The Five Dragons Gang had originated as a spontaneous brotherhood of boatmen eking out a living along the Xiang and Xiao Rivers, and it possessed a long history.
It was called the Five Dragons Gang because its founding chief had been proficient in Five Snakes gu sorcery.
"Five Snakes" did not sound particularly grand, so the name was later changed to "Five Dragons."
Relying on the formidable power of the Five Dragons Gu, the gang grew increasingly prominent, gradually developing into a massive faction.
The Five Dragons Gang's headquarters was located in Yunyang Prefecture. As a major local force, its interests were inevitably intertwined with those of the Zhang family in numerous ways.
Chen Dagou had an earthy, rustic name, but he was the younger brother of Chen Dalu, the chief of the Five Dragons Gang.
Within the gang, Chen Dagou served as the White Dragon Emissary, standing second in authority only to the chief himself.
His presence alongside Zhang Yunfeng today was on the direct orders of his elder brother, Chen Dalu, who had sent him to assist Zhang Yunfeng.
Just moments earlier, Zhang Yunfeng had instructed him to do one thing: seize this chance to get rid of Zhou Wuji, by whatever means necessary.
Chen Dagou was well aware of the Lower Cloister's might, but the Five Dragons Gang practiced gu witchcraft, putting them in sharp, inherent conflict with the Daoist sects.
While Zhang Yunfeng was enlisting their help against a minor Daoist to borrow the gang's strength, the Five Dragons Gang had also been waiting for just such an opportunity.
If they could use this to deepen their ties with the Zhang family and help bring down the Lower Cloister, the Five Dragons Gang would surely rise to even greater heights.
Thus, Chen Dagou had cast his sorcery on the spot without hesitation, unleashing the White Dragon Gu at Zhou Wuji.
As one of the Five Dragons Gu, the White Dragon Gu was refined by forcing over a hundred white serpents to devour one another.
Throughout its breeding, various venomous pests had to be fed into the vessel, culminating in a blood-sacrifice refinement.
The White Dragon Gu Chen Dagou had refined had already undergone two moltings, reaching the seventh rank.
It could bewitch a person's mind or knock them unconscious on the spot.
While seemingly lacking raw destructive force, the White Dragon Gu was exceptionally difficult to cultivate, and against cultivators of the same rank, it possessed immense power.
Chen Dagou dared to employ gu sorcery in plain view of everyone precisely because it was as covert as it was potent.
He knew Zhou Wuji was merely an eighth-rank Daoist. Skilled as the youth's swordsmanship might be, he was no true martial artist; without powerful vitality and blood qi, there was no way he could withstand the White Dragon Gu's bewitchment.
The moment Zhou Wuji nodded in a daze, everything that followed would be entirely out of his hands.
Although the others in the hall harbored suspicions, none of them recognized Chen Dagou, nor did they imagine anyone would dare use gu sorcery in public.
Wuzheng had his guesses regarding Chen Dagou's background, but he knew little about gu witchcraft.
With so many eyes watching, it was also awkward for him to openly cast a spell.
Seeing Chen Dagou point and shout at Zhou Wuji, Wuzheng could not see the White Dragon Gu, but he knew something was wrong.
Hiding his hands inside his sleeves, Wuzheng formed an incantation seal and silently chanted a mantra, preparing to unleash the Tianshu Yangming Demon-Subduing Thunder Sound.
The Tianshu Star—the Yangming Star God—was the first star of the Northern Dipper, governing the nine heavens and presiding with awe over the eight directions. The Northern Dipper Tianshu Yin Thunder was a method of commanding heavenly thunder rooted in the Star God of Tianshu.
The Tianshu Yangming Demon-Subduing Thunder Sound was an advanced variation of that art.
As a true disciple of Daoist Yizhen, Wuzheng's arcane cultivation was extraordinarily profound.
Yet such an advanced esoteric technique inevitably required time to invoke.
Zhou Wuji noticed Wuzheng's movements, but he knew such an art could never be cast instantaneously.
His own perfection stage allowed him to see the white serpent gu insects directly, which helped him grasp their true nature.
At bottom, they were merely microscopic insects invisible to the human eye, gathered and given form through the caster's divine sense.
Regardless of their abilities, as long as they were kept from entering the body, their threat could be easily averted.
Realizing this, Zhou Wuji felt that gu sorcery was indeed crude and underhanded—no wonder it was deemed a low-grade path of cultivation.
Facing the gaping maw of the giant serpent formed by thousands of minute insects, Zhou Wuji flicked his wide sleeve, activating the Five Yin Pouch.
Though sunlight filtered through the hall's doors and windows, none fell directly upon him.
As long as direct sunlight was avoided, the five yin spirits would suffer no harm, allowing the Five Yin Pouch to be unleashed.
The five types of yin spirits surged forth as black vapor, completely enveloping and gathering in the tens of thousands of dust-like gu insects.
The Five Yin Pouch contained its own space, making it a veritable counter to such minute pests.
Not only that, but Chen Dagou was enveloped by the black mist as well.
Chen Dagou relied on his divine sense to maintain his connection with the White Dragon Gu and perceive its changes. Yet the moment the Five Yin Pouch shrouded him, pitch darkness engulfed his vision, leaving him blind to everything.
The onlookers in the hall also saw a faint wisp of black vapor drifting like gauze. None of them recognized what it was, but they guessed it had to be some spell cast by Zhou Wuji.
Wuzheng, however, recognized the Five Yin Pouch and understood its various subtleties. This was the perfect opening for him to act!
Chen Dagou remained completely oblivious. He felt a biting chill seize his entire body, as though his blood were freezing solid. His divine sense was heavily suppressed, cutting off his awareness of the White Dragon Gu.
Even the White Dragon Mother Gu nurtured within his chest, having lost touch with its myriad offspring, emitted a frenzied, piercing screech at him.
Chen Dagou was horrified. If the mother gu ran amok, his own body, serving as its vessel, would be the first to suffer.
The churning black mist numbed him to the bone, making his movements dreadfully sluggish.
Just as Chen Dagou was about to chant a secret incantation to suppress the mother gu, Zhou Wuji unleashed his Night Rain Sword intent.
There were too many people in the hall; drawing a sword openly was inconvenient.
Besides, everyone present was contesting through spells; drawing a blade would be too crude and blunt. Zhou Wuji condensed his sword intent with divine sense, piercing through the Five Yin Pouch and thrusting straight into the depths of Chen Dagou's mind.
In an instant, Chen Dagou felt a chill pierce his glabella. It was as though an invisible divine sword had struck him, severing his focused divine sense and leaving his mind blank.
Though a clash on the mental plane was not enough to extinguish Chen Dagou's consciousness outright, it dealt catastrophic damage to his divine sense.
Losing all restraint, the agitated mother gu turned utterly wild, gnawing into Chen Dagou's heart.
The agonizing stab in his chest snapped Chen Dagou awake from his daze.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not muster his divine sense.
It had been cleaved apart by the invisible sword, and worse still, his connection with the mother gu had been severed.
Chen Dagou knew disaster was upon him. In desperation, he pulled out his dagger, intent on carving out the mother gu buried deep in his chest.
Precious as the mother gu was, it could never compare to his own life.
Wuzheng did not know what Chen Dagou intended to do, but seeing him draw a blade, he was hardly going to show mercy. He opened his mouth and barked:
"Evil fiend, accept your death!"
Empowered by the Tianshu Yangming Demon-Subduing Thunder Sound, Wuzheng's low voice carried rolling thunder. Heavy and majestic, the roar bore an awe-inspiring divine might capable of obliterating all wicked spirits.
Just as Wuzheng unleashed the Demon-Subduing Thunder Sound, Zhou Wuji retracted the Five Yin Pouch.
Yin spirits were frail and had to stay clear of thunderous sound.
Chen Dagou had already been panicking; struck by the thunder roar, his head felt as though it had exploded, and he instantly blacked out.
The thunder sound also dealt severe damage to the White Dragon Mother Gu. Wounded, it gnawed frantically at Chen Dagou's heart, shrieking with shrill squeaks.
The mother gu was a physical entity, swelling in size as it devoured Chen Dagou's heart.
In the blink of an eye, a bloody hole tore open in Chen Dagou's chest.
Resembling a slender serpent with eight spider legs, the scarlet mother gu crawled out from Chen Dagou's chest.
The changes occurred with blinding speed. In the span of a breath, Chen Dagou collapsed unconscious, and then he was dead.
When the White Dragon Mother Gu crawled out from Chen Dagou's corpse, the people in the hall were scared out of their wits.
Experienced and knowledgeable as Company Commander Zhang Yunfeng was, this was his first time seeing a manifested, fully formed gu insect—and one so grotesque and bloody. He could not help but feel a chill in his heart, hastily backing away.
The others did not know what it was, but they could see how sinister and terrifying the creature looked.
Without needing any warning, the crowd scrambled back toward the exit.
Even Wuzheng hurried back, fingering a Yin Thunder Bead from his sleeve pocket.
Though he had various talismans on him, he was not confident they could deal with this bizarre gu insect.
Only a Yin Thunder Bead could shatter myriad arts and specifically slay living beings.
Be it human, ghost, evil, or righteous, a single Yin Thunder Bead was enough to obliterate it.
However, Yin Thunder Beads were difficult to craft and astronomically expensive; Wuzheng was reluctant to waste one like this.
Zhou Wuji did not leave Wuzheng to agonize over it. He gave Wuzheng a subtle nod, then cast the Five Yin Pouch once more to shroud the mother gu.
Gorged on heart blood, the mother gu was in the throes of a violent transformation. Left undisturbed without a master, it would only grow more formidable.
Yet the creature had no idea how to counter the Five Yin Pouch. Sealed and suppressed by the invisible space formed by the five yin spirits, the mother gu instinctively sensed danger, thrashing its body and lunging with all its might.
Zhou Wuji had already drawn the Seven Stars Sword, thrusting downward in a single stroke.
A flash of cold radiance burst forth, and the mother gu snapped and shattered on the spot.
The sword qi atop the Seven Stars Sword was not something the mother gu could endure, and its profound sword intent extinguished all life within the creature, severing mind and spiritual essence—which was the true brilliance of sword intent.
Even seventh-rank martial artists like Li Cheng'an and Yang Shuling had not dared underestimate this bizarre gu insect.
Seeing Zhou Wuji slay the monstrosity with a single thrust, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Yunfeng's expression was conflicted.
He cared nothing for Chen Dagou's life or death, only that Chen Dagou had failed to frame Zhou Wuji and failed to kill him. The man had died in such a sloppy, wretched manner—without Zhou Wuji even needing to draw a sword against him!
With so many onlookers in the hall, he could not pin Chen Dagou's death on Zhou Wuji either.
With matters having deteriorated to this point, Zhang Yunfeng was at a loss for what to do.
He had always sensed something sinister about Zhou Wuji, convinced that the deaths of Zhang Xinhu and Wu Di were tied to him.
Yet having no evidence, he could only bring in Chen Dagou to deal with Zhou Wuji—never expecting Chen Dagou to be so useless!
However, he also realized something: the black vapor Zhou Wuji cast, drifting like gauze and mist, was exceedingly bizarre, yet it could be deployed in an instant. It was a potent spell, which only made him suspect Zhou Wuji all the more!
Furious, Wuzheng stepped forward to confront Zhang Yunfeng. "Company Commander Zhang, what is the meaning of bringing an evil cultivator who raises gu insects here?"
Fury churned within Zhang Yunfeng, but he could hardly break all decorum with the Lower Cloister. Forcing down his anger, he replied, "This man's gu insects could track the murderer! Who could have known you would suddenly attack him, causing his death on the spot?!"
"This man cast gu sorcery against my junior brother, unaware that my brother enjoys the Northern Emperor's protection and is immune to all evil!"
Wuzheng sneered. "He suffered the backlash of his own gu insects—he reaped what he sowed!"
Turning to the other onlookers in the hall, he added, "Everyone saw it clearly. Company Commander Zhang, mind what you say!"
Though the crowd was loath to offend Company Commander Zhang, neither did they dare offend Wuzheng, so they all kept their mouths firmly shut.
Zhang Yunfeng knew arguing the matter was futile. With a darkened face, he said, "Chen Dagou died on your account. I may wash my hands of this, but someone will come to settle scores with you—"
Flicking his sleeve without even bidding the magistrate farewell, he led his men out.
Wuzheng sneered in turn. Stepping up to the county magistrate, he cupped his hands. "Your Honor, we must ask you to see that justice is done in this matter!"
The county magistrate could only smile bitterly.
None of the others uttered a word.
The corpses of Wu Di and Chen Dagou lay there, one horizontal and one vertical, leaving everyone struck dumb.
Chapter 75