Chapter 40: Taking on a Disciple - Gu Qing

"By the way, kid, what's your name?"

Up above, the cyan mist slowly converged as Jiuyou's figure emerged from within.

The young man surnamed Gu only felt a flash of dark light before his eyes—Jiuyou was suddenly standing right before him, moving far too fast for him to react. Startled, he stumbled back several steps, his Adam's apple bobbing as he forced himself to calm his trembling heart before speaking slowly.

"Reporting to Grand Ancestor, this junior's name is Gu Qing."

"Gu Qing—hahaha, excellent!"

Jiuyou let out a booming laugh that echoed through the canyon, shrill and bone-chilling.

"Gu boy, hurry up and release those bugs of yours. Let this old man take a good look at them."

Gu Qing remained silent, his hand lightly resting on the spirit insect pouch as his peripheral vision flicked toward Jiuyou. The withered, gaunt face bore a faint, almost imperceptible smile, while murky, aged eyes glimmered with a dark light, as if he had spotted prey.

Drawing a deep breath, Gu Qing steadied his surging emotions and lightly patted the insect pouch.

A flash of dark purple light erupted from the pouch's opening, followed by a deafening hum. A beam of purple light shot out like a wandering dragon, rising slowly until it coalesced above Gu Qing's head, circling without pause.

Seeing this, Jiuyou couldn't help but take a few steps closer, his gaze locked onto the patch of purple light.

The purple glow was composed of countless purple-shelled spirit insects, each the size of a fingernail, radiating a faint, eerie luminescence. Tens of thousands of them clustered together into a massive insect tide, their hum rattling the scalp. On this scale, even facing a Late Golden Core cultivator wouldn't faze them.

Gu Qing subtly retreated a few more steps, putting some distance between himself and Jiuyou.

Jiuyou acted as if he hadn't noticed at all, walking straight toward the purple spirit insects with blazing intensity in his eyes.

"Good, good, excellent! Truly the Soul-Eating Insects!"

His voice trembled slightly.

"A legendary ancient insect that hasn't appeared in millennia, and this old man encounters it here. Both of us walk the ghost path—if paired with my Nether Capital Art, my future strength will surely skyrocket—hehehe—"

Jiuyou laughed heartily, extending two withered palms as if to stroke those purple spirit insects. His eyes stared straight at the swarm, as though he already considered them his own.

Gu Qing felt the air around him growing colder and colder, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward half a pace and bowed again to Jiuyou.

"S-Senior... This junior stumbled upon these Soul-Eating Insects in a predecessor's cave dwelling. This junior has already bonded with the insect queen through a blood pact—we are connected by blood. If anything happens to this junior..."

Before he could finish.

Jiuyou waved his hand, abruptly cutting him off.

"Enough. This old man has met plenty of juniors with some fortune before. Every single one of them says the same thing you do."

Jiuyou turned around, his gaze boring straight into Gu Qing's eyes.

Gu Qing's entire body trembled as he quickly snapped back to reality. He glanced at Jiuyou's expression, then immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze. But his mind was racing.

"This old bastard is trying to bluff me. If there's a single ounce of falsehood in my words, I'll probably be dead in the next second. But what I said is true—let's see if this old bastard dares to gamble."

Jiuyou stared at Gu Qing's expression for a long moment, finding no flaw, before suddenly letting out a chuckle.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Gu boy, you're much sharper than that dull-witted grand-disciple of mine. The more I look at you, the more pleased I am."

With his hands behind his back, Jiuyou took slow, deliberate steps toward Gu Qing. With each step, his aura grew heavier, and wherever his feet passed, a thick layer of frost formed on the ground.

"How about this—I'll take you on as my personal disciple, what do you say? With my strength, once you become my personal disciple, you can look across the entire Tianyuan Sea—there won't be many who dare to mess with you."

This wasn't a choice—it was coercion.

A flicker of hesitation passed through Gu Qing's eyes. He didn't fully understand Soul Wraith Island's situation, nor how much of Jiuyou's words were true. But becoming a disciple of an old monster at the Nascent Soul level would mean he was no longer just an ordinary rogue cultivator of the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

But still—this was a demonic path overlord. Could he really be trusted?

He knew in his heart that Jiuyou only valued his usefulness. The day he became useless, he'd be a discarded pawn.

Gu Qing looked up at Jiuyou again. The chill around the old man grew denser, a faint killing intent seeping through, as if the slightest refusal would mean instant death.

He dared not hesitate any longer. Hurriedly, he bowed deeply to Jiuyou.

"This junior has long heard of Soul Wraith Island's fame and has admired it for a long time. Being able to worship under Grand Ancestor is truly this junior's honor."

"Excellent! Hahaha!"

Jiuyou quickened his pace, instantly withdrawing the chill and killing intent. A broad smile spread across his face as he came to stand beside Gu Qing, reaching out to pat him lightly on the shoulder.

"From now on, you are this old man's personal disciple, hehe."

Gu Qing's mouth twitched a few times as he forced out a strained smile, not daring to spoil the mood of this temperamental demonic path old ancestor.

Just as Gu Qing began to relax—

Jiuyou's expression suddenly shifted, and he let out a sinister grin.

The surroundings erupted with clusters of cyan mist, enveloping Gu Qing entirely. Within the mist, streaks of Cyan Chains shot out like venomous snakes, instantly binding Gu Qing's limbs and lifting him off the ground.

"M-Master... why is this?"

Panic flooded Gu Qing as he struggled desperately, but he couldn't move an inch. His mana and even his soul were locked tight within his body, utterly powerless.

Jiuyou slowly floated before him, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Good disciple, since you've become a disciple of Soul Wraith Island, you naturally must undergo the induction ritual. Only then can you be considered my true personal disciple."

He paused, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

"Don't worry—you're not alone. Every disciple on this island has gone through the same process."

No sooner had Jiuyou spoken than a ball of cyan light suddenly appeared in his hand. The radiance swirled, emitting waves of eerie soul force. He slowly brought the light closer to Gu Qing's head, then pressed it firmly onto his face.

The moment the hand made contact, Gu Qing began thrashing wildly, his limbs flailing chaotically. Gradually, the struggles turned into convulsions, and then, nothing at all.

He felt something insidious burrow into his sea of consciousness, taking root deep within his soul. It lodged itself there, impossible to expel, accompanied by a faint, gnawing pain.

Time passed—how long, he didn't know.

Jiuyou's raspy voice finally came through.

"Alright, my good disciple. Now you are officially my personal disciple."

Gu Qing felt his limbs loosen, and he collapsed weakly onto the ground, his eyes vacant, gasping for air.

He barely managed to use his Divine Sense for internal inspection and was horrified to find a cyan skull firmly rooted in his sea of consciousness, radiating a heart-stopping aura—as if with a single thought from its master, it could tear his soul to shreds.

Gu Qing clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. He forced himself to stand up and bowed once more to Jiuyou, his voice weak and low.

"Disciple Gu Qing pays respects to Grand Ancestor."

The moment he finished.

Jiuyou's next words sent another shock through him.

"Oh, right. You also have that supreme yang spirit flame, don't you? This old man is quite interested in that too."

Jiuyou's gaze burned into him as the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward.

"Bring it out. Let your master see it."