Chapter Fifty-One: The Mysterious Blood Corpse Worm

“He must have died in agony.”

Amid wild forests and tangled rocks, the young girl Su Yao stood in silence, gazing at the wretched corpse of a disciple from the Heavenly Sea Sect. Sorrow clouded her delicate features. Though they had not been close, he was still a fellow disciple.

Seeing the gloom on her younger sister’s face, Su Yu sighed as well. They had never experienced the carnage of blood and fire—just the scene before them was enough to shake their resolve.

“Senior sister, something’s not right! Take a careful look at these bodies,” Luo Hao said, unlike Su Yu and Su Yao, as he examined the corpses and made a strange discovery.

Only the disciple from the Heavenly Sea Sect had a bloody hole in the back of his head. Every other disciple from different sects had been slain by a sharp blade. Judging from the wounds, Luo Hao could even be certain that all these outsiders had perished beneath the same weapon.

“The Hundred-Refined Blade!”

After closely inspecting the wounds, Ji Rou’s elegant brows furrowed at once. The Hundred-Refined Blade was unique to the Heavenly Sea Sect, forged with a technique impossible for others to imitate.

Luo Hao turned over the corpse of the Heavenly Sea Sect disciple, and sure enough, a gleaming short blade lay beneath him on the jagged rocks. It was the Hundred-Refined Blade, crafted by the sect’s Weapon Hall, with the sect’s distinctive mark still engraved on its body.

A chill swept through all four of them. Didn’t this mean that all the disciples from other sects had died at the hands of this one disciple? But Luo Hao quickly dismissed the thought—there were at least a hundred corpses!

Doubt gnawed at him, and suddenly a possibility came to mind: gu poison. Such an art was rare even in the twenty-first century in China, practiced only among certain ethnic minorities in Yunnan. He wasn’t sure if this ancient world had similar methods.

“Aah! What is that thing?”

As Luo Hao was lost in thought, Su Yao’s startled cry pierced the air. Panic written all over her face, she stared at the Heavenly Sea Sect disciple’s corpse, repulsed and nauseated.

Following her gaze, Luo Hao’s pupils shrank sharply. Amid the white brain matter spilled across the rocks, a grotesque worm squirmed.

The creature had no eyes, its body blood-red and glistening, about the size of a finger, but with a mouthful of razor-sharp fangs. Most disturbing was the evil, blood-soaked aura that clung to its crimson form.

A violent tremor surged from the ancient mirror within Luo Hao’s dantian, as though it would burst forth at any moment. Sensing the disturbance, Luo Hao quickly calmed his mind and suppressed it. Ever since the emergence of the Blood Spirit Secret Realm, the once haughty artifact had become unusually “lively.”

“Blood Corpse Worm, a venomous fiend of the Blood Realm. Bred by the Blood Clan with the blood of myriad creatures, indestructible. Wherever it passes, all life perishes. Once it enters the brain, its victim becomes a blood corpse puppet for life.”

As Luo Hao reeled in shock, this knowledge suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Don’t go near that thing!”

He shouted, but it was already too late. The Blood Corpse Worm, which had been writhing in the brain matter, shot forward like a bloody bolt towards Ji Rou, the nearest target.

With a piercing hiss, the blood-red streak hurtled through the air. Ji Rou, usually calm and composed, flashed a hint of panic in her eyes—she had no time to dodge.

Without hesitation, the rocks beneath Luo Hao’s feet exploded as he darted forward like a phantom, yanking Ji Rou behind him. At the same time, a surge of dragon power erupted from him, his golden fist smashing towards the blood-red streak.

A thunderous crash resounded, accompanied by the clang of metal. The blood-red bolt was knocked aside, revealing the Blood Corpse Worm once more, its mouthful of fangs bared as it let out a guttural snarl.

On Luo Hao’s side, his hand tingled with numbness and he staggered back several steps. His body, tempered by dragon power, could withstand direct strikes from spiritual weapons—yet now, even he felt the impact.

Having repelled the Blood Corpse Worm, Luo Hao felt even more grave. Su Yu and the others also wore solemn expressions, aware that this blood worm was likely the true culprit behind the carnage.

Harsh, ragged breaths echoed atop the rocks as the Blood Corpse Worm bared its fangs, its snarls reverberating through the night. As the creature howled, Luo Hao’s eyes narrowed.

A sudden crackling noise erupted. To the horror of Su Yao and the others, the corpses began to stir one by one.

Luo Hao narrowed his eyes further. The Blood Corpse Worm clearly wielded powers akin to those of gu insects—or perhaps it was a gu insect itself.

“These people were dead! How are they standing up again?”

Watching the corpses rise among the shattered rocks, Su Yao could no longer bear it. Raised in comfort, never before had she witnessed such a monstrous sight.

A tearing sound ripped through the air. The corpses’ skin began to slough off, and in just a few breaths they became blood-drenched, their bodies now only raw flesh and muscle—blood corpses. They moved silently, only their eyes glimmering crimson in the darkness.

Blood trickled through cracks in the rocks, pooling into tiny streams that the Blood Corpse Worm greedily devoured. The more it fed, the more it radiated its crimson glow, bathing the entire rocky hill in blood-red light.

“Run! Get out of here!”

Feeling the Blood Corpse Worm’s aura grow ever more terrifying, Luo Hao shouted, pushing the three girls away. They could not hope to overcome such a monster.

With a single punch, he shattered a blood corpse blocking their path. The three understood the peril and dashed for the edge of the forest.

“Brat, we’ll wait for you at the exit!”

Ji Rou’s voice called out as they fled, but before Luo Hao could reply, a wave of blood-red light swept over him.

Bolts of blood-red lightning streaked through the night. The Blood Corpse Worm was now even faster—Luo Hao could only glimpse a flash of scarlet, unable to see the creature at all.

Those deathly snarls echoed across the rocky hill. But Luo Hao moved. If he couldn’t see the Blood Corpse Worm, he would lock onto it by sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the air.

His fists clashed with the Blood Corpse Worm in a tempest of golden and crimson light as shattered rocks flew everywhere. The worm shrieked, and the blood corpses, summoned by its call, lunged at Luo Hao.

He remained calm. Brilliant dragon energy erupted from him, the roar of dragons filling the air. Blazing dragonfire swept across the hill like a true fire dragon, incinerating the blood corpses before they even reached him.

As the dragonfire surged, Luo Hao noticed the Blood Corpse Worm hiding behind the blood corpses, clearly terrified of the flames.

“So the beast fears fire.”

With a cold smile, Luo Hao directed the dragonfire at it. All things in the world followed the cycle of overcoming and restraint—dragonfire, the most potent and pure yang flame, was the bane of all evil and poisonous creatures.

Feeling the scorching heat tear at its flesh, the Blood Corpse Worm, all its earlier ferocity gone, squealed and slipped into a crevice among the rocks, fleeing at high speed.

Watching it escape, Luo Hao was dumbfounded. Wasn’t this supposed to be a venomous terror, raised with such care? Why was it fleeing so pitifully?

At the forest’s edge, the three women paused, drenched in sweat. They had not stopped running since they left the rocky hill. Su Yu glanced back at the darkness and steadied herself. “I wonder how Brother Luo is doing?”

“Sis, that lecher is so tough—he’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry, that brat’s got more lives than a cat. He’ll be all right. But what on earth was that blood worm?” Just recalling the Blood Corpse Worm made Ji Rou uneasy; Su Yu and Su Yao shivered as well.

“It was a Blood Corpse Worm. That’s what we encountered.”

A voice drifted out of the darkness, filling the three with relief—Luo Hao was safe after all.

“That lecher! I knew you’d be fine. Only the good die young—troublemakers last a thousand years!” Su Yao exclaimed, and Luo Hao rolled his eyes. Was that praise or a curse?

Ignoring her, Luo Hao asked, “Senior sisters, have you ever heard of the Blood Realm or the Blood Clan?”

“Are you saying the Blood Corpse Worm is connected to the Blood Clan?”

Luo Hao nodded, and as he spoke, he noticed a chill descend over the faces of both women. Their eyes blazed with murderous intent, as if transformed into different people. Even little Su Yao gritted her teeth.

“The heavens are vast, and humanity is not alone. The Blood Clan is one of the great races, residing in the Blood Realm. They feed on blood, and are our mortal enemies—sworn foes to the death.”

Ji Rou’s words bristled with killing intent—not the ordinary kind, but a hatred carved deep into the very marrow.