Chapter 123: The Dao Court's Death Throes

In the Realm-Battlefield, on another stretch of wilderness.

According to the agreement between the Dao Court and the Pure Land, the moment the Pure Land came under attack, the Dao Court should have detected it and rushed to provide swift support.

Yet in the end, the Dao Court never appeared from start to finish.

This was because, at the very moment the Shi cultivators of the Pure Land were ambushed by the Holy Sect, the Dao Court also encountered an unexpected major trouble and became embroiled in a bitter struggle.

Above the wilderness, a giant city hovered in mid-air.

This treasure was similar to the Terrain Boat of the Pure Land; both were specially crafted magic treasures. Yet at this moment, this great city was shrouded by a black cloud.

Black clouds pressed upon the city, threatening to crush it; wherever they passed, a ceaseless buzzing of insects filled the air. Upon striking the protective treasure light of the city walls, they emitted a shrill shriek that made one's scalp tingle. As time passed, the city was gnawed to pieces by the insect swarm, and many cultivators of the Dao Court were devoured.

"These bugs... what exactly are they!?"

"Divine abilities, magic treasures—nothing works against them!"

"Hold the line!"

A cultivator of the Dao Court stood at the front lines, but having exhausted too much magic power, he faltered for an instant, allowing a demonic insect to burrow into his mouth and nose; he instantly froze in place.

Moments later, that Dao Court cultivator collapsed heavily to the ground.

Looking again, where was there any human form left? Only an empty, blood-soaked skin remained, along with hundreds of demonic insects swarming out into the sky, their numbers multiplied!

This was the terrifying nature of the Qi-Devouring Insects.

Impervious to metal and stone, unaffected by water or fire, and capable of devouring spiritual energy, they included both divine abilities and magic treasures within their menu and scope of consumption!

Across the entire battlefield, only one position had stabilized the situation.

There stood a single cultivator, a tall woman of striking and valiant bearing, surrounded by sword light; wherever she passed, demonic insects were destroyed in great swathes.

"As expected of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion..."

Deep within the city, Wang Jinting, the leader of this Dao Court expedition, could not help but sigh: "The Absolute Sword Divine Ability of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion truly lives up to its reputation."

"Pity she is alone... At this point, we can only abandon 'Void Sky City'!"

Thinking thus, Wang Jinting glanced again at the Comprehensive Map of the Broad Lands in his hand, his expression turning ugly.

"The Pure Land... is gone!?"

The Comprehensive Map of the Broad Lands could survey the entire Realm-Heaven; as long as someone remained within this small realm, no one could escape the search of this Fruit-Position Treasure.

Unless they were already dead.

Yet now, Wang Jinting discovered that the clusters of light points on the map representing the Shi cultivators of the Pure Land had almost entirely vanished in an instant!

In their place appeared a vast number of disciples from the Chusheng Sect!

"The Chusheng Sect? How is this possible?"

Wang Jinting found it unimaginable; had they not already encircled and slain most of the Chusheng demons? Unless a True Person had descended from the heavens, how could they possibly defeat the Pure Land?

"If I had known this would happen, I should not have ignored these demonic insects back then." Thinking thus, Wang Jinting felt some regret; with the 【Comprehensive Map of the Broad Lands】, he actually had the opportunity to outpace everyone else, locate the Insect King of the Qi-Devouring Insects, slay it, seize its Heavenly Count, and thereby claim victory.

However, this Battle for the Dao was a joint effort by the Dao Court and the Pure Land to suppress the Demonic Path.

In such a situation, victory was only one aspect; the other, more important task was to kill as many Holy Sect disciples as possible, especially the True Disciples!

For this purpose, he had previously ignored the natives within the Realm-Heaven.

As a result, the opposing side had taken advantage of this time to grow rapidly under the nourishment of the Realm-Heaven, until now they had formed a scale that was unstoppable!

Beyond this, the defeat on the Pure Land's front also filled his heart with extreme unease.

"... etreat first!"

Thinking thus, Wang Jinting finally made the decision to retreat and immediately prepared to activate the 【Comprehensive Map of the Broad Lands】 to transfer all Dao Court cultivators out.

However, just then, shouts from disciples suddenly came from outside.

"They've stopped... They've stopped!"

"These bugs aren't attacking anymore?"

"What's happening?"

The voices caused Wang Jinting to halt his actions, his face showing confusion. The next second, a vast spiritual sense pierced through layer upon layer of obstacles and settled before him.

"... ne from beyond the heavens."

Sensing that immense spiritual sense, Wang Jinting's pupils contracted sharply; he instinctively took a step back, then suddenly realized: "You are the Insect King of the demonic insects?"

"Correct."

Apparently due to having devoured many cultivators, the Qi-Devouring Insect King had now initially gained spirituality, and even its speech was gradually becoming fluent:

"I have eaten your people. You and that other group do not seem to be allies. I saw many of you hunting down that other group. If so, you must know that among them exists an unbeatable presence. I need detailed intelligence on him."

"Huh?"

After hearing the Insect King's words, Wang Jinting instantly froze on the spot, only then realizing that the "other group" mentioned by the Insect King must refer to the Chusheng demons.

An unbeatable presence among the Chusheng demons?

How is that possible!

Wang Jinting had personally experienced the terror of the Qi-Devouring Insects; their quantity and quality were impeccable. For a Qi Condensation realm cultivator to deal with them was nearly impossible—

"... oundation Establishment!?"

In an instant, Wang Jinting felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, then erupted in curses: A Battle for the Dao among Qi Condensation disciples, yet they actually sent a Foundation Establishment True Person to fight?

Beasts!

Yet even so, Wang Jinting did not give up. The next second, he raised his head to look at the Insect King's spiritual sense, a thought arising in his heart.

—There is still hope! He can still manipulate the situation!

The natives of this Realm-Heaven, if he could borrow the power of these demonic insects, might still have a chance to win, or at least strive for a draw.

Thinking thus, Wang Jinting finally spoke:

"I can tell you the location intelligence of that person to ensure he cannot find you, but I also have a request... You must help me deal with that group."

"Let us cooperate, how about it?"

"After all, you want to deal with them, and I also want to deal with them; we should be on the same side."

"Moreover, once those people are all killed, even without you saying so, we will leave this place."

In an instant, Wang Jinting sorted out his thoughts.

"I do not believe the opponent is truly a Foundation Establishment cultivator; there must be some flaw, such as endurance, being unable to maintain combat power for long periods."

"No matter what, we must test them first... These demonic insects are undoubtedly the best method for testing; their numbers are vast, and they fear no death. Letting them charge at the forefront will surely reveal the depth of that Foundation Establishment True Person from the Chusheng Sect, after which we can formulate tactics based on the situation."

"As long as I hide and do not reveal myself, I have not lost!"

"At this moment, this is likely what the Dao Court is thinking."

The Myriad Souls Banner fluttered; Lu Yang and Patriarch Tingyou sat facing each other. After Patriarch Tingyou methodically analyzed the situation, Lu Yang showed an expression of agreement.

"Cooperating with the Qi-Devouring Insects and using human-wave tactics to exhaust me—if I were in their place, I would do the same."

Although after Patriarch Tingyou's improvements, the current Su Nü possessed no flaws, and no matter how many Qi-Devouring Insects of this current level came, it would be to no avail.

But if the opponent continued to hide in the shadows, sending only swarms of insects to their deaths, it would still be quite troublesome.

At the very least, it would become a prolonged war of attrition.

And if it dragged on for too long, who knew whether the Qi-Devouring Insects, as the Child of Destiny of this Realm-Heaven, might grow to a level he could not handle.

Therefore, a swift victory was essential.

And to achieve a swift victory, the only options were to find the cultivator within the Dao Court faction holding the Fruit-Position Treasure, or to kill the Child of Destiny, the Insect King, among the Qi-Devouring Insects.

Thinking thus, Lu Yang attempted to calculate with his fingers.

A moment later, he released his hand and shook his head: "No, the opponent holds a Fruit-Position Treasure; their karma is obscured, so I cannot calculate their specific location."

Just then, a voice suddenly spoke:

"True Person... are you trying to find someone?"

Lu Yang turned at the sound, only to see Bi Feiyuan, a True Disciple of the Holy Sect, dressed in a gown of light gauze, smiling cleverly as she said: "Perhaps we can help."

(End of Chapter)