Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects

In a nameless deep mountain, in the center of a serene pool, grew a wondrous flower.

Although the wondrous flower had not yet bloomed, it was already emitting a faint, unique fragrance.

Chen Ming hovered in the air above the pool, a ball of azure Spirit Water condensed in his hand. He was using a secret technique to slowly nurture the wondrous flower.

Once the Spirit Water in his hand was completely absorbed and dissipated by the wondrous flower, Chen Ming's figure vanished from above the pool.

"Collect nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine kinds of floral essences, refine them into Spirit Water with a secret incantation."

"Then find a wondrous flower of the Yin type containing spiritual essence, nurture it with a secret technique and Spirit Water for eighty-one days, and transform the wondrous flower into a Fragrance Lure!"

"Then, using this Fragrance Lure, refine the secret technique of the 'Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects,' and my cultivation will surely advance further!"

Chen Ming stayed by the pool, regulating his breathing to recover the Magical Power he had just expended, contemplating the refinement method of the secret technique.

This was a world of Gods, Mo, Yao, Ghosts, and cultivators.

Before Chen Ming transmigrated, while on a road trip, he had passed by a village and seen an abandoned temple.

For some reason, he felt an impulse, so he got out of the car to take a look. There were no divine statues left in the temple, only a lotus platform remained.

Exquisite patterns were carved on the lotus platform. As soon as he reached out to touch it, Chen Ming transmigrated to this world.

When Chen Ming regained consciousness and received the memories of this body, he learned that the original owner was a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator.

In order to break through, the original owner had used a cultivation technique obtained from who knows where, drawing a magic array to attract spiritual energy, intending to condense his Soul into a Divine Soul and step into the Contemplation Realm.

Who knew that something went wrong, his Soul was scattered by the spiritual energy, leaving only his physical body, which then led to Chen Ming's transmigration and rebirth.

After Chen Ming completely merged with the body, he discovered that the magic array drawn by the original owner was very similar to the patterns on the lotus platform in that temple.

When Chen Ming attempted to cultivate, a phantom lotus platform actually appeared in his mind.

The patterns carved on the phantom lotus platform detached and transformed into a secret technique incantation called "Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects," and then it became still.

The secret technique called "Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects" recorded that this method was created by a Great Divine Power User who, upon glimpsing the Daoist principles within a drop of water containing eighty-four thousand tiny lives, their cycles of birth and death, and their self-contained worlds, created this protective secret art.

The original owner's cultivation method was very rudimentary. Chen Ming cultivated for a long time, but he remained in the Qi Gathering Realm and could not break through.

Therefore, he decided to first cultivate this "Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects" secret technique, gain the ability to protect himself, and then seek opportunities to break through to the Contemplation Realm.

The wondrous flower in this deep mountain pool originally contained only a trace of spiritual essence, and it would have taken at least another hundred years to mature.

But after Chen Ming found it, he watered and nurtured it with Spirit Water, and refined it with a secret technique, its appearance was already different from before.

"Eighty-one days have passed, it should be ready!"

Chen Ming recovered his Magical Power, his figure flickered, and he hid in the shadows, waiting quietly.

Before long, the wondrous flower in the center of the pool began to tremble slightly, as if its heart was beating.

Suddenly, the wondrous flower paused, its trembling stopped, as if frozen!

In an instant, the wondrous flower bloomed, its petals like silk, its bloom like claws, and its color as red as blood.

It emitted waves of peculiar fragrance that permeated the Divine Soul, causing living beings to fall into a stupor, unable to extricate themselves.

As the floral fragrance continued to spread, various strange noises began to emanate from the mountain.

All sorts of ferocious or peculiar poisonous insects and bugs were attracted.

The floral fragrance seemed to have a fatal attraction to them; they rushed forward desperately, completely disregarding any instinctual warnings.

Before long, the area around the pool was crowded with dense swarms of insects.

Exactly one hundred thousand and eight thousand in number!

Although most of them were insects with only a little spiritual essence, and some even only contained peculiar toxins within themselves, their gathering together made one's scalp tingle.

The number of the Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects was sufficient.

The fragrance began to retract, gathering on the wondrous flower in the center of the pool.

The hundred thousand and eight thousand insects, as if driven mad, rushed forward and landed in the pool.

"This is the moment!"

Chen Ming silently recited the secret incantation, his hand seals changing. The water in the pool rippled, and the light shimmered.

Under the influence of Chen Ming's secret technique and the wondrous flower, the hundred thousand and eight thousand different insects began to tear each other apart in the pool.

The entire pool turned blood-red, emitting a terrifying poisonous gas.

The pool became a gu basin, with poisonous insects being bitten to death and devoured incessantly.

The remaining poisonous insects became even more ferocious, their toxicity growing stronger.

Even Chen Ming was somewhat alarmed.

As the number of poisonous insects in the pool dwindled, the fragrance of the wondrous flower became more intense.

The scattered poisonous blood and gas were not only devoured by the remaining poisonous insects but also absorbed by the wondrous flower.

The water in the pool, on the contrary, became increasingly clear.

The number of the hundred thousand and eight thousand insects continued to decrease, with only those possessing high spiritual essence and sufficient strength remaining.

As if reaching its limit, the wondrous flower in the center of the pool exploded with a "boom"!

It transformed into a mass of bloody mist, enveloping the remaining poisonous insects.

"Puchi!"

"Puchi!"

The sound of the poisonous insects' bodies exploding echoed from within the bloody mist.

Then, it gradually quieted down. The mass of bloody mist floated silently on the water, constantly writhing.

Only then did Chen Ming emerge from the shadows.

His hand seals shifted continuously as he spat out a mouthful of vital blood, which merged into the bloody mist!

"Hiss!"

Chen Ming shouted, and the bloody mist writhed and changed rapidly, continuously shrinking.

Seeing this, Chen Ming circulated his Magical Power and chanted incantations.

The bloody mist suddenly paused, shrinking and condensing into a crystal-clear, blood-red bead.

"It's finally done!"

Chen Ming beckoned, and the blood-red bead fell into his hand.

The bead was cool to the touch and connected to Chen Ming's mind.

With a thought from Chen Ming, the blood-red bead shattered with a "bang," and a small red worm, about the size of a thumb, leaped out.

If one looked closely at the little worm's forehead, there was a petal-shaped mark.

The red worm "crunch crunch" ate the shattered bead clean in a few bites.

After finishing, the red worm nuzzled against Chen Ming's palm, gradually turning transparent and disappearing.

"Huh?"

Chen Ming felt something and immediately sat down, closing his eyes and calming his mind to sense his sea of consciousness.

The red worm was indeed hidden in his sea of consciousness, resting on the illusory lotus platform within it.

Before he could fully comprehend, Chen Ming suddenly sensed an aura approaching from the outside and immediately became alert.

"Whoever is coming was likely drawn by the commotion of my refining, I wonder if they are friend or foe!"

After Chen Ming transmigrated, he had diligently cultivated secret techniques and had not yet interacted with any other cultivators, so he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

The approaching person was extremely fast, reaching the water's edge in just a few breaths.

The arrival was a Taoist priest with a goatee, known as Ling Yangzi.

He surveyed the water, muttering to himself:

"Strange, my senses are never wrong. The potent poisonous energy had gathered right here just now, how can there be no trace of it!"