Sneak Attack

The speaker was named Chen Moye, the land manager of the Wanshun Sea Hall. He appeared to be in his forties, a mixed-race man, skilled in controlling sea insects and Tidal Incantation, and Mid Golden Core.

The Golden Core of Nanyang are somewhat unique. Unlike those of Heavenly Gate who have embarked on a path of technological cultivation, they do not possess a large number of "ancient cultivator inheritances" like the Rogue Cultivator of the East Sea, nor do they cultivate magic but not life like those barbarian Jiangtou.

If I had to put it that way, they were more like Golden Core cultivators who could chant incantations. Apart from the Golden Core cultivation method being derived from the various compulsory education Cultivation Method of the Heavenly Gate, most of their Technique Method and incantations came from the inheritance of witchcraft.

As Chen Moye chanted the mantra, a soft rustling sound gradually rose in the rainforest.

The sound was initially very soft, like the wind blowing through fallen leaves, but it quickly grew denser and louder, as if something was wriggling under every leaf and every inch of soil in the entire rainforest.

More and more small insects emerged, including slender centipedes, jet-black beetles, iridescent moths, and scorpions with long tails, gathering together in dense numbers and forming a cloud of insects under his incantation.

The insect cloud, like a living dark cloud, surged and rolled over the rainforest, emitting a dense sound of flapping wings and crawling.

"Go, find them."

The insect cloud collapsed with a roar, turning into hundreds of thin streams, which then dispersed and transformed into a stream of insects invisible to the naked eye.

Another old man named Shilansheluo also began chanting incantations. He was a worshipper of the local royal family and also the manager of the Wanshun Sea Hall. As he chanted, the phantom of a temple appeared in his eyes. As his eyes scanned, the temple doors opened and closed repeatedly.

Finally, his gaze fell on two directions. In one direction, as the temple gates opened, a figure appeared, and in the other direction, two figures appeared.

The two checked their intelligence and confirmed that they had made no mistakes.

Then the four Golden Core quickly sprang into action: one was responsible for going back to deliver the message and bring back more Golden Core, while the other two were responsible for two at a time, and one for one at a time.

However, their role wasn't to engage in combat. The Golden Core cultivators from Zheng Family Garden were far more powerful than the Rogue Cultivator from Nanyang. Their goal wasn't to kill them quickly, but rather to use magic to entangle them.

If we can stall until other people arrive, the problem will be solved.

Chen Moye and Shilansheluo acted quickly. Their target was the two Golden Core, but they didn't go directly to them. Instead, they stopped in a poisonous rainforest.

As Chen Moye took out various sacrificial objects—black wooden sculptures of various insects—he chanted incantations somewhat similar to those Jiangtou.

As he chanted the incantation, the ground began to tremble slightly, the soil churned like boiling water, and insects emerged from the ground: centipedes as thick as a thumb, beetles the size of a fist, venomous spiders gleaming with an eerie light, and scorpions with long tails.

They gathered densely in front of Chen Moye, like a living black carpet.

Chen Moye took out another earthenware jar, lifted the lid, and a strong, fishy stench wafted out.

He poured the powder from the jar onto the swarm of insects. The powder was dark red, like dried blood, and it quickly seeped into the insects' carapaces upon contact.

The swarm of insects began to wriggle, tumble, and hiss violently.

Their bodies began to swell, deform, and merge; their shells shattered and reformed; their limbs twisted and stretched.

Soon, they stood upright, transforming into humanoid silhouettes. Some insectoids were entirely black, their carapaces covering their entire bodies like armor, while others had many legs like centipedes, making a dense rustling sound as they walked. Their faces were indistinct, with only pairs of compound eyes gleaming coldly in the darkness, like countless tiny mirrors.

The aura of each insect had strangely increased to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and two of them were even at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

"Kill your enemies."

Chen Moye speaks a Nanyang dialect, which sounds like the chirping of insects.

These insects fluttered their wings and disappeared into the rainforest in hundreds and thousands.

The other person placed one finger on the ground, crossed their legs, and assumed a yoga pose.

The Sumatra Technique Method system is divided into two schools: one is the witchcraft school, and the other is none other than the Buddhist teachings inherited from the Saha Continent.

The same yellow-robed master, if he can appear on the streets, can naturally also appear in the palace, just like the monks of the Middle Earth in the past.

However, here, there were no Daoist priests to debate scriptures with them, and although the Buddhist teachings passed down by those yellow-robed masters were not lethal, they had undergone special changes when integrated with local practices.

As Shilansheluo pointed a single finger to the ground, a colossal temple phantom sank deeper into the earth, its doors slowly opening like the entrance to an abyss.

When it opened to its limit, with a loud "boom," a small grove of trees dozens of miles ahead collapsed.

Then, two Golden Core core-level beams of light flew out of the center in a disheveled state, transforming into the figures of Chen Xiaosan and Feng Haixiao.

"This place actually collapsed? That's unbelievable! Do rainforests have earthquakes? We never learned that in school," Chen Xiaosan said, looking disheveled.

Feng Haixiao was too lazy to listen to the other party's nonsense. He forcefully slashed at a shadowy insect with his blood-stained broadsword, splitting it in two. Poisonous blood and smoke spewed out from it, but Feng Haixiao, who had anticipated this, dodged it.

"Seal your five senses first. This stuff is highly poisonous; if you get it on you, you'll be strangled to death."

"The insects in Nanyang are so small that you might not even be able to spot them with your naked eye, let alone with your Divine Sense. You must use your protective divine light to shield your entire body."

"Also, the Golden Core cultivators in Nanyang are most skilled at long-range curses. If they get injured, make sure not a single hair is left on the enemy's head."

After two days of contact, Feng Haixiao discovered that this Heavenly Gate man wasn't very bright, but he was, after all, a brother of the Martial Hall Master, so he wouldn't just stand by and watch the other man get killed. After retreating back to Zheng Family Garden, he was still hoping that this favorite of Boss Zheng would help him get another business deal.

However, the commotion behind him made him uneasy. He turned around abruptly and found that the dim-witted fellow he had been looking at was curiously crouching in the swarm of insects, poking around and looking here and there...

In the form of a blue-faced ghost.

The insect knives, poisonous smoke, and Gu worms in the hands of these insect-men burrowed into its body and then silently emerged.

You cannot kill someone who is already dead.

"..." Feng Haixiao stared wide-eyed at this scene.

There are many methods for controlling and exorcising ghosts in Nanyang, but this method of turning a living person into a ghost is truly the first time he has ever seen it.

Although Chen Xiaosan seems unreliable, the Ghost Qi aura emanating from him is exceptionally pure, so pure that it contains not a trace of human presence.

Without the presence of a living being, it is naturally not subject to the control of any witchcraft or Jiangtou.

Jiangtou only works on the living, not the dead.

"I have a bold idea," Chen Xiaosan said, his eyes gleaming.

"... explain."

"You help me hold off these insects, I'll deal with those two Golden Core cultivators."

You won't find them.

"Don't be ridiculous. I can even get takeout delivered safely in the Ghost Haunt Realm, how could I not find two living people?"

Feng Haixiao remained silent for a moment, then suddenly agreed as if possessed.

He knew how troublesome the Nanyang Golden Core sorcerers were, and he also knew that these people definitely possessed powerful magical artifacts. They were not just Jiangtou who only knew how to use witchcraft; their magical combat skills might even be more formidable than their insect-repelling abilities.

But inexplicably, he agreed.

It's possible that being around someone who isn't very bright has made him less bright as well.

Then the other party chuckled with his signature silly expression, and his figure disappeared on the spot. Feng Haixiao sighed deeply, and the flames of his blood-stained broadsword surged, burning swarms of Gu worms into fiery clouds wherever it passed.

Insects have no intelligence, but the person controlling them does. He has to put on a convincing act, at the cost of severely depleting his internal True Qi.

In less than thirty breaths, Feng Haixiao stood before the two unconscious Golden Core cultivators, staring at Chen Xiaosan in astonishment.

"So, you've got it all figured out?"

How did you do that?

"With the skills I've honed over the years, the ability to outwit and outmaneuver security guards!" Chen Xiaosan said, head held high.

Feng Haixiao stopped asking. His relationship with the other party wasn't good enough for them to confide in him. He simply looked at the two unconscious Golden Core.

"You didn't kill them?" Feng Haixiao asked.

"Should we kill them?" Chen Xiaosan asked, bewildered. "Won't killing two Golden Core cultivators completely offend them?"

Feng Haixiao provided the answer with his own knife, severing both heads on the spot.

"Boy, I'll only teach you this once. Here, killing someone isn't even considered an offense; not killing is the real crime."

Chen Xiaosan gasped, filled with awe.

"No wonder he's a big shot in society, I'm impressed!"

With that level of intelligence, how did they even manage to refine Golden Core?

Feng Haixiao looked at the other person with a puzzled expression. Were the people of Heavenly Gate generally not very bright?

As the two were chatting, a centipede as thick as a wrist suddenly shot out from the neck of one of the two headless corpses that had been chopped off, which was still spurting blood. It then disappeared into the nearby swamp in a few moments.

"Holy crap, it's still alive! Grab it quickly, or it'll go back and report us!"

"Even if you don't catch it, someone will go back and inform them. Four Golden Core cultivators came, but only three of them made a move."

Feng Haixiao paused for a moment, then said:

"This centipede is Life Insect, containing a portion of this creature's memories. Your methods might be exposed."

"Wow, this bug can actually possess bodies? That's advanced!"

"According to your Heavenly Gate's explanation, it can only be considered as implanting a portion of memories, not a true possession."

"I see."

Feng Haixiao looked to the other side and frowned. "Why is there no movement from the Martial Hall Master?"

Of the three Golden Core, two headed in his direction, while one went to track down the Heavenly Blood Python.

But why is there no movement?

"Don't worry, my second brother will be fine. He's the second best fighter among the five of us."

Chen Xiaosan said casually.

Feng Haixiao didn't ask who the first one was. He frowned and looked in one direction, and soon his expression changed.

The auras of more than a dozen Golden Core cultivators shot out from that direction at the same time.