Chapter 184: The Nest of the Insect-Armor Race

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read more at Nineheavens.org
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The place presumed to be the base of the Insect-Armor Race was certainly somewhat different from other locations.

In fact, the sand in the desert was the bugs’ eggs in the first place. Still, judging by the appearance alone, they were small enough to be difficult to distinguish from sand.

But…

The sand in the base of the Insect-Armor Race was different. Should he say the grains were thick?

Each one was about the size of a jujube seed, and since a squirming shadow could be seen inside the egg, anyone could tell that they were eggs.

“There is a large transmission array at a place three thousand li away to the northeast.”

As Nam So-yeong, with a deep blue radiance in her eyes, spoke in a tone filled with certainty, everyone nodded their heads.

“If it is the Heavenly Eye divine ability of Fairy Nam, who is at the late Nascent Soul stage, we can believe it. How is the state of the transmission array?”

“It is intact. Looking closely now, a barrier is set up around the transmission array. At least it does not seem likely to be easily damaged.”

“Oh… that is truly a relief.”

Relief washed over everyone’s faces.

Except for Jin So-myeong, since everyone was in a state where carapaces had sprouted, they wanted to go outside this very moment.

“A surprise attack would be impossible, right?”

“The Insect-Armor Race will also know about our arrival. In my view, the bugs scattered in the sky are all their eyes and ears.”

The cultivators who reflexively looked around clicked their tongues.

Bzzzzz!

The bugs filling the sky vibrated their wings threateningly, emitting a fierce killing intent like hornets whose nest had been invaded.

“Let’s go.”

Twelve Nascent Soul stage cultivators took their positions.

Banding together with those they had friendships with, they formed a total of four teams and spaced themselves out appropriately.

Since they were in a position where they could not completely trust each other, they had assumed a loose formation.

Jin So-myeong, who was in the same team as Du Geum-bo, scanned the surroundings with eyes imbued with lightning.

He searched for the Insect-Armor Race with the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, but they were not visible.

They seemed to be in a completely distant place or hidden in a covert location like underground.

Pop!

Just as they were slowly advancing while bursting the pouring bugs.

“Is that…?”

Should he call it a nest?

Smoke was incessantly spewed from a structure that looked like a sea anemone bizarrely twisted and magnified thousands of times.

It was as if it were breathing.

At the sight of it swelling like a balloon every few seconds and then spewing smoke through limp tentacles, someone muttered in shock.

“Crazy… are those all eggs?”

It was a voice filled with dismay.

If one closely examined the smoke spewed with every breath, one could tell that it consisted of tens of thousands of grains, each and every one of which was an egg.

Even the sea anemones—no, the nests were quite numerous. There were at least a dozen of them nearby.

“Since their reproductive power is that strong, that is how they were able to cover this entire desert.”

“It is truly terrible.”

Spreading eggs at that rate for several thousand years… there was truly no answer.

It was to the extent of making him wonder how on earth the cultivators of the ancient era exterminated such bugs.

Someone who was scowling and covering their nose with their sleeve said,

“Should we attack?”

“Well. Wouldn’t it be better to secure the transmission array first rather than unnecessarily touching them hastily?”

“…Let’s do that.”

They were about to just pass by, but Jin So-myeong did not take his eyes off it.

He stared at the nest with narrowed brows as if something was bothering him.

Nam So-yeong, who happened to glance at Jin So-myeong, saw that appearance, and after unfolding an eye technique following him, she was startled.

“Wait a moment. There is a person inside the nest.”

“Yes?”

“I am not sure because he is so gaunt, but it seems to be Fellow Daoist Gong Hye.”

Inside the nest, a scrawny old man was drooping with his limbs bound, and sharp thorn-like things were pierced into his spine and dantian.

The cultivators who checked that appearance by unfolding a secret technique frowned in disgust.

“Was he got by the Insect-Armor Race? It seems his Essence Blood is being forcibly extracted.”

“Ha, does this not mean they treat us completely as food! How dare mere bugs!”

The reactions to the wretched sight were diverse.

Those who had checked with expressionless faces and ended it were there, and those who vented anger in unpleasantness were also there.

“Could it be the same for the other nests too?”

They examined all the nests scattered around, and humans were inside five of them.

All of them were familiar faces. They were those who had entered the Defeated Sage Dojo together ten years ago.

“I thought they died while passing through the gateways, but they were all alive. Let’s rescue them quickly.”

“Rescue them? What if it is a trap?”

“In any case, this entire place is a trap. Did we not all come knowing that? Whatever the case, rescuing them is a gain since our strength will increase.”

They bickered for a moment over whether they should rescue them or not, but their opinions were soon unified.

Although their states looked bad, they were Nascent Soul stage cultivators in name. Every time they rescued one, it meant their strength would greatly increase.

“I will attack first.”

Roar!

The blue flames rising in the air transformed into a house-sized tiger, then rushed towards the nest.

It swung its claws like a real living beast and tore the nest apart, and the heat contained in its claws was so intense that all the moisture in the surrounding radius of several kilometers dried up.

The nest resembling a sea anemone writhed as if in pain, and the complexions of the onlookers brightened.

“It is effective.”

A few people fired additional spells, and the rest also did not stay idle, taking out Rank 4 spirit treasures to guard the surroundings.

How many minutes had passed?

After digging through and virtually smashing the nest, they were able to pull out the trapped old man.

“Ugh…”

When they fed a pill to the old man, who was only staring at the empty air with out-of-focus eyes, his entire body trembled.

“Cough-cough! W-What.”

He, who had been drooping, tried to stand up as if having a fit, but perhaps because most of his blood had been sucked by the nest, he had no strength.

Unable to even hold his balance properly, he collapsed with a thud.

“His Essence Blood was sucked too much. It will take at least a hundred years to recover his original realm.”

“…Hmm. Still, it is fortunate that he is alive.”

While treating Gong Hye, who had not yet regained his senses, they also destroyed the other nests.

“Fellow Daoist Seo?”

In the second nest, Seo Hyeon-geuk, the Rank 4 artifact refiner whom Jin So-myeong had entrusted with the sword creation, was trapped.

Drooping completely unconscious, she was in a similar state to Gong Hye, who was rescued first; besides being gaunt like a mummy, she had no blood color at all.

At the wretched appearance that made it difficult to even recognize who she was, Du Geum-bo, who was watching from the side, was startled and supported her.

“Fellow Daoist Seo! No, how did you end up in this state!”

Feeding her expensive recovery pills in a hurry, it was clear to anyone that they did not have an ordinary relationship.

He was secretly curious but did not ask in detail, and perhaps sensing his gaze, Du Geum-bo coughed and said.

“Fellow Daoist Seo is an able artisan, is she not? She is someone who frequently trades with our Myriad Treasures Tower.”

“Ah, yes.”

Anyway, in this manner, they rescued a total of five Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

But the surroundings were still quiet.

There were only bugs, enraged at their territory being invaded, rushing in and dying meaninglessly.

Those who were guarding all directions in a tense state frowned.

“Could it be that they gave up because our strength is too great?”

“That might be so, but please do not relax your vigilance.”

The Nascent Soul stage cultivators stationed in this place numbered twelve. If including those who had been caught in the nests, there were more.

It was a massive strength that even large forces renowned in the Middle Province would find hard to handle.

Since the number of Nascent Soul stage cultivators was large, the talents they possessed were also diverse.

Although replenishing the vitality lost while their Essence Blood was sucked would be difficult, waking up the unconscious ones was simple.

“Are you regaining consciousness?”

“Ah…”

The awakened ones all showed similar reactions.

After thanking them, they tried to recover their mind and body as quickly as possible to raise their combat power.

In the situation unfolding so smoothly, a few who had clear looks of tension smiled faintly.

“It will end more easily than expected.”

Thirty minutes later.

As soon as those trapped in the nests could move their limbs, they departed towards the transmission array.

Since Seo Hyeon-geuk, who grasped the situation, was together with Du Geum-bo, she naturally ended up in the same team as Jin So-myeong.

“The gate I entered was the Artifact Refining Pass. Refining a tricky material like Life-Locking Gold was the trial. It was quite difficult, but I eventually passed.”

“With Fellow Daoist Seo’s skill, that is of course natural. But how did you…?”

“The moment I passed the gate and arrived in the desert, I was ambushed by some bug-looking bastards. Since my spiritual power was depleted, I could not even flee and was caught to end up in this state.”

“Oh dear!”

The eyes of Seo Hyeon-geuk, who was explaining the circumstances, turned cold.

She gritted her teeth, saying she would kill the Insect-Armor Race if she got the chance.

Jin So-myeong, who heard their conversation, tilted his head.

‘Is Life-Locking Gold a material difficult to refine?’

One of the materials used in the Star-Light Remnant-Shadow Sword currently used by Jin So-myeong was Life-Locking Gold.

Yet Ha Un, who completed this sword for him, finished all material processing and artifact refining in just three months.

Just as he was lost in thought with narrowed brows.

Really out of nowhere.

Swish!

Du Geum-bo, who had been listening to the conversation with a serious face, stabbed at his dantian.

It was an event that occurred suddenly without any signs.

It was a surprise attack sudden to an absurd degree, but it was insufficient to be a threat to Jin So-myeong, who had fought numerous fierce battles.

Clang!

Reflexively deflecting the nails with condensed Blood Armor, he drew his sword.

He hesitated as he was about to cut him down in a single stroke. Because Du Geum-bo, who had actually launched the surprise attack, was even more flustered.

“W-Wait! This is not my will!”

In an instant, he observed the surrounding situation through his Divine Sense.

The hand Du Geum-bo used when launching the surprise attack was his left hand, the side covered in carapaces like the Insect-Armor Race.

Something clicked.

As he scanned the surroundings, other people were in similar situations.

Limbs that had changed like the Insect-Armor Race moved at will to attack the surroundings. There were even those who tried to kill themselves.

‘Are they being controlled? Wait, if so…’

He checked Mok Sa-heon, whose entire upper body was covered in carapaces, and fortunately, he did not have a fit.

He was merely standing still with a slight frown on his brows.

It was a relief at least, but the mishap did not end.

The people rescued from the nests grabbed their heads as if in agony, and the atmosphere felt as if something was about to erupt.

Just when everyone was flustered by the sudden surprise attacks of their comrades.

Rumble!

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had occurred, and then grains of sand shot up as if exploding.

A massive shadow covering the ground. A centipede larger than a typical super-large building appeared, spewing toxic mist.

And also,

the swarm of bugs, which had only repeated charging and dying meaninglessly, gathered in midair and became the shape of a giant.

Monsters of sizes that could be called war weapons pressured the cultivators while emitting an intimidating aura.

They did not stop at mere momentum but exerted actual physical force.

Just as the cultivators, crushed by the pressure, scowled.

“Human race bastards! You were huddled only in the formation like rats, and now you have finally come!”

“And you! You despicable fellow. You fled wretchedly by using your kindred as bait, and only now do you show your face!”

“Are you that afraid of us? Only showing yourself after gathering in a crowd. Kehehe.”

A familiar voice was heard from atop the carapace of the super-large centipede.

Two among the twenty members of the Insect-Armor Race.

The familiar bastards nitpicked at Jin So-myeong in particular; though it was difficult to distinguish them because their appearances were similar, they were certainly those guys he had fought before.

“You certainly said to wait and see, did you not? We have met again like this, so what will you do, you arrogant thing?”

Jin So-myeong, who glanced at the Insect-Armor Race members who all possessed Nascent Soul-grade energy, did not reply.

Swish!

Deflecting Du Geum-bo’s left arm, which had been continuously attacking since a while ago, he spoke.

“Can you control it?”

“…Ugh. My apologies. If you could wait a moment.”

Watching him try to control his left arm with a scowling face, he spoke in a light tone.

“If you cannot, I will just cut it off. Your vitality will be greatly damaged, but it will be better than dying.”

“Yes?”

Sensing that it was not a joke, his complexion turned pale.

“W-Wait a moment! I will manage somehow!”

Startled, Du Geum-bo tapped his storage pouch. He hurriedly took out talismans, pasted them all over his arm, and sealed it completely.

“It, it is done.”

Just as he nodded at the satisfactory result.

“Ughhh…”

The eyes of Seo Hyeon-geuk, who was groaning while clutching her head, rolled back.

She, whose pupils had completely disappeared, leaving only whites, glared over here, and rushed forward while even brandishing a spirit treasure.

No matter how one looked at it, she was out of her mind.

Tap.

Jin So-myeong’s lightly extended fingertip touched her brow.

Buzzing!

The Five Elements Divine Thunder that permeated in an instant paralyzed her entire body. Leaving her, who hardened like a log of wood, he spoke.

“Please take care of Fellow Daoist Seo, Chief Administrator Du.”

Telling him to take care of her himself if he wanted to keep her alive, he turned his head back towards the Insect-Armor Race.

Since he had cleared up the urgent matters, it was now time to focus on them.

First of all, he answered the earlier question.

“Did you ask what I will do since we met again?”

The things Jin So-myeong had realized while sparring with the wooden dummy over a thousand times were very numerous.

If asked to pick the most important among them, it would be an agony, but this could not be omitted.

Precisely, speed.

The totality of how to move fast.

The fundamental reason he was able to respond to the beams of light to which he could not even react at first.

Jin So-myeong was incomparably faster than in the past.

And so.

A single breath was enough.

The split second that no one present here could perceive.

Breaking through all of the large army surrounding the area, he reached out his hand.

“Ack?!”

In the middle of the enemy camp where Nascent Soul-grade Insect-Armor Race members were scattered.

Crack!

Grabbing the neck of the mocking Insect-Armor Race member, he smiled brightly enough to show his teeth.

“I intended to do this to you. Well, do you like it?”

The limbs that flew in as if counterattacking fell off a beat late, then fell while spinning in the air.

“…!”

The guy’s eyes stared wide. His limbs had all been sliced off without him even perceiving it.

And,

“Aaaghh!”

Piercing pain echoed through the battlefield.

It was simultaneous with the infusion of the Five Elements Divine Thunder through his grip, which held so tightly that the neck bone was about to snap.

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