Spitting Water Ghoul

The exoskeletons of these locusts were incredibly tough, no less so than the iron armor of the Huangming army.

But under the "Gold Pellet," they were still like window paper, easily pierced.

The locust struggled a few times, flew another seven or eight zhang, and finally fell headfirst.

Xu Yuan's speed couldn't match the locusts, and he was quickly caught up. The remaining five locusts pounced, but Xu Yuan spat out a stream of fire and controlled the Gold Pellet to shoot out, soon leaving only one locust.

This monster finally felt fear and turned to fly into the distance, but Xu Yuan absolutely could not let it go.

The Gold Pellet suddenly accelerated, piercing it entirely from behind.

The locust crashed heavily onto the ground.

But a strong sense of unease rose within Xu Yuan!

"Hurry!" Xu Yuan sprinted, abandoning his original route and turning onto another small path.

Soon, he saw a patch of woods, and Xu Yuan gritted his teeth and plunged in.

If he were in an open, un-sheltered area, the locusts would see him from far away if they pursued.

But the woods also held many unknown dangers. Xu Yuan cautiously walked through the forest for half an hour, suddenly hearing a buzzing sound from above. He quickly crouched down, using the dense branches to conceal himself.

Above the forest, a dense swarm of locusts, like a giant flying beast, blotted out the sky. It took quite a while for them to pass!

The number... it must have been tens, no, hundreds of thousands, or even millions?!

Xu Yuan dodged this disaster and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He got up and headed in the opposite direction of the swarm.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly felt something, turned his head, and saw a locust the size of a fist clinging to a tree not far away.

The locust's antennae twitched, and its bug eyes stared coldly at Xu Yuan.

"This is bad!"

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Xu Yuan heard a dense, noisy sound from the woods behind him. Turning back, he saw countless fist-sized locusts, like a tide, flooding the forest and rapidly approaching him!

Xu Yuan gritted his teeth, turned, and ran forward, no longer caring about the other strange creatures in the woods.

The locust tide pursued relentlessly. Xu Yuan heard the spine-chilling rustling sound behind him getting closer and closer. The locusts had already formed an arc behind him, rapidly flanking from both sides and forcing Xu Yuan towards the only direction ahead!

"There's a greater danger ahead!" Xu Yuan thought of the even more terrifying locust swarm that had flown past earlier.

"A fight to the death!" Xu Yuan hardened his heart, stopped abruptly, his abdomen heaved violently, and he unleashed a mouthful of "Inner Fire."

Whoosh—

Fierce flames quickly ignited the fallen leaves and surrounding trees!

It was early autumn, and Ghost Witch Mountain received a lot of rain. The fallen leaves and trees were very damp. As soon as they caught fire, thick smoke billowed out.

Seeing the fire spread uncontrollably, dozens of large trees in the forest trembled, pulled up their roots, twisted into thick, sturdy legs, and fled with great strides.

There was almost nothing the "Inner Fire" couldn't burn. The flames spread rapidly, and the pursuing locust swarm crashed into the inferno, immediately burning with crackling sounds.

The locusts in front wanted to retreat, but those behind kept pushing forward, throwing the entire swarm into chaos.

The locusts flapped their wings and took to the air, only to be disoriented by the thick smoke.

Xu Yuan plunged into the smoke, disappearing without a trace.

Not long before, after the massive giant locust swarm flew over the forest, it seemed to have received another order. It made a large turn a hundred zhang ahead and, a dark mass of yellow and black, returned to hover above a hillside in front of the forest.

Then, as if it were the end of the world, countless giant locusts, three feet long with sharp mandibles and hind legs as strong as saw blades, fell with a patter.

Soon, they covered a whole mountainside densely!

They were waiting for Xu Yuan to be driven out into their trap, but they didn't expect the fire to spread so quickly!

From within the smoke, countless "juniors" scrambled to escape.

Many had their wings already burning, rushing out in a panic. Before long, their wings were burned away, they fell headfirst, and were reduced to ashes.

The air was filled with the scorched smell of burning keratin, and the target had vanished.

The entire locust swarm became panicked and restless. Their innate fear of fire was difficult to overcome.

But the brat who set the mountain on fire couldn't escape either.

From the depths of the locust swarm, a strange accent sounded, as if an old woman with a gaping mouth and a leaky voice was speaking.

"This little brat is ruthless."

"Better to burn to death together than become your blood food!"

The voice seemed to be muttering to itself, or perhaps discussing with someone else: "Fortunately, this place is close to that yu's territory, but it's going to cost us dearly."

The fire had already engulfed the entire forest, and the flames were spreading to the surrounding peaks.

The giant locusts on the mountainside were pushing each other backward, becoming even more agitated.

Suddenly, in a river seven or eight li away, a vortex appeared.

The vortex spun faster and faster, and amidst the tremendous sound of rushing water, a giant water dragon hundreds of zhang long coiled up!

The white water dragon soared into the sky, flew above the forest, and exploded with a roar, showering the area above the forest with a heavy downpour that instantly extinguished the fire in the woods.

Xu Yuan was hiding under a large tree, his clothes nearly scorched with seven or eight holes, his hair tips curled, and several patches of his skin burned by the flames.

He looked utterly wretched.

Once the great fire started, Xu Yuan couldn't control it.

He had intended to escape under the cover of the thick smoke, but he hadn't expected a sudden downpour!

This rain was strange, and Xu Yuan's heart sank.

The sound of "huala la" rang out again as countless locusts sprang into the air and landed in the forest. Many branches, just scorched by the fire, had become brittle. When the locusts landed on them, they snapped, and the branches and locusts fell to the ground together.

But Xu Yuan had no intention of mocking them. His expression grew increasingly grim, because countless locusts, big and small, were converging from all directions, having already surrounded him tightly!

The encirclement tightened, and the locusts' mandibles opened and closed incessantly, emitting a grating sound like blades rubbing together.

Xu Yuan stood his ground, coldly observing all the strangeness.

It was time for a fight to the death, so he cast aside all useless emotions.

The locusts stopped five feet in front of Xu Yuan, and then a commotion came from the rear of the swarm. The dense mass of locusts suddenly parted, creating a passage.

An ancient locust, ten feet tall, slowly walked forward from the rear.

It stood on its hind legs, its middle and front legs folded behind it like a human's. It also had a long, slender neck like a human.

Its large insect head rested on its neck, making it sway its head as it walked.

It menacingly opened its huge mandibles towards Xu Yuan, from which sprayed seven or eight three-foot-long proboscis tentacles. It spoke, "You killed a large group of my children and grandchildren!"

Xu Yuan didn't answer, nor did he even look at this strange, ancient locust.

Following behind the ancient locust was a person, Master Qiao!

There will be another chapter tonight. I'm picking up the pace starting today.