Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect

Jiang Xu immediately cast the Concealing Breath Spell, silencing his movements.

After a week of arduous practice, his Concealing Breath Spell had reached the Skilled Stage.

Its effect was a vast improvement over the Beginner Stage.

At the same time, he also used the Light Body Spell.

With the two combined, Jiang Xu moved like a phantom—impossibly fast and utterly silent.

The small, silver flying insect was completely unaware as Jiang Xu closed in.

Jiang Xu stared at the tiny insect before him, hesitating whether to strike.

’What if it’s actually a beneficial insect?’

But he only hesitated for a second.

The next moment, the Small Cotton Needle Technique rapidly took shape in his hand, and a Palm Spirit Needle shot out at high speed.

It instantly struck the small, silver flying insect.

TING—!

In the silent night, the tiny sound of impact was exceptionally sharp.

Jiang Xu couldn’t believe his eyes.

His Skilled Level Small Cotton Needle Technique had only managed to leave a faint white mark on the creature’s silver carapace!

’This shell is way too tough!’

The small, silver flying insect shrieked in pain from Jiang Xu’s attack, then turned into a streak of light and flew off.

Startled, Jiang Xu hastily retreated.

However, he noticed it wasn’t flying toward him, but in the opposite direction.

’It looks like it’s trying to escape!’

The moment Jiang Xu saw it trying to flee, he gave chase, once again casting the Small Cotton Needle Technique.

Again came the "TING."

And again, it failed to inflict any real damage.

At most, it only made the insect fly away even faster.

At this, Jiang Xu subconsciously took a few steps in pursuit, but he quickly stopped, watching the creature disappear into the distance.

Jiang Xu didn’t give chase.

It wasn’t because he wasn’t fast enough, but because his attacks were too weak.

With his Skilled Level Light Body Spell, catching the small insect would have been easy.

But killing it would require at least seven or eight more uses of the Small Cotton Needle Technique.

Combined with the Magical Power already spent on the Light Body Spell and Concealing Breath Spell, that would be enough to drain half his reserves.

For a Cultivator, excessive consumption of Magical Power is a very dangerous state to be in.

This was especially true in an uncertain situation like this one.

’I wonder if the one I saw this morning and the one I just saw are the same insect...’

Jiang Xu’s expression was grave.

For him, it didn’t matter if they were the same or not—neither possibility was good news.

If it was the same one, then judging by the way the silver coloration was spreading across its body, the creature was gradually evolving.

Jiang Xu had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before its entire body was silver.

He had no idea what would happen then.

But he knew it was a development beyond his control, one that would likely become a threat to him.

No one liked that kind of feeling.

If they weren’t the same one, then it meant these small flying insects were likely appearing in a group near his Spirit Field.

’What a headache. A real migraine!’

Jiang Xu was deeply troubled.

For now, he could only take things one step at a time. In any case, his Concealing Breath Spell had now reached the Skilled Stage.

’If worst comes to worst, I’ll just keep it active twenty-four hours a day,’ he thought. ’There’s no way these bugs can find me then!’

Jiang Xu remained highly wary of the unknown silver insects.

In truth, their behavior so far gave no cause for alarm.

They didn’t harm people or Spirit Rice, and they only ate pests. Logically, Jiang Xu shouldn’t feel such hostility toward them.

But a doubt lingered in his mind.

For now, the silver insects seemed harmless, eating only pests.

But Jiang Xu hadn’t seen any pests for several days.

’Once the pests are gone, will they stay here or fly off to find a new home?’

’If they stay here...’

’...what will they eat then?’

...

「The next day.」

Early in the morning, while Jiang Xu was practicing his Small Cotton Needle Technique, he heard a frantic voice call out from outside.

"Jiang Xu! Jiang Xu! Come out, quick!"

It was Shen Ji’s voice.

Hearing the urgency in her voice, Jiang Xu rushed out the door.

As soon as he opened it, he saw Shen Ji bent over in front of his house, hands on her knees and gasping for breath. She had clearly run the whole way.

"What is it? Why are you in such a panic?"

"Here... look... at this!"

Shen Ji held a tattered Ancient Scroll. The moment she caught her breath, she thrust it at Jiang Xu, pointing to a specific page.

"What is it?"

Confused, Jiang Xu took the Ancient Scroll from her and began to read.

After only a few lines, his expression grew grim.

As Jiang Xu examined the scroll, Shen Ji explained from the side,

"After you left yesterday, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen the insect you described somewhere before.

So I spent all night looking through my Ancient Texts and finally found this one, *Ancient Strange Insect Secrets*.

There’s an entry in it with a description that sounds very similar to yours."

Jiang Xu lowered the Ancient Scroll.

"It’s a definite match. I’m surprised you collect such obscure books."

"I’ve always loved reading about strange legends and secret histories. I have quite a collection of these Ancient Texts at home. They’ve cost me a fair few Spirit Stones, too."

"It’s just... the book says this Mother and Child Insect is supposed to be extinct. Why would it show up here?"

"That, I don’t know," Shen Ji said with a shrug. "The book doesn’t say."

Jiang Xu shook his head, processing what he had just read.

The small, silver flying insect was actually a type of Spirit Insect called the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect.

It had appeared back in Ancient Times and was even ranked among the top 500 on the List of Exotic Insects.

Its life cycle was similar to a beehive, with one Mother Insect and its numerous Sub-Insects.

First, the Sub-Insects would go out to hunt and absorb nutrients. They would then sacrifice themselves to the Mother Insect, allowing her to increase her level.

Once the Mother Insect leveled up, she could produce higher-level offspring. These stronger offspring could then gather nutrients more efficiently, and the cycle would repeat.

According to the text, the swarm initially only attacked weak creatures that contained Spiritual Qi.

Once the swarm’s overall power increased, it would expand its range of targets.

Humans would be included on the menu.

The text also explained why they hadn’t touched the Spirit Rice.

Before this Exotic Insect could ascend to Tier One, it could only absorb Spiritual Qi through flesh; it was incapable of absorbing it from plants.

Only upon reaching Tier One could it absorb the Spiritual Qi within plants.

Furthermore, its diet would expand with each major level-up, eventually allowing it to devour minerals, Magic, and even Primordial Spirits... until there was nothing it couldn’t consume.

’It seems it really is this Exotic Insect...’

Jiang Xu believed the creature he saw yesterday was a Sub-Insect.

Once a Sub-Insect’s body became completely covered in silver, it meant the Mother Insect had advanced to become a Tier One Spirit Insect—the equivalent of a Cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Stage.

At that point, it would become incredibly difficult to handle.

At least, it would be for an ordinary Qi Cultivation Cultivator.

Jiang Xu calculated that, given the Exotic Insect’s rate of advancement, the Mother Insect would likely become a Tier One Spirit Insect within the next two days.

It would be today or tomorrow.

In fact, it might have already reached Tier One.

Logically, knowing how terrifying the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect was should have made Jiang Xu even more frightened.

And yet, he felt more at ease than before.

The reason was simple.

The Ancient Texts stated that a lone Sub-Insect or even the Mother Insect itself wasn’t the real danger. The truly terrifying part was the swarm.

As long as he didn’t stumble into the Mother Insect’s nest, the threat wouldn’t be too severe.

He didn’t need to worry about being swarmed outside the nest, either.

This was because once a Sub-Insect strayed too far from the Mother Insect, her control over it would weaken. It would then act purely on instinct and would not coordinate with others to attack a target.

That is, unless the Mother Insect was being controlled by someone who could command the Sub-Insects to attack a specific target.

Jiang Xu’s mood lightened considerably.

’An expert capable of controlling this kind of Exotic Insect wouldn’t be so bored as to pick on a lowly servant like me, right?’