Chapter 186: The Lurking Plan! The Extending Tentacles of the Insect Swarm

Chapter 186 -174: The Lurking Plan! The Extending Tentacles of the Insect Swarm

HUM.

The Leviathan’s massive body slowly lifted into the sky. The secret patterns on its carapace lit up, and clouds and mist spread out to cover an area of over ten kilometers, carrying a large insect swarm as it flew into the distance.

The Cyan Profound Sect beneath their feet grew smaller and smaller.

Beneath the mountain, hidden from anyone’s sight, the first Insect Nest was already nurturing. Tens of thousands of worker insects, surging from the Tunneling Worms, had already begun mining the Primordial Stone Vein!

To maintain the sect’s expenses, the Cyan Profound Sect had naturally been excavating the Primordial Stone Vein as well. However, they had intentionally controlled the mining speed, keeping it relatively slow since it was only a small vein.

After becoming the strongest influence in Yunlong County, the Cyan Profound Sect gradually reduced their excavation. Instead, they utilized the primordial qi radiating from the vein to transform Cyan Nether Peak into a holy land for cultivation. Cultivating within the sect meant enjoying a concentration of heaven and earth primordial qi far higher than the outside world, which naturally allowed their disciples to produce a generation of geniuses.

But Qin Yu had no such intentions. He directly ordered the worker insects to mine and excavate at the fastest possible speed.

The vast majority of the primordial stones obtained from the Cyan Profound Sect were transported underground by the swarm via the Tunneling Worms back to the Wilderness Mountain Range to nurture a new Leviathan.

Meanwhile, large numbers of insect swarm units poured into key locations such as the sect’s Library Pavilion, Alchemy Pavilion, and the areas dedicated to artifact refining and arrays, rapidly collecting all the inheritances and knowledge within.

Furthermore, inside the Leviathan, the Beta-level techniques and arrays that Qin Yu had collected from the two ancestors were all undergoing deep analysis. The entire insect swarm was already operating at high speed, absorbing the knowledge to optimize its current systems.

His cultivated Wind and Thunder Poison Dragon Technique, the Beta-level Upper Grade Wind and Thunder Tribulation Destruction Scripture, and the entire accumulation of the Cyan Profound Sect would all serve as nourishment for a new cultivation technique.

The nurturing pool in the Snake Valley Base was continuously expanding, and deep within the Wilderness Mountain Range on the Three Immortals Mountain, a second nurturing pool had already emerged.

Aside from two new Leviathans, more human experiments based on his genes as a prototype were also beginning. The two special units, the Hive Guard and the Hive Tyrant, were undergoing repeated adjustments and metamorphoses.

The originally stabilized Hive Tyrant was nearly rendered obsolete and had to be rebuilt from scratch because the heaven and earth phenomenon from his breakthrough had transformed into divine patterns. However, this was a good thing!

“Yu, I will take the Evergreen Pill first and settle down properly when we return to Yunlong County. During this time, you should also consider which top-tier sect you want to join!” Qin Tianfeng looked at Qin Yu.

“Alright. There are a few quiet rooms here. Feel free to choose any of them,” Qin Yu gave a slight nod.

Taking this kind of elixir required no special conditions; one simply needed to swallow it and absorb its medicinal efficacy. Without any further delay, Qin Tianfeng walked out of the control room.

“Yu, we’ve dragged you down,” Ouyang Xue looked at Qin Yu and sighed.

They had all heard about the Assassination List. Although they hadn’t said anything at the time, they still felt quite upset inside. They had become Qin Yu’s biggest weakness.

“Mom, Dad, you’re overthinking,” Qin Yu smiled. “What do I cultivate for? To fly through the skies and escape through the earth, or to call the wind and summon the rain? The feeling of controlling power is certainly intoxicating, but I also hope you can live better lives.

“If I can’t protect my family, then what is the point of cultivation?

“I will need you to bear with it for a while and temporarily stay at the Qin residence. Give me a little more time. It won’t take long, and all of this will be resolved.”

With the speed at which his strength was improving, he would reach the peak of the Qi Sea Realm in half a month at most.

If he didn’t consider the issue of his Dao foundation… He could directly break through to the Primordial Mansion Realm, allowing the insect swarm to advance to Tier Four!

How powerful an existence could a Tier Four Insect Nest nurture? What kind of new units would it yield?

The 1,200-meter Leviathan was merely the smallest model among the swarm’s biological battleships. He had never been the one who should feel fear.

“Rest assured. With the resources you’ve given us, we’ll also spend some time cultivating. We will stay right at the Qin residence and won’t go anywhere,” Ouyang Xue nodded.

After the Celestial Wind Ancestor had identified the many top-tier elixirs from the Cyan Profound Sect, they had been allocated the best batch. With the help of these elixirs, breaking through to the Qi and Blood Realm wouldn’t be difficult. This was simply forcing a breakthrough by throwing money at the problem!

Knowing that someone wanted to target Qin Yu by coming after them, going out would just be asking for trouble.

“I also need to properly familiarize myself with this Cloud-Slicing Saber you gave me. We can talk more after you join a major sect and resolve this crisis,” Qin Hu chimed in.

“Yeah. Over the next few days, I’ll organize and review the Cyan Profound Sect’s cultivation techniques. When the time comes, I’ll also help optimize your techniques. Your previous methods were still a bit too rough,” Qin Yu smiled.

Although the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill his mother cultivated was easy to begin with, its grade was extremely low. At the time, he only had the Cyan Wood Skill on hand, and all he could do was try to simplify it as much as possible.

But things were different now. What the Cyan Profound Sect had the most of were Wood Attribute cultivation methods. There was no shortage of the various elixirs required for cultivation either.

As for his father, he was cultivating an enhanced version of the Celestial Wind Formula. With the Qin family’s inherited Celestial Wind Illusion-Breaking Technique, the main goal was actually to guide him through the basics, and the technique had already been optimized.

The threshold for cultivation was indeed a rather troublesome issue. While the technique was simple for him, the same clearly wasn’t true for his parents.

But as long as there were enough resources… They could still force their way up.

A Qi Sea Realm cultivator had a lifespan of 200 years, a Primordial Mansion Realm cultivator had 500, a Myriad Phenomena Realm cultivator had 800, and a Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator could live for 10,000 years. If one became an Immortal, they could even achieve eternal life. He didn’t want to end up all alone in the future.

“There’s no need to spend too much time on us. The techniques we have right now are already very good,” Qin Hu couldn’t help but frown.

“Dad, Mom, this is just a matter of convenience for me. I was going to read through and deduce all these techniques anyway,” Qin Yu replied with a smile. After a bit more convincing, the two finally settled down and went their separate ways to take their elixirs and aid their cultivation.

They, too, wanted to become stronger!

Watching his parents leave, Qin Yu was left alone in the control room, quietly deep in thought.

He thought, “Join a sect? The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect?”

Qin Yu gently shook his head.

After the insect swarm broke through to Tier Three, its operational speed had vastly improved.

At Tier Two, units like the Hive Guard had still appeared somewhat wooden and sluggish compared to ordinary people, though there were no issues in combat. However, when it came to interacting with humans and similar tasks, they had fallen a bit short.

But breaking through to Tier Three was a different story. If a Tier Three Insect Nest was nurtured specifically to deploy these fully humanoid Hive Guards, it would be almost impossible to distinguish them from regular people. The insect swarm’s intelligence network would experience a massive leap.

In the past, they had solely observed from the shadows. Now, they could proactively communicate.

The first batch of disguised units was already being nurtured and prepared to be sent into Yunlong County, as well as the major cities and sects of the surrounding counties, to gather intelligence.

In that case, could he have them take on masters? Could they sneak into other sects to steal their teachings?

Theoretically speaking, it was viable. But in actual practice, he would encounter many difficulties. For example, a top-tier influence like the Demon Suppression Bureau possessed a set of self-inspection systems.

Such as the Heart Stone.

In front of it, it was completely impossible to hide one’s true thoughts. What was more, these top-tier sects demanded a Celestial Dao Oath right upon entry. Trying to simultaneously become a disciple in multiple sects was simply unrealistic. That was, unless the swarm could shield against the Celestial Dao Oath.

The stronger the sect, the more preventative measures of this sort they employed. Infiltrating them was almost impossible. At the very least, becoming an official disciple would be exceedingly difficult.

He mused, “I can’t send them to the top-tier sects, but infiltrating the secondary sects is still doable. We can still collect some cultivation techniques and gather intelligence on the reactions and movements of the various factions.”

With a shift of his mind, exactly ten thousand units modified with human bloodlines hatched from their eggs in an Insect Nest somewhere within the Wilderness Mountain Range.

These units were evenly split between male and female, with varying appearances, heights, and builds. Even their strengths differed from one another. The vast majority were Body Forging and Qi and Blood Realm martial artists. Only a very small fraction were in the Qi Sea Realm.

Therefore, the resources required to nurture them were not significant—far less than other main combat units.

This batch of humanoid spy units would be deployed across the entirety of Ling State.

Ten thousand? This was merely the first batch. Subsequent second and third batches would be continuously poured in. They would slowly infiltrate everything from bustling streets and markets to teahouses and taverns, from boatmen and escort agencies to sect factions, completely hiding themselves in every nook and cranny.

As for the ordinary snakes, bugs, ants, and beasts, there were even more of those.

The Blood Demon Sect? Compared to the swarm’s method of infiltration, their little tricks were far too crude.

In fact, through the swarm’s expansion into the wilderness, Qin Yu had already discovered several traces of the Blood Demon Sect.

The Blood Demon Sect liked to use methods like the Human Pill Evil Technique and Demon Fiend Technique to recruit old demons who were desperate and nearing the end of their lifespans, or demon fiends who had reached a dead end in their cultivation. With the swarm’s expansion, their presence had scattered all across the barren mountains and wild ridges. Discovering the cultists was a perfectly normal occurrence. It would be weird if they hadn’t found them!

It was just that they hadn’t caught any big fish yet. Therefore, Qin Yu wasn’t in a rush to pull in the net.

Besides, his primary target for infiltration at the moment was Yunlong County City!

The infiltration of Yunlong County had already begun five days ago. Before Qin Yu even arrived, the swarm’s scouting units had beaten him to it, establishing temporary strongholds and using them to expand. This was already standard procedure for the swarm.

He thought, “I hope the Demon Suppression Bureau’s treasure vault can give me some surprises.”

Qin Yu’s eyes held a hint of anticipation. He possessed quite a few top-tier cultivation techniques, including two Beta-level Upper Grade ones, and even more Beta-level Middle Grade and Lower Grade ones. Using these techniques as a core, it was entirely possible to deduce an Alpha-level technique.

But the efficiency was far too low!

The Qi and Blood Realm and the Body Forging Realm only required one to consider the circulation of qi and blood and the enhancement of the body. This was exactly what the swarm was best at.

Techniques for the Qi Sea Realm and Primordial Mansion Realm were different; they primarily involved the heaven and earth realm and law insights. To create a suitable technique, one first needed an adequate understanding of law insights.

At present, his strongest law insight was the wind, followed by thunder, and then water, fire, earth, wood, and so on. If possible, it would be best to find a technique that cultivated multiple laws simultaneously and could lay down a perfect Dao foundation.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, the Leviathan continued its high-speed flight through the sky.

Less than half a day later.

An enormously massive city appeared on the horizon, drawing the contemplative Qin Yu’s gaze.

Meanwhile, the news of the Cyan Profound Sect’s annihilation had finally begun to spread. It sent shockwaves throughout all of Yunlong County.