Chapter 1169: The Insectified Five Elements Heaven
The boundless spiritual energy within the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven was the perfect breeding ground for the infinite proliferation of the Dao One Worms.
A world-altering transformation quietly unfolded within the five grotto-heavens.
Ordinary living beings might not have detected the fundamental change in the spiritual energy.
But the highest forms of life within the grotto-heaven reacted instantly.
The most conspicuous among them was the colossal, sky-piercing tree in the wood-attribute grotto-heaven.
Its branches and leaves stirred without a wind, as if struggling against an invisible enemy.
A hazy green aura surged from the giant tree's body, forming a barrier in an attempt to block the invasion of the mutated spiritual energy.
Unfortunately, the giant tree had clearly not yet reached a state where it could sustain its own cycle.
The larger its form, the more nutrients it needed to absorb from the outside world at every moment.
In an instant, the invisible, mutated spiritual energy swarmed forward, devouring the great tree.
Far outside the grotto-heaven, Li Ping could clearly sense the entire process of the great tree being altered and consumed by the Dao One Worms.
If one looked closely, they would see traces of countless tiny worms crawling across the leaves of the great tree in the wood-attribute grotto-heaven in a flash.
And on its trunk, the squirming of innumerable Dao One Worms formed a human face.
Ferocious and terrifying, its gaze met Li Ping's from across the void!
"Not bad."
Li Ping nodded slightly.
After struggling for a moment, the face on the tree was slowly pulled back into the trunk and vanished. Yet, if viewed from a microscopic perspective, the great tree had now completely transformed into a composite of countless Dao One Worms!
It wasn't just this one great tree.
Every existence within the five great grotto-heavens was inevitably undergoing a transformation of the same nature.
Li Ping called it...
"Insectification"!
If everything up to this point—all the phenomena and changes brought about by the mutated Dao One Worms—had been within Sage Emperor Li Ping's expectations...
...then the scene that unfolded next caught him somewhat off guard.
When the degree of insectification across the entire Five Elements Grotto-Heaven surpassed one-third...
...it seemed as if some existence had suddenly awakened.
Unlike the pure consciousness of a grotto-heaven or a small world's Heavenly Dao, this was a collective consciousness of countless Dao One Worms, hatched using the shell of the small world's Heavenly Dao!
Compared to a normal world's Heavenly Dao, the newly born world consciousness of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven was just like the mutated Dao One Worms.
It was filled with aggression and an endless, greedy desire to devour!
Nine faint purple dragons abruptly appeared, protecting Li Ping.
As the Heavenly Mandate Sage Emperor of the only small world in the vicinity of the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, he felt a faint sense of danger, of being targeted by this "insectified grotto-heaven."
"A newborn calf dares to devour a tiger."
Li Ping snorted coldly, not the least bit flustered.
Although the complete insectification of the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven had exceeded his predictions...
...the very fact that he had dared to have Daoist Baihua move the grotto-heaven here meant he had ample confidence to handle any problems that might arise.
"Sacred Dynasty's great fortune, transform into dragons! Myriad citizens, lend me your strength!"
Li Ping chanted, and behind him, a phantasmal image of the Great Qi's prosperous scene appeared, showing its countless citizens living and working in peace and contentment.
Even though the scale of the Great Qi small world was far smaller than the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, the existence of countless beings with unwavering faith within it ensured that it would not be at a disadvantage, even when facing a behemoth a hundred times its size!
The scene of the Sacred Dynasty was suffused with a faint purple qi, appearing almost tangible.
Bearing the faith and fortune of the Great Qi's myriad beings, Li Ping's figure flickered and strode forth, arriving above the insectified Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
He stomped down viciously!
A sharp cry, like that of a primeval beast from the ancient wilderness, suddenly rang out in the void.
It echoed endlessly for a long time.
The vast Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven thundered and trembled. The altered spiritual energy within it churned and boiled, instantly manifesting as all sorts of strange, black, monstrous beasts.
Enraged and fearless, they charged out of the grotto-heaven world and assaulted Li Ping.
Their target was not just Li Ping, but the Great Qi Sacred Dynasty behind him!
"Heavenly Mandate Sage Emperor, grace for all eternity!"
The phantasmal image of the Sacred Dynasty behind him suddenly burst forth with infinite faint purple light, completely enveloping Li Ping.
Bathed in the purple light of fortune, Li Ping's body grew with the wind.
In just a breath, he had already become larger than the entire Great Qi small world.
Truly like a world-propping giant from mythology, he stood before the countless beings of the Great Qi, facing the black, insectified beasts!
At that moment, the enormous figure of the Sage Emperor Li Ping also appeared on the celestial canopy of the Great Qi Sacred Dynasty.
Countless citizens subconsciously knelt on the ground, chanting praises of the Sage Emperor's grace.
With this aid, Li Ping's form expanded several times over once more.
The faint purple on his body gradually solidified, which Li Ping then swung out, transforming it into thunderbolts that smashed viciously into the monstrous beasts.
Roars echoed continuously through the void, but the rate at which the insectified beasts were generated was far slower than the rate at which Li Ping annihilated them.
Having freed his hands, the Heavenly Mandate Sage Emperor raised his fist and then pounded it fiercely upon the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
One punch! Then another!
Though it was the most rudimentary form of attack, threads of purple qi were forcefully blasted into the grotto-heaven with each blow.
The ferocity of the insectified Five Elements Grotto-Heaven was gradually suppressed.
The original Dao One Worms sent in to corrode the grotto-heaven had been nurtured with a wisp of Li Ping's own consciousness.
In a sense, these countless mutated Dao One Worms were all his descendants.
Now, after briefly suppressing its insectified, instinctual consciousness, Li Ping gradually used this connection to gain control of the grotto-heaven.
The rebellious Five Elements Grotto-Heaven slowly calmed down.
The black beasts that were previously baring their fangs and claws, wanting to kill him, now flew intimately to his side, fawning over him as if trying to curry favor.
Still in his purple giant form, Li Ping sensed the now completely different Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
After being insectified and then tamed, the grotto-heaven felt as if it had become another one of his bodies.
Not only did he know everything within it like the back of his hand...
...but he could even manipulate the insectified grotto-heaven to move and attack!
"World insectification..."
Li Ping fell into thought as he adapted to this brand-new body.
"If ordinary grotto-heavens and small worlds are likened to static, plant-like existences, then insectification has endowed them with beast-like capabilities."
"Their aggression is greatly increased, and they can even hunt and prey on their own."
"But it's not without its drawbacks..."
Li Ping frowned slightly. "After insectification, the lifespan of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven has also been drastically shortened."
"It might only last for less than a thousand years before inevitably falling into decay."
Heaven and earth have their own temporal limits.
Measured in hundreds of millions of years, they are practically eternal compared to mortals.
But after insectification, that lifespan was shortened by an unknown number of times.
"The disadvantages far outweigh the advantages."
"It can be done once, but not again."
Li Ping, who saw himself as a man of destiny, made this judgment.
But Li Fan's true self felt a stir in his heart and had a different idea.
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