A Voracious Appetite (I)

Directly west of Beast God City was the vast fertile farmlands of the Giant Stone Forests. About three-quarters of the land was filled with rolling hills and valleys cut through with countless rivers. The rest had tall narrow pillars of solid gray stone that extended into the heavens for hundreds of meters and many kilometers in some cases. The tops of the stone pillars were overgrown with stubborn brush and trees, making them seem like giant stone trees.

With every rainstorm, bits of the special stone pillars would wash down and fill the rivers with a mysterious richness. This water nurtured the land and food grown in the fields here were filled with spiritual energy. The livestock that grazed the grass was filled with spiritual energy. People who grew up here were natural talents at cultivation. This region was a major reason why the Beast God Sanctum was able to maintain its position and nurture so many experts year after year.

The Giant Stone Forests region was a holy land of the sect and the most heavily defended place in the entire province aside from the capital. This was because of the region's importance as well as the fact that directly west of it was the start of the wilderness that was controlled by beasts. It was the bulwark against beast attacks from a vast and endless land called the Glittering Forest.

The Glittering Forest was a deadly place for all except the strongest humans. The trees were wide and tall. The brush was thick and filled with danger. There were deadly beasts, poisonous beasts, man-eating beasts. And most importantly, there were so many insects of all shapes and sizes that would gladly rip apart any living thing for a snack. Their buzzing wings under small rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate the forest canopy formed the fabled 'glittering' visage that only signified death.

The forest had resisted human exploration and subjugation for five hundred years but it could not stop Chen Mo. Inside the dark forest filled with shadows, he was completely at home. As a Spirit Lord, he was able to completely hide his existence from the hordes of insect beasts.

The void bee was rare insect beast species. It was on par with the shadow fox in terms of elusiveness but one was a Spirit Lord and the other was not. The black insect the size of a human finger was a worthy adversary for Chen Mo.

Unlike the shadow fox's ability to meld into the shadows, the void bee could only use its small size and agile flying ability to avoid detection. However, it had a special ability that was arguably better under some conditions. It was true to its name and was able to teleport short distances instantly. This allowed it to pass through solid obstructions several meters thick at most and emerge on the other side completely unharmed. It was something that treaded on the Dao of space and time which was also what made teleportation arrays function. It was a rare ability and it was only available to the most powerful Spirit Initiate Realm void bees.

Chen Mo would have definitely lost track of the void bee if he did not have his immortal sense. Thankfully, he did and he tailed it deeper and deeper into the realm of insects until they finally reached the lair of the Spirit King praying mantis.

The beast king's lair was in the deepest center of the forest and it was actually in a massive, ancient tree. The branches and canopy of the gargantuan growth covered an area the size of a small city and its trunks and gnarly exposed roots were like a small living mountain.

The tree gave off a powerful spiritual force that was unrelated to any beast. Chen Wentian, as Chen Mo, could tell it was an incredibly special being, a rare treasure. He wasn't exactly sure what Daos were involved with creating this tree but it was definitely on par with the most hellish regions of the Great Smoky Mountains that was home to the magma toad, King Huo Tu.

The surrounding area around the tree was a buzz of activity with hordes of fantastical insects of all shapes and sizes. They protected the king���s lair, forming several protective rings around the tree. Not even a human Spirit King would dare to attack this place alone.

None of this mattered to Chen Wentian as he smoothly glided across the ground, inside the void bee's shadow. He zig-zagged through the protective armies without issue. No insect confronted the bee as if they all recognized it somehow.

Once past the guards, Chen Wentian followed bee flew up the twisting roots and up the trunk. About a hundred meters off the ground, thick boughs separated from the trunk to form a vast maze of branches that were so thick a horse carriage could easily drive on top of them.

At the end of the branches, where it split off into twigs as thick as normal trees and deep green leaves as big as doors, there were thousands of strange sacks attached to the stems. These sacks were the size of houses and were of a myriad of colors. They were not a natural part of the tree but something artificial that was placed there.

The bee and Chen Wentian passed through the lower levels of the tree and into the middle levels. There the spiritual pressure increased even further and the bee visibly struggled. It kept going bravely until it couldn't go on anymore. Finally, an immortal aura extended from above and wrapped around the bee. The aura gave a tug and pulled the bee upward.

"Little black rascal number thirty, why have you returned?" A strange voice sounded.

The voice spoke human speech but it had definitively unnatural elements like someone was speaking with a mouthful of metal blades.

Chen Wentian also arrived and hid in the shadows inside tree bark and silently watched the massive insect take the bee into its claws.

This Spirit Lord insect beast was some type of praying mantis. It stood over four meters tall and had a sharp, vicious aura. Its exoskeleton was a gray color and almost shiny. It had massive bladed claws for its forearms that looked like it could slice apart enemies with ease.

The mantis' huge eyes whirled and looked down at the void bee which was now dancing in circular patterns on top of its bladed arm.

"I see… Hmm… Okay…" The mantis beast muttered as it watched, seemingly able to understand the bee's language. "Excellent, great job. I will transfer your message to mama. She will definitely reward the void bee brood!"

The void bee shook its body in excitement.

"Go, continue to spy on those meat bags!"

The bee nodded and flew down the tree, leaving the mantis alone.

"Hahaha," The immortal beast suddenly laughed, "Mama! The news is great, you will definitely let me love you!"

It then opened its wings and drifted up, towards the top of the tree.

Chen Wentian silently followed and realized that his assumption had been wrong. It was not a king… but a queen. The ruler of the insect beasts was a female mantis, the most ferocious kind of insect in the whole world!