118: Leon and Julian

The Parasitic God Insect Emperor gazed at the scarlet droplet suspended in the goblet, an indescribable sense of humiliation and pain surging within its chest.

Human "Talent"... this must be some kind of control method!

When they underwent the Civilization Assessment on Mochong Star, they had also awakened various Talents.

Unfortunately, after the Rebirth, the Origin Law bestowed by the Lord of the Universe had dissipated, and those Talents had vanished along with it.

"There is no hope left... never again..." It whispered, its voice hollow, like a shell drained of its Soul.

Leon stepped forward gracefully, his right hand resting on his chest:

"Your Excellency Insect Emperor, only those who possess utility value are qualified to continue living in this world. Do you understand what I mean?"

He paused, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth, "Oh, please forgive my indirectness. Perhaps I can be more direct—I can help you bring the Yao Beasts from the Secret Realm into this world."

"The only condition is to drink from this cup. Afterwards, you will be one of our... own people."

Since coming into contact with human civilization, the Parasitic God Insect Emperor (Great Ink Worm) truly understood the meaning of the word "cunning."

It looked blankly at the scarlet liquid handed over by Leon, knowing deeply that it had no choice, only the fate of being chosen.

The situation was already this dire, what else was there to worry about?

The Great Ink Worm opened its mouth and inhaled, and that mass of scarlet blood instantly vanished into its belly.

In an instant, the blood throughout its body began to seethe like boiling water!

Its body temperature soared rapidly, and a strange, violent power rampaged within its body.

Its eyes instantly turned blood-red, and even its hard black-gold carapace faintly revealed a dark red hue.

A strong, bloodthirsty desire surged crazily from the bottom of its heart—it clearly felt that the essence of its life was undergoing some kind of slow and profound mutation.

Only when that mass of blood had completely undergone Fusion did the Great Ink Worm's appearance barely return to normal, yet a faint, lingering scent of blood still clung to its body.

"Giggle, giggle..." Julian let out a light laugh, "Lord Leon, we have gained another 'relative', how wonderful! It was worth me exhausting a drop of my heart's essential blood."

The Great Ink Worm looked at the red-robed, bewitching man and couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness, even... a faint urge to submit.

"Parasitic God Insect Emperor, do not resist." Julian's voice carried an unquestionable coldness, "We only trust our 'own people'. Now, you are one of them. Come with us."

The Great Ink Worm just wanted to resist, but the blood inside its body suddenly became manic, and its heart felt a tearing pain, as if it were about to explode in the next second!

It could only endure the discomfort, silently following the two men and boarding a waiting helicopter.

Inside the cabin.

"Parasitic God Insect Emperor," Leon said with an elegant posture, like a gentle and refined gentleman, "As long as you cooperate, in the future, your tribe will obtain the habitat you have dreamed of."

"What is a mere half of Earth? I can even give you the entire Mars—you have controlled so many humans, surely you know of Mars?" He said with a confident tone.

The Parasitic God Insect Emperor's requirements for a habitat had long been communicated by the Chinese high command to other countries, and Leon naturally knew of this.

Therefore, he had immediately ordered Irene to divine the Insect Emperor's location.

"We can even help you terraform Mars to make it more suitable for Yao Beast survival." Leon added, throwing out an even more tempting promise.

Upon hearing this, the Great Ink Worm could not suppress its excitement: "Human! If you dare to deceive me, I would rather die than cooperate!"

"Of course," Leon smiled and nodded, "No one can deceive the wise Lord Insect Emperor."

Julian, standing to the side, covered his mouth and giggled again, praising silently in his heart: "Giggle... Boss's vision is truly extraordinary! In the future, humans will definitely traverse the star seas, and mere Yao Beasts, as meat and blood resources, would be a pity to destroy. Keeping them in captivity on Mars... what a Genius and charming concept!"

The corner of his eye couldn't help but drift toward Leon, and he pursed his lips.

...

"What?! Irene is missing?!" Zhang Sheng couldn't believe it.

How could a living person disappear without a trace, without any warning, leaving not even a single mark behind?

The joy that had just risen due to destroying the Parasitic God Insect Emperor's trump card instantly dissipated by more than half.

"Zhang Sheng," Dean Hou said with a grave expression, "The intelligence department is already fully investigating Irene's whereabouts. Whether this matter was done by the Parasitic God Insect Emperor or by other enemies lurking in the shadows, it is definitely not good news for us!"

Zhang Sheng knew Irene's importance all too well. Her divination Talent was nearly a conceptual-level divine skill. If she fell into the hands of the enemy, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If one were to say it was the Parasitic God Insect Emperor... but according to the intelligence provided by Cracked Skin, the Great Ink Worm was already at a dead end, a lone wolf.

Zhang Sheng was more inclined to believe it was done by that force which had always been lurking in the shadows and was hostile to China.

Before the arrival of the cultivation civilization, there was no shortage of such forces on Earth.

They were keen on destroying and dividing China by any means necessary—public opinion warfare, cyber warfare, biological warfare, diplomatic warfare... they used every possible method, only avoiding direct hot war.

They feared China, even more aware of its potential than the Chinese people themselves, and knowing they could not win on the battlefield, they resorted to the dirtiest and most despicable tactics.

Furthermore, China's large-scale airdrop of Cultivation Technique and Spell flyers must have touched the core interests of certain people.

Kidnapping Irene was also very likely a counterattack by these hostile forces.

"Dean Hou," Zhang Sheng said in a calm tone, carrying a steady strength, "Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover. The trend of the world is irreversible. You should not worry too much; you should focus on Cultivating and improving yourself."

Dean Hou was slightly stunned, then felt relieved. Perhaps this was the self-confidence that a strong person should have.

China's vast intelligence network began to operate at full capacity, tracking Irene's trail and digging deep into those enemies lurking in the shadows.

...

On the other side.

Leon and Julian took the Parasitic God Insect Emperor into a secret base hidden deep within the mountain belly.

The interior of the entire mountain had been almost completely hollowed out.

On the platform to the left, it was shocking: a large number of humans were tied to stone pillars, their bodies inserted with all kinds of pipes.

The pipes at their mouths were delivering ground gold spirit rice and other spiritual foods, while the pipes at their necks were continuously drawing their blood!

These people had hollow eyes and numb expressions, like livestock waiting to be slaughtered.

All the blood eventually flowed into several giant blood storage tanks that were ten meters high.

On the platform to the right, a group of figures draped in black coats and hoods were elegantly sipping cups of bright red liquid.

However, what shocked the Great Ink Worm the most was the scene on the central platform—several Yao Beast corpses as huge as mountains!

From their lingering pressure, it was not difficult to judge that they were all Divine Breath Realm existences when they were alive.

At this moment, their eyes were hollow, devoid of life, like carefully processed specimens.

What... on earth had these humans done?! The Parasitic God Insect Emperor was terrified.

Julian took a deep breath, an intoxicated expression on his face: "Ah—! The fragrance of this blood! Gentlemen, please enjoy it to your heart's content!"

The black-clad Cultivators on the right let out a low cheer in unison.

Leon only slightly raised his right hand, and the cheering stopped abruptly.

He walked slowly to the corpses of those Divine Breath Realm Beasts, extended a cold finger, and lightly stroked the head of one of them.

"Stand up!" He commanded in a cold voice.

A hair-raising scene occurred. Those huge Yao Beast corpses actually moved stiffly like marionettes, finally prostrating at Leon's feet!

A hooded Man in Black stepped forward quickly and reported respectfully: "Please forgive me, Lord Leon. Recently, almost all the Divine Breath Realm Beasts in the Secret Realm have been taken by those idiots to exchange for Eastern Cultivation Technique Jade Slips. We have done our best, but only managed to get these five."