Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 12 The Storm Is Brewing

"A blood pact?" Ruoshui was taken aback. "A mere plaything deserves to sign a blood pact? Can Yuwen Zhao's life essence withstand such depletion?"

Zhou Li lay on the wall, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. Although he had gained spiritual intelligence, he still had only a superficial understanding of many common knowledge in the cultivation world.

Then Gu Siwei's voice was even lower: "Not only that, Young Master Yuwen also specially sought out Soul Jade from the Imperial Spirit Pavilion at a high price in order to cultivate that centipede."

"Soul Jade?!" Ruoshui suddenly stood up. "The Soul Jade, which is said to allow one to control spirit beasts at will?"

"...That's right."

Ruoshui's expression changed. Tianchi Peak specializes in beast taming and is most knowledgeable about this kind of soul-mind secret technique.

She had heard her father mention the name Soul Jade since she was a child. The Spirit Pavilion has stood the test of time precisely because of the method of refining Soul Jade. It is a closely guarded secret of the Spirit Pavilion, and each piece is priceless.

"This Yuwen Zhao is truly obsessed. Soul Jade is extremely difficult to make, yet he bought it to gamble with. Has his Yuwen family become so wealthy?"

Then, as if remembering something, Ruoshui hurriedly asked, "Has the Soul Jade been fused yet?"

Gu Siwei nodded silently.

"This is terrible," Ruoshui said bitterly. "Once the Soul Jade is fused, it's virtually impossible to remove unless the host dies. Senior Sister Gu doesn't understand, but doesn't Yuwen Zhao, who comes from a family of beast tamers, understand this too?"

She explained to Gu Siwei, "The Soul Jade includes the Spirit Pivot Jade and the Spirit Binding Crystal. The Spirit Pivot Jade merges with its master and can transmit thoughts; the Spirit Binding Crystal merges with the spirit beast and is used to force the spirit beast to obey the master's commands."

As Ruoshui spoke, she paced back and forth: "Currently, the Spirit Pivot Jade is inside Yuwen Zhao's body, and the Spirit Binding Crystal is inside that centipede. If the centipede is still alive, Yuwen Zhao can control it using the Soul Jade, but if the centipede is dead..."

"What will happen?"

Ruoshui slowly said, "Without the nourishment of blood and qi, the spirit-binding crystal inside the centipede will eventually dissipate, and Yuwen Zhao's soul essence will be damaged."

Gu Siwei gasped.

Although she didn't understand Soul Jade, she wasn't stupid. This was a crucial matter for cultivation, and Yuwen Zhao would never give up easily.

Gu Siwei said hoarsely, "Young Master Yuwen is obsessed with the game of chess, willing to pay any price for a single victory. What should we do..."

Ruoshui suddenly slapped her forehead: "Wait a minute, since the centipede is connected to Yuwen Zhao by a soul jade, he should be able to sense the centipede's location. Why doesn't he come to find it himself, instead of making you, an outsider, go through all this trouble?"

Gu Siwei lowered her head: "I...have not yet dared to mention this matter to Young Master Yuwen."

"Senior Sister Gu, are you foolish! The matter of the Soul Jade is extremely important, how dare you hide it from him?"

Realizing she had spoken too harshly, Ruoshui grasped Gu Siwei's hand and said softly, "Take my advice and tell him quickly, there might still be a chance for things to turn around."

Gu Siwei raised her head, her eyes already glistening with tears: "You know Young Master Yuwen's temper. If he finds out I lost his Soul Jade, I wonder how he'll react. I was thinking of finding it first, and then quietly returning it..."

"My dear senior sister, that centipede contains a spirit-binding crystal. How dare we let the golden toad go looking for it? If it accidentally swallows and absorbs it, wouldn't my father's precious child become Yuwen Zhao's spirit pet? In my opinion, you should go find Yuwen Zhao now and explain the whole story."

At this point, Ruoshui simply pulled Gu Siwei onto the cloud boat: "Alright, alright, I'll go with my senior sister, and I'll make sure you don't suffer any losses."

…………

Under the scorching sun, the six legs of the Zhou ritual implement were completely stiff and cold.

From the moment the two women leaped off the cloud boat until they hurriedly left, only half an incense stick's time had passed, but Zhou Li's heart had already sunk to the bottom.

Spirit-binding crystal...

It turns out that the black crystal was not a demon core, but the Soul Jade Binding Crystal of the Spirit Control Pavilion!

He actually swallowed the Spirit Binding Crystal.

It also...absorbed and fused?

Zhou Liling's spiritual senses sank into his body. He could feel that there seemed to be something foreign in his mind, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

As Ruoshui said, once the Soul Jade is fused, it is extremely difficult to remove unless the host dies.

This is terrible...

The centipede is dead, and the Spirit-Binding Crystal is now ownerless.

Before the soul power of the Binding Crystal dissipated, it was absorbed and fused by Zhou Li. Now, he himself has become the spirit pet of this damned Yuwen Zhao.

What will Yuwen Zhao do?

Should we forcefully activate the Spirit Pivot Jade to control Zhou Li and make him play the Chess Insect Game? Or should we personally climb Purple Cloud Peak, dissect his brain, and extract the Spirit Binding Crystal?

Either way, it's a dead end.

Zhou Li slowly returned to his lair, forcing himself to calm down and carefully analyzing his current situation.

First, from Gu Siwei's words, we can tell that Yuwen Zhao is unaware that the centipede has been lost, so he still has time.

Secondly, Yuwen Zhao may not be able to find himself. Although Ruoshui said that Yuwen Zhao could sense the location of the spirit pet, the Soul Jade has changed hands, and it is still unknown whether he can continue to sense it.

Finally, although Senior Brother Lu Changye is still in seclusion, he values ​​me highly. If I stay by Senior Brother's side, I might be able to handle things.

After much thought, Zhou Li felt that things hadn't reached the worst point yet.

The most urgent task is not to panic, but to improve our own strength as soon as possible, in order to have a chance of survival.

Zhou Li lay in the quiet room, contemplating his path of cultivation.

Human cultivators naturally have supernatural abilities and spells to aid them in battle.

As for myself, an ant, I accidentally learned the method of Qi cultivation. Apart from relying on my bloodline talent to temper my body by breathing in and out spiritual energy, where can I obtain the method of combat?

Perhaps, one could try combining spiritual power with the body's innate bloodline talent, just as venomous fangs are to snakes, and sharp claws are to tigers and leopards...

What genetic or innate qualities do ants possess?

palate...

These weapons had proven their worth in previous battles, but when facing the red-headed centipede, they nearly lost because their upper jaws were too weak to penetrate its armor.

wing……

Zhou Li suddenly remembered the mantis he had seen earlier that rode the wind, and his thoughts gradually became clearer.

"The upper jaw is for offense, and the wings are for escape. One is for offense, and the other is for defense; one can fight when advancing, and one can save one's life when retreating."

Having decided on these two directions in his mind, Zhou Li stopped thinking about it and began to slowly exhale and inhale using the Qi-guiding technique.

Spiritual energy, like silk threads, converged from all directions, gathering towards Zhou Li's palate and wings, and finally flowing into his dantian.

Several days later, Zhou Li awoke from his meditation.

His upper jaw and wings have undergone slight changes.

Unlike the dark gold carapace, the tip of the upper jaw is a dark amber color, while the base is as black as ink spreading out.

Unlike the mandibles, the wings have more robust, translucent veins, and a faint emerald green even appears on the surface of the wing membrane, appearing and disappearing with the flapping of the wings.

Before Zhou Li could examine the matter closely, his senses detected something unusual about his surroundings.

The ant colony began to scurry back and forth in the nest, and a heavy, oppressive feeling filled the air, as if the entire sky was sinking.

The torrential rain that had been building up for a month was finally coming.

The rain hasn't arrived yet, but the wind has already come.