Chapter 596 - 557: The "God"-Eating Human, a Great Shock to the World

Beneath the giant insect corpse in the Vast Sea Building.

Song Ciwan said, "What would I do with this dried-out bug?"

Such a casual, dismissive remark instantly sent the youth into a frenzy, a rage far surpassing any he had felt before.

If he weren’t immobilized by the "Forbidden" Character Technique, the gray-clothed youth would have undoubtedly leaped up and attacked Song Ciwan with all his might.

But because he couldn’t move, his roars became even more wild and furious. "What did you say? What do you mean, ’dried-out bug’? You—you’re despicable! Don’t tell me you weren’t raised on Insect Food? Did you grow up drinking the wind?"

He roared in a rage, with what seemed like an endless torrent of fury to unleash. But alas, his vocabulary for insults was clearly lacking. All he could do was repeat himself: "You bastard! You’re despicable! You’re a coward who won’t own up to what you’ve done! You’re no good! You, you, you..."

By the end, he was tongue-tied.

All he could do was glare viciously at Song Ciwan, his lips trembling and his eyes bloodshot.

[Human Desires: The fury, resentment, and anxiety of a Tier Three Chaotic God Martial Artist. Three jin and six liang. Exchangeable.]

Song Ciwan calmly waited for him to finish, toying with the silver fork in her hand.

The gray-clothed youth saw only her cold expression, naturally unaware of the tempest raging within her heart.

’Insect Food?’

Song Ciwan was both horrified and struck by a sudden understanding. Her earlier suspicions had been correct—these people truly used the Ancient Divine Insect Race as a source of food!

Humans eating insects. That didn’t seem like a big deal.

While insects were a somewhat obscure part of the diet for the Huaxia people, they weren’t entirely unheard of.

But now, these humans living in the Heaven-Reaching City weren’t eating ordinary insects. They were eating the Ancient Divine Insect Race!

The Ancient Divine Insect Race was chaotic, violent, dark, and manic, possessing all sorts of incredible and terrifying powers. Even in death, the aura from their corpses still had an extremely strong impact, capable of making one feel intensely unwell.

Even now, standing here in the Vast Sea Building beneath this semi-mature Ancient Divine Insect Corpse, Song Ciwan constantly felt the uncomfortable sensation of being assaulted by dark emotions.

The only reason she could endure this discomfort and prevent her emotions from spiraling out of control was because her endurance was strong enough and her mental Cultivation was high enough.

But what if one were to eat the Ancient Divine Insect Race directly?

Song Ciwan dared not even imagine what would happen.

Setting aside whether it was even edible, the main point was, after eating the Ancient Divine Insect Race, could a person’s spirit, will, and bloodline be guaranteed to remain untainted?

More importantly, after eating the Ancient Divine Insect Race, would a human... still be human?

Song Ciwan subtly and carefully observed the gray-clothed youth. First, she could confirm that he was indeed human—a living, breathing human.

The Heaven and Earth Scale had already provided a note on this.

Second, although he seemed irritable and quick to anger, his logic and actions were clearly still orderly, showing no signs of being out of control.

The only thing that suggested a special connection to the Ancient Divine Insect Race was the indescribable, chaotic Abnormal Power surrounding him.

This power was actually very strong and difficult to break through.

If an ordinary Cultivator or Martial Artist from the Nine Provinces Mortal World—one at the Divinity Transformation Stage or Innate Third Transformation—were to face this gray-clothed youth, they probably wouldn’t last a single exchange.

’Perhaps this is what makes Chaotic God Martial Artists unique?’

There was another major question: The Ancient Divine Insect had been dead for who knows how many years, and it existed in a strange, ethereal state that Song Ciwan couldn’t touch. Even assuming they *could* touch it, how had they managed to... use it as food for their people for so many years without finishing it?

’Could it be that the Heaven-Reaching City contains countless insect corpses, an inexhaustible supply?’

...

It was truly a difficult question to answer. Song Ciwan couldn’t figure it out, nor could she make sense of it.

She pondered for a moment, then, under the gray-clothed youth’s furious gaze, she let out a soft sigh. "I certainly didn’t grow up drinking the wind, but I don’t need to sustain myself with insects either. My food... You’ve never had it. You probably wouldn’t understand."

As she spoke, she used her consciousness to connect with the Heaven and Earth Scale and the Vast Sea Grotto Heaven.

After rummaging through both, Song Ciwan finally retrieved a plum-blossom-shaped mung bean cake from her Vast Sea Grotto Heaven.

Her Low-Level Storage Pouch had become useless upon entering the Heaven-Reaching City, but the Vast Sea Grotto Heaven and the Heaven and Earth Scale were both unaffected.

When Song Ciwan used to wander through city markets, she would casually buy all sorts of food to store in her Vast Sea Grotto Heaven. Sometimes she would also transfer useful supplies into the Heaven and Earth Scale via exchanges.

This was a precautionary habit of hers. After all, who knew when she might face some extreme environment again?

Although her need for food had greatly diminished since she entered the Divinity Transformation Stage—

The major Spiritual Material Shops often sold Fasting Pills, and Song Ciwan had stockpiled plenty. But she had also hoarded a great deal of other delicacies from the Mortal World.

She flipped her hand over, revealing the mung bean cake—a pale green tinged with a powdery yellow—resting in her fair palm as she presented it to the gray-clothed youth.

The gray-clothed youth looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, with short hair, a small, pointed face, and features that were both delicate and stubborn.

His pupils were very dark, with a deep, dark red glow, like clotted blood, that gave him an air of youthful ferocity.

Like a growing Fierce Beast, he bared his teeth and glared at Song Ciwan.

The mung bean cake was held three inches from his face, and a fresh, sweet fragrance he couldn’t describe wafted into his nostrils.

This was no ordinary mung bean cake. It was made with Spirit Spring Water and special Sanyuan mung beans that possessed the properties of a Spirit Plant. Crafted by a master chef from a century-old pastry shop in Guangling City, its form, color, fragrance, and taste had all reached the pinnacle of artistry.

How could the gray-clothed youth, who lived in a city of ruins, have ever smelled such a scent?

He had never even seen food in such a shape; he didn’t know that food in this world could even look like this!

The gray-clothed youth’s eyes widened, his anger mixed with a dazed confusion and doubt. "This... is your food? You... you eat things like this?"

Despite his deep suspicion, the sweet fragrance of the mung bean cake seemed to precisely awaken a primal craving for sweets buried deep within his human bloodline.

And so, as he spoke, the gray-clothed youth couldn’t help but swallow.

The gray-clothed youth: ...

The moment he swallowed, he froze as if struck by lightning.

He opened his mouth, this time out of shame and anger, and said, "You..."

Before he could get the word out, Song Ciwan flicked her finger, and the mung bean cake shot perfectly into the gray-clothed youth’s mouth.

The gray-clothed youth had never tasted anything sweet in his life. In that instant, his mind was screaming at him, urging him to spit out this thing of unknown origin, but his mouth and tongue seemed to have a will of their own.

He snapped his mouth shut, his tongue rolled, and then... he completely froze.