Chapter 315: Attention

Inside the headquarters of the Insectoid Hive, within a massive spherical creature, a beautiful woman lay, seemingly in a deep slumber. A message reached her.

“Hmm?” The beautiful woman slowly opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in them. “Elder Saluo, what is it?” She was well aware of the Insectoid Hive’s seven elder-level existences.

“Hive Master!” Elder Saluo messaged. “I’ve been trapped by Luo Feng in the Dan Tower, and he won’t let me leave. He’s demanding a hundred million Origin Crystals as compensation before he’ll release me.”

“How did you provoke Luo Feng?” the beautiful woman asked, puzzled.

“An alchemist in the Dan Tower poisoned two of my subordinates. Here’s the detailed report,” Elder Saluo replied, sending the full intelligence. The beautiful woman learned the entire sequence of events.

“I personally came to the Dan Tower to apprehend that alchemist, Gu Qingyuan,” Elder Saluo said helplessly. “But who would have thought Luo Feng would be so overbearing? He trapped me directly with a formation, demanded compensation, and didn’t even show you any respect.” The beautiful woman pressed him, “His formation alone could trap you, preventing your escape?”

“Yes,” Elder Saluo responded. “The formation’s power is terrifying; it completely suppressed me. I couldn’t resist.” If he could have resisted the formation and broken out, he would have left long ago.

“Moreover, this formation is draining my vitality, making me progressively weaker,” Elder Saluo stated. “Hive Master, Luo Feng is openly insulting us. Our Insectoid Hive cannot tolerate this!”

“Why can’t we tolerate it?” the beautiful woman asked, perplexed. “When facing a powerful enemy, one must naturally exercise restraint.”

Elder Saluo was stunned. “A powerful enemy?” In the Hive Master’s eyes, Luo Feng was a powerful enemy.

“As for the hundred million Origin Crystal compensation, there’s no need to give it to him. As an elder with numerous avatars, you can simply abandon the trapped one,” the beautiful woman instructed.

Elder Saluo was somewhat helpless. “I personally came to the Dan Tower prepared to forcibly capture Gu Qingyuan, so I brought a complete set of secret treasures worth over a hundred million Origin Crystals.” If it were a common avatar, he’d disperse it without a second thought. However, this entire set of secret treasures, painstakingly gathered and perfectly suited to him, could not be easily abandoned.

“Then pay the compensation,” the beautiful woman said.

“If we pay, our Insectoid Hive will lose immense face this time. Luo Feng is trampling all over the Insectoid Hive’s reputation,” Elder Saluo reminded her again.

“Let him step!” The beautiful woman cut off the communication. She had never cared about such things.

“Last time he provoked me outside my dwelling, and now he’s openly humiliating me again? Is he trying to force a confrontation?” The beautiful woman grew increasingly wary. She understood a fundamental principle: the more an enemy desires something, the less you should allow them to have it. “My intelligence has been circulating in Yu Lan City for a while, and Luo Feng has even engaged in a mental will confrontation with me,” the beautiful woman mused. “He knows my capabilities well, yet he still tries to provoke me into action. He must have some confidence. Does he possess a more powerful mental technique? Or some other unknown method?”

Her only course of action was patience! She would rely on time to uncover Luo Feng’s true capabilities. “As long as Luo Feng is strong enough, he will eventually reveal his full power, and then his true capabilities will become clear,” the beautiful woman thought with great patience.

The Dan Tower’s architectural formation operated, forcibly trapping Elder Saluo and compelling him to pay compensation. The spectacle naturally astonished onlookers, and news quickly spread throughout the city.

How could the Dan Tower, a force of alchemists, dare to provoke the Insectoid Hive, one of the three great plundering powers? All plundering powers were terrifying. The Insectoid Hive had its Hive Master and seven elder-level beings, and an even greater number of mid-stage God-Emperor realm cultivators.

“Just keep Elder Saluo trapped like this?” Pavilion Master Changqing was uneasy.

“I will handle this matter, Pavilion Master; you need not worry,” Luo Feng said.

Pavilion Master Changqing was genuinely flustered; his own strength wasn’t sufficient, and he truly didn’t dare to be so unyielding in front of the Insectoid Hive. “I hope Luo Feng doesn’t get me into trouble,” Pavilion Master Changqing thought to himself.

The trapped Elder Saluo remained silent for a moment. Finally, he spoke, his tone considerably softer: “Luo Feng, my visit to the Dan Tower this time was an offense on my part. Please release me.”

“Hmm?” Pavilion Master Changqing was surprised, and the other Dan Tower members nearby were also astonished. Had he truly caved?

“As I said, hand over a hundred million Origin Crystals as compensation, and I will naturally release you,” Luo Feng said, looking at him indifferently.

Elder Saluo felt quite humiliated. He was also a powerful being from the Source World, with numerous avatars, and generally didn’t need to care much about Luo Feng’s reputation. His act of conceding was merely in the hope that Luo Feng would waive the hundred million Origin Crystals.

“Luo Feng, I came to the Dan Tower for Gu Qingyuan, not to target you. Are you still demanding a hundred million Origin Crystals as compensation?” Elder Saluo couldn’t help but say.

“If you had targeted me, a hundred million Origin Crystals wouldn’t be enough to resolve it,” Luo Feng said, looking at Elder Saluo. Scum from the Insectoid Hive deserved to be taught a lesson. If this were outside the city, he would have already crushed him to death.

No matter how fierce Elder Saluo was, he had to endure it now. A moment later, another avatar of Elder Saluo arrived, carrying a hundred million Origin Crystals.

“Here is the hundred million Origin Crystals as compensation,” he said, presenting a bag full of Origin Crystals.

“You may leave,” Luo Feng said, accepting the compensation and releasing him.

As Elder Saluo departed, he glanced at Luo Feng and said, “Brother Luo Feng, I’m truly impressed.” After that, he said nothing more and quickly left under the gaze of numerous onlookers outside.

“He really paid the compensation?” Many members within the Dan Tower could hardly believe it. An elder forced to obediently offer compensation within the city? Elders all had avatars; sometimes they would rather break than bend, letting their avatars dissipate rather than easily bowing their heads.

These Dan Tower members didn't know that since the Hive Master herself chose to endure, Elder Saluo naturally realized something was amiss. He chose to suppress his temper, refrained from summoning allies for a prolonged struggle, and instead offered the compensation, bowing his head in defeat to conclude the conflict.

“Senior Luo Feng,” Alchemist Gu Qingyuan respectfully bowed. “Thank you, Senior, for saving my life.” Without Luo Feng’s deterrence, Gu Qingyuan would have been in grave danger this time. Even if he had left the city immediately after poisoning, with the Insectoid Hive’s power to trace spatial-temporal and karmic imprints, Gu Qingyuan would still have faced near-certain death.

However, driven by the death of his only disciple, Gu Qingyuan had been consumed by killing intent at the time. He had first slain the two culprits, then planned to escape if possible, or be prepared to perish with them if he couldn’t.

“I believe Saluo won’t target you again,” Luo Feng said. “You can rest assured and stay in the Dan Tower.”

“Yes, Senior,” Gu Qingyuan replied, quite grateful.

“Alright, everyone, you may disperse,” Pavilion Master Changqing instructed with a smile, then pulled Luo Feng away first.

“Brother Luo Feng, you’ve openly humiliated the Insectoid Hive this time, and the Hive Master must surely know. Yet Saluo still obediently paid the compensation,” Pavilion Master Changqing said anxiously. He pressed, “Clearly, it wasn’t Saluo who chose to bow, but the Hive Master. Why is that?”

Luo Feng smiled thoughtfully, “Perhaps the last time I clashed with the Hive Master, he sustained significant injuries, which is why he chose to concede this time?” As Luo Feng’s realm advanced, his use of Elemental Array techniques became even more formidable, naturally increasing their power. Of course, Luo Feng’s most potent method now was direct combat, empowered by the Immortal Heart Palm Empowerment. He didn't even pay much mind to the three great Pavilion Masters, let alone the Hive Master.

“Alright, there’s no need to worry. No matter what tricks they try, I’ll bear the brunt of it,” Luo Feng said with a slight smile, then turned and went to his small building. He resumed his focused cultivation.

Even without intentionally merging creation and destruction to give birth to the Path of Annihilation, he was only a final 'sheet of paper' away from the late God-Emperor realm. It was only natural for him to gradually accumulate the Path of Creation and Destruction to reach the late God-Emperor realm.

“Once my Path of Creation and Destruction reaches the late God-Emperor realm, I can head to the Dark Saint Realm. I can leave an avatar in Yu Lan City to repay Pavilion Master Yuanxiang’s kindness, but my main efforts must be directed towards exploring the Dark Saint Realm.”

Within one of the cave dwellings in the core region of Yu Lan City, there was a building. Inside, tens of thousands of terrifyingly powerful beings, all at the God-Emperor level, resided.

“Hmm? This Luo Feng shows no respect for the Insectoid Hive at all, and the Hive actually endured such humiliation?”

“How strange, how strange.”

“For someone with the Hive Master’s overbearing nature to endure this, there can only be one possibility: she’s afraid.”

“She’s afraid?”

Tens of thousands of beings all showed perplexed expressions. This building was the Myriad Shadows Pavilion. No one knew what its master looked like, because the tens of thousands of beings within the entire Myriad Shadows Pavilion were merely a fraction of the Myriad Shadows Pavilion Master. Many other parts of the Myriad Shadows Pavilion Master were in the Dark Saint Realm, and in other places. This was an existence with countless avatars and manifestations.

The Master of the Devious Labyrinth, the Myriad Shadows Pavilion Master, and the Insectoid Hive Master—these three individuals had each established their own plundering and raiding forces, and all of them were extremely difficult to provoke.

“Luo Feng trampled on the Insectoid Hive’s reputation, and Elder Saluo of the Hive obediently paid a hundred million Origin Crystals in compensation?” Flowers had already bloomed on Elder Xingyi’s branches. His status in Yu Lan City was extremely transcendent; as the personal disciple of an invincible existence from the Dark Saint Realm, even the three Pavilion Masters showed him respect.

“Luo Feng only recently arrived in Yu Lan City, even co-renting with Di Qing. He was only hunting low-level Origin beings at the early God-Emperor stage. In the blink of an eye, he can make the Hive Master fear him?”

“He has a bit of my master’s demeanor.” Elder Xingyi thought of his master; it was difficult even for him to meet his master. Compared to his master, those seemingly dazzling existences in the Dark Saint Realm immediately faded into ordinariness.

Inside the largest cave dwelling in Yu Lan City, Pavilion Master Weiyang sat, his eyes deep, his face expressionless, reading a freshly delivered intelligence report. He was deeply concerned with all aspects of Yu Lan City, and he was well aware that Pavilion Master Yuanxiang’s condition was worsening. He had already prepared himself to become the City Lord of Yu Lan City.

“Luo Feng?” Pavilion Master Weiyang read the report, his brow furrowing slightly. “Growing so fast?” The Master of the Devious Labyrinth had once suggested recruiting Luo Feng, but Pavilion Master Weiyang hadn’t done so. He felt a powerful threat emanating from Luo Feng.

“Insectoid Hive, Luo Feng is so overbearing, yet you endured it?” Pavilion Master Weiyang directly messaged the Hive Master.

“He is skilled in mental will secret techniques and has engaged in a mental confrontation with me. I do not wish to provoke him,” the Hive Master replied.

“Just a mental confrontation?” Pavilion Master Weiyang asked again.

“Yes. If I had a powerful secret treasure that could protect my mind, I would certainly be willing to teach Luo Feng a lesson,” the Hive Master responded.

Pavilion Master Weiyang did not press further. A moment later, a subordinate messaged, inquiring, “Pavilion Master, what should Luo Feng’s latest God-Emperor ranking be?”

Pavilion Master Weiyang frowned slightly and instructed, “Set it at rank 33.”