49: Chapter 49 Foxfire Burns the Demon, Traitors Purged

The sharp screech of claws tearing through the air was ear-piercing, and a foul-smelling yin wind scraped against Lin Zhou's cheek, leaving a shallow bloodstain as a bone-chilling sensation instantly spread to his limbs.

The faces of everyone in the hall changed drastically. The Alliance Leader let out a furious roar, his wide apricot-yellow Daoist robe fluttering without wind. As his sleeves whipped about, a streak of golden spiritual power, condensed as if solid, whistled out. The streak was entwined with ancient runes, carrying the prestige of suppressing all evil, and it crashed directly toward Mo Xuan's back. The Commander-in-Chief of the Military reacted even faster, pressing the red alarm on his waist. A piercing siren instantly echoed throughout the entire Martial Arts Alliance headquarters. The Nine-Turn Heavenly Net Formation guarding the hall hummed to life, and a pale golden light shield, like a giant inverted bell, sealed off all exits tightly. Above the light shield, phantoms of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin circled, letting out majestic roars that deterred the sinister Qi within the hall.

"Too late!" Mo Xuan let out a roar that didn't sound human. His body, controlled by parasitic insect eggs, erupted with a speed far exceeding the initial stage of the King Realm. The black insect legs on his limbs swung frantically, actually managing to dodge the Alliance Leader's certain-hit spiritual power streak. His eyes had turned completely pitch-black, the whites having vanished entirely, leaving only endless coldness and madness. His mouth split open to his ears, revealing two rows of fangs as sharp as daggers. Saliva mixed with dark green venom dripped down, making a sizzling corrosive sound as it hit the floor. Beneath his black robes, countless thumb-thick black insect legs pierced through the fabric, wriggling densely and frantically, making one's scalp tingle and stomach churn.

"Traitor! Give me your life!" Zhao Lie's bowstring vibrated, and three arrows engraved with evil-breaking runes flew off the string. A faint golden light flickered on the arrows as they turned into three streaks of light shooting toward Mo Xuan's limbs, attempting to restrict his movement. Qin Yue's green Sword Intent condensed into a hair-thin sword thread. The thread contained the purest Power of Purity from the Azure Cloud Sword Technique, precisely slashing toward the dark green venom dripping from Mo Xuan's claws to prevent it from splashing onto the people nearby. Su Ye roared and swung the Mountain-Opening Axe. Red light surged on the axe body, and the mountain and river patterns engraved on the blade seemed to come alive. With the power to split mountains and crack stones, it hacked down fiercely toward Mo Xuan's head, the strong wind making the robes of those around him flap loudly.

"Paltry tricks! How dare you show off before me!" Mo Xuan laughed wildly, black Qi surging around him like waves of ink. Those black insect legs actually acted like flexible tentacles, wrapping around the arrows and crushing them into powder with a light squeeze. The golden runes quickly dimmed and dissipated under the erosion of the black Qi. Qin Yue's Sword Intent thread landed on an insect leg but only cut a shallow opening. Dark green blood sprayed out, landing on the agarwood table on the floor and instantly corroding black holes into it. A thick, nauseating stench filled the hall.

At the critical moment, Lin Zhou did not retreat. Instead, a purple light flared in his eyes as the analysis speed of the Eye of Evolution soared to the limit. Streams of data flashed through his mind, analyzing Mo Xuan's weaknesses in exhaustive detail.

[Target: Mo Xuan (Devouring Insect Race Parasite Host)]

[Weakness: Parasitic insect egg core in the heart area. Fears extreme Yang and rigid power, such as True Sun Fire and Heavenly Fox Fire.]

[Current Combat Power: Infinitely close to the middle stage of the King Realm. Continuously consumes the host's vitality; can sustain for ten minutes at most.]

[Parasite Characteristics: Pain nerves have been destroyed. Physical attack effects halved, energy attack effects doubled.]

"Heavenly Fox Fire, burn away all evil!"

Lin Zhou gave a low shout, and the silver-white fox fire around him surged violently. The originally soft fox fire surrounding his body now became incredibly blazing. Faint golden patterns were mixed within the flames, carrying the sacred pressure of an ancient Divine Beast. It transformed into nine lifelike fox-tail-shaped flames that swept toward Mo Xuan.

This was no ordinary fire, but the innate fire derived after the Awakening of the Celestial Fox Physique. it contained the power to purify all sinister evil and specifically countered filth and parasites. Wherever the fox fire passed, the air let out sizzling pops. The black Qi on Mo Xuan's body melted away like snow meeting boiling water, emitting a shrill burning sound. Those wriggling black insect legs, as if meeting their nemesis, instantly curled, charred, and fell off. The dark green blood that sprayed out was evaporated the moment it touched the fox fire.

"Ah—! My body!" Mo Xuan let out a shrill scream. A brief moment of clarity flashed in his eyes—his own consciousness making a final struggle—before being replaced by even deeper malice. He stared at Lin Zhou with eyes nearly bursting, roaring, "I want you all dead! You're all coming with me!"

He suddenly opened his mouth, and a dark green light orb quickly condensed on the tip of his tongue. The light orb contained countless tiny insect eggs; it was the collection of all the venom and parasitic eggs in his body. Once it exploded, the entire hall would be contaminated by the eggs, and no one present would escape the fate of being parasitized. Black runes flickered on the light orb, emitting heart-palpitating fluctuations, and the surrounding air distorted slightly.

"Don't even think about it!" Lin Zhou stomped his foot on the floor. The ground paved with ten-thousand-year warm jade was actually stepped into a spiderweb-like crack by him. His figure was like a silver-white flash of lightning. The sun-shooting bow was held tightly in his hand, its body entwined with True Sun Fire and Heavenly Fox Fire, bursting with a dazzling light that illuminated the entire hall. He didn't nock an arrow but instead swung the bow directly, using the bow's spine—which contained primordial power—to smash down toward Mo Xuan's head with thunderous force.

Boom!

With a dull, heavy sound, Mo Xuan's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, dark green blood and black insect eggs splashing everywhere. But Lin Zhou was prepared; the nine fox fire tails instantly closed, forming a sealed flame cage that trapped all the splashing eggs inside. Under the high-temperature burning, the eggs made a crackling popping sound and turned into wisps of black smoke, dissipating into the air without leaving a trace.

The headless body staggered back a few steps. The insect legs beneath the black robe struggled frantically but could no longer take a single step forward. Dark green blood gushed from the neck like a fountain. Lin Zhou's gaze was cold. He raised a finger, and a fox fire condensed to the extreme transformed into a sharp sword, shooting precisely toward the heart of the body.

Sizzle—

The fox fire precisely pierced Mo Xuan's heart. As expected, a fist-sized black insect egg was hidden there. The surface of the egg was covered in eerie blood-colored runes, greedily devouring the host's final vitality and emitting a thick sinister Qi. Under the burning of the Heavenly Fox Fire, the egg let out a sharp wail. The runes quickly dimmed and vanished, and dense cracks appeared on the shell until it finally turned into a wisp of blue smoke, completely annihilated in the flames.

[Ding! Parasitic insect egg core detected as destroyed. Host Mo Xuan is officially dead.]

[Ding! Side mission: Clear the Traitors completed. Mission evaluation: Perfect.]

[Mission rewards issued: Eye of Evolution proficiency increased by 10%, current proficiency: 35%; Celestial Fox Physique Awakening degree increased by 1%, current Awakening degree: 93%; Obtained Devouring Insect Race Parasitic Mark Analysis Chart, automatically stored in System space.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, Heavenly Fox Fire proficiency increased. New characteristic unlocked: Purification, can clear low-level parasite marks.]

As the System notification sounds echoed in his mind one after another, Mo Xuan's body completely lost its vitality and crashed heavily to the floor, turning into a pool of dark green pus that emitted a nauseating stench. The Power of Purification from the hall's Formation quickly activated. A pale golden light enveloped the pus, and after a moment, the pus was completely decomposed, leaving only a faint trace.

The tense atmosphere in the hall slowly dissipated. Everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Looking at Lin Zhou, besides awe, there was a bit more lingering fear. If Lin Zhou hadn't seen through Mo Xuan's identity as a parasite host, or if Lin Zhou didn't have the Heavenly Fox Fire that countered evil, everyone present today would likely have perished here.

The Alliance Leader quickly walked to Lin Zhou's side. Looking at the faint traces left on the floor, his expression was as grave as a gathering storm: "I didn't expect the Devouring Insect Race's infiltration to have reached such a level that even the Sect Leader of the Black Fiend Sect was parasitized. If little friend Lin Zhou hadn't seen through his background today, the consequences would have been unthinkable." His voice carried a hint of lingering fear, and his forehead was covered in fine sweat.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Military's face was ashen, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white. He said solemnly, "It seems an internal investigation of the Blue Star is urgent. An order must be issued immediately to thoroughly investigate all Sect forces and high-level military officials to prevent other parasitized traitors from lurking." A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes; he would not be soft-hearted toward such hidden internal enemies.

The Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect held a whisk and waved it gently, dispersing the remaining stench in the hall. He said worriedly, "The Devouring Insect Race's methods are so bizarre and the Parasitic Marks are so hidden. I'm afraid investigating will not be easy. A slight mistake could alert the enemy."

The Sect Masters of the major Sects all nodded in agreement, their faces full of concern.

Lin Zhou put away the fox fire, and his hand holding the sun-shooting bow tightened slightly. The light on the bow's body slowly dimmed. He opened the System space and looked at the newly obtained analysis chart. The chart was densely packed with the characteristics and removal methods of the Devouring Insect Race's Parasitic Marks. A sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Alliance Leader, Commander-in-Chief, Seniors," Lin Zhou's voice carried a hint of gravity as it echoed through the hall, "I'm afraid things are even more serious than we imagined. This Devouring Insect Race Parasitic Mark is far more hidden than we anticipated; ordinary means simply cannot detect it. Furthermore, I suspect Mo Xuan had other accomplices behind him. Otherwise, he alone could never have remained undetected for so long after being parasitized."

Just as he finished speaking, the alarm at the Martial Arts Alliance headquarters sounded again. This time, however, the siren was even more urgent and piercing than before. Moreover, the source of the alarm was actually from the direction of the dungeon on the lowest level of the headquarters.

Everyone's faces changed as an ominous premonition rose in their hearts.

A guard, covered in blood and in tattered clothes, rushed into the hall. His left arm had been bitten off at the shoulder, and blood was still flowing from the wound. His face was filled with terror as he knelt on the ground and cried out in a trembling, hoarse voice, "Alliance Leader! It's bad! The major criminals in the dungeon have all been rescued! The Disciples guarding the dungeon have all... all turned into monsters like Senior Mo Xuan! They bite everyone they see!"

"What?!"

The Alliance Leader was furious, his hair and beard bristling. A pressure at the Peak of the King Realm erupted violently, making the pillars of the hall tremble slightly: "Outrageous! How dare they run wild in the Martial Arts Alliance headquarters!"

The Commander-in-Chief of the Military instantly drew the sidearm at his waist, a faint blue light flickering on the muzzle. He said solemnly, "Deploy the guard units! Seal off the dungeon! We cannot let those monsters escape!"

Purple light flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes as he pushed the X-ray ability of the Eye of Evolution to the limit. He instantly saw through the walls of the hall and spotted a thick black Qi rising toward the sky from the direction of the dungeon. Within the black Qi, bone-chilling roars could be heard—the unique sound of those who had been parasitized.

And in the deepest part of that black Qi, a familiar figure flashed by. On the black robe was embroidered a hideous skull—the very symbol of the Black Fiend Sect!

Lin Zhou's pupils suddenly constricted. He said solemnly, "Alliance Leader, it's the people from the Black Fiend Sect! I'm afraid their goal is more than just rescuing the prisoners in the dungeon!"