Chapter Ninety-Two: Slaying Xue Tong, Superior Magical Artifact

Almost in an instant, spells surged forth from his body. Protective arts, Metal Finger of Geng, Fireball Technique... Facing the Insect King Xue Tong, a cultivator of the sixth level of Qi Refinement renowned for his battle prowess, Zhou Changwang dared not be careless nor hold anything back. He immediately combined his spell seeds and unleashed several spells at once. In a flash, a layer of defensive shield bearing special patterns enveloped him, followed by two Metal Fingers of Geng and a massive fireball shooting forth.

“How dare you?” Xue Tong roared in fury, waving his hand to summon a giant turtle shell in front of him.

Bang! Bang!

Zhou Changwang’s Metal Fingers struck the shell, sending shockwaves ringing through the air. The shell’s glow flared brightly, then quickly dimmed, its spiritual light nearly extinguished. Yet it managed to block both attacks. But the fireball followed swiftly, slamming into the shell.

Boom!

The shell’s aura faded completely, and the entire shell was blasted away.

“How is this possible?” Xue Tong’s face changed dramatically. He had not expected Zhou Changwang’s spells to be so powerful—just three attacks had shattered his defensive shield. Yet, though surprised, he did not panic. As his body retreated explosively, he flipped his hand and activated a defensive talisman, while his other hand slapped a pouch at his waist.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Countless green flying insects erupted forth, swarming toward Zhou Changwang. Meanwhile, the two giant butterflies beat their wings frantically, spreading a strange powder that rapidly drifted in his direction. Wherever the powder touched the Spirit Gathering Grass on the ground, the plants wilted instantly. Clearly, the powder was highly toxic and terrifying.

At the same time, Xue Tong somehow produced a seven-colored miniature sword. With a flash of spiritual light, the sword transformed into a stream of light, darting straight at Zhou Changwang.

“What quick reactions,” Zhou Changwang thought, startled. His opponent’s combat experience far exceeded his own. In the instant Zhou Changwang began casting his spells, Xue Tong had already responded, summoning the turtle shell to block the attack and deploying multiple tactics in rapid succession, without the slightest underestimation despite Zhou Changwang being only at the fourth level of Qi Refinement.

Most crucially, Xue Tong had blocked Zhou Changwang’s first wave of attacks. This was the first time since Zhou Changwang had perfected his Metal Finger of Geng that he faced such resistance. Previously, against the physical cultivator from the Raksha Gang, his Metal Finger had been unstoppable.

Though anxious, Zhou Changwang responded swiftly, not hesitating to waste resources. He flipped his hand, producing a handful of talismans and quickly waving them, activating them all without delay.

In an instant, spiritual light burst forth. Countless fireballs and lightning bolts exploded in the sky, rushing toward the swarm of green insects.

Boom, boom, boom!

Fireballs detonated, lightning crackled. The talismans Zhou Changwang wielded were all of high quality—each one possessed at least thirty percent of the power of an ordinary spell, and their combined force was astonishing. Among them, many were first-grade primary talismans, far more powerful. After the intense magical fluctuations, swathes of green insects fell dead, leaving the battlefield half-cleared in the blink of an eye.

Next, Zhou Changwang moved, feeling his body lighten as he stepped forward, transforming into a shadow and appearing several yards away. He had used his Lightweight Technique and Seven-Star Moon Step. His Lightweight Technique had long reached mastery, lacking only a hundred or so points to perfection. When deployed, he moved as lightly as a feather, leaping several yards in one bound. The Seven-Star Moon Step, a physical cultivation technique, enabled him to dart forward in a series of seven steps, allowing brief flight. Though only at the beginner stage, the combination of the two techniques greatly increased his speed.

As he vanished, a flying sword flashed past, piercing only his shadow, missing him entirely. But soon, the flying sword, under Xue Tong’s control, turned sharply and again charged toward Zhou Changwang.

Zhou Changwang dodged repeatedly, quickly combining his spell seeds to unleash the Metal Finger of Geng once more. Three Metal Fingers fired in succession.

He knew that simply evading would not solve the problem. His magical power was far from abundant, much less than Xue Tong’s sixth-level reserves. Prolonged combat would only disadvantage him, especially since Xue Tong could command spirit insects to attack. As for fleeing—unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to run. This was his own courtyard, with over three thousand Spirit Gathering Grass nearly mature and, more importantly, over five hundred Thunder Spirit Rice Trees of immense value. If he fled, everything would fall into Xue Tong’s hands, or worse, be destroyed, forcing him to seek shelter with Chen Yushu and earn spirit stones through farming.

Of the three Metal Fingers, two targeted the giant butterflies, only one aimed at Xue Tong. The butterflies’ formidable aura equaled cultivators of the fourth level of Qi Refinement, and their powder was highly poisonous—he dared not touch it. Thus, his first priority was to eliminate them.

“Hmph!” Xue Tong, enraged, hastily performed a spell to command the butterflies to dodge, while summoning the turtle shell to block himself. Yet his spellcasting speed was outmatched by Zhou Changwang’s spell seeds. He managed only to block Zhou Changwang’s attack with the shell, but the butterflies’ heads were pierced by blood holes, collapsing to the ground.

Pfft!

Xue Tong’s face changed, turning gold-red as he spat blood. The butterflies, controlled by his mind and spirit, died instantly, causing him to suffer backlash and severe mental injury.

Seeing this, Zhou Changwang’s eyes flashed with joy—perhaps his opponent was not invincible after all.

His thoughts cleared, Zhou Changwang quickly flipped his hand, taking out a disk and pouring in spiritual power.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

In the blink of an eye, endless mist appeared in the backyard, and all sound was completely isolated. It was the Mist Formation and Soundproof Formation. He had spent considerable time experimenting with formations in his spirit fields, and the results were excellent.

Finally, a day ago, he had set up the mist and soundproof formations covering the entire backyard. He had not removed the formation flags, intending to keep the formations active to prevent others, like Qian Xiaoyue before, from prying into his secrets during visits. He hadn’t expected them to be so useful in this battle against the Insect King Xue Tong.

As the formation activated, the backyard was quickly shrouded in mist. Even with his fourth-level cultivation, Zhou Changwang could not see beyond three yards. Fortunately, he had arranged the formation himself, so every blade of grass and tree within could be sensed via the formation disk. Moreover, he possessed the Spiritual Eye Technique. With a slight movement of his mind, rune structures were drawn with his spiritual power, and in a breath or two, everything became clear again.

He stepped quickly, vanishing into the mist.

Xue Tong’s face darkened—he had never expected to stumble so badly at the hands of a mere spirit farmer. The mist posed little hindrance; he commanded his green insects to spread out, using them as his eyes. If Zhou Changwang entered their range, Xue Tong would react instantly. Yet, stepping into the opponent’s backyard made him regret his haste; he had brought few spirit insects.

“Damn it!” Xue Tong sensed a golden light shooting from behind. Though he reacted swiftly, the golden light struck his turtle shell, causing a deafening boom and forcing the shell’s aura to fade. He replenished it quickly, taking a spirit pill from his storage pouch and swallowing it.

Zhou Changwang’s heart sank; he had no recovery pills, only spirit stones to absorb and convert, which was much slower. To avoid prolonged battle, Zhou Changwang resolved to finish the fight quickly. Gritting his teeth, he flipped his hand to produce his last batch of talismans, drawn over the past two nights, and threw them out, activating them all.

Boom!

Countless fireball and lightning talismans erupted. Lightning and fireballs rained down like falling stars, smashing toward Xue Tong. Zhou Changwang’s mind moved, combining spell seeds to unleash more spells—Metal Finger of Geng and Fireball Technique—one after another.

“There you are!” Xue Tong, though battered by Zhou Changwang’s barrage, stood his ground, his turtle shell’s defense extraordinary. With sustained spiritual infusion, it resisted nearly all attacks, but Xue Tong knew he couldn’t hold out much longer. He searched for Zhou Changwang’s position, but the talismans’ attacks were inaccurate, and Zhou Changwang kept moving at high speed, causing Xue Tong’s sword to miss repeatedly.

At last, his spread-out insects transmitted information. With a thought, he performed a special spell.

Just as Zhou Changwang unleashed two spell seeds and was about to change position, he felt a tremor beneath his feet. Suddenly, two massive centipedes burst from the ground, lunging at him ferociously.

Giant centipedes! And two of them.

When had they been released?

Copper heads, iron bodies, a hundred blade-sharp legs—they hurtled toward him with terrifying force, enough to shred steel. The blows struck his protective shield with continuous impact, causing its aura to fade rapidly. A flying sword followed, piercing through.

Bang!

His shield shattered. Zhou Changwang’s face changed dramatically; instinctively, he cast Protective Technique again. The patterned shield reappeared instantly, blocking all attacks. Spell seed-level spells could be cast with remarkable speed—almost immediately after the previous shield broke, a new one formed, holding off all assaults.

He followed up with two quick Metal Fingers.

Bang! Bang!

The two fearsome centipedes collapsed with a roar. Xue Tong, standing at a distance, spat two mouthfuls of blood, his face pale and spiritual energy chaotic.

Taking advantage, Zhou Changwang cast Fireball Technique, then three Metal Fingers in succession.

Boom!

The fireball struck the turtle shell, scattering its weakened aura. A Metal Finger hit the shell, rebounding it, then two more struck Xue Tong directly. Two holes appeared, one in his chest, one in his head. Xue Tong, the insect cultivator, died instantly, blood pouring out as he collapsed.

Only now did Zhou Changwang truly relax. This battle had been arduous. He had used all his means and relied on talismans and formation power to finally slay Xue Tong. If their positions were reversed, he would not have been so confident. Xue Tong’s endless tactics and multitude of spirit insects—black needle venom bees, green flies, giant butterflies, and the last giant centipedes—would have been overwhelming. If not for the sharpness of his Metal Finger of Geng, the definitive insect-slaying spell, he would not have prevailed. Those giant butterflies and centipedes were first-grade intermediate spirit insects, comparable to cultivators of the fourth or fifth Qi Refinement level.

Yet, though Xue Tong was slain, Zhou Changwang remained cautious. Who knew if other spirit insects lurked nearby? He used his Derivation Technique to confirm there was no further threat before relaxing and sent his Gold-Eating Spirit Bees to deal with the remaining green insects. These green insects resembled moths, with broad wings and highly corrosive fluid in their mouths. The Gold-Eating Spirit Bees, working in groups, struggled to tear them apart.

Meanwhile, Zhou Changwang began cleaning the battlefield, starting with Xue Tong’s corpse. He picked up the turtle shell artifact first, impressed by its ability to withstand his spell seeds’ full power. “A superior-grade artifact? That’s to be expected. With this shell’s defense, a normal mid-grade artifact would have shattered long ago.” Zhou Changwang had already assessed his own Metal Finger and Fireball Technique’s power, especially after reaching the fourth Qi Refinement level, likely surpassing the sixth level’s full strength. Thus, discovering the turtle shell was a superior artifact did not surprise him—only filled him with joy and excitement. A superior-grade defensive artifact was of immense value.

Next was the flying sword artifact—a slight disappointment, as it was only mid-grade. Still, it was much better than his previous one, and with his cultivation now at mid-stage Qi Refinement, it suited him well. He planned to refine it for himself and replace his old sword.

Then, he examined Xue Tong’s corpse: a robe and four or five small pouches. Aside from a storage pouch, the other four smaller pouches were likely the legendary “spirit beast bags” or “spirit insect bags.” Both were highly valuable, equal to or greater than storage pouches, as they could hold living creatures. For the same space, spirit beast bags were worth more than storage pouches. However, except for the storage pouch, he dared not touch the spirit beast bags, nor open them. Caution was vital when dealing with an insect cultivator’s belongings; if a venomous insect leaped out and bit him, the consequences would be dire.

He cast Fireball Technique to incinerate Xue Tong’s corpse. Next, he collected the spirit insect corpses—two giant centipedes and two giant butterflies, all first-grade intermediate level and comparable to fourth-level cultivators. The centipedes’ shells and claws were hard as steel, excellent for artifact forging. The butterflies’ poisonous powder and stomachs could be used for making poison, powder, or even pills, fetching a good price. The four spirit insects together could be worth several hundred to a thousand low-grade spirit stones. Unfortunately, none had demon cores, which would have made them even more valuable.

Aside from these, there were three mature black needle venom bees. Zhou Changwang had previously tasted their flesh, finding it delicious and memorable. He thought he’d never taste it again, but this time they were delivered to him, including a queen bee comparable to the third Qi Refinement level, likely more flavorful and rich in spiritual energy. He planned to cook them well, adding chili and cumin, using the spirit vegetable seeds he possessed to enhance the taste. Their materials could also fetch some low-grade spirit stones. He would harvest these along with the other spirit insect corpses.

As for the green moths—their bodies contained corrosive substances, so for food safety, he preferred not to eat them. They would be used as feed for the Gold-Eating Spirit Bees.

Finally, he assessed the losses in his spirit fields. Although the battlefield was fortunately away from the Gold-Eating Spirit Bees’ hive, twelve bees died in the fight, and many others were injured. The little spirit dog, protected by his casual Defensive Technique, remained unharmed.

However, Zhou Changwang’s greatest loss was the Spirit Gathering Grass. Large patches around the battlefield had withered, mostly poisoned by butterfly powder or affected by spell fallout. There was nothing he could do; in battle, he could not protect the Spirit Gathering Grass or the Thunder Spirit Rice Trees if necessary.

“Three hundred forty-five stalks of Spirit Gathering Grass have completely died. Another three hundred seventy were affected by spells but not entirely dead; perhaps the Reviving Deadwood Technique can save them...” Three hundred forty-five stalks meant three hundred forty-five low-grade spirit stones—a painful loss, but one he could only accept. Fortunately, the Thunder Spirit Rice Trees were unharmed, or he would have suffered even more.

Casting Reviving Deadwood Technique repeatedly, he restored most of the Spirit Gathering Grass, then removed the formation. Maintaining the formation consumed spiritual energy, requiring at least one low-grade spirit stone per flag, and could only last three hours.

He then used Cleaning Technique to erase battle traces and spell fluctuations. After dozens of Cleaning Techniques, he finally calmed the surrounding spiritual energy.

After all this, Zhou Changwang felt exhausted. Reflecting carefully, he felt a lingering sense of fear and relief.

“Thank goodness I just broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement. Otherwise, encountering the Insect King Xue Tong would have been certain death. Only because of my breakthrough could I cast so many spell seed spells in succession without collapsing...”

Sitting in the pavilion, Zhou Changwang quietly reviewed the battle, analyzing his shortcomings.

“I must learn new spells. Perfected Metal Finger of Geng and Fireball Technique are strong, but they are basic spells, too low in rank. I need to master higher-grade spells to truly leverage my attribute panel advantage. Even if initially weaker, once perfected, their power will be astonishing. Facing sixth-level cultivators like Xue Tong won’t be so difficult.”

“Also, though I've cleaned up the traces in my courtyard, and later fighting was contained by the formation, the earlier sounds surely spread and may have been heard by neighbors... I must guard against other dangers. I also need to investigate Xue Tong’s connections. If close friends come seeking revenge, it will be trouble. I can’t ask anyone I know for information—like ‘Brother Xiu,’ Tuoba Xiu. He knows me, and if he learns Xue Tong is dead, he’ll easily suspect me...”

Zhou Changwang considered all possibilities, ensuring he’d missed nothing before he truly relaxed.

...

Asking for next month’s votes—just hoping for a thousand, many thanks!

(End of chapter)