Chapter 269: Unifying The Yanwu Mountain Range
Wu Nan gained the bloodline of the Flame Armored Scorpion, and now his demonic fire is exceedingly ferocious.
He waved his hand and attacked Liao Qiaofeng and Gao Hongzhong. The flames churned and twisted, condensing into ferocious fire crows that cried out. A scorching wave of fire surged forward, their beaks opening wide to snatch at the two men’s faces.
The two men’s skin turned red from the heat of the demonic fire. They immediately attached their true intent, attempting to isolate the demonic fire.
Liao Qiaofeng’s true intent was also wreathed in crimson flames, manifesting as a Flame Giant Deer that raised its head to swallow the demonic fire.
Gao Hongzhong was an Iron Feathered Eagle that flapped its iron wings, about to break through the flames.
However, both of them clearly underestimated the power of this demonic fire.
The Flame Giant Deer, upon mere contact, instantly lost its vigor, its flames becoming listless as if it had lost its spirit. Nine-tenths of its ten-tenths strength was directly consumed by the demonic fire.
The Iron Feathered Eagle was covered in flames, and its iron wings were scorched into a thousand holes by the demonic fire.
The two were greatly alarmed and wanted to retreat.
But at this moment, Wu Nan rushed in front of Gao Hongzhong, formed a hand seal, and shouted, “Fire Crow Fierce Curse!”
A curse seal struck Liao Qiaofeng with the speed of lightning.
Sizzling burning sounds charred his skin black.
Liao Qiaofeng was instantly heavily injured and still tried to coil his whip around himself to force Wu Nan back.
Unexpectedly, Wu Nan sneered. The Fire Crow Staff had returned to his hand, and with a fierce strike, bone-cracking sounds echoed, directly knocking Liao Qiaofeng to the ground.
His body fell like a meteorite, flames clinging to him like a persistent leech. With a boom, he shattered the stones on the ground, sending debris flying, and carved a huge crater in the hard ground. Smoke and dust billowed incessantly, the deep pit as large as a fallen star.
At this moment, a pained wail was heard from Na Goru’s direction.
It was Lan Tian Shui’s voice.
Following the sound, Yu Luo merged with the Red Fox, her body encased in black carapace armor, clad in black armor like the Rock Demon Ant Queen.
Her entire body was hidden beneath the insect armor, her white hair flying like silver threads. Her single hand, combined with the Red Fox’s power, transformed into a black and red claw that forcibly extracted Lan Tian Shui’s Golden Core.
“You’re not dead!”
Lan Tian Shui’s face was full of disbelief. They all thought Yu Luo was dead, and that was why the three tribes had devised such a plan to escape.
Yu Luo coldly sneered, “My fate is not to die!”
Behind her, the Red Fox True Intent directly tore Lan Tian Shui apart, blood droplets scattering like rain. They fell on her skin, bringing a warm and bloody sensation.
At this time, Na Goru’s Bone Mountain Bear True Intent also seized Zhu Fang’s Water Leopard True Intent, and its giant, hard bear claws tore its body apart.
Zhu Fang’s True Intent was destroyed, and he instantly suffered a backlash.
Na Goru’s Black Saber slashed down like a pillar supporting the sky, accompanied by fierce winds and malevolent energy forming into a blade. A flash of dark red light passed, and Zhu Fang was split in two.
Yu Luo’s surprise attack caught Lan Tian Shui and Zhu Fang, senior and junior brothers, completely off guard.
At this point, Gao Hongzhong saw that three of his side’s Dan Qiao Realm True Intents had been consecutively heavily injured, and he was in a panic.
He randomly took out a Spirit Sealing Talisman from his collection and immediately hurled it at Wu Nan, pouring a large amount of True Essence into it the moment it left his hand, without holding back.
The Spirit Sealing Talisman shone brightly. Under the convergence and transformation of True Essence, it instantly turned into a Three-headed Eagle, several Zhang tall.
It had three heads and was covered in iron feathers. Its cries were like weeping, and waves of sound scraped like broken glass, or like sharp needles piercing one’s brain.
This sonic attack contained a mind-harming technique, not only causing mental turmoil but also shaking the divine soul. For a time, even Wu Nan was affected, his divine soul stinging and vibrating, rendering him unable to intervene and block it immediately.
Gao Hongzhong seized the opportunity, merging his body with the Iron Feathered Eagle. Its several Zhang wings flapped, obscuring the sky and stirring up endless air currents, propelling him away from this place.
“Trying to leave?!”
Yu Luo glanced coldly, a cold smile appearing on her aged face.
Her mind and spirit merged, and a Red Fox phantom appeared behind her. Its scarlet eyes seemed to overlap with her own pupils, and a powerful mental attack swept out like crashing waves, instantly breaking through the sonic attack.
Under the bloodline of the Rock Demon Ant Queen, the mental attack of the Red Fox True Intent had become several times stronger.
The Three-headed Eagle’s sonic attack dispersed, and its body was even incinerated by the demonic fire stirred up by Wu Nan, reverting into the form of a Spirit Sealing Talisman.
Gao Hongzhong dared not look back, only madly increasing his speed, wanting to escape this place. However, at this moment, he suddenly realized in mid-air that the sky was covered by blood-red clouds and mist, buzzing with sound. Upon closer inspection, it was a dense swarm of bees. The blood-red color filled the sky, malevolent energy circulating. A swarm of bees had already surrounded him.
He was about to charge out when, unexpectedly, clusters of malevolent energy suddenly appeared, continuously eroding his True Essence.
He swung his hand to cut the insects, but the malevolent energy only increased, corroding his protective Iron Feathered Eagle True Intent into a state of being riddled with holes.
At this time, Yu Luo, Wu Nan, and Na Goru arrived together. Gao Hongzhong panicked and was about to beg for mercy, but Yu Luo had already swung a blade, instantly severing his head.
On the ground, disciples of the three tribes were sieging the disciples of the Tianshui Sect. Tens of thousands of Blood Bees, Fiend Bees, and Rock Demon Ants had joined the battle.
The Sect Master was defeated, and the team was in disarray.
Some people tried to organize a counter-attack, but in the darkness just before dawn, they couldn’t even find their opponents.
After the Fire Crow attack, they had already lost most of their torches. Now that the Fire Crows were gone, it was pitch black, making it even harder to cope.
Led by Ling Yuer, Wuli Ke, and four other bloodline martial artists from the three tribes, they entered the ranks of the three major sects as if cutting through tofu, their charge shattering the formations.
The sky was filled with Blood Bees and Fiend Bees, buzzing as they attacked in the night, piercing the flesh and blood of the three major sect martial artists.
The Rock Demon Ants on the ground were like armored iron troops, constantly infiltrating and attacking, suppressing the martial artists’ counter-attacks.
Even martial artists of the True Intent Fourth Realm found it extremely difficult to break through.
Among the Rock Demon Ants, Rock Demon Ant Generals blocked their path like guardian deities.
Ling Yuer and the other three specifically targeted any True Intent Realm martial artists, launching attacks and defeating them directly.
These four were all martial artists possessing Fierce Insect bloodlines. With the boost of their insect armor, their strength was greatly increased, making them even harder to deal with.
Within half an hour, the battle subsided. All disciples of the Tianshui Sect, Huoyun Sect, and Tieying Sect were huddled on the ground.
Their hands were all bound, and their bodies were covered in injuries, large and small.
Yu Luo, Shan Nan, and Na Goru, seeing the battle won, did not dare to be careless.
Yu Luo instructed, “Ling Yuer, lead the warriors of the Red Fox tribe to the Tianshui Sect’s encampment and capture everyone remaining.”
“Yes.”
“Na Hu, go to the Tieying Sect. Wu Yun, go to the Huoyun Sect. Wuli Ke, take another team to blockade the Yanwu Mountain Range and search for their other outposts.”
“Yes.”
After everything was arranged, it was already dawn.
Yu Luo and the other two, carrying the three corpses of Lan Tian Shui, came outside the tent to pay their respects to Su Yan.
“You did well. Hong Yue will arrange the rest.”
Su Yan nodded and waved his hand, taking the Golden Cores of the three Dan Qiao Realm martial artists and storing them in the Myriad Insect Prison Suppressing Tower.
Although the three Golden Cores were only at the second or third-grade level, they were better than nothing.
The Dan Qiao Realm martial artists previously imprisoned in the Myriad Insect Prison Suppressing Tower had all been drained dry; their True Essence and Qi and Blood had all become Su Yan’s nourishment.
Su Yan was now planning a breakthrough and naturally needed more resources.
The three felt slightly more at ease after receiving Su Yan’s nod.
For the next few days, the tribesmen of the three tribes went out in full force to encircle and suppress unstable elements within the Yanwu Mountain Range.
Not only the Tianshui Sect, but also some minor sects and tribes that were disobedient or too close to Goat Horn Mountain were either driven away or indirectly controlled.
How could one tolerate others sleeping next to their own bed?
Let alone the significant matter of the three tribes joining the Sacred Insect Dao.
Naturally, they would be as secretive as possible, accumulating strength until the time to soar, when they would no longer need to hide.
Nangong Hong Yue presided over the overall situation, while Yang Kun and Wang Cang, along with over a thousand Sacred Insect Dao martial artists, were responsible for execution, all entering the Yanwu Mountain Range.
By the time the Small Secret Realm opened, a total of three thousand captured martial artists from the Tianshui Sect, Huoyun Sect, and Tieying Sect, including official disciples and servants.
Among the three thousand, all True Intent Realm individuals had the Blood Marrow Worm planted in them by Nangong Hong Yue and the others, controlling their life and death.
The remaining ordinary martial artists, though not implanted with the Blood Marrow Worm, had all consumed pills refined from Blood Bee Larvae.
Under normal circumstances, they would be fine, but if anyone activated the Blood Bees to hatch, they would die within a short period with their intestines and stomach rotten.
Under such control, the three thousand martial artists dared not resist, and all were imprisoned in the Small Secret Realm to become slaves.
The Small Secret Realm had undergone earth-shattering changes.
The Small Secret Realm was about one-third the size of the Yanwu Mountain Range, totaling over three hundred square kilometers. After months of development, the areas around the mountains were medicine fields, the plains were planted with a nearly dark red Dragon Tooth Rice, and the deep pools in the mountain valleys had been transformed into pastures by Yang Kun and others.
With planting, beast raising, medicine production, and formation masters setting up spirit gathering formations, the Small Secret Realm had become a nascent, complete ecological cycle.
Upon re-entering, Su Yan could clearly feel that the vitality and spiritual energy within the Small Secret Realm were more vigorous than before.
Even such a small Secret Realm, as long as it could continuously generate resources, would be worth at least two to three million Origin Stones annually.
Originally, the Small Secret Realm was short-handed, with much of the wasteland yet to be fully developed, and the raised feral beasts could not be let loose.
But now, with the addition of slaves from the Tianshui Sect and other three sects, the development speed could undoubtedly be increased severalfold.
Nangong Hong Yue divided the tens of thousands of Blood Bees bestowed by Su Yan into two parts. One part was raised in the Small Secret Realm, feeding on specially bred wild beasts that provided blood, such as Horned Boars and Yellow Horned Bulls, to produce enough Blood Crystals as materials for pills.
When the Blood Bees were free-ranging, scattered throughout, they also served as a means to monitor the slaves’ condition and prevent rebellion.
The other half was placed in the Yanwu Mountain Range, raised alongside the Rock Demon Ant swarms, constantly infiltrating the depths of the Yanwu Mountain Range and constructing an unbreakable defense.
This part was primarily the responsibility of Na Goru, Yu Luo, and others.
The entire Yanwu Mountain Range was so vast; the Sacred Insect Dao would not let it go.
…
“Lord, the information you requested has been investigated.”
Yang Kun knelt before Su Yan, a joyous expression on his face.
“Speak.”
Su Yan’s eyes brightened. Yang Kun immediately said, “Yesterday, the Ancestor of the Blazing Flame Cave tribe, Yan Xi, used his ultimate move, a Third-order Late Stage Blazing Purple Scorpion, to kill a Dan Qiao Elder of the Sword One Sect.”
Su Yan sat up slightly, a look of joy appearing on his face. He had been searching for the Blazing Purple Scorpion for a long time, and unexpectedly, it was here.
He asked, “Where is the Blazing Flame Cave’s team, and what is Yan Xi’s situation?”
“The one Yan Xi defeated was Golden Peng City, a heavily fortified city outside Cangsong Peak, containing several Third-order Spirit Mines. The Blazing Flame Cave’s team is currently there. As for Ancestor Yan Xi, he has a cultivation of Third Heaven, and the most troublesome thing is that he is not the only one in Golden Peng City.”
Yang Kun had investigated all the information he could and told Su Yan one by one, “Wu Tianxing and Wu Laoyan of the Silkworm Cave, Blood Banner Ancestor, and Shu Xi, along with other Dan Qiao True Persons, are in the city. It is probably inconvenient to act.”
Several Dan Qiao Realm experts, coupled with the advantage of formations, made it difficult for even Su Yan to force his way in.
Those low-level martial artists were not decorations; once they controlled the formations, even Dan Qiao Realm experts could be trapped within.
Yang Kun said cautiously, “Our influence in Golden Peng City is not strong, but if we can think of a way, perhaps we can lure Yan Xi out…”
Su Yan shook his head. “You want a single Dan Qiao expert to act alone right after breaking the city? That’s quite difficult. I’ll think of a way.”
He adjusted himself slightly and then said, “Go call Nangong Hong Yue.”
“Yes.”
Not long after Yang Kun left, Nangong Hong Yue arrived in Su Yan’s room.
“Lord summoned me?”
Nangong Hong Yue stood before Su Yan, her expression full of curiosity.
“The people from Silkworm Cave have also moved, and they are in Golden Peng City. Wu Tianxing is among them.”
Nangong Hong Yue’s body trembled, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes. Her black long dress fluttered as if by wind, her aura uncontrollably surging.
But after a moment, her aura was completely contained.
“Now is not the time to deal with that old thing.”
She gritted her teeth, her heart filled with surging hatred.
She was from the Silkworm Cave lineage, the daughter of the former Cave Master Nangong Ying. Unexpectedly, Wu Tianxing, that old scoundrel, had stolen Nangong Ying’s Five Poisons Heart Casting Gu to break through, nurtured his own Gu worms, cultivated a tyrannical Five Poisons Body, and seized the position of Cave Master.
The revenge for her mother’s death was irreconcilable.
However, Nangong Hong Yue restrained herself now.
“Wu Tianxing was a Third Heaven martial artist several years ago. Even if he hasn’t entered All Stars Heaven now, he’s probably not far off. Golden Peng City is a vital stronghold. The fact that they could capture it indicates they have a considerable number of soldiers, and there are other Dan Qiao experts. Even if you were willing to help me, it would likely be extremely risky.”
Although she desperately wanted revenge, she did not want Su Yan to take risks.
Su Yan raised his eyes slightly, a smile appearing. “No, his presence is precisely the right time to act. I want to kill Yan Xi, and I’ll take care of Wu Tianxing as well. What do you think?”
Her eyes lit up, flowing like autumn water, her pretty face filled with joyous surprise. “You, you’re willing to help me?”
“Yes,” Su Yan nodded. “This matter requires your effort. Prepare yourself and go with me to Golden Peng City.”
