Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The Dao Court’s Desperate Struggle

On the World Heaven Battlefield, in another stretch of wilderness.

According to the agreement between the Dao Court and the Pure Land, the Dao Court should have detected the attack on the Pure Land and sent reinforcements immediately.

But in the end, the Dao Court never showed up.

This was because at the very moment the Pure Land Buddhist Cultivators were being ambushed by the Stain Sect, while the Dao Court also ran into unexpected trouble and was locked in a bitter fight.

Above the wilderness, a colossal city floated in the air.

This treasure was similar to the Pure Land’s terrain-vessel, a specially crafted Artifact. At this moment, however, the great city was enveloped by a black cloud.

The black cloud bore down on the city, threatening to crush it. A ceaseless, buzzing drone of insects filled the air wherever it passed.

As they descended upon the city’s protective Light, they produced a scalp-numbing shriek. Over time, the insect swarm had chewed the city to pieces, and many Dao Court Cultivators had been devoured.

“These insects… just what are they!?”

“Techniques, Artifacts, nothing works on them…”

“Hold the line!”

A Dao Court Cultivator stood on the front lines, but his Magical Power was nearly exhausted. In a moment of weakness, an Insect burrowed into his mouth and nose, and he instantly froze in place.

A moment later, the Dao Court Cultivator collapsed with a thud.

Looking again, there was no human form to be seen. All that remained was an empty, bloody husk of skin and a cloud of the Insects, now numbering in the hundreds, bursting forth!

This was the terror of the Qi-eating Insects.

They were unbreakable and immune to water and fire. Moreover, they could devour Qi. Whether it was techniques or artifacts, everything was on their menu!

On the entire battlefield, only one position had managed to hold firm.

There was only a single Cultivator there, a tall, heroic-looking woman. Sword Light swirled around her, and wherever she passed, vast swathes of Demon Insects were instantly destroyed.

’It had to be the Sword Pavilion…’

In the deepest part of the city, Wang Jinting, the leader of the Dao Court forces this time, couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “The Supreme Sword Divine Technique of the Celestial Sword Pavilion truly lives up to its reputation.”

’A pity she’s only one person… At this point, I have no choice but to abandon Void Celestial City!’

As this thought crossed his mind, Wang Jinting glanced at the Panorama Map in his hand, his expression turning grim.

’The Pure Land… is gone!?’

Wang Jinting discovered that the dots of light on the map representing the Pure Land Buddhist Cultivators, which had been clustered together, had almost all vanished in an instant!

In their place were large numbers of Stain Sect Disciples!

The Panorama Map could survey the entire Outer Realm. As long as someone was still within this small realm, it was impossible for them to escape the search of this Treasure of Fruit.

Unless they were already dead.

’The Stain Sect… but how is that possible?’

Wang Jinting found it hard to believe. Hadn’t they already surrounded and killed most of the Primordial Demons? Unless a Perfected Person had descended from the heavens, how could the Pure Land possibly have been defeated?

’If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have ignored these insects.’ At this thought, Wang Jinting felt a pang of regret.

With the Panorama Map, he’d actually had the chance to get ahead of everyone, find the Qi-eating Insect’s King, kill it, seize its Heavenly Number, and claim victory.

However, this Battle for the Dao was a joint effort between the Dao Court and the Pure Land to suppress the Demon Dao.

Under these circumstances, victory was only one objective. The other, more important mission was to kill as many Stain Sect Disciples as possible, especially the Direct Disciples!

For this reason, he had previously ignored the natives of the Outer Realm.

As a result, the enemy had instead used this time to grow rapidly, fed by the Outer Realm itself, to the point where they had now formed an unstoppable force!

Beyond that, the defeat of the Pure Land also made him extremely uneasy.

’…We retreat first!’

With this, Wang Jinting finally made the decision to retreat. He was about to activate the Panorama Map and teleport all the Dao Court Cultivators away.

But just then, the shouts of disciples suddenly came from outside.

“They’ve stopped… They’ve stopped!”

“The insects aren’t attacking anymore?”

“What’s going on?”

The voices made Wang Jinting pause, a look of confusion on his face. The next second, an immense spiritual perception passed through all barriers and landed before him.

“…People… from Beyond the Heavens.”

Feeling that immense spiritual perception, Wang Jinting’s pupils shrank. He subconsciously took a step back, and then realization dawned on him. “You are the Insect King?”

“Correct.”

Perhaps because it had devoured so many Cultivators, the Qi-Eating Insect King now possessed a nascent spirituality, and even its speech was gradually becoming more fluent:

“I have eaten your people. You and the other group do not seem to be allies. I saw many of you… hunting down that other group. Since that’s the case, you must know… Among them, there is an unbeatable existence. I need detailed information about him.”

“Huh?”

After hearing the Insect King’s words, Wang Jinting stood frozen on the spot. He then realized that the “other group” the Insect King spoke of must be the Stain Sect.

An unbeatable existence among the Stain Sect?

How is that possible!

Wang Jinting had personally experienced the terror of the Qi-eating Insects. Their numbers and quality were both impeccable. It was nearly impossible for those in the Qi Refining Stage to deal with them…

“…Foundation Establishment!?”

In that instant, Wang Jinting felt as if he’d been plunged into an icy abyss, and then he started cursing inwardly: ’They actually sent a Perfected to participate in a Battle for the Dao meant for Qi Refining Disciples?’

’Those bastards!’

Even so, Wang Jinting didn’t give up. The next second, he lifted his head to face the Insect King’s spiritual perception, and an idea surfaced in his mind.

’There’s still hope! I can still maneuver this!’

’The natives of this Outer Realm… if I can use the power of these Demon Insects, I might have a chance to win. At the very least, I can secure a stalemate!’

At this thought, Wang Jinting finally spoke:

“I can give you intel on that person’s location and ensure they can’t find you, but I have a request… You must help me deal with that group.”

“How about we cooperate?”

“After all, you want to deal with them, and I want to deal with them. We should be on the same side.”

“Besides, once we’ve killed all of them, we’ll leave this place without you even having to ask…”

In an instant, Wang Jinting had cleared his thoughts.

’I refuse to believe… that person can be a true Foundation-Stage Cultivator. At the very least, there must be a weakness, like stamina—an inability to maintain their combat power for long.’

’No matter what, I have to probe them first… These Demon Insects are undoubtedly the best way to do it. Their numbers are massive, they don’t fear death. Letting them charge at the forefront will definitely test the depths of that Foundation-Stage Cultivator from the Stain Sect. Then I can formulate a strategy based on the situation…’

’As long as I stay hidden and don’t show myself, it doesn’t count as a loss!’

….

“Right now, that’s probably what the Dao Court is thinking.”

The Myriad-Soul Banner fluttered. Lü Yang and Progenitor Tingyou sat facing each other. After Progenitor Tingyou finished his methodical analysis of the situation, Lü Yang showed a look of agreement.

“Cooperating with the Qi-eating Insects, using a war of attrition to wear me down… I’d do the same thing in their shoes.”

Although after Progenitor Tingyou’s improvements, the current Su Nu had no weaknesses, and it wouldn’t matter how many Qi-eating Insects at their present level were thrown at her.

But if the enemy remained hidden and only sent swarms of insects to their deaths, it would still be quite troublesome.

At the very least, it would be a long war of attrition.

And if things dragged on for too long, Heaven knows if the Qi-eating Insects, as the Child of Destiny of this Outer Realm, would grow to a level he couldn’t handle.

Therefore, a swift victory was essential.

And to achieve a swift victory, the only ways were to find the Cultivator in the Dao Court’s camp who held the Treasure of Fruit, or to kill the Insect King, the Child of Destiny among the Qi-eating Insects.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang tried a quick divination.

A moment later, he released his hand and shook his head. “It’s no use. The enemy is holding a Treasure of Fruit, so their karmic links are obscured. I can’t calculate their exact location.”

Just then, a voice suddenly called out:

“Perfected Person… are you looking for someone?”

Lü Yang turned at the sound of the voice and saw Bi Feiyuan. Dressed in a gauzy robe, she smiled sweetly and said, “Perhaps we can help.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep