Chapter 774: Pit Him Again

He Lingchuan understood: "So that's why the growth cycle of the seventy-year cicadas suddenly shortened?"

"Exactly! Think about it, their growth period was extended to seventy years; how much nutrition did they need to absorb in between! The power of the divine blood filled them up all at once, and the seventy-year cicadas were catalyzed; from egg to adult, it took as little as a dozen breaths."

"But even so, they still couldn't withstand the power of the divine blood, so they needed to transfer it again."

He Lingchuan said *oh*: "Reproduce again?"

"Yes, and by transferring it generation after generation, the power of the divine blood also gets weaker and weaker." Dong Rui smiled, "Look, the growth period of the strange cicadas has now extended to three to five hours. I estimate that in another half a month, they will stabilize and won't continue to extend."

"The most interesting thing is that seventy-year cicadas aren't even considered demons, yet they didn't produce excessive distortion under the stimulation of divine blood; this, this is truly incredible!"

He Lingchuan recalled the appearance of those two strange cicadas: "Good fellow, and that's not considered distortion?"

"No extra heads, no extra four or five legs, no extra three or four pairs of wings; how can that be considered distortion?"

He Lingchuan touched his nose; why was he arguing with a mad scientist? Their standards for "distortion" were fundamentally different. Think about the appearance of the Ghost Ape, werewolf, and spider puppets that Dong Rui had successfully modified; what about those that weren't successfully modified? Wouldn't they form a huge spectrum of monsters?

"Growing larger, sucking blood, and eating people—those are all manifestations of complying with the divine blood; it's considered a very mild change." The larger the body, the more energy it can contain; not being picky about food means a wider source of food. When the strange cicadas move, they block out the sky and the sun, and every bite of food they eat is a competition with their own kind.

"Hmm, hmm, you're right."

Dong Rui was full of interest: "I originally thought that only demons could withstand the power of divine blood. I didn't expect that seventy-year cicadas would open up a brand new direction for me!"

The power of divine blood couldn't even be withstood by powerful demons. He had never thought that weak and inconspicuous creatures like seventy-year cicadas could tame the power of divine blood through such a magical way of passing it down from generation to generation!

Truly, life finds a way.

His demon puppet research had a new train of thought.

Seeing his master happy again, the Ghost Ape put down the claws it was holding its head with and went to the table to grab a small handful of nuts.

Of course, He Lingchuan's focus wasn't on Dong Rui's research: "Then let me ask you, is there any way to eradicate the cicada plague?"

"Eradicate?" Dong Rui was still in high spirits and couldn't switch his train of thought, "Why do you want to eliminate insects for Other Rongshan?"

He Lingchuan coughed: "I'm here to ask Other Rongshan to lend me some people, and I'm quite fond of that Qiu Hu. But if the cicada plague in Other Rongshan isn't eliminated, he won't follow us."

"Anything else?" The He Lingchuan that Dong Rui knew wouldn't do things for just one thin reason, "Don't tell me you're obsessed with talent."

"Of course I'm obsessed with talent." He Lingchuan smiled; he also wanted to sell the Other Rongshan Sect a big favor, because he would need it later.

"You can tell by looking at the Other Rongshan territory; this is a place with a deep foundation, not comparable to other small sects." The Other Rongshan territory was not small, exceeding two Xiazhou. Its location was in the northwest corner of Beijia, bordering a small piece of the Baling Nation. Although the world was full of sects, there were actually few sects that possessed their own territory and were rich in resources, with fertile fields and mines.

Simply put, the Other Rongshan Sect had strength.

He Lingchuan patted Dong Rui on the shoulder: "Isn't it good to let it owe you a favor?"

For loose cultivators like them, where would they usually have the opportunity to let Other Rongshan owe them a favor? This reason was enough to easily move Dong Rui. He thought for a moment: "The mutation of the strange cicadas might stop in half a month. Although the form will solidify, the habit of eating people will be retained. I estimate that the time they hide underground will be extended to at least two months or more, and their concealment will be very high; it will be even harder to eradicate them then."

"It's very difficult now; Elder Dao said that the Other Rongshan disciples have almost all been dispatched, patrolling everywhere, finding a nest and pulling it out, and they've been doing this for two months, but the cicada plague is still endless." Preventing insect pests is very difficult, no matter in which world, especially when the opponent is blocking out the sky and the sun.

"The two cicadas caught by Zhu Xiuer are already dead; they weren't killed by me, but because they didn't have the opportunity to breed, they were bloated to death by the power of the divine blood." Dong Rui pondered, "So after they develop into adults, they must mate and lay eggs immediately."

He Lingchuan asked him again: "By the way, why did the living creatures and demons in Wan Ge Marsh go crazy?"

"That goes without saying, they must have eaten the cicada corpses." Dong Rui touched his chin and said, "I want to go back and see how things are at home."

He Lingchuan coughed: "Better not."

"Hmm?" Dong Rui looked at him, and suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart, "Why!"

"The news of the mutation in Wan Ge Marsh has long since spread to Lingxu City, and the Tiangong has already sent people to investigate. If you go back now, it's called 'enemies are bound to meet'."

Dong Rui was now avoiding the Tiangong as if it were a plague, so how could he dare to go there? But he was also suspicious: "Why did the Tiangong pay attention to Wan Ge Marsh before sending people there?"

"I don't know about that." He Lingchuan lied innocently. Could he tell Dong Rui that it was because he had someone take the Punishment Dragon Pillar to Wan Ge Marsh and mess around, which attracted the Heavenly Gods' care?

*Cough*, it seemed he ruined Dong Rui's affairs every time.

But he didn't know beforehand that Dong Rui had built a nest there.

"Perhaps because of the divine blood?" He Lingchuan shrugged, "Just because the source of the divine blood in his hands couldn't be explained, even State Preceptor Qingyang was imprisoned by the Tiangong; you know how much the Heavenly Gods value this stuff."

Dong Rui said *oh*, but then thought, that's not right: "Wait, before the Tiangong sent people there, how did they know that these mutations in Wan Ge Marsh were related to divine blood?"

"I was just guessing." He Lingchuan looked innocent and righteous, "Can you see through the actions of the Tiangong?"

"That's true." Dong Rui didn't think much more and sighed, "It seems my home won't escape their poisonous hands!"

The Tiangong sent people to investigate Wan Ge Marsh, and the initial incident location was near his home; then they would definitely loot his home while they were at it.

"Think on the bright side—" He Lingchuan whispered, "We also looted their home."

They made a big scene in the Tiangong on Ru Mountain and blew up the Heavenly Gods' earthly residence.

How much junk could Dong Rui have at home? If they really wanted to calculate it, it seemed they were the ones who came out ahead.

"Look, Zhu Xiuer has already paid the reward and taught you the method of extending the life of demon puppets; you didn't lose out on this trip." He Lingchuan vaguely diverted the topic, "Alright, let's get back to the current situation."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 775 =====