txolops Chapter 286 Yuan Yao goes together
Chapter 286 Yuan Yao goes together
With the Golden-Crowned Salamander King defeated and its massive body devoured by the Gold-Eating Insects, the lava lake area became much calmer.
The low- to mid-level golden-crowned fire lizards, who had previously fought fearlessly and relentlessly, were suddenly thrown into chaos. They lost their leader and their will to continue the siege.
After the remaining level 5 or 6 fire lizards were killed, the remaining low-level fire lizards let out terrified hisses and scattered in all directions like a receding tide, burrowing into the lava below or into the lava fissures in the distance. They quickly disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a messy, still unsettled lava lake.
However, after Luo Ming's Gold-Eating Insect Swarm devoured a large number of high-level Golden-Crowned Fire Lizards, including the Fire Lizard King, and especially after gnawing on those Golden-Crowned Fire Lizards containing special metals, they had already become extremely ferocious, and their aura had become unusually restless and condensed.
Seeing its prey scatter, it seemed somewhat "unsatisfied" and, without waiting for Luo Ming to carefully control it, it spontaneously separated into dozens of small, dark golden insect clouds, which, like well-trained hunting dogs, chased after the fleeing fire lizards in different directions with lightning speed!
"Buzzing—!"
The chilling sounds of gnawing and the short, pitiful cries of the fire lizards echoed sporadically throughout the lava lake surrounding Luo Ming. The fleeing low-level fire lizards, facing the scattered swarms of insects in pursuit, were almost powerless to fight back, and soon followed in the footsteps of their kind, becoming nourishment for the gold-devouring insects to grow stronger.
In an instant, the gold-devouring insect swarm seemed to transform into a "cleaner" of this lava lake, and wherever it passed, the fire lizards disappeared.
This scene made Yuan Yao's eyelids twitch and a chill run down her spine. She originally thought that the Azure Fire Thunder in her hand was already an incredible weapon, but seeing this terrifying swarm of insects that possessed life, hunted autonomously, and devoured everything, she truly felt a deeper fear stemming from their sheer number and bizarre characteristics.
She figured that if she were targeted by such a group of insects, even with the Azure Fire Thunder in hand, she would probably not escape being devoured.
"If only... I could also possess a swarm of such spirit insects..." She looked at the dark gold insect cloud in the distance, shimmering with a cold metallic light and buzzing incessantly, and her eyes revealed an undisguised longing and fervor.
She took a deep breath, and as her eyes flickered, a soft and charming smile appeared on her face, completely different from her usual aloof image, and with a hint of deliberate flirtation.
"Brother Luo... your spirit insects are truly amazing. I wonder... if Brother Luo could part with a few thousand of them and give them to Yuan Yao?" She deliberately emphasized the word "give," her beautiful eyes blinking, giving off an impression that she was so pitiful that Yuan Yao would not be able to refuse.
Clearly, after experiencing what had just happened and learning that Luo Ming was not a ruthless villain, she had become much bolder.
While Luo Mingzheng was recuperating, he kept an eye on the movements of the Gold-Eating Insect swarm, sensing the subtle changes after they devoured the insects, and pondered the matter of refining "Crimson Sun Gold Essence" and cultivating the insect swarm.
Hearing Yuan Yao's sudden, coquettish "request," he was first taken aback, then almost burst out laughing.
He turned around and leisurely examined the woman before him whose demeanor had suddenly changed. Although her face was still pale and she was still breathing, the deliberate allure and expectation in her peach blossom eyes, combined with her stunning beauty, were indeed captivating.
Luo Ming's lips curled into a playful smile. He deliberately dragged out his words and said slowly, "It's not impossible for Fellow Daoist Yuan Yao to want this spirit insect, but it depends on what of equal value you can offer in exchange."
He specifically emphasized "equal value" and "exchange," clearly speaking in a businessman's tone, shattering any hint of ambiguity.
Yuan Yao's charming smile froze instantly, replaced by a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Her eyebrows furrowed, her beautiful eyes widened, and she glared at Luo Ming. Her voice returned to its usual coldness, even carrying a hint of exasperation:
"You... I gave you all the cultivation techniques and secret arts I obtained from the young master of the Qingyang Sect, including the method for refining the Azure Fire Thunder and the Crying Soul Beast! Now all I have left are these few magic treasures that can barely protect me, and the last bit of life-saving pills! You... you won't even let these go? That's too... too much of a bully!"
Seeing Yuan Yao's sullen yet helpless expression due to her lack of strength, Luo Ming found it quite amusing. He naturally knew that Yuan Yao really didn't have much to squeeze out of her now, and what she said earlier was mostly a joke.
However, teasing this woman, who is sometimes as cold as ice and sometimes as charming as a fairy, is a good way to relax on this lava road.
"Alright, alright, it was just a joke, fellow Daoist, why get angry?" Luo Ming waved his hand, his joking expression fading, and said seriously, "The Gold-Eating Insects have very high requirements for divine sense, which you cannot control. And if there are too few of them, their power will not be enough. For you, it would be more practical to have a few good magic treasures."
Read [the book] and enjoy your reading time.
He changed the subject, looking at the swarm of insects in the distance, their aura growing increasingly ferocious as they hunted for themselves, a thoughtful glint in his eyes:
"The golden-crowned fire lizards here seem to be very beneficial to the gold-devouring insects, stimulating their evolution. I won't travel too fast, allowing the swarm to hunt and devour some more to solidify the gains. If you don't mind, you can travel with me for a while. The latter half of this lava road probably won't be too peaceful."
This can be seen as a disguised invitation and protection. After all, Yuan Yao is currently in poor condition, has used all her trump cards, and it would be too risky for her to go on alone.
Luo Ming had just emptied the other party of everything of value to him, and he couldn't bring himself to just abandon them.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao was taken aback at first, then gave Luo Ming a deep look. The anger in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a barely perceptible sense of...reassurance. She naturally understood the meaning behind Luo Ming's words.
"Hmph, at least you still have some conscience." She muttered under her breath, then stopped being coy and followed closely behind Luo Ming, seizing the time to recover. With Luo Ming, this "nemesis," by her side, and the terrifying swarm of insects "clearing the area," the vicinity had temporarily become the safest place in the lava lake.
The rest of the journey went exceptionally smoothly after the threat of the high-level fire lizard was eliminated. With a thought, Luo Ming summoned the Fat Sun Bird and the Black Tortoise from his spirit beast pouch.
"Chirp—!" The Fat Sun Bird cried out joyfully, eagerly plunging into the churning golden-red lava below. The pure and abundant fire elemental power here was an excellent tonic for it. Like a fish returning to the sea, it nimbly darted through the lava, sometimes pecking at a wisp of earth fire essence, sometimes chasing and devouring some leftover low-level fire lizards or fire-attribute spiritual materials, its crimson-gold flames becoming increasingly condensed and pure.
The Xuan Turtle's appearance, however, was more composed. Its massive body floated on the surface of the lava lake, its carapace as thick as a mountain, its limbs like pillars. The scorching environment here greatly suppressed this water- and earth-attribute spirit beast, making it difficult for it to unleash its strongest combat power. It not only had to expend its demonic energy to resist the high temperature, but also had to defend itself against the siege of a large number of fire lizards.
But now that the high-level threats in the lake have been eliminated and the low-level fire lizards have been wiped out by the gold-eating insects, it only needs to raise a layer of dark yellow protective shield to cover Luo Ming and Yuan Yao on its back and insulate them from most of the heat, so that it can temporarily treat this terrifying lava lake as a "lake with a slightly higher temperature".
With a gentle swipe of its thick limbs through the lava, the massive tortoise glided forward several meters, its speed several times faster than Luo Ming's previous "walking" on the Xuan Yuan Pearl! Moreover, it was extremely stable. More importantly, Luo Ming no longer needed to expend mana to maintain the Xuan Yuan Pearl's flight and protective shield, allowing him to focus entirely on recovering and controlling the Gold-Eating Insects while keeping an eye on his surroundings.
Luo Ming and Yuan Yao sat cross-legged in the center of the Xuan Turtle's broad, flat carapace, surrounded and protected by swarms of gold-devouring insects. Below, the Fat Sun Bird explored and foraged in the lava. For a moment, they felt a sense of ease, as if they were "boating on a lake"—if they ignored the surrounding red, churning lava and the pervasive smell of burning sulfur in the air.
Yuan Yao gazed at the massive, imposing tortoise beneath her, its aura deep and its size astounding, then at the magnificent, graceful Fat Sun Bird thriving in the lava, her eyes gleaming with admiration. She couldn't help but glance at Luo Ming, who was meditating with his eyes closed beside her, a hint of complex curiosity in her voice that she herself didn't realize:
"Brother Luo, you have so many spirit beasts? Each one is so extraordinary. With such powerful spirit beasts by your side, you still... still think about the Soul-Crying Beast that I haven't fully tamed yet. It seems that Brother Luo truly enjoys collecting and raising spirit beasts."
She paused, blinked her beautiful eyes, looked at Luo Ming, and asked the question that had been bothering her: "Moreover, Brother Luo seems to cherish his spirit beasts quite a bit. During the fierce battle with that Fire Lizard King, you chose to risk your life in close combat, only using those ferocious insects, without summoning the Xuan Turtle or the Fat Sun Bird to help. Could it be that you couldn't bear to see them get hurt?"
In her view, spirit beasts are meant to be helpers or even servants of cultivators, and should fight to the death for their masters in critical moments. Luo Ming's approach of "not wanting" spirit beasts to take risks, but instead charging ahead himself, seems somewhat "unconventional" or even "foolish" in the dog-eat-dog, profit-driven world of cultivation.
Luo Ming slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the swimming Zhiyang Bird below and the steadily moving Xuan Turtle beneath him. A faint smile appeared on his lips as he calmly said:
"Fellow Daoist Yuan Yao, you are mistaken. For cultivators, spirit beasts are just like magic treasures, pills, and talismans—tools and aids. Since they are tools, they must be used at the most appropriate time and in the most appropriate place to maximize their effectiveness, or even achieve twice the result with half the effort."
He pointed to the lava below: "This place is a lava wasteland, where fire elemental power is extremely violent. Although the Zhiyang Bird is a fire elemental and is not afraid of high temperatures, and can even absorb fire elemental power, it will be difficult for it to achieve anything against an opponent like the Fire Lizard King, who is also proficient in fire, has amazing defense, and has the advantage of being in the lava field. Close combat is not its forte, and forcibly summoning it would only increase the danger and be of no benefit to the battle. On the contrary, it might even distract me by injuring him."