Reborn as Huo Yuhao, but also in Battle Through the Heavens

Chapter 19 Parasite

Yunlan Sect.

The mountaintop behind is shrouded in mist, resembling a fairyland.

On a protruding black boulder at the edge of the cliff, Nalan Yanran sat cross-legged, her hands forming cultivation hand seals, her eyes closed in meditation.

When she finished her cultivation, the maid who had been waiting for a long time quickly stepped forward and respectfully reported:

"Miss, I heard that your fiancé, Young Master Xiao Yan, seems to have recovered his cultivation talent!"

Nalan Yanran opened her eyes, her expression calm. "I understand, you may leave."

"yes!"

As soon as the maid's figure disappeared down the mountain path, Nalan Yanran's calm expression crumbled. Her delicate brows furrowed, and she paced back and forth restlessly.

"How could it be so fast? Does that mean my plan is...?"

"Yanran!"

Just as Nalan Yanran was in turmoil, a gentle breeze blew by, and the figure of Yun Yun, the sect leader of Yunlan Sect, appeared at the edge of the cliff, her eyes filled with concern, ready to inquire about her disciple's cultivation progress.

"Teacher, what brings you here?" Nalan Yanran hurriedly went to greet her.

"The teacher is here to check on your progress."

Yun Yun raised her hand and affectionately patted Nalan Yanran's head, smiling gently as she looked at the admiring look in her eyes.

"You're already close to becoming a two-star Dou Zhe. Hmm, no need to rush. Focus on building a solid foundation. Once you break through to the Great Dou Shi level, your teacher can then teach you Earth-rank techniques."

"Yes, teacher! I will definitely try my best!"

"By the way, Yanran," Yun Yun changed the subject, "you seemed a bit off earlier, is something on your mind?"

"Ah, it's nothing! I can handle it myself." Nalan Yanran refused verbally, but her left hand unconsciously pinched a strand of her pink hair and rubbed it vigorously.

Noticing Nalan Yanran's subtle movements, Yun Yun insisted, "Yanran, please speak freely. Trust your teacher!"

"Actually..." Looking at Yun Yun's persistent gaze, Nalan Yanran revealed the whole story about the marriage agreement, and made it clear that she had no intention of marrying Xiao Yan, a complete stranger she had never met.

"Hmm...this matter...should indeed be resolved." After understanding the whole story, Yun Yun felt a bit of a headache, since it wasn't really appropriate for her, as a teacher, to get involved in such a thing.

"Sect Master, Elder Guhe has something to discuss with you." Just then, Elder Geye came over.

"Okay, I understand. Yanran, your teacher has some things to attend to. If you need any help, just tell Elder Ge Ye."

"Yes, teacher."

"Young Sect Master?" Ge Ye looked at Nalan Yanran, who was getting excited.

"Elder Geye, could you please prepare some apologies for breaking off the engagement? Oh, and please don't let my grandfather know."

……

"Elder Guhe, what is it?"

Looking at the beautiful woman before him, Dan Wang Guhe was momentarily dazed, but quickly regained his senses, concealing the admiration in his eyes and speaking gently.

"Sect Master, I'm about to go out for a while."

"Hmm?" Yun Yun's face showed a hint of inquiry.

"I've recently hit a bottleneck in alchemy, so I'm going to find a flame to help me."

"Do you need my help?"

Gu He gazed at Yun Yun's face, his desire to travel with her overflowing, but the words that came out were: "No need, I can go by myself."

"Very well." Yun Yun nodded slightly. "I just happened to hear that the Izumo Empire Auction House is planning to auction the formula for the Battle Spirit Pill soon, and I'm also going to go. I'll need to trouble Elder Guhe then."

……

Monster Mountain Range.

"Brother Yuhao~ Please help me suppress the poison gas a little longer!" Little Fairy Doctor grabbed Huo Yuhao's hand and shook it gently, her voice carrying a deliberate hint of coquetry.

"Didn't you just suppress it the day before yesterday?"

"I've already broken through to the three-star Dou Zhe level, so the poison in my body must be even stronger now, Brother Yuhao, please help me again!" Little Fairy Doctor casually made up an excuse.

Having just fulfilled his dream of flight, Xiao Yan retracted his Purple Cloud Wings and sat down next to Huo Yuhao and the others to recover his Dou Qi. Seeing the two's movements, he revealed a resentful expression and muttered under his breath.

"Hmph! Animal cruelty!"

"Exactly!" Yao Chen's soul floated behind Xiao Yan, shaking Xiao Yan's head vigorously. "You really don't understand young people these days!"

"Stop shaking, you weird old man!"

"Who's the weird old man? I'm still in my prime!"

"Hey, who was that who just said 'young people these days'?"

After some laughter and banter, the group packed up and continued their journey, preparing to help Huo Yuhao gather the remaining medicinal herbs.

Walking along the somewhat rugged mountain path, Yao Chen said solemnly, "We are now heading towards the core area of ​​the Monster Mountain Range. The monsters you will face will become increasingly stronger, so you need to be prepared at all times."

"Yes, Master!"

The group perked up. But after walking for a while, Xiao Yan suddenly realized something and took out a map to compare.

"Wait, look at the map, we're still several days' journey from the core area, aren't we?"

Yao Chen's serious expression vanished instantly, and he covered his mouth and chuckled.

"Oh dear, it's good to prepare early and get used to things in advance!"

"Teacher!" Little Fairy Doctor suddenly squatted down by the roadside, pointing to the ground and saying, "Look around here, there seem to be traces of poisonous insects and Gu worms?"

"We're not too far from the cave you found, so it's not surprising to find these things here."

"Why, Master?" Xiao Yan asked, puzzled.

"The faction to which the owner of that cave dwelling belongs is very skilled in these things; you should know that from those volumes of combat techniques."

After hearing Yao Chen's explanation, Huo Yuhao felt a sense of doubt. If it was because of the cave owner, why didn't they find any traces of these Gu worms on the way to the cave?

However, sensing the wariness in Yao Chen's emotions, Huo Yuhao harbored this doubt but chose not to ask. Instead, he activated his mental detection again, extending it in one direction and scanning the surroundings repeatedly to confirm that there was no danger that could threaten them.

The monsters in this area have been having a very bad time these past few days, constantly feeling like they've been seen naked. After the initial frustration, most of the monsters, except for a few stubborn ones, have become suspicious and uncertain, unlike their usual active selves.

After a period of trekking, they dealt with many troublesome monsters along the way, and gradually became more proficient in their newly acquired combat skills.

As they passed through a dense forest, the sounds of fierce fighting erupted from their side. Huo Yuhao immediately activated his mental energy to conceal the group's presence.

"It's just two magical beasts fighting. There's no need to provoke them. Let's just go around them."

"Let me see what's going on?" Xiao Yan became interested and wanted to try the mental detection technique he had learned from Huo Yuhao. However, even with all his mental energy, Xiao Yan could only detect a radius of about a hundred meters.

"You can't see as far as you can directly see?"

"Your mental strength isn't enough right now. If you want to probe further, you can focus your mental strength on a single direction," Huo Yuhao explained.

Xiao Yan tried as instructed, but unfortunately, his mental control level was not yet sufficient to achieve this. He had to give up for the time being.

Just then, Yao Chen's voice rang out: "I've found something good, let's go take a look."

The group stealthily approached the edge of the forest, where they witnessed a battle: a first-tier blue eagle was being attacked by a strangely shaped spider-like monster. A sticky white spider web was wrapped around its wings, preventing it from taking flight and escaping. The spider-like monster was clearly stronger than the blue eagle, and the battle was nothing more than a game of toying with its prey.

Upon closer inspection of the spider-like magical beast, both Little Fairy Doctor and Xiao Yan frowned. The reason was simple: this beast was undeniably ugly, its body a riot of colors, and it even possessed a pair of butterfly-like scales.

"This is a Blue Demon Spider, a second-tier magical beast," Yao Chen introduced. "It is treacherous, adept at disguise, and likes to ambush its prey. Its main attack methods are using spider webs and venom."

"Master, why does this thing look like this? It's like a Frankenstein's monster."

"This is related to its reproductive method," Yao Chen explained. "The Blue Demon Spider is a parasitic magical beast. It likes to secretly put its larvae into the cocoons spun by other butterfly-like magical beast larvae. Once the host emerges from the cocoon as a butterfly, it takes over the host's body. That's why it looks like this when it grows up."

Then, Yao Chen laughed again, looking at the struggling blue eagle: "This blue eagle probably accidentally swallowed a parasitic cocoon, and as a result, the larva of the Blue Demon Spider parasitized its body. However, blue eagles are not butterflies, so the larvae cannot take over it. Therefore, the larvae inside its body are not yet mature, which is a rather rare result. These immature larvae can be refined..."

Yao Chen's voice grew slower and slower. He noticed that Huo Yuhao's face was becoming increasingly strange, as if several different emotions were mixed together on his face.