Chapter 1337: The Raging Locust Plague

‘Dark clouds press down upon the city.’

Chen Changsheng had never seen such a sight.

When a true locust plague unfolded before one’s eyes, the sense of powerlessness, the sheer inability to resist, became palpably real.

The swarm surged from the mountaintops, blanketing everything below. Wherever they passed, the newly sprouted green buds vanished into nothingness.

“Buzz...”

Only this buzzing echoed in Chen Changsheng’s ears. Every other sound was entirely cut off by the droning of the locusts.

Chen Changsheng tried to channel his Arts and Techniques.

But the endless swarm pouring into the area filled his heart with a sense of powerlessness.

There were too many!

There were far, far too many locusts!

Chen Changsheng looked on, watching the locusts lay their eggs in areas abundant with water. The sight filled him with dread.

He reached out and plucked a locust off his shoulder.

He rolled it in his palm.

“They are just ordinary...”

Chen Changsheng took a deep breath.

They were just ordinary locusts.

This was a natural disaster, not a man-made calamity.

Where the locusts passed through, not a single blade of grass remained.

Chen Changsheng walked down the mountain and arrived at Qingshan City.

Wails of despair echoed through the city. The people saw no hope of survival; there was no food, and even the tree bark outside the city had already been scraped clean.

After the disaster struck, this land lost all its former peace and tranquility.

All stability vanished into nothingness, just like the devoured grass and leaves.

Only now did Chen Changsheng understand why cultivators had failed to stop this raging locust plague.

Because it simply could not be stopped.

Just how expansive would Arts and Techniques need to be to wipe out these locusts in one fell swoop?

Not to mention that these locusts were like weeds, springing back to life with the spring breeze. Eradicate one batch, and another would surge back.

They were not merely destroying this Mortal World; they were taking root here.

Outside the city lay the ashes of burnt fires, lit to drive the locusts away with smoke. But this approach had little effect; the wind sweeping in alongside the locusts blew all the smoke away.

“Heavens!!”

A man knelt in the fields, weeping and beating his chest as cries tore from his throat.

“How are we supposed to live! How are we supposed to live!!”

At first, no one realized what consequences this insect plague would bring. They thought the departure of the locusts was only a matter of time.

But by the time everyone came to their senses, they realized just how terrifying the plague before them truly was. In a mere matter of moments, it had ruined the land they depended on for survival. It was far more horrifying than drought or flood, plunging everyone into utter despair.

This latest passage of the locusts completely shattered the common people’s hope for survival.

In this moment, human nature was fully laid bare.

To survive, the people in the city turned into bandits. Arson, murder, and looting could be seen everywhere. The rice merchant’s home was turned upside down, decades of savings swept entirely clean. The Local Government’s granary was surrounded by crowds; soldiers stood guard with saber and sword, but they were entirely unable to hold back so many people.

“What are you doing? Breaking into the granary is a capital offense!”

“Get back, all of you get back!!”

The soldiers held their saber and sword, blocking the people before them.

But someone in the crowd shouted.

“We need to live!!”

“Open the granary!”

“Open the granary!!”

Instantly, the scene descended into chaos.

The overwhelming shouts drowned out the furious roars of the soldiers.

The crowd slowly surged forward.

In a mere moment, the crowd broke through the soldiers. Disregarding everything, they grabbed whatever they could find on the ground and began smashing the granary doors, slamming into them with all their might.

“Bang, bang, bang...”

The granary doors thudded loudly under the impacts.

In the back, the granary overseer was pulled from the crowd by the soldiers.

His eyes were red, and his forehead had been busted open. He shouted in a trembling voice, “You can’t! That is the seed grain! It is the seed grain!!”

But everything was already powerless to reverse heaven.

“Boom!”

When the granary doors were battered open, the people fought like madmen, scrambling for the grain, with some even coming to blows.

Seeing this, the granary overseer’s blood boiled. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted dead away.

The surrounding officials were completely at a loss. They were powerless to stop this upheaval and could only watch helplessly. The saber and sword in their hands could no longer intimidate these ‘desperadoes.’

Indeed, it seemed as if everyone had become a desperado.

Chen Changsheng watched from afar. A long while later, the people hurriedly dispersed, leaving the Local Government’s granary in ruins. The officials gathered the seed grain scattered across the ground, taking in the scene with eyes full of despair.

It was as if they were hesitating, wondering whether they too should have joined the scramble.

Under such a natural disaster, it was too hard to survive without fighting and snatching.

Dozens of officials collected the seed grain scattered on the ground. Together, it added up to no more than a single sack.

When they handed that sack to the granary overseer, everyone fell into a profound silence.

Chen Changsheng sighed softly and walked away.

He returned to Boat Wind Alley.

The place had completely changed.

The doors to the courtyards all around had been pried open.

Without exception, they had all been ransacked.

The furnishings in the courtyards lay haphazardly on the ground, and even the incense burners and altar tables set up in the main halls had been knocked over.

There was no telling how many people had come through here.

Chen Changsheng walked into his courtyard. He righted the fallen chairs and placed the incense burner back where it belonged. The vegetation in the courtyard, however, had already been devoured entirely by the locusts.

He sat down, recalling everything he had seen and heard since walking into Qingshan City.

This was far more terrifying than the chaos of war back then.

...

Meanwhile, in the Southern Domain’s Hongyuan Tianxia.

As a realm dominated by demons, they naturally had more methods to deal with these locusts than humans did. But equally, they had failed to stop such a massive swarm from pouring in. It was like rain; one could borrow an umbrella to block it for a moment, but they could never stop the rain from falling to the earth.

“What a devastating locust plague!!”

The demons stared at the scene; this too was something they had never seen in their lives.

The vegetation had been eaten clean, and the surrounding Spiritual Energy visibly thinned out as a result. The fading of the plant life and Spiritual Energy filled the demons’ hearts with worry.

This was the land they depended on for survival, yet in the blink of an eye, it was all ruined.

A demon held out its arm, only to find locust bite marks on its skin.

It immediately shuddered in fear.

“With nothing left to eat, are these bugs going to start eating us!?”

This time, the conflict between the northern and southern realms came to a standstill beneath this locust plague.

Whether human or demon, neither could escape this Tribulation.

Looking at the fields outside his courtyard that had been entirely devoured by locusts, Yun Hengzi fell into a momentary daze.

He could not help but raise his head and look up at the heavens.

He could not tell if this was the will of heaven or something else...

If it was the will of heaven...

Then doing such a thing was truly far too ruthless!

“Heaven is inherently ruthless...”

“So ruthless!!”

Yun Hengzi clenched his fists and muttered, “Could it be trying to destroy this Mortal World!?”