The Terror of a Spirit Insect Master

Deep within the Black Nether Abyss, a mountain path wound through the terrain.

Once they rounded a bend, the view suddenly opened up. A vast clearing of bare rock lay at the junction of three peaks, surrounded by sheer mountain walls.

In a concealed spot on one of those cliffs, several figures could be faintly seen.

"Big Brother, what do we do when the people from the Mu Domain arrive? Ambush them?" Second Master Liu, Liu Zong, looked down at the mountain path as he questioned Liu Qingtian ahead of him.

Although they held the advantage of surprise, the Mu Domain was no weak opponent. Mu Feng in particular was every bit as strong as his eldest brother. If they truly fought, even a victory would come at a price.

Normally, that would have been acceptable. Paying a price to deal the Mu Domain a crushing blow was a profitable exchange however one looked at it. But their current target was the Nine Nether Sparrow within the Black Nether Abyss, which forced them to be more cautious.

Liu Qingtian gazed ahead calmly and said, "Don't worry, Second Brother. How could I possibly have overlooked that..."

"Sometimes, killing someone doesn't require getting your own hands dirty."

Liu Zong's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "What stratagem shall we employ?"

Liu Qingtian glanced at his second brother, who had suddenly adopted such scholarly speech, then said, "Don't forget where we are! Deep inside the Black Nether Abyss, the most terrifying thing isn't an ambush, but the enormous numbers of spirit beasts!"

Killing with a borrowed blade-that was the grand gift Liu Qingtian had prepared for the Mu Domain.

He waved a hand, and an expert from the Liu Domain behind him hurried to his side...

"Is the beast blood ready?"

"Reporting to the Domain Lord, everything is ready!" the man answered respectfully.

"Then go down and make your preparations..."

After hearing their eldest brother's words, Liu Zong, Liu Ming, and the others immediately understood his plan.

"Using the smell of blood to lure high-level spirit beasts-what a brilliant idea, Big Brother!" Third Master Liu, Liu Ming, immediately offered his flattery.

Liu Qingtian ignored him. A little beast blood alone might not actually attract high-level spirit beasts, so his preparations went beyond that. Adding a few corpses when the time came, for instance... But those were things he could not say openly.

As the people of the Liu Domain eagerly awaited their prey, a faint sound suddenly drifted into their ears.

At first, no one paid it any attention. Gradually, however, they finally realized something was wrong, especially when a louder sound arose overhead...

Bzzzz...

In an instant, everyone's expression changed.

Liu Mubai in particular seemed to realize something at once and shouted to his father, "This is bad! They've found us! It's that Spirit Insect Master!"

Even Liu Qingtian's expression changed drastically.

Looking up, they saw that a black cloud had already spread over everyone's heads.

Liu Qingtian's face instantly paled. Through clenched teeth, he forced out the words, "Devouring... Spirit... Bees!"

"Retreat! Hurry!" Second Master Liu, Liu Zong, roared, his voice trembling.

In truth, there was no need for him to shout. The Liu Domain's experts had already started fleeing the moment they noticed the black cloud overhead.

They had no choice. Someone in the Divine Soul Realm like Liu Qingtian might fare better, but faced with such a terrifying Soul Devouring Bee Swarm, the rest of them lacked even the courage to resist!

The black cloud poured into the valley like a dark torrent. Without pausing, the bees swept toward the people of the Liu Domain.

"Aah! Aah!"

"Save me! Domain Lord, save me!"

"Run! Run!"

One shrill scream after another rang out, spurring the three Liu Family brothers and Liu Mubai at the front to flee even faster.

Those unlucky souls engulfed by the black cloud struggled frantically,

Then, in the blink of an eye, all signs of life vanished. As Liu Mubai sprinted, he could not resist looking back. That single glance became an eternal nightmare lodged in his heart!

He saw an expert of the Liu Domain at the late stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm completely enveloped by densely packed Devouring Spirit Bees. Although violent spiritual energy repeatedly erupted from the man's body, shaking countless bees to death, still more immediately surged in to engulf him.

Then, in fewer than ten breaths, the swarm took flight again, leaving nothing behind but a stark white skeleton...

The traces of blood on the skeleton proved that it had been a living, breathing person just moments earlier!

The sight left Liu Mubai's hands and feet feeling stiff, and his pace involuntarily slowed...

A moment later, a swarm of Devouring Spirit Bees caught up. Their vicious mouthparts gleamed coldly, and the sharp venomous stingers on their abdomens were already thrusting toward him!

"Aah! Father, save me! Save me!" Overwhelmed by terror, Liu Mubai desperately cried out to his father.

Liu Qingtian, who had just killed more than a dozen Devouring Spirit Bees with one punch, heard his son's voice. His heart jolted, and he rushed over without hesitation.

"Die!"

Liu Qingtian growled. Silver light surged from his body, and an enormous silver beast materialized.

The beast resembled a giant ape, but silver scales covered its entire body. Lightning seemed to flicker across those scales, and its roars carried peals of thunder.

In the distance, Mu Feng and his party watched the battle, their scalps prickling.

Then they slowly turned to look at the handsome youth standing calmly behind them, controlling the swarm with his Insect Flute. Their expressions were stiff.

So this was a Spirit Insect Master... How terrifying!

Calling him a one-man army would hardly be an exaggeration, would it? Could an ordinary cultivator even resist a Spirit Insect Master of the same level?

Mu Chen was equally shaken.

This was his first time seeing a Spirit Insect Master fight, but that single encounter had already left him thoroughly awestruck!

"Brother Heavenly Insect, you're incredible!"

Mu Chen blurted out before he could stop himself.

Heavenly Insect merely smiled and said nothing about the way Mu Chen addressed him.

The sight stirred Mu Feng's thoughts. If his son could truly befriend such a powerful expert, it would greatly benefit both the Mu Domain and Mu Chen himself.

The only question was whether the young man sincerely intended to cooperate with them...

"Dad, that's a Thunder-Scale Beast, isn't it?"

Mu Chen looked at the enormous silver beast that had appeared behind Liu Qingtian, feeling a slight jolt of surprise, then turned to ask Mu Feng.

The Thunder-Scale Beast was a formidable spirit beast ranked one hundred and thirty-third on the Myriad Beasts Record Earth Ranking. Although it fell short of being a heaven-tier spirit beast, it stood among the very strongest high-level spirit beasts.

Mu Feng nodded solemnly. "That's right. Liu Qingtian fused with a thunder-scale beast soul. His attacks carry terrifying thunder power, giving them tremendous destructive force!"

Sure enough, once Liu Qingtian released his beast soul, the Devouring Spirit Bees could no longer hurt him. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed his son's arm and hurried away into the distance.

Watching this, Heavenly Insect did not send the Devouring Spirit Bees in pursuit. His opponent was no weakling, after all, and pursuing him would cost too many bees.

"It's over..."

Beside Mu Feng, the Mu Domain experts who had watched the entire battle breathed faint sighs of relief.

The bloody scene had simply been too shocking. If they had been in the Liu Domain's place, they would probably have felt just as desperate...

At that thought, everyone involuntarily shuddered.

They could not dwell on it. Just thinking about it was enough to frighten them.

When Mu Feng led the group onto the battlefield, Heavenly Insect could not help feeling a pang of heartache at the Devouring Spirit Bee corpses carpeting the ground.

"These Devouring Spirit Bees are still too low-level..."

His words left Mu Feng and the others speechless.

You've already driven the Liu Domain into such a miserable state with nothing but a swarm of Devouring Spirit Bees. If you had a swarm on the level of mid-level spirit beasts, wouldn't you be able to dominate the entire Northern Spiritual Realm?

Mu Chen, however, looked curious. "Brother Heavenly Insect, haven't you raised any other, higher-level spirit insects?"

Wasn't it strange for a Divine Soul Realm Spirit Insect Master to have only a swarm of low-level spirit insects?

Heavenly Insect glanced at him with a soft chuckle and said mildly, "Of course. This swarm of Devouring Spirit Bees wasn't all I had before. I had quite a few mid-level and high-level spirit insects too..."

"Then...?" Mu Chen grew even more curious.

Heavenly Insect smiled without answering. Instead, he looked at the Mu father and son and said, "Domain Lord Mu, although I don't know why you want to venture deep into the Black Nether Abyss, nor do I care, as your temporary ally, I'll offer you a warning..."

"There is something terribly frightening within the Black Nether Abyss. Whatever you intend to do, think it through carefully..."

Heavenly Insect's words caused the expressions of everyone from the Mu Domain to shift slightly. Mu Feng's brows, in particular, furrowed deeply.

Mu Feng naturally knew how dangerous the Black Nether Abyss was. He had ventured into this forbidden land in his younger days.

But the dangers he knew of were not enough to frighten them away from even setting foot inside.

Besides, if they gave up on a spirit beast of the Nine Nether Sparrow's caliber this time, finding another of the same level would likely prove difficult!

Gritting his teeth, Mu Feng looked at Heavenly Insect. "Thank you for the warning, young friend. But what in this world comes without risk? For cultivators like us especially, danger often comes hand in hand with opportunity. I've long since prepared myself!"

"But rest assured, everyone. I'm not reckless. If it truly proves impossible, we'll retreat!"

Those last words were meant not only for Heavenly Insect, but also for everyone from the Mu Domain.

Heavenly Insect nodded slightly and said nothing more.

He only agreed because he knew the plot. He knew Mu Chen had the protagonist's halo and happened to possess a supreme treasure that could restrain the Nine Netherworld Sparrow. Otherwise, he would never have risked provoking Nine Nether again.

There was no helping it. Although he coveted the Nine Netherworld Sparrow's divine beast bloodline, the memory of being burned alive by the Nine Nether Sparrow reminded him that he was no cheat-powered monster. He had best avoid provoking an existence he could not afford to offend.

After all, staying alive mattered more!

The party continued onward.

Compared with before, however, everyone from the Mu Domain moved far more cautiously. The terrifying beast roars that occasionally rang out around them proved that the Black Nether Abyss fully deserved its fearsome reputation.

Half an hour passed like this. The dark valleys began to recede, and the terrain ahead gradually became broader and flatter.

Whoosh!

Mu Feng's party darted out of the valley and emerged on a high slope. They looked ahead, and their gazes abruptly sharpened.

Before them lay a vast Black Basin. The ground appeared to have been scorched by flames, leaving it charred black.

Of course, that was not what shocked Mu Feng and the others most. It was the countless stark white bones strewn throughout the basin!

The sight was profoundly shocking, especially to Heavenly Insect. This body of his should originally have ended up among those bones. It had only escaped by sheer luck, and even then, its original owner had ultimately died of his grievous injuries.

Although Heavenly Insect had been reborn in that body and had even reconstructed its flesh, he had inherited this identity. Seeing the scene still made his heart flutter with fear.

Mu Feng and the others naturally had no idea what Heavenly Insect was thinking. Judging by their size, the bones belonged to spirit beasts. Yet all those beasts had died in postures of madly racing forward, as though something ahead had drawn them in, leaving them unable to break free.

Mu Chen stared at the bones covering the earth and involuntarily sucked in a cold breath. What on earth happened here?

His gaze slowly rose toward the distance. At the center of the basin, he saw a huge black volcano jutting from the ground. At its summit lay a sunken stretch of darkness, like a demon's enormous mouth devouring everything.

"This is the place..."

Mu Chen's gaze grew solemn. The scene before him was exactly like the one described on the copper fragment!

He turned to exchange a glance with his father, Mu Feng, and both saw surprise and delight in the other's eyes.

A cool, gloomy breeze swept past. The countless stark white bones seemed to tremble slightly, sending a faint chill through their hearts.

"This is the place!"

A smile appeared on Mu Feng's face.

Unlike in the original story, the people of the Liu Domain had already been driven away, leaving no one to compete with them. Mu Feng's expression was therefore remarkably relaxed.

Of course, it was all merely an appearance.

In reality, Mu Feng was more vigilant than anyone. Although their great enemy, the Liu Domain, was gone, someone even more terrifying stood beside them. If he harbored ill intentions, the Mu Domain's fate would not be much better than the Liu Domain's...

Although Heavenly Insect could not read Mu Feng's thoughts, they were easy enough to guess. He therefore said calmly, "This is no safe place. Whatever you intend to do, Domain Lord Mu, you should make haste. I'll fulfill my duties as an ally and support you from the perimeter!"

His attitude allowed Mu Feng to let out a long breath of relief. Cupping his hands, he said, "Then you have my thanks! Rest assured, my word carries the weight of a thousand pieces of gold. Once we get out, young friend, you may name any request, and I'll do everything in my power to fulfill it!"

Heavenly Insect nodded, then walked off to one side.