Ruling Martial World by Infinite Insect Swarms

Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Visitors from the Demon Suppression Bureau, Harvest of the Scorpion Demon’s Nest

”Rest? There’s no need. Endure the hardship a little longer and take us to where you discovered the Snake Demon Li Tianyi.”

The young woman raised her eyes, a pure white Jade Bottle appearing in her hand before she casually tossed it to Zhang Shun.

Zhang Shun glanced at it. The bottle bore a striking illustration of a dragon and a tiger. His heart tightened, and his exhaustion vanished instantly.

It was a Dragon and Tiger Pill!

A famous Gamma-level Low Grade Elixir from the Demon Suppression Bureau.

If he consumed this elixir, he could probably unblock his liver meridian immediately, breaking through to the Qi and Blood Tiger realm. He might even refine his spleen, stepping straight into the Qi and Blood Like a Bear realm!

But he couldn’t bear to use it.

The greatest use of the Dragon and Tiger Pill was to aid experts in the Qi and Blood Like Dragon Realm during their breakthroughs. Consuming it could increase their chances of success by at least twenty percent!

Even the three people standing behind the young woman stared at the elixir with burning envy.

Hurriedly tucking the elixir into his robes, Zhang Shun sneaked a glance at her. He marveled inwardly at the exceptionally deep pockets of the Demon Suppression General’s direct disciple.

However, upon seeing the stark white hair crowning the otherwise bright and beautiful girl, a wave of pity washed over him.

Her name was Li Wanqing.

She was the daughter of the Spiritual Snake Sect Elder, Li Yao!

Indeed, her father was the very man who had initially brought the Snake Demon Li Tianyi into the Sect. Li Tianyi had ultimately betrayed him, slaughtering his entire family. He had also ambushed over a dozen Sect disciples, refining their internal organs into Human Pills.

At the time, the young Li Wanqing happened to be out with her mother, only to return to the devastating news.

Unable to bear the blow, her mother passed away from sheer grief a year later. ℯ

The tragedy drastically changed Li Wanqing’s temperament and turned her hair white in her youth.

After the Spiritual Snake Sect sent successive experts to hunt down Li Tianyi to no avail, Li Wanqing decisively joined the Demon Suppression Bureau. She frenziedly slaughtered Demon Fiends to increase her strength, hoping to leverage the Bureau’s power for her revenge.

As it turned out, her talent was transcendent. The Yunlong County Demon Suppression General took notice and accepted her as a direct disciple.

From then on, she meteorically rose to prominence.

In just a few short years, she stepped into the Qi and Blood Like Dragon Realm. Countless people within the Demon Suppression Bureau envied and admired her, but Li Wanqing’s reputation wasn’t built on her master’s name—it was forged entirely through actual combat and bloodshed.

The number of Demon Fiends that had died by her hand was uncountable.

When she received the news about the Snake Demon Li Tianyi, she happened to be near Bishui City and rushed over immediately.

Behind the girl stood a middle-aged man as lean as a snake. A Snake Fang Scimitar hung at his waist, and a small, snow-white snake was coiled around his bronze-colored wrist.

This was Chen Sheying of the Spiritual Snake Sect!

He had followed Li Wanqing into the Demon Suppression Bureau and was exceptionally skilled in tracking. Also an expert with Qi and Blood like a Dragon, he had hunted the Snake Demon Li Tianyi multiple times, forcing him to flee with heavy injuries.

Behind him stood two experts from the Bishui City Demon Suppression Bureau.

One of them was a middle-aged man with a physique as burly as an iron tower. He had broad shoulders, a thick back, and arms corded with bulging muscles. A fierce Demon-Suppressing Armor-Breaking Spear rested menacingly on his back.

He was Zhao Zhenshan, a veteran expert of the Bishui City Demon Suppression Bureau, who also possessed Qi and Blood like a Dragon.

The other was a handsome youth with a sharp, mature countenance and piercing brows. Although he hadn’t yet achieved Qi and Blood like a Dragon, he wasn’t far off.

He was Lin Jianqing, the second son of the Bishui City Lin Family, and a fanatic admirer of Li Wanqing.

”Understood!” Zhang Shun said respectfully, though a hint of hesitation leaked into his voice. ”Milady, the Demon Fiend cave is about two hundred miles away, deep in the mountains where the paths are treacherous. Tracking the Snake Demon Li Tianyi will be exceedingly difficult. However, there is a branch of the ’Celestial Wind’ Qin Family here in Cyan Peak County. They specialize in raising War Beasts and Red-bellied Eagles.

”During our last extermination mission, it was a Red-bellied Eagle that first spotted the Demon Fiend’s ambush.

”Perhaps we can mobilize them to assist us.”

Upon hearing this, Li Wanqing raised her brow and was about to speak, but the snake-thin middle-aged man behind her let out a cold sneer and interjected.

”A Red-bellied Eagle? It’s merely an ordinary bird. How could it compare to my Guiding Snake?”

The handsome, sword-wielding youth also shook his head. ”I’ve read the mission file you submitted. A few dozen Muscle Refining Realm War Beasts might be somewhat useful against common Demon Fiends, but to an expert with Qi and Blood like a Dragon, they can be annihilated with a flip of the hand. Bringing them along will only be a burden.

”Let’s just depart immediately!”

Realizing there was no room for argument, Zhang Shun said no more and sighed inwardly. He had a good impression of Qin Yu and originally wanted to use this opportunity to give the young man a lift. If Qin Yu could showcase his Archery skills in front of Li Wanqing, he might just catch her eye.

From then on, he could have rocketed to success.

Li Wanqing, however, glanced up at the sky, noticing a Red-bellied Eagle conspicuously circling amidst the clouds.

”What sharp perception. She noticed the Red-bellied Eagle from over a kilometer away.”

Deep inside the mountain belly housing the Scorpion Demon’s Nest, Qin Yu frowned slightly.

The perimeter around Cyan Peak County was already thoroughly blanketed with Insect Swarm scouts monitoring everything. The moment Zhang Shun and his group stepped into the county’s territory, he noticed them right away.

”It seems these are the experts sent to hunt down the Snake Demon Li Tianyi. I can’t believe they are so young. I wonder if they’ll be able to find the Snake Valley,” Qin Yu thought as his mind raced.

He then issued an order to the Insect Nest. ”Analyze several common mountain birds and flying insects, then follow them! Do not let them discover the swarm’s tracks.”

A Red-bellied Eagle was too large of a target, but ordinary titmice and flying bugs were everywhere in the mountains. No one would suspect them of acting as scouts.

When surveilling such high-level experts, these lesser creatures were actually more effective and wouldn’t draw any attention.

The Insect Nest required a great deal of time and a staggering amount of Energy to analyze Demon Fiends, but the cost for ordinary birds and insects was negligible, allowing the process to finish rapidly.

Afterward, Qin Yu retrieved a pen and paper, quickly sketching the portraits of the four people accompanying Zhang Shun before rolling the parchment and slipping it into a bamboo tube. He dispatched a Red-bellied Eagle to deliver it to the Qin Family Manor so his father could take it to the Golden Phoenix Tower to gather intel.

Armed with sufficient intelligence, he wouldn’t be left completely in the dark.

The bamboo tube also contained another drawing. It featured several bizarre Runes, vaguely resembling scorpions—or rather, scorpion totems.

After finishing all of this, he finally looked up.

”To think there’s actually an altar inside this Scorpion Demon’s Nest!”

Once the Worker Insects had cleared away all the moss, a ten-foot-tall stone altar was revealed underneath. It was already heavily dilapidated, but several faint Runes could still be seen carved into it.

Aside from the altar, he had also discovered strange patterns lining the inner walls of the cavern, though they had long been eroded by time, leaving only traces behind. This place had been abandoned for far too long.

”Forget it, I’ll ignore these for now. The geographical location here is excellent and quite secluded. Once the Insect Nest is established, I’ll have it analyze the moss first. It might allow the swarm’s Fungal Mat to evolve and solve some of my resource issues.

”This Scorpion King isn’t bad either. Both its potent venom and Earth Escape Talent are precisely what the swarm needs.”

Qin Yu looked toward an incubating Insect Nest near the altar, feeling quite satisfied.

An additional Insect Nest meant an additional layer of foundation for the Insect Swarm. Their collective cognitive processing and analytical capabilities would also be further enhanced.

However, Insect Nests couldn’t be built just anywhere. He still didn’t want them exposed, and establishing one consumed a massive amount of Energy, meaning each location had to be meticulously chosen. The moss was an unexpected delight.

As for the scorpion venom, it brought him an even greater surprise. Even a behemoth like the Profound Armor Barbarian Bear had collapsed after being stung by the Scorpion King’s stinger. Furthermore, the poison had an extremely potent paralyzing effect.

Considering his current lack of offensive methods, extracting the toxin and coating his arrows with it could serve as a deadly trump card.

For the Insect Swarm, extracting biological toxins was a breeze.

”Next, it all depends on whether the Demon Suppression Bureau can slay the Snake Demon Li Tianyi. If they succeed, that will eliminate a major threat,” he pondered.