Chapter 51 - 50: The Insect Swarm’s Frenzied Development

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: The Insect Swarm’s Frenzied Development

"The specifics of how to proceed are up to you to decide."

As Qin Hu finished speaking, Qin Yu fell into deep thought. His father’s words had indeed given him a lot of inspiration.

The Commandery City’s Zong Family!

To Qin Yu, this was a very unfamiliar existence, so he had never even considered it. When he was a child, he had asked his grandfather about it. He had even suspected if they had suffered some injustice, such as being framed, which led to their ’banishment’ from the County City to this small Cyan Peak County.

But that was not the case; it was just a normal branch separation. Just as a growing tree would sprout small branches, a massive clan would do the same.

In the County City, there were no strange people waiting for him to exact revenge. On the contrary, the Zong Family had actually treated his grandfather quite well. When they first came to Cyan Peak County, they brought a large group of craftsmen to take over a Profound Iron Ore here, and they had even smoothed over relationships with the Government Army in Bishui City. They gave the Qin family an order that wasn’t particularly large, but was long-term and stable.

Because of this, Cyan Peak County’s Qin family was able to establish a firm foothold and become the head of the four major families.

Therefore, giving this inheritance to the Zong Family was actually a good choice. The Clan Leader of the Zong Family was an expert at the Peak of Qi Sea, and their hidden strength in the shadows was even less known to outsiders. It was enough to protect this inheritance, and it could provide him with sufficiently good treatment.

But after pondering for a moment, Qin Yu still gave up on this option. For no other reason than that he did not want to leave Cyan Peak County just yet. Although Cyan Peak County was remote, and the endless Cang Mang Mountain Range was a shackle and a trap to others, to the Insect Swarm, it was the best place for expansion and reproduction.

The County City was too far and too prosperous; there would be no living space for the Insect Swarm there. He would go to the County City, but not now.

As for selling it at the Treasure Pavilion? Qin Yu eliminated this option immediately. Although it would yield profits in the short term, the future troubles would be too immense. Not only would they be coveted by numerous factions, but even Li Wanqing’s group might hold a grudge.

The last option was what he had originally thought: trading with Li Wanqing. Trading within the County Yamen was a great choice. Although the County Magistrate and County Captain of Cyan Peak County didn’t have high status, they were members within the Great Wei Court’s system. Having them as witnesses was a solid plan.

Qin Yu said respectfully, "Thank you for the guidance, Father.

"I don’t want to leave Cyan Peak County for the time being; this place suits me very well. So, I plan to try trading with Li Wanqing’s group first. Please keep the fact that I possess Divine Thought a secret, Father and Mother.

"If Li Wanqing trades sincerely, I might choose to join the Demon Suppression Bureau later. If she intends to deceive me, I will naturally return the favor in the future."

Qin Hu nodded slightly, offering no objection. Without Divine Thought, one could not open the Space Ring and therefore wouldn’t know what treasures lay inside. If Li Wanqing deliberately concealed the treasures within, they really had no good countermeasure.

Fortunately, they had already obtained the most precious inheritance among them. In truth, they could have also taken out some Cultivation Techniques from it, such as the Spirit Snake Shadow Poison Scripture. No one would know anyway, but after discussing it, the two decided against it. Out of all the inheritances, this manual was the most precious.

Qin Yu was not entirely without desires. He needed powerful Body Forging Martial Arts, as well as sufficiently good weapons and blades. If he had possessed a good bow and enough Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows during the battle at Snake Valley, he could have relied on his aerial advantage to single-handedly slaughter the vast majority of the Qi and Blood Great Demons! He wouldn’t have had to risk an explosive burst of power, only to inflict a tiny scratch on Li Tianyi.

After making their decision, the two did not stop there. Instead, they immediately began copying the three Beta-level Techniques and the fifteen Gamma-level Techniques. With the assistance of the Insect Nest, Qin Yu’s practical skills were pushed to the absolute limit. He could almost perfectly replicate the original Secret Manuals.

He could even do so for the Beta-level Secret Techniques, though without the Inheritance Jade Scrolls, that unique Mental Realm could not be replicated, which would significantly increase the difficulty of Cultivation.

Cang Mang Mountain, Snake Valley.

BANG!

As night fell, the fourth Insect Nest among the Insect Swarm was nurtured into existence. Mountains of corpses were continuously tossed into the Insect Nest’s Decomposition Chamber, and the Insect Nest’s Energy began to skyrocket at an unprecedented rate.

To this end, Decomposition Chambers were nurtured one after another around the Snake Valley Insect Nest. The Insect Nest itself could absorb and decompose flesh and blood, but it could also independently nurture its internal Evolution Chambers, Decomposition Chambers, and Nurturing Chambers. This significantly increased the Insect Nest’s speed in digesting, absorbing, and nurturing the Insect Swarm.

"The Fungal Mat can absorb the ’Purple Moss’ genes. Do you wish to absorb?"

"The Purple Poison Scorpion can merge with the data within the Insect Nest. Do you wish to merge?"

"The Thousand-legged Centipede’s genes have been parsed. Discovered similar life gene segments. Do you wish to merge?"

"The Ten Thousand Poison Gu Refining Scripture’s Gu Insect cultivation has begun. Prioritizing the deduction of the Black Thorn Eagle merging with the ’Heart-devouring Mother and Child Gu’, using the Black Thorn Eagle as a host to nurture the Mother Gu..."

"Confirm all!"

Hearing the continuous prompts echoing in his ears, Qin Yu confirmed them without hesitation in the Insect Swarm’s Mind Network. With abundant resources, he could afford to be this lavish!

The Purple Poison Scorpion was a unit that the Insect Swarm had parsed long ago. It was only due to the dual constraints of Energy and camouflage that Qin Yu hadn’t chosen to merge it. As for the Thousand-legged Centipede, he hadn’t even had the time to parse it previously. Now that resources were plentiful, it was naturally time to begin everything. Not to mention the Purple Moss.

Although the Insect Swarm had occupied Snake Valley and harvested a large amount of Energy, there was also a nearby lake with a diameter of dozens of kilometers, connecting to over a dozen large rivers, allowing the Insect Swarm to engage in Hunting. At this moment, led by a lightly injured Profound Armor Barbarian Bear, over fifty Rapid Insects had already pounced upon this flourishing region of life, hunting wantonly to gather more resources for the Insect Swarm.

But those without foresight were bound to face immediate peril. As the most Basic unit of the Insect Swarm, the Fungal Mat could draw nutrients from the earth; its importance to the Insect Swarm was self-evident.

If possible, Qin Yu would also have liked to expand in the most simple and brutal way to achieve a massive leap for the Insect Swarm. However, in a Cultivation world where immense power belonged to individuals, doing so would simply be courting death. Unrestrained expansion would inevitably provoke unstoppable enemies, such as Demon Fiends comparable to the Qi Sea Realm, or even those above the Qi Sea Realm! Any random one of them could easily wipe out the entire Insect Swarm.

Igniting the flames of war mindlessly before fully growing up was an incredibly foolish act. Under his control, the Insect Swarm’s development wasn’t considered fast, but it was very steady!

Moreover, relying on Hunting to obtain resources was highly inefficient. Excavating Energy-rich ores for digestion and absorption, or covering the ground with the Fungal Mat to extract resources from the forests and the earth, was the true path to supremacy.

For instance, Qin Yu knew of naturally forming ’Primordial Stones’ in the world. They contained massive amounts of Energy and could be used for Cultivation by Qi and Blood Realm or even Qi Sea Martial Artists. It was just that these top-tier mineral veins were almost entirely occupied by various powerful Sects, Noble Families, or the Great Wei Court itself. In the short term, they were not something he could covet.

As oceanic amounts of resources were invested, good news soon echoed in his ears.

"The Purple Poison Scorpion merger is complete! A new Insect Race strain has been successfully cultivated! Nurturing this Insect Race strain requires 1 ton of Purple Poison Ore, and cultivating it requires 300 points of Energy."

"Nurture!"

"Nurture a new Insect Swarm army at the fastest speed possible!"

Qin Yu’s gaze remained calm. A single night was enough to bring about a world-shaking transformation to the Insect Swarm.