Chapter 185: Chapter 161: Earth Vein Lava, a Terrifying Existence
’Panel?’
He could summon the panel, but it only provided some data. It was completely useless in his current predicament.
He tried converting a few points of Energy into Attribute Points and adding them to each of his Soul Beasts’ stats, but while the points were added, the Soul Beasts still didn’t react.
’I’m so weak I get winded just from walking, and summoning my Soul Beasts is completely out of the question. How am I supposed to get out of here...?’
He racked his brain for over ten minutes but still couldn’t come up with a good plan.
TAP TAP TAP—
The sound of footsteps approached from his left again.
Han Ning narrowed his eyes again.
This time, he saw at least seven or eight pairs of feet stop in front of the Flame Barrier that held him.
The curtain of fire before him temporarily receded.
Several pairs of feet, varying in size, slowly approached.
A pair of huge hands plucked Han Ning from the ground as if he were a baby chick.
This made it impossible for Han Ning to feign sleep any longer, forcing him to open his eyes.
Before him stood seven or eight red-skinned Insect-men.
Each was at least two meters tall and, like the three Insect-men he had killed earlier, bore the characteristics of moths. They all had a pair of moth-like wings on their backs that occasionally shed fine red scales.
Two of them stood at the very front.
The rest stood behind these two.
The one on the left was the Insect Master Han Ning had glimpsed grabbing him just before he’d lost consciousness.
Seeing him up close, Han Ning realized the man was towering, at least 2.5 meters tall. He had red scales on his cheeks, which faintly shimmered with a flame-like Flowing Light.
His pupils were pitch-black, with a hint of red at their centers.
Standing face-to-face with him, Han Ning could feel an intimidating aura subtly emanating from the man’s body.
Without a doubt, this was a true Insect Master.
The Insect Master looked at Han Ning, opened his thin mouth, and spoke a string of words that Han Ning couldn’t understand at all:
"#%...#&...#&?"
"@!#!@&%*!"
Han Ning kept his head down, pretending not to hear.
The Insect Master spoke a few more sentences, his eyes scanning the dark purple scales on Han Ning’s body. A trace of wariness mixed with hostility crossed his face before he simply tossed Han Ning back.
Then, the Insect Master led his men to the adjacent Flame Barrier. With the same motion, he hauled up the other Insect Master and said something to him.
"#¥@#@%!!"
Unlike Han Ning, this man showed no signs of accepting his fate as a captive. He glared fiercely at the Insect Master, his mouth moving as if hurling a stream of curses.
"SLAP!"
The towering Insect Master was not without a temper. He slapped the cyan-colored man across the face, knocking him unconscious. Then, muttering a curse, he led his men away from the area.
Watching the Insect Master’s retreating back, Han Ning’s heart sank.
’My Spiritual Power is sealed, and I’m surrounded by powerful enemies. How can I possibly get out of here...?’
At this thought, he slumped limply to the floor, his mind going blank.
’I thought that with the panel, I could just lie low, build my strength, become a powerful Beast Master, and live a decent life.’
’But who would have thought... to be cut down before I could even get started. I’ve barely reached the Entry Level, and now I’m facing this...’
The more Han Ning thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. It wasn’t that he’d lost his will to live, but that his current situation felt truly and utterly impossible to escape.
After staring blankly at the stone ceiling for a while...
’I can’t just spiral into these thoughts! No matter what, I can’t give up hope of survival!’
Filled with unwilling defiance, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and attempted to use the Spirit Fusion Technique Meditation, trying to recover his Spiritual Power.
However, just as he began to clear his mind and enter a state of Meditation...
A tyrannical presence suddenly erupted from an unknown corner of his mind, slamming into its very depths. His head felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. An intense, searing pain, like a thousand needles, shot through his skull, and he instantly collapsed.
HUFF... HUFF... HUFF...
Han Ning gasped for air, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
He didn’t feel discouraged. On the contrary, the excruciating pain only stoked a defiant fire within him.
’If I keep trying to enter Meditation, I can use the intense pain to stimulate my Spiritual Power. Maybe that can break this seal. It’s the only way... a desperate measure, but a measure nonetheless... ’
Once a person has a goal, they no longer have time for idle anxieties.
Han Ning endured the splitting headache, forced himself back into a sitting position, and tried to enter Meditation once more...
Time and again, the sudden, intense pain would jolt him out of it, and time and again, he would tirelessly resume his efforts.
Until...
DRIP, DRIP...
Two streams of crimson blood began to flow ceaselessly from his nostrils.
His vision went black. He could no longer resist the profound exhaustion welling up from the depths of his mind, and he fainted.
...
An unknown amount of time later, Han Ning groggily opened his eyes again.
His head still throbbed with a piercing, needle-like pain.
The light before him was dim, and several red-skinned Insect-men patrolled tirelessly within the cavern.
He glanced to the side and saw the cyan-colored man lying on his back, staring blankly ahead.
Just as Han Ning was about to close his eyes and attempt to reawaken his Spiritual Power, a strange message inexplicably surfaced in his mind:
"A Purple Bee Seltin? How did you get caught and brought here?"
’Purple Bee Seltin? So this appearance of mine... it means I look like a member of the Ancestor Bee Family...’
Because Nia had always been so tight-lipped about the Five Ancestor Families, Han Ning was only just now piecing together information about the Ancestor Families.
’To be able to communicate with Spiritual Power, he has to be an Insect Master at the very least...’
Unable to project his own Spiritual Power, he could only look toward the Cyan Insect Master and give a slight nod.
"So you’re just a hatchling... you haven’t even gone through your Awakening. Heh..."
