"Huzhou's main family lineage has long since died out because of this! Our Yangzhou branch stayed away from the mulberry fields and was suppressed by Mystic Sect Magical Artifact, so we've managed to survive till now..."

"Silkworm Stiffening Syndrome?"

Long Yan'er showed interest, stepped forward, and raised her palm.

Buzzzzzz~

A strange insect, resembling a winged half-centipede, flew out, vibrating its scaled wings, landed on the young man's chest, bit off a few white hairs and swallowed them, then flew back to Long Yan'er's palm.

She placed the Gu worm on the wooden table, took a small leather drum from her waist, and began to chant a spell, using a dialect from the Southwest, completely incomprehensible.

Everyone didn't understand the Gu Technique, so they quietly watched from the side.

Suddenly, the Gu worm began to struggle, then went stiff and motionless.

Long Yan'er furrowed her brows slightly, but did not stop the spell.

Dong dong dong!

Accompanied by the drum's beat, white silk began to grow from the Gu worm's body, as if time was accelerated, and soon a white cocoon formed.

Long Yan'er stopped drumming, with a serious expression stepped forward to tear open the cocoon, only to see the Gu worm inside already scorched and shriveled, and exclaimed involuntarily: "What a powerful spell!"

She first burned the Gu worm, then explained to the crowd: "This spell is extremely vicious, the so-called 'silkworm stiffening' is not just hair growing on the surface, but the spell taking root in the bloodline, feeding on vital energy as nourishment, spinning silk to form a cocoon."

"As they say, the silkworm spins until death, forming a human cocoon marks the day of life cessation."

Zhang Tiankui clenched his fists, knuckles turning white, looking at his son's painful expression, felt as if his heart was being cut, and cried out: "Miss Long, is there a remedy? As long as there's a glimmer of hope, I'd spare no expense!"

"No need to bankrupt yourself."

Long Yan'er shook her head and said: "This spell makes one mimic a silkworm spinning silk for a cocoon; the white threads are pure human vital energy, without any hint of evil, so ordinary medicine or Astral Bane Magic Artifact is difficult to expel."

"For now, we can only seek another method!"

Saying this, she turned to Li Yan.

She had no particular affection for the Zhang family, her curiosity was mainly for the spell, so without Li Yan's consent, she was unwilling to interfere further.

"Young Hero Li, this..."

Zhang Tiankui hurriedly looked at Li Yan, no longer displaying his previous arrogance.

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "We can attempt a rescue, not charging you any consultation fee, but you must be prepared for the risks involved."

"Naturally so."

Zhang Tiankui nodded quickly and exclaimed: "Without you all, my son can only wait for death, better to try as there might be a glimmer of hope."

Long Yan'er then said: "Alright, my method is to use leech Gu."

"Leeches emerge in filthy and dark places, fond of feeding on vital energy, their mouths secrete peculiar substances, making one feel no pain, breaking the stiffened meridians, then following the bloodline to sense, may transfer the spell."

Saying this, she looked at Zhang Tiankui: "I need a large number of live leeches, the fiercer the better, also a copper basin filled with the filthiest canal mud, along with three coins of salt, one coin of vermillion, and an ounce of aged mugwort ash."

"Quick, follow Miss Long's instructions and prepare everything!"

Zhang Tiankui immediately instructed several trusted disciples waiting outside.

The Zhang family was deeply rooted in Yangzhou, with numerous personnel occupied around. Within an hour of the order, a basin of leeches dug from the stinking canal were gathered.

Each one was fat and fierce, twisting their black-brown bodies in the mud.

When everything was ready, Long Yan'er purified her hands with incense, solemnly cut her fingertip, and dripped a drop of bright red blood into the basin.

In an instant, the leeches in the basin started to frantically twist.

Long Yan'er then took an unnamed powder from her waist, sprinkling it into the basin while chanting in the Ancient Miao dialect: "Feed on filth, swallow bane, burrow through bone to open the veins, with my vital energy, nourish your spirit!"

"Command all bugs, heed my designation—Curse!"

At the same time, the Qin Insect in her sleeve began to chirp.

This Qin Insect was an Ancient Strange Insect, captured by Li Yan and given to Long Yan'er, refined into a Gu King rivaling the Golden Silkworm Gu, very mysterious.

The leeches in the basin seemed stimulated by an invisible force, started to twist wildly, tangling and devouring each other. Long Yan'er deftly sprinkled salt, vermillion, mugwort ash in sequence.

The crowd held their breath, dared not disturb.

They could see that Long Yan'er was refining Gu on the spot.

After about the time it takes to burn three incense sticks, the scene in the basin changed.

Nearly a hundred leeches were fiercely devoured, ultimately only nine remained.

These nine had doubled in size, their entire bodies turning dark red and near black, with faint red lines visible on their bodies, resembling blood vessels forming talismans.

As their mouths opened and closed, faint white mist emerged.

"Done!"

Long Yan'er exhaled and wiped sweat from her forehead.

"Hold the person down, no matter what happens, don't let them move."

Zhang Tiankui took a deep breath, holding his son's shoulders down.

With his martial arts cultivation, the patient couldn't move even if he wanted to.

Long Yan'er picked up a small silver knife; moving as quick as lightning, she made slight cuts at the tips of her son's ten fingers, the soles of his feet, the Dan Zhong acupoint at his chest, and his Forehead.

Then, she placed nine large water leeches on the wounds.

A bizarre scene unfolded!

As the leeches squirmed, the white fuzz on the boy's body visibly began to shrink and fade, and his previously stiff limbs seemed to loosen slightly.

"It's working!"

Zhang Tiankui's eyes gleamed at the sight.

He had consulted many Mystical Gate Taoist Doctors, who used talismans for evil exorcism in conjunction with Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Essence medicine, but nothing worked.

Unexpectedly, this method actually had a miraculous effect.

As time passed, the fuzz on his son's body had almost completely receded, and his breathing became steadier.

Plop! Plop!

Two leeches fell to the ground, stiff.

Just like the previous Gu worms, they grew white fuzz and spun silk cocoons.

Plop!

Another leech fell to the ground.

Long Yan'er breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face as she comforted, "It seems this method works. Once the nine leeches completely drain the blood curse, you can rest easy and simply focus on recuperating... What is that?!"

Before she finished speaking, her expression suddenly changed dramatically.

Li Yan also raised his head suddenly, looking towards the sky.

He could feel a cold intention suddenly appear without any warning, instantly descending into the room.

Not good!

Li Yan thought to himself, quickly drawing the Duan Chen Blade.

However, it was already too late.

"Pfft!"

Long Yan'er was hit as if struck hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The remaining leeches exploded together, blood splattering everywhere. And the young man lying on the bed became stiff once more, with even denser white fuzz surging out, wrapping him up like he was covered in white silk.

"Demon, you're asking for death!"

Zhang Tiankui's eyes were bloodshot.

He also felt the cold intention, leaping with remnants of shadow, condensing his Fist Intent into Astral Bane, and bombarding the sky with Cannon Fist attacks.

"It's useless."

Li Yan said gravely, persuading him to stop, "The other side is casting a spell from afar and might be thousands of miles away."

Zhang Tiankui's eyes were full of murderous intent as he said, "Young Hero Li, can you cast a spell to...?"

Li Yan, knowing his intent, shook his head and said, "No, it's different from last night. This demon has long since placed a curse on your Zhang family bloodline; a single thought can trigger the spell."

"The distance is too great; the yin soldiers can't capture anyone."

Turning his head to look into the room, he said coldly, "However, this demon's movement has exposed her."

"I now know how to find her!"

At that moment, when Lai Yin's intention descended, the Hook Paper suddenly began to heat up.

And Li Yan took the opportunity to receive the task and information.

This Lai Yin's identity was truly extraordinary; she wasn't just an Evil Spirit turned Earth Immortal yin criminal but also a host for Demon God's Demonic Energy!

"Where should we go to find her? Young Hero Li, please instruct us!"

Zhang Tiankui didn't hesitate to clasp his hands and ask. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Whoosh~

Just as Li Yan was about to speak, the sound of fluttering wings suddenly came from the sky, and the Eagle Falcon Lidong swooped down, landing on his shoulder.

After feeding it some meat, Li Yan took the bamboo tube bound to its claw, pulled out the secret message, and glanced at it, his expression becoming solemn.

"No need to look for her anymore; that Lai Yin has already rebelled, gathering a large number of followers and demons to start an uprising in Tai Lake, now directly threatening Jinling!"

"What!"

Sha Lifei found it hard to believe after hearing, "They've been causing trouble secretly, but where do they get the courage, aren't they afraid of the Imperial Navy's cannon attacks?"

Li Yan felt bitterness at the corner of his mouth:

"They've already obtained the Yangzhou Tripod!"