Chapter 621: Chapter 621
"Junior Brother Tong, summon your life-bound insect gu and form an array with me. You must give it your all and do not hold back. This demonic spirit is extremely intelligent and cunning. If it senses anything amiss, it will surely devour the spiritual fruit before it fully ripens and flee. The rest of the disciples will follow from behind and observe the battle from a distance. Once the demonic beast is slain, the lesser ones are yours to handle. Any spiritual herbs or materials you collect will belong to you."
More than thirty cultivators stood atop the mountain peak.
Among them were six Foundation Building cultivators; the rest were all in the Qi Refining Realm.
The Qi Refining Realm disciples wore nearly identical long robes, with a strange pattern embroidered on the back that formed the character for "insect."
If Qin Sang had been present, he would have noticed that Yuan Hu, who had joined the hunt for the Blood-Winged Ghost-Headed Wasp, was among them.
The speaker was a clear-eyed elderly man with snow-white hair and kindly features. He held a black wooden staff, its surface etched with eerie blue patterns drawn from the blood of some insect.
Just as the elder was giving his orders, a peal of thunder suddenly interrupted him.
The expressions of everyone shifted, and they soared into the sky, peering into the depths of the mountains.
In the southwest, the peak of a tall mountain had, at some unknown point, gathered a massive cluster of dark clouds. Lightning danced and thunder roared within the black cloud.
After the initial boom, the thunder became a continuous, deafening rumble. The clouds grew ever thicker, silver arcs of lightning writhing madly.
Strangely, these storm clouds covered only that single mountaintop and the surrounding area within a radius of less than a thousand zhang. Beyond that, the sky was perfectly clear, not even a trace of moisture in the air. There was no indication of rain.
It was as though that one stretch of land had fallen into an apocalypse. Blinding bolts of lightning struck so close to the summit that it seemed they might reduce the mountain to rubble at any moment.
The thunder was deafening, shaking the hearts of all living creatures.
Cries of terror echoed from birds and beasts alike around the mountain. Whether ordinary animals or demonic beasts, all were driven to panic. None dared remain near and scattered in every direction.
The clouds only thickened, pressing heavily upon the mountain. The wind howled furiously, yet still no rain fell.
The cultivators of the Five-Insect Sect looked at one another in astonishment. Though they had never seen such a phenomenon firsthand, they recognized it from their sect’s records. This was unmistakably similar to a rare and powerful occurrence.
The clear-eyed elder's face had turned grim.
A muffled sound echoed through the mountains as the surrounding spiritual qi seemed to be drawn toward the mountaintop, flowing madly into the dark clouds above and draining the nearby area dry.
Beneath the storm, the spiritual qi condensed visibly, forming the vague shape of a funnel.
At that sight, all doubt vanished. It was true; someone was undergoing Core Formation!
"Senior Brother Sect Leader, if I remember correctly, that mountain is the nesting ground of the Black-Winged Eagle. Could it be that it...?"
Junior Brother Tong flew beside the elder, his voice trembling.
If a demonic beast had formed a demonic core, the entire Bear Mountain region, including their Five-Insect Sect, would be powerless to resist. Unless they planned to shut themselves away forever, they had no hope of defense.
If it were a bloodthirsty beast, the whole region might be plunged into chaos and devastation.
The elder’s expression darkened. The veins on his hand gripping the staff bulged as he said in a low voice, "Unlikely. I saw that wretched beast three years ago. It was only at the middle stage of the Demonic Spirit Realm. Its potential had nearly peaked. Even if it had consumed some rare treasure, the Black-Winged Eagle couldn’t possibly advance from late-stage demonic spirit to Core Formation in just three years. Besides, the way demonic beasts form their cores differs from cultivators."
Junior Brother Tong froze. "Then Senior Brother, do you suspect..."
The elder gave a solemn nod.
He suspected that a passing or reclusive cultivator had claimed the Black-Winged Eagle’s cave dwelling and was now forming their core there.
But a powerful outsider entering their domain was not necessarily good news for the Five-Insect Sect. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
As the phenomenon in the distance continued, the elder made a swift decision. "Junior Brother Tong, return to the sect immediately. Activate the protective array. Without my explicit orders, no one is to enter the mountain. As for the village outposts, we’ll have to ignore them for now."
Junior Brother Tong grew anxious. "Senior Brother, you’re not coming back?"
The elder shook his head. "I can’t leave. We’ve stirred up such a commotion, so it’s impossible that person hasn’t noticed us. Leaving now may offend them. If they’re merely passing through, we will respectfully see them off. But if they intend to stay, we will eventually have to face them. Better to understand their intentions early. If I’m killed, abandon the sect and let Junior Brother Tong take charge from now on."
Junior Brother Tong’s face changed drastically. "Senior Brother, you return. I’ll stay behind—"
"You're not enough! Don’t worry. I know my limits. Xijiang is desolate. Bear Mountain is no exception. A Core Formation cultivator soars like a dragon through the nine heavens; why would they stay trapped in such a remote place? The most likely case is they’re simply passing through. The precautions were just to be safe," said the elder firmly.
As they spoke, the thunder in the distance gradually faded, and the dark clouds began to disperse.
The spiritual qi funnel became clearer and more distinct.
All around it, multicolored clouds began to shimmer, painting the sky above the mountain with dazzling hues. It was a spectacular sight.
"Crap! When the rainbow mist appears, the core is about to form! Leave quickly!"
The elder urged the disciples to retreat, tidied his appearance, and then flew straight toward the source of the phenomenon, riding the wind.
By the time he arrived, the entire mountain peak had already been bathed in multicolored radiance.
After a while, the glow gradually faded, and the surrounding spiritual qi slowly calmed, returning to normal.
The elder hovered in place for a moment. Seeing that the cave dwelling atop the mountain remained silent, he pondered briefly before flying straight toward the summit.
Unexpectedly, just as he reached the entrance of the cave, a black shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes.
The elder was startled by the menacing figure of a flying yaksha. Sensing its formidable aura, he couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, shock written across his face.
"He not only succeeded in forming his core, but even possesses a corpse puppet that has undergone metamorphosis into a flying yaksha..."
The elder groaned inwardly, overwhelmed with envy for whoever resided within the cave.
He had no idea what kind of life-bound insect gu the man used. But since he had formed his core smoothly, it most likely meant his insect gu had also completed its metamorphosis.
Now that this person had entered the Core Formation Realm, he could easily stand above others of the same realm, and perhaps even challenge cultivators above his level.
A cultivator like that would be rare even in the great sects outside Xijiang. He might very well be the heir of a Spiritual Infant cultivator, someone so far beyond the elder that he didn’t even have the strength to feel jealous.
Oddly enough, this realization actually brought him some relief.
Since the other party came from a great heritage and possessed mysterious origins, he would surely have no interest in the meager resources of Bear Mountain.
Standing behind the flying yaksha, the elder cupped his fists respectfully toward the cave dwelling and gave a light cough. "I am Cui Xuanzi, Sect Master of the Five-Insect Sect. Greetings, Senior."
A stone slab before the cave suddenly shattered.
Cui Xuanzi’s pupils contracted as a remarkably young man emerged from the shadows.
He was glowing, and he radiated spirited vitality.
The young man smiled at him and spoke gently, "You must be the sect leader of Five-Insect Sect? I was passing through when I sensed the opportunity for Core Formation, so I sought out a place to break through. I was fortunate to succeed. My apologies if I caused you alarm."