ATPnovel Chapter 644 Ulihan! Is this a Gu worm?
Chapter 644 Ulihan! Is this a Gu worm?
"I appreciate Your Highness's kindness," Chen Fan shook his head. "However, today is the Hundred Sects Conference, so we can discuss these matters another day."
Qin Zhan looked at his unwavering composure in the face of imminent danger, opened his mouth several times, and finally gave a wry smile: "Fine, fine, I won't try to persuade you anymore. Just be careful."
On the high platform to the due north, the Gu woman had quietly taken her seat at some point.
Today, she had reverted to the withered, bark-like old woman she had been during the day, leaning on her insect-shell cane, her aura restrained and profound. But when she saw Chen Fan being targeted by Song Tianren and Wang Zhenyue, a glint of something barely perceptible flashed in her cloudy old eyes.
The scene on the grassland last night is still vivid in my mind.
She personally tried to seduce him with her beauty, but was rendered speechless by the eunuch's retort, "What use is a woman to a eunuch?"
The Gu woman had lived for hundreds of years and had recruited countless talented people for the Gu King, but this was the first time she had encountered such an unyielding person.
Seeing that this person has signed up for three competitions at the same time, a mix of emotions welled up in my heart again.
There was even a hint of curiosity about just how capable this eunuch was, daring to report all three items at this grand assembly of a hundred sects.
The horn sounded again, this time longer and deeper, like the howl of wolves on the grassland piercing through the entire Wan Gu City.
The noise in the square gradually subsided, and all eyes were focused on the high platform to the north.
The Gu woman stood up and gently tapped her insect staff. The entire Gu Battle Square fell silent instantly, even the Gu insects trapped in their cages stopped chirping.
"By order of the Gu King, the Hundred Sects Tournament officially begins." The Gu Maiden's voice was hoarse and grating, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present. "The first round is the Gu Insect Battle. The rules are as follows: Each participant sends one Gu Insect into the arena. The two Gu Insects will fight to the death. The winner will advance to the next round, and the loser will be eliminated. Participants may use their divine sense to control their Gu Insects, but they may not directly intervene. Each round of the battle is limited to the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If no winner is determined after the time limit, the winner will be determined by the severity of the injuries. During the battle, all restrictions in the arena will be lifted, and no one may step into the arena."
After saying this, the Gu woman raised her insect staff and pointed it towards the center of the square.
Dozens of dark green beams shot out from the tip of the staff and landed on the bluestone ground in the center of the square, instantly transforming into ten semi-circular arenas, each several tens of feet in diameter.
Each arena was surrounded by a light green barrier, with faint Gu patterns flowing across it and emitting a considerable amount of spiritual energy.
"The drawing of lots begins. Participants will draw lots in the order of registration. Those with the same lot number will be opponents."
Chen Fan stood in line, calmly reaching into the divination tube and taking out a dark green jade divination stick.
The slip of paper is engraved with an ancient-style "seven," which corresponds to the arena on the far left of the square.
His opponent arrived quickly.
A Gu cultivator dressed in a blood-red leather robe strode to the front of the arena and stood there. This man was burly and rugged, with more than a dozen blood-red Gu patterns crisscrossing his face. His cultivation level of the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage was released without any concealment. A blood-red insect cage the size of a fist hung at his waist, from which faint hissing sounds could be heard.
The Gu cultivators of the Blood Gu Clan.
"Blood Gu Clan, Ulihan." The Gu cultivator announced his name, his gaze sweeping over Chen Fan, a smirk of undisguised contempt playing on his lips. "You're the Zhao Kingdom cultivator who reported all three? Nascent Soul Grand Perfection, your cultivation is not low. But as an outsider, you probably don't even know how to raise Gu worms, do you? This is the Great Desert Grassland, the territory of Gu cultivators. When it comes to Gu worms, we grassland Gu cultivators are the ancestors. You've come all this way to your death, you certainly have some guts."
Chen Fan didn't reply, but simply took out the palm-sized dark gold insect cage from his sleeve and opened the cage door.
The cicada flapped its wings and flew away.
Its body was no bigger than a grain of rice, and its entire body was a reddish-gold color. Its two pairs of thin, cicada-wing-like golden wings shimmered faintly in the sunlight. It circled around Chen Fan's fingertip once, then landed in his palm, emitting a very faint buzzing sound.
A burst of undisguised laughter erupted from below the ring.
Ulihan paused for a moment, then threw his head back and burst into laughter, a rough and grating laugh: "This is your Gu worm? Just this tiny thing the size of a grain of rice? I thought you'd dare to report everything, at least produce a Nascent Soul level Gu worm, but it's just a piece of trash whose grade I can't even tell. What, do all the Gu cultivators in your Zhao Kingdom raise this kind of worm? Or did you really not afford a decent Gu worm and could only use this to make up the numbers?"
From the stands, Duan Wuliang couldn't help but sneer, "Chen Fan, you little bug like you dare to participate in the Gu Insect Battle?"
Song Tianren did not laugh.
He stood with his hands behind his back at the edge of the stands, his indifferent black eyes staring at Jin Chan for a moment before his brows furrowed slightly.
His intuition told him that this worm was unusual. But he had never seen such a Gu worm before and couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Wang Zhenyue sat upright in the west wing, watching the scene with an expressionless face. He wouldn't mock a Gu worm that hadn't even made a move yet, but he couldn't see anything special about it either.
Only Chen Fan remained calm, placing the golden cicada on the arena before retreating to the edge and standing with his hands behind his back.
"Both sides' Gu worms enter the arena," the Gu cultivator in charge of refereeing announced loudly.
Ulihan snorted coldly and opened the blood-red insect cage at his waist.
A streak of blood-red light flew out of the cage and landed in the center of the arena.
It was a scorpion-shaped Gu worm that was entirely crimson red, more than three feet long. Its body was covered with a layer of dark red carapace, and its two huge pincers were covered with fine barbs. Its tail hook was raised high, and the tip of the hook gleamed with a ghostly green poisonous light.
The aura of the early Nascent Soul stage was released without any concealment, pressing the dust on the arena firmly to the ground.
"Blood Scorpion Gu, early stage of Nascent Soul, once killed seven Gu worms of the same level on the grassland without ever being defeated." Ulihan stroked the Blood Scorpion Gu's carapace, his face full of pride. "Little thing, don't be scared out of your wits later."
The cicada, no bigger than a grain of rice, lay motionless at the other end of the arena, its dark red compound eyes fixed on the Blood Scorpion Gu opposite it, its black tentacles trembling slightly beside its mouthparts.
"The duel begins!"
The moment the words left its mouth, the Blood Scorpion Gu launched its attack. It let out a piercing screech, and its six legs shot across the arena like six streaks of blood-red lightning, leaving a dark red afterimage in its wake.
The two giant pincers were raised high, slashing down on the cicada, the barbs on the pincers gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
The cicada remained motionless.
The onlookers shook their heads.
Some say the insect was probably scared out of its wits, while others say the eunuch was just there to cause a stir. Some of the Blood Gu Cultivators had even started celebrating ahead of time.
Just as the Blood Scorpion Gu's giant claws were less than three feet away from the Golden Cicada, the Golden Cicada vanished.