Chapter 226: Metamorphosis – Earth Evasion Technique

Blood Butterfly Meat Pool. Withered trees swayed in the gloom.

From the cracked gray cocoon, a woman with butterfly wings on her back crawled out. Her eyes were closed, but her lower body remained in the form of a caterpillar, half of her body writhing on the ground as she propped herself up with her hands, rising like a serpent.

She—or rather, it—had wings still creased and not yet fully unfurled. The tender tips of the wings were streaked with cloudy, whitish-gray mucus, like the pus that oozes from melting flesh.

Inside the gray cocoon were several corpses. Other caterpillars scrambled to crawl inside, spinning silk to wrap themselves up, forming smaller cocoons within the larger one.

A seductive smile spread across its beautiful face as its bloated insect body slithered toward Lian Mu.

Lian Mu felt her eyes sting at the sight. She gripped her sword tightly. There was no escape—the withered trees had sealed off the area completely. She had no choice but to confront it in this confined space.

It opened its blood-red lips, as if smeared with fresh gore, and rasped out hoarse words: “You… sinner… obstruct… rebirth!”

Lian Mu could barely make out its meaning. She had slashed open its cocoon with a single strike, but it hadn’t fully matured yet.

If it was a crippled Demonic Creature, maybe it would be easier to deal with?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, it twitched its nose and sniffed the air. A look of surprise flashed in its eyes. “You… carry his scent… has he returned?”

Lian Mu was puzzled, when it murmured to itself again, “No… he’s already dead… you’ve taken his place… let me take revenge…”

As soon as it finished speaking, its butterfly wings suddenly spread wide, stretching three arms in length and twice the height of a person. The wings were covered in dazzling, intricate patterns that formed concentric circles, resembling eyes at first glance.

From the gaps between the withered trees, thousands of caterpillars and Red Butterflies swarmed out. The Red Butterflies molded the flesh and blood from the pool into human forms, each one identical to the friends in Lian Mu’s memories.

She stared at the familiar faces before her, fully aware that this was a mental assault—forcing her to kill people she recognized, real or not, would inevitably leave scars on her psyche. Over time, it would erode her mind.

The Red Butterfly used illusions to deceive. That meant its method of corrupting people with Demonic Qi was likely through visual manipulation.

Lian Mu hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes and used her spiritual sense to perceive her surroundings. Without the distraction of faces, the agitation in her heart eased slightly.

Fighting with her eyes closed wasn’t ideal, but she had experience. In the past, when summoning flame blades, her eyes were often splattered with blood, forcing her to rely on spiritual sensing.

Swinging her sword, she shattered several blood-formed figures, but more kept crawling out of the pool.

Seeing this, the half-human, half-insect Butterfly Monarch commanded the Red Butterflies to swarm her. Thousands of butterflies gathered into a whirlwind, tearing through everything in their path.

Lian Mu could feel the overwhelming force of the butterfly storm. If it touched her, she would likely be shredded to pieces.

She was about to retreat when ten blood-formed figures surrounded her from all sides.

Gritting her teeth, Lian Mu touched the Jiao Pearl at her fingertips, ready to activate a talisman and summon the flood dragon. At that critical moment, a wave of music infused with spiritual energy swept through the air, carrying a gust of wind that struck the butterfly swarm head-on.

The Butterfly Monarch’s face twisted in pain. In the next instant, a net of withered branches was shattered by a single punch, and several people burst into the clearing.

“Lian Mu, we’re here to save you…”

Xu Xianxing scrambled in through the opening. When he looked up and saw the insect-human creature in the center of the blood pool, his forehead twitched violently, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as nausea overwhelmed him.

Xu Xianxing: “…”

Can someone give Demonic Creatures a makeover? Every new one is an insult to the eyes.

Gongxi Rong grabbed him by the collar and tossed him aside. “Don’t just stand there, Junior Brother. Focus on saving her.”

Hearing the voices, Lian Mu turned to see Pei Yunshang and two others had arrived, along with Xu Xianxing’s squad.

Judging by Xu Xianxing’s dumbfounded expression, Lian Mu knew this time it was the real deal.

“Wait, don’t all come in at once. These trees will—”

She spoke a second too late. After a brief rupture, the net of withered branches repaired itself at a speed visible to the naked eye, sealing off the only exit.

Seeing this, Gongxi Rong tried to punch through it again, but this time it didn’t work.

Lian Mu retreated to the center of the group. Pei Yunshang temporarily suppressed the Red Butterflies with her music, and the Butterfly Monarch lay twitching on the ground, its insect body convulsing uncontrollably.

“What is that…” Pei Yunshang’s face filled with shock as she looked at the winged insect-woman. “Junior Sister Lian, how did you end up dealing with something like this?”

Lian Mu replied, “It was an accident. I didn’t come here by choice.”

Gongxi Rong’s expression turned grim. “The exit’s sealed again. Junior Sister, do you have any way out?”

Lian Mu said, “The branches inside can’t be destroyed. They’re controlled by this Demonic Creature, and its cultivation level is above mine.”

Gongxi Rong added, “I tried just now. It’s stronger than all of us.”

Pei Yunshang studied the creature in the blood pool, frowning. “It’s a high-level demon.”

Xu Xianxing exclaimed, “There’s a high-level demon hiding in the Blood Butterfly Meat Pool? No one ever found it before?”

“This forest is too vast. Most disciples who enter never come out. No one’s ever known what’s really in here.”

Even they had nearly gotten lost. Fortunately, the disciples in the squad were spiritually linked, or they might never have found Lian Mu.

As they spoke, a red light seeped through the gaps in the branches. When it landed on the insect-human creature, its body began to split open. White fluid oozed from the wounds, and the blood pool turned into a murky mix of red and white.

Its insect body cracked apart at the waist and withered rapidly, leaving only the upper half of its human torso.

Xu Xianxing pressed his lips together, then finally took out an image-recording stone.

The severed flesh at the waist writhed continuously. Under the red light, it seemed on the verge of growing new limbs.

“With this level of mutation, it must be a remnant of the Black Abyss… Damn it. Once it regenerates a full human form, its power will skyrocket. We’ll all die here.”

As Pei Yunshang spoke, one of the strings on his instrument suddenly snapped, broken by the demon’s spiritual power. The music faltered into chaos.

“I won’t be able to hold it much longer. We need to find a way out, fast.”

Gongxi Rong said, “But these damn branches won’t break.”

Qu Ruotian added, “Ordinary Teleportation Talismans don’t work either. There seems to be some kind of barrier in this forest. No wonder so many seniors fell prey to the Red Butterflies…”

Lian Mu said, “Then… what about digging a tunnel? That’s how I got in.”

Guan Shize asked, “You dug a tunnel? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Where is it?”

Lian Mu replied, “It wasn’t me. The Demonic Creature dug it. It originally grew underground. We could try the same method.”

Everyone turned to look at the only talisman cultivator present—Qu Ruotian.

Qu Ruotian: “…”

What if he said he never specialized in earth-element talismans?

He didn’t dare admit it. Right now, he was the only talisman cultivator here. Whether he knew how or not, he had to figure it out.

“I… I’ll try to recall.” Qu Ruotian pulled out a blank Talisman Paper, forcing himself to think.

Of the seven elemental talisman types he had studied, most were wind, lightning, fire, and water. For escape purposes, wind and lightning talismans were fast enough. He figured that as a Second Seat, he didn’t need to master everything. After all, Baili Que, the powerful Chief Disciple talisman cultivator, was still around.

He never imagined, not even in his dreams, that one day he would become the team’s last hope.

But he only had a vague memory of earth-element talisman techniques, and even that was something he’d crammed back when his master suddenly tested him. Now, all he could recall were scattered fragments.

“Hurry, it’s getting back up!”

“The red moon is making it stronger. We don’t have much time!”

In the center of the pool, the demon race creature had already grown a complete pair of human legs. It rose from the ground, its movements sluggish as it adjusted to its new limbs. The eyes on its butterfly wings locked onto the group huddled together, and its mouth slowly stretched into a grin.

Qu Ruotian was drenched in sweat, his hand moving frantically across the talisman paper as he kept glancing at the demon. It had already crossed the blood pool and was now only five or six steps away.

He sped up, his hand trembling as he drew the final strokes of the talisman.

Gongxi Rong stood in front of the group and threw a punch at the demon, but it didn’t even flinch. Instead, its smile grew wider.

A burst of spiritual energy shot from its hand, and the last string of Pei Yunshang’s konghou snapped completely. The other Red Butterflies began to awaken, flapping their wings.

The Red Butterflies swarmed out in full force, spiraling into a windstorm that rushed toward the group once more.

“It’s done!”

Qu Ruotian grabbed the shoulder of the person next to him. The talisman in his hand ignited instantly, and the others reacted at once, each placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Earth Evasion Technique, descend!”

As the talisman burned, their figures vanished without hesitation.

Xu Xianxing was a beat too slow. Just as he reached out, his teammates had already disappeared. His hand froze in midair.

Left alone and surrounded, Xu Xianxing: “…”

He sighed helplessly and stood still.

The butterfly woman slowly approached, sniffing the air around him. The black eyes on her wings rotated once, scanning over him.

After a moment, she simply passed him by. Her wings flapped as she rose into the air, tearing through the withered trees in pursuit of the fleeing group.

But just then, a sword aura descended from the sky, cleaving the entire dead forest in two. Fire-element spiritual energy instantly ignited all the trees surrounding the blood pool.

A gust of wind swept past Xu Xianxing. Someone grabbed him by the collar and yanked him into the air. They didn’t stop until they were high above the ground.

He turned his head and, overwhelmed with gratitude, said, “Elder, thank you for saving me!”

Mei Chengyu held a sword in one hand and Xu Xianxing in the other. Suspended in the sky, her robes fluttered in the wind with a sharp rustle.

Only then did Mei Chengyu realize she had grabbed the wrong person. “Why is it you? Where’s Lian Mu?”

Xu Xianxing replied, “She already ran.”

Mei Chengyu casually tossed him toward Shang Liu behind her. “Take him with you. I’ll take care of that thing.”

Before Shang Liu could reach out, Xu Xianxing had already latched onto him, grinning. “Thanks, Elder Shang.”

Shang Liu twitched at the corner of his mouth. “…You people from the Returning Immortal Sect sure have nerves of steel.”

Nearly killed by a demon, and still smiling.

Mei Chengyu flew toward the blood pool. The butterfly woman’s face twisted when she saw her. Before it could strike, Mei Chengyu’s sword had already sliced off its head.

“A Black Abyss Remnant, daring to appear before me.”

The head rolled to her feet. Mei Chengyu lifted her foot and brought it down lightly, crushing it into dust.

The ground trembled twice, and a group of people emerged.

“Xu Xianxing, where are you…”

Lian Mu had just surfaced from underground when she caught sight of Mei Chengyu’s face and nearly drew her sword on instinct.

“I’m really me. Your friend is with Shang Liu, he’s fine.” Mei Chengyu showed her a piece of Plum Blossom Jade. “I got your message and came right away. Are you hurt?”

Lian Mu glanced at the corpse on the ground and finally relaxed. “Nothing serious. Elder Mei, you got here just in time.”

Any later, and Xu Xianxing would probably be in pieces.

“As long as you’re okay,” Mei Chengyu said. “Something’s off tonight. You all need to contact the other sect teams immediately. It’s best if everyone regroups.”

Lian Mu paused. It was the first time she’d seen Mei Chengyu this serious. Things must be worse than she thought.

She had sensed something was wrong earlier too, but hadn’t been able to pinpoint it.

Just as Lian Mu was about to ask for more details, she looked up and saw the red moon in the sky. The once crimson full moon now had a section that had turned pitch black.

She furrowed her brows and said, “Alright. We happen to have a talisman cultivator here.”