Chapter 274: Gu Worms, As If They’re Wholesale
She forcefully cleared her mind of the chaotic images. Just as she was about to push them away and sternly refuse, the ground suddenly began to shake.
Yu An thought they were leaving, so she quickly gave each of them a kiss. "Alright, alright, you two should get going. I’ll take good care of myself, so don’t you worry!"
"Go on, go on, don’t waste any time!"
Lan Yin and Lan Ying also thought the temple was urging them to leave. Seeing how eager Yu An was to shoo them away, they both gave a wry smile.
’Oh well. The sooner we go, the sooner we’ll be back. When the temple isn’t looking, one of us can stay behind while the other sneaks out to find An’an!’
But just as they stood up, countless Merfolk suddenly surged from the ground. They all turned to look at the three of them, a cold glint flashing in their vacant eyes.
"Kill... kill..."
Yu An was startled. "What are these things?!"
Lan Yin and Lan Ying flanked her protectively. Lan Yin’s expression was grim. "They’re the temple’s Merfolk. They’re being controlled. An’an, it seems the temple is furious because we’ve been gone for too long."
Yu An was confused. "I’ve been meaning to ask... the temple has a consciousness of its own?"
The Merfolk moved slowly, so Lan Ying took the opportunity to explain. "They do. The Five Great Divine Palaces are actually fragments that broke off the Heaven and Earth Stone. They developed sentience and will always prioritize the interests of the Heaven and Earth Stone."
"Our departure left the temple without its Guardians. This means the place where the Heaven and Earth Stone resides could be invaded by outsiders, so the Divine Hall Spirit sends its forces to bring us back."
Mo Yan had a split body in the Ink Serpent Temple, which had tricked the Divine Hall Spirit, so the serpent swarm wasn’t controlled. But right now, neither Lan Yin nor Lan Ying was in the Merfolk Temple.
Lan Ying gave Yu An a reluctant glance, then took the lead and left. Just like Mo Yan, his form gradually turned transparent until it vanished completely.
By all rights, things should have been fine as long as one of them returned. But Lan Yin noticed that the Merfolk hadn’t disappeared; they were still chanting, "Kill... kill..."
’Kill who?’
He remained on high alert. Just as the Merfolk were about to close in, their movements suddenly became much faster. One of them, weapon in hand, slashed straight for Yu An.
A cold light flashed in Lan Yin’s eyes as he knocked it to the ground, but more Merfolk came surging forward in an endless stream.
Yu An waved her hand, and several vines shot out to ensnare the Merfolk in the front, forming a barrier to block the rest.
The Merfolk, showing a surprising level of camaraderie, were hesitant to harm their companions in the front. They simply shuffled in place, not daring to advance.
"An’an, there’s something wrong with them. Help me tie them all up."
Yu An nodded. "Alright!"
One by one, all the Merfolk were bound. Suspended in mid-air, they continued to struggle, their eyes still fixed intently on Yu An.
Yu An found their stares unnerving, so she went down the line and covered each of their eyes with a leafy blindfold.
And what do you know, as soon as they could no longer see Yu An, they instantly became quiet.
Yu An was amused. "What’s going on here? Are they just targeting me?"
’That can’t be right. If the temple is so determined to protect the Heaven and Earth Stone, it shouldn’t be trying to harm me.’
She casually pulled one over to examine it. As it neared her, the Merfolk began to struggle again.
But Lan Yin knocked it unconscious with a single slap, and it went still.
"An’an, I’ll hold it steady. You can examine it."
"So rough, so cruel," Yu An grumbled as she reached out. "Be careful you don’t knock its brains out."
Lan Yin said nonchalantly, "They’re all tough. It’ll be fine."
She wouldn’t have known without looking, but sure enough, her examination revealed a problem.
"There’s a Gu Worm in it," she said, her previous lightheartedness gone. Her voice was grave. "I’ve dealt with Tian Fu’s Gu Worms many times. I’m certain he’s the one who raised this!"
Lan Yin looked around and gasped. "All of these Merfolk... he’s infested them all with Gu?"
"That shouldn’t be possible. Even though Lan Ying and I aren’t here, the Divine Hall Spirit is. And the Merfolk all have their own ways to protect themselves. How could they all have been taken down at once?"
Neither of them could make sense of it. For now, though, the priority was to remove the Gu Worms.
Yu An grumbled, "Just how many Gu Worms is he raising? Does he just infest anyone he comes across?!"
Yu An complained quietly under her breath. She looked up at the crowd of bound Merfolk. ’With so many of them,’ she thought, ’how long is this going to take?!’
Lan Yin also found it ridiculous. Normally, with raising Gu, you’d be lucky to successfully cultivate one or two from an entire batch. But for Tian Fu, it was like he was mass-producing them.
Both were confused. Both were baffled. Both resigned themselves to the task.
Lan Yin knocked the Merfolk out, and Yu An removed the Gu Worms. At first, she could only do one at a time. But as she got more practiced, she slowly increased the number. By the end, she could remove the Gu from ten Merfolk simultaneously!
Trying to find some humor in the grim task, Yu An thought, ’Next time this happens, just imagine how efficient I’ll be!’
Fortunately, she had studied this before. Once a person had been infested, Tian Fu wouldn’t target them again. She didn’t know if they developed some kind of immunity or what, but for whatever reason, they couldn’t be infested a second time.
After a flurry of activity, the two of them finally managed to remove the Gu Worms from all the Merfolk’s bodies four hours later. The Merfolk still hadn’t woken up.
Lan Yin had wanted to take them back to the temple, but with so many of them, he had no way to transport them all.
"Forget it," Yu An said, throwing up her hands. "You go on back. I’ll take all of them."
’My space already has a whole swarm of serpents, so I don’t mind adding a school of Merfolk.’
Lan Yin thought for a moment and agreed. These Merfolk all had unique Talent Abilities; maybe they could be of help to Yu An.
With that thought, he left an order for the Merfolk before departing, looking back reluctantly with every step.
Yu An watched him go, then with a wave of her hand, she gathered all the Merfolk into her space.
As the first residents of the space, the swarm of serpents saw the newcomers arrive and expertly moved them into the river.
’Yep, Merfolk are supposed to live in the water. Makes perfect sense.’
Based on the pattern of the last Illusion Realm, her surroundings should have transformed into a green meadow after Lan Yin and Lan Ying left.
But Yu An waited for a long time, and still, she remained in the same place.
She scratched her head. Just as she was about to find a way out on her own, a giant face suddenly appeared above her.
"Holy crap! What is that thing?!"
Yu An jumped in fright. Taking a closer look, she let out a sharp breath. Ugh, it was Tian Fu’s giant face.
Seeing Yu An there all by herself, Tian Fu’s face twisted. "You actually killed all of my Gu Worms? Yu An, you have truly angered me now!"
Though he appeared furious on the surface, he was actually panicking inside.
’How could this be? My Gu Worms have always been invincible. Why is it that whenever they’re up against Yu An, they get crushed every single time?!’
’It must be the effect of her Wood Element Ability. It really is something else. A pity it’s not mine to use.’
’And to think the first two Illusion Realms were actually related to Yu An’s Beast Husbands. And that two of them are Guardians of the Five Great Divine Palaces... She just passed through that easily.’
A flicker of regret crossed Tian Fu’s eyes, but it quickly vanished. ’No matter. There’s still one more. As long as Yu An dies here, it won’t matter how powerful her superpower is. It won’t be able to affect me!’
Seeing his expression shift between gloomy and smiling, Yu An had only this to say:
"If you’re crazy, go get help. And stop shoving that giant, creepy face of yours in front of me!"
Tian Fu didn’t care that she’d just cursed him out. In fact, he felt this was just Yu An’s last moment of defiance.
"You were lucky in the first two Illusion Realms," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching into a sneer. "As for the next one... you’d better be prepared."
’Given my mistakes in the first two Illusion Realms, I’ve prepared a special surprise just for Yu An.’