Insect King

He had encountered no small number of venomous insects, yet this was the first time the fat silkworm had ever displayed such abnormal behavior. Qin Sang fell abruptly silent and looked out toward the entrance of the cave. Zhou Jin and Ruan Yu had no idea what was happening and did not dare make a sound to disturb him. Outside the cave... The insect cloud drew closer. A bizarre, pervasive buzzing drone seeped through every crevice. Whether it was the cry of the rotphosphor fireflies or the vibration of their wings was impossible to tell, but even hidden inside the cave, the sound was crystal clear and unnervingly irritating. The strange drone droned on incessantly. Zhou Jin and Ruan Yu understood that they were already surrounded by countless ghost bugs. Involuntarily, grim visions of being devoured alive by myriad insects flashed through their minds. It felt as if a numb itching sensation were oozing from the depths of their marrow to spread across their entire bodies. Trembling all over, neither dared to breathe loudly. The toxic cloud was held at bay by the fat silkworm outside. The swarm had not sensed their presence either. Zhou and Ruan had thought they might escape this disaster after all. Right at that moment, however, the sounds of the swarm suddenly changed, causing their hearts to tighten so hard they nearly cried out in alarm. *Buzz, buzz...* The screeching abruptly grew rapid and frantic, shrill and grating like grinding iron. Moreover, the insect cloud seemed to have halted right above their heads. The noise lingered right beside their ears, refusing to disperse. Zhou Jin and Ruan Yu turned pale. Qin Sang pricked up his ears, listening to the increasingly chaotic din as he perceived the situation outside. "So the two clouds of insects weren't from the same swarm. They're locked in a slaughter, and they just happened to pick this place as their battlefield. Heavenly Fissure Valley is so vast they hardly lack territory, yet they're butchering one another. Is it bloodthirsty nature, or is this simply how such spirit insects mature...?" The fat silkworm squirmed in Qin Sang's hand, desperate to rush outside. Whatever had piqued its interest was deep inside that insect cloud. Qin Sang made no rash move. Midair... The two insect clouds collided. To an outsider's eye, there was no difference between them. A rolling yellow cloud of poison churned and compressed the sky. Inside, it looked as though countless uncontrolled beasts were stampeding toward the center in droves, surging from all directions with feral power. Within the venomous cloud, scattered sparks of yellow firefly light were faintly visible, clustering into vast swathes. Every single speck of fire was a rotphosphor firefly. Flickering and drifting, they seemed almost incorporeal, looking frail and ghostly, like will-o'-the-wisps. Small wonder the local cultivators called them ghost bugs. The shrieks of the swarms slaughtering each other sounded like the howling of the venomous fog itself. Above and below, the toxic cloud spared nothing, stacking layer upon layer, growing thicker and ever more oppressive. Wherever the poison cloud blanketed, life was utterly extinguished. The grass and trees remained standing, and the corpses of birds and beasts bore no external wounds, yet they had been thoroughly corroded by the toxic cloud. All vitality had been stripped clean from inside out by the insect cloud. A single gust of strong wind would reduce them to flying ash. The screeching of the swarm had initially erupted with extreme fury, soon reaching a crescendo before stalling in a stalemate. Then it gradually waned, indicating that a victor had emerged between the two swarms; the losing side had likely suffered the fate of being devoured whole. In the end, the shrieks receded, and the battle drew to a close. Yet the scale of the venomous cloud had not diminished in the slightest. The swarm began to move, departing to continue pillaging elsewhere as the toxic cloud drifted away at high speed. At this moment, Qin Sang moved abruptly. In a flash, he exited the cave and appeared atop the mountain peak. As far as the eye could see, the land was desolate and gray. Qin Sang gazed in the direction the insect cloud was departing. What the fat silkworm had sensed was indeed inside that cloud. He could not help but wonder whether the ferocious slaughter earlier had been a fight over some object. After a brief hesitation, Qin Sang took the initiative to pursue the ghostfire insect cloud that struck fear into ordinary cultivators. Soon, he drew close to the toxic cloud. The yellow venomous mist resembled a sandstorm. Qin Sang commanded the fat silkworm to drape him in the Poison-Warding Armor, suppressed his aura, and merged into the poison cloud. Perched on Qin Sang's shoulder, the fat silkworm wiggled its chubby body, betraying its current excitement. Every time it acted like this, it was because it had discovered delicious food. With the venomous cloud blocked by the Poison-Warding Armor, it posed no threat to Qin Sang. Through the dense toxic cloud, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could already see the surging swarm within. Countless rotphosphor fireflies marched in swarms, identical in appearance, resembling a grand river composed of gathered lamplight. Apart from the rotphosphor fireflies, there was nothing else. Following the fat silkworm's perception, Qin Sang looked toward the target, only to see a densely packed mass of fireflies. Could the thing be inside the belly of one of them? Just then, the surging swarm suddenly halted and let out that familiar screeching drone. Qin Sang felt an indescribable pressure weigh down, his heart sinking as he realized the swarm had detected him. At this point, the fat silkworm locked its attention onto a specific rotphosphor firefly. This firefly looked no different from any of the others. Qin Sang remained completely baffled as to what was so special about it to attract the fat silkworm. However, that did not hinder his actions. Qin Sang dropped all pretense and decisively launched a fierce attack. Moving as fast as lightning, he closed in on the insect cloud in an instant. Directing the Jinchen Sword, he waved his hand, unleashing an exceedingly sharp streak of sword Qi. The sword Qi pierced through the swarm like an icy blade plunging into a sea of fire, causing the flames to surge and stirring up a ring of illusory fire. The rotphosphor fireflies slain by the Jinchen Sword burst into an intoxicatingly gorgeous afterglow. The Jinchen Sword carried an unstoppable momentum, carving an open path straight through the swarm with a single strike, aiming directly for that peculiar firefly. Only then did the insect swarm seem to react, their furious shrieks shaking the heavens and roaring into Qin Sang's ears. Unmoved, Qin Sang saw how easily the swarm had been breached and naturally refused to let the opportunity slip by. Without hesitation, he plunged into the swarm and effortlessly seized the firefly. Before he could inspect it closely, the fat silkworm arched its body, sprang onto Qin Sang's fingertip, and, as if terrified someone might snatch it away, opened its mouth and swallowed it whole. It then gave a contented roll. Qin Sang suspected that this firefly might have been an insect king of the swarm, which was why it had drawn the fat silkworm. If that was the case, it had been far too easy to obtain. The moment the thought crossed his mind, Qin Sang sensed something amiss with the swarm. In the next instant, dead silence fell all around as the screeching ceased abruptly. A bizarre transformation overtook the swarm. Previously, every rotphosphor firefly in the swarm had advanced and retreated together with a shared purpose, perhaps even living and dying as one. Yet Qin Sang had been able to clearly perceive their individual identities; each firefly had existed independently. Now, it was different. All the rotphosphor fireflies had fused into a single collective entity. Qin Sang felt as though he were no longer facing a cluster of spirit insects, but rather a colossal monster. Each rotphosphor firefly served as a node in the monster's consciousness, woven into an expansive, completely interconnected web. Together, the swarm formed the beast, seamless and unified. The monster encircled Qin Sang, glaring at him like a tiger watching its prey. From the swarm, Qin Sang sensed an emotion—an insatiable greed. Not only did they possess clear emotions, but these fireflies, individually so weak, had fused into a flaming behemoth that posed an immediate threat to him. And that threat did not stem solely from the toxic cloud. Qin Sang narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at the fat silkworm, which had stiffened completely. The swarm's target was clearly it! Under the swarm's collective gaze, the fat silkworm's earlier arrogance vanished entirely. It desperately clutched its head and sucked in its belly, curling into the crevices of Qin Sang's fingers. It had treated that firefly as a delicacy, never imagining that it too possessed something coveted by the swarm. The hunter had become the hunted. The swarm grew restless. Facing this, Qin Sang showed no fear. With a flick of his sleeves, demonic fire surged out, instantly setting up a ring of fire around him. The aura of demonic fire spread outward. This was one of the premier spiritual fires in the world. A stir rippled through the swarm. Qin Sang sensed fear and hesitation from them. The swarm could indeed think, but its intelligence was still simple, laying its emotional shifts bare for all to see. Yet this alone was not enough to frighten them away. Qin Sang gave a cold snort, channeled the Sun God Tree, and released a wisp of Nanming Primordial Fire's aura. Sure enough, the specks of ghostfire in the swarm began to quiver violently. Every rotphosphor firefly flapped its wings in unison, and screeching rang out between heaven and earth once more. This time, the drone was not as shrill as before, but it was utterly chaotic. Qin Sang could not help frowning. He could not comprehend the swarm's intentions at all and was unwilling to wage a pointless battle. Just as he prepared to leave the area, he noticed the fat silkworm peeking furtively from between his fingers. It stuck its head out with an expression of pleasant surprise and began screeching wildly at the swarm. "Are they communicating?" Catching the sneaky look in the fat silkworm's eyes, Qin Sang's heart stirred. Its cries carried no explicit meaning, so this exchange clearly was not taking place through sound. Perhaps it was direct communication on a mental plane. He remained silent, quietly coordinating with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to observe the swarm. His gaze swept across the rotphosphor fireflies one by one. At last, Qin Sang locked onto a firefly hidden within the swarm. Its form was faint and elusive, drifting more ethereally than the others, yet it seemed to serve as the focal point for the entire swarm. "There really is an insect king!" Qin Sang understood the cause. A true insect king had been born, which was why the swarm had undergone such a transformation! Without batting an eye, Qin Sang turned over thoughts at lightning speed, secretly observing the movement pattern of that firefly until he caught the right moment. Without the slightest warning, the demonic fire erupted! *Boom!* A dragon of demonic fire pounced into the swarm. An incongruous black void was gouged out of the insect swarm, looking as though a large chunk of flesh had been brutally torn away. The screeching turned shrill and frantic again, but this time, it was laced with agonizing pain. Qin Sang's figure moved in tandem with the demonic fire. Still as a mountain when dormant, striking like a thunderbolt when in motion! *Whoosh!* The demonic fire's momentum did not flag, incinerating a vast swath of rotphosphor fireflies in the blink of an eye. Immediately after, a dazzling beam of sword light flared at the head of the demonic fire dragon. Taking advantage of the opening, the Jinchen Sword shot out, instantly transforming into a sword formation the moment it materialized. Sensing danger, that firefly's form turned translucent at once. Yet it was still half a beat too slow; before it could flee, the surrounding space grew dim and dusky as the sword formation trapped it inside. *Chirp, chirp...* Seeing Qin Sang succeed in a single blow, the fat silkworm gave a triumphant cry, wagging its head and tail. Yet Qin Sang's expression held little joy, because the swarm had not descended into panic or rage at the capture of their king; their screeching continued unabated. He fixed his gaze on the insect king within the sword formation. In the next instant, a bizarre change indeed occurred on the king. Forced into the open, its aura altered, becoming indistinguishable from any ordinary rotphosphor firefly. "This..." Qin Sang was taken aback. The fat silkworm's smug cries ceased abruptly, replaced by a look of sheer disbelief. "The insect king can possess the bodies of its kin at will, or rather, it isn't even in the swarm, but hidden elsewhere, controlling the swarm remotely..." Having confirmed that the captured firefly truly harbored no abnormalities, Qin Sang considered various possibilities. He had the Heavenly Eye Butterfly resume its search, and sure enough, another firefly elsewhere underwent the exact same transformation, turning into the new 'insect king.' Right then, the swarm's screeches grew hurried, as if issuing an urgent demand and a threat. Jolted awake by the noise, the fat silkworm gnashed its teeth and let out a shrill hiss. Yet it flatly refused to leave, gazing at Qin Sang with pleading eyes. Qin Sang pushed his divine sense and the Heavenly Eye divine ability to their limits, but could still find no trace of the true insect king. He had no choice but to repeat his tactic. This time, his calculations were even more precise. Demonic fire, sword formation, and even the Soul-Extracting True Word were deployed in seamless harmony. With nowhere left to run, that 'insect king' was indeed captured by Qin Sang. However, the exact same scene played out. Right beneath Qin Sang's nose, the 'insect king's' aura vanished without leaving behind the faintest trace. Even with his divine sense constantly locked onto it, he could not trace the source. At the same time, a brand-new 'insect king' emerged within the swarm. Helpless, Qin Sang shook his head at the fat silkworm. Unless he slaughtered the entire swarm, finding the king was unlikely—and that was something the fat silkworm did not want. Nor was he fully confident. The swarm was eager to trade something with the fat silkworm and had not launched a genuine attack against them, leaving it unclear what bizarre divine abilities they possessed. Furthermore, if the insect king was hidden elsewhere and controlling the swarm from a great distance, even utilizing the Sun God Tree would make ferreting it out virtually impossible. He even suspected that the slaughter between the two insect clouds earlier might have been orchestrated from behind the scenes by that true insect king. The fat silkworm wore a look of utter disappointment, its gaze resentful. Then, it turned and cried out toward the swarm. It raised its head high, its body tensing and stretching to nearly twice its length. An agonizing whimper escaped its mouth as it struggled to spit out a ball of iridescent aura. It looked somewhat similar to the iridescent glow that composed the Poison-Warding Armor, yet it was far more condensed, appearing to be the fat silkworm's innate source power. After spitting out the iridescent ball of aura, the fat silkworm was visibly drained. Listlessly, it pushed the crystalline mass outward, letting it suspend in midair. The screeching paused briefly. Then, the swarm squirmed, and the 'insect king' parted from the crowd, approaching the iridescent ball of aura. The fat silkworm bared its fangs and hissed a warning. The 'insect king' halted, facing Qin Sang and the fat silkworm from a distance. Its flame-like body began to swell until it reached the size of a fist. Then, the fire split down the middle, spitting out a lustrous yellow crystal that was flicked toward the fat silkworm, while the firefly itself lunged straight for the iridescent ball of aura. The crystal was translucent, resembling amber. Qin Sang had never seen such an amber insect crystal before. It was as if the amber insect crystal had materialized out of thin air. The entire process had unfolded right before their eyes, yet Qin Sang could not discern where the crystal had originated. *To think I would witness a trade between spirit insects with my own eyes.* Though Qin Sang had traveled far and wide and possessed broad experience, it was the first time he had ever witnessed such a spectacle. It felt truly wondrous. The world was vast indeed, full of endless wonders! At the sight of the crystal, the fat silkworm perked up, its eyes gleaming. It sprang forward, wrapping itself around the crystal as though it had found the ultimate treasure. Evidently having no sense of honor, the moment it got its hands on the crystal, it immediately reneged on the deal. Screeching repeatedly, it seemed to urge Qin Sang to strike and snatch back the iridescent aura. In truth, Qin Sang did strike. The sword formation did not miss, effortlessly trapping the 'insect king.' Yet the familiar scene played out once more. All mystical qualities drained from the 'insect king,' turning it back into an ordinary rotphosphor firefly. Vanishing alongside it was the iridescent aura. The iridescent ball of light disappeared right before their eyes, leaving no trace behind. Following that, the swarm's aura receded like the tide, reverting into the ghostfire insect cloud from before. Ignoring Qin Sang and the fuming fat silkworm, it drifted away swiftly and vanished into the depths of Heavenly Fissure Valley.