Chapter Four — The Worm Pit
The air beneath the Black River Sect was warm.
Too warm.
Moist heat clung to the stone tunnels like breath from a living creature. Lanterns made from hollow insect shells glowed faint green along the walls, illuminating passages carved deep into the mountain’s belly.
Shen Yu followed a silent attendant downward.
The deeper they went, the louder the sounds became.
Skittering.
Chewing.
Soft clicking noises layered over distant screams.
“This is the Lower Gu Cavern,” the attendant finally said, stopping before a heavy iron gate. His tone carried neither pride nor pity. “Outer servants handle feeding, cleaning, and disposal.”
“Disposal?” Shen Yu asked.
The man pushed the gate open.
“You’ll understand.”
---
The smell struck first.
Rotting meat mixed with medicinal herbs and something sharply metallic. Beyond the gate stretched a vast underground chamber divided by iron cages and stone pits. Inside them crawled hundreds of Gu — beetles the size of fists, pale worms coiled together, winged insects clinging to ceilings.
Some radiated faint spiritual light.
Others leaked poisonous mist.
Servants moved cautiously between cages, tossing in animal carcasses or spirit grass while keeping careful distance.
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One servant moved too slowly.
A centipede Gu shot forward through the bars.
A scream cut through the cavern as venom spread instantly across the man’s arm. Supervising disciples arrived moments later, severing the limb without hesitation.
The work resumed immediately.
No one paused.
Shen Yu understood.
Here, lives were cheaper than feed.
---
“You,” a harsh voice called.
A stocky outer disciple approached, arms crossed. A bronze badge hung from his belt.
“New servant?” he asked.
Shen Yu nodded.
The man snorted. “Name’s Supervisor Gao. You clean Pit Seven.”
He pointed toward the darkest corner of the cavern.
Several servants nearby lowered their heads quickly, avoiding eye contact.
Shen Yu noticed.
“Is something wrong with it?” he asked.
Supervisor Gao grinned.
“You’ll find out.”
---
Pit Seven lay partially sealed by thick formation chains. Unlike the other cages, no clear view existed inside — only darkness and slow movement beneath layers of shadow.
A wooden cart stood nearby filled with carcasses.
“Feed once every two hours,” Gao said lazily. “If they escape, you die first.”
Then he left.
Shen Yu approached the pit carefully.
The moment he stepped closer—
Everything inside went silent.
The rustling stopped.
The faint scraping ceased.
Even the air felt still.
A dozen shapes slowly emerged from the darkness.
Black worms.
Longer than his arm, their bodies smooth and glossy, mouths ringed with tiny teeth. Their presence felt cold, suppressive.
Nearby servants stepped back nervously.
“Why are they quiet?” one whispered.
“They never stop moving…”
Shen Yu felt the now-familiar pressure inside his chest.
The hunger awakened.
The worms lowered themselves simultaneously.
Submission.
Again.
His breathing slowed.
Without thinking, he picked up a carcass and tossed it into the pit.
The worms ignored it.
Instead, they turned toward him.
Waiting.
A dangerous realization crept into Shen Yu’s mind.
They weren’t hungry for meat.
They were responding to him.
The pressure inside his body surged violently.
The unseen Gu stirred, restless.
For the first time, Shen Yu felt its emotion clearly.
Not simple hunger.
Expectation.
One of the black worms suddenly launched upward, smashing against the formation barrier. Cracks of spiritual light spread across the chains.
Servants screamed and fled.
“Containment breach!” someone shouted.
Alarm bells rang through the cavern.
Shen Yu stumbled back — but the pull intensified. The worm struck the barrier again, desperate, as if trying to reach him.
Then the chains snapped.
The creature lunged straight toward his chest.
Time seemed to slow.
He should have died instantly.
Instead, the worm dissolved into black mist the moment it touched him.
Absorbed.
A shockwave of warmth exploded through his body.
His vision darkened.
Inside his mind, endless void stretched outward — and the newly devoured Gu vanished into it without resistance.
The hunger eased slightly.
Satisfied.
For now.
When Shen Yu opened his eyes, the entire cavern had fallen silent.
Dozens of Gu across nearby pits lay completely still.
Terrified.
Supervisor Gao stared at him from across the chamber, face pale.
“What… did you just do?”
Shen Yu looked down at his hands.
He felt stronger.
Heavier.
As though something inside him had grown.
And deep within the darkness of his being, the unseen Gu pulsed once — like a newborn heart beginning to beat.
Far above, formation arrays across the Black River Sect flickered briefly.
Several elders opened their eyes simultaneously.
Something in the lower caverns…
…had just eaten.
