novelhk 818. Facing it alone
818. Facing it alone
The Heavenly Tomb, first level.
After the eight clans' prodigies caused a great disturbance and the ancient devouring insects erupted, creating an unprecedented commotion, this space returned to silence.
The prodigies of the eight clans have either been trapped in the sea of insects or have escaped.
The vast sea of insects roamed the first level, but after initially pursuing the eight clans' prodigies for a while, the insect sea gradually lost its target.
There weren't many things within the Heavenly Tomb that they could devour, and in the end, they separated wave after wave, seemingly following some kind of instinct, heading towards the boundary of the Heavenly Tomb.
Deep within this sizable swarm of insects, a faint purple halo flickered incongruously amidst the countless writhing, pale insect shadows. If someone were to observe it up close, they would discover that this purple halo was not some mutated ancient devourer, but rather a purplish-red ball of flame.
The ball of fire was not large, barely enough to hold an adult. Inside the ball of fire was Xiao Yan, who was being overwhelmed by the swarm of insects.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, like an old monk in deep meditation, his aura completely suppressed, almost blending into the deathly silence around him.
When Xiao Yan was first trapped in the swarm of insects, he was naturally panicked and tried his best to escape. However, the millions of insects were no joke. Xiao Yan's struggle was like that of a small beast in a vast ocean, and he could not find a way to leave. On the contrary, the more he struggled, the more astonishingly his internal energy was consumed, while the insects became even more valiant after devouring Xiao Yan's fighting spirit.
His soul power was greatly weakened by the dense barrier of the insect swarm, and his perception range was compressed into a very small space. He was unable to detect the boundary of the insect sea, let alone locate Xun'er, Huo Zhi, Lei Jingxiao and others.
Xiao Yan also realized that if he continued to fight these insects head-on, he would not only fail to reach the depths of the Heavenly Tomb to see his ancestors, but it would be a question whether he could even survive to leave the first level of the Heavenly Tomb.
However, Xiao Yan's experience quickly led him to discover the best way to deal with the swarm of insects. When he didn't attack proactively and simply maintained the minimum level of his Crimson Lotus Starflame Shield, the swarm still surrounded him, but the intensity of their attacks seemed to have decreased. They seemed more inclined to devour the Dou Qi that naturally dissipated from the edges of his shield, rather than frantically attacking the shield itself as they had initially done.
Clearly, the strange fire still provides some protection against these ancient devouring insects, and they cannot swallow it.
A bold idea popped into Xiao Yan's mind: he decided to start "playing dead".
Try to minimize your presence and actively blend into this sea of insects, no longer emitting any aura to these absurd creatures.
The strategy ultimately proved quite effective. The insect swarm's targeting gradually weakened, and eventually they stopped paying attention to Xiao Yan's existence altogether. Instead, they engulfed him in the sea of insects, moving with the majority of the swarm. This gave Xiao Yan a precious respite.
Xiao Yan also discovered that these ancient devouring insects did not seem to always stay together. From Xiao Yan's not-so-clear soul perception, these insect swarms must have a destination. Furthermore, the insect swarms seemed to be constantly splitting into waves, not always moving together.
As Xiao Yan gradually stabilized, he continued to search for the peculiar entity within the swarm. Throughout this process, Xiao Yan couldn't help but admire that creature's incredible caution; it never gave Xiao Yan an opening. Even though Xiao Yan had some sense of it, the means to break the deadlock lay with "it," yet he couldn't do so. After all, how could he break the deadlock if he didn't even know its exact location?
However, Xiao Yan still faces a significant hidden danger: his Dou Qi is already seventy to eighty percent depleted, and it continues to be consumed without replenishment. After all, Xiao Yan needs to maintain the Crimson Lotus Star Flame. Outside the insect swarm, he wouldn't be bothered by this depletion, as his internal cultivation technique would replenish it. But now, inside the Ancient Devouring Insect, Xiao Yan receives no external Dou Qi replenishment whatsoever.
During this time, Xiao Yan considered trying to swallow a pill. However, the moment the pill's aura was leaked, the previously calm sea of insects surged again, and all the ancient devouring insects instantly charged towards Xiao Yan without regard for anything else.
At that moment, Xiao Yan was absolutely certain that if he still dared to hold onto the pill, these insect swarms would relentlessly attack him until the very last moment. Their sensitivity to energy far exceeded his expectations.
Therefore, Xiao Yan acted decisively, immediately using the Crimson Lotus Star Flame to envelop the pill and send it away, diverting the insect swarm's attention from him. This resolved the crisis, but that perilous attempt completely extinguished Xiao Yan's plan to use the pill to recover his own energy.
With all his methods of replenishing his Dou Qi internally and externally ineffective, Xiao Yan could only watch helplessly as his Dou Qi was gradually depleted. He dared not stop using his Strange Fire Shield for even a moment, as he did not want to use his own flesh and blood to test the sharpness of the teeth of those ancient Devouring Insects.
"Really... so calculating." A wry smile appeared on Xiao Yan's lips.
This situation, where not a single drop of battle qi could be wasted, made him feel as if he had returned to many years ago, when he was still in Qingshan Town, and his Burning Technique was only at the low-level Yellow Rank, when he was dealing with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group in the Monster Mountain Range.
At that time, his fighting spirit was too limited. Although his actual combat strength was much stronger than those mercenaries, he had to be meticulous in every battle and make sure that every move was either a sure hit or left a way out.
Unexpectedly, after devouring several different flames and advancing his strength to the Heavenly Rank through the Burning Technique, he was forced to relive that awkward feeling of meticulous planning again by a group of strange insects in this ancient tomb.
Three days—Xiao Yan set himself a final deadline. If the insect swarm still hadn't shown any weakness in three days, Xiao Yan was determined to risk an attack. Even if he still couldn't escape, he would at least have a chance to take a pill. If he didn't have enough fighting spirit and died at the hands of these insects, that would be truly humiliating.
The only thing that could reassure Xiao Yan was that Xun'er and the others' cultivation levels were definitely higher than his. As long as they found the key to dealing with the swarm of insects, they could hold out for much longer than he could. Lei Jingxiao's lack of a different kind of fire was a problem, but Xiao Yan had a feeling that Jiang Yunyan must have already devised a way for him to protect himself.
They must still be alive, and they must be looking for a way to escape.