Chapter 257: Request for Monthly Tickets!

Chapter 257: Seeking Monthly Votes!

The yellow paper burned.

Yin Meng was filled with loathing. Although she had grown accustomed to repeatedly breaking her bottom line when facing her ancestor, this time, the extent of the transgression was so great, and it had even succeeded, that it made her chest tighten and her mind reel.

At this point, the effects of her previous frequent practices became evident. Though she was dazed, it didn't affect the movements of her hands. The most difficult part had been started; now she just needed to proceed as planned. For Yin Meng, sometimes relying purely on instinct yielded better results.

Zhao Yi yawned, clapped his hands, and deliberately glanced at Tan Wenbin with a relaxed expression. How could Zhao Yi not see through Tan Wenbin's taunting tactic? But it didn't bother him.

Firstly, with a suspected Yu family member appearing above, he needed to find new ways to intervene quickly and accelerate the battle's resolution, while ensuring Run Sheng and the others were in good condition. Secondly, Zhao Yi knew he might have been set up by Tan Wenbin, but the Zhao family of Jiujiang didn't care.

Such sacrifices were not uncommon. There were countless local Earth God temples and unregistered illicit shrines. Many special entities that weren't quite evil spirits nor true deities were very willing to engage in such "equivalent exchanges." This was a kind of tacit, borderline practice, where each got what they needed.

Zhao Yi believed that the entity chosen by Li Zhuiyuan for his subordinates to sacrifice to must be extraordinary, but no matter how extraordinary… its upper limit was probably just that. How much higher could it go?

In fact, when Zhao Yi previously pointed at the two fleshy orbs and asked Yin Meng if she could sacrifice them, Yin Meng was shocked, and Tan Wenbin also felt the shock from Young Master Zhao's disregard for limits. The operation, which even the parties involved had never conceived of, was proposed by Zhao Yi himself. He dug his own pit, jumped into it, and justified it. Tan Wenbin, at most, merely lent a hand to fill in some dirt.

To put it plainly, Zhao Yi was fundamentally confident in how low his bottom line was, but he had never expected that Li could actually create a secret art for this, raising the upper limit so absurdly high!

The two fleshy orbs began to swell rapidly, growing larger and larger. After reaching a certain critical point, dense small holes appeared on them, and then they quickly dried up. Viscous black pus began to seep out, yet there was no foul smell; instead, a refreshing fragrance permeated the air.

Yin Meng hooked her finger, and the gu worm serving as the "primer" flew out. Immediately after, countless crystal-clear, pure white small insects, the size and shape of fingernails, crawled out frantically. Their numbers were immense, and their quality was frighteningly high. Cold sweat streamed down Yin Meng's face, her chest heaved, and the hand seals she formed became slower and slower. This was just the beginning; she hadn't even given specific commands yet, but she already felt a sense of powerlessness. With her current level, she would find it difficult to control this sacrifice.

Zhao Yi: "The effect is really quite good. Who created this secret art, Li?"

Tan Wenbin: "Yes, Brother Xiao Yuan specifically created it for Mengmeng. As you know, besides making poisons and cooking, Mengmeng has always lacked direct combat methods, and this secret art perfectly makes up for that deficiency."

Zhao Yi: "Honestly, Li is really good to you all."

Although creating secret arts wasn't difficult for Li, tailoring one specifically to someone was by no means simple. Sometimes Zhao Yi wondered if Li needed to traverse the rivers at all. He could just take turns living in the ancestral homes of the Qin and Liu families, freely read cultivation manuals and secret texts, and unrestrainedly study the strange sealed items within the residences. If he was bored, he could bring these subordinates with him and create and design cultivation methods and secret arts for them, phase by phase. Twenty years later, even if he emerged from seclusion without lighting the lamp to traverse the rivers, no one in the martial world would dare to underestimate him.

But Li specifically didn't do that. He embarked on traversing the rivers at such a young age. If he were just recklessly arrogant, it would be understandable, but Li had been traversing the rivers for so long, yet the martial world remained quiet about him. One had to know that his own reputation as "Jiujiang Zhao Yi" had already been established, and combining that with Li's "poverty"— Sometimes, Zhao Yi couldn't help but wonder if Li was forced to light the lamp early due to some accident? But lighting the lamp to traverse the rivers required genuine heartfelt acceptance and petition. What kind of existence could cause an accident in that regard? Every time he pondered this, Zhao Yi dared not think further.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz."

The insects began to vibrate their wings. The inner and outer circles of insects started moving like headless chickens, and many had already taken flight on their own. Their wing color shimmered with an eerie white light, and the fragrance grew even stronger.

Zhao Yi finally recognized what kind of insects they were and asked in surprise, "Corpse essence bugs?"

Corpse essence bugs were a more advanced variant of Corpse Beetles. Normally, Corpse Beetles could only be nurtured in high-grade tomb layouts, while the conditions required for the birth of Corpse Essence Bugs were even more stringent; the tomb owner had to have at least a leak of orthodox royal aura to enlighten them.

Zhao Yi looked at the wolfhound currently being attacked by Lin Shuyou and thought: It seems this dog, having followed the Dragon King for a long time, indeed carried a lot of the Dragon King's aura and karma. Its status had become surprisingly high.

Yin Meng: "I can barely hold them back anymore!"

Yin Meng's body began to tremble violently. The consequence of being unable to suppress them was that these corpse essence bugs would immediately scatter and attack all living beings in the vicinity, and Yin Meng, as the original controller, would bear the brunt of it.

Tan Wenbin: "Point them at a target and let them go!"

As a member of the study group, having practiced with Yin Meng for so long, Tan Wenbin also had some insights into this secret art.

Yin Meng immediately manipulated her gu worm, directing it to attack the dog. Led by the gu worm, a swarm of corpse essence bugs also rushed towards the dog.

"Hoo—"

Yin Meng dropped her arms and gasped for breath.

In the distance, True Lord White Crane, who was following procedure to counterattack, suddenly felt a chill down his spine as a strong sense of danger approached. He turned his head to look back, and his vertical pupils immediately constricted in shock! For a moment, True Lord White Crane hesitated, wondering whether he should retreat and avoid them, or if the commander meant for him to continue entangling with this dog, to perish together. If Brother Xiao Yuan were in command, with clear and timely instructions, there would naturally be no such doubts. But precisely because Three Eyes was commanding now, there was a real possibility of petty acts of revenge.

Zhao Yi: "Evacuate!"

The command was somewhat slow, but fortunately, the leading gu worm deliberately veered off, giving True Lord White Crane the chance to calmly withdraw from the battlefield.

Facing the insects that rushed towards it, the dog, without a word, immediately raised its fist and smashed, destroying a large number of them. However, the blood that splattered was absorbed by the surviving corpse essence bugs nearby, causing their bodies to grow larger and their wings to beat even more intensely. Furthermore, because it had been attacked and many of its kind had died, the remaining corpse essence bugs actively focused their hatred on this dog.

Yin Meng's gu worm, seeing its mission complete, immediately changed direction, darted out from the chaotic struggle between the two sides, and returned to Yin Meng's side. The dog continuously swung its fists, continuing to slaughter these corpse essence bugs, but the sense of danger did not diminish; instead, it steadily increased.

Finally, the last seven or eight corpse essence bugs, roughly the size of cats or dogs, reached the dog. The first three voluntarily emitted a trembling hum, then self-destructed. The corpse essence bugs that had been smashed earlier only produced blood, but these larger corpse essence bugs that actively self-destructed contained completely boiling venom, mixed with anger and curses.

It was too late to dodge, and blocking was even more impossible. The dog's body was repeatedly soaked in this venom. Before it could even check itself, the remaining large corpse essence bugs all attached themselves to the dog's humanoid body. Upon contact, the countless tentacles on the corpse essence bugs' abdomens pierced into the dog's body, injecting egg after egg. The dog's body rapidly melted over large areas. It raised its head, letting out a desperate wail.

The Liang sisters were startled by this scene, not by the dog's miserable state, but by the parasitic attack method of the corpse essence bugs. Either you escaped immediately and successfully, or you annihilated all of them in an instant. If even one was missed, they could quickly devour the bodies of their fallen companions and instantly become stronger. This kind of move had already surpassed the level of equally matched duels; it was a true secret art.

Zhao Yi blinked: "This secret art of Li's is really something. I even want to get a copy to learn."

Tan Wenbin: "It's useless for outsiders to learn it."

Zhao Yi: "I can go worship at that illicit shrine too, you know. It's just about establishing a connection and getting a promise."

Tan Wenbin: "Alright, I'll talk to Brother Xiao Yuan when he wakes up. I'll take you to worship then."

Zhao Yi looked at Tan Wenbin and said, "You agreed too readily; there's a problem."

Tan Wenbin laughed: "Any powerful secret art has problems. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Besides, it's already been used, the sacrifice has been made, and that yellow paper has long turned to ash. Why worry about these things now?"

Zhao Yi nodded: "That's true."

Tan Wenbin wasn't in a hurry to tell Zhao Yi who exactly the sacrifice had been for. At this moment, everyone still needed Zhao Yi to command them in facing the immediate and remaining dangers, and they couldn't afford for Young Master Zhao's resolve to break now.

The dog's cries of agony continued. Its already decaying body was accelerating this process, and its body was swelling with abscesses, inside which living creatures were frantically squirming. It was going insane, desperately scratching its own body, but the insect eggs and small insects seemed endless, treating its body as a home for reproduction.

Zhao Yi raised his hand and shouted, "Run Sheng, Liang Li, Liang Yan, Lin Shuyou, press forward with me!" All personnel with close-combat abilities were mobilized by Zhao Yi, charging towards the dog simultaneously, planning to use this opportunity to completely eliminate it.

Tan Wenbin turned to look at Yin Meng. She was still clutching her chest and catching her breath. Perhaps losing control of the insects was secondary; the main reason was the lingering fear. The thought of actually sacrificing a pair of rotting dog testicles to her ancestor… made her feel like she was dreaming.

Tan Wenbin comforted her: "Relax."

Yin Meng nodded hard: "I'm trying."

"Boom!"

The dog was now unable to fight back. Under the onslaught led by Zhao Yi, it was continuously pushed back, and the extent of its bodily decay further intensified. However, just as Zhao Yi thought it was almost over, the dog suddenly lunged forward, its abscesses swelled and burst open. The direction the dog lunged was the area guarded by the Liang sisters. Both the dog's desperate charge and the splashing venom made the Liang sisters instinctively choose to retreat. It was definitely going to die, and it wasn't worth being dragged down as a shield now.

Zhao Yi's eyes immediately widened. He keenly sensed that this was no time to retreat; they had to stop it. But in a flash, it was too late to convey this order. This simply showed that their team's tacit understanding was still insufficient. Although the Liang sisters had somewhat bad tempers, most of the time they were sensible enough to follow his commands. But everything was relative. Earlier, when the corpse essence bugs charged, Lin Shuyou had actually hesitated about whether he should perish with that dog, but the Liang sisters, on the other hand, showed not the slightest hesitation. The difference was evident there.

Zhao Yi merely sighed inwardly. He understood; after all, his method of recruiting powerful external aid midway certainly couldn't compare to those personally nurtured by Li.

The dog, having broken through the encirclement, did not give Zhao Yi and the others a chance to re-form a blockade. It unhesitatingly burrowed into the now empty black pool. By the time Zhao Yi and the others approached, all the broken chains at the bottom of the black pool spontaneously began to writhe, attacking anyone who tried to come near. These were restrictions personally set by the Dragon King back then. Even though they were damaged, they still possessed terrifying power. With the dog hiding inside, Zhao Yi really had no way of getting in.

However, what brought Zhao Yi some comfort was that the effects of the toxins and insects on the dog's body were still active. Having lost its memory, it relied purely on instinct and had no way to solve its physical problems. Hiding here now was like a normal dog hiding in its kennel at home after being beaten and bullied outside. It was just waiting to die down there. But as long as it wasn't dead, Zhao Yi's objective couldn't be considered complete, and they couldn't leave this place. Moreover, if something else happened above, and the people arranged by the Yu family truly came down, they could be attacked from both sides.

"Liang Yan, Liang Li, monitor. The rest of you—" Zhao Yi looked towards Tan Wenbin and shouted, "I remember you know how to recite array formations?"

Li liked to break down complex array formations and spoon-feed them for their deployment. To improve the situation now, they could only set up a high-grade defensive array formation here as a fallback.

Tan Wenbin: "Yes, but it needs to be adapted to the local conditions."

Zhao Yi: "There's no time. Just follow the pattern and set it up first; I'll make modifications later."

"Alright," Tan Wenbin replied, thought for a moment, and called out a number. Having followed Brother Xiao Yuan for so long, they had deployed quite a few array formations. Tan Wenbin had categorized different types of formations and would urge his companions not only to memorize the parts they were responsible for but also to familiarize themselves with another person's steps.

And so, a new round of array formation deployment began. The defensive array formation required for actual combat was less complex than the previous spirit-gathering array but involved a greater workload. Everyone held array flags, inserting and adjusting them. Without Li Zhuiyuan's direct guidance via red threads, they had to proceed in the most rudimentary way. Soon, the scene was filled with sounds resembling the recitation of multiplication tables.

Zhao Yi bit his upper lip. An excellent team wasn't solely focused on combat; what was being displayed now was actually a form of extremely high quality.

The Liang sisters stood by the edge of the pool, watching the dog's movements below. Actually, the area they had been guarding was not in a straight line with the black pool. If the dog had wanted to take the shortest route, it should have charged towards Lin Shuyou's direction, but the dog chose to charge towards them. This was a judgment based on animal instinct: it could sense who was the most formidable and who would fight it to the death. The awkward thing for the two sisters now was that they had been seen through by a dog. If only they had