Chapter 1338: The Insect Ancestor

Among all the spatial rifts, one revealed a vast expanse of snowy plains.

Standing amidst the blizzard was a white-haired man with two long antennae on his forehead, his figure nearly blending into the white surroundings.

At that moment, he was looking up toward this side, his face betraying no change in expression.

Suddenly, the man grinned, his body shot upward, and he parted his hands in front of him, from which a hazy white light emerged, penetrating directly into the spatial rift.

Then, the hazy white light swelled violently, forcibly tearing open the rift—originally only a few zhang in size—to a hundred zhang. The white-haired man flickered and passed through it, entering this outer space.

The moment he stepped into the void, a white light flared around him, shattering the onrushing spatial storm. He flickered again, arriving before the golden beetle, and clasped his fists in a bow, kneeling down.

“Your subordinate, Frostwhite, welcomes our king’s return,” the white-haired man said, his expression agitated and his voice respectful.

As his words fell, from another void, a young woman in a white gauze dress, leading hundreds of black-armored ant-headed men, stepped across from one of the rifts.

Beyond that rift, countless black-armored soldier ants stood in orderly ranks, like an army, stationed there.

“Frostwhite, I thought the first to arrive would be Greenblade, but it turns out to be you, the lazy one,” the young woman said, smiling as she looked at the white-haired man.

“Antqiu…” Frostwhite turned back, glanced at her, and called out indifferently.

“Still alone, still this cold demeanor, still… oh, your cultivation level has risen quite a bit?” the young woman named Antqiu said with slight surprise.

In her memory, during the battle against the Heavenly Court following the Insect King, most of the eight generals under the throne had died, and among the three survivors, besides Greenblade, Frostwhite had been the most severely injured.

“Back then, I failed to aid the king against the enemy and barely survived. How dare I not cultivate with all my might? But I can never reach the king’s level,” Frostwhite said.

“It is already good that you think this way,” a voice as faint as a mosquito suddenly sounded from Frostwhite’s shoulder.

Antqiu and Frostwhite were both startled, then relaxed.

A buzzing sound came from Frostwhite’s shoulder, and a green bee, no bigger than a fingertip, fluttered its wings and rose.

It flew off Frostwhite’s shoulder, and with a flash of green light, transformed into a tall man in green soft armor, landing before them.

The man appeared to be around forty, with long, slightly curly black hair hanging loosely to his shoulders, a tired expression on his face, and a full stubble of dark beard, looking like a down-and-out drunkard, as if he hadn’t woken up.

But his eyes were full of spirit, especially the golden ring around his pupils, which seemed to contain a captivating, soul-stealing luster, unforgettable at first sight.

Seeing this, the black-armored soldier ants behind Antqiu drew their weapons, ready to surround him.

“Stand down,” Antqiu raised a hand to stop the soldier ants.

“Greenblade, it seems your concealment law has advanced again; neither of us noticed you. When did you arrive?” Frostwhite frowned and asked.

“I came immediately upon sensing the king’s call,” Greenblade said, rubbing his cheek.

“Have you heard the king’s instructions?” Antqiu asked hastily.

“No. Since I arrived, the king has not spoken a word to me,” Greenblade glanced at the golden beetle and shook his head.

As his words fell, the golden beetle blazed with golden light, and a female phantom floated out, hovering in midair, her eyes filled with dense golden light, scanning the crowd with no emotional fluctuation.

The woman’s face was quite young, still bearing some traces of a maiden, and she was none other than Jintong.

“Your subordinates pay homage to the Insect Ancestor,” the three, Greenblade, Frostwhite, and Antqiu, overjoyed, all bowed in worship.

“Today, I will attempt to reclaim the position of Dao Ancestor. I wish for you to protect me and repel all invading enemies,” Jintong said, her gaze slowly sweeping over the three.

“We would die ten thousand deaths without regret,” the three replied, their eyes shining with joy.

The female phantom nodded, said nothing more, and slowly retreated, merging back into the golden beetle.

Instantly, the golden beetle’s radiance grew even more dazzling, emitting a series of very special ripples that spread outward.

The surrounding spatial rifts also began to oscillate gently, transmitting those ripples outward.

The spirit insects arriving from the Immortal Domain became even more frenzied, rushing through the rifts toward the outer space. The gold-devouring insects scattered everywhere also flew out, surging toward the golden light.

Among these gold-devouring insects were both immature larvae and gold-devouring immortals who had reached the Taiyi realm, but there were no more gold-devouring immortals at the Daluo level—all had merged with Jintong.

“That bastard Xuan Yuanjie won’t give up easily. We need to prepare,” Greenblade said after a moment’s thought.

“This time, even if we are ground to dust, we must never let him threaten the king,” Frostwhite said coldly, his face turning grim.

“I will command the insects to set up the formation. You two watch the rifts and don’t let enemies sneak in,” Antqiu said, looking around slowly.

“I’ll first drive away those heavenly demons lurking in the distance. Leave this place to you,” Greenblade said, turning his gaze to the massive heavenly demon cloud far away.

As he spoke, the weary look on his face vanished instantly, a golden light flashed in his eyes, and his entire aura disappeared completely in an instant.

In a daze, Antqiu and Frostwhite lost sight of Greenblade.

“He… is stronger than before,” Antqiu frowned.

Among the three, she had been the least injured initially, and now she had the lowest cultivation level.

Frostwhite saw the guilt and disappointment in her eyes and comforted her, “You excel at commanding and setting formations. Don’t dwell on other things. Just do what you need to do.”

Antqiu nodded, flew up, and swept to the front of the golden beetle. All the black-armored soldier ants behind her quickly followed.

After giving instructions to all the soldier ants, they scattered and flew away, mingling into the insect tide surrounding the golden beetle.

Soon, the originally chaotic insect tide began to separate and reorganize orderly, like a disciplined army, arranged around Jintong by Antqiu as if they were extensions of her arm.

As more and more spirit insects joined, a colossal insect formation began to take shape.

Frostwhite’s gaze sharpened as he watched the scene. He took a deep breath, and a blue light flashed around him, spreading a freezing white mist in all directions.

His divine sense also dispersed within the spreading mist, closely monitoring the conditions inside all the surrounding spatial rifts.

…

As time passed, the insect tide grew larger and larger. Countless insects, either with exceptional innate talents or high cultivation levels, withstood the pressure of the outer space and gathered around Jintong to guard their king.

Under Antqiu’s command, these insect tides densely layered themselves in the outer space, forming a giant scorpion-shaped formation. Its two pincers were one pure white, emitting a chilling cold, and the other dark green, burning with ghostly green flames.

The raised giant tail behind it bore a hooked stinger that gleamed with sharp light.

Jintong was now completely submerged in golden light, the beetle no longer visible. Only a huge golden orb could be seen, like a pearl protected on the scorpion’s back, with a strong attractive force spreading outward.

Just then, a sound like a great bell rang from the orb on the scorpion’s back. A hazy light emanated from the orb, and a delicate female phantom condensed, hovering above the golden orb—naturally, it was Jintong.

She chanted softly, then spread her arms as if welcoming. Before her chest, a golden vortex appeared out of nowhere, like a funnel connecting to the golden orb below.

Immediately, the spatial rifts in the surrounding void shook violently. Countless gold-devouring insects poured in from every rift, like golden waterfalls falling into the golden vortex.

The originally deep outer space, illuminated by the dazzling golden light, seemed to have an extra sun, filling millions of miles with golden rays.

Standing on the scorpion’s head, Antqiu turned back to witness this magnificent scene. Her face was filled with barely contained excitement, and her eyes grew moist. Nearby, a white mist condensed, and Frostwhite’s figure emerged.

“After waiting for endless ages, this day has finally come,” Frostwhite said, staring fixedly at Jintong’s figure, murmuring.

Antqiu glanced at him, then looked into the distance, asking, “Greenblade? Not back yet?”

“Heavenly demons are not easy to deal with, but he should be back soon,” Frostwhite said.

Antqiu was about to say something more when her expression suddenly changed.

She turned her gaze toward the largest spatial rift in the void ahead, but found that Frostwhite had already vanished from his spot and rushed there first.

But before Frostwhite could reach it, a black shadow flashed within the rift, and a hundred-zhang-tall mountain thrust out, appearing directly in the outer space.

“Damn it.”

Antqiu muttered to herself, then shot upward. She did not recklessly charge at the mountain but instead, with a thought, commanded the giant scorpion below to raise its two huge pincers in a defensive stance.