Chapter 735: Planted Insects

"Oh, it seems you already know, which saves me a lot of talk. That said, being able to cultivate the law of time makes you quite a talent. If you obediently stay by my side and work for me in the future, I won't treat you unfairly." Yin Gua gave a faint smile and raised his hand to point.

A mass of black shot out from his finger, and after spinning and condensing, it turned into a pitch-black oval bead with rings of faint silver spirit patterns on its surface, looking very much like some kind of insect egg.

With a solemn expression, Yin Gua formed hand seals and pointed. The spirit patterns on the surface of the black insect egg flickered faintly, then squirmed rapidly. Before long, a thumb-sized black strange insect slowly crawled out from within.

This strange insect resembled a slug, with dozens of tentacles of varying lengths on its body. Its face was shrouded in a mass of black light, vaguely revealing a human face that was seventy to eighty percent similar to Yin Gua's, looking extremely eerie.

"Soul Devouring Insect!"

Han Li stared at the black strange insect, his pupils suddenly constricting, and his expression instantly turned grim.

"Don't try to resist. Let it attach to your soul obediently. The process is actually quite pleasant—enjoy it!" Yin Gua said coldly, then formed hand seals and pointed again.

The Soul Devouring Insect shot out with a "whoosh," landed on Han Li's brow, and quickly penetrated inward.

Han Li's vision went black, and a sharp pain shot through his head as if a red-hot nail had been driven into his brain. He couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his body trembling like a sieve.

The Soul Devouring Insect quickly entered his mind and immediately burrowed toward his soul.

The black ripple prohibition in his mind seemed to have no effect on it; it passed through with a flicker.

Before long, it arrived at Han Li's sea of consciousness. Amidst the wisps of radiant light swirling on the surface, a small soul figure quickly emerged, its facial features identical to Han Li's.

"Don't even think about possessing me! Sword Mind Art!" the small soul figure roared, and with a flash, a crystalline sword shadow shot out, swiftly and fiercely striking the Soul Devouring Insect.

With a "crack," the Soul Devouring Insect was easily cut in two, then exploded into two masses of black qi.

But in the next moment, the two masses of black qi instantly merged, then condensed again into the Soul Devouring Insect, continuing to fly toward the soul as if it had suffered no damage at all.

The small soul figure was startled but not panicked. Its body flashed with crystalline light again.

A chain of divine thought shot out, instantly wrapping around the Soul Devouring Insect, coiling several times to bind it tightly.

A hint of mockery appeared on the Soul Devouring Insect's face. It twisted its body, and with a "bang," it exploded again, breaking free from the divine thought chain's restraint and turning into a mass of black mist that flew forward.

The Soul Devouring Insect was not far from Han Li's soul. The black mist rolled forward and immediately touched the soul.

The black mist condensed again into the form of the Soul Devouring Insect, blurred, and pounced onto Han Li's small soul figure, squirming and burrowing inward.

The small soul figure was horrified. It let out a sharp screech, and its body blazed with crystalline light.

Several crystalline chains shot out from within its body, instantly transforming into a cage of chains that enveloped the Soul Devouring Insect.

Trapped firmly by the divine thought cage, the Soul Devouring Insect seemed greatly suppressed, its squirming body slowing several times.

But the divine thought cage was a step too slow. Although it trapped the Soul Devouring Insect, half of the insect's body had already burrowed into the soul.

The Soul Devouring Insect did not stop. Its body suddenly emitted bursts of black light as it continued to squirm and burrow deeper into Han Li's soul.

Seeing this, the small soul figure grew frantic. Its body blazed with crystalline light, and one crystalline chain after another shot out, wrapping layer upon layer around the Soul Devouring Insect, finally enveloping even itself.

All that could be seen was black light and crystalline light interweaving, colliding fiercely with each other.

"Hmm..." Yin Gua raised an eyebrow and coldly glanced at Han Li, who was trembling all over.

"Courting death. Since you want to suffer more pain, I'll grant your wish!" He snorted coldly, muttered incantations, and grabbed downward with five fingers in the air.

Five streams of black light shot out continuously from his fingertips, all sinking into Han Li's head.

Blood immediately flowed from all seven apertures of Han Li's face. His trembling suddenly intensified several times, his body convulsing spasmodically, and he let out a miserable scream.

This scene made Shi Chuankong and the others' expressions change drastically, but they were powerless to do anything. In the nearby cage prisons, the white-haired old man and the long-eared man and others looked at Han Li, shaking their heads, as if to say, "See what happens when you don't listen to advice."

"Heh, interesting! Let's see if this brat really has three heads and six arms, and how long he can hold out."

A cruel satisfaction appeared on Yin Gua's face. Not only did he not stop, but the black light from his fingers grew even thicker.

After a full quarter of an hour, Yin Gua finally stopped. At the same time, he formed hand seals and waved his hand. The two lightning great hands holding Han Li flickered and disappeared.

Han Li's body was now half covered in bruises, and he had fallen into unconsciousness.

With the lightning great hands gone, he fell to the ground with a "thud," completely senseless, motionless. His aura was extremely weak, as if he had suffered severe damage.

"Ungrateful wretch." Yin Gua sneered, turned, and walked out of Han Li's cell, looking toward Shi Chuankong nearby.

Shi Chuankong had witnessed what happened to Han Li, and his heart turned cold. Seeing Yin Gua's gaze fall on him, his expression changed.

Yin Gua's figure flickered, directly piercing through the prohibitions around Shi Chuankong's cell, appearing inside in a flash. He raised his hand and waved.

With a thunderclap, two black lightning great hands materialized out of thin air and grabbed Shi Chuankong's body.

As if his patience had been exhausted by Han Li, Yin Gua said nothing. His large hand grabbed Shi Chuankong's head, and black light blazed on his palm, seeping inward.

Shi Chuankong's expression changed drastically. He immediately let out a miserable scream, and blood gushed from all seven apertures of his face.

After a quarter of an hour, Yin Gua released his hand.

Shi Chuankong had also lost consciousness. His body went limp and fell to the ground with a "thud," motionless.

Yin Gua coldly glanced at Shi Chuankong, then turned and left the cell, heading toward Hu San's cell on the other side.

Miserable screams soon rang out again, echoing all around.

Half an hour later, Yin Gua floated out of Bai Liyan's cage.

All five of Han Li's group were now lying on the ground, half their bodies covered in blood, motionless.

Yin Gua's face was slightly pale. He took a deep breath before recovering.

"Congratulations, Lord Yin Gua, on obtaining five more fine puppets." The gray-clad man appeared from somewhere, his face full of flattery.

"These five are of great use to me. Yin Chan, you must guard them carefully and not make the slightest mistake!" Yin Gua showed a faint smile, then instructed.

"Rest assured, Lord Yin Gua. This subordinate will not be negligent in the least." The gray-clad man quickly assured him.

"The Soul Devouring Insects have been planted in these five. It will take a hundred days for complete integration. Once they wake up, immediately take them to the Xuan Yin Palace. Do not let anyone from other areas contact them." The figure of You Luo appeared in Yin Gua's mind, and he instructed again.

"This subordinate understands. But Lord Yin Gua, after planting five Soul Devouring Insects in a row, are you all right?" The gray-clad man's eyes flickered, and he nodded again, then asked with concern.

"It's nothing. Just consumed some origin baleful energy. I'll recover after a period of rest. Do this well, and I will reward you." Yin Gua said, then flickered and vanished, as if eager to rest.

The gray-clad man hurriedly bowed in thanks, only straightening up after a long while.

He glanced at the five of Han Li's group, sneered, and turned to leave. But after a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

A delicate crimson figure came down the stairs from the ninth floor. It was You Luo.

"Miss You Luo, what brings you to the Nether Prison? I failed to welcome you from afar. How rude of me." The gray-clad man was momentarily stunned, then put on a bright smile and went to greet her.

"What, am I not allowed in the Nether Prison?" You Luo glanced at him and said indifferently.

"Of course not. Miss You Luo's visit to the Nether Prison is most welcome." The gray-clad man's expression changed, and he said somewhat fearfully.

You Luo snorted and walked inside.

"Miss You Luo, is there something you need here?" The gray-clad man quickly followed and asked cautiously.

You Luo ignored the gray-clad man and walked in on her own, soon stopping in front of Han Li and the others' cells.

Recalling Yin Gua's recent words, the gray-clad man's expression changed slightly.

"Lord Yin Gua really doesn't know how to show mercy. Even if he wants to refine these five into puppets, he doesn't have to be so ruthless. Don't you agree, Supervisor Yin Chan?" You Luo looked at the state of Han Li and the others, sighed, then turned to the gray-clad man and said with a sweet smile.

The gray-clad man only mumbled in response, seemingly afraid to discuss Yin Gua behind his back.

You Luo raised her jade hand. With a soft "crack," a beam of dark light shot from her fingertip, then split into five, directly piercing the prohibitions around the cells and flying inside.

"Miss You Luo, what are you..." The gray-clad man's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help stepping forward.

You Luo formed hand seals. The five beams of dark light flickered, turning into five slender, soft tentacles. They probed slightly at the brows of Han Li and the others, then immediately withdrew.

Seeing this, the gray-clad man relaxed.

"It seems Lord Yin Gua forcibly drove the Soul Devouring Insects into the souls of these five. Although this method can still produce puppets, it will take a long time for the insects to fully merge with their souls. I have some Heavenly Yin Soul-Soothing Pills here. Give them one pill each day to greatly reduce the time needed for puppet refinement." You Luo flipped her hand, producing a black jade bottle, and tossed it to the gray-clad man.

A black talisman was affixed to the bottle's mouth, and even through the bottle, waves of pure soul energy fluctuations could be felt emanating from within.

"Heavenly Yin Soul-Soothing Pills!" The gray-clad man's expression changed.

This pill was a famous medicine within the Nine Nether Tribe, capable of healing soul damage and effective even for Da Luo existences. It was extremely precious, and even the gray-clad man coveted it.

Han Li and the others would have originally taken about half a month to wake up, but with this bottle of Heavenly Yin Soul-Soothing Pills, they might wake up in less than five days.

But why would You Luo take out such precious pills as the Heavenly Yin Soul-Soothing Pills to help Yin Gua refine puppets...

The gray-clad man's mind was suddenly at a loss.