Chapter 194: Rainbow Seven-Colored Insect!
Chapter 194: Rainbow Seven-Colored Insect!
Just as Red Captain Wang and Jia Longwu and others stood confronting each other, in the dense forest thirty miles away, Tang Jinbiao and the Azure Dragon transformed into a Big Yellow Dog were hiding within a very remote cave.
“Panting panting, Ah Huang, that was close!”
Although thirty miles was not far, Tang Jinbiao had nearly exhausted all his strength, and his stamina suffered some degree of overdraw. He sat down on the ground with a thump, took out a bottle of restorative elixir from his storage pouch, swallowed three to five pills, and immediately threw the bottle directly to the Azure Dragon lying on the ground.
Because his cultivation level was sealed, the spiritual energy within his body was temporarily insufficient to operate properly, leaving him lying exhausted on the ground. Now, upon seeing Tang Jinbiao throw the elixir to him, a faint light flickered in his eyes as he sprang to his feet. He caught it with one bite, raised his head, swallowed all the pills inside in a single gulp, spat the bottle aside, and said gratefully: “Thank you, master! Thank you, master!”
“No way, this kid is trying to buy me off with these petty favors—how could old me fall for your tricks? Hmph, thanks to my shrewdness, otherwise I’d truly have been ensnared by your schemes!”
However, Azure Dragon reconsidered, withdrawing some of the gratitude in his eyes as he adopted a forced smile, muttering in his heart.
“Ah Huang!”
Tang Jinbiao kept his eyes tightly shut, slowly refining the elixir, unsure if he had noticed that subtle change in Azure Dragon, and faintly called out.
Thump!
Upon hearing Tang Jinbiao call him, Azure Dragon thought his secret thoughts had been detected; he felt a slight jolt of surprise inside. But Tang Jinbiao’s subsequent question proved it was merely a false alarm.
“Have you ever seen a kind of small red insect that can occupy others’ bodies?”
Tang Jinbiao kept his eyes sealed shut, sensing the dissolving of the elixir inside himself as it flowed with his blood through every limb and bone. A gentle warmth spread slightly in his chest, and his formerly parched Pseudo Qi Sea began to turn over slowly once more.
Tang Jinbiao’s Pseudo Qi Sea differed from ordinary people’s, as it was transformed into a source of frigid ice by that Frost Silver Spear. As soon as the elixir’s warmth rose, it transmuted into a chilling cold, yet Tang Jinbiao still relished that freezing sensation greatly.
“Hmm? Master, you only put it like that—Ah Huang feels a bit confused. After all, countless types of poisonous insects in this world can occupy human bodies. Even among what Ah Huang knows, there are thousands. If speaking of red ones alone, there are easily over a hundred varieties, I just don’t know which one master is referring to?”
Azure Dragon’s constitution far surpassed Tang Jinbiao’s; after swallowing those elixirs, flashes of red and green light glowed briefly across his skin before being refined completely away. By then, Azure Dragon had nearly recovered.
As for the red insect Tang Jinbiao mentioned, Azure Dragon’s knowledge outdid Tang Jinbiao’s, so he naturally understood much.
“To put it simply, that small insect is about thumb-sized, completely crimson-red, and seems able to control people’s minds as well!”
Tang Jinbiao did not know what that insect that occupied Captain Wang’s body was called, nor was he very clear about its special traits. Getting him to explain precisely wasn’t realistic, but he couldn’t bear to watch Captain Wang die right before him. For now, he wanted to clarify the situation and formulate a plan before taking action.
“Oh, right, that thing seemed able to suck human blood! Also, it can calm people down from their frenzied states!”
As he spoke halfway through, Tang Jinbiao suddenly recalled that when he’d been carrying that item all along during his battle alongside Captain Wang and others against that bandit gang, it had accidentally come into contact with blood.
“Eh?”
Hearing Tang Jinbiao speak this way, Azure Dragon appeared somewhat shocked, a flicker of doubt passing through his eyes.
“Ah Huang, what’s wrong? Did you recall something?”
Tang Jinbiao slowly opened his eyes and looked toward Azure Dragon.
“Master, despite you saying that, Ah Huang still can’t fully determine if it’s that kind of thing. After all, of the poisonous insects you described, Ah Huang knows of three distinct types!”
An unease rose within Azure Dragon as he spoke.
But privately, he was secretly alarmed: “Would old me be so unlucky? Could it be I’ve encountered that legendary thing? No no, no matter how rotten my luck, it couldn’t lead to facing that legendary beast, could it?”
Although Azure Dragon had begun guessing, he still consoled himself inside repeatedly, as if pondering something ominous. Yet suddenly, upon seeing the Tang Jinbiao before him, he felt his heart thud with dread—his face turned ashen gray as he muttered inwardly, “No way? Surely it won’t be such an exact coincidence?”
Tang Jinbiao obviously would not know Azure Dragon’s private thoughts. Hearing Azure Dragon mention there being three types, Tang Jinbiao grew mildly curious, furrowing his brow slightly as he asked, “Which three?”
“Hmm hmm hmm, it can’t be, it can’t be. When old me met Huang Biaozi, the Old Charlatan, it just signified my coming opportunity. When old me met Tang Ni, it just showed my forbearance wasn’t adequate enough. When old me met this kid, it just meant my tempering wasn’t sufficient yet. Hmm hmm hmm, that’s all it is, that’s all it is. It absolutely isn’t because old me has awful luck! Back in the day, wherever old me went, there was like a ‘paradise’!”
Azure Dragon did not hear Tang Jinbiao’s question; instead, he was solely focused on self-encouraging inside.
“Hmm? Ah Huang!”
Tang Jinbiao noticed Azure Dragon’s absentmindedness and frowned slightly, raising his voice.
“Ah!”
Startled as if by demonic whispers, Azure Dragon let out a shriek, his face twisting into a ghastly expression.
“M-m-master!”
Recognizing Tang Jinbiao’s voice, he calmed somewhat, though his words stumbled out.
“What’s wrong, Ah Huang? I asked you a question. Why no answer?”
Tang Jinbiao had clearly observed Azure Dragon’s abrupt shift from calm to nervousness, sparking his concern.
“It’s nothing, Master! Ah Huang just recalled some unpleasant memories!”
Azure Dragon offered an ingratiating smile.
“Tell me: which three types of red toxic insects do you know of?”
Tang Jinbiao cut straight to the point.
After a brief pause, Azure Dragon replied, “Ah Huang knows. If they match master’s description—thumb-sized, bloodsucking, body-possessing, calming their hosts—then only three come to mind. But such insects shouldn’t exist in a lowly plane like the Mortal Realm.”
“Hmm?”
Tang Jinbiao had no patience for digressions; he only cared about the red worm controlling Captain Wang.
Sensing his displeasure, Azure Dragon continued, “The first type, unique to the Demon Realm, is called Red Pellet. It fits most traits except one: instead of calming its demonic host, it drives them mad. It exclusively infests demons and dies without demonic energy. So, it couldn’t be what you saw.”
“Mhm.”
While refining the Elixir within him, Tang Jinbiao listened and compared details, hoping to identify the creature.
Fleeing now felt wrong to him—Captain Wang had shown him kindness, and Tang Jinbiao lived by repaying debts tenfold.
Unable to read his master’s thoughts, Azure Dragon pressed on uncertainly, “The second type… A-ah Huang has never seen it. Rumors speak of a similar red worm in the Immortal Realm, used for anesthesia, though Ah Huang knows little. Surely it wasn’t that either.”
“I see.”
Tang Jinbiao nodded faintly, his expression unreadable.
Impossible! Utterly impossible! Something so dreadful could never appear in this insignificant Mortal Realm!
When Tang Jinbiao remained silent, Azure Dragon withheld the third possibility, silently praying instead.
A moment later, Tang Jinbiao lifted his gaze. “And the third type?”
Thump.
The mere thought terrified Azure Dragon; his heart lurched.
“Master, t-the third is surely impossible! If it existed, the Mortal Realm would’ve perished long ago!”
He forced a shaky smile, as though afraid to even speak the name.
“Speak.”
A shadow passed over Tang Jinbiao’s eyes, his voice icy.
“Y-yes, Master! Ah Huang obeys! The third… is the Red Worm among the Rainbow Seven-Colored Insects!”
Trembling violently, Azure Dragon collapsed to the ground.
“Rainbow Seven-Colored Insects? The Red Worm?”
Tang Jinbiao’s brow furrowed with dawning understanding.
“Just as Master guessed, there are seven of them, like rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet! Legends call them primal spirits of heaven and earth. Some even claim ten exist, with black, white, and colorless variants…”
Thump.
At these words, Tang Jinbiao’s pupils contracted sharply—a clue falling into place.
Azure Dragon noted his reaction but continued unprompted. “The Red Worm craves blood, draining humans and Demon Beasts. Supposedly, it mutates eventually—no one knows how—but tales say it can devour worlds. An entire lower plane… like the Mortal Realm… could vanish!
“Orange prefers heat, lurking beneath volcanoes. After consuming countless fiery veins, it awakens. Yellow hides in deserts, stirring if sands stretch too far. Green feasts on corpse-spoils in mass graves. Cyan slumbers in spirit mines, gorging on spiritual veins. Blue devours ocean life until it surfaces. Violet…” Azure Dragon faltered, “…conceals itself in maidens’… private parts… abandoning its host if they copulate. If the girl preserves her purity, her eyes turn violet. After a millennium, they deepen to pure violet, and the Violet Worm awakens.
“S-so, Master, rest assured! That thing you saw can’t be the Red Worm! Otherwise, our world would be gone! These legends are exaggerations—take the Violet Worm! Hiding somewhere so… filthy… for a thousand years? Preposterous!”
Though terrified, Azure Dragon recounted it all. He’d never seen these insects himself, only read of them in an ancient Demon Realm text. He’d never believed such monstrosities truly existed… yet the more he doubted, the more his fears festered.
“Are you certain?”
Lost in thought, Tang Jinbiao nodded slowly, eyes narrowed.
“Absolutely, Master! We mustn’t linger! Let’s flee toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain now—Cultivators may be closing in!”
Filled with dread despite his disbelief, Azure Dragon urged him desperately.
Silence—heavy and chilling—settled over the cave.
After thirty breaths, Tang Jinbiao fully refined the Elixir, rising with resolute calm. His eyes gleamed with finality as he declared:
“No, Ah Huang. We return.”