Chapter 64 - 61: Spirit Cultivator Holy Artifact, Insect Beating Three Stars!

Chapter 64: Chapter 61: Spirit Cultivator Holy Artifact, Insect Beating Three Stars!

The moment Zhao Qian was brought back onto the city wall, he was immediately surrounded by his fellow soldiers.

"Zhao Qian, are you alright?"

"Qian, who was that guy just now? Why did he throw... I mean, send you back?"

"Zhao Qian..."

His comrades looked at him with concern, bombarding him with questions all at once.

Zhao Qian, looking slightly dazed, replied softly, "I don’t really know the exact details. All I remember is that I seemed to be controlled by some Demon Beast, which is why I acted so out of character. Yes, it was that man outside the city who intervened and saved me in time. Otherwise, who knows what would’ve happened to me!"

Just as Zhao Qian finished speaking, loud exclamations rang out from nearby.

"Holy crap! How did that guy kill Qian’s Pet Beast?!"

"He’s too strong! With just a light stomp, he drove the head of such a massive Demon Beast straight into the ground!"

"Who is this guy? He’s unbelievably badass, totally out of this world!"

"Yeah, he feels even fiercer than Zhao Qian was earlier. Incredible!"

"..."

Hearing the commotion, the comrades who had surrounded Zhao Qian simultaneously turned and leaned over the city wall to look down. They arrived just in time to see Liu Zimo lightly lift his foot and kick the mountain-sized corpse of the giant beast over the city wall. It crashed heavily into an empty clearing inside the city.

BOOM!

The massive impact kicked up billowing clouds of dust from the ground. The warriors standing on the city wall felt violent tremors beneath their feet, as if a powerful earthquake had struck.

They marveled at his incredible strength. The giant beast’s corpse had to weigh at least several hundred tons. To think it was so effortlessly launched over a twenty-meter-high wall and sent flying one or two hundred meters away—was that something a human could actually do?

"That person... I think he’s Advisor Liu from the Military Staff Department. I had the honor of seeing him once during a meeting at the Military Staff Department yesterday."

A defending officer recognized Liu Zimo’s identity, his face filled with utter astonishment. He clearly hadn’t expected this excessively young headquarters advisor to be so powerful!

The officer sighed softly. "It seems the rumors are true. They say it was this Advisor Liu who personally intervened to unify and consolidate all factions within Luozhou City in a single day. Otherwise, heaven knows when Luozhou City would have truly stabilized!

"Moreover, if Advisor Liu hadn’t stabilized Luozhou’s situation a day in advance and strictly ordered all divisions to repair the current outer defense line overnight, the entire Luozhou would have been doomed during this sudden Demon Calamity!

"Strictly speaking, this Advisor Liu is the true Savior and guardian deity of our entire Luozhou City!"

The officer’s words quickly reached the ears of the nearby warriors. Every one of them looked exhilarated. It was unclear who started it, but someone suddenly shouted with incomparable passion:

"Advisor Liu!"

Then, everyone followed suit, roaring in unison:

"Advisor Liu! Advisor Liu!"

"Advisor Liu! Advisor Liu!"

Their resonant voices echoed through the clouds. Unfortunately, Liu Zimo had already arrived at the South City Defense Zone more than a dozen kilometers away and did not hear the warriors’ enthusiastic cheers.

Outside South Line City, a Tongtian Giant Python coiled in front of the walls, intimidating the surrounding Demon Beasts and preventing them from taking a single step closer. On the python’s crest, a Martial Artist sat cross-legged, seemingly engaged in Meditation cultivation.

SWISH!

With a flash, Liu Zimo appeared directly on the python’s crest. Exerting force beneath his feet, he instantly and forcefully suppressed the giant python, rendering it completely immobile. Afterward, with familiar ease, Liu Zimo separated a strand of Spiritual Sense and sent it straight into the Spiritual Platform between the Martial Artist’s eyebrows. He effortlessly located the Soul-Devouring Insect that was perched on the cobweb within the Spiritual Platform.

"Huh? A strand of Spiritual Sense actually broke in?

"It’s practically courting death. Doesn’t it know that our Soul-Devouring Insect Race excels most at devouring Spiritual Sense and dominating the Sea of Consciousness?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, a human Spirit Cultivator who has opened up a Sea of Consciousness! This is simply a fat sheep delivering itself to my door. I absolutely cannot miss this!"

Just like when Liu Zimo encountered his first Soul-Devouring Insect, the scattered thought fluctuations of the little bug before him unreservedly revealed every thought in its mind, talking to itself like a chatterbox. This further verified his previous deductions. The Soul-Devouring Insect Race truly was a race incapable of lying! Every thought in their minds would involuntarily leak out through scattered mental fluctuations, easily captured by the Spiritual Sense of others!

The moment it detected Liu Zimo’s Spiritual Sense, the Soul-Devouring Insect couldn’t help but feel a surge of greed. It eagerly abandoned the cobweb it had painstakingly woven and invaded Liu Zimo’s Sea of Consciousness like lightning. It was evident that Spirit Cultivators possessing a Sea of Consciousness held an extraordinarily immense attraction for them.

SWISH!

The instant the Soul-Devouring Insect barged into his Sea of Consciousness, Liu Zimo skillfully sealed off his Divine Sense. He created a vacuum zone within the Sea of Consciousness, imprisoning the uninvited guest inside.

"A trap?!

"Heh, how naive. If our Soul-Devouring Insect Race could be captured so easily, how could we be called the bane of Spirit Cultivators?

"Ah, these foolish Spirit Cultivators. Why are they always so self-righteous, thinking they can control everything just because they’re in their own Sea of Consciousness?

"Today, let me teach this stupid fellow a good lesson. I’ll show him what the true bane of Spirit Cultivators is..."

After being trapped, the Soul-Devouring Insect didn’t panic at all, acting as though it were highly experienced. However, as it extended its Spirit Silk to pierce the boundary of the vacuum, diving deep into the Sea of Consciousness below in an attempt to take root, weave a net, and unleash its Lifebound Talent, its scattered thoughts gradually filled with panic.

"What’s going on?

"Why can’t my Spirit Silk detect the boundaries of this Sea of Consciousness?

"It’s been a whole three thousand meters! Just whose freakish Sea of Consciousness is this for it to be so vast and profound?!

"Dammit! If I can’t deploy my Lifebound Spirit Net, won’t I really become a sitting duck..."

It reached its limit at just three thousand meters?

Liu Zimo couldn’t help but twitch his lips in disdain. Compared to the first Soul-Devouring Insect he had captured, the one in front of him was lacking by more than just a little bit. Now, he was beginning to believe that when the first Soul-Devouring Insect claimed to be a Proud Heaven Insect—a rare genius of their race seen only once in a millennium—it might not have been bragging after all.

At this moment, due to Liu Zimo intentionally letting up, the first Soul-Devouring Insect also noticed the presence of its kin. Its thought fluctuations, which had been silent for quite a while, spread out once again:

"I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s that idiot Yao Shisan!

"Even a Proud Heaven Insect like me couldn’t take root and survive in this freakish Sea of Consciousness, so let alone a piece of trash like Yao Shisan!

"It’s just that this human Spirit Cultivator is ignorant and utterly stupid. He doesn’t know that the Lifebound Spirit Crystal nurtured within the bodies of our Soul-Devouring Insect Race is a Holy Artifact for Spirit Cultivators. Otherwise, he probably would’ve ripped the Spirit Crystals out from under my tail and Yao Shisan’s the very first chance he got!"

"..."

Hearing this, the corners of Liu Zimo’s mouth curled up slightly. He was growing more and more fond of this outspoken Soul-Devouring Insect.

SWISH!

Liu Zimo condensed his Spiritual Power into a blade and instantly slashed at the Soul-Devouring Insect called Yao Shisan.

SMACK!

The blade-like Spiritual Power hacked against the skin under Yao Shisan’s tail, but instead of cutting, it was directly absorbed and devoured, like water meeting a sponge. Rather than injuring Yao Shisan in the slightest, this strike allowed it to seize the opportunity to absorb a considerable amount of Spiritual Energy, making its body even plumper.

Yao Shisan looked smug. It stretched its body comfortably, appearing even more energized.

"What a foolish human indeed! He doesn’t even know about Insect Beating Three Stars. It’s truly a waste of such excellent Spirit Cultivator talent and such a deep Sea of Consciousness Spiritual Pool!"

At this time, the Proud Heaven Insect’s thoughts drifted over once again:

"This trash Yao Shisan sure is lucky. That strike just now will extend the limit of its Spirit Silk by at least another fifty meters!

"Seriously, if only that strike had hit me. Maybe if my Spirit Silk extended another few dozen meters, I’d be able to detect the boundaries of this Sea of Consciousness..."

Insect Beating Three Stars?

Liu Zimo paid no mind to the Proud Heaven Insect’s mockery and disdain, instead focusing his attention squarely on Yao Shisan. When he saw that there truly was a nearly imperceptible, blood-red star map composed of three points located precisely above the third joint of Yao Shisan’s tail, realization instantly dawned on him. So this was the Soul-Devouring Insect’s vulnerable spot!