Chapter 158: Battle Of The Third-order
The feral beast egg before him appeared to be filled with spiritual energy and vitality, unlike ordinary things.
The Fierce Insect Cauldron trembled slightly, and Su Yan’s expression changed, his reaction immediate.
“Insect beast egg.”
His face lit up with joy. Anything that could cause the Fierce Insect Cauldron to react couldn’t be an ordinary feral beast, only an insect beast.
He directly took down the purple-striped insect egg and placed it into the Insect Realm Space.
“Boom!”
The entire cave and underground dwelling shook, as if the earth dragon had turned over, and a powerful aura immediately descended.
Su Yan’s body sank, his face suddenly changed: “Third-order Calamity Beast!”
“Who dares to interfere with my arrangements!”
A terrifying roar echoed from the depths of the cave. Without looking back, Su Yan immediately mounted the Blood Fiend Mother Worm and flew towards the outside of the cave.
Large pieces of stalactites continuously fell, and a sharp spike pierced the ground, tearing through the cave walls.
Countless Claw Cave Beasts surged out, and Blood Claw Bats also emerged from the underground.
Neither the rogue cultivators who ventured deep into the caves nor the Nine Peaks Sect disciples had ever imagined that this cave would contain so many terrifying feral beasts.
In just an instant, more than half were killed or injured.
The remaining ones, such as Zhang Xingqiu, Lin Zifeng, Yuan Fan, and others, were slightly stronger. They barely broke through the dense pack of feral beasts and fled with all their might towards the outside of the cave.
“It’s a trap! This Calamity Beast wants to lure martial artists to feed on!”
Zhang Xingqiu’s expression was particularly grim. He said in a deep voice after killing a second-order Claw Cave Beast with his Alligator Dragon, “It’s useless to say more. This Earth Vein has long been controlled by this beast. Its exposure now is likely intended to be a catalyst, using blood food for sacrifice. I wonder if the Li family brothers have disrupted its plans.”
Lin Zifeng’s long sword slashed out a net of swords, cutting down the feral beasts in front of him.
Among the continuously surging feral beasts, the second-order ones were the vanguard, but there were more first-order feral beasts, which gave them a chance to breathe.
“Let’s break out together. Whoever disrupted its plans will bear the brunt of its attacks. What does that have to do with us?”
Yuan Fan merged with the Beast Spirit Giant Clawed Green Bear, holding a short axe. He was about ten feet tall and swept out a large open space, pushing back all the feral beasts.
“This way!”
Zhang Xingqiu and Lin Zifeng roared “Combine!” and also merged with their Beast Spirit True Intents. The three of them took the lead, guiding a group of disciples towards the outer passage.
Just as Yuan Fan said, on Su Yan’s side, black spikes were continuously piercing the stone walls behind him, attacking his body.
“Clang!”
The Gold-Eating Demon Insect attached itself to him, its Jade Armor completely covering him. At the same time, all its insect patterns opened, deflecting the force of the attacks.
Even so, with each blow, the insect patterns would almost shatter.
Su Yan continued to dodge, relying on his strong physical body to barely evade the attacks.
“It’s locking onto my position…”
Su Yan ran fast enough to leave the cave in an instant, but his general location was exposed. Being chased by these continuously attacking spikes was the beast’s method.
He had to escape quickly. The increasingly approaching spikes, their increasing numbers and fierce attacks, indicated that the thing was getting closer.
The Blood Fiend Mother Worm flew rapidly and arrived at a corner of the cave where they had come from.
‘After this corner, there are two more sections of road before the crevice.’
“I’ve been waiting for you!”
The ground beneath cracked, and large stone slabs shattered. A pitch-black shadow pierced through, heading straight for Su Yan.
Poison Dragon Golden Body!
Su Yan made a decisive move, activating all his defenses, including the Heavenly Python Dharma Body and the Poison Dragon Golden Body.
A muffled thud.
The black shadow pierced through the Blood Fiend Mother Worm’s body and struck his own.
This blow sent him flying backward. The protective layer of his Jade Armor was breached, his inner armor snapped, and it was only with the enhancement of his Insect Bone Armor Body, Heavenly Python Dharma Body, and Poison Dragon Golden Body that he barely managed to defend against it.
Cracks spread across his entire armor. Su Yan felt as if all his bones had been shattered.
“Third-order!”
Su Yan knew this blow came from a third-order strength. His gaze deepened, and he saw four pairs of scarlet eyes locking onto him from the depths of the ground fissure.
“Hiss, hiss.”
Pitch-black threads shot out, following the cracks and heading straight for Su Yan’s body.
Su Yan recalled the severely wounded Blood Fiend Mother Worm. The Gengjin Blade of the Gold-Eating Demon Insect flashed, severing these threads.
“Huh? A genius from the Beast King Sect. It wouldn’t hurt to taste.”
A cold voice came, and more threads attacked.
Su Yan’s body retreated explosively, and the Blood Slaughter Hand directly struck the cave wall.
The already loosened large rocks fell, blocking the threads.
He used this opportunity to continuously retreat while throwing out a Spirit Sealing Talisman.
In an instant, the Vine Mountain Ghoul appeared. With Su Yan’s full activation and at the cost of its own destruction, its vines spread throughout the entire cave space almost instantly.
“Break out!”
Su Yan summoned tens of thousands of Blood Bees, dividing them into four or five groups that flew towards various forking paths, their buzzing sounds masking the noise.
Then, the Six-Winged Blood Centipede and the Star Moon Centipede True Intent appeared, drilling fiercely into the rock face above.
Rumble.
The third-order Calamity Beast was bombarding the rock face, and its true body, hidden within the Earth Vein, was rushing towards this location.
The Vine Mountain Ghoul’s vines embedded themselves around the rock face, reinforcing this moderately sized cave space.
Meanwhile, the escaping Blood Bees diverted some of the Calamity Beast’s attention.
Su Yan used this opportunity to continuously break through the rock face.
Five meters, ten meters, twenty meters…
The Six-Winged Blood Centipede and the Star Moon Centipede, like two drills, burrowed through the rock. The falling stones and soil piled up into small mountains.
Rumble.
With another attack, the pitch-black spike broke through the cave wall, and a black light surged forward, piercing the Vine Mountain Ghoul’s body.
A massive dark shadow appeared outside the cave entrance, its scarlet eyes looking at the cave.
“Can you escape?”
Naked mockery, as if looking at prey that could not struggle.
With a whoosh, the Gold-Eating Demon Insect darted out, heading straight for the monster’s face.
It attacked from the rubble, moving extremely fast.
The monster extended a tentacle to block it, but instantly a deep knife mark, reaching to the bone, appeared, oozing dark red blood.
The Gold-Eating Demon Insect retreated after one strike. The monster, enraged, attacked, but the Flame Armored Scorpion, clinging to the cave ceiling, hung upside down and suddenly spewed out billowing demonic fire.
The demonic fire instantly filled the entire space. As the monster’s tentacles and threads probed into it, they sizzled and immediately retracted.
This Calamity Beast had lived underground for a long time and was afraid of firelight.
It worked!
A beam of light shone in. When the last clump of earth was dug out, the Six-Winged Blood Centipede, carrying Su Yan, broke through the soil.
This cave had been torn open before, so it was indeed not deep, only tens of meters. Now that it was dug through, Su Yan immediately rushed out.
“Damn it!”
How could the Calamity Beast still care about its instinct to fear fire? It mobilized the Earth Vein, causing rumbling tremors that buried the collapsing stone walls and soil, extinguishing the demonic fire.
Its countless tentacles attacked, breaking through the ground, trying to grab Su Yan.
But the Six-Winged Blood Centipede had already carried Su Yan into the air. Hanging the Flame Armored Scorpion, they plunged into the forest.
Su Yan didn’t look back and darted through the forest for about a mile or two. The monster couldn’t catch up.
Suddenly, he heard a shout from the sky: “How dare the Hundred Touch Shadow Spider set a trap here to harm my disciples!”
Su Yan turned to look. A giant golden ape, a hundred meters tall, with a body that shifted between reality and illusion, unleashed a world-shattering punch, striking the previous location.
Hundreds of thousands of tentacles, carrying a curtain of shadow, formed a shield, blocking the attack.
A pitch-black spider beast, hidden in the shadows, finally emerged, its scarlet eyes full of coldness.
“Huang Meng Mountain was originally my territory. You have the nerve to come here? If you have the ability, go to Wang Mountain and grab it. Why come here?”
Yu Xuanfeng’s body was within the Camel Mountain Ape True Intent, his feet on a heavy sword. He snorted, “Wang Mountain has Dharma Aspect True Persons to deal with. This remote corner of a mountain is enough for me, Yu Xuanfeng, to flatten. Take this.”
“What big talk! Mountain Entangling Python, Sunset-Eating Deer, why aren’t you attacking?!”
With a beast roar, a small beast tide erupted from Tianbao Mountain and Qi Jin Mountain, which were connected to Huang Meng Mountain. Two third-order Calamity Beasts appeared and rushed directly towards Yu Xuanfeng.
Yu Xuanfeng’s expression darkened. He released his Contracted Beast, the Mountain-Moving Ape, to intercept the massive Mountain Entangling Python.
However, the giant deer, clad in colorful attire with horns that shone with sunset light, had already attacked, unleashing a hundred beams of light like arrows.
Yu Xuanfeng formed a seal with his hands and struck with the Camel Mountain Ape True Intent. True Essence surged, and a golden seal crushed the beams of light, knocking them down.
Fighting two against one, they battled fiercely.
Yu Xuanfeng was suppressed by the two beasts and roared, “Nine Peaks Sect members, are you still trying to profit as a third party?”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
A leisurely male voice came. In the forest, a Jade Armor Giant Elephant rose from the ground, also a manifested True Intent.
An old man in a green robe sat on the head of the Jade Armor Giant Elephant, holding a Green Sword. He raised his eyes and said, “Yu Xuanfeng, the old rules, right? Whoever defeats one beast first gets an extra mountain.”
“Hmph, you’re quite calculating.”
Half of the Beast King Sect’s abilities lie in their contracted beasts.
Now that Yu Xuanfeng’s contracted beast was tied up with the Mountain Entangling Python, it was somewhat equivalent to fighting two against one.
However, he was not afraid: “Agreed.”
The two of them and the three third-order Calamity Beasts fought fiercely. The surging True Essence could be clearly felt for hundreds of meters around.
Su Yan had already retreated about a mile or two away, but from afar, he could still see the terrifying battle.
‘If that beast hadn’t underestimated me and was willing to go all out, I might not have been able to escape…’
His heart sank, and he looked deeply at the fierce battle between the Dan Qiao Realm martial artist and the Calamity Beast.
He turned and concealed his insect armor, controlling the Six-Winged Blood Centipede to head directly towards the camp.
Not a small number of disciples were returning with him. Only the disciples of the Mountain Guard and the Enforcement Team, in squads, were heading into the mountains, occupying strategic points, blocking paths, and suppressing the beast tide caused by the Calamity Beast.
Disciples with assigned posts were different from newly recruited disciples. Newly recruited disciples focused on cultivation, and some missions easily earned contribution points.
But after a few years of entry-level cultivation and a significant increase in the need for resources, they would each seek an assigned post within the sect.
The Mountain Guard, Enforcement Team, stewards, and so on were all like this.
Once assigned a post, there was no retreat.
Su Yan arrived at the camp, which was already guarded by disciples of the Mountain Guard.
“The three-mountain land reclamation incident has occurred, with Calamity Beasts causing trouble. Newly recruited disciples may return to the sect within one day. Second-year disciples are to wait in the camp. Disciples in their third year or above are to await orders at any time.”
The disciples of the Enforcement Team sternly informed every entering disciple.
After verifying his identity, Su Yan was also informed that a Green Horned Giant Eagle would arrive at the Relay Station soon to pick him up.
Disciples of all years were also divided and sent to various locations to await orders.
The second-year disciples and those in their third year or above, although unable to leave, did not appear overly tense.
He passed by several senior brothers and sisters and overheard their conversation.
“Killing the Calamity Beast will speed up the land reclamation progress. I just don’t know how many of the three mountains we can secure. If the Nine Peaks Sect gets ahead, there will be no shortage of disputes later.”
“True Person Yu is a Dan Qiao Realm martial artist from Fuyue Peak, with a solid foundation. He should be fine…”
Su Yan walked through the crowd and arrived at the dormitory area. He opened the door to the room he had previously booked and saw Lin Junhao and a few others already there.
Bai Yun was also among them, and Su Yan felt a slight sense of relief.
“You’re finally here. We were worried you wouldn’t know the news while in the forest.”
Lin Junhao stood up upon seeing Su Yan, also appearing relieved.
“When did you guys get back?”
“The Nine Peaks Sect made a move to compete for land reclamation. The senior brothers of the Mountain Guard informed us after entering the mountain. We three fought and killed three people, one of whom was a rogue cultivator. However, during the fight, only Zheng Yan and Bai Yun showed no fear.”
Lin Junhao sighed, “The gap between us is still too large. We might as well retreat and gain experience later.”
In Yun Cang Town, they were all geniuses, but here, genius was just the threshold.
Martial skills, combat, cultivation manuals, bone structure, and so on – none of them were outstanding enough.
Bai Yun had a good bone structure and the opportunity to enter Hundred Tiger Peak, so her combat skills were naturally not lacking.
Zheng Yan came from a slaughterhouse and had killed countless feral beasts, possessing a similar mindset.
Of course, Lin Junhao and the others were not bad for knowing when to retreat.
“I’m similar to you. I’ll go back with you later.”
They each shared their situations. Su Yan selectively recounted his experience, omitting the encounter with the Hundred Touch Shadow Spider in the cave, only mentioning being ambushed by Nine Peaks Sect disciples, fighting back, and escaping.
Although they retreated earlier, Lin Junhao and the others had largely completed their missions and reaped considerable rewards.
They had some minor injuries, so they began to heal, and no one spoke.
About half a day later, someone from the Sect Affairs Pavilion in the camp delivered a message.
The Green Horned Giant Eagle had arrived.
Everyone packed their belongings, settled their accounts with contribution points, and took the Green Horned Giant Eagle back to the Beast King Sect.
Su Yan sat on the Green Horned Giant Eagle, the whistling wind passing by him.
He immersed his mind, constantly reflecting.
‘After exchanging the items for contribution points this time, I’ll go to the Pill Refining Pavilion first and refine a batch of Beast Essence Pills and Blood Essence Condensing Pills to improve my strength as much as possible. The strength of the four fierce insects is indeed still a bit lacking…’
He couldn’t do anything about being unable to fight a third-order Calamity Beast, but he still had too few means of self-preservation.
The Insect Bone Armor Body depended on the enhancement of Insect Yuan. It would be best to refine more powerful fierce insects to strengthen this characteristic.
Then, he needed to push the Insect Master’s rank up further.
Over these past few months, as the strength of the four fierce insects continuously improved, the Insect Master’s experience also kept increasing.
【Second-order Insect Master 801/1000】
“Only less than two hundred experience points are needed. If the Gold-Eating Demon Insect, Flame Armored Scorpion, and Blood Fiend Mother Worm each level up, and if I hatch and contract that egg that suppressed the Earth Vein, it should be enough?”
“However, could that insect egg be the offspring of the Hundred Touch Shadow Spider?”
“However, those insect eggs wouldn’t be the offspring of a Hundred Touch Shadow Spider, would they?”
