Seeing that Yuan Ling was not aware that she was already dead, one could not expect her to identify who had murdered her.
Jiang Li was able to discern the sequence of events.
Firstly, Yuan Ling killed everyone in two small towns, before controlling their bodies with Corpse Worm, enabling them to carry on with their normal production. However, at her level, she could only use Dantian Corpse Worm to control their behaviors, but not their way of thinking.
Subsequently, whoever killed Yuan Ling took control of her with the Corpse Worm as well, this time using the Sea of Knowledge Worm on everyone else. In this way, everyone in the two small towns could appear as if they were living beings - even if a Nascent Soul Stage practitioner came, they would not have identified any issues.
However, Jiang Li could not understand what was the objective.
What was the purpose of the person behind all this?
The Pure Heart Saintess, with her radiant smile, asked Jiang Li to leave the room, which gave her the opportunity to be alone with Yuan Ling. Jiang Li, with his skin crawling at her smile, moved far away.
However, Jiang Li's intuition was beyond the ordinary, as he could faintly hear the cries coming from the room.
The cries gradually faded to silence. The Pure Heart Saintess cleaned the blood off herself using a spell and walked out of the room, laughing. She then heard the message Jiang Li had left for her.
"There seems to be a problem with Du Xin'er, I'm going to check it out."
The Pure Heart Saintess quickly arrived at Lower River Town and found Jiang Li and Du Xin'er in a kitchen, with something still steaming on the stove.
"What happened?"
Jiang Li was holding a handful of rice, lost in thought, while Du Xin'er stood still, her eyes devoid of spirit.
"I've been monitoring this place with my Divine Sense and I noticed Du Xin'er was pouring this stuff into the husked Spirit Rice."
It was an act against logic. The eight small towns would not give Linggu directly to Red Dust Pure Land, but instead they would husk Linggu into Spirit Rice. Spirit Rice was delivered to Red Dust Pure Land while the rice bran was retained, buried in the soil to increase its Spiritual Energy content.
During this process, Du Xin'er only needed to supervise, but not only did she fail to do so, she brought a rice tub from the cellar and was going to pour the rice from the tub into a pile of newly husked Spirit Rice.
Jiang Li pointed to the side, and Pure Heart Saintess followed his gaze to find a tub of Spirit Rice, apparently normal.
"I would advise you not to use your Divine Sense to examine this tub of Spirit Rice, your heart won't be able to bear it."
If Jiang Li had not said so, the Pure Heart Saintess would not have done this. However, his warning made her curious enough to use her Divine Sense to scan it.
Hmm, could it resist the Divine Sense?
The Pure Heart Saintess increased the intensity of her Divine Sense and saw the horrors hidden beneath the skin of the Spirit Rice.
"Ugh——"
Pure Heart Saintess turned pale and started retching.
Having already undergone fasting, her body was pure, hence there was nothing for her to throw up.
This wasn't a tub of Spirit Rice; it was a tub full of worms disguised as Spirit Rice!
"Junior Sister Xin'er, what are you trying to do!"
Du Xin'er snapped back to her senses, confusedly said: "Isn't there a rule in our sect to pour this barrel of Spirit Rice into the Spirit Rice pile?"
"Who told you that? When did Red Dust Pure Land have such a rule?"
Du Xin'er tried hard to recall, realizing that although she remembered this rule, she couldn't remember who told her about it.
Jiang Li broke open one grain of Spirit Rice with his fingernail, exposing the extremely tiny white worm inside, and displayed it in front of Du Xin'er.
"Do you know what this is?"
Confused by Jiang Li's actions, Du Xin'er queried: "Isn't this just Spirit Rice? Is there something else inside it?"
Jiang Li said nothing more and asked Du Xin'er to leave.
"Someone has tampered with her cognition, making her think that this is just a vat of ordinary Spirit Rice, a trick of the Corpse Worm."
Jiang Li lifted the lid off the steaming pot on the stove, revealing a bowl of fragrant Spirit Rice.
He picked up one grain of rice, broke it open and, again, found a white worm inside. And this time, it was alive and seemed even more vigorous than before!
"Someone has introduced Gu worms into the Spirit Rice, causing people from your Red Dust Pure Land to ingest them. We're unsure of the worms' effects though."
The Pure Heart Saintess' face was ashen.
The Remote Communication Talisman flashed and Jiang Li answered.
"Brother Jiang, I found the Gu Clan!" Zhang Konghu, who was like a black bear, appeared before Jiang Li and said in a deep voice, "They said that at the very least, they need to reach the Body Integration Realm to cultivate corpse worms that can animate corpses."
"But they're also uncertain. They're just guessing based on records, since there are no experts in the Gu clan currently. The most powerful is only at the Nascent Soul Stage."
Zhang Konghu sighed as he said this. He knew that the Gu Clan was concealed from the world, but he didn't expect them to be in such a state. After all, there were great figures in the Gu Clan who ascended to the Immortal Realm in the past.
"I also asked who can cultivate Gu worms, they said that one must read the ancient texts offered up in the ancestral hall. These texts are strictly guarded, making them impossible for outsiders to cultivate."
"But I tried and managed to effortlessly steal the ancient books without anyone noticing. Of course, I returned them."
"Oh right, they also mentioned that the Mind Control Gu, which is forbidden for cultivation in the Gu Clan, is missing. They're in hiding and can't leave the mountain, hoping that we at the Imperial Palace could disseminate information for everyone to be cautious."
"Mind Control Gu?"
"Yes, the Gu Clan said that this type of Gu worm is extremely terrifying - once ingested, even if one later becomes a Body Integration Divinity Transformation, the master of the Gu worm can still control their mind, and the person themselves may not even notice. Therefore, the Gu Clan has ancestral teachings to prohibit cultivating the Mind Control Gu!"
"See if this is the Mind Control Gu!" Jiang Li opened his palm to reveal a white worm.
"Yes, yes, this is it– shaped like a cocoon, small as a hair, calm in water, lively in fire. Brother Jiang, where did you find this?"
In a clatter, the Pure Heart Saintess dropped her pots and bowls, her legs giving way as she fell to the ground helplessly.
How long have Gu worms been added to the Spirit Rice? How many junior sister apprentices have eaten it? Have fasting senior brothers tried it occasionally? How many people in Red Dust Pure Land have Mind Control Gu in their bodies?
The Pure Heart Saintess did not dare to think deeply about these questions!
Crack!
A distinct sound echoed within the Pure Heart Saintess' heart.
Crack in the Dao heart!
"Did the Gu Clan mention how to break the Mind Control Gu?"
"Like other Gu worms, either the master of the Gu worm voluntarily opens it, or the worm inside the body is killed. Therefore, the Mind Control Gu is ineffective against the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, as the Heavenly Tribulation during Transcendance will destroy the worm."
"I'll explain more later, hang up!"
Jiang Li's expression was extremely serious, as he used the Buddhist Lion's Roar Skill to shout at the Pure Heart Saintess.
"You have always had a smooth journey without any setbacks. Just this circumstance has defeated you! Pure Heart, stand up! The situation has not reached its final step! Your junior sister apprentices are still waiting for you to save them!"
"Pure Heart, have you forgotten your Dao heart vow! Can the Dao heart break this easily!"
"With the aid of me, the current Human Emperor, there's a chance for everything!"
"Pure Heart, stand up!"
"Is the Dao heart that you've cultivated over hundreds of years this fragile!"
"Pure Heart, stand up!"
The roar from Jiang Li was like a stabilizing rod, steadying the turbulent sea of consciousness in the Pure Heart Saintess, allowing her fissured Dao heart to show signs of healing!
Yes, the situation has not reached its final step. The mastermind has been secretly controlling for decades, and even now has not activated the Mind Control Gu, indicating that the time is not yet ripe, there's still a chance for everything!
"Jiang Li, thank you!" The Pure Heart Saintess got up slowly with determined eyes and flew towards the Red Dust Pure Land.
Jiang Li followed closely behind.
However, seeing the Sect Protection Array open around the Red Dust Pure Land and a figure laughing maliciously behind the light curtain almost caused another crack in the Dao heart of the Pure Heart Saintess.
The instigator, the elder who was expelled from Red Dust Pure Land, Xuan Ai!