Chapter 369: Intrusion
"Insect Cultivator?! And is that Insect Control Technique?" Fang Hao’s eyes turned icy cold. The joy of his recent Breakthrough was swept away, replaced by chilling killing intent and a trace of confusion.
Had he offended anyone who played with insects? It didn’t seem so. Could he have accidentally stumbled into an Insect Cultivator’s nest? But he had carefully inspected this valley before, and there wasn’t a single hair to be found.
No! The timing of this insect swarm’s appearance was too coincidental! It was exactly at the moment he had just succeeded in Undergoing Tribulation, when his mind was relaxed and his state had not yet recovered! Moreover, the posture of this insect swarm’s attack was clearly a premeditated encirclement and killing!
It was aimed at him! Who was it?
In a flash, a scene flashed through Fang Hao’s mind—in the Earth Fire Cave, after he successfully refined the nascent soul forming pill, he was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. At that time, Lao Jin seemed a bit unusual, but he didn’t delve into it, and that inconspicuous scorch mark on the ground...
That was it! Someone had been eyeing him back then! Or rather, eyeing the nascent soul forming pill he had refined! They just didn’t act immediately because they were wary of Lao Jin’s strength or the environment of the Earth Fire Cave. When he left the Earth Fire Cave to find a place for Undergoing Tribulation, the other party likely kept following from afar, tracking him with some secret method or exotic insect!
Until he was Undergoing Tribulation and couldn’t divide his attention, the other party lurked on the side, waiting patiently. Now that the Lightning Tribulation had just passed, he looked successful, but in reality, he was at his weakest (huge consumption of spiritual power, unhealed injuries to his Physical Body, and the Nascent Soul was newly formed and not yet stable). The other party immediately drove the insect swarm to launch a thunderous strike! They could pick up a bargain (a weak Nascent Soul Cultivator who had just finished Undergoing Tribulation was full of treasures) and seize the pill at the same time—killing two birds with one stone!
"What a calculation! What patience! What a vicious mongrel!" Fang Hao figured it out, and the anger in his heart flared up instantly. Damn it, he got targeted for refining a pill, and treated as a mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole is behind him during his Undergoing Tribulation. Did they really think he was made of mud?
"Lao Jin!" Fang Hao barked.
Almost at the same time he spoke, on the cliff, Lao Jin, who had been silent like a rock, suddenly had silver light flash in its eyes! Its massive body, with an agility and speed completely inconsistent with its size, leaped down from the cliff like a meteorite falling from the sky, slamming heavily beside Fang Hao, creating a shallow pit in the ground, and blocking the very front of the incoming insect tide.
"Unknown threat detected, numerous in quantity, assessed as a low-level life cluster. Executing clearance command." Lao Jin’s rigid, metallic voice rang out, devoid of any emotion. It raised its arms, and the metal plates on the outside of its arms slid open with a "click-clack," revealing pitch-black, honeycomb-shaped firing ports.
"Chi chi chi—!" There was no deafening roar, only a dense sound of air being torn apart that made one’s teeth ache! Countless energy rays, as thin as ox hair but flashing with dangerous silver light, poured out from Lao Jin’s arm firing ports like a rainstorm, instantly covering a large fan-shaped area in front!
Wherever the silver light passed, the insect swarm rushing at the front, whether they were cannon fodder at the Qi Refinement Stage, elites at the Foundation Establishment Stage, or even those few False Core insect kings, were like ice and snow under the scorching sun. They couldn’t even manage a scream before being instantly vaporized, pierced, and torn apart! Severed limbs mixed with foul-smelling fluids splattered everywhere, forming a death zone!
Lao Jin’s attacks were efficient, cold, and precise. It was like a tireless killing machine, its arms constantly adjusting angles, the silver energy rays weaving into a net of death, firmly blocking the surging insect tide ten zhang away from Fang Hao. Occasionally, a few fish that slipped through the net, or mutant poisonous insects that burrowed from the ground or pounced from the air, were cut into pieces like chopping melons and vegetables by the high-frequency blades that popped out from Lao Jin’s other hand.
However, the number of insects was simply too large, and they seemed to have no Concept of fear. The insects in front died in swathes, and the insects behind immediately filled in fearlessly, stepping on the corpses of their kind to continue the charge. More troublesome was that those scattered Golden Core Stage insect kings, hidden deep within the insect tide, kept spraying poisonous mist, acid, or emitting piercing shrieks, interfering with Lao Jin’s judgment. Although they couldn’t break through Lao Jin’s defensive line for the time being, they also pinned down most of its firepower.
Fang Hao watched all this with icy eyes. Lao Jin could block them for a while, but the insect sea tactic consumed energy. Although Lao Jin’s energy core was powerful, it was not inexhaustible. Moreover, the mastermind driving such a massive insect swarm had yet to show their face. The opponent was in the dark, and he was in the light; he must make a quick decision and force them out!
"Hmph, you rat hiding your head and showing your tail, do you really think you can take me down with these stinking bugs?" Fang Hao sneered and slowly straightened his body. Although his face was still pale, his spiritual power was only a small portion left, and his Nascent Soul was newly formed and still needed nurturing, a powerful Aura belonging to a Nascent Soul Cultivator was already slowly rising from him, making him look like a different person compared to his previous Golden Core Stage.
He didn’t care about the low-level insect swarms blocked on the periphery by Lao Jin, but cast his cold gaze towards the back of the insect tide, in the direction of a few places where the Aura was most obscure and the fluctuations were strongest. His Divine Sense, like invisible tentacles, penetrated the layers of insect swarms and firmly locked onto those targets.
There, at least three figures were hiding, their Aura obscure, but they were definitely all above the Golden Core Stage. One of them even gave him a faint sense of oppression; they were likely at the Late Golden Core Stage, or even... the False Nascent Soul Realm! Moreover, that person’s Aura carried a cold, decaying smell, of the same origin as this insect swarm covering the mountains and plains.
"Found you!" A cold light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. He reached out and beckoned. The battle heaven axe, which had just helped him withstand the nirvana purple heaven thunder and had a tiny notch on its blade, turned into a dark golden stream of light and landed in his hand. Although damaged, holding it in his hand, he could still feel the terrifying power dormant within.
He pinched a magic seal with his other hand. Inside his Dantian, the inch-tall Nascent Soul opened its eyes, synchronized with him, and its small hand lifted slightly. Suddenly, the spiritual power around Fang Hao surged, and an Aura of Chaos and vastness began to condense.
It was time to let these rats in the gutter witness the anger of a Nascent Soul Cultivator! Even if he was a newly broken through Nascent Soul Cultivator whose state was not full!
From Servant to Immortal Realm: Chapter 341
"Hmph, you rat hiding your head and showing your tail, do you really think you can take me down with these stinking bugs?"
Fang Hao’s voice was not loud, but it carried a cold, piercing power that clearly drowned out the hissing of the insect tide and the sound of Lao Jin’s energy rays tearing through the air, echoing in the valley. He held the dark golden handle of the battle heaven axe, feeling the silent yet heavy power within. Although his spiritual power had only recovered a small portion and his injuries had not yet healed, that newborn, majestic power belonging to the Nascent Soul Stage was surging and roaring in his limbs and bones, waiting to be vented.
He no longer looked at the insect tide that was being firmly blocked on the periphery by Lao Jin’s firepower network and was rushing to its death one after another. His gaze was like two cold knives, stabbing towards the back of the insect tide, at those few corners where the Aura was obscure.
"Since you refuse to come out..." Fang Hao’s lips curled into a smile devoid of warmth, "Then... I invite you to come out!"
Before his voice faded, his right hand holding the battle heaven axe did not make any fancy movements. He simply forced the Chaos Spiritual Power he had recovered into the axe in a brutal and domineering manner. Previously, when Undergoing Tribulation, he had used all his strength, but could only make the axe vibrate slightly, stimulating a trace of almost instinctive sharp Aura. Now, his cultivation had greatly advanced. Although the quantity of spiritual power was small, its quality had undergone earth-shaking changes, carrying the Concept of the beginning of Chaos and the evolution of all things.
"Hum—!" The battle heaven axe suddenly let out a dull low hum, as if a sleeping Vicious Beast had been awakened a little. On the dark golden axe body, those ancient patterns seemed to light up slightly, and the tiny notch on the axe blade corroded by the nirvana purple heaven thunder seemed less conspicuous. A sharp Aura, far more solid, heavy, and seemingly capable of splitting mountains, naturally radiated from the axe body.
Fang Hao didn’t even swing the axe; he just mixed this initially stimulated sharp Aura with his own Nascent Soul Stage Divine Sense pressure, which had just broken through and was not yet fully stable, and slammed it towards the back of the insect tide, at those few locked positions!
This was not a physical attack, but a pure crushing of Aura and will!
"Boom!" An invisible storm suddenly descended! Centered on Fang Hao, a heavy, vast, and ancient pressure, like a tangible tsunami, boomed and spread! Wherever it passed, those low-level demon insects at the Qi Refinement Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage couldn’t even manage a scream. It was as if they had been hit by an invisible giant hammer, instantly stiffening, and then "poof, poof, poof" bursting open one after another, turning into clouds of foul-smelling blood mist! Even the False Core insect kings were like drunkards, swaying in the air, emitting painful hisses, their movements becoming incredibly slow.
And at the back of the insect tide, those few positions firmly locked by Fang Hao’s Divine Sense were the first to bear the brunt!
"Pfft!" "Ugh!" Several muffled groans and sounds of vomiting blood rang out almost simultaneously. Three figures could no longer hide; it was as if they were forcibly dragged out from the dark. They stumbled out from their respective hiding places, their faces instantly turning pale, and their eyes filled with extreme horror.
The leader was a thin, withered old man dressed in colorful, gaudy clothes with various insect-shaped accessories. His skin was sallow, his eye sockets were sunken, his lips were purple, and he was holding a pitch-black insect banner with a hideous centipede head carved on the top. At this moment, blood was spilling from the corner of his mouth, his hand holding the insect banner was trembling slightly, and his gaze towards Fang Hao was as if he had seen a ghost. This person was the one with the strongest Aura that Fang Hao sensed, giving him a faint sense of oppression. His cultivation had reached the False Nascent Soul Realm, just one step away from being able to attempt to condense a Nascent Soul! He was also the driver and controller of this insect tide covering the mountains and plains.
The other two were one tall and one short. The tall one was a Bald Big Man, with a bright red centipede wrapped around his neck, and his Aura was at the Middle Golden Core Stage. The short one was a Dwarf, his face covered with strange green lines, and his Aura was at the Peak of the Early Golden Core Stage. At this moment, these two were in an even worse state, their faces flushed, their Aura chaotic, clearly having suffered a great loss under the impact of Fang Hao’s merciless pressure.
"Nas... Nascent Soul?! How is that possible! You clearly just finished Undergoing Tribulation, your Aura is unstable..." The thin, withered old man, who was Daoist Chong, spoke in a dry voice, trembling with disbelief. He had meticulously planned and waited for a long time, just waiting for this moment when the target was at their weakest after Undergoing Tribulation to launch a fatal strike. According to common sense, even if this person succeeded in forming a Nascent Soul, they would inevitably be seriously injured, their spiritual power exhausted, and their Nascent Soul unstable—this was the most vulnerable moment. But... but the person in front of him, although pale and with fluctuating Aura, that Nascent Soul Stage pressure could not be faked! Moreover, this pressure was far more solid and far more... ancient and domineering than an ordinary Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator! Just by releasing his Aura, it had injured his, a False Nascent Soul Cultivator’s, mind, and thrown the insect swarm into Chaos!
"What’s impossible about it?" Fang Hao carried the battle heaven axe and walked forward step by step. He did not walk fast, even somewhat slowly, but with his footsteps, that Aura field mixed with the Chaos Aura and Nascent Soul pressure pressed towards the three people opposite like a tide. Wherever it passed, the remaining demon insects, as if meeting a natural enemy, hissed in terror and retreated, some even starting to kill each other, the scene in Chaos. "Did you think that by hiding behind insects and using these things that can’t be brought to the table to wear me down, you could pick up a bargain?"
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