The ancestral hall was deathly silent. The elders and the patriarch all hung their heads, feeling as though a massive boulder pressed down upon their hearts.
After a Gu Master died, the Gu Insects left behind still retained traces of their master's will. They could no longer be considered wild Gu Insects, and had lost the ability to directly harness the primordial qi of nature.
These Gu Insects could be understood as the Gu Master's life, continuing on in a different form.
Everyone was filled with unease.
The founding patriarch had passed away nearly a thousand years ago. Whether the measures he left behind were still effective — that was an unknown.
After all, it had been two hundred years since the last crisis.
"Why did they fall back?" On the hillside, Fang Yuan watched the scene unfold, suspicion stirring in his heart.
In his previous life at the Stockade, his cultivation had been far too low to ever have access to the clan's secrets.
But soon his whole body shuddered, sensing a swarm of flying insects descending from the sky.
"So it's these..." Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes to slits, a cold gleam flashing within.
These Gu numbered in the hundreds, spiraling around one another to form a vortex of red clouds, swirling downward into the Guye Stockade's plaza.
Bzzzzzz...
The clamorous sound of the swarm reached the ancestral hall. Some of the elders jerked their heads up, their faces lit with wild elation.
"Thank the ancestors for their protection!" The boulder in Patriarch Gu Yue Bo's heart finally lifted. He bowed respectfully, then rose to his feet.
"Come, let us go and see," the patriarch sighed. Along with the joy on his face, there was also deep grief and sorrow — his expression was complex.
Leaving the ancestral hall and standing on the corridor of the high building, the group could see the plaza below, where it looked as though a crimson whirlwind had sprung to life as the Gu ran rampant.
These Gu were only as large as a fingertip, shaped like flying mosquitoes with hideous features and crimson-red bodies.
They burrowed into the bodies of the Gu Masters sitting in the plaza, draining their blood and True Essence. In just a few breaths, a single insect would multiply into several.
The Gu only increased in number. Constantly, newly born flying Gu burst through the skin of the Gu Masters, flew out, and then burrowed back in.
Screams and cold grunts rose and fell throughout the plaza, but not a single Gu Master fled.
Before they had come, the elders had already informed them of what would happen. For the sake of the clan, they were willing to sacrifice their bodies to nurture the Gu, trading their own lives for the clan's survival.
"These are all fine sons of our clan!" Gu Yue Bo watched from above, his voice extremely low. His hands gripping the window frame trembled faintly.
The other elders wore expressions of grief and remained silent.
This scene was identical to what was recorded in the clan's annals. The swarm of Gu left behind by the founding ancestor required Gu Masters' lives to be fed beforehand before they would be satisfied — only then would they help the clan resist outside enemies.
Before long, the flying Gu had eaten their fill and rose into the air once more. Their presence grew even more imposing — in a short span, the swarm's numbers had exploded several dozen-fold!
Leaving behind a field of snow-white bones on the plaza, they formed a crimson hurricane and howled toward the wolf pack outside the stockade.
"As expected — Blood Droplets..." Fang Yuan, watching from far away on the hillside, thought to himself.
These Blood Droplets were Fifth Transformation Gu Insects, combining raising and usage into one — truly extraordinary.
They fed exclusively on Gu Masters' vital essence blood. After gorging themselves, they would split and divide — one becoming two, two becoming four...
If they grew hungry and could not find food, they would devour one another, reducing the size of their colony to sustain their own vital activity.
At their peak, the Blood Droplets' flying insects blanketed the sky and earth, capable of destroying entire villages — more terrifying than many Sixth Transformation Gu. At their weakest, a single pair, lonely and pitiable, they could not even compare to a Third Transformation Gu.
Moreover, if these Blood Droplets were to advance further, they would become the famous Sixth Transformation Demonic Gu — the Blood Deity. Among the world's ten greatest Demonic Gu, they ranked seventh.
In his previous life, when Fang Yuan founded the Blood Wing Demonic Sect, the first Gu he had wanted to refine was not the Spring Autumn Cicada, but the Blood Deity. Unfortunately, the world was full of unforeseen circumstances, and for various reasons he had to settle for second best and combine-refine the Spring Autumn Cicada instead.
This swarm of Blood Droplets numbered in the tens of thousands. Sweeping across the battlefield like a hurricane, they left wailing wolves in their wake wherever they went.
They swept back and forth, burrowing into Lightning Wolves' bodies. In just a few breaths, a Lightning Wolf's entire blood supply would be sucked dry by the Blood Droplets.
However, this beast blood could not cause the Blood Droplets to divide. Only Gu Masters' blood, rich with True Essence, had that effect.
One by one, the Lightning Wolves were drained into desiccated husks that crumpled to the ground, all signs of life extinguished.
Only the electric currents unleashed by the Mighty Lightning Wolves and Frenzied Lightning Wolves could restrain these Blood Droplets.
But they would often only electrocute a small patch of insects before being swarmed by the dense, thick waves of Blood Droplets behind them, and drained into husks.
Awoooo!
The iron net shattered completely. The Lightning Crown Head Wolf regained its freedom and let out a furious roar.
Sensing this, the Blood Droplets converged together, condensing into a great red cloud several acres wide, firmly enclosing the Lightning Crown Head Wolf.
The Lightning Crown Head Wolf lashed its tail in all directions, sending blue plasma spraying outward. Hundreds upon hundreds of Blood Droplets were instantly charred to charcoal by the electricity.
Crackling sounds filled the air, like firecrackers going off.
A gust of wind blew past, carrying the foul, acrid stench of roasted Blood Droplets.
The Blood Droplets were indeed Fifth Transformation Gu, but with no one controlling them, they could only attack blindly and force their way forward. On the Lightning Crown Head Wolf's body, however, resided several Fourth Transformation Gu — some with vast attack ranges that were a direct counter to the Blood Droplets.
The flying insects churned violently like a red cloud. The small-mountain-sized Lightning Crown Head Wolf roared and struggled within, howling and thrashing.