Chapter 552 - 512: The Sword Array Rises Again

Chapter 552: Chapter 512: The Sword Array Rises Again

A mature swarm of Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects was an absolute nightmare in the Cultivation Realm.

They were unlike the Hundred-Eyed Celestial Centipede, whose individuals were powerful, opening pair after pair of compound eyes as they grew to master different Divine Lights.

Nor were they like the Spring and Autumn Cicada—the darlings of time, where even a Tier Two Spirit Insect could manipulate the Power of Time.

The Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects had always relied on sheer numbers to win, devouring everything in their path, be it living creatures or even Spirit Plants.

Wherever they passed, the land was left barren.

In the most famous incident, tens of thousands of Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects flew out of the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains, and several cities along their path simply vanished.

Several Nascent Soul Sects joined forces to exterminate them, but they all returned utterly defeated.

One unlucky Sect was even pursued by the swarm. Its Tier Four Grand Array was besieged by tens of thousands of Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects, which gnawed at it relentlessly.

This continued for months until the Earth Vein was drained dry and all their Spirit Stones were depleted.

A prestigious Nascent Soul Major Sect, just like that, became a victim of the insect plague.

Not a single soul in the Sect was spared.

The plague lasted for nearly sixty years before several Great True Monarchs finally intervened, using their arts to confine the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects to a single region.

Without sufficient Spiritual Food, the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects became incredibly violent, turning on one another in a cannibalistic frenzy.

Before long, the swarm was decimated, its numbers dwindling from tens of thousands to just a few.

Although one of the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects mutated, becoming an unprecedented Tier Four Demon Insect...

...a single individual was actually easier for the several Great True Monarchs to handle.

An insect plague of that scale only ever happened once. The very nature of the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insect made it difficult for their population to thrive.

During their development, if Spiritual Food became even slightly scarce, they would attack each other, cannibalizing their own kind for sustenance.

The swarm Bai Zichen now faced, numbering in the thousands, was about the largest size a group of Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects could reach under normal circumstances.

’This insect’s body is harder than metal, comparable to a High-Tier Spiritual Material. What a shame it can’t be used for Artifact Refining...’

Having adapted to the intensity of the insects’ attacks, Bai Zichen began to handle them with ease, no longer needing to maintain his absolute focus at all times.

Sword Light Division was the technique Sword Cultivators used to compensate for their lack of wide-area-of-effect Magical Treasures, designed specifically to deal with horde tactics.

Combined with the unstoppable sharpness of his Tier Four Flying Sword, now that he had truly mastered the Sword Light Division technique, every strike that found its mark slew dozens of Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects.

Any other Nascent Soul True Monarch would have to worry about depleting their True Essence while striking with such intensity and employing Sword Light Division.

For him, however, this was not a concern.

The reason the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects were able to proliferate, aside from having almost no requirements for their growth conditions, was that their bodies were worthless to Cultivators.

When refined with Earth Fire, their hard carapaces would crack and become extremely brittle.

If one tried the Water Refining Technique instead, they would simply absorb the water and turn soft and mushy under the current’s impact.

Their bodies didn’t contain a Demon Pill; the Spirit Insect could only condense a grain-sized speck of Essence that would scatter with a single puff of wind.

Aside from the few Cultivators who attempted to raise them, no one was interested in the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insect.

Their all-devouring nature was extremely destructive to the ecosystems around Spirit Veins, earning them the title of the number one pest in the Cultivation Realm.

Having finished testing his Sword Light Division, Bai Zichen had intended to pull back and no longer entangle himself with this swarm of Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects.

But then he recalled their "scorched earth" nature, similar to Paraquat. A swarm of this size would inevitably leave the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains in search of food, and the small kingdoms of the Southern Border would be the first to bear the brunt of their devastation.

Whether for the safety of the Five Elements Sect or to spare the countless lives in the Southern Border from the suffering of an insect plague, he had to kill as many of these Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects as he could.

Unable to break through his defenses after a prolonged assault, the swarm was already showing signs of retreat. Alternating between fighting and fleeing, the insect cloud flew for dozens of miles, its numbers already reduced by thirty percent.

Perhaps sensing the danger of annihilation if they continued, the swarm let out a low, urgent shriek, and the speed of their wingbeats visibly increased.

A small portion remained behind to hold him off while the rest of the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects fled toward the depths of the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains, clearly trying to preserve the main body of the swarm.

’Thinking of running now? Isn’t it a little too late for that...’

Bai Zichen opened his mouth and exhaled. The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword transformed into countless bolts of lightning, which multiplied from one into ten, and from ten into a hundred, until the sky was blotted out by a blinding Thunder Radiance.

The power of his Lifebound Flying Sword was extraordinary. A massive hole was instantly torn through the dense black cloud of insects before him.

With his three Tier Four Flying Swords unleashed at full power, the remaining thousand or so Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects were quickly thinned out, with fewer than a hundred left scattered in the air.

He gave chase on his sword, pursuing the other cloud of insects that hadn’t flown far.

Just as he drew close, he saw a Four-Winged Spirit Insect fly up from a mountain peak ahead. The Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects that flew into its domain seemed to have been struck by an Immobilization Curse.

They all froze in place, neither advancing nor retreating, as if petrified.

’No, that’s not right. They haven’t stopped; they’ve been slowed down countlessfold.’

Their wings were still beating, desperately trying to fly forward, but they couldn’t move even a hair’s breadth.

"CHIRRR! CHIRRR!"

Along with the sharp chirring, half of the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects aged rapidly, shriveling into dried-out husks that rattled to the ground.

The other half reverted to larvae the size of a fingernail, their auras dropping to Tier Two as they scattered with a chaotic BUZZ.

’A Spring and Autumn Cicada! And a Four-Winged Spring and Autumn Cicada at the peak of Tier Three!’

Hearing that cry, Bai Zichen jolted. He recognized the Spirit Insect before him—other than an extra pair of wings and a much larger body, it was identical to the Tier Two Spring and Autumn Cicada he had encountered in Black Mountain all those years ago.

Encountering a Spring and Autumn Cicada in the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains wasn’t entirely surprising. Before coming here, he had been hoping to try his luck and see if he could run into one.

A long-standing legend claimed that all Spring and Autumn Cicadas in the Cultivation Realm originated from the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains.