Chapter 518 - 486: Chains of the Sky, Human and Insect

The Spirit Star Race and the Human Race were once friends!

By the side of the spring, shrouded in white mist, Song Ciwan spoke these words.

The Grand Elder of the Spirit Star Race immediately replied, "Yes, the Spirit Star Race and the Human Race were once friends. But after the cataclysm of ancient times, our race slumbered in the Void for far too long. Now, almost no one in the Mortal World even knows of the Spirit Star Race."

At this, she sighed softly. Her earlier excitement faded, and a touch of melancholy appeared in her eyes. "Not only does almost no one in the Mortal World know of us, but our race is now so weak that we must guard against malicious intruders from your world."

The "malicious intruders" she spoke of were, of course, Zhang Ping and her followers, who had harmed the Spirit Star Race in their attempt to seize the Five Elements Crystal Pearl.

By mentioning this now, the Grand Elder was undoubtedly probing her, dropping a hint.

Was she trying to indirectly confirm Song Ciwan’s good intentions?

But Song Ciwan would never take the blame for the sins of others, nor would she feel any sense of vicarious guilt just because of the Grand Elder’s words.

’It wasn’t my doing. Why should I feel guilty or apologize?’

Song Ciwan immediately said, "Grand Elder, did you know? That Zhang Ping cultivated the Golden Core Dao all the way to the Soul Emergence Stage. By the time she reached that stage, she was no longer human. She had become an insect!"

She had said it. She had said it without any hindrance!

Although Zhang Ping was once a human, from the moment she reached the Nascent Soul Stage, she could no longer be called one!

The Spirit Star Race’s Grand Elder, sitting cross-legged upon the Jade Platform, trembled lightly.

She leaned forward slightly, all traces of melancholy gone from her eyes. Two searing lights blazed within her pupils as she stared intently at Song Ciwan. Her voice rose, so filled with agitation it nearly cracked. "You said Zhang Ping is not human, but an insect?"

Song Ciwan said, "Grand Elder, in the River of Time and Stars, I also saw it. I saw endless, terrifyingly immense insects destroying the prosperous worlds of the past, along with their myriad races."

As she uttered these words, the once calm and gentle spring beneath the Grand Elder suddenly began to bubble. GURGLE, GURGLE.

GURGLE, GURGLE...

The bubbles churned violently, threatening to boil over in an instant.

Song Ciwan was not in the water, merely sitting on the ground by the spring’s edge, yet she instantly felt a wave of intense heat wash over her.

Her expression immediately turned serious. Her gaze fell upon the scattering, churning bubbles in the spring, and a realization dawned on her:

’This time, I’ve successfully spoken a part of the Insect Race’s secret—’

’Even though I was only skirting the edges of the truth, not speaking it plainly, to be honest... I skirted very close to the line.’

’Back in the Nine Provinces World, I either wouldn’t have been able to say something like this, or I would have been struck by Celestial Thunder for doing so.’

’But here, no lightning struck me, nor did any terrifying warning or heart-pounding sense of a taboo descend. Is it because the Giant Spirit Realm isn’t part of the wider cosmos, but exists in secrecy? Is that why the Ancient Divine Insect Race’s senses can’t reach this world?’

Song Ciwan faintly sensed that perhaps the Ancient Divine Insect Race’s perception was indeed weakened in the Giant Spirit Realm, but this weakening should be limited, almost negligible.

The reason no forbidden power was stopping her from speaking now wasn’t because the Ancient Divine Insect Race couldn’t sense this realm. It was because the Grand Elder was bearing the full brunt of it!

Song Ciwan’s gaze shifted back to the Grand Elder. The spring was still gurgling and boiling. A crimson flush had appeared on the Grand Elder’s once cool, fair cheeks.

The Grand Elder’s voice grew louder and even more agitated. "You saw the insects... Did you see... where they come from?"

Song Ciwan opened her mouth, about to answer that they came from Beyond the Heavens. But a sudden feeling of terror made her change her words at the last second. She said, "Grand Elder, one cannot refine a Golden Core! There is still hope at the Golden Core stage, but a Nascent Soul is an insect!"

As she spoke, the crimson flush on the Grand Elder’s cheeks suddenly spread across her entire face.

BOOM!

The already boiling spring erupted violently at that moment.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One massive column of water after another exploded from the spring, shaking the entire Golden Forest.

Amidst the scalding, splashing water, the Grand Elder remained seated firmly on the Jade Platform. She cried out in alarm, "Those Zhang Clan Members who cultivate the Golden Core Dao... have they betrayed the race?"

The "betrayal" she spoke of was not about the Zhang Clan Members betraying their own family, but about the entire Zhang Clan betraying their own race!

Betraying their species! Betraying the Human Race!

What a terrifying accusation! And yet, the Zhang Clan deserved to be charged with this crime!

Song Ciwan spoke quickly. "Yes, the Zhang Clan has betrayed our race. Grand Elder, the Mortal World is now fraught with peril. They have returned, spreading the Golden Core Dao everywhere to turn humans into insects!

I implore you, Grand Elder, to be wary of all cultivators of the Golden Core Dao. If the gateway to this realm can be sealed, I hope the Spirit Star Race can pass through this calamity undisturbed and in peace."

Song Ciwan didn’t suggest that the Grand Elder should lead the Spirit Star Race out of the Giant Spirit Realm to fight against the Golden Core Dao in the Mortal World. On the contrary, she advised the Grand Elder to seal the gateway and protect their own pure land.

The Grand Elder was stunned for a moment, then sighed. "It’s no use. We can’t hide from it. Xing Lan, the lineages in the Mortal World may have been broken, so you do not know. There is no hiding from those things.

From the moment the first Zhang Clan Member set foot here, this realm was already exposed! We can’t hide. No one can hide!"

Song Ciwan immediately seized on the key information in the Grand Elder’s words and asked, "From what you’re saying, Grand Elder, the Spirit Star Race’s lineage was never broken? In that case, do you know... how to fight the insects?"

This last question was like poking a hornet’s nest.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

More and more columns of water exploded from all sides of the spring, and the Flower Bud Forest trembled and shook.

The Grand Elder couldn’t speak. She could only raise a hand and abruptly press it down on the Jade Platform beneath her.

A strange ripple suddenly swept out in all directions like a gentle breeze, and the explosively churning surface of the water immediately calmed.

But while the water’s surface was calm, the Grand Elder’s skin grew redder and redder, as if she had been cooked, looking like she might burst at any moment.

Song Ciwan knew the Grand Elder was under immense pressure. Spiritual Light immediately flickered in her eyes. As she waited for the Grand Elder’s reply, she used her Spiritual Eyes to observe the source of the pressure, intending to cast a precise spell and lend the Grand Elder a hand at this critical moment.

Through her Spiritual Eyes, she saw them. In the space all around—above, below, left, and right—and especially from the dome of the sky, thick, phantom chains were descending from the endless Void!

The instant she saw these chains that hung from the heavens, Song Ciwan felt an extreme, piercing pain in her eyes.

Her physical body was one forged by the Fourth Layer of the Thunder Fire Body Devouring Technique, and her Body Refining Realm had reached Opening the Universe. Yet, the moment she looked directly at the phantom chains, she couldn’t help but slam her eyes shut!