Although Demon Butterfly had sworn that the Spirit Butterfly Jade Marks could awaken and subdue the White Jade Sword Butterfly overhead, Heavenly Insect first had to figure out how to approach it amid the sword qi filling the sky.
His gaze swept across the area. When he spotted the Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion, which was also barely clinging to life, an idea immediately struck him.
He took out the High-grade Spirit Artifact he had bought in Ling Tian City, the Heaven-Covering Net, and cast it out. The net expanded without limit, then captured the Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion's enormous body in one sweep.
"Bastard! What are you doing?" Qingyan demanded furiously at the sight.
Unfortunately, he did not dare step outside the Black Jade Insect's defensive perimeter. He could only watch everything Heavenly Insect did, powerless to stop him.
"Heh heh, off you go!"
Heavenly Insect grinned at him, then heaved with both hands, flinging the Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion's massive body off the ground.
The airborne Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion instantly drew the White Jade Sword Butterfly's attention. The sword qi filling the sky paused, then converged directly on the scorpion.
"Hiss!"
The poor Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion was a mighty Spirit Insect comparable to a Heaven Transformation Realm cultivator, yet it lasted only a dozen or so breaths beneath the endless sword qi before the rain of blades shredded it to pieces.
"Bastard, I'll kill you! Pfft..."
Qingyan watched it happen with his eyes bulging, their corners threatening to split. Throwing all caution aside, he charged straight at Heavenly Insect, ready to fight him to the death.
"Brother Flying Scorpion, hold him off for a while. Once I deal with the Sword Butterfly overhead, I'll come deal with them!"
He shoved Flying Scorpion Inkstone forward, though the man was still grieving the death of his family's inherited Flying Scorpion, leaving him to face the now-maddened Qingyan. Heavenly Insect himself used an incredible movement technique to appear in the sky overhead as though he had teleported.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Once Heavenly Insect took to the sky, he immediately became the White Jade Sword Butterfly's next target after the dismembered Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion...
The razor-sharp sword qi rapidly grew larger in Heavenly Insect's eyes. He drew a deep breath, thrust both hands high, aimed the Spirit Butterfly Jade Marks on his palms at the Sword Butterfly, and poured spiritual energy into them without worrying whether they would work.
Yet despite the infusion of his spiritual energy, the Spirit Butterfly Jade Marks on his palms showed no change. The sword qi above remained fierce. Judging by its momentum, if it struck him, Heavenly Insect would fare no better than the Azurefire Heavenly Scorpion...
Don't tell me they don't work?
Cold sweat slipped down Heavenly Insect's forehead, and his heart raced. Yet instead of dodging, he poured still more spiritual energy from his body into the jade marks on his palms in an almost unbroken stream.
Just as Heavenly Insect began wondering whether he was about to become sliced chicken, the previously motionless Spirit Butterfly Jade Marks finally changed...
Two butterflies of light, suffused with white halos, flew out of the jade marks. At an unbelievable speed, they vanished into the White Jade Sword Butterfly's forehead high above in the blink of an eye.
The next instant...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Endless sword qi descended from the heavens, completely enveloping the stretch of sky where Heavenly Insect stood.
The sword qi struck the ground, dealing another devastating blow to the plaza's hard surface. The ground turned straight to dust and blew away, leaving a bottomless pit dozens of yards across.
"Heavenly Insect..."
Hiding beneath the Flying Scorpion's corpse, Demon Butterfly felt as though her heart would leap out of her chest, as though a great hand had clenched it tight. Even her breathing stopped.
A quarter of an hour passed before the wind finally scattered all the dust, revealing the scene in the sky to everyone once more.
A figure hovered in the heavens, with a white-jade butterfly a hundred feet across resting behind and above him. A shaft of sunlight slipped through a gap overhead and fell upon the man and butterfly, making them look like a butterfly immortal descending from the heavens.
Except this butterfly immortal was a man,
And a disheveled man with a contorted face at that, instantly making everyone below feel as though they had been kicked out of an immortal paradise. "Fuck, that scared the shit out of me!"
Having narrowly escaped death, Heavenly Insect clutched his chest with both hands, soothing his wildly pounding heart while inwardly cursing.
There was no helping it. Anyone would have lost their composure after such terrifying sword qi brushed past their ears.
That brush with death had made Heavenly Insect truly feel the fear buried in the deepest reaches of his heart...
"It actually worked?!" Demon Butterfly staggered out from beneath the Flying Scorpion's corpse, looking up at the sky with delighted surprise.
By then, Heavenly Insect had steadied himself and landed. Hearing her words, he could not help glaring at the woman. "What do you mean? Were you never even sure this method could subdue the Sword Butterfly?"
Demon Butterfly's expression froze. Then she timidly took a step back and whispered, "Well... I only knew these Spirit Butterfly Jade Marks were left behind by the Spirit Butterfly Fairy back then. I'm not really sure what exactly they do..."
Heavenly Insect: "?!"
So you were using me as a guinea pig all along? And to think I'd actually been a little touched earlier!
Still, this was hardly the time to dwell on that, since Flying Scorpion Inkstone was being beaten nearly to death by Qingyan nearby...
Heavenly Insect activated the jade marks on his palms. Red light flared in the eyes of the Sword Butterfly hovering above, and two streaks of sword qi shot from the wings beating behind it, piercing Qingyan's body before he could react.
The badly battered Flying Scorpion Inkstone jumped in fright. Only when he saw that the sword qi fell still after killing Qingyan did he exhale softly and turn a complicated gaze toward Heavenly Insect.
"Thank you for saving me, Brother Heavenly Insect!"
Although it was precisely this hateful fellow before him who had shoved him forward and made him the target of Qingyan's fury, circumstances now left him powerless. Not only could he not hold Heavenly Insect accountable, he had to show boundless gratitude instead...
It left Flying Scorpion Inkstone feeling utterly stifled.
"Hehe, what are you saying, Brother Flying Scorpion? Aren't we allies? Of course we should support each other," Heavenly Insect said with a smile.
Heavenly Insect spoke without the slightest qualm. But after glancing at the thoroughly dead Gongyang Huo in the distance, Flying Scorpion Inkstone hurriedly nodded in agreement, all smiles.
Heavenly Insect now had complete control of the situation. The White Jade Sword Butterfly overhead alone gave him the power to suppress everyone.
Of the Flying Spirit Army's three hostile commanders in the plaza, two had already fallen. The remaining Third Commander, Black Jade, had actually chosen to stay tucked away like a turtle when Qingyan charged over. Even after the threat of the sword qi overhead disappeared, he still had not acted, allowing Flying Scorpion Inkstone and Demon Butterfly to narrowly escape with their lives...
Now that the battle had ended, Heavenly Insect turned a scrutinizing gaze toward the figure in the corner.
"Don't attack! Please, don't attack..." Noticing Heavenly Insect's gaze, the burly Black Jade hurriedly raised both hands in surrender and said repeatedly, "Please don't misunderstand, young master. I only came here on orders. I personally covet nothing here."
"I don't want to be your enemy, so I haven't fought any of you with my full strength all this time. I believe you can see that yourselves.
"And I can tell you something top secret. The City Lord's Estate's real trump card this time isn't merely the three commanders of the Flying Spirit Army, but the city lord himself. I believe he has already entered the heart of the Spirit Butterfly Fairy's ruins, so if you still want to continue, you'll probably have to hurry..."
As Black Jade spilled everything he knew like beans tumbling from a bamboo tube, the expressions of Heavenly Insect and his two companions changed.
"That old fellow Flying Locust actually came himself? How is that possible..." Flying Scorpion Inkstone could not help exclaiming softly.
That was a genuine Supreme expert! If he acted personally, what was the point of the rest of them competing?
Even the Flying Scorpion Family's inherited Heaven-grade Spirit Insect, the Flying Scorpion, had died for this. Now someone was suddenly telling him he would gain absolutely nothing. One could easily imagine Flying Scorpion Inkstone's mood-it was as though he had swallowed a mouthful of shit.
Heavenly Insect and Demon Butterfly looked equally grim, especially the latter. She had given everything for the Spirit Butterfly Fairy's inheritance. If someone else beat her to it, would she not lose everything?
At that thought, Demon Butterfly gently tugged the sleeve of the man beside her and said with a pitiful look, "You promised me..."
Speechless, Heavenly Insect rolled his eyes at her.
"I know, but do you think we can take on a Supreme expert?"
"Haven't you already subdued the White Jade Sword Butterfly? With how powerful it is, we might be able to stand against Flying Locust!"
As she spoke, Demon Butterfly's own eyes lit up.
Heavenly Insect gave a bitter smile. "Look closely. This White Jade Sword Butterfly isn't a real Sword Butterfly. It's only a puppet made from a Sword Butterfly's body. It can wield some of a Sword Butterfly's strength, but it's nowhere near a Supreme expert. Otherwise, would we still have the chance to stand here talking?"
Although the sword qi earlier had been terrifying, at most it could threaten Heaven-reaching Realm cultivators. It would have little effect even against experts undergoing the Three Minor Tribulations of the Sovereign...
Heavenly Insect's words became the final straw that broke the camel's back, plunging Flying Scorpion Inkstone and Demon Butterfly into utter despair.
Seeing the three fall silent, Black Jade cautiously shifted his feet. When he noticed Heavenly Insect turn his gaze toward him, he hurriedly stopped and cupped his fists. "Um... young master, our mission has already failed. I'll leave these ruins now, and I certainly wouldn't dare oppose any of you again. Farewell!"
Heavenly Insect merely glanced at the fellow, with no intention of making things difficult for him. He simply nodded, then paid him no further attention.
At that, Black Jade finally breathed a sigh of relief and left without daring to linger another moment.
"You're just letting him go?" Flying Scorpion Inkstone frowned. "Aren't you afraid he'll spread word outside and cause trouble for you?"
Heavenly Insect shrugged indifferently. "What trouble could he cause? I don't operate in Flying Spirit City anyway. If he really wants to bring a blood meal to my Nine Revolutions Black-Whiskered Mosquito, I'd be more than happy."
His words left both Flying Scorpion Inkstone and Demon Butterfly speechless. They both had homes and livelihoods in Flying Spirit City...
"Where are you two planning to go next?" Heavenly Insect asked, looking at Demon Butterfly and Flying Scorpion Inkstone beside him.
"I'm going to look around the outskirts of the ruins. My Flying Scorpion Family suffered terrible losses this time. I have to make up for them..." Flying Scorpion Inkstone said darkly.
"I'm going with you. Don't even think about shaking me off. You promised me..." Pouting miserably, Demon Butterfly moved up to Heavenly Insect and tugged his sleeve.
The sight made Flying Scorpion Inkstone's eye twitch. Watching the two wretches exchange flirtatious looks, he cursed inwardly, gave a perfunctory salute, then turned and left.
Once Flying Scorpion Inkstone's figure had completely vanished into the distant darkness, Heavenly Insect looked down at the little hand still gripping his sleeve. "He's gone. Aren't you going to let go?"
The next instant, the little hand on his sleeve disappeared. The pitiful, aggrieved little woman vanished, and the alluring, ruthless temptress returned.
Heavenly Insect's mouth twitched. Sincerely impressed by her acting, he gave her a thumbs-up before saying, "How much do you know about the heart of these ruins? Don't play any little games. Our opponent is a genuine Supreme expert. We have to work together, or we might as well go our separate ways now!"
From the very beginning, Heavenly Insect had never actually considered giving up. Although the two of them stood no chance against a Supreme expert head-on, sometimes dealing with an enemy did not require foolishly charging straight at him...
Demon Butterfly fell silent for a moment at his words, then raised her head. "There's a garden at the heart of these ruins. It was the Spirit Butterfly Fairy's favorite place while she was alive. They say that after she fell, her true spirit remained in that garden, waiting for someone destined to find her..."
Heavenly Insect's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean the Spirit Butterfly Fairy's true spirit still exists?"
Holy shit! How is that possible...
If what this woman said was true, and someone ignorant of the truth startled that true spirit awake, there was truly no telling what might happen!
Just because Earthly Sovereigns were everywhere in the original story and Supremes were worth less than dogs, that certainly did not mean the entire Great Thousand World was like that...
Although the Great Thousand World had many experts, once they were scattered across its boundless expanse, ordinary people still made up ninety percent of the population!
There was only a tiny handful of true experts...
In places such as the Flying Salamander Domain, where Flying Spirit City lay, the Northern Spiritual Realm, where the Mu Domain was located, or even Hundred Spirits Heaven, a Ninth Grade Sovereign was unquestionably an overlord.
Even in the Five Great Academies, renowned throughout the Great Thousand World, weren't the experts overseeing them only Ninth Grade Sovereigns? The same was true even of the Northern Heavens Continent.
"I have a way to awaken the Spirit Butterfly Fairy's true spirit. As long as I succeed, not even Flying Locust will be able to snatch the inheritance from me. That's why I need you to help me enter that garden..."
Before you continue