txolops Chapter 216 The Evolution of the Gold-Eating Insect
Chapter 216 The Evolution of the Gold-Eating Insect
Chapter 216, "The Evolution of the Gold-Eating Insect," is now available! Read it now!
A streak of azure light approached from afar and slowly stopped outside Silver Shark Island, revealing a beautiful young woman in a long azure dress, none other than Mingyue, who had been traveling for more than half a year.
She reached out and gently patted the smooth, cold carapace of the Azure Winged Scorpion at her feet, then put it into her spirit beast pouch.
This spirit beast, which she obtained by chance years ago, is now at the peak of level four. Its aura is deep and condensed, especially its pair of light blue wings, which are now wider and more solid, with metallic luster flowing around their edges. Its flight speed is comparable to that of an ordinary early-stage Core Formation cultivator.
Over the past six years, it has been "stealing" quite a bit of food in the spirit stone mines of Biling Island. Coupled with the unintentional nourishment from Mingyue Xunfeng's aura, it has grown extremely fast. The journey from Biling Island was largely thanks to its strength, saving Mingyue a lot of magical power.
"Silver Shark Island..." Mingyue murmured, her heart filled with emotion.
Six years ago, she was just a cautious late-stage Foundation Establishment talisman master here, meticulously calculating every few spirit stones, and almost became a target for assassination, her life hanging by a thread. If it weren't for her master Luo Ming's intervention, she would have already perished.
Now that he has returned, he is already a Core Formation stage cultivator. Although it is only at the initial stage, it is enough for him to be considered a master in Silver Shark Island and even the surrounding sea area, and he has the ability to protect himself.
Mingyue concealed her presence and flew towards Silver Shark Island with unusual discretion, arriving at the most bustling market in the central area and entering an extremely luxuriously decorated shop.
Just as Mingyue entered the shop, a burly man in black robes outside the door frowned slightly as he watched Mingyue's back, his hand unconsciously reaching for the spirit beast pouch at his waist.
"Strange, why did my Nether Tiger suddenly become agitated when I passed by this woman? Could it be that this woman possesses something that interests my Nether Tiger?"
Sensing the spirit beast he had nurtured for hundreds of years, which had never been so agitated as it was today, as if it had encountered a natural enemy, the burly man calmly walked to a nearby teahouse and sat down, staring intently at the shop's exit.
He had a vague feeling that his spirit beast, which had been stuck at level six for over a hundred years, had finally encountered an opportunity to break through.
While Mingyue was unaware that she was being targeted, Luo Ming was extremely excited because his group of Gold-Eating Insects, after devouring a massive amount of spirit stones, had finally begun to devour and evolve each other.
In a cave that resembles an underground labyrinth, an exceptionally brutal battle is taking place. Golden clouds collide with each other in the sky, and countless gold-devouring insects, each the size of a thumb, with bloodshot eyes, are tearing at each other.
Golden specks of light occasionally fell to the ground; these were the remains of defeated gold-devouring insects, dismembered by their own kind, demonstrating the brutality of the competition.
Luo Ming hovered in mid-air, his gaze fixed intently on the cruel yet magnificent scene below.
The once overwhelming "golden cloud" gradually thinned, but the battle became even more brutal. Thousands upon thousands of gold-devouring insects, their bodies entirely dark gold and their carapaces adorned with naturally mysterious patterns, were engaged in their final and most frenzied act of mutual devouring.
Their compound eyes were scarlet, showing no kinship whatsoever. With each snap of their sharp mandibles, a chilling "crack" sound was heard. Every pounce and bite was aimed directly at the most vulnerable joints or compound eyes of their kind. Dark golden fragments of carapace, broken limbs, and severed wings rained down from the sky, covering the ground in a thick layer.
The air was filled with a cold, cruel aura of evolution, as well as a faint metallic smell.
"Hiss... Luo boy, your spirit insect is far too ferocious!"
The illusory figure of the Heavenly Mirror Hermit floated to the side. Even with his vast knowledge, his tone was filled with astonishment and shock. "In my previous life, I had seen several ferocious insects listed on the list of rare insects, but none like your Gold-Eating Insect. Not only is its shell harder than refined iron and impervious to ordinary water and fire, but it can also evolve rapidly through such a bloody method, and in such a massive number... I have never heard of such a thing! If you were to cultivate hundreds of thousands of such ferocious insects and form a great insect cloud formation, even a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stages would have to retreat in fear. If they were not careful, they would be overwhelmed by the sea of insects, and their protective spiritual light would be devoured in an instant!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Ming shook his head slightly, his gaze still fixed on the swarm of insects. He said in a deep voice, "Senior, you flatter me. Commanding such a massive swarm of insects consumes an enormous amount of my divine sense. With my current divine sense, even with full control, I might be able to trap a Nascent Soul cultivator for a moment, but I myself would find it difficult to sustain. More importantly, the current speed of these Gold-Eating Insects is sufficient to deal with Core Formation cultivators, but it is far from enough to face Nascent Soul cultivators with astonishing escape speeds. Before the insect cloud even arrives, the opponent has already fled far away or unleashed a wide-range divine power to attack from afar. Only when they evolve again, their speed can barely keep up with the escape speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and their mandibles become sharp enough to break through the protective aura and defensive magic treasures of a Nascent Soul cultivator in a short time, will they truly have the qualifications to contend with a Nascent Soul cultivator, rather than merely being targets to be kited."
Tianjing Sanren remained silent, knowing that Luo Ming's words were true. While the swarm tactic was formidable, its weaknesses were also obvious when facing a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, a top-tier cultivator in the human realm. Luo Ming's clear understanding of this, rather than blindly reveling in the sheer number of insects, earned his silent approval.
Time slowly passed amidst the brutal battle. The golden insect shadows in the air dwindled, but each one that remained exuded an increasingly fierce and violent aura. Their bodies seemed to have solidified, the patterns on their carapaces became clearer and more intricate, and the golden spots on them became more and more prominent.
When the last intense hissing and crashing sounds subsided, only about a thousand gold-devouring insects remained in the air.
They no longer attacked each other, but floated silently, their bodies glowing with an uncertain dark golden light. Their aura was several times stronger than before, and a chilling pressure spread out.
A moment later, these "survivors" seemed to have completed their final energy accumulation and began to land on the thick layer of their own kind on the ground. Their abdomens writhed as they laid tiny, rice-grain-sized insect eggs that emitted a rich golden light and life force.
A glint flashed in Luo Ming's eyes, and he dared not be negligent. He quickly waved his hand and set up a pre-prepared combined spirit-gathering and protective array, the soft light enveloping the area. Then, he carefully gathered all the newly laid insect eggs, numbering in the tens of thousands, into the center of the array with his magic power, forming a pale golden mound of eggs.
He took a deep breath and forced out drops of his vital essence blood, which was crimson with a faint golden luster, from his fingertips.
Such a large number of insect eggs requires a considerable amount of essence blood. This essence blood was not directly integrated into any insect egg, but was suspended in mid-air. As Luo Ming cast complex spells, the essence blood turned into a thick blood-red mist with a "bang," which was evenly sprinkled onto all the insect eggs.
The crimson mist touched the surface of the insect eggs and quickly seeped in as if absorbed. The golden light emitted by the insect eggs was immediately tinged with a faint, imperceptible aura of affinity connected to Luo Ming's bloodline.