Chapter 26: A Sword from the North

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Boom!

Just when many people thought the incident was over, an unexpected event suddenly occurred.

The ground shook violently, and a large expanse of Spirit Fields rose up high before a swarm of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles burst forth from the fissures.

These black beetles shimmered with an eerie glow, their numbers seemingly endless, quickly amassing into a small hill.

And with astonishing speed, they spread in all directions!

Many Cultivators who were picking up the beetle corpses around the area were completely unprepared; some were thrown into the air, some fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, they were overwhelmed by the Earth Rhinoceros Beetles.

Piercing screams suddenly rose, sending shivers down one's spine.

The Earth Rhinoceros Beetle is a very weak insect; even when turned into monsterized versions, Cultivators at the first or second tier of Qi Cultivation could handle them.

However, when tens of thousands of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles attacked, piercing with their sharp horns and tearing with their hard mandibles, crawling into ears, nostrils, and mouths…

Caught off guard, more than a dozen unfortunate Cultivators became sacrifices.

The other Cultivators were terrified out of their wits and scattered in a frantic escape.

But at that moment, the mountain of beetles converged into something else.

It suddenly leapt upwards, reaching a height of over thirty meters.

At the same time, it grew a head, body, limbs, hands, and feet.

It horrifyingly metamorphosed into a monstrous insect giant!

The next moment, the insect giant bent down and reached out with its huge hand, grabbing a Cultivator trying to flee.

This Cultivator at the fifth tier of Qi Cultivation reacted quickly, immediately activating an Amulet talisman.

But the protective spiritual light was utterly useless against the insect giant's gripping power and was crushed in an instant.

The captured Cultivator cried out loudly, "Save me…"

His voice was filled with despair.

Then he was stuffed into the wide-open mouth of the insect giant.

The "crunch," "crunch" of chewing was audible from miles away!

Clearly not satisfied, the insect giant opened its arms and, in a sweeping motion, grabbed two more Cultivators and shoved them into its mouth.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Cloud Sun Flying Warship, flying directly in front of the insect giant, fired salvos of crossbow arrows at this aberrant creature.

Each arrow was enhanced with a spell, igniting into searing flames that traced red arcs across the sky, striking the insect giant's body.

They exploded into deadly flames!

Countless Earth Rhinoceros Beetles were either burned to death or shattered into pieces, raining down onto the ground.

The head and body of the insect giant were quickly covered with holes and dents.

But its interior rapidly released a large number of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles, instantly repairing the damage caused by the fire arrows.

The insect giant was evidently enraged.

It swallowed the newly caught Cultivators, straightened up, and roared silently up at the Flying Warship in the air.

In a snap, the insect giant's right arm elongated into a black whip.

It lashed out forcefully at the Cloud Sun Flying Warship!

Bang!

Though the distance between the insect giant and the warship was vast, the whip moved with thunderous momentum, extending hundreds of meters in an instant, and struck hard against the hull of the warship.

The Cloud Sun Flying Warship was sent spinning away, its emitted light dimming somewhat.

Witnessing this scene, the Qi Cultivation Cultivators all turned pale with fear.

The Cloud Sun Flying Warship is Cloud Sun Sect's mighty weapon to suppress all quarters, with at least two Superiors on board, its combat strength powerful enough to match three times its peers at the Purple Mansion tier.

And yet, it was repelled by an evil being made up of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles.

It was a terrifying thought!

The Cloud Sun Sect Superiors controlling the warship seemed to have been frightened as well, retreating without waiting for the ship to stabilize.

Increasing the distance between the two.

This retreat by the Cloud Sun Flying Warship spelled disaster for those Outer Sect Cultivators who had come to watch the spectacle.

The insect giant did not pursue the agile warship.

It took heavy strides and began to sweep through the surrounding Spirit Fields.

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One cultivator after another was caught by the giant insects and became their food.

Only those who mastered escape techniques or used life-saving talismans in time were lucky to escape.

Many cultivators, enraged and emboldened by the brutal giant insects, spared no effort to attack them with spells, magic artifacts, and talismans.

Fire Dragons entwined, Wind Blades howled, Thunderbolt Lightning struck, and Ice Arrow rains fell...

However, if the Cloud Sun Flying Warship couldn't harm the giant insect, how could these Qi Cultivation Tier spells possibly injure it?

The resistors instead became the prioritized targets of the giant insect's slaughter.

In a short time, a disaster befell the area, with heavy casualties among the cultivators, who were mostly Spiritual Plant Farmers from the Outer Sect.

Witnessing such a scene from a distant hill, Wang Chen's feelings were extremely complex.

He didn't feel the slightest bit of schadenfreude.

As the saying goes, the hare's death is a warning to the fox.

Watching these cultivators of the same Qi Cultivation Tier being mercilessly trampled and even consumed by the giant insects.

Wang Chen felt only sadness.

Although many of them had brought it upon themselves, chasing insignificant gains while overlooking their safety.

Their mistakes surely did not warrant the punishment of death!

The Purple Mansion Superior controlling the flying warship, clearly seemed to intend to use them as cannon fodder, delaying any counterattack.

To those Superiors, the Outer Sect cultivators at the bottom were no different from ants.

If one wants to control their own destiny, they must become strong!

Wang Chen couldn't help but clench his fists.

Boom!

A thousand zhang away, the bow of the Cloud Sun Flying Warship shot out a beam of light as thick as a bucket.

It instantly struck the chest of the giant insect!

This strike obliterated countless Earth Rhinoceros Beetles, creating a gigantic hole in this monstrous creature.

The giant insect immediately crumbled, with countless Earth Rhinoceros Beetles losing their host and falling to the ground.

But before everyone could rejoice at the defeat of this terrifying enemy, the ground swelled up again, and a new giant insect reconstituted and materialized!

Will this never end?

Just as many cultivators were falling into despair, the heavens suddenly blazed with brilliance.

A splendid Sword Light came from the north, crossing the sky in an instant, making the sun seem dim in comparison.

An awe-inspiringly powerful aura came with the sword, locking onto the newly materialized giant insect.

The giant insect seemed to sense the coming of its doom, raising its arms in a defensive posture, its body violently undulating.

Time, in that instant, suddenly froze!

The next breath, the splendid Sword Light descended from above, piercing through the giant insect's head and body, the fierce Sword Qi grinding millions of beetles into dust.

Then, the Sword Light's momentum unabated, it pierced through the earth, deep into the ground!

The ground shook violently.

People within a radius of tens of miles all heard a chilling scream at the same time.

It's over!

Wang Chen realized that this terrible creature had been thoroughly exterminated.

But this extremely dazzling Sword Light.

Was still deeply imprinted in his Divine Soul.

At that moment, the shock in Wang Chen's heart truly defied description.

Mu Qingqiu!

The Supreme Elder of the Cloud Sun Sect, one of the three Golden Core True Persons.

Although Wang Chen had only heard of his name and had never met him.

His intuition told him that this strike could only come from Mu Qingqiu, hailed as the "First Sword of Heaven Cloud"!

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