Chapter 434: Brought It Upon Himself
The old Taoist was no fool. He was aware of how competent his enemy was, that he was not rendered completely useless even after being caught by the immortal binding rope. Although he was sent away by the little fox’s spell it wasn’t possible for him to stay afloat forever. Hence, the old Taoist decided to use his ‘Rise of Insects’ to summon all bugs within a ten-mile radius, whose only mission was to devour every single living thing they saw.
Be it human or beast, no one could escape the insects’ wrath. Once the poisonous bugs consumed Curator, the immortal binding rope would fall to the ground. The old Taoist would be able to regain control over the rope again if he was within a certain distance.
This was the countermeasure he figured out in this moment of desperation.
His Rise of Insects was admittedly horrifying, as this part of the woods started quaking. Countless poison bugs crawled out of the trees and the substrate, searching for something to quench their thirst for blood.
At the foot of the mountain, White Ape was caught up in the attack as well. After morphing into his huge ape form, instead of making his escape alone, he remembered to carry the semi-paralyzed Zhi Yin on his back
Zhi Yin was moved by his action. It prompted him to reflect on his past when he slew monsters indiscriminately. Clearly, he had trodden down the wrong path. Of course, White Ape was completely oblivious as to this sudden change in the monk’s attitude given how his focus was entirely on making it out of the forest alive. Despite his effort, a number of poison bugs clung stubbornly onto White Ape, gnawing at him and causing him to cry out in pain. Fortunately, in his large ape form, White Ape’s skin got thicker so he could endure the pain for a moment.
Hordes of bugs were surging around the old Taoist as well. Shang’er was too occupied to even focus on anything else as the crimson mist insects kept coming at her. In a battle between elites, while one may have the upper hand for one second, the enemy could easily counter the next.
Right now, the old Taoist clearly had the upper hand. Rise of Insects was probably his ultimate move and it didn’t seem like it was going to end soon.
“Insect Bite!” The old Taoist’s eyes were bloodshot. His immortal binding rope was gone and Curator was nowhere to be seen. This was all the fox’s fault!
The old Taoist made a grabbing gesture. In an instant, the insects around him gathered to form a large hand that reached out for Shang’er who was hovering in the air.
The hand grew so large so quickly that in the blink of an eye, it was at least a hundred feet tall. It blocked out the sun as it came crashing down on Shang’er. Caught in the middle of the crimson mist insects and the giant bug hand, Shang’er had nowhere to run. In the final few seconds, they suddenly heard a rooster’s crow resonating in the air. It was the natural predator of these bugs. The waves of insects around the old Taoist froze up for an instant. Out of nowhere, a rooster fell onto the old Taoist. With flaming anger in his beady eyes, the rooster pecked mercilessly at the old man’s back.
This rooster was obviously Goldy. Goldy’s beak was a potent weapon, so forget human flesh, he could even shatter stones with it. The old Taoist shrieked at first, but the excruciating pain helped him regain his senses, upon which he turned and reached for Goldy.
Inside Goldy’s beak was a golden cicada about the size of a thumb.
The golden cicada was quivering uncontrollably. Although its aura was much stronger than Goldy’s, it couldn’t fight back in the face of a natural predator.
“Yo-you… give me back my insect king…” the old Taoist growled through gritted teeth, glaring at Goldy.
Goldy’s only response was loosening his beak and allowing the golden cicada to fall down his gullet. Goldy had been eyeing this creature for a while now, but the clever rooster made sure to keep his intentions hidden. Patiently, he waited for a chance to seize it in a decisive attack, and sure enough, he managed to pick it off the old Taoist’s body.
“Ah! I’ll kill you!” The old Taoist simply went mad when he saw Goldy turn his pet beast into his lunch. Clenching his fists, he was truly enraged now. As important as the immortal binding rope was to the old Taoist, it could not compare to the golden cicada. Without it, he simply could not exist.
He had spent over a hundred years refining this pet beast and it was exactly because of this Rank 5 insect king, the golden cicada, that he was able to manipulate insects and perform various spells.
To think such an important golden cicada was swallowed by this b*stard of a chicken! He wouldn’t have it!
“I’ll tear you apart!” The old Taoist was still plenty strong, even without his pet beast. With just his bare hands, he could even tear a boulder or a live bull apart. However, the instant he exerted his force, Goldy clucked as flames began to emerge from his body. Just like White Ape, he expanded in size.
Burned by the scorching flames, the old Taoist cried and quickly released his grip on the rooster.
Both his arms were now scorched black and disabled.
Amidst his panic, before the old Taoist came to, he was devoured by the poisonous bugs around him.
Without the insect king, the golden cicada, he could no longer manipulate insects. Having lost control over the thousands of poisonous bugs around him, it was only natural that he turned into their next target. Since the old Taoist was the closest to them, the former had no hopes of escaping.
No one anticipated such an outcome.
The old Taoist’s body was completely devoured in the blink of an eye, leaving only his skeleton behind. Without anyone to control them anymore, the bugs returned to where they came from. Some crawled back into their holes, and some knocked into each other in the air as they tried to fly back to their nests.
Once the bugs scattered, what remained was a battered environment. Shang’er cast Goldy a glance before hurrying after Lin Jin.
She had used Object Manipulation to send Lin Jin at least one thousand feet away. No doubt, that area was also affected by the Rise of Insects attack from earlier.
Shang’er was worried that something might have happened to Lin Jin.
However, when she found him, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Jin was safe. Not only that, but the powerful immortal binding rope was also in his hand.
“Master Lin!”
Shang’er had begun transfiguring as she flew, and by the time she descended, she was already in her human form. She had actually recovered when Lin Jin went to Daluo Temple but she continued to feign sickness just so she could rest in Lin Jin’s arms for several more days. In this battle with the old Taoist, she had had to give her all so her trick obviously had to fall apart here.
There was no one else around too so right after descending, she bowed respectfully.
Upon seeing Shang’er, Lin Jin asked about what happened back there. After learning that the old Taoist had died in an accident caused by Goldy, Lin Jin was stunned.
“He brought this upon himself,” Lin Jin mumbled under his breath.
He had had some questions for the old Taoist but that seemed impossible right now.
What that old Taoist had mentioned earlier raised a lot of questions.
For example, why was he targeting Lin Jin? And, what did he mean by ‘inheritance’? After pondering it earlier, while Lin Jin had some speculations, he needed to confirm it with the old geezer.
But now, the old Taoist was dead. Lin Jin’s questions would probably have to go unanswered for now.
Somehow, Shang’er was now even more beautiful than she was previously, and there was also an additional hint of enchantment. To claim that her beauty would trigger the downfall of cities and civilizations wouldn’t be an exaggeration. No, it might even be an understatement.
Unfortunately, Lin Jin was already immune to Shang’er’s appearance.
Looking at the immortal binding rope in Lin Jin’s hand, Shang’er couldn’t resist the urge to ask, “Master Lin, how did you break free from this rope?”
How on earth did he manage to do it?
Lin Jin smiled back at her. It was quite an embarrassing story to tell but when he sensed the Rise of Insects intending to devour him, he tried opening the Visitation Hall’s door out of desperation.
And it worked.
He went to hide inside the Visitation Hall and once he disappeared, the rope fell off his body.
It was a simple trick. The Visitation Hall was cut off from the outside world. It belonged to a completely different realm. Without the controller’s mana to support the rope, it was natural for it to come undone on its own.
Lin Jin pointed behind him and Shang’er understood what he was saying immediately.