With the Five Poison Jar in hand, Song Ciwan followed the guidance of the Paper Crane Tracking Talisman, deployed her Escape Technique, and stepped into the Zhi Garden. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The Zhi Garden was in chaos—more chaotic than the Xu Family grounds outside.

Countless insects of all shapes and sizes swarmed out from underground, from within houses, from the bushes... and even burrowed out from human bodies.

The guards of the Zhi Garden had all been brawny men who had practiced Tendon and Bone Refining. Now, the insects had gnawed them all down to withered husks.

Bloodcurdling screams rose and fell in waves. When chaos erupted in the Zhi Garden, the very people who had once refined and toyed with insects found themselves completely outmatched by the frenzied swarms.

Amid the cacophony of human screams and insect chittering, the squeaking of rats could also be heard.

Using her Escape Technique, Song Ciwan wove through the chaos, her aura concealed. She was like a light breeze gliding over the sea of insects.

Wherever she passed, the Five Poison Jar acted like a giant whale inhaling water, sucking every insect within its range into its depths.

The squeaking of rats echoed from deep within the trees. Song Ciwan followed the sound and immediately spotted a giant, three-foot-tall gray rat!

The gray rat stood upright on its hind legs. It brandished a Mourning Stick in its paws, squeaking wildly as it spat out fine sand.

It spat out clouds of fine sand, killing large numbers of insects with the assault.

Yet more insects leaped, or flapped their wings, landing on it with soft THUDS. They gnawed at its fur or tried to burrow into its eyes, ears, mouth, nose—any opening they could find.

The Mouse Demon’s fur was tattered and blood-spattered. It shrieked, batting away insects with its Mourning Stick while occasionally freeing a paw to claw the pests from its body.

It grabbed them by the pawful, stuffed them into its mouth, and swallowed them with a sickening CRUNCH.

Behind it stood a bamboo house, its doors and windows sealed shut. Spirit Talismans were plastered on the walls, but their glow had grown dim.

Countless more strange insects swarmed at the base of the bamboo house’s walls, writhing and gnawing at the bamboo until the walls grew dangerously thin.

The Mouse Demon quickly sprayed the bamboo walls with sand, instantly killing a large patch of insects at the foundation.

But while the sand killed the insects, it also damaged the walls. The bamboo grew ever thinner, looking as though it might give way at any moment!

The Mouse Demon grew frantic, letting out a barrage of panicked squeals at the insects near the house.

Song Ciwan didn’t understand demon-speak; she had no idea what the Mouse Demon was saying.

But just then, a clear, gentle, yet slightly strained young woman’s voice drifted from inside the bamboo house. "Ah Gua, don’t worry. I’m not afraid. They’re just a few bugs. I’m a big girl, how could I... how could I be scared of little bugs?"

With her words, the young woman was actually trying to soothe the Mouse Demon.

And the Mouse Demon, in turn, was protecting the person inside the house!

A secluded estate, a dense wood, a bamboo house, innumerable insects, and a Mouse Demon protecting a human girl.

The scene was truly bizarre and absurd.

Even more absurdly, the Paper Crane in Song Ciwan’s hand reached its peak temperature at that very moment.

’Could it be? Is the woman in that house Aunt Zhou’s daughter, Lady Zhen?’

’Strength could solve any mystery.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Song Ciwan raised the Five Poison Jar and began to channel her full power into it.

From the Mouse Demon’s perspective, a strange wind suddenly blew in. A hazy human figure appeared, and a dark, black jar flew into the air. A powerful suction radiated from it. Then, the very insects that had left it covered in wounds began to swarm madly—WHOOSH—wave after wave surging endlessly into the jar.

The tiny jar was no bigger than two palms, yet as it sucked in the insects, it seemed to have an infinite capacity, its depths immeasurable, its breadth unknown.

Clutching its Mourning Stick, the Mouse Demon let out an alarmed squeal.

Song Ciwan ignored it, focusing all her energy on purging the strange insects from the Zhi Garden. Until she cleared out the rampaging swarm, there wasn’t even a clear spot for her to set foot.

The young woman’s voice rang out from the bamboo house again. "Ah Gua, wh-what’s happening?"

The Mouse Demon shrieked, "SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

It shrieked, but continued spitting sand, now coordinating with Song Ciwan to kill the insects!

The scene grew even more absurd.

But while the human and the mouse could kill the insects in the Zhi Garden, they couldn’t stop the ones that slipped through the cracks from crawling out toward the vast expanse of the Xu Family Mansion.

Inside the mansion, the servants were already in a state of utter chaos.

In the chambers of Xu Feng’s deceased concubine, the maids and servant women who had attended her saw there was no hope of saving their mistress. News of the concubine’s death was sent to the matriarch, but she was weak and bedridden, powerless to deal with the matter.

When word was sent to the front courtyard, Xu Feng was in seclusion and paid it no mind. With no one in charge, greed began to stir in people’s hearts.

Someone tried to steal jewelry from the concubine’s vanity. When no one stopped them, they secretly rifled through her cashbox. Still, no one came. Her wardrobe, her trunks, everything she owned... nothing was spared.

One person took something, then another, then a third, and a fourth... When everyone had taken their share, it was as if no one had stolen anything at all.

In their frenzied looting, none of them noticed. As they scrambled for money and valuables, their eyes red with greed, a line of tiny ants, as fine as hairs, marched in formation across the covered walkway, over the threshold, and onto a woman’s instep.

The woman felt a sudden, sharp pain on her instep, as if pricked by a needle. Her entire body went rigid, and she collapsed to the floor.

A black line snaked up her leg, breaking through her skin and burrowing into her veins, tendons, and bones.

Her eyes bulged, but she couldn’t speak. Her whole body began to convulse violently, as if she were having a stroke.

People clutching stolen goods hurried past her. One person paused in surprise. "Hey, Granny Zhang, why are you on the floor?"

That was the extent of their concern; no one was willing to help her up.

’Help her? Wouldn’t that just be a waste of precious looting time?’

The black lines gestated inside Granny Zhang’s body, feeding on her flesh and blood as they multiplied frantically. In the blink of an eye, her body began to bloat. The black lines squirmed beneath her translucent skin, moving faster and faster.

Until, at a certain moment... BOOM.

Granny Zhang’s skin burst open. A chorus of screams erupted in the concubine’s chambers.

Soon, the black lines became a plague throughout the Xu Family Mansion.

Meanwhile, in his secret chamber beneath the estate, Xu Feng was facing his own ordeal.

His arm had been severed, and his Qi Blood was severely depleted. Thus, he had gone straight to his secret chamber the moment he returned.

In the center of his secret chamber was a Blood Pool.

The pool was filled primarily with the fresh blood of young women, supplemented by various Spiritual Materials and Rare Medicines. After refinement, it held no stench of blood. Instead, it gave off a faint, clear fragrance and had a lustrous sheen. At a glance, it didn’t look like a Blood Pool at all, but rather a mirror of polished red gemstone.

Xu Feng loved nothing more than immersing himself in this Blood Pool to cultivate. Not only did it catalyze his Qi Blood, but most importantly, the Blood Pool helped him capture Innate Qi, refine his spirit, and achieve Enlightenment.

He had been stuck at the Five Acupoints Realm for over a year. A genius’s time was far too precious; he couldn’t afford to wait!

Xu Feng walked to the edge of the Blood Pool, stroking his severed arm and muttering, "Patience... I have Dragon Blood now. If I infuse it into this Blood Pool today, it will surely help me quickly open all Thirty-Six Acupoints. When that happens, I can reform my body, regenerate my lost limb..."

As he spoke, he took a Jade Box from his waist and carefully opened the lid.

As he did, he winced with a pang of regret. "It’s a shame Father was burned to death by the Flood Dragon Golden Blood. Even his personal Storage Pouch was destroyed! Storage artifacts are so expensive, and Father was never willing to buy one for me!"

He didn’t notice that he was taking too long to open the box, that he was talking too much. Nor did he notice that on the side of the secret chamber, a suit made of human skin, which he had hung on the wall, suddenly opened its eyes.