Chapter 63 - 60: Turtles in a Jar, a Natural-Born "Demon Traitor"!

Chapter 63: Chapter 60: Turtles in a Jar, a Natural-Born "Demon Traitor"!

After the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect invaded Liu Zimo’s Sea of Consciousness, it immediately and habitually began spitting silk to weave a web and establish its territory.

This was their Lifebound Talent, as well as their most powerful method of attack.

Using the spiderweb as a medium, they would continuously devour the Spiritual Power in the host’s Sea of Consciousness, gradually corrupting, invading, and controlling the host’s consciousness and thoughts.

The reason Zhao Qian had suddenly changed into a completely different person earlier, actually believing himself to be the Savior of Luozhou and even the entire human race, was because he had been affected by this very Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect’s Lifebound Talent.

Now, the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect was repeating its old trick. It wanted to influence and manipulate Liu Zimo’s consciousness and thoughts in the exact same way, turning him into its puppet as well.

However, when the first thread of silk it spat out landed in the seemingly calm Sea of Consciousness, the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect’s entire body suddenly trembled, and its radiating thoughts quivered violently along with it.

Liu Zimo could clearly sense the shock and panic hidden within these thoughts.

"Waaaah!

"How could this be?! How is this possible?!

"How could a lowly human Martial Artist possess such a bottomless foundation in his Sea of Consciousness?!

"My Spirit Silk has already extended to its absolute limit of ten thousand meters! Why hasn’t it detected the boundary yet?!

"This is impossible! Even a King Level Supreme of our Illusion Demon Realm wouldn’t have such an unfathomable Spirit Illusion Sea of Consciousness!"

The Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect’s thoughts continued to spiral. The entire bug seemed to have lost its mind, trembling non-stop.

In its long insect life, it had never encountered a human or demon with a Sea of Consciousness deeper than ten thousand meters!

"What do I do now?

"If my Spirit Silk can’t reach the boundary, I can’t take root and weave a web in this Sea of Consciousness.

"If I can’t take root and weave a web, how am I supposed to control this human to serve me?

"This is so frustrating!

"Can someone please tell me what I’m supposed to do in this situation?!

"My Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect Race is the nemesis of all Spirit Races in the world! Why isn’t there any record of such a special circumstance in my inherited memories?!

"Is it because the ancestors never encountered a similar situation, or did all the ancestors who encountered this kick the bucket because of it, failing to leave behind their memories in time?!

"Oh, ancestors!

"I can’t be this unlucky, right?

"I went through so much trouble to secure a cross-realm spot! I thought I could use this chance to soar to the heavens and astound the world, but on my very first day, I ran into a freak with an unfathomable Sea of Consciousness!

"I am the greatest prodigy and hope of the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect Race in the last thousand years, the one most likely to reach the King Insect realm! I’m not going to just get trapped to death in this Sea of Consciousness, am I...?"

The Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect continued to wail and mutter to itself.

This divergent thought process seemed to be a characteristic of the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect Race. They would always unconsciously express all the emotions in their hearts like this, without any concealment.

Therefore, even without Liu Zimo asking a single question, he was still able to continuously receive the emotional information that the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect unconsciously emitted.

Hearing the insect state that his Sea of Consciousness was bottomless, far exceeding the detection range of its Spirit Silk, and even calling him a freak, Liu Zimo couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

He wasn’t some kind of freak.

If he hadn’t awakened the "Heaven-Stealing" Superpower, and if several of his "Good Brothers" and "besties" hadn’t died in succession—allowing him to inherit half of the "legacy" they had so selflessly contributed—Liu Zimo’s Sea of Consciousness absolutely wouldn’t have become this vast and profound in such a short period of time.

"It seems the backup plan I prepared won’t be needed for now!" Liu Zimo thought, breathing a sigh of relief.

If there really had been no way to suppress this Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect, he had even been prepared to detonate a portion of his Divine Soul Origin to forcefully kill or expel the little thing.

Doing so would have inevitably inflicted heavy damage on his Divine Soul Sea of Consciousness, and his Spirit Cultivator realm might have dropped as a result. It was a mutually destructive maneuver that would harm him just as much as the enemy.

Therefore, unless it was a last resort, Liu Zimo had not wanted to use it lightly.

But looking at it now, he no longer needed to.

Even if he did nothing at all, this little bug posed absolutely no threat in his Sea of Consciousness.

"Little guy, tell me, if I wanted to kill you, what should I do?"

Liu Zimo spoke up at the right moment, asking a question that sounded incredibly foolish.

Hearing this, the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect’s body trembled slightly, and its thoughts involuntarily radiated out.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is this human an idiot?

"To actually ask me directly how to kill me, his brain must have short-circuited!

"How could I tell him such a fatal secret? Does he really think I’m as dumb as he is?

"Could I tell him that our Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect Race has always fed on Spiritual Power, and as long as Spiritual Energy is not cut off, our vitality is endless, and we will never die a natural death?

"Could I tell him that the weakness of our Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect Race lies in our tail, and that as long as the Spirit Crystal hidden there is forcefully extracted, we will die instantly?

"..."

"But then again, this is the Sea of Consciousness of this human freak. Even if he doesn’t know where my fatal weakness is, if he insists on sealing his Sea of Consciousness and restricting the Spiritual Energy, it might not even take half a year before I fall into a deep slumber from Spiritual Power depletion...

"Dammit! Without a Spirit Net, I simply can’t normally absorb the Spiritual Power in his Sea of Consciousness, nor can I forcefully smash through his Divine Soul Barrier to escape! I’m like a rootless weed, a turtle trapped in a jar, completely at his absolute mercy!

"Ah!!

"This is so frustrating!! Can anyone save me?!"

The Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect continued its incompetent roaring, the fluctuations of its thoughts uncontrollably radiating outward.

Liu Zimo effortlessly received all of this information, the corners of his lips curving up slightly.

By now, he was even starting to like this Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect.

Although these creatures were secretive in their movements and impossible to defend against, possessing terrifyingly powerful innate abilities that could completely control and enslave a person without them even realizing it, their thought characteristics were extremely active. They couldn’t keep a secret, didn’t hide their emotional fluctuations, and would never tell a lie.

Just like earlier, Liu Zimo had only casually probed with a question, yet he had effortlessly baited out all the dynamics of the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect’s thoughts.

It had even voluntarily exposed the weakness and shortcomings of its own Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect Race.

He had to admit, this Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect was simply the perfect candidate to be a Demon Traitor.

There was absolutely no need for torture. With just a single thought to guide it, it would uncontrollably confess and spill everything!

Knowing that this little bug was no longer able to flee his Sea of Consciousness on its own and had become a turtle in a jar, Liu Zimo lost the desire to kill it outright.

Perhaps it would be better to keep such an interesting little bug around.

As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will emerge victorious in a hundred battles.

Having such a little bug that couldn’t lie and was extremely familiar with the Demon Realm would definitely provide Liu Zimo with far more detailed information about the Demon Realm and the Demon Race in the future.

With this thought in mind, Liu Zimo willed it, instantly opening up a vacuum zone within his Sea of Consciousness to imprison the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect inside.

Afterward, ignoring the panicked roars and nonsense of the Soul-Devouring Spirit Insect in his Sea of Consciousness, Liu Zimo withdrew his Divine Sense. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze landing once again on Zhao Qian, who was still in front of him.

By this time, Zhao Qian had regained his senses. He sat paralyzed on the ground, his face deathly pale, entirely devoid of the confident, high-spirited demeanor he had displayed while speaking earlier.

"Go back. In the future, remember to diligently practice the Martial Dao and strengthen yourself. Only then will you avoid being invaded by foreign entities again!"

After a few soft words of comfort, Liu Zimo casually waved his hand, tossing Zhao Qian back over the city wall.

Afterward, he glanced down at the Red Leopard Demon beneath his feet. Without any hesitation, he applied a little force with his right foot, stomping the Red Leopard Demon’s head straight into the ground. Its skull shattered completely, killing it instantly.

BOOM!

Liu Zimo lightly kicked his foot up again, tossing this thousand-ton Regiment Level Red Leopard Demon inside the city wall as well.

The flesh and blood of the Red Leopard Demon contained a potent poison, so it couldn’t be eaten directly like the Vajra Beast.

However, as a Regiment Level Demon Beast, its tendons, bones, fur, claws, and fangs were top-tier Refining Materials that also shouldn’t be wasted.

"Keep an eye on the corpse! Once the Beast Tide is over, find a way to transport it to the Military Staff Department’s base!

"Remember, this beast’s blood contains a potent poison. Do not consume it under any circumstances!"

After giving a few instructions to the military officer defending the city, Liu Zimo leaped into the air once more, speeding toward the northern and southern defense lines.

Over there, two other humans controlled by Soul-Devouring Spirit Insects were waiting for him to save them.