Chapter 129

Xiashanhu! Facing the unruly man before him, eyes flashing with murderous light, Chen Zheng's face sank as he stepped in front of Dong Yumin.

"Three years have passed, and we actually meet again. Three years ago, you had me trampled underfoot in front of everyone. It forced me to flee to that godforsaken South Africa where birds don't even poop. Three years ago, Chen Zheng, did you ever imagine today would come? Haha!" Xiashanhu burst into wild laughter, his laughter filled with hatred for Chen Zheng, wanting to flay him and strip his bones.

When Xiashanhu and his group appeared, that strange flying sword actually ceased its attack, hovering motionless in midair behind Xiashanhu. This abnormal phenomenon indicated a situation: the owner of the flying sword is allied with Xiashanhu.

"Xiashanhu, the one who has a grudge with your older brother is me, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. If you want revenge, come at me alone, don't drag others into it." Fan Wuchang staggered forward to stand before everyone, staring directly at Xiashanhu.

"Haha, what revenge? I'm thrilled that Dongbeihu that coward died. I'm not idle enough to waste my balls avenging him. Get lost!" Xiashanhu suddenly attacked, kicking Fan Wuchang, then glaring at Chen Zheng he snarled: "You know what I want."

His unruly tone seemed utterly indifferent to his older brother's life or death, even wishing his own biological brother would die.

Chen Zheng fell silent for a moment, and under Xiashanhu's fervent gaze he said in a low voice: "I don't know what you want."

"Hmph, stop pretending ignorance, that thing is in your hand." Xiashanhu coldly threatened Chen Zheng: "I advise you this: if you want to live, if you want the lives of those around you, then hand over that thing. With your abilities as the Southern Heavenly King, you're not even qualified to possess that thing."

Chen Zheng remained silent for a long time, a hint of hesitation flickering in his cold, desolate eyes.

The atmosphere fell into a stalemate like this. Although we don't know what Dongbeihu wants, the fact that he's willing to take such a huge risk and mobilize so many resources to seize it means it's certainly not an ordinary thing; perhaps it's worth a fortune, or perhaps it possesses terrifying destructive power.

Chen Zheng was hesitating; yes, he was hesitating.

Although he isn't afraid of death, he also doesn't want to implicate us—Fan Wuchang, Dong Yumin, and the rest of us are the reasons for Chen Zheng's hesitation.

"Well... I'll take you there." After the silence, Chen Zheng suddenly spoke.

"No......"

"No......"

"No......"

Three "nos" appeared in a row, each from a different person's mouth. The first was Chen Zheng's wife Dong Yumin, the second Fan Wuchang, and the third, surprisingly, Silijing.

"I think we shouldn't yield to villains, especially this guy—I just find him disgusting the moment I see him." Silijing helped Pangzi up, casting a disgusted glance at Xiashanhu.

I: "......" This reason is truly... truly sufficient; what on earth is going on in a woman's mind?

After Chen Zheng agreed to Xiashanhu's demand, Fan Wuchang hastily turned around, anxiously looking at Chen Zheng, and said: "Brother Zheng, you can't give that thing to him, otherwise sister-in-law will..."

Chen Zheng waved his hand: "I've already decided on this; you don't need to say more."

Immediately, Chen Zheng stared at Xiashanhu and said calmly: "The thing isn't on me; I can go with you to get it, but the precondition is that I must see everyone leave safely."

"Haha, refreshing..." Xiashanhu slapped his thigh, laughed wildly, then suddenly turned calm, as changeable as June weather; he gave everyone a gloomy look, threatening Chen Zheng with a hint of coldness: "I agree to your demand, but you must never play tricks with me. Otherwise, I will eventually hunt them down one by one, flay them and pull out their tendons."

"You... you bastard, bullying others too much!" Fan Wuchang choked with anger, his eyes reddening, he drew his blade intending to stab Xiashanhu straight.

With a clatter, all gun barrels pointed at Fan Wuchang. Fan Wuchang is ultimately human, not a deity; especially now, severely wounded, he cannot exert his peak strength.

"Heh heh, I advise you not to be foolish; besides, the master's flying sword is already enough to hold you off, you still want to take us on? Dream on! What 'midnight slaughter god'—pfft, you're just this pathetic."

Indeed, that flying sword is indeed allied with Xiashanhu.

Xiashanhu's words have completely confirmed my suspicion.

I furtively pulled out the command flag from my bosom, pondering a countermeasure, but after thinking for a long time, I could only helplessly let my hand drop.

I am also human, not a god; although I know a little Dao art, I have no confidence in saving everyone under so many gun muzzles. Unless I can kill everyone in an instant, otherwise in the next second they will all turn into hornet's nests.

This fantasy is nothing short of a daydream; the scene of raising a hand and stomping a foot, eyes turning into lightning to annihilate enemies, only appears in movies. Reality remains reality; it won't be so exaggerated as to be impractical.

I secretly sighed in my heart and lowered my head in regret; if only I could usually recruit more troops, they would surely be useful now.

Shush—

Just then, I seemed to hear a strange sound, like a snake crawling, like insects screeching; that familiar sense of panic surged up in my heart again involuntarily.

"It feels familiar, but I can't recall it right now."

"Ah... what exactly is this, how disgusting!" Silijing pointed in fright at the rear of Downhill Tiger, then let out another sharp scream, fleeing to hide behind Pangzi.

I looked up, and my already numb, grieving heart sucked in another breath of cold air.

In the wild grass thicket behind Downhill Tiger, countless scorpions crawled out, their backs crimson and tails black-red. At the center of the scorpion swarm, a huge scorpion, entirely crimson yet covered with countless spines, stood at the center of these shoes, with a few ordinary scorpions tightly surrounding it on both sides. Besides having countless spines, this scorpion's back differed from the ordinary crimson of other scorpions, glowing with an eerie, lustrous dark hue.

"Iron-backed Thorn Bug..." Pangzi and I exclaimed involuntarily.

We have seen this scorpion before in the Poison Insect Record; it is definitely a poisonous insect of high rank in that record. Its whole body bears black, vine-like poisonous spines, and these spines are extraordinary—each one is made from the legendary crimson feather of the crane's crown.

The crimson crane's crown is a deadly poison passed down from ancient times, but it is also the name of a legendary bird. This bird feeds exclusively on poisonous creatures, being the nemesis of poison bugs, and its tail feathers possess lethal toxicity. In ancient times, the legendary crimson crane's crown poison was made by refining this very tail feather of the bird.

The original form of the Iron-backed Thorn Bug is none other than the scorpion king, also called the king scorpion, a variant among scorpions. So rare that one might not find a single one among ten thousand. When it is first born, its back is very soft, and its back has an adsorbent power like a swamp; if at that time a crimson crane's crown feather is nearby, its back will automatically absorb that feather, integrating it into its body to become protective thorn spines.

Although ancient texts are not widespread, any observant person can see that human intervention must certainly be involved in this merging process.

Otherwise, where would so many crimson crane's crown feathers come from for the Iron-backed Thorn Bug to absorb?

Moreover, the Iron-backed Thorn Bug's survival odds are minuscule; it is eroded by countless toxins, and even if it finds a king scorpion, it may not survive the merging process. Furthermore, besides needing a crimson crane's crown feather, the king scorpion must devour a poisonous creature each day for nourishment; to claim there is no human factor in this, I absolutely do not believe.

But who has such great skill! To concoct this lost, strange poison?

"Insect Master..." Pangzi and I simultaneously blurted out the thought that suddenly sprang to mind.

Exactly, only those Insect Masters who specialize in taking obscure paths, disregarding cause and effect, would devote themselves to concocting such things.

But... why would these insects appear here? Could it be that they are also companions of Downhill Tiger?

I suddenly thought of Ou Yaofeng, that unfortunate wretch who had intended to molest Yao Yirong but ended up being swallowed by his own Insect King.

"What insects, scorpions—even the heavenly king and his father couldn't save your lives." Downhill Tiger cursed, spraying froth; he glanced at everyone's astonished looks, and involuntarily turned around in doubt.

In the moment he turned, I heard his panicked howl.

"What the hell is this? Quick, shoot them down, hurry, open fire!"

Although I couldn't see Downhill Tiger's expression, from the frequency of his speech I could still sense his panic.

At Downhill Tiger's command, all the gunners immediately turned and decisively opened fire on the poisonous creatures surging over the hills and wilds.

In an instant, gunfire spread across the small hill; the gunners fired without restraint, countless poisonous creatures fell, and black blood spattered.

But this one-sided slaughter did not mean the gunners had won; they not only failed to win, but became the losers.

Countless scorpions were torn apart under the artillery barrage, yet their blood and severed limbs mercilessly claimed the life of a gunner.

Gunners who got blood on them screamed, writhing in pain on the ground—either splattered by the scorpions' blood, or their skin contacted the flying severed limbs.

Even Downhill Tiger, at this moment, covered his eyes, rolling on the ground in agony.

He wasn't splashed by the scorpion's blood, nor did his skin touch the flying severed limbs.

But … he was stabbed in the eye by the feather of that king scorpion, the iron-backed thorn insect.

This is the terror of the iron-backed thorn insect: each of its thorn spines is a deadly weapon, and they can be shot out like arrow feathers at enemies. And once a thorn spine touches you, the only outcome is… death beyond death.

The Downhill Tiger wailed, rolling nonstop on the ground. But in just a breath, he suddenly stopped struggling, and then a purplish-black hue rapidly spread over his body, and even on his heavenly spirit cap a pungent, foul green smoke rose.

This bizarre sight made everyone's scalp tingle; even Chen Zheng, accustomed to great storms, now wore a look of astonishment and disbelief.

"While they're tangled together now, let's hurry and go." Seeing everyone still dazed in surprise, Silijing shoved us hard.

Only then did everyone barely regain their senses; I and Silijing helped up the injured Pangzi, while Yuan Qiu supported Fan Wuchang, and we quickly fled in the opposite direction.

And at that moment, the flying sword that had been hovering in midair suddenly and silently struck at us from behind.

Everyone was focused on fleeing, and no one noticed that flash of cold light.