Volume One: The Soul-Guiding Gourd and the Soul-Igniting Lamp Chapter 84: The Six-Winged Mantis

A cold wind whistled all around, and the air was thick with a sticky, fragrant scent.

On a towering green pillar, Gu Mo, Xiao Yulou, and Li Hetang were desperately climbing upward.

Below them, a monstrous, bizarrely large fleshy worm, baring its jagged teeth, relentlessly pursued the trio.

Thud, thud, thud.

The massive worm, resembling a coal-excavating machine, moved its multitude of abdominal legs with each heave, causing the sky-piercing green pillar to tremble violently.

In that moment, the hearts of the three seemed to plummet into an abyss. The terrifying scene left no time for fear or sweat; all they could do was climb frantically toward the top.

Thud, thud, thud~

A centipede may die, but its legs twitch still—such was the beast’s dreadful vitality!

All three scrambled upward with all their might, none noticing that Li Hetang’s two daggers were already coated in the worm’s viscous secretions.

It was worth commending Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou: though neither had sharp tools at hand, they used the pillar’s ridges to climb almost as swiftly as Li Hetang.

As he climbed, Xiao Yulou, with his air of an immortal sage, grew ever more suspicious. The patterns on the green pillar became increasingly distinct.

Hearts pounding, blood surging, Gu Mo strained upward, stealing a sidelong glance below.

Dizziness swept over him as he glimpsed the horror: the monstrous worm still clawed its way up, each thunderous step driving its thick legs deep into the emerald pillar. Though the grotesque creature emitted no howl, its abyssal maw gaped and writhed with the pillar’s sway.

Thud, thud, thud!

Gu Mo’s heart nearly burst from his throat, blood rushing in terror!

After another frantic ten seconds, the pillar before them seemed even greener, as though it possessed a life of its own. The life-threatening worm below still chased them, while Gu Mo found the gaps in the pillar’s texture growing narrower and harder to grasp.

Could their luck get any worse?

Seeing the predicament, Gu Mo gritted his teeth, ready to draw his Celestial Ruler and fight the monstrous worm to the death.

With a metallic hiss, he braced himself and drew the ruler. Beside him, Xiao Yulou shouted sharply, “Brother Gu, don’t act rashly!”

Startled, Gu Mo lost his balance and nearly tumbled into the worm’s maw, destined to become a nourishing pile of fertilizer!

Face contorted, he quickly adjusted his grip and clung to the pillar, cursing Xiao Yulou with abandon. “Damn you, you almost scared me to death!”

Xiao Yulou, expression grave, merely stared down at the monstrous worm and intoned, “Boundless Heavenly Venerable!”

At these words, Gu Mo scrambled up several more meters, continuing his tirade. “Damn it! If you’ve got something to say, spit it out! Boundless my ass!”

At that, Xiao Yulou, robed in black, calmly stood his ground, making no move to climb higher. Above, Li Hetang overheard their exchange, cast a glance down, gritted his teeth, and pressed on upward, comforting himself with dark humor: ‘Forget them! Both are sly, both have protection. All I’ve got are a few guns—no magical treasures to rely on!’

So, holding a grudge, Li Hetang climbed for dear life.

Meanwhile, the monstrous worm drew closer to Xiao Yulou, so near he could almost smell its fetid breath. Yet the stubborn Daoist stood unmoved, stubborn as an ox.

Gu Mo, heart pounding, furrowed his brow, breaking into a cold sweat on Xiao Yulou’s behalf. “Idiot, if you don’t climb, you’ll be worm food!”

But Xiao Yulou, in his black Daoist robe, acted as if nothing were amiss, letting Gu Mo’s words drift past him like the wind.

“Brother Gu, if life holds no fear, why mourn death? Our time in this world is but a fleeting instant—why concern ourselves with the outcome?”

Gu Mo’s face instantly grew dark, as if those shadows could knit Xiao Yulou enough sweaters and trousers for a lifetime. “Damn you!”

In a fit of rage, Gu Mo stopped caring whether the three of them would be exposed. He summoned all his internal energy at once.

In an instant, the darkness around them was lit by eerie green ghost flames.

Click, click!

High above, Li Hetang pulled an automatic rifle from his tactical pack, released the safety, and leveled the icy barrel at the worm’s brow.

Below, Xiao Yulou smiled enigmatically, staring at the colossal beast ascending toward him—a worm more terrifying than a high-speed train bearing down.

Would the immortal-like Daoist meet his end today? Of course not!

Suddenly, a thunderous buzzing filled the night sky. Gripping his rifle, Li Hetang shouted down, “Hold on tight! That sounds like a jet from the Company—we’re saved!”

But before he could finish rejoicing, his smile froze.

A gigantic shape sped into view, easily over a hundred meters long, its emerald body aglow with eerie, unnatural light.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Seeing the apparition, Gu Mo and Li Hetang gasped. “A mantis!”

In a chorus of curses, both men felt their bodies clench in terror, faces pale, teeth chattering uncontrollably.

All three clung desperately to the pillar, veins bulging on their foreheads, as if they might burst at any moment.

In a flash, a deafening crash shook the pillar. The green column swayed violently, tilting left and right by over ten meters.

Climbing the pillar felt like flying through a nightmare.

As the pillar rocked, Li Hetang gripped his daggers, wedging them deep into the flesh of the column.

A metallic hiss, two flashes of cold light—hiss, hiss, hiss!

With a piercing screech, the monstrous worm was clamped tight by the much larger mantis.

With a wet splatter, green sap burst from the worm’s body, filling the air with a strange odor.

Gradually, the pillar stilled. The three men clung to it and looked down.

What they saw was the worm, writhing in its death throes, pinned by the mantis’s scythe-like arms, its toothy maw devouring flesh.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

The sight made all three shudder. The mantis’s hideous mouth could swallow all three of them without even chewing.

Hiss, hiss, hiss—

The worm screamed, then went limp. Its blood-red eyes instantly lost their luster.

Gu Mo squeezed his eyes shut and prayed, ‘You can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me!’

After a time, the dreadful sound of bones being crunched echoed in their ears.

Who knows how long passed before a pair of warm hands landed on Gu Mo’s trembling shoulder, startling him from his terror.

Opening his eyes, he saw Xiao Yulou grinning mischievously.

“Trying to scare me to death, you bastard?” Gu Mo growled.

Xiao Yulou just smiled and gestured downward.

Gu Mo swallowed hard and, half-believing, looked down.

The terrifying six-winged mantis had nearly devoured the worm. Its gem-like eyes gleamed with the light of compound vision.

Between its enormous mandibles, green and white fluids oozed, sending a wave of nausea through them all.

At the sight, Gu Mo nearly fainted, his body threatening to lose all control. He muttered the tiniest of curses, “You lunatic! If we don’t climb now, we’ll end up as mantis droppings!”

But Xiao Yulou shook his head with serene composure. “Brother Gu, you judge too soon. In my opinion, these insects mean us no harm.”

Gu Mo was bewildered, and for a moment, it seemed this sly Daoist might be right.

Suddenly, the satiated mantis shook its six transparent wings, sending a gale through the air.

The trio hugged the pillar for dear life.

With a thud, the pillar shook violently again, then gradually stilled. Compared to this, even the wildest amusement parks in the capital paled.

In a moment, the wind and turmoil ceased, and the monstrous six-winged mantis was gone.

Just like a lion ignoring the presence of mosquitoes.

It was as if the entire ordeal had been nothing but a nightmare.

…

The three men clinging to the pillar were like insignificant aphids, even the mantis that had just flown away paid them no heed.

Who could have guessed that sheer weakness would spare their lives?

Panting for breath, the trio rested against the green pillar.

After a while, Li Hetang felt a cool, slippery sensation on his wrist and glanced down, discovering that green sap had completely coated his daggers.

A wild idea flashed through his mind. Without hesitation, the handsome “King of Soldiers” opened his mouth and greedily sucked the clear, green liquid.

Seeing this, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou seemed to realize something.

“Mr. Gu, Daoist Xiao—this is definitely aloe vera!”

The words struck the other two like a revelation.

Suddenly, from high above, a hissing sound echoed down the towering pillar.

With a rush, a torrent of viscous green aloe poured down like a waterfall.

The three could only press themselves tightly against the pillar, knowing a fall from here would mean certain death.

…