FVN Chapter 636 The Golden Cicada's Excitement! The Gu Woman!
Chapter 636 The Golden Cicada's Excitement! The Gu Woman!
Chen Fan fell silent.
Qin Zhan's words were not meant to flatter; they were more like the heartfelt words of a veteran to a younger man.
He cupped his hands in greeting, his tone unusually warm: "I have always remembered Your Highness's kindness in protecting me back then."
Qin Zhan waved his hand, about to say something, when suddenly his expression changed slightly.
He looked around, then pulled Chen Fan to a relatively quiet corner near the platform and lowered his voice, saying, "There's something I need to tell you beforehand. This time, not only I am here with Yu the Great, but the Wang family has also sent people."
Chen Fan frowned almost imperceptibly.
"Wang Zhenyue has come in person." Qin Zhan's voice lowered even further. "That old dog brought three Nascent Soul Grand Perfection guest elders, ostensibly to observe the ceremony, but I reckon he's here for you. You killed Wang Teng in the Ten Thousand Demon Valley and obtained the Golden Offering Order in Zhao Kingdom. The Wang family wouldn't dare touch you in the capital, but this grassland isn't the Zhao Kingdom's capital. There are no rules of the Offering Hall here, no protection from the First Prince, only real strength. Wang Zhenyue knows you're also in Ten Thousand Gu City, and he certainly won't let this opportunity slip by."
Wang Zhenyue.
Chen Fan silently repeated the name in his mind.
He was at the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, a minor realm stronger than Wang Zhennan.
Back then, outside the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, the brothers Wang Zhenyue and Wang Zhennan joined forces to ambush him. If Qin Taiyue hadn't intervened, he would have already lost his life on the spot.
Now that Wang Zhenyue has come to the grasslands in person, if they were to encounter each other outside the city, his chances of winning against a peak mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would be almost zero, given his Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivation level.
Chen Fan remained expressionless, only nodding slightly: "Thank you for informing me, Your Highness. I will be careful."
Looking at his unwavering composure in the face of imminent danger, Qin Zhan couldn't help but chuckle wryly. "I'm truly impressed by your audacity. Who is Wang Zhenyue? The head of the Eight Great Families of Yu the Great, a peak-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and you act like you didn't hear a word. Forget it, I'm too lazy to worry about you anymore. In short, be extra careful on this trip to the grasslands. Gu cultivators' methods are inherently unpredictable, and with the Wang family lurking in the shadows, this trip is fraught with danger."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Qin Zhan led the Yu the Great delegation toward the city gate.
Chen Fan then returned to Han Cen and Ouyang Ye's side, and the three of them walked together toward the gate of Wan Gu City.
The city gate is over ten zhang high and is carved from a single piece of black stone. Three huge ancient seal characters are engraved on the lintel!
Wan Gu City.
The characters were twisted and distorted like crawling insects, faintly exuding a chilling aura. Two rows of Gu cultivator guards stood on either side of the city gate, each dressed in dark green leather robes, with insect cages of varying sizes hanging from their waists, their faces sallow, and their eyes sinister.
Their fur robes were embroidered with all sorts of insect patterns, some were scorpions, some were centipedes, and some were a strange multi-legged insect that Chen Fan couldn't name.
The spiritual energy emanating from these guards was completely different from that of righteous cultivators; it carried a sweet, fishy smell that made one want to vomit.
Upon entering the city, the scene before Chen Fan was even more eye-opening.
The architecture within Wan Gu City is completely different from that of the cities in the Zhao Kingdom.
The houses here are mostly built with a mixture of earth, stone and spirit wood. The roofs are not tiles, but a semi-transparent hard shell made of solidified insect wax, which gleams with a dark yellow luster in the sunlight.
Everywhere along the streets, you can see Gu cultivators selling Gu insects at their stalls, which are filled with all kinds of insect cages of all sizes!
There were five-colored venomous spiders, jet-black scorpions, strange snakes with horns on their heads, and several fist-sized, crimson ants frantically gnawing on a monster bone in the cage.
The air was filled with a strange smell that was a mixture of herbs, insects, and blood.
The cultivators coming and going on the street wore various styles of clothing, including leather robes of grassland Gu cultivators, magic robes of Zhao Kingdom cultivators, and black robes of Boundless Sea Demon cultivators. Occasionally, one could also see a few cultivators dressed in the clothing of Great Yan and Great Chu stopping in front of the stalls.
The crowd whispered amongst themselves, haggling over prices, creating a lively atmosphere.
"This is the City of Ten Thousand Gu." Han Cen stroked his beard and looked around, his face full of curiosity. "I read in the ancient books that the City of Ten Thousand Gu is the only city on Tiannan Star that was founded on Gu techniques. There are no fewer than 100,000 Gu cultivators in the city, and millions of Gu worms. Seeing it with my own eyes today, it is indeed well-deserved."
Ouyang Ye frowned, his gaze sweeping over the insect cages on both sides of the street. He said in a hoarse voice, "These Gu worms may look ordinary, but they are all extremely ferocious. I can sense that they are all highly poisonous, some of which may not even be able to withstand the protective spiritual light of a Nascent Soul cultivator. You two must be careful and never touch those insect cages carelessly."
Chen Fan remained silent.
He was sensing the golden cicada in his arms with his divine sense.
Since entering the City of Ten Thousand Gu, the golden cicada had become unusually active, constantly flapping its wings in his sleeve and emitting extremely faint buzzing sounds. The buzzing sound carried an undisguised longing, like a person who had been starving for a long time smelling the aroma of food.
It yearns to devour these Gu worms.
Chen Fan calmed Jin Chan with his divine sense, his face remaining expressionless, but he secretly noted down this discovery in his heart.
The Golden Cicada is the embryonic worm of the Spirit-Devouring Gu, and it has an innate and extremely strong desire to devour spiritual objects rich in spiritual energy. These Gu worms of the grassland Gu cultivators contain a large amount of insect spiritual power within their bodies, which is a great tonic for the Golden Cicada.
Just then, a long, drawn-out horn sounded from ahead.
The horn sounded deep and desolate, like the howl of wolves on the grassland, piercing through the entire Wan Gu City.
As soon as the horn sounded, all the Gu cultivators in the city stopped what they were doing and looked towards the city gate.
A group of people slowly emerged from the palace at the highest point in the city.
Leading the group was an old woman dressed in a dark green robe with insect patterns. Her face was as withered as tree bark. She held a cane woven from countless insect shells, with a fist-sized dark green insect egg embedded at the top. Something was wriggling inside the egg.
Early stage of Nascent Soul cultivation.
The Gu King's messenger, the Gu Woman.
The Gu woman walked to a high platform at the city gate and stood still, raising the insect staff in her hand and gently tapping it.
The entire Wan Gu City fell silent instantly, even the Gu worms trapped in cages stopped their hissing, as if suppressed by some invisible force.
"By order of the Gu King, I have come to announce the rules of this year's Hundred Sects Tournament." The Gu woman's voice was hoarse and grating, like sandpaper rubbing against dry wood, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present. "The Hundred Sects Tournament will officially begin at noon three days from now. The tournament consists of three rounds: Gu Insect Battle, Gu Formation Battle, and Cultivation Arena. Points will be calculated independently for each round, and the person with the highest total points across all three rounds will be the champion, receiving the Heavenly Gu Token personally bestowed by the Gu King, enjoying the privileges of being a patron of the Ten Thousand Gu City, free passage through the thirty-seven tribes of the grasslands, and being gifted one of the three great secret Gu of the grasslands."
As she finished speaking, she slowly scanned the entire area with her cloudy old eyes and continued, "Participants are not limited by background, cultivation method, or level. However, there is one rule: no one is allowed to engage in private combat within the City of Ten Thousand Gu. Anyone who violates this rule will be considered an enemy of the Gu King and will be jointly executed by the thirty-seven tribes of the grasslands. Within three days, you are free to move around the city and may also go to the trading market in the east of the city to purchase Gu insects, pills, and other items. At noon three days later, please gather at the Gu Fighting Square in the center of the city. Latecomers will not be waited for."