The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1623 - 824: Sea Demon Offering

"Sea Gu..."

Li Yan’s brow slightly furrowed, "Are these Gu Worms very powerful?"

"More than just powerful!"

Xian Ashui grasped his earth pipe, shaking his head, "It’s said that this Gu originates from the Netherworld of the sea, attracted by resentment during the Han Dynasty’s end, later refined into a widely spread Gu Technique by demons, learners harming one another, often wiping out entire families, once causing widespread fear."

"Eventually this technique was listed as a Forbidden Technique, and once a cultivator was discovered, they would be burned as an offering to the sea, thus gradually disappearing."

"Didn’t expect to see it again here..."

The air in the cabin seemed to freeze.

This Xian Ashui was also a well-regarded cultivator among the sea people, to be so cautious indicated its complexity.

Only Long Yan’er was relatively bold; after careful observation, she spoke, "This is indeed the ’Sea Gu’ recorded in ’Lingwai Daida’!"

"This creature is born in the extreme Yin Sha land of the South Seas, inhabiting carrion, feeding on blood essence and resentment. Once awakened, it burrows into living beings, corrosive to skin and bone, absorbing marrow and brain. Its nature is extremely cold, and touching it is like ice, carrying ’Water Evil’ that can freeze the bloodstream, instantly causing death, while the soul is captured to become a Gu Slave, forever trapped in the corpse, assisting its hunt!"

Xian Ashui was a bit surprised, "This Daoist knows quite a lot..."

Rustle, rustle, rustle~

Before he could finish speaking, the skin of the seven or eight "mummified corpses" began twitching like worms under the skin.

The mummies swelled rapidly, their skin stretching until almost transparent, faintly revealing long, thread-like insects with blue ghostly glows.

The piercing cold Qi instantly spread, water vapor on the deck quickly condensed into white frost.

"Retreat!"

Li Yan sensed the danger, made a low sound, and the Duan Chen Blade hummed out of its sheath.

Sparks crackled, lightning danced along the blade, driving away some of the chilling cold.

The group hastily retreated several steps, soldiers not versed in spells turned pale, feeling their blood was about to freeze.

At that moment, the nearest "mummy" suddenly sat up!

With a pop, its skin burst, several blue ghostly thin lines shot forth like arrows, heading straight for the nearest Wu Ba.

Swiftly, leaving only blurred shadows, carrying deadly Yin Sha Qi.

"Look out!" Long Yan’er shouted sharply, raising her hands.

Dense and minute as dust, yet fiery as molten lava, Gu Eggs perfectly met those cold lines.

Upon contact, there was a loud sizzling sound.

Red light surged, as if fire cooking oil!

The blue ghostly lines fell to the ground, revealing themselves as blue worms resembling earthworms.

They emitted sharp cries like infant wailing, writhing violently in the red flames, dissolving, turning into several strands of putrid black smoke.

"This is... the Fire Scabies Gu! Specifically counters cold, evil spirits!" Xian Ashui’s eyes brightened instantly.

However, the remaining "mummies" simultaneously went berserk!

More ghostly blue Sea Gu burst forth, like deadly ice rain, covering the group.

Yin Sha Qi surged, even the lightning on Duan Chen Blade was dulled.

Long Yan’er immediately stepped forward, shielding the group.

She chanted ancient, obscure Miaojiang spells, her hands swiftly forming seals, resembling lotus blooms.

In an instant, countless red light points surged from her sleeves and neckline, converging into a rolling red glow, enveloping her entire being.

This red glow emitted a scorching, harmonious life force, fiercely clashing with the Sea Gu’s chilling Qi, producing sizzling explosions.

"Quick! Quick!"

Xian Ashui also spoke up, "These things fear fire!"

The soldiers, upon hearing this, quickly brandished torches to repel.

Sha Lifei, Lv San, and others also reacted, firearms roared, rockets were volleyed, sailors ignited cloth balls soaked in kerosene and threw them.

And this Master Xian Ashui, also displayed another skill.

He untied the gourd at his waist, took a hearty swig, then grabbed a torch, performed a mantra, and sprayed it out.

In a flash, a large mass of flames surged forth.

The trick of a Jianghu Artist, even integrated into spells, played to perfection by him.

In an instant, the cabin was ablaze, thunder rumbling, the chilling Qi rapidly dispelled.

Under the suppression of Long Yan’er’s Gu Technique and the group’s combined attack, this wave of Sea Gu was finally extinguished, leaving only charred insect corpses everywhere.

The crisis was temporarily resolved, but the cabin was a mess, everyone still trembling in fear.

Just now, the eerie cries of the Gu Worms seemed to linger in their bones.

"We cannot stay on this ship, leave quickly!" Li Yan said sternly.

No one disagreed, and they promptly retreated to the deck of the Sea Suppression.

The storm remained fierce, waves crashed like mountains, and the ship groaned under the strain.

Sea Suppression was pinned by dark currents in this eerie shipwreck graveyard.

However, the damaged ship eventually had to be repaired.

Following previous experience, they carefully cleared Sea Gu from one ship to another on the periphery.

Unknown how many Gu Worms converged here; based on their sensing, the center of the ship graveyard seemed infinite. The aura gathered felt like a sleeping colossal monster; using Divine Skills to probe nearly drove people insane.

To avoid surprises, they could only cautiously search from the outside.

Whenever Li Yan and others cleared the Gu Worms, Kuai Dayou would lead the team to arduously break apart decayed ship boards with axes and saws, seeking usable hardwood keels and solid boards.

Usable parts were not plentiful, and the deck was suffused with the smells of rotting wood, seaweed, and faint corpse stench.

Fortunately, that piercing knocking sound was always muffled by the storm.

Besides this, Sha Lifei, Wu Ba, along with some Prince Mansion guards, were tasked with searching for supplies on the sunken ships.

In the cargo hold of a half-sunken Red-haired barbarian merchant ship, they pried open several still-sealed oak barrels, finding with delight gunpowder and lead bullets not yet dampened. Even more uplifting was the discovery in a sturdy iron box of a small pouch of Red-haired barbarian silver coins, along with scattered gems and gold ornaments.