Rue Bu knew something was wrong, but he didn't think they were actually fighting a rank two gu worm. Now, facing a rank two gu master, he realized they had no hope. Even if they still had primeval essence, they couldn't put up a fight like before. Gritting his teeth in hesitation, Rue Bu asked. "Why are you after me?"
"Oh? You're more confident than I thought. Why do you think I'm after you instead of them?" she retorted.
"Hmph, these two? How could a rank two even bother to come themselves and do the job? Besides, you were almost caught by Ma Long Min near the Ma tribe's territory." he explained, his words piercing Shui Tao and Chen Huan.
"Hahaha, aren't you friends? How can you speak about them that way? Well, you're right, I'm here for you, but the reason doesn't matter. You're going to die anyway." She smiled at him, ignoring Chen Huan and advancing towards Rue Bu.
'Damn it! I don't have any other choice!' He thought with gritted teeth, and after a moment of hesitation, he looked at Shui Tao and simply said. "Sorry, Shui Tao." The young gu master shivered, glancing back at him in fear.
Rue Bu's eyes were crimson red, which stunned Shui Tao, who thought Rue Bu was out of primeval essence. But Shui Tao didn't focus on that for long as something more pressing demanded his attention. He looked down at his chest in horror.
"When..." was his last thought as pain rushed through his body, making him scream. His cries soon turned silent. Rue Bu's hand was embedded in his chest, his fist glowing with a green hue. When he retracted it, it turned back to normal.
"I wanted to give you a more painless death, but I didn't have enough primeval essence to use Fire Fly." Rue Bu mumbled, watching as his body emitted a green hue before collapsing to the ground.
Chen Huan's eyes widened in shock, she couldn't process what was happening and was paralyzed by the unexpected turn of events. Luo Niu, on the other hand, was alert. 'That aura is of a rank two gu worm. What is he planning?' she thought. 'Well, I won't give him the chance to do anything.' She dashed towards Shui Tao's body, planning to thwart whatever Rue Bu was intending.
"Hmph, you'll have to wait a bit to experience what's in there." Rue Bu said, appearing in front of Shui Tao's body to defend it.
'What? Isn't he planning to hide behind the gu worm's effect? I don't understand what's going on, but I'll just have to kill him.' Although Luo Niu was confused by Rue Bu's actions, she didn't waste time thinking further. After all, what could a rank one gu master do to defend against her? Nothing!
Inside her aperture, various gu worms danced around each other, shining above her red steel primeval essence in a spectrum of colors. They eventually settled, revolving around what looked like a black metal rod, forming a ring around it.
After effectively activating her killer move, she retrieved the black rod from her aperture, the ring still around it. She activated it once more, then tapped it on the ground twice.
From the ground, two black steel rods emerged, identical in shape to the one in her hand, but without the ring. Aiming the rod in her hand at Rue Bu, she sent them straight for the kill.
One rod was aimed directly at Rue Bu while the other took a longer route, targeting Shui Tao's dead body to eliminate any chances of Rue Bu's plan succeeding.
Rue Bu gritted his teeth, seemingly unconcerned for his own safety, as he waited patiently for the metal rod to strike. Yet, when it appeared to land on him, it was still nearly five meters away.
The situation left Luo Niu confused. 'What? What just happened to my attack? Why did it land in the middle of nowhere?' she thought. Rue Bu stood unharmed, leading her to assume it was a defensive killer move. 'But how can this be? He has a killer move that can defend against my 'Replicating Ring' and I even used it on my rank two offensive gu worm.' She didn't want to admit it, but there was no other explanation. Shifting her focus to the other rod still heading for Shui Tao, she thought. 'How can a dead corpse defend against me?'
'I will have to destroy whatever you are planning first.' she resolved. But as the second rod entered the five-meter radius, Luo Niu felt some resistance. She concentrated on advancing the metal rod, feeling the resistance weaken the further it moved.
Finally, she managed to push the attack through, but Rue Bu was already there, ready to intercept it.
Luo Niu was astonished, not just because Rue Bu was there—that was expected—but because he was unharmed. 'Didn't I break his killer move? I thought he would die when I broke it, but he doesn't even have a scratch on him. How is this possible?' she wondered as the metal rod shot straight at Rue Bu without resistance.
Rue Bu's eyes remained a fierce crimson from the effects of the berserk gu, but now his attire had transformed into a fiery red robe. He gritted his teeth as a metal rod shot through him, causing the robe to vanish instantly.
He collapsed to the ground, blood oozing from the wound inflicted by the rod. The pain was excruciating, contorting his face and eliciting screams, yet he persevered, refusing to black out. If he lost consciousness, his plan would fail, and he would die. 'Just... a little... bit more...' His thoughts were barely coherent as he stubbornly clung to consciousness.
Behind him, Shui Tao's body was enveloped in a green hue. In the brief time Rue Bu had bought, it spread across Shui Tao's entire body, finally reaching his brain. As the green hue touched Shui Tao's brain, it began to shine with a dazzling emerald light, casting warmth on Rue Bu's nearly still body and giving him a glimmer of hope. After a second or two, the light ceased, leaving Shui Tao's body dry, like a fruit squeezed of its last drop of juice.
"Hmph, I don't know what gu worm this is, but even if you can activate it, what good will it do? You'll die either way." Despite her words, she didn't dare approach, uncertain of the gu worm's effects, and prepared to activate her killer move again. After all, he was already dying in front of her, what else could he do?
But when the gu worm left Shui Tao's body, Chen Huan, still in shock over Shui Tao's death, screamed aloud. "M-Mindless W-Wasp!" She stammered. When Luo Niu heard her, her expression turned grim. She no longer cared about safety and dashed toward the gu worm.
It was already too late. The mindless wasp, hovering under the moonlight in the middle of the mountain, shone with a dazzling emerald light. The light enveloped everyone on the mountain, calming their thoughts and emotions, and bestowing a sense of peace and tranquility.
Luo Niu couldn't reach it in time. Under the warm, calming light, she stood still, like a mindless creature devoid of intelligence or will.
When Chen Huan screamed, Luo Niu's first instinct was to flee, but she knew how powerful the mindless wasp's effect could be and wasn't sure of its range. Instead, she resolved to destroy the gu worm at any cost. However, she was already too late. The mindless wasp's influence took hold immediately, slowing her down and eventually making her stop. When the emerald light subsided, she regained her senses.
Rue Bu was barely conscious, but he managed to whisper. "Come... heal... me..." before succumbing to unconsciousness. If he had blacked out any sooner, he might have died. Fortunately for him, Luo Niu, a rank two expert of the Jin tribe, likely possessed at least a rank 1 healing gu worm.
"Yes, master." she replied without a hint of resentment and rushed to his aid. After completing its task, the mindless wasp fell to the ground. Luo Niu ignored it, focusing solely on helping Rue Bu.
Chen Huan picked up the wasp, looking at it in awe before carefully putting it away and hurrying to assist Rue Bu. She, too, was under the mindless wasp's influence. The emerald light had altered both her and Luo Niu's memories and thoughts just enough to make them serve Rue Bu as their 'master.' Without special methods or external help, they wouldn't be able to break free from this effect.