The incomparably abundant spiritual energy within the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven was the perfect breeding ground for the infinite multiplication of the Dao-One Worms.
Cataclysmic changes quietly unfolded across the five grotto-heavens.
Ordinary living beings might not detect this fundamental change in spiritual energy.
Yet the highest life forms within the grotto-heavens reacted immediately.
The most conspicuous among them was the towering giant tree in the wood-attribute grotto-heaven.
Its branches and leaves swayed without wind, seemingly trying to fight an invisible enemy.
A misty verdance surged from the giant tree, forming a barrier to hold off the corruption of the mutated spiritual energy.
Unfortunately, this giant tree was clearly far from achieving a self-sustaining cycle.
The more massive its size, the more nourishment it had to draw from the outside world every passing moment.
It could not hold out for long; the green barrier collapsed on its own.
In an instant, the invisible mutated spiritual energy swarmed forward, nibbling away at the giant tree.
From far outside the grotto-heavens, Li Ping could clearly sense the process of the giant tree being mutated and devoured whole by the Dao-One Worms.
Looking closely at that giant tree in the wood-attribute grotto-heaven, one could see trails where countless tiny worms had crawled across its leaves in a flash.
And on the trunk, beneath the writhing of numerous Dao-One Worms, a human face formed.
Ferocious and terrifying, its gaze met Li Ping's across the void!
"Not bad," Li Ping nodded slightly.
The human face on the trunk struggled for a moment before being slowly pulled back into the wood, vanishing from sight. Yet from a microscopic perspective, this giant tree had already completely become a conglomerate of countless Dao-One Worms!
And it was not just this single giant tree. Everything within the five great grotto-heavens was inevitably undergoing the exact same transformation.
Li Ping called this...
"Insectification"!
If up until now, all the phenomena and shifts brought by the mutated Dao-One Worms were within Holy Emperor Li Ping's expectations, then what occurred next caught him somewhat off guard.
When more than a third of the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens had undergone insectification, an entity seemed to suddenly awaken.
Unlike the pure Heavenly Dao consciousness of a grotto-heaven or pocket world, this had incubated from the collective consciousness of billions upon billions of Dao-One Worms using the husk of the pocket world's Heavenly Dao!
Compared to an ordinary world's Heavenly Dao, this newly born world consciousness of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven was just like the mutated Dao-One Worms—filled with aggression and an insatiable desire to devour!
Nine pale purple flying dragons abruptly manifested, shielding Li Ping.
As the Destined Holy Emperor of the only pocket world near the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens, he felt a faint, prickling sense of crisis, as if being locked on by this "insectified grotto-heaven."
"A newborn calf daring to swallow a tiger," Li Ping sneered, unperturbed.
Although the overall insectification of the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens had exceeded his expectations, his boldness in having Daoist Hundred Flowers relocate them here meant he had more than enough confidence to handle any issues.
"The Sacred Dynasty's grand fortune turns into dragons; hundreds of millions of subjects, serve my will!"
Li Ping chanted aloud. Behind him, the illusory projection of a flourishing Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi appeared, showing countless subjects living and working in peace and contentment.
Even though the scale of the Great Qi pocket world was far inferior to the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, it was precisely the presence of countless living beings with steadfast conviction that allowed it to hold its own against a colossus a hundred times its size!
The vision of the Sacred Dynasty wafted with faint purple qi, nearly solidifying.
Bearing the conviction and popular fortune of Great Qi's hundreds of millions of souls, Li Ping's figure flickered, and he stepped directly above the insectified Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
He stomped down hard!
In the void, a shrill shriek like that of an ancient primeval beast suddenly erupted, echoing endlessly.
The massive Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven rumbled and trembled. The mutated spiritual energy within roiled and seethed, instantly taking the shapes of bizarre black strange beasts.
They were enraged to the extreme, charging fearlessly out of the grotto-heaven world to attack Li Ping.
Their target was not just Li Ping, but also the Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi behind him!
"The Destined Holy Emperor's beneficence graces all eternity!"
The phantom of the Sacred Dynasty behind him suddenly unleashed boundless pale purple radiance, enveloping Li Ping completely.
Basked in the purple light of fortune, Li Ping's body grew rapidly as if catching the wind.
In the span of a breath, he had already become larger than the entire Great Qi pocket world.
Truly like a mythic, sky-propping titan, he stood before the countless beings of Great Qi to meet the black insectified beasts!
At this moment, across the sky of the Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi, Holy Emperor Li Ping's colossal silhouette also appeared.
Countless subjects instinctively knelt to the ground, chanting praises of the Holy Emperor's grace.
Bolstered by this, Li Ping's stature expanded several times over again.
The pale purple light about him gradually coalesced, and with a casual wave of Li Ping's hand, it transformed into thunderbolts that smashed viciously into the beasts.
Thundering booms resonated through the void as the speed at which the insectified beasts spawned lagged far behind the rate at which Li Ping obliterated them.
Freeing up his hands, the Destined Holy Emperor raised his fist and slammed it violently down upon the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
One punch, two punches!
Though it was the most primitive form of attack, as strands of purple qi were forcibly driven into the grotto-heavens, the ferocity of the insectified Five Elements Grotto-Heavens was gradually suppressed.
The original Dao-One Worms sent into the grotto-heavens to corrupt them had been cultivated using a wisp of Li Ping's consciousness. In a sense, these countless mutated Dao-One Worms were all his progeny.
Now that he had briefly suppressed the instinctive consciousness of the insectification, Li Ping gradually seized control of the insectified grotto-heavens through this connection.
The rebellious Five Elements Grotto-Heavens slowly settled down.
The black strange beasts that had previously bared their fangs and claws to kill Li Ping now fluttered affectionately to his side like fawning pets, trying to curry favor.
Li Ping maintained his purple titan form, sensing the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, which was now completely changed.
After being insectified and subsequently tamed, this grotto-heaven felt as if it had become an alternate body of his.
Not only did he have every detail within the grotto-heaven at his fingertips, but he could even manipulate the insectified grotto-heaven to move and attack!
"World insectification..."
Li Ping fell into deep thought as he adjusted to this brand-new body.
"If ordinary grotto-heavens and pocket worlds are compared to static existences like flora, then insectification endows them with capabilities akin to wild beasts.
"Their aggression vastly increases, and they can even hunt and prey spontaneously.
"Yet it isn't entirely beneficial..."
Li Ping frowned slightly. "After insectification, the lifespan of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven has also been drastically reduced.
"It may last less than a thousand years before inevitably succumbing to decay and demise."
The heavens and earth inherently have an upper limit to their existence. Measured in hundreds of millions of years, they could be considered virtually eternal when compared to mortals.
Yet after insectification, that duration was cut down countless times over.
"The harm far outweighs the benefits.
"It can be done once, but never again."
Li Ping, styling himself as the chosen one of destiny, arrived at this judgment.
Yet Li Fan's true body felt a stir in his heart, struck by an entirely different thought.
Chapter 1169