Kong Xuhan never imagined that after fighting his way out of countless蛊 (gǔ), feeding them with his essence blood for a hundred years, and cultivating a Gu King that could contend with an eighth-rank extraordinary individual, he would now feel fear towards a human he had no idea how many times he had consumed.
How strong was Ye Ling?
Kong Xuhan could no longer imagine.
"This little thing, it actually looks quite peculiar," Ye Ling said, looking at the centipede that had emerged and was now cowering on the ground, his eyes filled with amusement.
Insects and beasts, like demonic creatures, often had far superior senses to humans.
Although Ye Ling hadn't intentionally exuded his aura, the mere presence of his natural demeanor was enough for the centipede to perceive the existence of a superior being!
In the centipede's eyes, Ye Ling was its natural predator, and it no longer possessed the will to resist.
As Ye Ling took a step forward, the centipede seemed to have seen a ghost, quickly burrowing back into the ground, not daring to confront Ye Ling at all.
Even the countless small Gu insects swarming everywhere dared not approach Ye Ling, merely fluttering about erratically in the surroundings.
After burrowing underground, the giant centipede began to flee towards the outer perimeter of the Sun family estate, desperately trying to distance itself from Ye Ling.
"Something like you, if it truly escaped to the outside, would be a major issue."
Sensing the centipede's attempt to flee the estate, Ye Ling simply stomped his foot, and the giant centipede was directly shaken out of the ground by Ye Ling!
"Suppress!"
Then, Ye Ling flicked his finger, and a wisp of demonic energy flew from his fingertip, rapidly suppressing the giant centipede to the ground.
"Hiss!!!"
Suppressed by Ye Ling's demonic energy, the giant centipede was filled with extreme fear and began to struggle frantically, causing the earth to tremble.
Watching the centipede writhing and struggling on the ground, Ye Ling was about to deliver a killing blow, but then he thought of something and ultimately abandoned the idea of killing it. Instead, he used his demonic energy to compress and shrink it, then took out a bottle and placed it inside.
After finishing this, Ye Ling also extended his demonic energy to the entire courtyard, collecting all the smaller Gu insects and storing them in another bottle.
Since Kong Xuhan, while operating under the guise of the "Medical Immortal," was secretly refining Gu, perhaps someone from the Hongchen Pavilion would know about this.
To play the part properly, collecting Kong Xuhan's Gu insects would make it easier to get away with it if the Hongchen Pavilion questioned him later.
Ye Ling's swift appropriation of the Gu insects that Kong Xuhan had painstakingly cultivated left both Kong Xuhan and Sun Bugui utterly stunned.
They stood frozen in place, their minds blank.
Was this something a human would do?
*Thump...*
In despair, Kong Xuhan knelt on the ground, staring blankly at Ye Ling, trembling.
"This, this is impossible..."
Kong Xuhan stammered, unable to believe his eyes.
He had poured all his effort into cultivating those Gu insects; it could be said that for the past hundred years, almost all his energy had been focused on those Gu insects, and it had taken him so long to cultivate his Gu King to its current state!
This battle with Ye Ling was, in essence, his Gu King's first true battle!
But...
Before he could even witness his Gu King display its might, Ye Ling had effortlessly collected all his Gu insects!
Ye Ling's actions were tantamount to negating the meaning of all his hundred years of effort!
At this moment, Kong Xuhan felt a despair unlike anything he had ever experienced.
What had he been doing all these years?
Although Sun Bugui had not had his hundred years of effort negated in the same way as Kong Xuhan, the despair he felt was no less than Kong Xuhan's!
He had fought Ye Ling before and knew what a monster Ye Ling was; he was definitely no match for Ye Ling!
And when Kong Xuhan released his Gu King, it had given him a glimmer of hope for victory.
But before he could even rejoice for a second, all his hope was ruthlessly shattered by Ye Ling.
He had never imagined that one day he would find himself in such a desperate situation within his own Sun family stronghold!
"Sir..."
Sun Bugui also knelt before Ye Ling, trembling, and said, "This humble one had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, offending the esteemed sir. If there were any offenses, please forgive us."
"Whatever your demands, sir, just state them, and we will cooperate fully!"
With matters having reached this point, resistance was futile. Sun Bugui's kneeling and surrender was merely a hope that Ye Ling would spare him.
Seeing Sun Bugui's current state, Ye Ling lowered his eyelids, finding it rather uninteresting.
In truth, Sun Bugui still harbored a not-insignificant amount of power within him. If he had truly wanted to fight, Ye Ling could have at least had some fun.
Unfortunately, Sun Bugui now showed no intention of resisting, and Ye Ling had no desire to continue playing.
However, at this very moment, the sky suddenly became overcast with thunderclouds, accompanied by lightning and thunder!
*Boom!*
Scarlet lightning struck the Sun family estate, instantly destroying the buildings within and igniting a raging inferno.
"Finally, they've arrived!"
Upon seeing the thick dark clouds in the sky, Ye Ling's lips curved slightly, his eyes filled with amusement.
*Rumble!*
Several more bolts of lightning struck, plunging the Sun family estate into a sea of flames. The citizens of the entire Shanghai city gazed at the lightning in the sky, their eyes filled with shock.
They had never felt lightning so close to them!
This time, the people of Shanghai deeply felt the power of nature!
"Mom, Dad, look quickly! There's red lightning!"
"Is something moving in the sky?"
"Are you seeing things? It's just ordinary thunder!"
"That area in the suburbs is all red, it looks like it's on fire!"
"Which esteemed cultivator is undergoing tribulation here?"
In an instant, the entire Shanghai city erupted. A large number of citizens rushed to their windows, holding their phones and cameras to capture this once-in-a-century spectacle!
Although the red lightning naturally evoked fear in people, if they could overcome their fear and look closely at the red lightning, they would find that the lightning...
was incredibly beautiful.
At this moment, the people of Shanghai deeply felt the grandeur of nature.
However, this city-wide celebration was an endless despair for the Sun family.
The lightning in the sky seemed to have targeted them, continuously striking their stronghold with no sign of stopping.
The vast estate had already been reduced to ruins, engulfed in raging fires. Numerous disciples of the Sun family and the Medicine Sect fled outwards in a frenzy.
It was like the apocalypse!
"Wh-what is this happening?"
Sun Bugui looked up at the lightning in the sky in despair, feeling as though he was going mad!
One Ye Ling had already suffocated him, and now even the heavenly lightning was targeting their Sun family. Was this not heaven's way of decreeing their demise?
However, as Sun Bugui cried out, a pair of enormous eyes appeared within the thick clouds, their pupils flashing with a faint light, startling the weeping Sun Bugui.
The next moment, the head of a Qilin emerged from the dense clouds, its gaze fixed on Sun Bugui and Kong Xuhan, its eyes brimming with infinite fury!
"Roar!"
The Qilin roared, and thunderclaps erupted, engulfing the entire Shanghai city in the deafening thunder!
Subsequently, a red light descended, and a Qilin, three meters tall and enveloped in red lightning, appeared in the courtyard, glaring menacingly at Sun Bugui and Kong Xuhan!
Sun Bugui was completely dumbfounded!
"A, a Qilin?"