Chapter 626: Refining the Insect Swarm |
"Don't go over there, it's dangerous."
Ning Qi warned.
"Danger?"
Hearing his words, Pill Spirit couldn't help but frown.
He was the clearest about Ning Qi's current strength.
If Ning Qi said it was dangerous, then they definitely couldn't go over.
"Whoosh."
After Ning Qi's warning, that mass of black mist began to dissipate into the pitch-black void.
Gradually it spread toward them.
Pill Spirit saw the bad sign and hurriedly warned.
Ning Qi frowned and looked, discovering that the black mist really was closing in on them.
"Hmph, playing tricks."
Ning Qi snorted coldly.
Then he fully unleashed his power.
The aura of a Golden Immortal surged like a rainbow, suddenly rushing toward the black mist.
In the blink of an eye, the two collided directly.
"Sizzle."
A piercing burning sound rang out.
To Ning Qi's surprise, the black mist could actually withstand his aura,
and furthermore, it had a tendency to eat away at his essence.
"Master, this is wrong. I can't tell its strength, so why is it so strong?"
Pill Spirit looked ahead and said, "That's strange."
"I'll deal with it."
Ning Qi said, summoning his armor.
At the same time, he took his Chaos Sword in hand.
Then he moved at once and came directly to the edge of the dense fog.
"Go."
Ning Qi roared, and his long sword slashed down.
"Whoosh."
"Swish."
He didn't just strike once; he followed with a dozen or so slashes.
He carved a succession of sword qi through the void before him.
Under the sword qi's shockwave, the black mist ahead of him was cut to pieces.
However, to Ning Qi's astonishment, the black mist quickly recovered,
and then began to fuse again.
This time the fusion was faster, and the burst of aura was a few degrees stronger than before.
"I see."
Ning Qi looked at the black mist with a look of sudden comprehension.
After just attacking, he completely understood what it was.
No wonder neither restrictions nor other methods had any effect.
"Master, what is this?"
Pill Spirit asked from a distance.
"These are flying insects, probably creatures unique to this place."
Ning Qi smiled, then continued, "Each of these flying insects has the power of a True Immortal."
"Unfortunately, they haven't awakened their intelligence yet, so they only act aimlessly."
"Ah, they're just insects. Then how did we not detect them at all earlier?"
Hearing his explanation, Pill Spirit became curious at once.
"I don't know, but I feel that if we can refine them, they will definitely be very useful."
Ning Qi looked at the black mist, then suddenly called out, "Shi Xiaokun."
"Master!"
At his summons, Shi Xiaokun reappeared.
"Did you see what happened here just now?"
Ning Qi didn't explain, he asked first.
"I saw it, Master."
Shi Xiaokun nodded, then said, "Leave it to me. I'll take them into our Inner World."
"It shouldn't take too long to refine them."
"By then, we'll have an army of True Immortal-level beast troops."
"Good, I'll leave this to you."
Ning Qi smiled, then asked, "There are so many of them, can you refine them all?"
"Master, it'll take some effort, but I should be able to do it in a few years."
Shi Xiaokun thought for a moment, then answered earnestly.
"Or, if I can refine a few ahead of time and give them to you to use, that would be even better."
Ning Qi considered and then said.
"That's easy. Refining a few is a lot simpler than refining so many."
Shi Xiaokun agreed at once: "Give me three days and I can refine dozens."
"By then, Master, if you have them, it will be like adding wings to a tiger."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
Ning Qi nodded in satisfaction.
"Good!"
After agreeing, Shi Xiaokun opened his Pocket Dimension.
"Need any help?"
Seeing him already start, Ning Qi asked.
"No need. You all should rest."
Shi Xiaokun shook his head confidently and said, "I have Immortal Herbs here; I can easily attract them over."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
After saying so, Ning Qi returned directly to the mountaintop.
With no further interruptions this time, he began to regulate his breath.
After a while, he fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke again, it was already dawn.
"Master!"
At that moment, Shi Xiaokun suddenly came.
"How did things go last night?"
Ning Qi smiled as he saw him and asked.
"All taken care of. The insects have all been lured into our Inner World."
"Next I'll refine a batch for our use."
Shi Xiaokun said proudly, "Master, do you want to come in and see?"
"Oh, sure. Let's go in and take a look."
Ning Qi agreed.
He was also curious how Shi Xiaokun had arranged these insects inside his Inner World.
After Ning Qi spoke, he and Shi Xiaokun entered his Inner World.
Shi Xiaokun led Ning Qi to a valley filled with Immortal Herbs and Exotic Flowers.
"Master, they're all here."
He pointed inside and continued, "There's strong Immortal Energy here, and these herbs are useful."
"They make refining them easier, so they can become our assets."
"Mm, good, well done."
"Let's go in and see."
Ning Qi agreed and followed Shi Xiaokun into the valley.
"Buzz!"
Once inside, they heard the constant sound of flying insects.
Ning Qi then noticed the insects were not black but brown.
This was completely different from the color they had seen at night.
"Why did they change color?"
Ning Qi showed curiosity, his eyes scanning the insects back and forth.
"Master, their color can change."
"At night they change color to adapt to the environment, but at dawn they become hunters."
"This is their normal reaction, nothing to worry about."
Shi Xiaokun smiled and explained when he saw Ning Qi's doubt.
"I see."
After the explanation, Ning Qi nodded and said, "The environment here is better for them."
"It should be easier to refine them."
"Yes, Master."
Shi Xiaokun nodded and smiled, "In just a few days I can refine a batch, and when we go to the Realm Sea Battlefield, we can use them."
"Good, I'll trust this to you. If you need anything, remember to tell me."
"Okay."
Shi Xiaokun didn't waste words and simply responded.
"Also, one more thing I want to ask you."
Ning Qi suddenly remembered something and asked.
"Master, speak."
Upon hearing this, Shi Xiaokun immediately became serious and waited for Ning Qi to speak.
"Those women in the bronze mirror, were they all refined by you?"
Ning Qi then asked.
"Master, they were swallowed by the Origin Source's power here."
"They were too weak."
Shi Xiaokun explained, "I lied to you before because I didn't know, so I deceived you."
"Oh, what exactly happened?"
"Why could the Origin Source power swallow people?"
Ning Qi's attention was drawn to what Shi Xiaokun had just said.
"It's simple. When the bronze mirror world was unstable, they entered and disturbed its safety."
"That caused it to reject them, but since you had sealed it, they couldn't get out and were ultimately consumed by the Origin Source's power."
Shi Xiaokun patiently explained to Ning Qi.
"I see."
Ning Qi suddenly understood.
He had originally thought Shi Xiaokun was up to something.
But now it seemed it had little to do with him.
"Master, we should be on our way. Now is the right time."
Pill Spirit saw Ning Qi didn't intend to stay and came over to remind him.
"Alright, let's go."
After agreeing, Ning Qi gave a few brief instructions,
then left together with Pill Spirit.
When they emerged, the sky was already bright.
"Master, which way today? Continue forward?"
Pill Spirit asked as soon as they were outside.
"Yes. If we keep going in one direction, sooner or later we'll come out."
"So there's no need to change direction."
Ning Qi said, "Besides, in other directions I didn't sense anything of value."
"Good!"
Pill Spirit agreed, then suddenly asked, "Do you think those people here gained anything?"
"That I don't know, but we did."
"Especially last night's insects — soon I can form a team with them."
Ning Qi smiled, looking confident: "As for them, that's none of our concern."
After his words, Pill Spirit said nothing further and watched Ning Qi continue forward.
They left quickly and went on. The desert was gone, replaced by more Gobi terrain, and by afternoon the Gobi ended.
Before them rose dense forest and undulating mountain ranges.
"Master, we finally got out."
Pill Spirit clapped his hands, "At last no more sand in our eyes."
"I told you we would get out!"
Ning Qi smiled and continued, "Now that we're here we should be able to encounter signs of people."
"Master, look, isn't there a small town ahead?"
Pill Spirit immediately noticed and warned excitedly.
"Mm, let's go check it out."
Ning Qi nodded and hurried ahead.
When he arrived, he and Pill Spirit entered the town.
Because it was close to the Gobi and people had left long ago, it was soon dilapidated.
Houses had collapsed, and there were no signs of people on the streets.
If not for the fact some houses still showed traces of being inhabited, they wouldn't have come here at all.
"Master, it seems there's nothing here."
"The people here probably left long ago."
Pill Spirit sighed, "I hoped to find some clues here to investigate."
"Yeah, at least we'd have a direction to speed us up."
Ning Qi had hoped the same, but, like Pill Spirit, was disappointed after entering.
"Master, should we keep going or find a place to rest?"
"Look at the sky, it'll be dark soon."
Pill Spirit glanced around and asked.
"Let's go. The presence of a small town means there are people nearby."
"Let's try our luck and see if we can find a larger town."
Ning Qi looked ahead and said.
"Okay."
Pill Spirit agreed and followed Ning Qi on.
They quickly left the town and continued along the road leading out.
"This road is getting wider, so it must lead to another town."
After walking a while, Ning Qi analyzed.
"Master, there's a fork ahead, but those are just minor paths."
"If we follow this road, it should be correct."
Pill Spirit pointed ahead and analyzed.
"Alright, let's go!"
Ning Qi nodded and flew on without further words.
He moved quickly, and in the blink of an eye they were among the mountains.
After a stretch, they reached a plain.
It was only relatively open; hills surrounded the area, still within the mountain range.
"Master, look ahead, there's really a city."
Pill Spirit suddenly exclaimed, flew ahead of Ning Qi, and pointed forcefully.
Ning Qi followed his gaze and indeed saw a city ahead.
Its walls rose high, without a single bit of damage.
"Let's go take a look."
Ning Qi came back to his senses and hastened toward it.
In the blink of an eye they arrived at the city's outer perimeter.
The walls were built of special stone, but the gate was ruined.
It wasn't corroded; it was clearly broken by force.
The two entered together.
"Whoo."
A breeze blew against them.
The scene inside the city, compared to the small town, was far superior.
Although there were ruined areas, overall it remained intact.
Doors and windows were mostly smashed, but the structures stood,
some places bearing marks of battle.
This didn't stop Ning Qi and Pill Spirit from surveying the area.
At first he walked along the streets, then began flying low.
"Master, ahead seems to be a big household. Should we go in and check?"
Pill Spirit pointed in a direction and asked Ning Qi.
"Mm, let's go take a look."
Ning Qi agreed and flew over.
Soon he hovered above the courtyard of the large household Pill Spirit mentioned.
Indeed, this was a wealthy home: four successive courtyards, each side room spacious.
Although the courtyard had decayed, its former magnificence was still visible.
However, inside the courtyard they saw some corpses.
Many had already decayed to bare bones.
There were battle marks on the ground, and some rooms had been destroyed.
"This household probably had a grudge with the attackers."
Pill Spirit analyzed, "Maybe we can find something useful there."
