Chapter 41 - 40: Outbreak! The Ferocious Insect Swarm

Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Outbreak! The Ferocious Insect Swarm

"As expected, they’re all a bunch of trash."

Li Tianyi curled his lips as he looked at the pathetic state of the Zhang Family’s Three Ghosts inside the belly of the mountain.

Even though they were surrounded by the snake swarm and an Illusion Array, and despite being modified by the Human Pill Evil Technique to devour the flesh and blood of the snakes to heal themselves, they were still far from being a match for Li Wanqing.

How could Qi and Blood Martial Artists hastily produced through elixirs possibly be a match for the personal disciple of Yunlong County’s Demon Suppression General?

In just a few exchanges of blows, all of the Zhang Family’s Three Ghosts were heavily injured, while Li Wanqing remained completely unscathed.

Her pair of light cyan vertical pupils would light up from time to time. The surrounding snake swarm cowered in fear as her invisible Mental Force easily took control of them. Even Qi and Blood Realm Snake Demons had virtually no resistance against that pair of light cyan vertical pupils.

"The Jade Spirit Snake Pupils are truly extraordinary. They are far beyond compare to the Blood Pupils I obtained through the Blood Sacrifice Method," Li Tianyi sighed in admiration.

Li Wanqing’s Innate Spiritual Pupils could see through the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. He had originally wanted to seize this pair of eyes for himself, but Li Yao had discovered his intentions early on. He had been forced to act prematurely and flee from the Spiritual Snake Sect.

"I couldn’t get them back then, but I can get them now! This pair of Spiritual Pupils will ultimately be mine. She is still too young, actually daring to chase me all the way here even after knowing this is a Gu-raising Land.

"I might as well use your flesh and blood as a sacrifice. Break this array!"

A wicked smile curled on Li Tianyi’s lips. He sat cross-legged within the array platform, his hands forming seals. A bloody mist rose from his body as he let out hissing sounds. Instantly, a large bulk of the surrounding snake swarm slithered outward along the cavern.

"This Five Poison Sect’s array is truly exquisite, harnessing the power of the natural Water Veins beneath the valley. Even after a thousand years, it’s still running.

"Despite two consecutive small-scale blood sacrifices, I’ve only barely managed to gain partial control over the Illusion Array. This place where the Five Poison Sect Elder, Old Monster Youlin, entered seclusion and died, still cannot be opened.

"Heh heh, since I can’t break the array, then I’ll just initiate another blood sacrifice. Once the mountain collapses and severs the Water Veins, what does it matter how exquisite your array is?"

The look of madness in his eyes grew even more intense. This was his last resort. If the mountain collapsed and the array shattered, finding the inheritance left behind by Old Monster Youlin in the ruins would be fraught with difficulties and entirely dependent on luck.

But the Demon Suppression Bureau had already tracked him down. He didn’t dare to delay any longer.

Inside the mountain’s belly.

The five people from the Demon Suppression Bureau had already erupted with their full strength. Li Wanqing’s eyes shone brightly as she viciously lashed the Spirit Snake Whip in her hand at the enchanting snake woman. The terrifying power sent her flying backward, her sternum caved in.

It was clear she wasn’t going to survive.

But in the next moment...

"No!"

Tears of blood flowed from the enchanting snake woman’s eyes as she let out a shrill, miserable shriek. Thick, bloody mist surged from her entire body, and her form suddenly swelled and mutated. Fleshy pustules sprouted all over her as she completely lost her human shape.

"Li Tianyi!"

It wasn’t just her; the other two members of the Zhang Family’s Three Ghosts also let out crazed, resentful shrieks. As if they had lost control of their bodies, they mutated madly, their auras skyrocketing.

As the bloody mist emanated from their bodies, the surrounding snakes seemed to be infected, exuding a similar thick crimson mist. The majority of their bodies even exploded outright!

In an instant, the entire interior of the mountain was completely shrouded in the dense, bloody mist.

SIZZLE!

The mountain structure began to fracture. The rock walls above the cavern caved in, and massive boulders plummeted down, producing a continuous series of deafening RUMBLES. The bloody mist was so corrosive that even the mountain rocks couldn’t withstand it.

"Not good! It’s the Blood Sacrifice Method!" Zhao Zhenshan’s expression changed. He used his Qi and Blood Power to form a protective barrier, isolating the bloody mist from them. "The Zhang Family’s Three Ghosts have already suffered a backlash from elixir toxicity. Ignore them."

"Run! The mountain is collapsing!" Chen Sheying looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. The falling rock walls were actually riddled with hollow cavities. Countless venomous snakes were hidden inside, and as the bloody mist boiled, they too dissolved into the crimson haze.

The mountain’s collapse accelerated, with boulders weighing tens of thousands of pounds repeatedly smashing down. The five from the Demon Suppression Bureau could only constantly dodge and weave to avoid the falling debris.

The phantom image of the giant snake shattered. The Illusion Realm struck once more, and the situation rapidly deteriorated.

"Hehehe... Hahaha..."

Before the sinister laughter even faded, one of the Zhang Family’s Three Ghosts flashed forward, his serpentine body slithering like a ghost.

"Go!" Zhao Zhenshan’s eyes widened in fury. His entire body erupted with Qi Blood, and with an upward thrust of his spear, he pierced through the rotting snake body.

However, he couldn’t afford to land a follow-up strike. Instead, he swiftly retreated, pulling back toward the path they had come from.

Zhang Shun and Lin Jianqing were already in the rear. When Zhao Zhenshan roared, they had immediately retreated toward the cavern behind them.

However, just as they approached, a black-robed figure stepped out from within the tunnel.

Lin Jianqing, who was at the very front, had his abdomen pierced by a longsword in an instant. Spitting out fresh blood, he was sent flying backward and crashed heavily into Zhang Shun.

When the group looked over, the figure revealed his identity, accompanied by Li Tianyi’s sinister voice, "Everyone, why don’t you leave your flesh and blood here to help me break this array..."

BOOM—

As his voice fell, the tunnel completely collapsed, obscuring Li Tianyi from view once again.

"Gather around me!"

Seeing their retreat cut off and her father’s murderer vanished, Li Wanqing’s face turned icy cold. Instead of retreating, she unexpectedly led the group charging deeper into the mountain’s belly.

High in the sky, a Red-bellied Eagle circled.

RUMBLE! The earth quaked as vast sections of the Shegu Mountain Range fractured. The right peak began to collapse from its midsection, exposing a half-buried pitch-black palace.

Above the palace, a five-colored light flickered erratically before vanishing completely. The countless venomous snakes within the entire Snake Valley became highly agitated. Some of the massive Demon Fiends even began crawling toward the pitch-black palace.

BANG!

A mound of dirt bulged on the ground, and Li Tianyi drilled out from it, gazing at the exposed pitch-black palace from afar.

"Hahaha! After years of plotting, I’ve finally succeeded!" Li Tianyi looked at the palace in ecstasy. Behind him, a dark green Snake King that was fully a hundred and fifty feet long hoisted him up and rapidly slithered toward the pitch-black palace.

"The Five Poison Sect’s inheritance?" Watching from a distance, Qin Yu was startled.

The changes inside the mountain had happened too quickly, and the situation had taken a sudden turn for the worse. With the mountain collapsed, the life or death of the five Demon Suppression Bureau members was unknown.

Should he make a move?

Killing intent surged in Qin Yu’s eyes.

"Insect Swarm! Attack!"

Relying solely on three hundred Bone Forging Realm Insect Swarm units to flatten the numerous Snake Demons in the valley would likely be a bit strenuous, not to mention having to deal with Li Tianyi, whose strength was both eerie and unpredictable. But could he just watch helplessly as Li Tianyi acquired the Five Poison Sect’s inheritance?

WHOOSH!

The Black Thorn Eagle soared into the sky.

The ground rumbled. Five Profound Armor Barbarian Bears charged forward with a massive horde of Rapid Insects and Purple Poison Scorpions, kicking up thick clouds of dust in the forest as they sprinted toward Snake Valley.

The Insect Swarm’s hiding spot wasn’t far from the valley to begin with. With the swarm erupting at full force, they could arrive in mere moments. With the Black Thorn Eagle’s speed, it would arrive in the blink of an eye.

Riding on the back of the Black Thorn Eagle, Qin Yu stared coldly at Snake Valley, which was now right before his eyes. He tightly gripped the Purple Vine Bow in his hand and unsealed the quiver of black-tipped arrows at his side.

Scorpion venom! And they were Scorpion Venom Armor-Breaking Arrows that had been concentrated!

The blood sacrifice inside the mountain had turned a massive number of Snake Demons into bloody mist. Though some survived, none of them could fly. Furthermore, they possessed no means of long-range attack. In his eyes, they were nothing more than a bunch of living targets to be shot dead one by one.

The only one he was wary of was Li Tianyi. Today, even if he had to fight a war of attrition, he would grind Li Tianyi down to death!

Besides, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have trump cards of his own. The Insect Swarm was an extension of his own limbs, and at a critical moment, they could also transform into his power. Even though he would have to pay a certain price to do so, it was a price he could afford!

But in the next moment, a wave of Overwhelming Sword Qi abruptly erupted from the rubble of the collapsed mountain.

WHOOSH—

Li Wanqing’s figure dashed out from within, followed closely by the other four, who looked somewhat battered. Their gazes were deadlocked on Li Tianyi, who was perched atop the blood-red snake.