86: Chapter 86 The Wedding Begins

"Tsk tsk, the grand wedding is in three days. Hundred Poisons City hasn't been this lively in a long time! It's all thanks to the Great King's blessing, otherwise, how could we ever get to drink wedding wine!"

"Isn't that the truth? When the time comes, there will be a city-wide feast, and every Yao can go for a drink! I heard that wine is something extraordinary..."

"That Flood Dragon Maiden is quite fortunate! To actually gain the Great King's favor, she'll be below one but above ten thousand in Hundred Poisons City from now on!"

"That's for certain..."

"..."

Ning Yuan walked through the streets, where everyone was discussing the Hundred Poisons King's grand wedding in three days. Every Yao spoke with high spirits, appearing even happier than if they were getting married themselves.

Through these bits and pieces of conversation, Ning Yuan roughly reconstructed the cause and effect of the situation, guessing the reason why Du Jiaojiao was being forced into marriage.

The Hundred Poisons King likely took an interest in Du Jiaojiao's Dragon Bloodline and wanted to unite with her so she could give birth to children possessing the Dragon Bloodline.

After all, the Hundred Poisons King's true form was merely a centipede; his Bloodline couldn't compare to Du Jiaojiao's at all. Since the Yao Race placed extreme importance on Bloodlines, it wasn't surprising that the Hundred Poisons King had such thoughts.

But Ning Yuan would not let him have his way. He hadn't even made a move on Du Jiaojiao himself, so how could he let someone else beat him to it? No matter what, he had to rescue Du Jiaojiao.

However, as for how to rescue her, Ning Yuan hadn't decided yet. The current Hundred Poisons City could be described as a dragon's pool or a tiger's den; if he acted recklessly, he might even get himself killed.

Just as he was pondering how to rescue Du Jiaojiao, Ning Yuan unconsciously arrived at the entrance of a market. The endless sounds of hawking coming from inside snapped his thoughts back to reality.

After thinking it over, Ning Yuan stepped into the market. Since he had no clues for the moment and there were still three days left, he would first familiarize himself with the terrain of Hundred Poisons City.

It was fortunate he arrived in time; otherwise, in two more days, the rice would have been cooked, and there would be nothing left for him to do.

The market was even more lively than the outside; it was like a tide of people, shoulder to shoulder, where all kinds of Yao Race could be seen.

Most of the Yao Race had incomplete transformations, still retaining obvious Yao characteristics, and many couldn't even manage a transformation at all, walking through the market in their true forms.

This market was also the work of the Hundred Poisons King; otherwise, no Yao would have such awareness, and they would still be in a chaotic state of mutual plundering.

Perhaps due to the Hundred Poisons King's wedding, a large number of Yao had gathered here to set up stalls and sell various Heaven And Earth Treasures, leaving Ning Yuan dazzled.

"Eh?" Suddenly, Ning Yuan's brow twitched as he seemed to discover something interesting, and he immediately walked toward a roadside stall.

Dozens of items were neatly arranged on that stall. The stall owner was a Golden Core Yao with a rat's head, whose small eyes darted around, flickering with shrewdness.

A transparent box sat on the stall, containing hundreds of green-bean-sized black insects. They either flew or crawled inside the box, appearing quite ordinary.

Ning Yuan looked at those small insects, walked over quickly, cupped his hands, and said, "Fellow Daoist, how much are you selling these Spirit Devouring Worms for?"

Seeing a customer arrive, the rat demon's small eyes couldn't help but squint. He unconsciously rubbed his hands together and immediately beamed with joy:

"Fellow Daoist has a good eye to recognize such rare Spirit Devouring Worms! I have hundreds of them here, and the price won't be cheap!"

Ning Yuan had obtained about a dozen Spirit Devouring Worms before, but the quantity was too small to be of much use, so he hadn't taken it too much to heart, only feeding them when he had time.

He hadn't expected to encounter them here, but thinking carefully, it wasn't strange. Spirit Devouring Worms were a unique product of the Thousand Miasma Poison Forest, so appearing here was perfectly normal.

Special spiritual insects like Spirit Devouring Worms were only useful when they reached a certain scale; otherwise, a mere dozen or so were useless, at most kept as spirit pets for fun.

Now that there were hundreds of Spirit Devouring Worms here, as long as he put some effort into nurturing them and let them produce more, their effect would be significant.

Ning Yuan said noncommittally, "Give me a price. If the price is right, I'll take all the Spirit Devouring Worms!"

"Fellow Daoist is generous! All the Spirit Devouring Worms for just thirty thousand Spirit Stones, what do you think?" the rat demon said excitedly, his rat face smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Only thirty thousand Spirit Stones?" Ning Yuan was startled by the price. It was hard to believe such rare spiritual insects were so cheap.

Seeing Ning Yuan's startled look, the rat demon thought he found the price too high and hurriedly said:

"Fellow Daoist, don't think it's expensive. I've carefully nurtured these Spirit Devouring Worms for a long time to reach this number! And with their abilities, they are completely worth this price!"

After speaking, the rat demon also cautiously observed Ning Yuan's expression, fearing he would walk away and the business would fall through.

He hadn't actually nurtured the Spirit Devouring Worms himself; he had just happened upon them. He didn't have the ability to nurture them either and just thought of catching them to sell for a good price.

"Fine then, I'll take these Spirit Devouring Worms!" Ning Yuan sighed pretentiously and handed a Storage Pouch to the rat demon, while secretly rejoicing. Exchanging thirty thousand Spirit Stones for these Spirit Devouring Worms was an absolute steal!

"Thank you for your patronage, Fellow Daoist!" the rat demon said cheerfully as he reached out to take the Storage Pouch.

"Mm!" Ning Yuan responded indifferently, then bent over to pick up the box containing the Spirit Devouring Worms. "I'll be taking the items now!"

"Alright! Safe travels, Fellow Daoist!" The rat demon's joy was beyond words at this moment, his small eyes squinting into slits so thin they were barely visible.

Once the items were in hand, Ning Yuan immediately turned and left as if afraid the rat demon would regret it, vanishing from the stall in the blink of an eye.

After Ning Yuan left, the rat demon took out the Storage Pouch and began counting with a beaming face, faintly muttering things like 'I made a profit.'

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ning Yuan had already left the market. He was already imagining the Spirit Devouring Worms in a massive, dark swarm; as long as he put in some effort, it wouldn't be hard to achieve.

As for the method of controlling the insects, it would naturally be the Dao Heart Seed Demon; there was no more suitable method than that.

Next, Ning Yuan wandered around Hundred Poisons City again, trying to find traces of Du Jiaojiao to see if there was an opportunity.

The result left Ning Yuan greatly disappointed; he could only sense that Du Jiaojiao was in the city, but her specific location was impossible to determine, seemingly shielded by something.

It seems Du Jiaojiao's situation isn't looking good!

But without knowing the specific place, he had no way to rescue her. Since that was the case, he could only snatch her during the wedding. After making a decision, he found an inn to stay in, preparing to wait quietly for three days.

The sun rose and the moon set; three days passed quickly, and the wedding of the Hundred Poisons King and Du Jiaojiao was finally about to begin.

The entire Hundred Poisons City was draped in red silk, filled with festivity. Countless Yao Race flooded the streets, figures were everywhere, and the clamor reached the clouds.