Chapter 2017: Unexpected Harvest

A profound silence first fell over the scene, as if no one could believe that terrifying creature had died just like that.

It wasn't until the ghastly green sky ripped open and sunlight once again streamed down, bathing them in its warmth, that everyone erupted into a tumultuous, earth-shattering cheer.

"Sect Master Yun's cultivation transcends the heavens, unrivaled under the sky!"

"Sect Master Yun, eternal and everlasting, unifies the martial world!"

"Sect Master Yun, peerless in both civil and martial virtues, bestows benevolence upon all living beings!"

Everyone offered sincere praise, even those who had been in opposing factions just moments before. Faced with such a terrifying demonic insect from another world, all humans instinctively aligned themselves; what did their usual grudges matter then?

Hearing the diverse torrent of flattery, Zu An couldn't help but smile. Everyone in the Demonic Sect was talented and spoke so pleasantly; he truly loved it here.

Having just risked experiencing the Mother Demonic Worm's berserk attacks, he had not only learned some of its special skills but also gathered specific data.

Normally, the Mother Demonic Worm was not as strong as the War Priest he had encountered earlier in Purple Mountain. However, its power seemed to grow rapidly with each offspring it reproduced.

For instance, its final attack earlier had been so powerful that even the manifested Pure Buddhist Bell couldn't withstand it; at that moment, its strength had increased by nearly five times.

If it had continued to reproduce a few more offspring, he might not have been able to endure it himself.

He just wondered if there was a limit to its reproduction, or if there was a time constraint between each birthing.

At this moment, he felt warm currents coursing through his meridians, and his entire being seemed to grow stronger.

He knew this was the effect of the Gluttonous Devouring Heaven Art and the Kun Peng's Devouring Power. He had just killed the Mother Demonic Worm, which had reproduced and split into a host of offspring, including powerful figures like Lu San Yuan and Chi Fu Zi. When they were all finally killed as a combined entity, it was equivalent to absorbing the cultivation of everyone.

He checked his system's experience bar and found that he was now at the peak of Level 75.

He couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. According to his previous growth rate, he should have reached Level 76 by now, so why was he still at the peak of Level 75?

He had a faint realization that even if he killed and absorbed the cultivation of more powerful enemies, he probably wouldn't be able to break through to Level 76. It seemed this was likely the limitation of this world.

According to the information he had gathered from exploring various secret realms, the strength of a world's origin determined the maximum height cultivators in that world could reach.

Clearly, compared to the Daoist Sect's secret realm and the Demon Clan's Xia Dynasty secret realm, the origin of this world was somewhat weaker.

No wonder Zhao Hao had been unable to break through to the Earth Immortal realm for decades.

It seemed he would only be able to break through in more powerful worlds from now on.

Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he went to the spot where the Mother Demonic Worm had been killed. From the ground, he picked up a ball the size of a ping-pong ball, but its surface was uneven and lumpy, like a tumor.

He could clearly see that the item seemed to have fallen from the Mother Demonic Worm's body.

He had just been concerned that the Mother Demonic Worm was too infectious; if anything were left behind, it might infect and demonize other normal humans. Thus, he hadn't dared to leave any alive to interrogate for information, opting instead to utterly annihilate it the moment he attacked.

In the face of such destructive power, even the Mother Demonic Worm's main body had been reduced to ashes, yet this item remained perfectly intact, clearly no ordinary object.

Just then, Mi Li's slightly excited voice rang out: "This is a Mother Insect Gall!"

"Is it very precious?" Zu An was momentarily stunned, noticing her tone.

"Of course, it's very precious. Even among a thousand Mother Demonic Worms, not one might condense such an Insect Gall. You can understand this item as a type of divine spark or a bloodline aptitude. If a Mother Demonic Worm had condensed this, then under normal development, it would highly likely evolve into a Mother Demonic Worm Queen, becoming the leader of the insect race. I just didn't expect it to perish in your hands midway."

"Is this only useful for the insect race?" Zu An instantly felt a pang of frustration. He couldn't possibly turn into an insect, let alone become an insect queen. And given the appearance of that demonic worm, it clearly wasn't something he could keep as a pet. Thus, such a precious item was practically useless in his hands.

"It's not entirely useless," Mi Li replied after a moment's thought. "I've heard that when humans use this item, they can, much like the demonic worms gain strength based on the number of offspring they reproduce, stack power onto their techniques by killing enemies. However, once that technique is unleashed, this Insect Gall will shatter and vanish. It's essentially a one-time consumable, not as useful as it would be in the hands of those demonic worms."

"That's not useless at all!" Zu An exclaimed, astonished. "If killing enemies can stack power onto my techniques, then if I just keep accumulating these stacks to thousands or tens of thousands of layers, wouldn't I be invincible? Even if I encounter an existence far stronger than me, I could just instantly kill them with one move!"

"You wish," Mi Li scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's not just any enemy you kill that allows you to stack power. You must kill an existence stronger than yourself to successfully gain a stack."

Zu An: "..."

"Aren't those conditions a bit too harsh? When facing an existence stronger than yourself, it's good enough just to preserve your life, let alone talk about killing them."

"Of course, it's harsh for ordinary people, but true powerhouses don't fear disparities in strength. They always find ways to kill those beyond their level," Mi Li explained. "For example, the War Priest you killed in Purple Mountain, and even this Mother Demonic Worm, their true strength was actually superior to yours. However, because they were limited by the world's barrier, they couldn't fight you in their complete form in this world. So, you have already successfully killed existences stronger than yourself."

As she spoke, Mi Li let out another laugh: "Besides, which of the enemies you've encountered over the years wasn't stronger than you?"

Zu An paused, realizing she had a point. Indeed, over the years, he had almost constantly been battling various powerful existences. Just like in those web novels he read in his previous life, what kind of protagonist couldn't challenge opponents beyond their level?

However, the only problem was that his current strength was too immense. Finding enemies stronger than him in this world would likely not be as easy as before.

Placing the Mother Insect Gall into the Glazed Treasure Pearl, Zu An couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The insect race's method of reproduction and division doesn't seem to adhere to the law of conservation of energy."

Normally, reproduction and division require the consumption of the mother's energy, so the more it reproduces, the weaker the mother should become. Yet, this demonic worm did the opposite: the more it reproduced, the stronger its power became.

"The law of conservation of energy?" Mi Li pondered for a moment. "From the name, it sounds like a theory from a technological civilization. However, the universe is vast, and there are many things that technological civilizations currently cannot explain."

Zu An nodded slightly. Many things he had encountered since coming to this cultivation world were indeed unexplainable by his previous scientific understanding. Of course, it was also possible that technological civilizations simply hadn't yet figured out the underlying principles; if they did, they could also explain them in scientific terms.

At this moment, Heaven and Earth Venerable, Carefree Venerable, and the various Demonic Sect elders all came forward to pay their respects. Mi Li yawned, "Boring. I'm going back to sleep."

After speaking, there was no further sound from her.

Zu An was filled with regret. He and Mi Li were rarely together these days; she seemed to be evading the detection of some entity while simultaneously gathering power, but unfortunately, she couldn't tell him why.

"Master," Qiu Honglei subtly tugged his sleeve, signaling that the sect members were still kneeling.

Zu An snapped back to reality and saw the crowd still kneeling fearfully on the ground. It seemed they believed he was going to hold them accountable for their previous betrayal.

Because of the recent battle, "Yun Jianyue's" prestige had reached its pinnacle, and not a single person on the scene dared to harbor thoughts of resistance.

"Honglei, I'll leave this for you to handle." Zu An was not familiar with the inner workings of the Demonic Sect and didn't recognize many people; dealing with them might easily expose his disguise. It would be a pity to waste the prestige he had painstakingly earned for Sister Yun. Moreover, he now had a more important task: rescuing Yun Jianyue.

"Yes, Master!" Qiu Honglei also wanted to go with him but knew that someone had to stay behind to clean up the aftermath.

Soon, a series of orders for rewards and punishments were issued. Those who had finally stood with their master and disciple would certainly be greatly promoted. Those who had betrayed were also punished, but these punishments were all within an acceptable range, so everyone was convinced and compliant.

Moreover, with the recent upheaval, high-ranking figures like Lu San Yuan and Chi Fu Zi, along with their trusted aides, were dead. Even Fang Long, who had evaded the initial crisis, was later brutalized and killed by the demonic worms, just like his father. A large number of positions had opened up, giving everyone the motivation to strive. Everyone admired Qiu Honglei's fair handling, thinking to themselves that a celestial figure like the Saintess was destined to be the next Sect Master, a position that a toad like Fang Long could never hope to attain.

After leaving Yin-Yang Dao, Zu An quickly reverted to his original appearance, removing and discarding the two "large pears" from his chest. He immediately felt refreshed.

He extended his divine sense to cover the entire Chou Chi area and soon discovered Zhang Zitong's whereabouts.

After a moment's thought, he put on his Embroidered Envoy mask again and swiftly flew, soon arriving near her location. It was a secluded, desolate, and ancient-looking villa, appearing to have been abandoned for a long time.

Seeing his arrival, Zhang Zitong jumped down from a nearby tree, her face filled with surprise and delight. However, seeing his attire, she looked a little confused: "My lord, you're finally here. Huh, there's no need to impersonate that person anymore?"

Zu An hummed in affirmation: "No need."

Zhang Zitong hesitated, on the verge of speaking. To openly move about in the Demonic Sect's headquarters dressed as an Embroidered Envoy—her lord truly had a big heart! If the Demonic Sect discovered them, they would probably be doomed.

"Something major seemed to have happened at Yin-Yang Dao just now; terrifying battle aftershocks kept coming. I was worried you were caught in it, but I didn't dare disobey your orders to leave this place."

"You did very well," Zu An nodded. "Is it hidden here?"

Zhang Zitong hummed: "Yes. Earlier, following your orders, I indeed discovered that Lu San Yuan sent his direct disciple, Ding Xia, to investigate. I followed him all the way here and watched as he lingered and inspected this screen wall for a long time before finally leaving with a sigh of relief."

Zu An approached the screen wall she mentioned. It was the kind of screen wall commonly found in many siheyuan courtyards, the only difference being that the wall was exceptionally smooth, as if made of some kind of jade. One could even see their reflection in it; if polished a bit more, it would suffice as a mirror.

He scanned it with his gaze, and a faint smile gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth: "So that's how it is!"