Chapter 733: Blood and Flesh Filling

Chapter 726: Flesh and Blood Filling

It was like a set of matryoshka dolls.

But since Zhu Ernian’s true form was singular, how could it command five other exuviae to act in coordination?

Hold on, that's not right. He clearly remembered Zhu Ernian only having four exuviae in the demon lair. Where did this fifth one come from?

As he looked at Zhu Ernian again with this question in mind, he suddenly noticed it was... slenderer than when it was in the demon lair.

It had shrunk by a full size.

Before He Lingchuan could voice his question, Zhu Ernian had already charged forward!

Its target was undoubtedly Zhu Danian.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui instinctively stepped aside. Zhu Danian, having reverted to her original size, jabbed her two foreclaws into the ground: “Stop.”

The ground trembled violently from this action, and sure enough, Zhu Ernian stopped in front of her.

The immortal exuviae was larger than all the other exuviae, and Zhu Ernian had to look up at it.

“I took great risks to bring the immortal exuviae back to you,” Zhu Danian said slowly. “You must also honor our agreement.”

Dong Rui, listening in, thought she was referring to the perilous adventure of fighting the Sky God in Xu Mountain. In reality, from the moment Zhu Danian’s soul left her sister and was temporarily stored/sealed in the ancient ocarina, she was taking a huge risk.

Whether He Lingchuan would go to Beijia, when he would arrive at Lingxu City, and whether he could ultimately find the immortal exuviae and play the ancient ocarina, all were fraught with uncertainty.

Even He Lingchuan himself, who had just left the demon lair at the time, had no answers to these questions, so how could Zhu Danian?

For an ancient demon immortal like her, ‘uncertainty’ was the greatest risk.

Yet, she accepted the conditions set by Zhu Ernian and followed He Lingchuan, even though the chances of success for this journey were minuscule.

Conversely, high risk must correspond to high reward. Now, she was demanding her recompense.

The world of demon immortals was just that pragmatic.

Zhu Ernian turned her head, waved a claw at the smallest exuviae, and said, “This is the shell I just shed; it’s yours.”

He Lingchuan understood immediately. No wonder Zhu Ernian herself looked smaller again; she had recently shed her skin once more, leaving the freshest shell for her elder sister.

Zhu Danian was displeased: “It’s so small!”

“A smaller one is more suitable for your use.”

That made sense. After all, Zhu Ernian’s previous exuviae were difficult to control in the current spiritual energy environment.

Zhu Danian fell silent, then looked at her sister and commanded, “Scatter!”

Immediately, an opening appeared on the forehead of this exuviae, and then, with a whoosh, countless burrowing spiders poured out from within!

This scene was strikingly similar to boiling water overflowing from a pot, except what overflowed were Zhu Ernian’s descendants.

Even though He Lingchuan and Dong Rui were seasoned individuals who had witnessed the grand eruption of Xu Mountain, seeing this firsthand still made their scalps tingle, and they couldn’t help but step back two paces.

He Lingchuan finally understood why the exuviae could move.

Zhu Ernian stuffed all her offspring into the exuviae, using some unknown method to control them to move in perfect unison.

While this method was incomprehensible to humans, it actually achieved two goals at once: it moved the exuviae, and it allowed her to relocate her offspring without swarms of spiders following her everywhere she went.

Her descendants numbered in the tens of thousands; once they migrated, the sight was exceptionally grand, and long-distance treks could easily alarm local inhabitants.

So, the other exuviae probably used the same technique. He Lingchuan had just been wondering where all her numerous offspring had gone.

Did Zhu Ernian use this method for her various major migrations, from Panlong Barrenlands to Beijia, and then from Beijia to the demon lair?

Otherwise, those large exuviae would be extremely difficult to move.

Once the burrowing spiders inside the smallest exuviae had completely dispersed, Zhu Ernian pushed out a remarkably large white cocoon from under her belly. It was almost half a person tall, and she carefully placed it into the empty exuviae.

He Lingchuan noticed that the cocoon wriggled continuously, as if something was growing inside or trying to escape.

“The flesh and blood filling begins now. It will take at least seventy days, and at most ninety days, to complete,” Zhu Ernian said, walking over and gently touching heads with Zhu Danian. “Come back now; your spirit must be very tired.”

No sooner had she spoken than a wisp of white smoke emerged from Zhu Danian’s eyes and mouth, floating erratically into Zhu Ernian’s mouth.

The sisters had lived together since ancient times, sharing a single body, so returning was second nature for Zhu Danian.

It seemed Zhu Ernian was very trustworthy and wouldn't go back on her promises. Zhu Danian felt assured in returning the immortal exuviae to her. Just as her sister said, she had endured traveling with the immortal exuviae for over twenty days; although she had periods of rest, her spirit was genuinely exhausted and urgently needed a long period of immersive recuperation.

Three months might be just the right amount of time.

He Lingchuan pointed at the exuviae and asked, “Is this flesh and blood regeneration?”

“Precisely. This is a unique secret technique of our kind, which can transform specific egg sacs into flesh and organs, gradually filling the entire exuviae,” Zhu Ernian explained, pointing at the immortal exuviae. “This is different from the forced growth of flesh before escaping Xu Mountain; there will be no lingering issues.”

When He Lingchuan played the ancient ocarina, the situation was extremely critical, and Zhu Danian directly induced the remaining spider eggs within the immortal exuviae to generate flesh and blood to fill it. However, this emergency measure couldn’t last long; after a certain period, the flesh and nerves would atrophy.

Zhu Ernian’s current method, however, was steady and reliable.

“My elder sister helped me retrieve the immortal exuviae, so according to our agreement, I must give her an exuviae. In three months, the flesh, nerves, and organs within this exuviae will be fully grown, becoming a normal body of flesh and blood. She will then be able to use it without any impediment and can continue her cultivation.”

Dong Rui couldn’t help but ask, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you give it to her before?”

Zhu Ernian snorted, too lazy to respond to him.

It seemed there were still some unknown secrets between the two sisters.

He Lingchuan had previously persuaded Zhu Danian to accompany him after completing the mission.

The advantages of having an ancient, experienced individual with him were self-evident.

He had originally thought this persuasion would be very difficult, believing old-timers were stubborn. To his surprise, Zhu Danian readily agreed, stating that she had nowhere good to go anyway. After regaining a body, it would be inconvenient for her to live with her sister, as one mountain cannot hold two tigers, and one nest cannot accommodate two ancestors.

Zhu Ernian was also unwilling to let her share control of the burrow, so Zhu Danian’s departure was a foregone conclusion.

Only Zhu Danian would be so straightforward, explaining the full backstory without any pretense.

Zhu Danian could only accompany them after the exuviae’s flesh and blood had been completely reshaped, which would take three months from now.

“Come on, let’s tidy up the place,” He Lingchuan said, stretching, to Dong Rui. “While Zhu Ernian is remolding the exuviae, we can go somewhere else. Didn’t you say you know Xiunyang Sandbar like the back of your hand, as if it were your own kitchen?”

“Of course. Though my home doesn’t have a kitchen,” Dong Rui replied without objection, merely taking heavy steps towards the deserted village.

Having ridden the snail-toad for such a long journey, both mentally and physically exhausted, he had become noticeably thinner. At this moment, he was the one who most needed rest.

(End of chapter)