Chapter 582: 581. Chapter 576: The Powerful Insect

581. Chapter 576: The Powerful Insect

Before the Cosmic Pot even touched the ground, vast swarms of Thief Immortal Insects tumbled down.

Then, like waves, they continued cascading downward in an endless, spreading cascade.

Ji Xing and the others stared in stunned silence—what kind of divine art was this?

The teacher hadn't extended his domain or unleashed any divine art, yet these demonic insects all fell away, one after another, as if they'd agreed on a signal.

A sense of ultimate peril struck him; Ding Huan's spirit tensed.

"Brother Ji, quickly set up the Binding and Annihilation Divine Array…"

After uttering those words, Ding Huan had already summoned the Wheel of Reincarnation Spear.

Almost the instant he summoned the Wheel of Reincarnation Spear, a blade as vast as the sky and sun slashed toward him.

That blade's radiance, nearly ten thousand zhang long, gave the first impression it would split this star continent clean in two.

The aura of death instantly locked this entire space; Ji Xing and the others turned deathly pale.

Though the terrifying blade had not yet descended, the crushing killing intent had already forced blood to trickle from their lips, as if their dantians were about to shatter.

Ding Huan's Wheel of Reincarnation Spear also whipped up a storm of killing intent, and he thrust it forward in one blow.

In such haste, he hadn't even time to summon the divine art's resonance.

Boom!

Crack!

Ding Huan spat a jet of blood from his mouth.

The Wheel of Reincarnation Spear snapped clean in two.

Ding Huan's bones shattered inch by inch; his body was blasted from the void and slammed onto the ground, carving a deep trench hundreds of zhang long.

Blood kept spurting from his mouth—he had no capacity left to counterattack.

This was definitely stronger than Xie Kuangren; it had surely surpassed the Immortal Emperor level.

Ji Luo, experienced and sharp, did not rush to save Ding Huan; instead, he continuously flung out array flags.

In just a short time, he had erected a Level Three Binding and Annihilation Divine Array.

Ding Huan frantically channeled the Great Cosmic Art, trying to rise again.

But that single blow had already cracked his dantian.

Had his sea of starlight not been so resilient, his consciousness sea would have cracked at that moment too.

Patterns of fissures appeared in the void—clearly, the void itself had been scarred by the impact.

Before Ding Huan could rise again, the furious, terrifying killing intent surged down once more, overwhelming all directions.

Ding Huan staggered to his feet once more, unleashing his Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao poison in wild waves.

He suspected his Gene Killing Law couldn't kill this Insect King in a short time—he hadn't imagined the Insect King could be this terrifying.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of thunderous explosions erupted in the void—Ji Luo's Level Three Binding and Annihilation Divine Array finally took effect.

Ding Huan seized the chance to heal.

At this moment, he finally saw clearly—the monstrous Thief Immortal Insect trapped within the Binding and Annihilation Divine Array.

Ding Huan's ring held one Thief Immortal Insect, fully one zhang long—he'd thought that was a giant.

But this one before him—the blade-like leg that had just slashed down was a hundred zhang long, and the killing aura it generated approached ten thousand zhang.

The one-zhang-long Thief Immortal Insect in his ring was but a speck beside this one.

Had his body not been so resilient, that single blow would have shattered him completely.

If his body had shattered, Ji Xing and the others behind him wouldn't have left even a single bone fragment.

Crack! Crack!

More crackling sounds split the air.

Ding Huan watched Ji Luo's Primordial Spirit frantically flinging array flags to reinforce the divine array, his heart trembling in silent awe.

This was a divine array—and that hundred-zhang-tall Thief Immortal Insect was tearing through it with crackling sounds.

And this was even after being affected by his Gene Killing Law, with his Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao Law having already seeped into the demon insect's body.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have had even a chance to fight back—or to flee.

Ding Huan swiftly pulled out the half-god vein and implanted it into the array, then summoned a long blade, unleashing every ounce of his strength, gathering immortal energy to slash downward.

Indeed, with Ding Huan's half-god vein embedded, Ji Luo's Level Three Binding and Annihilation Divine Array finally stabilized.

No matter how powerful this Thief Immortal Insect was, it was still bound by the rules of the Immortal World.

Ding Huan's long blade carved a bloody curtain of light, slashing toward the insect's back.

The Thief Immortal Insect sensed the danger of this strike; though it was struggling against Ji Luo's array, it still swept out one of its blade-legs.

Crack!

A cloud of gray-brown blood exploded—Ding Huan's blade shattered again.

But this time, Ding Huan wasn't the only one who suffered—the insect's blade-leg was severed too, falling to the ground.

Ding Huan was once again thrown to the ground by the violent backlash of immortal energy.

He had acted before his injuries had healed—this was adding insult to injury.

Ding Huan was not alarmed—he was elated. In this second exchange, he clearly felt the Thief Immortal Insect's power had dropped by one tier.

This proved his Gene Killing Law and Poison Dao Law were working.

Ding Huan silently lamented—if he could act again right now, he could surely slay this Thief Immortal Insect.

But he couldn't—he still needed to heal.

To regain the ability to fight, he needed at least a dozen breaths.

The Thief Immortal Insect clearly sensed things were turning bad; it could distinctly feel its own aura weakening.

A principle of destruction and death raged within its body; moreover, a principle of poison had seeped into its flesh.

Cannot stay here any longer—must leave immediately…

As soon as the Thief Immortal Insect conceived this thought, it abandoned its assault on the Imprison-and-Slay Divine Array and furiously tore at the void before it.

Even Ji Xing was stunned—this Thief Immortal Insect had truly torn open a fine fissure in the void.

Though the void had cracked under the impact of Immortal Qi before, cracks and fissures were two different things.

Bad—this insect is trying to escape.

Though Ding Huan had not yet recovered at all, he still burned a mouthful of essence blood, this time drawing out the Flying Smoke Sword, then charged toward the Thief Immortal Insect.

The Flying Smoke Sword slashed down, unleashing a grayish haze of sword light.

"Puff!" A spray of gray-brown blood exploded—Ding Huan's Flying Smoke Sword severed nearly half the Thief Immortal Insect's tail and two of its scythe-like legs.

"Boom!" The third time Ding Huan was slammed into the ground, the Thief Immortal Insect plunged into the fissure it had torn open and vanished.

"Brother Ji, how did this thing tear open the void?" Ding Huan lay on the ground, blood continuously seeping from the corner of his mouth; he still didn't understand how the Thief Immortal Insect had escaped.

Logically, with the Imprison-and-Slay Divine Array locking the space, to tear the void one must first break the array.

"My array was poorly constructed—it malfunctioned," Ji Xing said, deeply ashamed.

He had underestimated this Thief Immortal Insect and overestimated his own Divine Array.

Ding Huan did not press further; this was not Ji Xing's fault.

Ji Xing's strength was less than a fraction of what it had been in his prime; it was no surprise his array failed.

If not for Ji Xing's help, Ding Huan might have died on the insect's scythe-legs today.

This Thief Immortal Insect was simply too terrifying; no wonder Xie Kuangren had returned defeated. Facing such a Thief Immortal Insect, it was only natural Xie Kuangren could not win.

It would be unnatural if he could.

Against attacks from such a Thief Immortal Insect, sheer numbers were meaningless.

He had driven the Thief Immortal Insect away thanks to his Gene Killing Principle and the Bone-Clinging, Dao-Eating Poison.

But the most effective factor was actually Ji Xing's Level-Three Imprison-and-Slay Divine Array.

"Teacher…" The group pinned beneath the pressure—Qian Xing and others—finally regained their breath and rushed forward to inquire after Ding Huan's condition.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "No problem. There's no threat here now—you all can gather the celestial treasures. Pay special attention to items that restore the physical body and the Primordial Spirit."

Don't overlook the Semi-God Veins either. Once you've collected everything, meet up with me—I'll find a place to enter seclusion and cultivate soon."

This place had been occupied by the Thief Immortal Insect for many years, yet the insect had not destroyed the treasures here.

If you don't gather them now, when hordes of cultivators storm in, the best items will be snatched away in an instant.

"Yes." Qian Xing and the others immediately responded and scattered to act.

Ding Huan remained in place for over an hour, then collected the Semi-God Vein, controlled the Cosmic Cauldron, and flew toward the Thief Immortal Insect's lair.

Half a day later, Ding Huan halted at the edge of a vast lake, where he sensed dense heavenly and earthly Qi.

"Brother Ji, this place is excellent for restoring the physical body—there's definitely a Semi-God Vein here, and not just one."

Ding Huan's divine sense had long since blanketed this space; not only were there multiple Semi-God Veins, he had also spotted a perfect Twin-Leaf Immortal Reed.

The Twin-Leaf Immortal Reed was a top-tier material for restoring the physical body—no worse than the Nine-Colored Void Lotus.

More importantly, the Twin-Leaf Immortal Reed was a supreme treasure for body refinement; for physical nirvana, nothing surpassed it.

"Haha, thank you, younger brother—I'm extremely satisfied with this place," Ji Xing truly was delighted.

Ding Huan pulled out the Nine-Colored Void Lotus, then paused and produced a clay pot, handing it to Ji Xing.

Ji Xing knew the jade box contained the Nine-Colored Void Lotus, but why was Ding Huan giving him a clay pot?

Seeing Ji Xing's confusion, Ding Huan explained: "This pot contains some soil—take a look and you'll understand."

Ji Xing removed the pot's sealing runes and swept his divine sense inside.

When he saw the pale purple soil, he asked in astonishment: "Is this Condensed Treasure Soil—the soil that gives birth to divine artifacts?"

"Yes. Legends say this soil formed the Precious-Dividing Cliff—this is the earth beneath it. I thought you'd need this for refining your physical body."

"Haha, not just good—it's perfect! Younger brother, don't worry—once I restore my body, I'll take you on a tour of the cosmos."

Ji Xing eagerly seized both items and went to restore his physical body.

Ding Huan began setting up a protective array.

He paid no mind to Ji Xing's boast about taking him through the cosmos.

Ji Xing was good at bragging, but his actual strength was mediocre.

Who would rely on whom in the end remained to be seen.

Ji Xing's array art was indeed superior to his, but since Ji Xing's body had not been restored, the protective array he constructed was incomplete—Ding Huan could set up a Level-Nine Defensive Immortal Array better himself.

One day later, Ding Huan collected the Twin-Leaf Immortal Reed and began healing.

Externally he showed no sign of injury, but in truth, his wounds from battling the Thief Immortal Insect were severe.

Yi Chong Starland…

Or perhaps now it could no longer be called Yi Chong Starland—it was Semi-God Starland.

Across the entire Semi-God Starland, the Thief Immortal Insects continued to die in waves.

Some Thief Immortal Insects sensing doom tried to flee, but they died instantly before escaping the Semi-God Starland.

Qian Xing and the other two were frantically gathering all manner of top-tier celestial treasures here.