Chapter 725 - 364: Brothers in the Soul Gathering Stele

Chapter 725: Chapter 364: Brothers in the Soul Gathering Stele

He could also imagine that if he was discovered, it would be an act more severe than digging up the family’s ancestral graves. He would face the overwhelming hatred of the entire family.

Therefore, this time, he didn’t act as he had before. After sneaking underground, he immediately began to set up the Tier Six Array.

Just setting up this Array took him two days, and that didn’t even include the time the two Mole Beasts spent digging out the required positions.

By the time he and the two beasts had finished setting up the underground Array, three days had passed.

"Damn it!"

The moment the Array was complete, Cheng Zongyang felt utterly drained.

’It was so damn complicated and troublesome.’ Although this wasn’t his first time setting one up, the different environment put him under a lot of pressure. He had to be extremely cautious with every step.

’If my Array Grade was higher, it wouldn’t have taken me two whole days to set this up.’

He felt a sense of helplessness at the thought of having to do this again in the future.

It was fine if the setup went smoothly. But if he was discovered during the process, what should he do? If he ran, the Array Materials would be lost. If he didn’t run, he’d have to face a siege from the local powers.

It was a terrible situation.

But this was the only way to set up a Tier Six Array. The Array Flags and Array Plates were of a fixed size and couldn’t be arbitrarily changed.

Putting those thoughts aside, he chose to activate the Array in the middle of the night. Once the Array had enveloped eighty percent of the Underground Spiritual Vein, he took out the Earth Treasure Gourd and began to absorb the Spirit Vein.

Facing a family protected by four Great Power Cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

Therefore, he only sealed off eighty percent of it. The remaining twenty percent was left for the dozen or so cave residences the family had on the periphery of the Spirit Vein.

There were also a few people cultivating inside these cave residences.

By leaving a portion of the Spirit Vein around the cave residences, they could continue to absorb Spiritual Qi. This way, even after eighty percent of the Spirit Vein was sealed off, his actions wouldn’t be discovered immediately.

Watching the Earth Treasure Gourd rapidly absorb the Spirit Vein, Cheng Zongyang proceeded to set up a Teleportation Array.

Only after setting up a Tier Six Array did Cheng Zongyang truly feel how simple and easy it was to set up a Teleportation Array in comparison.

’I wonder how long it will take to absorb this Sixth Grade Spirit Vein.’ After finishing the Array, Cheng Zongyang didn’t take out the Soul Gathering Stele.

The Array would block any Divine Soul from entering, and he didn’t want to risk the failure of this operation over something so minor.

Next, Cheng Zongyang sat down beside the Earth Treasure Gourd to cultivate.

He no longer lacked Spiritual Qi for cultivation. He could absorb it directly from the Spirit Vein.

But just as he began to operate his Cultivation Technique and enter a meditative state, a black dot suddenly shot out from the nearby soil, heading straight for the Earth Treasure Gourd!

Cheng Zongyang’s eyes snapped open. A Soul Gathering Stele flew out, instantly expanding to block the front of the Earth Treasure Gourd!

With a sharp "CLANG" of metal striking stone, a black, beetle-like creature fell to the ground in front of the Stone Stele.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Cheng Zongyang snatched it, pulled it into the Hall of Ten Thousand Races, and then looked at the Soul Gathering Stele. He was shocked to find a shallow dent on its surface.

"What is this thing? It actually managed to dent the Soul Gathering Stele!" Cheng Zongyang was astounded.

It wasn’t that the Spiritual Artifact Level Soul Gathering Stele was indestructible, but its material, which resembled granite, was actually something far more extraordinary. It was much tougher than a typical Spiritual Artifact.

He had once tried striking it with a Top Grade Magical Artifact, but even that hadn’t left a mark.

Yet that beetle just now had possessed such power.

But the next moment, his expression changed. Within the range of his Divine Sense, several more extremely fast beetles were speeding toward the Earth Treasure Gourd!

This time, Cheng Zongyang summoned a second Soul Gathering Stele, placing the two Stone Steles to flank the Gourd. At the same time, he released a two-meter-radius Yin Realm to protect the Earth Treasure Gourd.

Immediately, a series of "CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" sounds rang out.

Cheng Zongyang used his Divine Sense to sweep them up and pull them into the Hall of Ten Thousand Races one by one.

However, the black beetles that subsequently entered the Yin Realm seemed to lose their target and began circling around inside it.

But Cheng Zongyang didn’t relax in the slightest, because swarms of black beetles were now emerging from the soil and heading his way.

It was like provoking a beehive; taking out one brought a few more, and taking out a few brought a whole swarm.

"Expand!" Without any hesitation, Cheng Zongyang expanded the Yin Realm from the two Stone Steles to cover the entire ten-meter area of the cavern he was in.

Now, the black beetles drilling out of the cavern walls were all caught in the Illusion effect of the dual Yin Realm.

Cheng Zongyang frowned, grabbing one to examine it. Seeing that the black beetles could no longer get near the Earth Treasure Gourd, he breathed a sigh of relief.

’These things are clearly after the Earth Treasure Gourd. But I don’t know if they’re native to this underground area or if they’re being raised by the family.’

’If it’s the latter, this is going to be troublesome.’

With that, his consciousness entered the Hall of Ten Thousand Races to find out just what these creatures were.

——

[Spirit-eating Beetle]

Description: A type of Spirit Insect that relies on Spirit Veins for survival, devouring their Spiritual Qi. It will consume any object containing Spiritual Qi. Due to its gnawing and drilling nature, it possesses an indestructible head carapace and mandibles.

Grade: Tier One (Sub-Insect)

Abilities: Spirit Devourer; Armor Piercing;

Weakness: Fear of fire;

Points: 100 Points

——

Reading the description and Abilities of the Spirit-eating Beetle, he finally understood. They really were after the Earth Treasure Gourd. It was because the Gourd had a stronger, denser concentration of Spiritual Qi and was actively absorbing the Spirit Vein. Or perhaps the act of absorbing the Spirit Vein had angered the Spirit-eating Beetle swarm.

’But are these things being raised by this family?’ Cheng Zongyang frowned.

Thinking of this, Cheng Zongyang moved the dozen or so Spirit-eating Beetles into one of the rooms in the Hall and locked them in before returning his consciousness to the outside world.

Next, he continuously collected the disoriented Spirit-eating Beetles from the Yin Realm, transferring them into the rooms of the Hall of Ten Thousand Races swarm by swarm.

The number of Spirit-eating Beetles in the rooms grew larger and larger, as if he had kicked a massive hornet’s nest.

"My lord, what are these?" Luo Dingran had also noticed the situation.

Cheng Zongyang said, "See for yourself. I still have to deal with things outside."

He didn’t say more, his vigilance raised to its absolute peak.

If it was truly a naturally formed swarm, there would be nothing to worry about. His concern was that they were Spirit Insects being raised by the family.

With such a large number of Spirit Insects present, it was impossible for the family’s upper echelons to be unaware of them, according to common sense.

Devouring the Spirit Vein was equivalent to draining its Spiritual Qi. This was detrimental to the family.

Therefore, he leaned more toward the latter possibility!

While Cheng Yang was continuously collecting the Spirit-eating Beetles, the peak of the main mountain, protected and separated by a Grand Array, was shrouded in mist, like a celestial paradise.

A vast garden came into view, where rare flowers and exotic plants bloomed in competition. Multicolored Medicinal Materials swayed gently in the breeze.

In the center, several ancient, towering trees stretched out their thick branches as if guarding this place. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, scattering into dreamlike specks of light.

Many Spiritual Items were raised in the surrounding garden. Unknown blue Spirit Butterflies danced among the flowers, their brilliant wings shining like sapphires, scattering specks of blue fluorescent powder with every flap.

An unknown spider rested quietly in the corner of a dead tree, its dark body blending into the night. The web it spun emitted a faint red glow, as if luring prey.

Unknown golden bees flew in and out of the central great tree, still busily zipping through the flowers.

Countless Spiritual Items were hidden within this little world, their various fluorescent lights dotting the landscape. It was a scene of breathtaking beauty, and also one of extreme danger!

This was the residence of Ji Lingxian, the foremost of the Ji Family’s four ancestors.

On the silent mountaintop, a fist-sized black beetle suddenly poked its head out of a Large Spirit Stone Ore and emitted a frequency inaudible to the human ear!

It seemed to be a call for help!

The very next moment after the beetle sent out its frequency, an old woman with a withered face slowly walked out of a small wooden hut.

She slowly turned her gaze toward the Large Spirit Stone Ore. A moment later, the old woman’s expression faltered, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. She immediately sent her Divine Sense probing toward the Underground Spiritual Vein.

When her Divine Sense was blocked, the old woman’s expression changed dramatically.

The Mother Insect had just signaled to her that a large number of its offspring had lost contact. Assuming someone was there to capture the Spirit Insects she had secretly cultivated for many years, she became furious!

The Spirit-eating Insects were a unique species of Spirit Insect she had acquired by chance. She had used a family secret treasure to cultivate them to their current state. They were extremely useful to the Ji Family and were also a very precious Artifact Refining Material.

"Which vile wretch dares to covet the Ji Family’s Spirit-eating Insects!"

Before her voice had even faded, Ji Lingxian’s figure had already vanished.