Corpse Recovery Diver

The pool isn't filled with water, but with foul-smelling blood.

As the group arrived, a giant black shell surfaced; it seemed to be an insect.

But the insect was already dead, its shell had a large dent, likely broken forcibly, killing it outright.

Still, its dead body became a new nurturing vessel.

From it, small insects continuously crawled out, with some fluttering their wings and starting to fly.

"Yin Meng."

"Understood!"

Yin Meng drew out the Demon Exorcism Whip; the whip had snapped during the daytime battle, but after being re-tied, it was still functional. Moreover, her whip increasingly resembled a vessel for releasing toxins.

Unlike Run Sheng, she didn't possess that immense brute force; if she did, she wouldn't bother with the whip and would choose a shovel instead.

As the whip vibrated, the toxic mist dispersed.

The Gu worms were naturally poisonous, but clearly, they feared Yin Meng's toxins more, as even she feared her own poison.

Once the path was cleared, Run Sheng carried Li Zhiyuan to jump onto the insect shell and then to the opposite side of the pool.

A cave appeared ahead, its entrance engraved with a peculiar pattern, likely the totem of the village where the Old Transgender once resided.

Tan Wenbin followed with two leaps, and Yin Meng was the last to cross.

"Rustle... rustle..."

At this moment, at the top of the cave's entrance, a dense swarm of insects poured down like a black waterfall.

The insects at the pool, once the toxic mist cleared, began to approach again.

Yin Meng understood Brother Xiao Yuan's purpose; this time she had the chance to prove herself in her area of expertise.

She unzipped her backpack, revealing it was packed with various small bottles.

Some bottles had labels, while others had none.

Tan Wenbin felt a pang in his teeth, as he had seen Yin Meng preparing those toxins before their departure.

The unmarked bottles weren't untagged because Yin Meng could recognize them by color and shape; they were unlabeled because she forgot what toxins they were midway through making them.

Everyone in the team knew that her use of venom was somewhat unreliable.

Yet no one advised her to change; even Li Zhiyuan chose to accept it.

For a systematically improved Yin Meng would be just an ordinary poison master, but the haphazard and erratic method carried a high and variable skill ceiling.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, it's the forty-nine position!"

It was a term from array setup, meaning the formula the youth created for them.

Run Sheng nodded strongly, while Tan Wenbin started chanting.

Yin Meng began her task.

She threw out a bottle, whipped it in the air, shattering it, causing a reaction between the toxin hidden in the whip and the toxin in the bottle, exploding.

First, there was a burst of green; nearby Gu worms shrank away.

Run Sheng carried Li Zhiyuan, followed by Tan Wenbin, and they all started running in curves.

Each time they turned a corner, it meant a bottle broke ahead, spilling toxic mist.

While clearing the way of Gu worms, it also minimized risks to their teammates.

Run Sheng ran with focus, while Tan Wenbin recited the formula aloud as he ran.

The Gu worms were scared, yet the teammates were even more scared because a slip of Yin Meng's hand could mean poisoning allies.

Eventually, they broke through the Gu worms' obstruction and dashed into the cave.

Yin Meng stayed behind after clearing the path for them.

Watching as her companions left, Yin Meng smiled.

Using her whip as her center, she repeatedly struck, creating a temporarily safe zone with the dispersed toxic mist.

She couldn't leave, but the Gu worms dared not charge in either.

She felt no abandonment, actually quite enjoying the feeling of sacrifice for the team.

In fact, she had dreamt of this scenario several times:

Standing there, she said:

"You go ahead, I'll hold them off!"

The camera first gives her a close-up, then pulls back for a solemn view of her back.

Unfortunately, she'd never had such an opportunity or the environment to create it, never had this sense of achievement.

Last time, Brother Xiao Yuan said she contributed greatly because they involved the Emperor Fengdu due to her.

But the problem was, she remembered none of it, neither did Brother Xiao Yuan or anyone else; the great contribution couldn't even be recalled!

This time was good, finally a chance to shine.

Yin Meng patted her bulging backpack, confident with the ample supply of poisonous bottles she brought.

Yet looking at the dense mass of Gu worms outside the toxic mist, a thought suddenly emerged:

Should she capture a Gu worm for research?

She knew her mentor, Aunt Liu, was exceptionally skilled in Gu techniques.

However, those techniques stemmed from Feng Shui nurturing methods, raising Fengshui Xiangxing Gu, different from Miao Border Gu.

Aunt Liu had taught her to raise Gu worms, but Yin Meng only learned Walking Yin in Zhangjiajie, struggling now, her Feng Shui understanding shallow...

So, although Aunt Liu taught her several times and provided some larvae for cultivation, she ended up killing the worms.

Feng Shui Gu technique's insects were too delicate; Yin Meng thought Miao Border Gu had higher resistance, maybe she'd find a suitable insect to nurture?

Yin Meng glanced around; there were already many Gu worms she had poisoned to death.