"Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs?!"
Hearing those five words, Yuan Shu was so startled he shuddered.
He had already been deeply worried about Chu Feng, but now his anxiety only grew worse.
Having grown up beside Master Tang Chen since childhood, Yuan Shu had seen and heard a great deal in his time.
Though he had never laid eyes on the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs, he had certainly heard of them.
The Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs were an extremely terrifying type of venomous insect. What made them so fearsome was that they were not merely poisons, nor were they simply a form of Gu sorcery.
They were venomous insects that contained barrier formations within their very bodies.
These insects were extraordinarily rare — truly uncommon treasures!!!
And once they entered a body, they would immediately activate their barrier formations and begin devouring the soul.
The only way to drive them out was to swallow the eggshell from which the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs had been born.
But that eggshell was just as rare as the insects themselves.
Aside from the antidote, unless one's cultivation was sufficiently powerful, death was certain.
And Chu Feng's current cultivation was clearly not strong enough to withstand the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs' assault.
"Yuan Shu, look after Chu Feng for now. I'm going to capture that old bastard."
With those words, Master Tang Chen shot off into the air.
Though the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs were formidable, they did have an antidote.
Those who carried the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs typically had the antidote on hand as well, so Master Tang Chen intended to retrieve it from the Beast Taming Venerable Master.
After Master Tang Chen departed, Yuan Shu began setting up formations to help Chu Feng as much as he could.
Unfortunately, though the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs' assault appeared to be targeting the physical body, it had in fact already reached the soul.
The changes to the flesh were merely a reflection of what was happening within.
Yuan Shu was utterly powerless.
*Screech screech screech—*
But suddenly, the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs seemed to have been frightened by something.
Their movements were different from before — no longer the methodical wandering they had displayed earlier. Now they were moving in complete disarray, as if fleeing in panic.
They looked as though they were desperate to escape from within Chu Feng's body.
Yet they couldn't break free, as if something had seized hold of them, and so they began emitting strange, frantic cries.
Then, before Yuan Shu's very eyes, the bodies of the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs changed once more.
They were shrinking!!!
"How is this possible?"
This scene left Yuan Shu completely bewildered.
He noticed that as the Realm Ghost Talisman Bugs underwent this strange transformation, the pain on Chu Feng's face began to ease as well — just slightly, but it was unmistakably improving.
"Damn it, that old bastard had this planned all along — he's already gone."
"Not even a trace of his aura was left behind."
"He fully intended to harm Chu Feng."
At that moment, Master Tang Chen returned, gnashing his teeth with rage, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
His cultivation had reached the Martial Venerable realm — though only a first-rank Martial Venerable, it was incomparably beyond the peak of the Supreme realm.
Under normal circumstances, catching up to the Beast Taming Venerable Master would not have been difficult for him.
However, the Beast Taming Venerable Master had been thoroughly prepared. Not only had he fled immediately, but he had also used a special treasure to cleanse his trail.
Even with Master Tang Chen's vast abilities, without a single clue to follow, he had no idea which direction to pursue, so he could only rush back to see if there was any other way to help Chu Feng.
"Master, look quickly — what's happening with Brother Chu Feng?"
Seeing Master Tang Chen's return, Yuan Shu urgently called out.
After all, he could not explain the situation before him, nor did he fully understand it.
By then, Master Tang Chen had arrived at Chu Feng's side.
"This... could it be?!"
Upon witnessing the changes occurring in Chu Feng's body, Master Tang Chen's expression became extraordinarily complex — a look that seemed to convey shock, yet simultaneously a tangle of other, deeper emotions.
"Master, does that mean Brother Chu Feng can't be saved?"
Seeing his master display such a shocked expression, Yuan Shu — whose worry had been slightly easing — tensed up once again.
He had rarely ever seen his master wear such a look.