Chapter 316: Lurking Race

The latest ranking of God-Emperors in Yulan City places God-Emperor Luofeng at number 33. Although the Insectoid Nest retreated from God-Emperor Luofeng, Luofeng had not engaged in any public battles to definitively prove his immense strength. Therefore, the 33rd ranking was considered fitting for his reputation.

Various factions in Yulan City expected Luofeng to make moves to seize more benefits within the city. However, Luofeng remained very low-key and showed no interest in vying for advantages.

Inside a normal cave mansion in the inner city, five practitioners were gathered.

"This God-Emperor Luofeng forced Elder Saruo of the Insectoid Nest to compensate him with a hundred million Chaos Crystals. His strength is probably no less than that of the Insectoid Nest Lord!"

"A single compensation payment amounts to a hundred million Chaos Crystals."

"Indeed, for a powerful figure like God-Emperor Luofeng, earning Chaos Crystals is too easy, while we have to risk our lives for them,"

"Last time we went hunting, the five of us together only managed to hunt prey worth over nine million Chaos Crystals. We even encountered a low-level Chaos Life form chasing us and barely escaped with our lives!" The five practitioners lamented as they chatted.

"Brother Zhang, why have you called us together this time?"

"According to what we discussed earlier, we weren't planning to hunt for the next ten thousand epochs."

These practitioners had no avatars, so every time they went hunting, they had to be extremely cautious. Even a slight mistake could cost them their lives.

"Of course, I didn't gather you for hunting; it's for a great piece of good news!" A thin man chuckled. With his laughter, an invisible wave instantly enveloped two of the practitioners present. This invisible wave was a mental intrusion!

The two affected practitioners were mid-stage God-Emperor bloodline practitioners, whose mental willpower was inherently influenced by their bloodline. The mental intrusion at that moment was bizarre and unpredictable; they felt a flood of jumbled memories surface, losing all sense of who they were. This lasted only a few breaths. The two practitioners' expressions of pain then returned to normal.

"Haha, two more physical bodies!" the thin man immediately transmitted mentally.

"These practitioners are far inferior to us in mental techniques! We were born outside the cage; this 'Heart-Bewitching Secret Art' is an innate secret art. How could they compare to it!"

Among the five practitioners present, only two were actually low-level Chaos Life forms, controlling the others with split minds.

"I heard the leader say there's an operation coming up soon, and we should be more discreet!" "Don't worry about it. The leader cares about the mid-to-high levels of our race. As for us low-level ones... the leader doesn't really bother with us, and we're not much use in a major operation anyway."

"True!" The two low-level Chaos Life forms communicated mentally. Low-level Chaos Life races have always been like this, with strict hierarchies.

"The leader completely disregards our kin at the early-stage God-Emperor level! Even those at the mid-stage God-Emperor level still have relatively low status!"

"Only by reaching the late-stage God-Emperor cultivation level will we gain the leader's regard!"

"We've already killed several practitioners. The more we kill, the more likely we are to expose ourselves! Yulan City's defense system is very complex, even monitoring every practitioner. We won't be exposed in the short term, but over time, we will be."

"Then let's hunt as quickly as possible! The more practitioners we hunt, the more likely we are to achieve a breakthrough! As long as we break through and our bloodline evolves, even if we lose some avatars, it will be a huge gain for us!"

"But if we lose too many avatars before our bloodline evolves, that would be a loss!"

"Continue looking for prey!"

Immediately, two practitioners left the cave mansion and casually strolled through the city. Like most practitioners, they flew around, visiting shops, showing no signs of anything amiss.

Luofeng was currently in seclusion for cultivation. Although he wasn't specifically pursuing the Path of Life and Death of the late-stage God-Emperor, Luofeng's accumulations were growing deeper. Some of his secret arts, like the "Indestructible Blood Sea Body" and "Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death," had also evolved to new levels.

The Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death on Luofeng's forehead had become far more profound internally than before. The mysteries within the secret treasure 'Eye of Life and Death' were originally the mysteries of combining life and death. As Luofeng comprehended more and more of the essence of "life and death combination," his understanding of the Eye of Life and Death naturally deepened. This secret art also became even more formidable.

Luofeng's Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death naturally saw through the cave mansion's array formation, observing the vast Yulan City. Yulan City's colorful and varied defense systems, under Luofeng's observation, revealed countless interwoven secret patterns operating in unison. These defense systems, under the city's overall command, functioned as one integrated entity.

Luofeng then saw the countless practitioners within Yulan City. Under his long-distance observation, the physical bodies of many weaker practitioners held no secrets; he could perceive many life mysteries. With just a glance, the cultivation systems, strengths, and physical mysteries of most practitioners could not escape Luofeng's perception.

However, the most secretive souls, protected by their physical bodies, were less clear to Luofeng. In his observation, these protected souls appeared like blurry clusters of light.

"My Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death has advanced another level; it can now vaguely perceive practitioners' souls!" Luofeng thought to himself that before this, he hadn't been able to vaguely observe practitioners' souls. Every practitioner's protection of their own soul was the most stringent.

"Hmm?" Luofeng suddenly noticed two particular souls! Within both of those souls, worm-like creatures were hidden.

"This is...?" Luofeng recognized them at once: they were from the Heart-Bewitching Worm race.

Among low-level Chaos Life forms, there were three known races capable of bypassing the defensive systems of Nine Rivers Holy Realm cities and infiltrating them. These were the Soul-Devouring Serpent race, the Heart-Bewitching Worm race, and the Void Wanderer race. The Soul-Devouring Serpent race and the Heart-Bewitching Worm race were more numerous and common. The Void Wanderer race was extremely rare, appearing only a handful of times in the Nine Rivers Holy Realm.

"The Heart-Bewitching Worm race specializes in one innate secret art called 'Sense Heart.' With just this one ability, those with weak mental willpower are directly controlled at the soul level, completely defenseless!" Luofeng also understood the intelligence on this race: "A Heart-Bewitching Worm can be considered a mother worm, capable of splitting into individual child worms! It's said they can split into as many as nineteen child worms!"

Luofeng immediately and quietly left his cave mansion, his Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death remotely fixed on the two practitioners controlled by the Heart-Bewitching Worms. Having discovered low-level Chaos Life forms infiltrating the city, Luofeng naturally wouldn't let them go.

"Even with Yulan City's numerous defense systems, it's only through subtle clues that signs of infiltrators can barely be detected," Luofeng mused. "However, my Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death can peer into the souls of more practitioners and uncover their traces. In terms of observation methods within Yulan City, it should be among the best!" In terms of realm, Luofeng was already at the highest level in Yulan City. His Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death secret art was indeed comprehended using the secret treasure "Eye of Life and Death" as a template. It could now truly be called unparalleled in Yulan City.

"Sister Yingtang, I just found some fine wine. Would you like to come to my cave mansion to taste it?" These two practitioners soon invited friends, specifically two female practitioners. Both female practitioners happily agreed. Yulan City had strict laws, and it was generally very safe. Gatherings among lower-level practitioners in the city were also common.

Luofeng, following from a distance, frowned slightly. "I had planned to follow these two practitioners to find more Heart-Bewitching Worm avatars!" Luofeng shook his head slightly. "Never mind. I can't just stand by and watch that innocent female practitioner die."

The two practitioners, accompanied by the two female practitioners, entered the cave mansion together. The cave mansion was protected by an array formation, which somewhat obstructed Luofeng's Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death. However, he could still see the four figures through the array. It was just that with the array's obstruction, Luofeng couldn't see the souls of the four figures.

"Act!" Luofeng didn't delay. His figure instantly transformed into a bloody light, forcibly piercing through the array formation and entering the cave mansion!

Cave mansions in Yulan City were officially rented out. Aside from any additional formations set up by residents, these mansions had an original, basic array. This original array was connected to Yulan City's overall defense system. Once a cave mansion's array formation was attacked, Yulan City's defensive network would detect it.

The moment Luofeng forcibly pierced through the array formation, Yulan City's defense system naturally detected it, and an invisible wave began to envelop the area.

Inside the cave mansion!

"I'm eager to taste what fine wine you've found!" the two female practitioners said with smiles.

"It will definitely satisfy both of you!" The "practitioners" (the Heart-Bewitching Worms) also smiled brightly.

Suddenly, all four of them sensed something: a terrifying bloody light forcibly pierced through the array formation, completely undisguised!

"Who dares to forcibly break into a cave mansion's array formation within Yulan City?" The two female practitioners exclaimed in shock!

"Oh no!" The two Heart-Bewitching Worm-possessed practitioners knew something was wrong. But the terrifying bloody light instantly swept over them both!

The 'Indestructible Blood Sea Body,' which had evolved to its latest level, was even more terrifying than the Insectoid Nest Lord's Insectoid Nest Body. In an instant, the two Heart-Bewitching Worm practitioners turned into corpses!

The bloody light transformed into Luofeng's figure, and in his hand, Luofeng held the two Heart-Bewitching Worm child worms. The two female practitioners nearby finally became terrified. One was an early-stage God-Emperor insight practitioner, and the other was a mid-stage God-Emperor bloodline practitioner! Against even slightly more powerful Heart-Bewitching Worms, they would have been completely defenseless. The Heart-Bewitching Worms had only one innate secret art, "Sense Heart." If one could resist it, they lived; if not, they were controlled and effectively dead.

Luofeng looked at the two Heart-Bewitching Worms and instantly crushed them to dust, leaving no trace of life. Two shrill mental screams resonated, but they didn't affect Luofeng in the slightest.

After eliminating the two child worms, the karmic connection between Luofeng and the "true bodies" behind these two worms greatly increased!

"Brother Luofeng, thank you for eliminating two low-level Chaos Life forms that had infiltrated Yulan City," a voice echoed from afar; clearly, Yulan City's defense system had also detected everything.

Luofeng paid it no mind. His Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death on his forehead was observing carefully.

"I see them!" Luofeng's Bio-Mimicry Eye of Life and Death on his forehead saw two much thicker and clearer karmic lines. These two karmic lines extended far into the distance, and each had several branches!

In an instant, Luofeng split into nine streaks of bloody light, each following a different branch of the karmic lines, pursuing distinct targets!