Chapter 502: Golden-Spotted Flame Insect

Two days later, Guangdong Ren and Wang Changsheng appeared at the entrance of a narrow valley. Behind them was a vast expanse of red peach blossoms, and a strong floral scent filled the air.

Exotic flowers and plants grew abundantly on both sides of the valley, looking incredibly vibrant.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Guangdong Ren said, "the Poria Gold Fruit tree is inside the valley. I'll lure away the Lion Roar Beast; you take the opportunity to pick the Poria Gold Fruits. If possible, also dig up the tree's leaves. I'll try my best to hold back the beast. After we succeed, let's meet in the small forest a hundred li away. If there happen to be two Lion Roar Beasts, we'll work together to eliminate one, and then I'll distract the other."

Guangdong Ren spoke each word carefully, his tone heavy.

He had already obtained an elixir for Core Formation; however, to be cautious, he wanted to acquire a Poria Gold Fruit to increase Su Cheng's success rate in forming a core.

Wang Changsheng agreed without hesitation. "Alright," he said, "let's proceed as planned."

Guangdong Ren flicked his sleeve, and a dozen red fireballs flew out, striking the flowers and plants on both sides of the valley and burning them to ashes.

He strode into the valley while Wang Changsheng found a place to hide.

Soon after, a huge roar echoed from within the valley. Guangdong Ren flew out, saying somewhat exasperatedly, "Damn it, there's a swarm of demonic insects inside!"

Two red beetles, about a zhang in size, pursued him closely. These red beetles had four wings on their backs, two pairs of fangs about a chi long protruding from their mouths, and several rings of golden spirit patterns on their tails. Behind them were tens of thousands more red beetles.

They were two low-grade third-tier demonic insects, yet Guangdong Ren, who was at the seventh level of Core Formation, surprisingly couldn't do anything to them.

He transformed into a streak of red light and darted through the air at an extremely fast speed. The red beetles did not pursue him, quickly flying back to their nest.

Wang Changsheng's face was full of doubt. Logically, Guangdong Ren shouldn't have fled! Perhaps there were more third-tier demonic insects in the nest.

A quarter of an hour later, Guangdong Ren flew back to Wang Changsheng's side, explaining the situation clearly.

The Lion Roar Beast was nowhere to be found. The nest was now occupied by a swarm of Golden-Spotted Flame Insects: one high-grade third-tier Queen Insect, two low-grade third-tier Golden-Spotted Flame Insects, and tens of thousands of first and second-tier Golden-Spotted Flame Insects.

Golden-Spotted Flame Insects were invulnerable to blades and spears, impervious to water and fire, and difficult to harm with artifacts. The most troublesome part was that they could breathe fire to injure enemies and could also combine and transform, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, the Poria Gold Fruit tree was still there, with three Poria Gold Fruits hanging on it.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Guangdong Ren suggested, "you cultivate water-attribute techniques, don't you? And you have ice-attribute artifacts. I'll go lure them out again. Let's quickly deal with those two low-grade third-tier Golden-Spotted Flame Insects, then tackle the Queen Insect."

Guangdong Ren proposed this because Golden-Spotted Flame Insects were fire-attribute demonic insects, and fire-attribute spells hadn't caused them much harm. Wang Changsheng's ice-attribute artifacts would perfectly counter the Golden-Spotted Flame Insects' abilities.

"The Queen Insect won't pursue us too, will it?"

"No, it won't," Guangdong Ren replied. "The Queen Insect is currently feeding, and it seems to be on the verge of advancing to high-grade third-tier. If it were going to pursue us, it would have done so just now."

Wang Changsheng thought the same. Anyway, he would remain outside to provide support, so even if the Queen Insect pursued them, it would be Guangdong Ren's problem.

He and Guangdong Ren walked into the valley together. Soon after, a mountain cave several zhang in size appeared before them.

Guangdong Ren strode inside. Soon after, a huge roar echoed from within the cave, and Guangdong Ren flew out.

Not long after, three enormous red beetles rushed out. Leading them was a colossal beetle the size of a house, which was none other than the high-grade third-tier Queen Insect.

Wang Changsheng's expression changed dramatically. Hadn't they said the Queen Insect wouldn't follow them out? How did they lure out the Queen Insect this time?

The Queen Insect let out a strange roar. Tens of thousands of Golden-Spotted Flame Insects combined to form thousands of red arrows. Their surfaces were enveloped in a layer of crimson flame, and with a whistling sound, they shot towards Guangdong Ren and Wang Changsheng.

Guangdong Ren's expression shifted slightly. He flicked his wrist, and numerous blade shadows flew out.

A rumbling sound echoed as the red arrows were shattered, transforming into a large swarm of Golden-Spotted Flame Insects. A small portion of the insects fell from mid-air, while most flapped their wings and re-formed into arrows.

Wang Changsheng summoned the Cold Cloud Bottle, which spewed out a large expanse of white cold air. This transformed into five enormous white ice pythons that lunged towards the incoming red arrows.

The dense golden arrows shattered the five white ice pythons, which dispersed into a large expanse of white cold air. The flames on the surface of the red arrows quickly extinguished, and a thick layer of frost appeared on them. One after another, the red arrows fell from mid-air, as ice-attribute spells perfectly countered them.

A strange hiss echoed as the three third-tier demonic insects split into two groups: the Queen Insect lunged at Wang Changsheng, while the two low-grade third-tier Golden-Spotted Flame Insects attacked Guangdong Ren.

The situation was beyond Wang Changsheng's expectations. In his plan, the Queen Insect should have attacked Guangdong Ren. Did the Queen Insect also know the principle of picking on the weaker opponent?

He didn't have time to think further. He quickly formed a hand seal, and the white cold air churned. With a "chi-chi" sound of rushing air, dense white ice needles shot out.

These white ice needles naturally couldn't harm the Queen Insect, but they carried a chilling power, which could slow down its speed to some extent.

The Queen Insect violently flapped its four wings. With a "chi-chi" sound of rushing air, a large swath of wind blades flew out, shattering the incoming white ice needles and dispersing them into a large expanse of white cold air.

Wang Changsheng raised his hand, and the Nine Bends Divine Sand shot out. Just then, Guangdong Ren's urgent voice suddenly rang out: "Watch out! The Queen Insect knows Wind Evasion!"

Wang Changsheng's heart jolted. A gust of clear wind brushed past him from behind, and a flash of golden light revealed the Queen Insect's figure.

It swept its crossed forelimbs towards Wang Changsheng's head. Wang Changsheng's figure blurred, splitting into ten. One of the Wang Changsheng figures was sliced into pieces, turning into specks of spiritual light.

A layer of cold sweat appeared on Wang Changsheng's forehead. The fact that the Queen Insect knew Wind Evasion was truly beyond his expectations. Generally, even fourth-tier demonic birds might not know Wind Evasion, and demonic insects capable of mastering it were even rarer.

The Queen Insect missed its strike and was about to attack Wang Changsheng again when dense yellow flying needles struck it, creating a rapid clatter of metallic collisions.

The Cold Cloud Bottle glowed intensely, spewing out a thick white beam of light. It struck the Queen Insect's body in a flash, causing its surface to quickly freeze, with more than half of its body covered in ice.

A hiss echoed as a large area of crimson flame appeared on the Queen Insect's body, and the ice layer rapidly melted.

A dozen yellow talismans flew over, shattering almost simultaneously. They transformed into a massive yellow light curtain with fluctuating runes on its surface, enveloping the Queen Insect. It was clearly a third-tier array talisman.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Guangdong Ren shouted urgently, "quickly go pick the Poria Gold Fruits! I'll hold them off. Let's meet in the small forest."

Guangdong Ren shouted loudly, his expression anxious. If it weren't for encountering a high-grade third-tier Queen Insect, he wouldn't have been willing to unleash this mid-grade third-tier array talisman.

Wang Changsheng put away the Nine Bends Divine Sand. He quickly formed a hand seal, and the Cold Cloud Bottle spewed out surging cold air, enveloping his body as he flew towards the cave.

The two third-tier Golden-Spotted Flame Insects tried to block him, but a large swath of red blade shadows struck them head-on, enveloping their figures.

A huge roar echoed from behind, its momentum terrifying.

Wang Changsheng ignored it and headed straight into the cave.

Not long after, he appeared inside an underground cavern.

On the left side of the cavern was a golden fruit tree more than two zhang tall, with three glistening golden fruits hanging from it. On the right was an uneven stone wall, from which faint golden light shimmered, resembling some kind of metallic ore.