Chapter 48: Insect Controller

A dense and strange sound came from underground, like pairs of scissors cutting through stone. The black smoke pouring out became thicker and thicker. Li Youyi did not dare to be careless and quickly held his breath.

"Watch out for the ground! They are exotic fierce insects; there is an Insect Controller nearby."

The warning came from the spirit tablet on the table.

Li Youyi had heard the senior in the spirit tablet talk about "exotic fierce insects" and "Insect Controllers," but he never expected the Long Lin Gang to have such figures.

So he quickly retreated, lifted his sword, and leaped up.

He climbed along the trunk of the old poplar tree and only stopped after being several zhang off the ground.

Insect Controller—also a practitioner of the Spirit God path, a small classification of Mind Masters.

Not to mention the Nether Realm, within the Life Realm, the surface is ruled by human experts and evil demon kings, but the underground is the world of the insect race.

Insect Controllers often walk through wild mountains, great marshes, underground rivers, and deep abysses, searching for various rare and exotic insects to tame and control. Sometimes, one Insect Controller is comparable to a provincial army, capable of attacking cities and seizing land alone, or even sweeping across the world by themselves.

In times of war, legendary Insect Controllers often emerged.

"Swish!"

A white spider silk as thick as a hair flew out from the soil like an arrow, wrapping around the ankle of Li Youyi's left leg.

The spider silk was extremely tough, tightening more and more, pulling him downward.

Li Youyi mobilized his five-spring magic power, and only then did he break it with a "bang."

This explosive force pulled a fist-sized spider out from underground.

It had eight legs, but its back looked like a turtle with a hard shell, and its sharp teeth were like constantly opening and closing scissors. Being bitten by it would definitely result in losing a large chunk of flesh.

He swung his sword and slashed, immediately splitting it in two.

"It is a soldier-level fierce insect, the Pincer Spider. Beware of the spider silk spat from their abdomens; any magic martial cultivator below the Five Seas Realm has the possibility of being bound and killed. One Pincer Spider is not difficult to deal with; what is terrifying is a swarm," the senior in the spirit tablet said.

"Swish, swish!"

One after another, Pincer Spiders broke through the soil in the courtyard, dense and numerous, all shooting spider silk at Li Youyi on the poplar tree.

If he were entangled by several or dozens of them together, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Li Youyi used his magic power to drive the Huang Long sword, a bright light appearing on the blade, and he danced the sword rapidly, never letting the spider silk get close to him.

The Pincer Spiders on the ground were like an army; suddenly, more than a dozen separated and rushed toward the room where Zhao Meng and the others were hiding. At the same time, seven or eight fast-moving dark shadows appeared on the courtyard wall.

Among them, two dark shadows held crossbow-like weapons, aiming at him.

Li Youyi immediately performed the Huang Long Ascending to Heaven, stepping on the void and flying toward the courtyard wall six or seven zhang away.

The crossbow-like weapons fired windless heavy arrows like flying needles, but with two "clangs," they were slashed away by Li Youyi, who had been prepared.

The two Long Lin Gang members who fired the windless heavy arrows were shocked. The heavy crossbows in their hands were divine weapons, and killing those at the fourth or fifth spring was easy. Caught off guard, even experts at the sixth or seventh spring could die unexpectedly.

Who exactly is this kid?

Did the scouts get the right target?

There was no chance to fire a second time; Li Youyi was like a ghost, already above their heads. They were terrified and trembling, about to jump off the wall to escape, but the yellow sword blade had already pierced the night and reached their eyes.

"Pfft!"

The first sword strike beheaded one.

The second sword strike pierced the heart of the other.

The two fourth-spring gang members, along with the heavy crossbows in their hands, fell from the zhang-high courtyard wall.

Li Youyi's figure moved rapidly along the courtyard wall, killing from south to north, one sword strike for each, and the night was filled with screams. After a few breaths, all seven or eight dark shadows had fallen.

The next moment, he flew down and landed on the stone steps in front of the house where Zhao Meng and the others were hiding, swinging his sword toward the ground to intercept those Pincer Spiders.

"Sss, sss!"

The number of Pincer Spiders crawling out from underground was increasing, and spider silk kept landing on him.

Entangled on his wrist, even if he could break it, the speed of his sword swings would slow down. Entangled on his legs, his movement and dodging would become sluggish.

There were even seven or eight Pincer Spiders working together, weaving a web.

At this moment, Li Youyi finally understood what the senior in the spirit tablet meant when he said that any magic martial cultivator below the Five Seas Realm could be bound and killed. If he didn't have the Huang Long sword, his situation would be even more difficult than it was now.

The voice of the senior in the spirit tablet came: "Pincer Spiders fear the cold! Use the Ghost Flag; freeze them."

"Ghost Flag?"

Li Youyi was puzzled.

Li Youyi had driven Yu Tuonan's Ghost Flag before, but it could only release Nether Mist and at most had some defensive function.

"The power of a magic martial cultivator driving a magic tool when opening the fourth spring is different from when opening the fifth spring. The magic power in the body has undergone an essential improvement." The senior in the spirit tablet clearly had some understanding of that Ghost Flag.

Li Youyi took out the Ghost Flag, and the magic power surging from the five spring eyes in his body ran through sixty trace meridians, all of which were injected into it. Immediately, Nether Mist and cold air erupted and drifted out, like a black cloud, covering most of the residence.

Not long after.

"My Pincer Spiders! My Pincer Spiders..."

A hoarse voice, accompanied by rapid footsteps, rushed into the courtyard.

How could the Insect Controller Master Qi not be anxious?

He had spent decades painstakingly cultivating nearly a hundred Pincer Spiders, which allowed him to stand on equal footing with Five Seas Realm experts and enjoy the treatment of being above others; even the Long Lin Gang leader had to respect him by three points.

But at this moment, in the Nether Mist.

All the Pincer Spiders on the ground were frozen stiff, unable to move, and covered with a thin layer of frost.

"Swish!"

The tip of the Huang Long sword pointed at his throat.

Master Qi was tall and thin, wearing a wide white robe, his eye sockets deeply sunken. Even though Li Youyi could take his life at any moment, there was not a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Whoosh!"

He gritted his teeth, his hatred monstrous.

The Yintang Spirit Realm between his eyebrows lit up like a lamp, launching a mind power attack.

Mind power was formless and shadowless, but it was like a sword that could directly attack the enemy's soul.

But his mind power attack landed on Li Youyi, and not only did it fail to kill the enemy, but instead, sounds of bells appeared in his own mind, shaking his consciousness into a state of brief chaos and mania.

It was as if he had been countered by the battle intent of a Five Seas Realm magic martial cultivator.

"Five Seas Realm... You are Five Seas..."

Master Qi fell to the ground, clutching his head with both hands, his expression painful, his face as white as paper.

Li Youyi was pondering why this old man called him Five Seas Realm when two strong gusts of wind came to his ears. So he swung his palm and knocked Master Qi unconscious.

"Swish! Swish!"

The two middle-aged men who had previously stood by the window on the third floor of the brothel arrived at high speed; they were guest ministers of the Long Lin Gang, both figures who had opened seven springs.

For tonight's operation, they had no intention of making a move at all, just wanting to have some fun and incidentally help keep watch to prevent anyone from escaping and bringing unnecessary trouble.

Such a small job, with Master Qi's methods, could be done silently, and they could finish in less than a quarter of an hour. It wouldn't alarm the City Defense Battalion, and it wouldn't even alarm the surrounding residents. The next day, everyone would only think that these outsiders had been attacked by fierce insects and died unexpectedly.

No one would investigate, and it wouldn't cause any waves.

Master Qi fed the insects, and they also got the money; everyone was happy.

But now, the commotion was too big. Just in this brothel alone, many people were already looking over as if watching a show.

If they didn't solve it, the people from the City Defense Battalion would likely arrive.

Just by listening to the sound of the two moving rapidly, Li Youyi judged their cultivation level, his heart tightening, and he gathered his full attention.

Two peak Gushing Spring Realm cultivators who had opened seven springs?

One against two?

The last time he was able to single-handedly kill Fang Tong, who had opened seven springs, it was by borrowing the powerful Evil Camel Bell and the black iron seal. But at this moment, he didn't know how many eyes were watching, so he didn't dare to be too flashy.

As for the Ghost Flag and the Huang Long sword...

The power of these two items looked like low-grade magic tools, so even if exposed, the impact would be limited.

After all, who among those who have stepped into the Five Seas Realm doesn't have one or two low-grade magic tools?

The middle-aged man with the black mole between his eyebrows rushed in from the main gate, his speed like an afterimage. He threw a punch, the air caved in forward, and then exploded with a loud bang.

The fist force was domineering, like a cannonball.

Li Youyi took this punch head-on, his body flying backward, and he swung his sword to slash at the other seven-spring expert with thick whiskers who had climbed over the wall and was preparing to attack Zhao Meng and the others.

Both of these men had combat wisdom and were not brutes who only knew how to act recklessly.

One was pinning him down from the front, and one wanted to capture his companions, making him unable to attend to both ends; this way, it would be much easier to deal with him.

Since Li Youyi saw through it, he naturally played along, preparing to take this opportunity to first severely injure one of them, so as to avoid being attacked from both sides while fighting one against two.

Therefore, he used all his strength for this sword strike against the thick-whiskered seven-spring expert, drawing an arc-shaped sword mark in the darkness.

The thick-whiskered seven-spring expert never expected Li Youyi to come so fast, and his heart was greatly shocked.

But after all, he was a person who had been immersed in martial arts for nearly sixty years, and his mentality was extremely stable. Even at this life-and-death juncture, he could respond calmly.

The curved short blade in his hand swung out, intersecting with the blade of the Huang Long sword.

"Sss, sss!"

Sparks flew, and the friction was ear-piercing.

The two separated in an instant.

Li Youyi landed in front of the door of the house where Zhao Meng and the others were, looked at the blood sliding off the blade of the Huang Long sword in his hand, and then looked at the thick-whiskered seven-spring expert rolling to the bottom of the steps, a look of disappointment appearing in his eyes.

Just a little bit more.

The middle-aged man with the black mole between his eyebrows chased after him, and Li Youyi had lost the chance to strike another blow.

With his current cultivation, even with the help of magic tools, and even when caught off guard, wanting to kill a seven-spring martial cultivator with one sword strike was still as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The thick-whiskered seven-spring expert quickly stood up, touched his neck, and his hands were full of blood.

He looked at the curved short blade in his hand, and a deep notch had appeared on the blade.

One must know, this was not an ordinary weapon, but an extremely dense heavy weapon. Even for a magic tool to damage an extremely dense heavy weapon, it was by no means an easy task.

This target is a bit thorny!

The two looked at each other and attacked simultaneously from left and right.

They were not attacking Li Youyi, but the building behind him.

The more the opponent wanted to protect something, the more they wanted to attack it.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 49 =====