ragginovel Chapter 88 Insect Swarm
Chapter 88 Insect Swarm
Om-!
Once discovered, the Crystal Ants ceased their lurking and flapped their crystal wings, transforming into a purple storm that swept towards the Demon Flame Sect members!
The cultivator surnamed Zhao's face darkened, and the Burning Heaven Mirror erupted with intense light. The crimson radiance enveloped a large area in front of him as if it were a tangible substance, and the rocks in the cave walls shattered under this terrifying heat.
His disciples behind him also used all their skills, unleashing magical artifacts and spells to smash into the purple swarm of insects.
However, neither the crimson light of the Burning Heaven Mirror nor any other spells had much effect on the purple flying ants.
As for the swords and other magical weapons, after slicing through dozens of flying ants, they were surrounded by the swarming ant colony. In an instant, their spiritual light dimmed, their spirituality was lost, and they turned into scrap metal and fell to the ground.
The ant swarm instantly pounced, densely covering the aura shield erected by everyone, and a series of teeth-grinding gnawing sounds filled the air.
"What the hell is this thing?!"
"Elder, save me!"
The cultivator surnamed Zhao was also pale-faced, feeling the spiritual energy of his protective shield gushing out like a burst dam. He suddenly shouted, "Retreat!"
Before the words were even finished, the Heaven-Burning Mirror suddenly trembled, exploding into a ring of crimson fire. The ring of fire instantly spread, strangely passing through the Demon Flame Sect members and sweeping in all directions!
The purple swarm of insects was forced back more than ten feet by the terrifying ring of fire, and countless crystal ants were blown away like raindrops, crashing onto the rock wall with a crackling sound.
Before the ant swarm could regroup, the cultivator surnamed Zhao transformed into a streak of crimson light, recklessly pushing against the horde of insects behind him as he fled desperately back towards the passage he had come from.
Taking advantage of the ring of fire that gave them a temporary respite, the disciples frantically activated their magical artifacts and fled outwards following the escape light of the cultivator surnamed Zhao.
However, they had already penetrated deep into the ambush zone of the Celestial Crystal Ants, and the passage they had come from was also filled with Celestial Crystal Ants flanking them. Seeing that they could not stop the cultivator surnamed Zhao for the time being, the ant swarm turned around and rushed towards the weaker disciples.
What's even more despairing is that an even more intense buzzing comes from the depths of the cave, as if the queen ant has realized that her prey is troublesome and is mobilizing a larger ant army, which surges in like a purple torrent!
To avoid being accidentally injured by "friendly forces," Lin Jingchu's clone pressed his body against a recessed area at the corner of the passage, with the purple torrent almost brushing past his nose.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao also "saw" the terrifying scene deep within the cave with his divine sense, and his face turned deathly pale. Fortunately, the next moment, he finally broke out of the core area of the Heavenly Crystal Ant ambush.
However, when he extended his consciousness forward to explore the entrance of the cave, his heart sank to the bottom.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao "saw" that the green-robed cultivator from before had appeared outside the waterfall and was quickly setting up a large array.
"Damn brat! How dare you do this!" The cultivator surnamed Zhao's eyes flashed with fierce light. The Burning Heaven Mirror spun rapidly around his body, while shooting out thick beams of red light, frantically bombarding the top of the cave wall behind him. Countless boulders collapsed amidst the roar, blocking the passage.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao flew and bombarded the cave entrance as he flew, until he reached it. He ruthlessly destroyed the entire seven- or eight-mile-long passage.
Inside the cave, the Foundation Establishment disciples who were fleeing for their lives also heard the loud rumbling of a collapse ahead, but they could only desperately continue to fly forward.
"Ah—!" The disciple at the very back of the group ran out of spiritual power, his shield disappeared, and he was instantly submerged by the purple tide. He only had time to let out a short scream before turning into a skeleton and falling to the ground.
At this moment, the original team of more than ten people has dwindled to only four. Among them, a disciple in the late Foundation Establishment stage activated a talisman, which transformed into a golden bowl to protect himself.
The sinister-looking man was engulfed in raging, greyish-white flames. This fire, known as the "Bone-Corroding Yin Fire," was extremely difficult to cultivate, and its characteristic was that it corrupted the spiritual essence of magical artifacts.
At this moment, although the Yin Fire could not cause much harm to the Heavenly Crystal Ants, the ant colony seemed to be extremely disgusted by the aura of the fire and was unwilling to get too close.
The remaining two Foundation Establishment stage disciples also survived thanks to the protection of this fire.
However, when they desperately rushed to the middle of the cave, they found the passage completely collapsed and blocked by the cultivator surnamed Zhao. With no way forward and pursuers behind, the despair was almost suffocating.
Fortunately, due to the Zhao family cultivator's frantic bombardment, a thin crack appeared on one side of the rock wall, and another passage could be vaguely seen on the other side of the crack.
Ignoring the possibility of triggering another landslide, the four of them simultaneously unleashed their magical weapons to attack the narrow crevice, attempting to create an opening.
Because behind them, the purple flying ants had already devoured the other lagging disciples, and like an insatiable tide, they surged forward again!
With a loud bang, the crevice was blasted open, creating a gap large enough for one person to pass through.
The four rushed in, but a sense of suffocating despair immediately enveloped them—as if welcoming them, faint purple light suddenly appeared on the rock walls of the passage, which were also covered with crystal ants!
The ant swarm attacked from both sides, instantly enveloping the four people in purple cocoons.
Seeing the purple flying ants crawling and munching on his spirit shield filled with yin fire, the sinister man raised his hand and instantly withdrew the yin fire that was protecting one of his junior brothers.
The ant colony decisively shifted its target, allowing the sinister man and the other two to flee for their lives without looking back.
……
Outside the waterfall, water splashed and a crimson beam of light shot out, revealing the figure of the cultivator surnamed Zhao. His face was gloomy, and the large amount of mana he had consumed made his aura somewhat unstable, but his gaze remained sharp and fierce.
He looked around, and everything seemed ordinary, but he knew he was trapped in a formation space.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao snorted coldly, "You think you can trap me with a simplified Inverted Five Elements Formation?"
Unlike his previous disciples who had rushed about recklessly, he hovered in mid-air, his hands forming hand seals, and his magical power surged forth. The surface of the Burning Heaven Mirror above his head shone brightly, and a crimson beam of light, a full ten feet thick, shot out with a thunderous roar.
The beam of light swept wildly across the ground, water, and waterfall walls below like a giant plow. Rock fragments flew everywhere, and large swaths of river water were instantly evaporated, creating a cloud of white mist.
The beam of light swept across the room only a few times before being firmly blocked by the suddenly brightened, solidified, multicolored glow.
The array's core has been found! But the cultivator surnamed Zhao's heart sank to the bottom. The strength of this array's protective shield and the solidity of its spiritual light are incomparable to the previous one; its power is at least a quarter of the original array.
It would take him an unknown amount of time to force his way through alone. And although he had blasted the cavern down, it was still uncertain whether it could stop the terrifying purple flying ants.
His eyes flashed rapidly, and he suddenly stopped his attack, dispersing the beam of light from the Heaven-Burning Mirror. He spoke loudly, his voice echoing within the array space:
"Young friend from the Spirit Control Sect, we are both from the six sects of the Demonic Path, why must we fight to the death here? I have already found the core of the formation, breaking it will only take a little effort, but it will inevitably damage your array artifacts. How about you open the formation, and I swear on my Dao heart that I will never lay a hand on you? What do you say?"
Outside the formation, Lin Jingchu merely sneered upon hearing this, but inwardly admired the decisiveness and ruthlessness of this cultivator surnamed Zhao. Realizing something was amiss, he disregarded the lives of his remaining disciples and brazenly blasted a several-mile-long cavern to block the enemy.
It's unclear how long it will take the crystal ants to dig through, or if they'll simply give up on this tough nut to crack.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao waited for a moment, but when no one responded, he decided not to wait any longer. He patted his storage bag and summoned a long spear that was entirely black and exuded an ominous aura.
Immediately afterwards, he raised his index finger, forced a drop of crimson blood from between his eyebrows, and flicked it into the black spear. Blood-red patterns instantly spread across the spear shaft, as if it had come to life.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao paled slightly, but his eyes remained sharp as knives. He faced the spear, his fingers flashing through hand seals.
The spear began to tremble violently, emitting a deep hum. Blood patterns converged towards the spear tip, and the spiritual energy emanating from the spear grew stronger and more dangerous.
"We can't let him finish!"
Lin Jingchu immediately summoned the Frost Moon Wheel, the blade wheel spewing out bone-chilling cold air, transforming into a flock of crystal ice birds that shrieked and swooped into the formation, heading straight for the Zhao surname cultivator who was casting a spell!
At the same time, two dark lights silently blended into the flock of ice birds, like lurking venomous snakes.
Under the cover of the magic array, the flock of ice birds only suddenly appeared when they were only about ten feet away from the cultivator surnamed Zhao.
But this person clearly deliberately exposed a weakness; in an instant, a layer of crimson light descended from the Heaven-Burning Mirror above his head, enveloping his entire body. The ice bird crashed into the protective shield and immediately turned into wisps of water vapor.
The two black short swords were frozen in place by the light curtain, unable to move, and instantly turned into molten iron.
Upon seeing this, Lin Jingchu raised his hand and recalled the Soul-Chasing Claw hidden in the formation. Then, he threw his right hand, and the Cold Moon Wheel flew out, slashing fiercely at the cultivator surnamed Zhao.
However, even this array-type magical artifact from the Du family could not bridge the vast difference in their cultivation levels. The Cold Moon Wheel only managed to penetrate three feet into the light barrier before it could advance any further.
Fortunately, the Frost Moon Wheel was made of exceptional material and was not damaged by the light barrier.
The cultivator surnamed Zhao's face turned deathly pale, and his aura plummeted, but he still sneered, "What can a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator do to me, even if you use all your tricks?"
"Speak," he chanted an ancient and obscure incantation, and this person even wanted to summon the Azure Sun Demon Fire for blessing.
Lin Jingchu's heart sank. He summoned the "Blazing Sun Banner" in preparation for a final gamble. If that failed, he would have no choice but to retreat.
The next moment, a faint but familiar buzzing sound rang out. He turned his head sharply and saw a large cloud of chilling purple insects rapidly drifting out from a crack in the distant mountain wall.
Lin Jingchu's pupils suddenly contracted—the Heavenly Crystal Ants had actually emerged from another passage to pursue him.