PDLP Chapter 86 Gold-Eating Insect
Chapter 86 Gold-Eating Insect
Xiao Huan Island is under the jurisdiction of Kui Xing Island, but it is an inconspicuous subsidiary island in the inland sea.
This island is only about sixty or seventy miles in circumference. Although there is a spiritual vein buried underground, the spiritual energy is thin and mixed, making it insignificant to the cultivators of the Chaotic Star Sea who often occupy blessed lands and spiritual mountains.
Therefore, Xiaohuan Island has been abandoned for many years and rarely visited by anyone—except Han Li.
After dealing with the seven tribulation cultivators, Mu Chunfeng spent several more hours traveling before finally arriving at Xiaohuan Island.
He hovered above the small island, his gaze sharp and penetrating the clouds, locking onto a remote peak within the island.
That was where Han Li's cave dwelling was located.
"I wonder if Han Li has returned to his cave to retrieve those gold-devouring insects yet..."
Mu Chunfeng murmured to himself, his figure transforming into an almost invisible streak of light, silently landing on that mountain peak.
At this moment, at the entrance of the cave in the heart of the mountain, several array light screens were faintly flowing, emitting spiritual energy fluctuations.
"The Inverted Five Elements Formation, the Raging Heavenly Wind Formation, the Illusory Heavenly Net Formation..."
Mu Chunfeng recognized the three sets of magic formations in front of him at a glance, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "It seems that Han Li has not returned yet."
Before he finished speaking, he flipped his hand and took out several array flags. With a series of finger gestures, the array flags transformed into streams of light and precisely entered the array nodes.
"We were all taught by the same master, so breaking your move will be a piece of cake."
In just a short while, the three array light screens that were originally perfectly sealed began to tremble violently, dim rapidly, and eventually disappear completely.
As Mu Chunfeng retrieved his own array flags, he also collected the array flags and array plates of the three sets of magic arrays, thinking that he might as well take them.
Then, with a wave of his sleeve, a gust of wind surged forth, and the stone door of the cave opened with a roar. He then slowly stepped inside.
The light inside the cave was dim, with only a few luminous pearls emitting a cool glow.
His divine sense spread out like ripples on water, instantly scanning every corner of the room.
Although the place was fully furnished, with even the alchemy furnace placed in a prominent position, a thin layer of dust had accumulated on the table, and the air was filled with a musty smell of long-abandoned place, lacking the vitality that Han Li usually had when cultivating spiritual herbs.
"He's certainly cautious enough."
Knowing Han Li's personality, Mu Chunfeng knew that this was just a fake cave to attract attention. He chuckled, and a faint purple light suddenly appeared in his eyes as he used his Breaking Illusion Divine Power.
In an instant, the once indestructible stone wall became as ethereal as a thin veil in his eyes.
Those fake walls, hidden compartments, and even the complex mechanical linkages used to deceive outsiders were all laid bare in his sight, clearly outlining a dark path hidden deep within the walls.
A knowing smile appeared on his lips as he walked straight to a stone cabinet in the corner that appeared to be used to store miscellaneous items.
Behind this stone cabinet is the entrance to that hidden passage.
He reached down and pressed a hidden mechanism at the bottom of the cabinet. With a soft "click," the wall slowly cracked open, revealing a deep passage leading to the side of the mountain.
After passing through this narrow passageway, a spacious stone chamber came into Mu Chunfeng's view.
The place was arranged in a rather strange way. The walls were covered with intricate insect-controlling formations, and there were no spiritual plants or rare treasures in the stone chamber. Only a strange tree that had long since withered and turned yellow stood alone in the center.
Mu Chunfeng's gaze froze on the withered tree branch.
A cluster of silver light was hanging there quietly.
There were over a hundred silvery-white insects, each only the size of a fingernail, huddled together like a silver fruit hanging from the end of a withered branch.
These insects seemed to be asleep at the moment, and they were also faintly exuding a fierce aura.
"This is... the Gold-Eating Insect?!" Mu Chunfeng's eyes lit up.
The Gold-Eating Insect is a swarming, ferocious insect, ranked twelfth on the list of strange insects in the human realm. It feeds on metals and spiritual energy, is impervious to water and fire, and can only be trapped by wood and jade. It is mutually restraining with spider-like strange insects.
The original text's description of this insect flashed through Mu Chunfeng's mind, along with its terrifying power to devour even True Immortals in the future. His breathing quickened involuntarily.
These Gold-Eating Insects are currently in their juvenile form and have not yet evolved their monstrous strength. Even without the Blood Jade Spider, he could easily subdue them.
Thinking of this, he flipped his hand over, and a ball of crimson-gold flame rose from his palm.
This flame contained only a trace of Yanglian fire, not his full strength—after all, these little guys are too fragile right now, and if the fire were too big, it would burn them to ashes, which would be a loss.
"go."
With a flick of her finger, Mu Chunfeng sent the gentle, crimson-gold fireball hurtling toward the withered branch like a shooting star.
The swarm of insects, which had been lying dormant, seemed to have sensed a hint of danger and instantly became restless.
Amidst a burst of silver light, the tightly packed silver spheres instantly disintegrated, transforming into a silver cloud of insects.
Surprisingly, instead of being afraid of the incoming flames, they faced them head-on as if they had seen their own father.
With the opening and closing of their mouthparts, accompanied by the sparse gnawing sounds, the ball of crimson-gold flame was devoured by the swarm of insects in the blink of an eye, leaving not even a spark.
"Good! The little guy has a good appetite. Since you like it, we'll give you some more toppings!"
Mu Chunfeng's lips curled into a wicked smile.
Having tasted success, the Gold-Eating Insects collectively locked their compound eyes on the instigator—Mu Chunfeng. They emitted an excited buzz, transformed into a silver torrent, and swarmed towards him.
"Try this!"
He raised his hand again, and flames surged in his palm.
This time, it was no longer the lukewarm little flame, but a slightly violent pillar of crimson gold fire, carrying terrifying heat, which slammed into the oncoming swarm of insects.
Seeing this, the swarm of insects did not retreat. Their greedy instincts drove them to rush forward again, attempting to use the same trick to devour this even larger "meal".
But as the gold-devouring insects at the forefront slowly devoured the gold, they soon realized something was wrong.
At first, the gold-devouring insects were able to devour the flames thanks to their ability to withstand both water and fire. However, as time passed, the temperature of the flames rose higher and higher, and some of them even let out a hissing scream.
Soon, as the temperature rose to a certain level, all the gold-devouring insects sensed the danger; they could no longer withstand such high temperatures.
The swarm of insects then scattered, attempting to bypass the pillar of fire and attack Mu Chunfeng from behind.
Seeing this, Mu Chunfeng chuckled and snapped his fingers.
The pillar of fire instantly disintegrated, transforming into a series of swirling fire clouds that engulfed all the gold-devouring insects like a cage.
However, the Gold-Eating Insects are inherently ferocious. Even when trapped in a sea of fire, the individuals within them remain fearless, frantically attacking the flame barrier in an attempt to devour the flames surrounding them in order to break free.
Watching the swarm of insects struggle and tumble in the fiery cloud, some of them even had their silver light on their bodies shatter due to consuming too much Yanglian fire, falling from mid-air with black smoke, turning to ashes before even hitting the ground.
Mu Chunfeng's expression suddenly changed, as he had originally intended to play a trick on Mu Chunfeng.
"Oh no!"
He cursed inwardly, no longer caring about his leisurely interest in taming insects. These were extraordinary insects that even True Immortals could devour in the future; the death of even one of them felt like a piece of his own flesh being torn away!
"Place your order!"
Mu Chunfeng made a single grabbing motion in the air, and his immense magical power transformed into an invisible giant wave, precisely and gently slapping against the chaotic cloud of fire.
This force was not lethal in the slightest, but it carried an irresistible impact on the soul and a paralyzing effect.
"Buzz—!"
A dull, low sound echoed in the air.
The hundred or so gold-eating insects, which had been frantically fighting the fire and displaying their ferocity, suddenly stopped moving.
Their high-frequency vibrating wings seemed to have their power cut off instantly, and the red light and ferocity in their compound eyes also dissipated and went out in an instant.
The feeling was like someone sprinting at full speed being suddenly struck on the back of the head by a heavy hammer, falling into a deep coma before they could even scream.
Immediately afterwards, having lost all support, the hundred or so silver insects fell from mid-air like dumplings being dropped into a pot, crashing straight to the ground.
"No, they can't die anymore."
Mu Chunfeng's heart skipped a beat, and he transformed into a blur, rushing ahead to the spot below where the swarm of insects would land.
He raised one hand, and an extremely gentle lifting force arose out of thin air, like an invisible net, steadily holding the "silver rain" in mid-air, preventing it from being damaged in the slightest.
Looking at the dense, still, floating silver specks in front of him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and carefully picked up a few of them into his palm.
The larvae were charred black and barely alive, clearly severely damaged.
Mu Chunfeng hurriedly took out a jade box that he had prepared beforehand, and put all the gold-devouring insects and the withered branch into the jade box. He then flicked his fingertips to cast a series of sealing spells, and finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.
"These reckless kids have really bad tempers."
He put the jade box into his spirit beast pouch, then looked back at the withered tree that had completely lost its luster, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.
"It's a pity about this precious tree that nurtures spirit insects, but with these little guys, this loss is nothing."
Thus, the biggest takeaway from the trip to Little Island has been achieved.
Mu Chunfeng no longer lingered, turned around and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing silently into the vast night, leaving only the empty cave dwelling to continue waiting for its true master to return.