Chapter 292: Frightening Means

Translator: Tim Editor: Fish Creek

Ye Mo sneered. “This sort of bug can be called Gu? Don’t make me laugh.” He thought of the Bug Monk, who had once dominated the cultivation realm, carrying all sorts of bugs. Each Gu he raised was one to two meters long, the largest exceeding ten meters. This small thing wasn’t even a fly in the cultivation realm.

Cheng Qing was also amazed by the Gu in Ye Mo’s hand. This was his first time seeing one outside a body. He knew that everyone joining Earth Fiend received a Gu from the Earth Fiend Gu king. Leaving or betraying triggered the Gu, which devoured the person’s heart. It was inescapable.

He’d heard older generations say that those with the Earth Fiend Gu belonged to Earth Fiend for life. Only the Gu king could remove it. Yet, he saw Ye Mo remove the Gu from Dong Qing’s body in two seconds and hold it without fear. Ye Mo was that strong.

Cheng Qing, who’d planned to attack Ye Mo, abandoned the idea completely. He felt he had no chance against this youth. Though his sixth sense wasn’t as strong as Dong Qing’s, he sensed immediate death if he attacked.

Hm, Ye Mo felt something was wrong. Though this Gu was insignificant to him, a dense life force emanated from it, and Dong Qing looked withered after its removal. Her face even appeared waxy. What was this?

“Qianbei, Ye qianbei, you can remove the Gu from my body? I, I…” Cheng Qing immediately realized this rare opportunity after his initial shock. He also had a Gu. If removed, he could go anywhere. He had no family for Earth Fiend to target.

Ye Mo knew his intentions and looked at him plainly. “I can remove it, but you must answer my questions truthfully. If you hide anything, I can still search your soul.”

The last part was a lie. He hadn’t reached foundation establishment; soul searching meant controlling Cheng Qing’s mind to make him talk. The information would be incomplete.

“I’m willing, as long as qianbei helps me remove the Gu, I’m willing to answer any questions.” Cheng Qing hesitated not at all.

“Okay.” Ye Mo reached out and sliced Cheng Qing’s arm. It took a little longer, but less than five seconds, and a yellow Gu appeared.

Ye Mo held the bug, finding more life force on it, and Cheng Qing was more withered than Dong Qing, so weak he almost fell.

The color and amount of essence blood differed. Was this related?

Ye Mo squeezed and crushed the red Gu. A faint yellow flame burned it to a crisp. He didn’t crush the yellow one, keeping it on his finger.

Dong Qing and Cheng Qing were shocked. They’d seen many powerful people, some with special abilities, but none as strong as Ye Mo.

Ye Mo said nothing. He felt this Gu was eerie. What was it?

“Do you know why your Gu’s colors differ?” Ye Mo thought it similar to the body-devouring Gu in the cultivation realm, but different. He wasn’t sure, so he asked.

Cheng Qing and Dong Qing glanced at each other and shook their heads. “I don’t know, but the Gu’s color matches our status. I’m a human-level red killer; Cheng Qing is a human-level yellow killer.”

“There are many levels to a human-level killer?” Ye Mo murmured, still confused. “Since you can’t see your Gu’s colors, how do you rank up?”

Cheng Qing said, “Each person entering Earth Fiend receives a Gu from the Gu king. New recruits have red, then orange. I just rose to yellow. The highest human-level is purple. We have testers. If we pass, we receive a badge.”

Cheng Qing produced a yellow badge with two daggers and a head. It seemed eerie.

He continued, “Earth-level killers also have seven colors, but their badges lack the human head; they have earth instead.”

Ye Mo examined the badge, finding nothing unusual. Seeing this, Dong Qing produced and gave him her badge. Other than the color, they were identical.

Ye Mo held the badge and asked, “Is the heaven-level badge a piece of sky with two daggers?”

Cheng Qing shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen one. I have a brother, Yuan Peng, an earth-level killer. He failed a mission before ascension to heaven level. But I heard that once you reach heaven level, your Gu is removed, and you become an Earth Fiend elder. You can also leave and live your own life, so everyone wants to reach heaven level quickly.”

Ye Mo immediately asked, “Are there people who become heaven-level killers?”

Cheng Qing nodded. “Almost every year. And after they become heaven level, they mostly leave Earth Fiend. If I reach heaven level, I’ll also quit.”

Ye Mo understood. He sneered. “Change a life? What a joke! I didn’t know what was up with the Gu, but now I do. I’ve seen similar things. These Gu are countless times worse.”

“Body-devouring Gu?” Dong Qing repeated, her face paling. She had a body-devouring Gu. The name alone was disgusting.

Ye Mo sneered. “That’s right. It’s a parasite that devours the host’s essence blood and life force. When the host kills, the victim’s life force is devoured by the Gu. It uses the host’s blood essence to nourish itself. So the more you kill, the more lively it is.”

“Qianbei, so we’re feeding the body-devouring Gu with our own blood essence? And the life force of those we kill is also eaten by the Gu?” Cheng Qing’s face paled. He couldn’t accept this.

“Indeed.” Ye Mo nodded. “The person who planted the Gu had nefarious intentions. One, to prevent betrayal, but mainly to feed the Gu more essence blood and life force. The more focused you are while killing, the better it is for the Gu.”

Ye Mo looked at their pale faces. “This Gu just started in your bodies, and you’re already withered after I removed it. This Gu is still struggling, wanting more essence blood. Leaving Earth Fiend at heaven level is a lie. Heaven-level killers have ripe body-devouring Gu. Once removed, the host becomes extremely weak. Then, the Gu devours the host, consuming their life force and essence blood completely.”

Dong Qing and Cheng Qing’s faces were pale. After a while, Dong Qing said shakily, “Why are they doing this? Each heaven-level killer is a genius among killers. Why are they killing their own men?”

They believed Ye Mo, but this was absurd.

Ye Mo sneered. “Because the Gu is ripe, and the Gu farmer can harvest. The person who planted the Gu is using the life force and blood essence of the ripe body-devouring Gu to cultivate something. This guy is strong indeed.”

Ye Mo approved of the Gu farmer’s calculations and plan. It was like farming cultivation pills. When needed, he could harvest them. These Gu were far from the body-devouring Gu, but their properties were similar. Finding such a Gu and someone who controlled them so well on Earth was astounding.

“So that’s how it is.” Cheng Qing gasped. He believed Ye Mo.

“Cheng Qing, do you know something?” Dong Qing immediately asked.

Cheng Qing’s face darkened. “I finally understand why brother Yuan Peng died. On his last mission, he was an earth-purple level killer, and the mission wasn’t hard, but he couldn’t finish it. Now I know, he must have been harvested by the Gu king.”