Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Exotic Insect Invasion

In the distance, Jiang Xu spotted six flying insects heading his way. They were completely silver and resembled June beetles.

These were the very same Sub-Insects he had seen yesterday.

’There’s not a speck of black left on them. This means they’ve evolved to Tier One.’

Jiang Xu cast the Concealing Breath Spell on himself.

He decided to wait and observe.

The six Sub-Insects flew off into the distance, entering a Spirit Field tended by another Servant Disciple.

Jiang Xu didn’t know the Servant Disciple in charge of that area, so he had no intention of warning them.

Still, Jiang Xu wanted to get closer.

He wanted to get a better look and see if they were any different than before.

He cast the Light Body Spell, and his speed exploded. With just a light push from the balls of his feet, he glided seven or eight meters forward.

’Even without going all out, I’m already a fair bit faster than the sprinter Usain Bolt from my past life.’

Before long, he reached the area where the Sub-Insects were.

Hiding at the edge of the Spirit Field, Jiang Xu scanned the area for the Sub-Insects.

It didn’t take long for him to spot them.

They were clinging to the heads of rice, devouring the grains. Their speed was far from slow; they could strip a single stalk of Spirit Rice clean in just over ten seconds.

And that was the speed of just one Sub-Insect.

That was already terrifying.

While the loss was minimal compared to the total harvest...

...the number of Sub-Insects wasn’t static.

Once the Sub-Insects had eaten their fill, they would return to the Mother Insect. After receiving the Spiritual Qi, the Mother Insect would produce even more, even stronger Sub-Insects.

If this cycle continued, it would inevitably escalate into a massive plague of insects, threatening the entire Profound Origin Sect!

’That may be true, but this isn’t a problem I can solve. I don’t know where these Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insects came from, but it looks like they’re already well-established. As a mere Qi Cultivation Early Stage cultivator, the most I can do right now is protect myself.’

’Still, I could warn the General Affairs Hall. I’ll just need to think about the best way to do it.’

With that thought, Jiang Xu silently closed in on one of the Sub-Insects.

He prepared to strike. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

It wasn’t that he was bored and decided to play exterminator for someone else.

Instead, he wanted to test whether his Small Cotton Needle Technique, now at the Master Level, could pierce the Sub-Insect’s carapace.

He gathered his Magical Power. A Spirit Needle materialized in an instant and shot out, flying straight toward his target.

PFFT—

The Small Cotton Needle Technique was incredibly fast; the Sub-Insect was struck the very instant the needle was released and began to fall.

However, that single needle was clearly not quite enough. The struck Sub-Insect struggled in mid-air, as if trying to take flight again.

But a second needle from Jiang Xu immediately followed, piercing it clean through.

It dropped to the ground, motionless.

The entire sequence was extremely stealthy. Jiang Xu’s movements were swift, and the Small Cotton Needle Technique was silent. The remaining Sub-Insects were completely unaware that one of their kin had been slain.

Jiang Xu quickly stepped forward and retrieved the Sub-Insect’s corpse.

He wanted to study it immediately, but this was clearly neither the time nor the place. He turned and hurried back toward his own Spirit Field.

Before long, Jiang Xu was back at his Spirit Field.

The moment he arrived, he began searching his fields.

He wasn’t searching for anything else. He wanted to see if any Sub-Insects had flown in while he was away.

The result was just as he’d expected.

If these Sub-Insects were appearing in others’ Spirit Fields, it was only natural his would be no exception.

Fortunately, he hadn’t been gone for long, so the four Sub-Insects that had just flown into his Spirit Field were killed by Jiang Xu before they could destroy much of the crop.

’Looks like I’ll have to stand guard over the Spirit Field from now on and not leave it.’

Jiang Xu sighed, but he had no time to worry.

He laid out the five Sub-Insects he had collected inside his house and began to examine them carefully.

Relying on the meager Cultivation knowledge in his mind, Jiang Xu couldn’t figure out anything of substance.

He could only tell that the carapaces of these Sub-Insects were extremely tough; if they could withstand two of his Small Cotton Needle strikes, they could probably take a few hits from a regular cultivator without issue.

’This Sub-Insect carapace should be good enough to forge a Tier One Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact. I wonder if I could sell it for a good price...’

Jiang Xu placed all five Sub-Insects into a small pouch he had made himself, then kept it on his person.

The servants’ quarters had no defensive measures, making it easy for others to sneak in.

Although Jiang Xu had set up many warning devices, he had never found any signs of an intruder tampering with them.

But one could never be too careful, especially with a valuable item that might be worth a few Spirit Stones. It was safer to keep it on his person.

’I wonder when I’ll be able to afford a Storage Bag. Those things cost around ten Spirit Stones, almost as much as a common Magical Artifact, and the Sect doesn’t even issue them.’

After a bit of grumbling, Jiang Xu went outside to continue standing watch over his field.

After an hour of waiting, Jiang Xu still hadn’t seen any new Sub-Insects arrive.

’Could it be that they have a division of labor? Is a fixed number of Sub-Insects assigned to hunt in each location?’

Jiang Xu felt it was a real possibility.

’But if that’s the case, then I can’t collect any more of their carapaces.’

He wasn’t afraid of these Sub-Insects in small numbers. On the contrary, he was quite keen on collecting these spoils.

’What if I go harvest them from someone else’s field?’

Jiang Xu thought it was too risky.

Some servant disciples set traps in their fields to prevent others from damaging their crops.

If he went into another person’s field, a single moment of carelessness could trigger one.

An ordinary trap would be one thing, but he feared someone with Spirit Stones to burn might have planted Talismans.

The only reason he’d dared to enter the other Spirit Field earlier...

...was because he had already thoroughly investigated all the servant disciples living near him.

He even knew the exact locations of the traps in their Spirit Fields.

But even so, he couldn’t let his guard down. Who knew if someone might have moved their traps while he was away.

He could risk it once in a while, but regularly wandering through others’ fields meant an accident was bound to happen sooner or later.

’Oh, right. I almost forgot about Shen Ji. I hope she’s all right.’

Jiang Xu recalled how she’d confidently declared that morning that she could protect herself. She was probably fine... right?

’Whatever. I owe her for the information about these Exotic Insects. I should at least go take a look.’

...

Shen Ji stood before her Spirit Field, brandishing her Spiritual Hoe as she watched the seven or eight Sub-Insects rampaging through her crops. Her legs were trembling, and she wanted to cry but had no tears.

"I said I wasn’t afraid... but I thought it would just be one! Who could have known they’d show up in a whole swarm!"