Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Blood Shadow Mosquito

Yang Jing picked up the remaining pieces of meat, preparing to dispose of this Demon Beast Flesh that had been infested with Demon Insect Eggs. But to his surprise, a dense cloud of Demon Qi suddenly erupted from within the flesh.

This Demon Qi was far more intense than before. Yang Jing noticed it immediately. He raised an eyebrow, picked up his dagger, and sliced open a piece of the Demon Beast Flesh.

He saw that the eggs, as small as pinpricks, were swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye. Initially white, they quickly turned a grayish-brown. Before long, small gray insects hatched from the eggs. These insects had slender bodies and chewing mouthparts, with two brushes growing out from the sides of their upper lips.

After hatching, they extended their mouth brushes and, like steel bristles, ground the tough Demon Beast Flesh into a paste, which they then fed into their mouths. The small insects had astonishing appetites, riddling the entire piece of Demon Beast Flesh with a dense network of holes.

[Name]: Blood Shadow Mosquito (Larval Stage)

[Species Level]: Ordinary

[Power]: Mortal Body

[Talent]: Concealing Breath (Ordinary), Fast Growth (Ordinary)

[Cultivation Technique]: None

[Skill]: None

[Affinity]: -10

Yang Jing took a deep breath. The number of different Gu Insects in the Nine Heavens World was incalculable, and he never would have expected these eggs to be those of the Blood Shadow Mosquito.

The Blood Shadow Mosquito was a type of Lower Grade Demon Insect bred by the Dark Spring Demon Sect. He didn’t know much about them, only that these Demon Insects had enormous potential. Although they were only Lower Grade Demon Insects, they could pupate and metamorphose like moths, and they could do so more than once. With each metamorphosis, their potential would increase dramatically.

If one could be bred to metamorphose nine times, it would be in no way inferior to the rarely seen Upper Grade Demon Insects.

It was just that in the Nine Heavens World, the ones he had encountered were Blood Shadow Mosquitoes that had already metamorphosed four or five times, growing as large as white cranes. This was the first time he had ever seen their eggs or larvae.

’I don’t know if it’s just the Demon Mosquitoes in this piece of Demon Beast Flesh that have hatched, or if all the Demon Mosquitoes in Huashan County have hatched at the same time. If it’s only the ones in this piece of flesh that were stimulated into hatching, then the situation is still barely under control. It even gives me a pretext for dealing with all the Demon corpses in Huashan County. But if all the Demon Mosquitoes have hatched together, then this is a catastrophe.’

Even Yang Jing’s scalp tingled with dread as he imagined the sight of tens of thousands of Blood Shadow Mosquitoes blotting out the sky.

“BZZZZZZ!”

In the brief moment Yang Jing was lost in thought, the Demon Mosquitoes had already devoured the entire piece of Demon Beast Flesh, grown blood-colored wings, and taken to the air. Their size was shocking—each was as big as a fist, and the wind from their wings kicked up dust from the ground.

Yang Jing’s eyes narrowed as he saw that the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes’ status panel had changed.

[Name]: Blood Shadow Mosquito (Flying Stage)

[Species Level]: Ordinary (Unmetamorphosed)

[Power]: Little Demon

[Talent]: Concealing Breath (Ordinary), Blood Scale Armor (Ordinary), Blood Absorption and Shadow Tracking (Rare)

[Cultivation Technique]: None

[Skill]: Blood-piercing Nail, Blood Shadow Escape

[Affinity]: -50

The next moment, a full hundred Blood Shadow Mosquitoes swarmed toward Yang Jing. Their speed was immense, like a driving squall.

Yang Jing formed a spell seal with one hand while drawing the Demon-slaying Sword from his Storage Bag with the other.

The Five Talisman Scripture contained over twenty Five Elements Techniques, and thanks to Iron Head, he had already mastered them completely. Since he had already determined that the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes feared True Fire, he immediately chose a Fire Element Daoist Skill.

“Red Fire Spell!”

With a surge of his Magical Power, a stream of crimson True Fire gushed forth. As the simplest Fire Element Magic, the Red Fire Spell was extremely fast to cast. An ordinary Cultivator’s Red Fire Spell would only be the size of a fist, only able to cover an area of about ten feet after it exploded. Against Defense Magic like the Golden Light Spell, it was almost incapable of breaking through.

But Yang Jing’s Red Fire Spell was far more than that.

The Red Fire he unleashed transformed directly into a raging torrent of fire, like a mighty river, sweeping up the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes that swarmed him from all directions.

After casting the Red Fire Spell, an ordinary Cultivator would lose control of it, but of course, Yang Jing’s was different. The torrent of fire roared and coiled, churning like a violent undercurrent. Blinding flames filled the air, and the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes within lasted only for a few breaths before being completely engulfed.

Yang Jing swung his Demon-slaying Sword, sending several sharp flashes of Sword Light through the air. As sparks flew, the few stragglers that had escaped the Red Fire Spell were sliced in half.

He dismissed the Red Fire Spell. The searing heat had burned the ground to a faint red. Most of the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes had been incinerated into ash; only a few were still clinging to life, their wings, scales, and fine body hairs completely scorched. Yang Jing dispatched the rest with his Demon-slaying Sword, stabbing them to death on the ground.

The fine scales on the Demon Mosquitoes’ bodies were as tough as refined iron; Yang Jing had even felt some resistance when he cut them with his sword. After being scorched by the Red Fire, however, their Defense Power was greatly reduced, so much so that even a mortal could have stomped them flat.

Yang Jing leaped onto the roof. A faint golden light glowed around his pupils as he strained his Eye Power to its limit, and only then did he make a discovery.

Perhaps because of the interference from the Stealth Array, the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes he had just killed had hatched later than their brethren lurking inside other Demon corpses. From the residences of the Independent Cultivators who had participated in the demon hunt, faint, barely noticeable wisps of Demon Qi were seeping out.

The Blood Shadow Mosquito’s first metamorphosis was very simple; it could begin as soon as they absorbed enough qi and blood. The Blood Shadow Mosquitoes in those residences were likely all pupating.

’It seems someone in the Wu Clan has already cultivated a Blood Shadow Mosquito to the Fourth Transformation and intends to use the qi and blood of this entire county’s mortals to raise it to the Fifth Transformation.’

Yang Jing’s expression turned grim.

After the Fourth Transformation, a Blood Shadow Mosquito could become a Mosquito Mother and lay a massive number of offspring to collect blood for it, accumulating the resources needed for the Fifth Transformation. The mortals of an entire county, plus over a dozen Independent Cultivators—such a blood feast would be an incredible tonic for the Mosquito Mother.

For some reason, he thought of the Biyuan Ancestor. These methods were just like something that old demon would do.

The man’s schemes were flawless, his methods insidious and vicious, exploiting his victims down to their very marrow.

In the Nine Heavens World, the Biyuan Ancestor was an absolute nightmare for players of the Six Great Sects; few ever managed to escape his clutches with their lives. Three Golden Core Great Powers from the Six Great Sects had died at his hands.

He recalled that aside from the Blood Flood Dragon refined from Yinjiao, the Biyuan Ancestor also possessed a Seventh Transformation Blood Shadow Mosquito.

Suddenly, Yang Jing saw a pillar of Demon Qi shoot skyward. The dormant Blood Shadow Mosquitoes had been disturbed. A moment later, more than ten thousand Blood Shadow Mosquitoes rose into the air like a black cloud, blotting out the sky in a horrifying spectacle.

He remembered that location should be Wang Wei’s residence. Amidst the Demon Qi, there were also several intense fluctuations of Magical Power. A Cultivator had disturbed the Blood Shadow Mosquitoes!

“Iron Head, Yinjiao, back in the Beast Taming Bag for now.”

His expression grim, he leaped down from the roof.

’Such dense Demon Qi is almost visible to the naked eye, yet the Demon Alarm Bell hasn’t rung. Yu Yingwu must have tampered with it. The county’s Demon Alarm Bell is a Tier Two Spiritual Artifact; to think he had a way to interfere with it.’

’If the Demon Alarm Bell doesn’t ring, Fuyuan Prefecture City will assume everything is normal in Huashan County. No reinforcements will come.’

’I thought killing those three Demon Cultivators from the Wu Clan might turn things around a little. I never expected the conspirators’ plot to be so vicious and meticulous. With just one little push, the situation has instantly deteriorated to the worst-case scenario.’

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