Chapter 138 - Eighteen Feet Long Yuan Shen
The insect race in the black forest was everywhere and as the heavily injured Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei were escorted by Zhong Yue out of the forest, their emotions were overcome with gratitude and shock.
This was because the of the grotesque strength that the insect race possessed! They soon found out the horrifying power that the insects commanded as soon as they entered the forest back then. They moved as fast as lighting and their skin was seemingly impervious to all attacks.
The remaining Qi Practitioners only managed to arrive at the Monster God Ming King palace by planning their actions carefully.
But when it came to Zhong Yue, these insect races were no match for Zhong Yue! He cast out his seven sword qis and distributed them throughout the ground and air, efficiently forming a death array which minced the insects into pieces before he proceeded to extract their spirit peals.
The process and methods he used to slaughter those insects were ruthlessly efficient, as if they had been practiced and honed over countless killings.!
Hu Qimei and Yu Xuanji were lost in their shock as they thought, Brother Long Yue is even stronger after killing King Teng, he might have the capability to fight with Heaven Monster Li Jun and even defeat him!
It came as no surprise that Zhong Yue’s strength was able to greatly impress the monster duo as his spirit was still growing at a very rapid pace, enabling him to control his sword qi with even greater power and flexibility
Only with a stronger spirit will the sword qi be able to unleash greater power. For example, if a sharp sword was held in the hand of an ordinary man, the man might not even be able to kill a beast but if a branch was wielded by a person of skill, he might even be able to cut down any formidable foes with just that seemingly fragile branch, let alone with the formidable sword qis.
Huh? This footprint….
Zhong Yue suddenly stopped as he came across with a few footprints on the ground that there were forty feet apart. Each footprint was about a few feet in size each!
These footprints also did not belong to any humans or monsters, instead, they belonged to the strange claws of the insect race!
Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei followed the path of these footprints received another immense shock! It seemed like wherever these footprints passed through, it would cause the trees in their paths to fall onto the ground and the mountains to collapse. These were the traces left behind by an enormous creature of the insect race!
“Big guy….”
The duos murmured, “So there’s another big guy in this secret realm….”
Zhong Yue let out a long breath and he said, “This guy is slightly smaller, which suggests that he shouldn't be any bigger or stronger than the other big guy that escaped from this place.”
Hu Qimei inhaled deeply and murmured, “Even if it is not stronger than the previous one, it is still much stronger than us.”
Zhong Yue looked at the trail of those footprints that led all the way to a lava waterfall before vanishing completely. He concluded that the big guy might have burrowed into the lava waterfall.
How could there be an insect race in the ground? There shouldn't even be space for the insect races when the Monster God Ming King was ordered to stand sentry here.
Zhong Yue thought, Could there have been insect eggs in the ground that were flushed to this place by the lava? But how many eggs must there be to give rise to such an abundance of insects… That’s right, the queen!
He then remembered the key he obtained from the body of Zhu Xianer and the picture on the key was an insect queen!
If it was the egg of the insect queen that was hatched, then it could explain the enormous amount of insect races in the Black Mountain’s secret realm!
If that’s the way, then the big guy that crawled out from this place is the insect queen? How many insects have been sired by her during all these years?
He couldn’t help but shiver upon pondering this matter further.
Not long later, they finally returned to the entrance of the Black Mountain’s secret realm and managed to safely exit out of the realm.
“There are three more survivors!”
Outside of the realm, the long brows elder from the Xian Kong Saint City said with a deep voice, “The three little young ones, come here.”
Zhong Yue then brought Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei up to the front of the palace where the long-browed elder stood. They greeted him as the elder measured them and the elder said, “Other than the three of you, are there any more survivors?”
Yu Xuanji shook his head and said, “There shouldn't be any more Qi Practitioners.”
“So only four of you survived?”
The elder seemed to be disappointed but he then cheered up and he said, “Over sixty entered and in the end, only the four of you managed to return safely. I suppose this can still be considered as a good result already. Before the three of you, Heaven Monster Li Jun also walked out of here. Seems like the final disciple of the Sain City Lord would be either one of you. You guys are not bad, not bad indeed… I shall contact the management now and ask them to welcome all of you. Take care of yourselves and treat your injuries while waiting for the city lord to summon you.”
Zhong Yue, Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei nodded and remained silent.
Not long later, a warship arrived with the manager standing on the bow. The trio was then invited to board the ship before they set sail towards the city hall.
As the warship was approaching the city hall, strong individuals from various factions walked forward but were met with disappointment upon only seeing the trio.
Unlike the others, the Awakening level Qi Practitioners from the same faction as Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei were extremely happy and they quickly walked up to them and followed them at their backs.
“This is Brother Long Yue, an Eastern Sea dragon race, he saved me twice in the Black Mountain’s secret realm.”
Yu Xuanji then introduced Zhong Yue and explained the situation, “I am indebted to him, senior martial brother Hei, please be nice to him.”
The Awakening level Qi Practitioner quickly greeted Zhong Yue and said, “Hei Hu from the Qing Long Keep, thank you for your help, Mr Long.”
The Awakening level Qi Practitioner that followed behind Hu Qimei was a girl called Hu Qingqing and Hu Qimei also did the same thing as Yu Xuanji. Hu Qingqing then quickly said, “Mr Long, thank you for taking care of my junior martial sister throughout the entire journey. On behalf of the people of Luo Ying City, I thank you for your help.”
Zhong Yue returned the greeting and Hu Qingqing blinked her eyes as she asked, “Qimei, are there any more survivors?”
Hu Qimei shook her head and Hu Qingqing replied happily, “Good, good! This means that Qimei has the hope of becoming the final disciple of the Sheng City Lord.”
Hei Hu too felt extreme happiness and he whispered, “Many of the beloved sons, daughters, and disciples of these city and keep lords died this time. Haha, what a shame ... I guess those old geezers still have some work to do in order to sire a few more children!”
Zhong Yue was stunned by their crass remarks and thought, Such cruel competition among the monsters, it’s even fiercer than that of the humans. Thank god there is no much discord among the monsters, otherwise, the Great Wilderness would simply be unable to resist them at all!
The manager clapped his hand and a servant walked up towards him. The manager then said, “Please take a rest and treat your wounds safely. After you have recovered, the Sainty City Lord will definitely summon the three of you.”
The servant then arranged accommodation and all sorts of services for them before leading them to their respective luxurious courtyards.
The true aim of the Sainty City Lord was to complete his【Monster God Ming King Art】 through the geniuses sent into the secret realm. Besides, he prioritized the treasures hidden in the realm more than selecting his final disciples.
Zhong Yue settled down safely and thought, But it is very important for me to become the final disciple of the Saint City Lord as my position to cement my position and status among the monsters, and also to acquire a larger territory. With that, it would be much easier for me to provide assistance to the humans living in the monsters’ lands.
He had gained a lot during this bizarre trip to the Black Mountain secret realm, not only that he has cultivated the five elemental Sword Qi, he had also acquired a god-level cultivation technique — the【Monster God Ming King Art】, and he had also drunken a mouthful of that heaven-defying jade liquid.
Especially the jade liquid ... with the help of the jade liquid, his soul was still undergoing constant refinement even at this moment; his soul had now reached a length of fourteen feet now, only a few more feet away from the extreme twenty feet!
However, he was beginning to approach the point of diminishing returns and the speed his soul was being refined was beginning to slow. But it was still a horrifying speed of improvement nonetheless despite the this.
As the soul grew stronger, it would provide a holistic boost to the abilities of the Qi Practitioner, increasing the power of their skills and improving the speed of their cultivation. Zhong Yue tried cultivating the【 Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】, and as the Great Sun and the Bright Moon orbited around him, he could feel that his body’s cultivation speed was a few times quicker!
The jade liquid is such a magnificent item! But that’s only natural for a treasure created by thousands of god and demon spirits. It would only be abnormal if such things didn’t have an incredible effect.
Unlike Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei, Zhong Yue did not suffer much injuries and the damage that King Teng inflicted on him quickly dispersed with his cultivation of the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】.
As his soul was being continually strengthened, the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】began to illuminate deeper into his body, slowly permeating deep into his bones!
With his bones being enhanced by the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】, he could feel that his rate of blood reproduction speed increased and the bloodline power within him growing ever more potent. The process of extracting the Fuxi celestial blood from the Beast God inner core also became much faster than before!
So strong, at this rate, I will be able to open the divine eye on my forehead in no time!
Zhong Yue was struck with joy as he really had gained a great deal this time. But what made him particularly exuberant was the increase in his bloodline instead of the increase in his cultivation base!
Without knowing it, three days had passed and Zhong Yue’s soul stopped growing after having reached the length of eighteen feet! This was all because the jade liquid had completely faded, effectively halting the strengthening of his soul.
Xin Huo shouted testingly, “What a pity! Your cultivation speed was already fast enough but part of the spiritual power still faded before you could extract it all. You would have reached the Great Circle of Rebirth, with the level of Awakening not too far away!”
Zhong Yue shook and said smilingly, “I am already satisfied with this. After all, its a slippery slope to increase the cultivation base through external aids like the jade liquid. I would be even more easily defeated if my soul is strong but unstable. I may have look stronger if I managed to absorb all the spiritual power but I would’ve been burdened with even more weaknesses than before. If I still haven’t reached the peak level, I could take this chance to stabilize my cultivation base and digest my gains so that I could eliminate as weakness as I can, while I still can, lest those weaknesses become anchors for my cultivation in the future!”
Xin Huo nodded in emphatic agreement and said, “It is true that if your soul increased way too fast, it could lead to an unstable base. You lack a profound understanding of the Rebirth level and it would be great if you were to remain at this level to glean more insights into it.”
“I wonder how Yuan Xuanji and Hu Qimei are doing right now. They are both very strong and are notable figures among the monster. I should be able to gain a foothold easier in the monster society with their help!”
Zhong Yue then walked out of his courtyard towards Yu Xuanji’s courtyard. However, as he walked, he felt a tremor coming from Yu Xuanji’s courtyard and he immediately quickened his steps towards it.
But everything had already returned to calm before he was able to get close. As he approached the courtyard, he saw Yu Xuanji and the Qing Long Keep’s Qi Practitioner, Hei Hu, sitting down in front of the courtyard. Other than that, Yu Xuanji looked even paler and seemed to have suffered even heavier injuries than before!
“Brother Xuanji, Brother Hei Hu, what happened?” asked Zhong Yue.
Hei Hu wanted to talk but Yu Xuanji shook his head and signaled something to Hei Hu. Hei Hu immediately got what Yu Xuanji meant and he laughed as he said, “It’s nothing, Xuanji and I were not careful enough and were bitten by some dogs! Haha, when the tiger loses its fangs, even the dogs could harass them….”
Zhong Yue felt confused and he helped the duo up. Suddenly, Hu Qimei and Hu Qingqing could be seen walking towards them quickly and they too, were covered bruises and wounds and Hu Qimei appeared to be in an even worse state than before. It was just as if she was beaten up again before she was able to recover from her initial injuries.
“Brother Xuanji, those guys came looking for trouble as well, right?” Before Hu Qimei even got close to them, she had already shouted angrily.