Chapter 675: Half-Insect

The fleet charged forward, breaking through enemy lines. At dawn, they crushed another Insect Swarm. Nearly a thousand Flying Ships formed up, bathing in the golden morning light of the rising sun, and surged mightily toward the Insect Nest.

Lü Zhong stood at the prow, gazing into the far distance.

The closer they got to the Insect Nest, the thinner the mist became. He could now see into the extreme distance, where a sea of insects floated. Tens of thousands of Skeleton Insects hovered there, undulating in the air, truly resembling a vast, turbulent ocean.

Perhaps fearing the self-destruction of an Incarnation, the Insect Swarm slowly split into several waves after the fleet appeared, spreading out to minimize potential losses. Then, the light suddenly intensified. Countless beams of light shone from within the swarm—it was the giant Skeleton Insects mixed into the sea of insects, launching the first attack on the fleet.

The cultivators retaliated.

The cultivators had their Magical Treasures, Magical Artifacts, and Magic Skills, while the Flying Ships had their Crossbow Cannons and Small Primordial Cannons. The fleet turned broadside to form a line of battle and began exchanging fire with the Insect Swarm from a distance.

In a large-scale battle, fighting in formation is the best option.

At that moment, Lü Zhong was channeling a Magic Skill.

Among the many Magic Skills he had mastered, the Star Pulling Skill was undoubtedly number one for large-scale destruction. Even the Thunder Swamp of his Wood Thunder Skill couldn’t compare.

Once he had gathered enough power, Lü Zhong took out a Jia Yuan Heavenly Talisman. After absorbing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi from it, the power of his Star Pulling Skill rose to another level.

The sky suddenly brightened, creating the strange phenomenon of two suns. In addition to the rising sun in the east, another blindingly brilliant “sun of light” had appeared.

Seeing this Meteor, Lü Zhong was also slightly astonished.

‘I never thought that at my Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, I could summon such a massive Meteor after being boosted by Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. I wonder just how powerful it is.’

The strange sight in the sky also drew the attention of the Bihai Sect cultivators.

When they realized the giant Meteor was the handiwork of their Old Ancestor, they all became incredibly excited. Even the Core Formation Elders who saw it couldn’t help but feel more confident about this battle.

With a deafening roar, the Meteor struck the center of the Insect Swarm.

Its power was comparable to the self-destruction of a Nascent Soul. As the invisible shockwave spread, Skeleton Insects within a radius of several miles were torn to shreds. The swarms slightly farther away did not escape unscathed either, suffering injuries of varying severity. Their formation fell into chaos, and several Core Formation Techniques exploded within their ranks, wiping out another large swath of Skeleton Insects.

It was foreseeable that if Lü Zhong were to cast a few more Star Pulling Skills, the Insect Swarm’s formation would be completely shattered, even if the swarm itself wasn’t critically weakened.

In a large-scale battle, once the advantage of a formation was lost, and without a decisively overwhelming number, any amount of Skeleton Insects would be nothing more than a disorganized mob, completely unable to withstand the fleet’s assault.

For this reason, the Insect Queen could no longer sit still.

After a moment, a streak of purple light flew out from the sea of insects.

“Star Sun Old Demon! I, Zi Ming, have no prior grievances with your Bihai Sect. We’ve always minded our own business. Why have you suddenly attacked my Insect Swarm? If you retreat now, I guarantee I will not pursue you! Otherwise, not a single Bihai Sect cultivator will leave here alive today!”

The voice was immense, echoing between heaven and earth.

It was clearly audible to everyone, even from a hundred miles away.

“Hmph! No prior grievances? The list of atrocities committed by the Skeleton Insect Swarm is too long to count! Since you feign ignorance, I will make you admit defeat with conviction! In the first year of the Bihai era, you took advantage of the instability in the Bihai Domain to invade Nansai State and plunder it wantonly. You destroyed a total of seventeen Immortal Pavilions, and all the cultivators within were devoured. Even in the Yun, Chan and Weng Countries within Nansai State, tens of millions of mortals were slaughtered by your swarm!”

Lü Zhong infused his voice with Magical Power, spreading it far and wide as well.

Just as he said, the Skeleton Insect Swarm had accumulated a considerable blood debt against the Human Race as it grew in power.

Including the Changchun Valley period, they had slaughtered at least a hundred million mortals. After successively repelling several punitive expeditions from Changchun Valley, they had ultimately earned the name “Forbidden Land of Skeletons.”

“HAHAHAHA! Just a few thousand Loose Cultivators and some two-legged sheep. I know you sect cultivators have always seen them as worthless as weeds. How could you possibly start this war for them?”

The Skeleton Insect Queen, Zi Ming, laughed brazenly. Then she looked at Lü Zhong and sent a secret message: “Star Sun, I know the real reason you’ve come. Isn’t it for the Nether Corpse Emperor Insect Juice? If you swear to retreat now, I can give you five… no, ten portions of Emperor Insect Juice. This is the accumulation of a thousand years for my swarm. It’s more than enough to show my sincerity!”

Ten portions of Emperor Insect Juice?

Hearing this, Lü Zhong had to admit he was tempted.

However…

But since he had already initiated this great war, Lü Zhong had no intention of letting the Insect Swarm go. No matter how much Emperor Insect Juice the Insect Queen offered—even if she doubled the amount again—it would not shake his resolve or make him commit the foolish act of releasing a tiger back to the mountains.

Today, the Forbidden Land of Skeletons was destined for destruction.

The next moment.

The Star Mirror appeared above Lü Zhong’s head, followed by a flash of lightning.

After many years of research by Shuini and several improvements, he had long since mastered the miraculous Thunder Escape Rune within his Lifebound Treasure. Using this Thunder Escape Technique to perform an ultra-long-range Instant Teleportation and assassinate the Insect Queen was Lü Zhong’s greatest trump card for this expedition.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of the Insect Queen.

“Not good!” Zi Ming’s expression changed drastically. She hurriedly blocked with her insect limbs.

But it was too late.

Lü Zhong’s face was flushed as he forcefully suppressed the backlash from the damage to his Lifebound Treasure. Simultaneously, he summoned the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner and the Thunder-Attracting Needle. Both artifacts lit up with Spiritual Light. The intersecting streams of fire and Thunder Pillars they erupted with blasted the Insect Queen at point-blank range.