wasn’t Spirit Rice.
The jar was full of Gu worms disguised as Spirit Rice!
“Junior Sister Xin’er, what were you trying to do?!” the Holy Maiden snapped.
Du Xin’er blinked in confusion.
“Isn’t it Sect rule to mix this jar of Spirit Rice into the rest?”
“Who told you that? Since when has the Red Dust Pure Land had such a rule?”
Du Xin’er tried hard to recall but could only remember the order itself—she couldn’t recall who gave it. Jiang Li picked up one grain and split it with his fingernail, exposing the tiny white Gu worm inside.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked.
Her puzzled expression deepened.
“Isn’t that just Spirit Rice? Is there something else?”
Jiang Li sighed, letting her leave.
“Someone tampered with her perception, making her believe this jar was ordinary Spirit Rice. That’s a trick of Corpse Gu manipulation.”
He lifted the lid of the steaming pot on the stove, revealing a bowl of fragrant Spirit Rice porridge. Picking up a grain, he split it again—inside was a white Gu worm, still alive, its vitality even stronger!
“Someone mixed Gu worms into the rice you Red Dust Pure Land people eat. But I don’t know yet what these Gu worms do.”
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin’s face turned pale as paper. Just then, Jiang Li’s Remote Communication Talisman flickered. He linked the call.
“Brother Jiang, I found the Gu Clan people!”
A burly, bear-like man—Zhang Konghu—appeared in Jiang Li’s sight, speaking in his heavy voice.
“They said to refine a Corpse Gu capable of animating the dead as if alive, one must be at least at the Integration Stage.”
“They aren’t sure though—it’s from old records. After all, Gu Clan has no high-level experts now. The strongest is only at the Nascent Soul Stage.”
Zhang Konghu sighed deeply. He had known the Gu Clan were reclusive, but not that they’d fallen so far. Once, they had great figures who ascended to the Immortal Realm.
“I asked who could still refine Gu Arts, and they said only those who’ve read the ancient tomes in their Ancestral Shrine. Those tomes are strictly guarded—outsiders can’t access them.”
“But I tried sneaking one out. Easy as pie, no one noticed. Naturally, I put it back afterward.”
“Oh, right—another thing. They said a forbidden Gu, the Heart-Controlling Gu, has gone missing. Since the Gu Clan are in seclusion, they can’t leave their mountain. They hope the Human Emperor Palace will spread the news for everyone to be on guard.”
“Heart-Controlling Gu?”
Jiang Li’s expression darkened.
“Yeah,” said Zhang Konghu, “they said it’s extremely terrifying! Once someone consumes it, even if they later reach the Integration or Spirit Transformation Stage, their mind will still be controlled by the Gu’s master—without the victim ever suspecting anything! That’s why the Gu Clan has an ancestral precept forbidding anyone from cultivating this Gu!”
“See if this looks like it.”
Jiang Li opened his palm, revealing the tiny white worm. Zhang Konghu’s eyes widened.
“Yeah! That’s it! Cocooned like Spirit Rice, fine as hair, dormant in water, active in fire—it’s exactly this one, Brother Jiang. Where did you find it?”
Clang!
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin’s legs gave out; she knocked over the bowls and pots, collapsing weakly to the ground. How many years had the rice been mixed with these worms? How many junior sisters had eaten them?
Had any older, non-Inedia senior sisters ever taken a taste? How many in the Red Dust Pure Land carried this Heart-Controlling Gu in their bodies? She didn’t dare pursue the thought.
“Did the Gu Clan say how to remove the Heart-Controlling Gu?”
“Same as other Gu,” Zhang Konghu said.
“Either the Gu master lifts it willingly, or you kill the worm inside the host. So it’s ineffective against those at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage—the Lightning Tribulation will destroy it.”
“We’ll talk more later. Ending call.”
Jiang Li broke the link, his expression grim.
“The Heart-Controlling Gu hasn’t been activated yet. Things haven’t reached the final step. Your junior sisters still have a chance! As long as I’m here, nothing’s beyond saving.”
His low, authoritative tone brimmed with unshakable confidence, and the Holy Maiden Jing Xin slowly calmed. Yes—things hadn’t reached the end yet. The mastermind had spent decades weaving this scheme but hadn’t triggered the Heart-Controlling Gu.
It meant their timing hadn’t come. Mistakes could still be corrected. There was still a chance to make it right!
“Jiang Li, thank you.”
Her eyes grew resolute as she rose, turning into light, soaring toward the Red Dust Pure Land. Jiang Li followed closely behind. But as they arrived, the Sect-Protecting Great Formation’s radiant barrier blocked their path.
Behind the shimmering light stood a coldly smiling figure, the one who had started it all— The expelled elder of the Red Dust Pure Land, Daoist Nun Xuan’ai!
(End of Chapter)