Raindrops like silver needles fell diagonally into the pond, shattering the reflections of the begonia blossoms and sending fine ripples spreading outward. Even the fish in the water seemed to sense the unease, diving hastily toward the bottom. Shen Mingyue held a silver needle, hovering three inches above the young man's chest. The tip of the needle gleamed with an eerie, ghost-blue light, echoing the writhing black Gu Insect in a silent standoff. The stray hairs at her forehead were already soaked with cold sweat, plastered against her pale cheeks, while tiny droplets clung to her eyelashes, trembling slightly with every hurried breath. Behind her, Gu Jinghong gripped the hilt of his longsword so tightly that his knuckles turned white, bulging veins pulsing beneath his skin. The dragon patterns on the scabbard caught the flickering candlelight with a cold glare, as if they might come to life at any moment.
"The markings on this Gu Insect..." She stopped abruptly, her pupils contracting violently, and she nearly dropped the silver needle. The black imprint on the young man's chest was arranged in the ghostly visage totem characteristic of the Nether Palace, matching the descriptions she had seen in ancient Nanzhao texts down to the smallest detail. Memories rushed back like a tide, bringing the scenes of her poring over ancient texts late into the night vividly before her eyes. Between the yellowed pages, accounts of the Nether Palace refining Gu with living humans and usin…
Chapter 140