Chapter 2223, Misty Valley
There exists an ancient legend in this world about a type of special insects, insects that are the nemesis of all things living. No matter how strong or how high ones cultivation is, they would be no match for these insects. Moreover, these insects could not be killed in any way and would continue devouring the bodies of the living to grow and multiply.
These insects were known as the Demon Insects by the inhabitants of this world!
Demon Insects initially appeared without warning, so no one really knew where they came from, nor did anyone pay attention to them at first because they were still small and weak back then.
But as time passed, and they continued to devour and grow, the horror of these Demon Insects gradually became known.
Wherever they went, all life disappeared; where they nested, no one dared come within a hundred thousand kilometres.
In ancient times, where the legends about these insects originated, the number of masters in this world far exceeded today. There were even many Third-Order Emperors!
When the Demon Insects grew to become a calamity, the masters of the world could no longer sit idly by, and thus they joined forces and prepared to do their utmost to destroy the Demon Insects that plagued this world.
Nobody knows what happened in that battle.
But after that, all the masters of the world disappeared, and so did the Demon Insects that were so feared and talked about.
Some speculated that the Masters died alongside the Demon Insects, otherwise, how could the final result be explained? There were also speculations that the Masters had secluded themselves from the world after defeating the Demon Insects, living apart from the trappings of society. Some even speculated that the Demon Insects devoured the masters and were now slumbering in some unknown place, evolving into a more terrifying form and would one day return to end the world!
But these were only rumours. No one ever believed them and no person had ever seen what these so-called Demon Insects, let alone knew what they actually looked like.
Barely anyone believed that these Demon Insects really existed.
But right now, right here, Ban Qing understood that the rumours were not fabricated. There really did exist bone-chilling Demon Insects in this world, and these tiny insects were just as the rumours said, feeding on the energy of living beings, unable to be killed or destroyed. One could only sit back and watch them grow, and then lay waste to the entire world.
When he thought about these ancient rumours, Ban Qing completely lost all will to fight Yang Kai.
He could not understand how Yang Kai could spur a group of Demon Insects to fight for him as a mere Dao-Source Realm cultivator. Did he not worry that these Demon Insects would devour him too?
Howls of misery emerged as Ban Qing writhed in pain, seemingly falling into an abyss of destruction. It was an unbearable torture as Ban Qing experienced the fear and despair of his Soul being devoured slowly by the rampaging Soul Devouring Insects.
He was like a madman, throwing out his energy desperately. All sorts of wonderful and amazing Soul Secret Techniques that Yang Kai had never seen before were released from Ban Qings hands as he continued to struggle.
The space around them became unstable under this thrashing.
Yang Kai hurriedly moved away and observed Ban Qing from afar.
Even he did not expect that this Emperor Realm Master would become so crazy after shouting out that short name.
[Demon Insects...Why would he call them that? Are the Soul Devouring Insects related to this world in some way?] Yang Kai pondered with a frown. He couldnt figure it out, but it was without a doubt that the scene before him was exactly what he wanted to see.
First, he launched a sneak attack with the Soul Splitting Saber, then he used Ban Qings blind spot to infest him with Soul Devouring Insects to finish the job. Even though both his moves were successful, Yang Kai really had no way to stop him if this Emperor Realm Master was determined to escape.
His ability to manipulate Space Principles was not strong enough to really bind an Emperor Realm cultivator.
If Ban Qing escaped and revealed his information to his comrades, Yang Kai would lose his advantage.
Ban Qing seemed to be in a state of madness though, losing himself in despair, and from the looks of it, he might even be reaching the end of his life, which was a welcome sight for Yang Kai.
In the end, Ban Qing was still an Emperor Realm Master, so despite going mad and acting in an uncontrolled manner, the Soul Devouring Insects werent able to completely devour him in short order.
Yang Kai did not try to prod him either, choosing to watch from afar instead, waiting for an opportunity to act...
And, as time passed, the aura coming from Ban Qings body became weaker and weaker. From the Emperor Realm, he regressed to the Dao Source Realm, then the Origin King Realm, then the Origin Returning Realm...
After an hour had passed, Ban Qings body suddenly froze, and he stood in place, unmoving.
Immediately afterwards, Ban Qings body burst open with a *bang*, transforming into a million points of light before they too dissipated into the world.
At the location where he disappeared, a cloud of insects was squirming and tossing about.
After devouring the energy of an Emperor Realm Master, the Soul Devouring Insects seemed to have gained considerable growth, and Yang Kai could see that their aura had gotten significantly stronger.
Yang Kai was also troubled at this moment though.
Even though the Soul Devouring Insects had not been of the greatest use to him these recent years, they would undoubtedly grow much stronger after this visit to the Divine Ascension Mirror World and become a killer weapon for him, but if he lost control of the Soul Devouring Insects at this time, he could lose a means to use against his enemies in the future.
Moreover, if he were to allow the Soul Devouring Insects to act without restraint in this World, Yang Kai dared not even imagine what heights they would grow to.
There may be other ways to deal with Soul Devouring Insects in the outside world, but here, all living beings were made of Spiritual Energy, so they were little more than food for the Soul Devouring Insects.
These insects would constantly grow stronger and stronger until they devoured this entire world.
So, no matter what, Yang Kai did not dare to leave the Soul Devouring Insects here.
He had already noticed that these Soul Devouring Insects were showing signs of resistance towards his orders, and this was becoming more and more obvious as they grew. Now, they were straight out ignoring him!
Naturally, Yang Kai was flustered.
He kept actively sending orders with his Divine Sense to the Soul Devouring Insects, but it was to no avail.
In the end, Yang Kai had no choice but to stimulate the Soul Warming Lotus in his body. All of a sudden, a seven-coloured glow burst out, radiating in all directions.
Perhaps because the Soul Devouring Insects felt the Soul Warming Lotus was their home after living there for such a long time, when they sensed the seven-coloured glow, they swiftly returned to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai couldnt help but breathe a sigh of relief, and with a wave of his sleeve, he put them inside.
Standing in place, Yang Kais brows furrowed as he silently sensed the movements of the Soul Devouring Insects.
Strangely enough, the Soul Devouring Insects turned docile as soon as he took them back, not displaying the unruly behaviour from just now anymore.
But this caused Yang Kai to realize a problem he had to refine the Insect Enslavement Bracelet as soon as possible, otherwise, he would lose the means to enslave the Soul Devouring Insects if they grew more powerful.
The Insect Enslavement Bracelet was an artifact of the Insect Emperor, who used it to subdue all sorts of Exotic Insects, so it was the best tool to control the Soul Devouring Insects.
Though the fight just now was dangerous, it did not actually affect Yang Kais growth that much due to how easily he won in the end. This was all thanks to his Emperor Artifact and the Soul Devouring Insects. Yang Kai himself did not actually exert much effort.
However, Ban Qing could be considered the first Emperor Realm Master Yang Kai had killed. Even if it was an Emperor Realm master without a physical body, only a Soul, he was still not easily killed.
In the outside world, Yang Kai would never have been able to accomplish this.
Thinking back, Yang Kai couldnt help but feel giddy. If Ban Qing had used his most proficient assassination Divine Ability from the very start, then he would not even have had the chance to resist. Fortunately, Ban Qing had received orders to capture him alive, which gave Yang Kai such an opportunity.
He sighed and frowned for a moment, wondering where he should go now...
According to what Ban Qing had said, Heavenly Monster Mountain had been sealed off, and many cultivators under Zhou Dians leadership were searching for the so-called Star of Calamity, so it was definitely impossible for Yang Kai to leave the Heavenly Monster Mountain now. Staying here was not an option either, so it seemed he could only continue going deeper inside and hope to be able to evade disaster.
Considering all this, Yang Kai made up his mind.
Looking around him, Yang Kai eyed the middle-aged man who had fainted on the ground. Who knows what Ban Qing did to knock this guy out, but he showed no signs of waking up even now.
That man had nothing to do with Yang Kai, so the latter could not even bother to deal with him, choosing to leave him there to fend for himself.
Yang Kai continued scanning his surroundings and soon his eyes settled in a certain direction. Grinning, he waved towards that spot.
Behind a tree was the Purple Squirrel, looking curiously around, its eyes filled with vigour. After making sure it was safe, it crept out and, slowly, came in front of Yang Kai, staring up at him with concern, as if asking if he was hurt.
Yang Kai smiled, leaned over, and reached out, picking up the little squirrel and placing it on his shoulder. After adjusting his bearings, Yang Kai then headed deeper into the Heavenly Monster Mountain.
.....
Some tens of thousands of kilometres away from the Heavenly Monster Mountain, there was a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides.
This mountain valley was filled with fog, and the people living nearby all referred to it as Misty Valley.
The fog permeated the valley and did not dissipate throughout the year. It was so dense that one could hardly see one step in front of themselves and. This place was extremely odd, and even though this fog was harmless to living beings, one would always lose their sense of direction once they entered it.
From time to time, daring inhabitants of the nearby regions would come to try to explore the Misty Valley and figure out what secrets were hidden within, but regardless of their cultivation, they would lose their sense of direction and get lost inside soon after entering.
Nobody ever found out what was hidden inside.
However, nobody had ever been completely trapped inside the fog either.
That was because, when these people were trapped to the point of despair, an invisible force would inevitably appear to send them outside.