Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 447 - 437 Black-Spotted Worm

"Charge!" the Barbaric Girl shouted, ready to rush into the valley.

Chu Hao quickly grabbed her by the collar, causing the girl to step in place futilely as he said, "What did we just say? This place is extremely dangerous. Are you trying to barge in without listening?"

"Mm!" The girl pouted, clearly unhappy.

"Let’s go. Follow behind me, and don’t do anything rash," Chu Hao added.

"Mhm mhm mhm," the girl nodded repeatedly, her spirits lifted instantly.

The five of them proceeded in single file, with Chu Hao leading the way and Su Wanyue bringing up the rear, stepping carefully as they slowly entered the valley.

It is said that many seemingly inconspicuous things here could kill a War Venerate, such as a leaf that could cause deadly poisoning upon grazing the skin and take effect within a few breaths. Or some small insects that seemed ordinary but could easily bite through the Star Force shield of someone at the Venerable Level.

Even War Venerates needed to tread carefully here or else they might lose all their cultivation in vain.

However, there was also a wealth of Spiritual Medicine in this place.

"Look look look, that’s a Blue Sword Orchid!" Gu Qingcheng suddenly pointed ahead and exclaimed. There, a blue orchid stood proudly alone, shaped like a long sword, and exuded a faint fragrance that was refreshing to the soul.

"It really is a Blue Sword Orchid," Su Wanyue nodded, a touch of joy appearing on her pretty face.

Since there were only the five of them here, Su Wanyue and Gu Qingcheng had also removed their veils. The moment they saw each other’s true faces, it seemed as if the air froze, both were taken aback by each other’s stunning beauty.

After that, the two women kept to themselves, never initiating a conversation with one another.

While heroes may have mutual respect, beautiful women never do the same. They would always find ways to outdo each other. Unfortunately, both women were close to perfect in every aspect, making it impossible to find any fault to best the other.

If there was any difference between them, it was that one was as cold as ice while the other was as passionate as fire, two extremes.

Chu Hao was amazed and said, "The Blue Sword Orchid can strengthen the Physique. It’s incredibly precious for those practicing Body Cultivation, and even more valuable for Star Force Cultivators because their bodies are weak. Any slight improvement on this foundation is a significant enhancement."

"Then let’s hurry up and pick it," the Barbaric Girl urged.

Chu Hao couldn’t help but laugh and said, "So, you know to be cautious now?"

"I’m not stupid!" the girl huffed.

This Blue Sword Orchid stood alone proudly, surrounded by a patch of blackened earth devoid of other vegetation. It conspicuously marked out an area about ten meters in diameter, making the orchid all the more striking.

"Blue Sword Orchid!" At that moment, exclamations came from behind as three people quickly approached.

These were, of course, outsiders from the Copper Valley tribe.

After taking down Red Flame Ridge, practically all outsiders went to search for Spiritual Medicine. This was the main motivation for them joining the holy war: to earn military merits in exchange for Spiritual Medicine or other Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Of course, some were not able to do so, like Yang Huang, who was seriously injured and could only lie down to heal. Any attempt to force a move would definitely harm his foundations, which could have significant repercussions on his future development.

Thousands of outsiders scattered into every corner of Red Flame Ridge, and naturally, some of them also came to this valley because it was rumored to contain a "Black Soul Flower."

The Black Soul Flower was very special. It couldn’t enhance cultivation or strengthen the body, but its purpose was to nourish and bolster the Divine Soul!

It is known that only War Venerates could cultivate the Divine Soul, and those below War Venerate could only passively enhance their Divine Souls when breaking through to a higher realm. Therefore, the strength of the Divine Souls of War Kings, War Generals, and Warriors wouldn’t differ much from one another.

But the Divine Soul is very useful in the Middle Three Realms because the cultivation there is based on Divine Sense. If the Divine Sense is depleted, further cultivation becomes impossible. Therefore, the stronger the Divine Soul, the longer the daily cultivation time and naturally, the faster the progress.

Since Martial Artists below War Venerate do not cultivate the Divine Soul, everyone has a low baseline, so a single petal of the Black Soul Flower could increase a Martial Artist’s Divine Soul strength by about ten percent.

This was of great significance. In subsequent cultivation, having a ten percent stronger Divine Soul means that one could always have ten percent more cultivation time each day than others. Over time, the benefits could be terrifying.

Chu Hao and his group were naturally aiming for the Black Soul Flower, but of course, they wouldn’t mind collecting other Spiritual Medicines along the way.

The other three Martial Artists were War Generals—who were able to follow Chu Hao’s group so closely because their strength was naturally not weak. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to catch up in speed.

Normally, with one War King and two almost invincible War Generals of the same realm in Chu Hao’s group, these three would have never dared to compete for the Spiritual Medicine. But now was different.

The markings they bore meant they couldn’t engage in combat with each other.

Then... it was all about who could snatch it first.

On entering these Ancient Ruins, the goal was to grab as many benefits as possible while staying alive. If they missed such an opportunity, they would be beating their chests in regret.

Since they couldn’t fight each other, getting their hands on the Spiritual Medicine was a simple matter of speed. So upon spotting the Blue Sword Orchid, they immediately sprinted towards it, aiming to grab it before Chu Hao’s group. Even a War King would just have to watch helplessly.

Chu Hao didn’t make a move, nor did Su Wanyue. The Barbaric Girl wanted to act, but Chu Hao stopped her.

The three of them charged forward without hindrance, entering the area of black soil. Just as they were about to reach out and pluck the Blue Sword Orchid, an abrupt change occurred. Countless black lines spread from the feet of the three, covering their entire bodies with astonishing speed.

Pop, pop, pop, all three War Generals collapsed simultaneously, as if they had lost their life force in an instant. Then, as the black lines faded away, three sets of white bones were revealed.

Hiss!

Even though the five of them, including Chu Hao, had anticipated that there would be some horrifying restrictions or traps here, they were still shocked by this scene. Three War Generals, not three foolish pigs, had instantly turned from living people into skeletons, without even having the time to utter a cry of alarm. It was truly inconceivable.

"That’s... Black-Spotted Worms!"

"Ancient species, now rare to see, they feast on the flesh and blood of Martial Artists and ferocious beasts. Once targeted by them, not even a War King is likely to be spared. In an instant, they would be stripped of their flesh and reduced to bones."

"When these worms reach a certain number, even those below War Venerate can only choose to go around them."

Su Wanyue, Gu Qingcheng, and Fu Xue all spoke, even the belligerent Fu Xue shook her head repeatedly, completely lacking any interest in fighting them.

The Barbaric Girl’s eyes, however, sparkled with excitement. "I want to keep these little ants!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Chu Hao chuckled and said, "How will you keep them, planning to be like Buddha, feeding yourself to the eagle?"

Of course, the girl didn’t know the story of Buddha feeding the eagle. Pouting her lips, she said, "At most, I’ll eat a little less each day and leave some for them."

"You shouldn’t underestimate these Black-Spotted Worms; their appetite is no smaller than yours," Fat Cat interjected. "Think about it, they eat all your food every day, leaving you to starve."

The girl immediately shuddered at the thought. It was too terrifying. She quickly shook her head, "I don’t want to keep them anymore!" The world is big, but eating is the biggest thing. Whoever competes with her for food is her enemy.

"How do we deal with them?" Chu Hao asked Fat Cat.

"They are not easy to deal with!" Fat Cat stroked its chin, "The power of Black-Spotted Worms is not strong, but their defensive power is extremely terrible. Moreover, they can spread the damage they consume. Even War Venerates can’t guarantee certain victory."

"Ah, I’ve got it." Fat Cat slapped its head, "Hao, take out that Firebird Feather."

Firebird Feather?

Chu Hao was momentarily stunned before he realized Fat Cat was referring to the Spirit Fire Phoenix Feather, a treasure from an Ancient Ruins, so rarely used by him that he had almost forgotten he possessed such an item.

He took out the Phoenix Feather from the Mustard Seed Ring and immediately, a surge of warmth flowed, prompting Gu Qingcheng and the others to involuntarily take a step back, but Chu Hao felt an extremely comfortable warmth.

"Activate the Power of Flame within it and burn those Black-Spotted Worms to death," Fat Cat said.

"Just like that?" Chu Hao was somewhat incredulous. It seemed too simple.

"Of course, in the world, everything has its mutual generation and overcoming. Black-Spotted Worms’ greatest fear is fierce flames. In fact, your Green Flame can also deal them heavy damage, but if you were to fight up close, you could only burn a portion to death at most, and you’d end up gnawed to the bone," Fat Cat nodded.

"Then wouldn’t it be better if Miss Su used it?" Chu Hao said, as Su Wanyue was a War King, with a Star Force countless times more robust than his.

"No, that won’t work. Her Taiyin Body is the opposite of the Firebird’s nature. Using it would result in a backlash from the Fire Feather," Fat Cat shook its head repeatedly.

Chu Hao then turned his gaze toward the patch of black soil. As Star Force flowed, the entire Phoenix Feather ignited, an awe-inspiring presence circulating as if a True Phoenix was reborn from the ashes.

The Barbaric Girl immediately showed a look of disgust, her eyes fixed on the Phoenix Feather, wishing she could crush it to pieces.

Dragons and Phoenixes are both top existences among Divine Beasts, constantly competing with each other, naturally lacking harmony.

Rustling sounds emerged as the black soil began to wriggle; the Black-Spotted Worms had sensed the threat of the blaze, growing restless.

Chu Hao swung the Fire Feather, and instantly, a swath of crimson flame spewed forth, torching the black soil.

He controlled it well, careful not to harm the Blue Sword Orchid.

—Otherwise, all this would have been meaningless.

"Squeak—" A cacophony of tiny screams arose as countless Black-Spotted Worms shrieked; boom, numerous black strands rose, swiftly coalescing into a humanoid shape over ten feet tall and enormously burly.

This terrifying form was comprised of countless Black-Spotted Worms clinging together.

Boom, boom, boom, the "Giant" charged at Chu Hao, throwing a punch his way.

All five of them had keen eyesight and clearly saw that on the fist, numerous ugly worms opened their mouths wide, revealing their tiny, sharp teeth—utterly disgusting.