"It's a Death Worm."
Jiang Wenji gazed at the insect on the ground, her expression extremely solemn.
"If one Death Worm appears, there will likely be many more nearby."
"Death Worm?"
Jiang Wen watched the Tuoba clansmen carry the insect away, leaving a corroded pit in the ground.
These insects not only had hard shells but were also venomous.
They were fast in flight and incredibly strong.
If they came in swarms, it would be a nightmare.
Just as he suspected, Death Worms traveled in swarms.
"Yes, Death Worms."
Jiang Wenji's face showed more concern.
"These monsters have extremely hard bodies, and ordinary weapons can hardly break their shells.
Moreover, they fly extremely fast, making it difficult even for the elite armored soldiers of the Tai Cang to capture them.
These strange insects usually live together in swarms, leaving nothing but barren land in their wake.
That's why we call them Death Worms.
These insects are even more cruel than cultivators or demons!"
"The appearance of this Death Worm is likely a vanguard of the swarm.
Fortunately, you killed it; otherwise, once it returned to deliver the message, the entire Tuoba clan would face extermination."
Could these insects cause such severe consequences?
Jiang Wen couldn't help but feel surprised.
If the Tai Cang Dynasty was truly the one he had seen in historical records, it shouldn't be in such a weak state.
After all, it was a unified dynasty that had single-handedly contended with immortal cultivators for ten thousand years.
How could it fear these strange insects?
If he were to return to his full strength, a single flying sword would be enough to kill millions of them.
With the Four Symbols Formation protecting him, these insects, no matter how fast, would be helpless against him.
He decided to observe more to see what the Tai Cang, recorded in the great history books, was truly like.
Was it as dark and brutal as they said, using living people as sacrifices and commoners as materials for demon transformation?
"It was just a small effort," Jiang Wen said.
"...You are very special.
Are you truly a cultivator?"
Jiang Wenji stood under the torchlight, which shone on her, reflecting her complex expression.
"I'm not sure either.
I've forgotten many things."
Jiang Wen continued with his amnesiac persona.
"Is it important to the princess whether I'm a cultivator or not?"
"At least I've never seen a cultivator like you," Jiang Wenji said before turning and entering the wooden house to rest.
The guard beside her stood outside the door, looking at Jiang Wen with a knowing smile: "Brother Jiang, don't take the princess's words too seriously.
She's just a straightforward person who says what she thinks.
Although you are a cultivator, I can see that you are different from other cultivators."
Jiang Wen shook his head, listening to the guard's words, and looked at the Tuoba clan's tribe illuminated by the fire: "Actually, I didn't mind it; I was just a little curious."
"Curious about what?"
The guard scratched the back of his head, his rugged face full of confusion.
"What's the difference between me and the cultivators you know?"
Jiang Wen asked.
"This, I don't know how to say it."
The guard said with a bitter face.
"I haven't seen many cultivators, but I've heard people say they are very fierce and cold-blooded.
Anyone targeted by a cultivator always meets a terrible end."
"Fierce? Cold-blooded?"
Jiang Wen felt a tingling on his scalp.
Although there were indeed good and bad cultivators, being called cold-blooded was puzzling.
How was this different from what he had heard?
Wasn't it the Tai Cang tyranny that the cultivators were supposed to rectify?
"Well, I can't explain it clearly.
You're the only cultivator I've met since I was born.
But you saved my and the princess's lives, so I trust you."
The guard laughed heartily, patting Jiang Wen on the shoulder.
"I, Meng Yue, am not an ungrateful person.
When we return to Licheng, you must come to my house for some fun."
"Okay."
Although he was still puzzled as to why cultivators were called fierce, Jiang Wen had too little information and could only put these questions aside for now.
He looked at the guard, who was a fourteen-foot tall man, and saw that the injuries he had suffered before had almost completely healed.
This made Jiang Wen marvel at how tough this guy was.
His abdomen had been pierced, yet he could still jump around and follow them for several days, and then he recovered.
With this monster-like healing ability, it was no wonder he could become a forbidden army guard of the Tai Cang.
The guard's name was Meng Yue, and he claimed to be the son of the Meng family of Licheng.
According to him, the Meng family was one of the eight great families of the Tai Cang, serving as generals and marshals for generations, loyal to the Tai Cang.
Although the Meng family of Licheng was a branch, it didn't disgrace the glory of its ancestors.
All the sons of the Meng family either joined the army as generals or enlisted as elites.
Meng Yue was the same; at the age of twelve, he could defeat a hundred men and enter the ranks of the forbidden army.
It was precisely for this reason that Meng Yue was assigned to guard Princess Jiang Wenji.
The night grew darker, and a thick fog slowly rose.
Jiang Wen was a little tired and returned to the wooden house to rest.
When he looked at the world outside the next morning, it was already shrouded in a thick fog.
"The fog is rising."
Jiang Wenji stood at the door of the wooden house, talking to herself, but Jiang Wen could hear a hint of sadness in her tone.
It was just fog; was there any need to be so sentimental?
Jiang Wen thought, suddenly recalling stories about the fog.
He looked at the thick fog outside and let his divine sense explore it.
But when his divine sense touched the fog, the mist seemed to wrap around him like bone-corroding flames.
Jiang Wen felt a sharp pain and quickly withdrew his divine sense from the fog.
His brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and his mind was filled with unbearable pain.
Jiang Wen endured the discomfort and circulated his magic power to relieve his pain, and it took a long time before he felt much better.
"What's going on?
This fog is so strange!"
Jiang Wen was greatly shocked and dared not casually test the fog with his divine sense again.
The tiny wisp of fog he had encountered still lingered in his divine sense and was slowly being worn away by his magic power.
Jiang Wenji, who was beside him, naturally saw his abnormality and asked: "What's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing."
Feeling the pain subside, Jiang Wen breathed a sigh of relief.
He told Jiang Wenji about what he had just encountered, gaining some understanding of the fog.
"I have never encountered what you described, so it's best not to touch this fog."
Jiang Wenji said.
"Even the High Priest of Tai Cang dares not easily come into contact with this fog.
Otherwise, they will become demented at best and lose their lives at worst.
Ordinary people who are in the fog will soon go mad and eventually become non-human monsters.
If there is a place to shelter, it is best to avoid this fog."
"How long will this fog last?"
"I don't know."
Jiang Wenji shook her head.
"No one knows when the fog comes and goes, and no one can escape it.
All we can do is wait, or…"
Jiang Wenji didn't finish her sentence, but the sound of earth-shattering drums rang out outside the wooden house.
