Chapter 195 - 170: The Method of Eating Oneself

Chapter 195: Chapter 170: The Method of Eating Oneself

A surging, tumultuous Spiritual Power erupted from within him, whipping the surrounding sand and grit into the air. Under this immense pressure, the locusts swarming him shrieked in panic and unease.

Just then, a light, crisp "CRACK..." echoed in the black-robed figure’s mind. His body suddenly went rigid. The Spiritual Power inside him, like a horse that had broken its reins, ran wild, rampaging through his meridians.

In just a few breaths, the meridians inside his body were thrown into complete chaos.

When the black-robed figure regained consciousness, his body suddenly hunched over. With a great "BLECH," he spat out a large mouthful of golden blood.

A rich, strange fragrance filled the air.

Before the golden blood could even hit the ground, several golden figures shot out and devoured it all in an instant.

After they landed, they were revealed to be three locusts, each the size of a calf, with bodies that looked as if they were cast from pure gold.

Demonic Power flowed from their bodies; they were clearly three locusts of the Demon Realm.

’Damn it! I can’t believe I couldn’t bluff him...’

A voice like scraping metal emerged from within the black robes, and it wasn’t hard to hear the deep annoyance in his tone.

’But he actually dared to cultivate the Magic of my Ten Thousand Poison Forest and even manifested a shattered Spirit Realm.’

The black-robed figure muttered to himself. Who knows what came to mind, but he suddenly let out a chilling sneer. "Heh... sooner or later..."

As he muttered to himself, he failed to notice that within the glowing white grid before him, several fine tendrils had extended out from the gaps.

The tendrils released wisps of a hazy gas, invisible to the naked eye, that slowly enveloped the glowing white grid.

As the hazy gas completely enveloped the grid, it blurred for an instant, like a mirror fogged with steam.

When it became clear again, the insect shimmering with five-colored light was still inside, though its position had shifted slightly.

All of this had transpired in just a few moments.

When the black-robed figure’s gaze fell upon the glowing white grid, he didn’t notice anything amiss.

"Tsk tsk, a mutated insect of the Late-Demon Realm." The black-robed figure gazed at it, his tone smug. "That idiot actually used a fragmented Magical Spirit Contract to control it. What a nice little gift for me."

He then added with a hint of regret, "It’s a shame I couldn’t seize the opportunity while he was distracted to snatch its Magic imprint."

"I’ll have to return to the sect and use the waters of the Ten Thousand Insects Pool to refine it for several months."

The black-robed figure casually scooped up the Magical Artifact, the Insect Catching Net, and slowly stood up, looking toward one side of the cave.

’A small Spiritual Land... that should be worth a good number of Spirit Stones.’

Whether or not it already had an owner was not a concern of his.

’It’s just the cicadas...’

Just as he started walking out, a wave of Demonic Power surged up from behind him.

A sense of mortal danger welled up in his heart, and his body instinctively dodged to the side.

WHOOSH... A fierce wind rushed past.

A sound like tearing silk echoed within the cave.

The next instant, a streak of five-colored light leaped a few times, shot out of the cave, and vanished into the dense forest.

"ROAR!"

An inhuman roar echoed from within the cave.

Three streaks of golden light shot out of the cave entrance, chasing straight in the direction the five-colored light had vanished.

A short while later, a figure wrapped in layers of locusts emerged from the cave. His dark golden pupils stared in the direction the five-colored light had vanished as his form slowly rose into the air.

A dense swarm of locusts, like a living carpet, carried him forward in pursuit.

From a bird’s-eye view, the five-colored light ahead was like a bolt of lightning, speeding through the mountain forest. It was significantly faster than the three golden streaks pursuing it.

It was clear that before long, it would be able to shake them off completely.

However, after a moment, the five-colored light suddenly made a wide turn and slowed down, as if it had become exhausted after its initial burst.

"Heh heh..."

Not far away in the sky, the figure enveloped in the dense swarm of locusts let out a chilling laugh.

Demonic Power surged across the bodies of the three golden locusts, and their speed abruptly increased severalfold. In just a few dozen moments, they could already see the form of the insect within the five-colored light ahead.

As he watched the golden locusts draw ever closer, a savage and vicious glint appeared in the eyes of the figure within the mid-air swarm.

Just then, a burst of five-colored light erupted from the mountain forest ahead.

Then, the light retracted, and the insect’s form abruptly vanished from the golden locusts’ sight.

Just as the Cultivator controlling them from behind wondered where it had hidden, several dazzling streaks of light suddenly rose not far away, heading straight for him.

Within the streaks of light were the excited faces of Luo Fang, Ma Rong, Jin Fang, and the others.

’This is bad...’

In mid-air, a chill suddenly rose in the heart of the figure shrouded by the swarm.

At this moment, the three Mid-Demon Realm locusts were not by his side. He and the insects with him were no match for so many Vein Condensation Cultivators.

As the streaks of light drew nearer, he even sensed the aura of a Vein Condensation Perfection expert among them.

With no time to think, a look of deep, venomous resentment filled the eyes of the figure covered by the swarm. His will flickered.

The swarm around him suddenly erupted into a frenzy, scrambling over one another to pounce on him and forming a giant sphere.

CRUNCH...

...followed by the sound of chewing.

By the time the distant streaks of light arrived, the giant sphere made of insects exploded. Locusts of all sizes, each wrapped in a faint golden glow, scattered and fled rapidly in all directions.

Luo Fang was the first to appear. He waved his sleeve, collecting the Insect Catcher’s Net as it drifted to the ground. He scanned the area, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Ma Rong, Jin Fang, and the others then appeared one by one. Watching the locusts scatter and flee, their faces showed no disappointment, but rather, expressions of great joy.

Ke Jing laughed heartily. "Haha! That idiot knew he was beaten and actually used the Self-Devouring Technique!"

Luo Fang glanced at them and said with a faint smile, "How much you can reap will depend on your own skill."

With that, he turned his hand over, produced a thumb-sized seal engraved with a strange beast, and tossed it into the air.

The instant the seal floated up, the complex patterns on its surface lit up one by one. Tiny, interconnected runes blazed with intense light. An immense gravitational force then descended. Within a radius of several hundred meters, the fleeing locusts froze mid-stride and slammed hard onto the ground.

In that single instant, nearly half the locusts were eliminated.

Luo Fang nodded in satisfaction. He made no further moves, retrieving the seal with a wave of his sleeve before descending to the forest floor to gather the locust carcasses.

Seeing this, Ma Rong, Jin Fang, Ke Jing, and the few Patrol Guard captains all breathed a sigh of relief. They then employed their own various techniques to capture the locusts fleeing in every direction.

As they collected locust after locust into their storage bags, the smiles on their faces grew wider and wider.

The "Self-Devouring Technique" was quite famous in this region of the Wanzhong Mountains Range.

It was a life-saving Magic from the Ten Thousand Poison Forest, specially created by an ancestor of the "Shepherding" lineage of Cultivators.

A Cultivator could only use it once in their lifetime.

When faced with an enemy they could not defeat, the user would have the swarm they nurtured devour their own body. This would hide their soul within the countless insects. Even if one of the insects died, the soul could transfer to another through their shared bloodline.

Its life-saving effect was nothing short of heaven-defying.

However, the consequences of using this technique were also severe. The user would be permanently transformed into an insect. As time passed, the Cultivator’s consciousness would be completely absorbed by the hive mother.

The process was irreversible; it was only a matter of when.