“Could it be the vampires?” an official in the assembly hall exclaimed.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Gu Hai gently tapped the armrest on the throne with his finger, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Vampires? That should be impossible. Chang Ming has already taken in nearly all the vampires everywhere. How could there be vampires daring enough to cause trouble in the Han Nation?
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Just as the officials in the morning assembly discussed this, a drone came from outside Borderless Heavenly Capital. The sound was deafening; the officials immediately fell quiet.
“What’s going on?” Gu Qin’s face sank.
Buzz!
The ritual array outside Borderless Heavenly Capital automatically activated, closing off the city. This shocked countless citizens.
“Mosquitoes! So many mosquitoes!” the citizens exclaimed as they looked around.
A dense cloud of mosquitoes swarmed around Borderless Heavenly Capital. Some citizens outside returned in horror. However, the spies from the various factions spying on Borderless Heavenly Capital with malicious intent could not enter the city. The mosquitoes immediately engulfed them.
“Ah! Ah! Save me!”
Buzz!
The spies that tried to flee got drained of blood in the blink of an eye, leaving only piles of dry skin and flesh on the ground.
Gasp! Zhang Sanfeng goggled in shock and horror.
In the palace:
Long Wanqing held two chicken eggs in each hand, rotating the chicken eggs on her palms. She tried to prevent the chicken eggs from shattering or getting crushed while familiarizing herself with her new strength.
Suddenly, a drone filled the air.
Crack!
The frustrated Long Wanqing lost control of her strength. The four chicken eggs in her hands immediately burst.
“What’s going on?” Long Wanqing’s face sank.
Long Wanqing looked up and saw countless mosquitoes had suddenly appeared, filling the sky and surrounding the entire Borderless Heavenly Capital. Only the barrier stopped the mosquitoes.
Lifespan Court, where there was a large cluster of palace halls:
The loud drone had caught the Unborn Man’s attention as well. He looked into the sky and narrowed his eyes. “The Mosquito Daoist?”
The Unborn Man quickly headed to the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza.
“Gu Hai? Get out here!” A loud shout came from the sea of mosquitoes outside.
Everyone looked over and saw a black figure standing in the middle of the mosquitoes, where they were densest. Although the black figure did not show his face, the coldness he radiated gave everyone who saw him a chill in their hearts.
At the Soaring Palace Hall’s entrance:
Gu Hai slowly walked out with his officials in tow, heading to the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza.
The Unborn Man rushed over.
Buzz!
Suddenly, a skinny, black-Daoist-robed man appeared amid the mosquitoes outside the barrier. This man had a cold gaze as he stared straight at the imperial-robed Gu Hai.
“You are Gu Hai?” the black-Daoist-robed man said coldly.
“This animal spirit is called the Mosquito Daoist. I’m not sure where he came from. One thousand years ago, when he ruled a region in the south, he once challenged the Myriad Age Daoist Sect and consumed a disciple of Sect Master Heavenly Access. Later on, Sect Master Heavenly Access pursued him, forcing him to flee to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land in the west. The Present Buddha tried to subdue him, but he refused to submit. Catching the Present Buddha off guard, he obtained three petals of the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus, turning it into a Nine-Petaled Golden Lotus instead. The Present Buddha pursued him to kill him, so he fled to the east and disappeared for one thousand years. Unexpectedly, he managed to return!” the Unborn Man said as he recalled.
[TL Note: There is a similar story of a Buddha and his disciple releasing mosquitoes to deal with an enemy in the Investiture of the Gods. In the process of that, the mosquitoes ended up eating three petals of their Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus.]
“Oh? The Mosquito Daoist?” Gu Hai narrowed his eyes.
He managed to survive the pursuit of Sect Master Heavenly Access and the Present Buddha. This shows how extraordinary he is. However, why did he surround Borderless Heavenly Capital now?
“Mosquito Daoist? Why did you barge into my Borderless Heavenly Capital? Also, was it you behind the incident in the city lord’s official residence in Azure Foundation City?” Gu Hai asked coldly.
The Mosquito Daoist narrowed his eyes as he examined Gu Hai. “This Daoist has been investigating the surroundings and has some understanding of you. Gu Hai, how bold of you! Do you think this Daoist would be afraid of you with Long Zhanguo backing you? Humph! I fear no one in this world!”
“You run when you can’t win? It is a good plan!” Gu Hai said coldly.
“Humph! Why should I fight stubbornly if I can’t win? However, I am more than enough to deal with one Borderless Heavenly Capital! Gu Hai, I am here for someone today. Hand Chang Ming over!” the Mosquito Daoist said while glaring.
“Chang Ming?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows.
Unexpectedly, the Mosquito Daoist came for Chang Ming.
“Humph! This Daoist has already investigated it. The vampires submitted to Chang Ming, and Chang Ming submitted to you. Where is he? Hand him to me, or I will turn your Borderless Heavenly Capital into a dead city!” the Mosquito Daoist said with a glare.
“How dare you?!” Gu Hai’s eyes turned cold.
“Whether I dare or dare not, won’t you know if you watch? A defensive barrier? There is no barrier that my sea of mosquitoes cannot break!” the Mosquito Daoist said coldly.
As the Mosquito Daoist spoke, he waved.
Boom!
The surging, black cloud immediately charged Borderless Heavenly Capital’s barrier. The mosquitoes extended their proboscises and quickly absorbed the barrier’s energy.
Whoosh!
The bodies of the mosquitoes on the barrier quickly grew larger. The absorbed energy transferred straight to the Mosquito Daoist’s body.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
As the black mosquitoes absorbed the barrier’s energy, the barrier thinned visibly. It shook as its energy got absorbed, threatening to break at any moment.
“Your Majesty!”
“What should we do?!”
“The people outside were left with only dried flesh and skin after their blood got sucked!”
The countless citizens appeared horrified.
“Humph!” Gu Hai snorted coldly and waved at the sky, sending out a beam of red light.
Boom!
When the red light appeared, it suddenly turned into a sea of fire that filled the sky, encasing the outside of the barrier. Any mosquito that approached immediately sizzled and burned up.
“The Samādhi True Flame?” The Mosquito Daoist narrowed his eyes.
“The Samādhi True Flame!” Gu Hai said calmly.
The Mosquito Daoist suddenly appeared uncertain. “What is your connection to the Myriad Age Daoist Sect?”
“Mosquito Daoist, did you actually dare to barge into our capital without doing a thorough investigation?” Gu Hai asked coldly.
“So what if you have the Samādhi True Flame? It is not like this Daoist has not dealt with the Eight Trigram Furnace of the Myriad Age Daoist Sect before! Humph!” The Mosquito Daoist glared.
Boom!
The Mosquito Daoist flung out his sleeves, and countless crimson mosquitoes suddenly came out of his body.
The swarms of crimson mosquitoes rushed towards the Samādhi True Flame.
The crimson mosquitoes looked like they would burn up in the sea of fire when they suddenly extended their proboscises and sucked the Samādhi True Flame.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The crimson mosquitoes immediately shone with a fiery light after ingesting the surging Samādhi True Flame. Then, the absorbed fire-attributed energy transferred straight to the Mosquito Daoist.
“They can even absorb the Samādhi True Flame?” Gu Qin’s face sank.
“Hahahaha! The Samādhi True Flame? This veritable can even absorb the Solar True Flame!” the Mosquito Daoist laughed sinisterly.
“Gu Hai, don’t listen to him! He requires a long time to digest the pure energy he absorbs. Back at the Myriad Age Daoist Sect, he did indeed absorb the Eight Trigram Furnace’s Samādhi True Flame. However, he could not endure it after absorbing a certain amount!” the Unborn Man called out.
“Huh? Who are you? Why do you know what happened at the Myriad Age Daoist Sect? Gu Hai, you are indeed connected to the Myriad Age Daoist Sect! Humph! So what if you know? Do you have endless amounts of Samādhi True Flame? That is impossible unless you have the Eight Trigram Furnace. This small amount of Samādhi True Flame is completely insufficient!” the Mosquito Daoist said sullenly.
“Is that so?” Gu Hai’s eyes turned cold.
Gu Hai was about to unleash more Samādhi True Flame when a black river suddenly gushed from behind him.
“The nether river?” The Unborn Man felt slightly startled.
The black river that appeared behind Gu Hai gave off a shockingly powerful aura. The black river soared into the sky and crashed into the barrier, forming a humongous black sea that filled the sky.
When the vast sea appeared, it immediately drowned countless crimson mosquitoes, melting them away.
Then, the black sea rushed at the Mosquito Daoist.
The Mosquito Daoist sensed incredibly great pressure from the black sea, which filled his heart with dread.
“What is this?” The Mosquito Daoist’s expression changed.
“Just give it a try, and you will know,” Gu Hai sneered.
Boom!
A large wave swept towards the Mosquito Daoist.
Whoosh!
The Mosquito Daoist did not dare to touch the black water; he immediately shot into the distance.
“Humph! Gu Hai, I failed to conduct a thorough investigation this time, but I’ll be back! You will be in for it next time!”
Fierce words came from the Mosquito Daoist on the horizon. Then, he vanished.
“Huh?” Gu Hai felt slightly startled.
This is the Mosquito Daoist? He ran without even fighting?
“The Mosquito Daoist is an extremely sinister, vile person. Furthermore, he is quite strong. Usually, he prefers to ambush and trick people; he rarely engages in a frontal confrontation. He clashed head-on with you, likely because he thought Borderless Heavenly Capital was weak. Since he could not win, he ran. This is his basic nature. Even Sect Master Heavenly Access and the Present Buddha could not do anything about him,” the Unborn Man explained.
Rumble…!
The surging black water shrank as it returned, retreating behind Gu Hai and vanishing.
Few knew that Long Wanqing was responsible for it. Most thought that one of Gu Hai’s attacks had scared the Mosquito Daoist away.
“Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!” The cheers of countless officials and citizens rose all over Borderless Heavenly Capital.
Gu Hai took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes as the Mosquito Daoist vanished into the horizon.
“You have to be careful. The Mosquito Daoist is the ancestor of mosquito spirits. Mosquitoes are extremely crafty, never engaging in frontal confrontation. He will appear when you are relaxed and deal you a fatal blow. Furthermore, he is an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm expert. One thousand years ago, he caused trouble around the world but still remained safe,” the Unborn Man said, frowning.
“We can tell.” Gu Hai nodded.
The Mosquito Daoist is indeed troublesome. However, I cannot hand over Chang Ming. I need to be more careful in the future.
On a distant mountaintop far from Borderless Heavenly Capital:
“That bastard! What kind of info was that? Nascent Soul Realm? Screw Nascent Soul Realm! How can the aura of that black sea be from a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator?” The Mosquito Daoist’s eyelids twitched wildly as he looked at the distant Borderless Heavenly Capital.
“No matter who you are, both Sect Master Heavenly Access and the Present Buddha failed to deal with me. Humph! When I get the Primal Essence Pearl, watch how I kill you!” the Mosquito Daoist said with a cold expression.
Chapters for July: 06 / 30