At High Noon

Liang Qu shut the door to the quiet room, blocking out the sunlight.

Beneath the jade-colored bamboo cover, the cocoon swayed back and forth.

Liang Qu, Awei, and the Little Mirage Dragon—one man and two beasts—held their breaths as they surrounded the bamboo tube, quietly awaiting the Time Insect's emergence.

After nearly a month of cocooning, Sunlight and Wishful had finally merged into Life Creation.

The entire cocoon had expanded by nearly a third. All its colors were mingled and blended together, seeping into one another in a most peculiar fashion.

If it had to be described, it resembled a plump pearl from a giant clam, flashing with a faint green sheen beneath the sunlight. Compared to its former solid blue-green, it now possessed an added touch of illusion.

The struggles within the cocoon grew increasingly violent. After a short while, the cocoon fell deathly silent.

A moment later.

Pfft! Something seemed to pierce through its center. The cocoon immediately twisted like a vortex, collapsing inward toward the tiny opening, before the Time Insect inside could reveal itself.

Whoosh! A streak of golden light leaped through the air! Liang Qu's Golden Eye blazed. The Time Insect had rebellion in its bones, and he had long been prepared, yet its terrifying speed still caught him off guard! He reached out and grabbed.

A piercing pain spread from his palm.

Hiss! Liang Qu flung his hand hard.

A golden Long Insect flew out, but before it could flee, it landed back in his left hand. Liang Qu seized the crucial moment and pinched the Time Insect's head, preventing it from biting wildly. Only the latter half of its body remained, thrashing madly and lashing his hand and wrist like a riding whip.

Pain, pain, pain! His left hand gripped the Time Insect