Chapter 295: Chapter 179: Another Exotic Insect

Inside the stone house, there was nothing special.

Besides the rubble covering the floor, there were only a few relatively well-preserved stone slabs.

And...

A small, three-inch-tall stone tower.

In terms of appearance, the stone tower wasn’t particularly exquisite, but it had quite a few levels—nine in total.

As for its aura, the tower was unremarkable. It could be said to have no unusual energy signature at all.

At first glance, it just looked like an ordinary piece of stone.

But through his mental connection with his few Exotic Insects, Gu Zheng discovered that this stone tower possessed a miraculous restorative ability.

Not for himself, but for his Exotic Insects!

The Mist Shadow Celestial Dragon, Great Sun Golden Silkworm, and Divine Leech that had leaped from his body and scurried into the stone house were now all inside the stone tower, each occupying its own compartment and lying down comfortably.

Within the three-inch-tall tower, the internal space of each level was like a world of its own.

’A tower for Exotic Insects to recuperate?’

’An Insect Tower?’

SWOOSH~

Gu Zheng reached out, using Absorption to pull the toppled stone tower from the corner into his hand.

First, he used Shadow on it but found no one else’s brand.

Then, he surged his Divine Wondrous energy and washed over the tower’s body.

Afterward, he left his own brand on the stone tower, completing the refinement process.

BZZZZ!

The moment the refinement succeeded, information about the stone tower flooded his mind.

Insect Tower!

It really was an Insect Tower!

A magical Treasure Tower that allowed Exotic Insects to heal, rest, hibernate, and reside within.

It had a nine-story structure, with ten small compartments on each floor.

Each compartment was over a thousand square meters in size.

Although only Exotic Insects could enter these spaces, the Insect Tower itself, at three inches tall, could be stored inside his body now that it was refined.

With a thought, Gu Zheng made the Insect Tower resting in his palm disappear.

In its place, a tower-shaped mark appeared on his arm.

A treasure!

An absolute major Ancient Treasure!

And an Ancient Treasure specifically for Exotic Insects, no less.

With this Insect Tower, his Mist Shadow Celestial Dragon and Great Sun Golden Silkworm would no longer have to curl up and hide in his pockets.

"Hm? Wait a minute."

Suddenly, a new link appeared in Gu Zheng’s mind.

It came from inside the Insect Tower, from a compartment on the eighth floor.

An Exotic Insect!

An Exotic Insect that had been slumbering in the Insect Tower for an unknown amount of time had actually awoken due to the Equipment Effect of his "Lord of Hundred Insects" title and had automatically acknowledged Gu Zheng as its master.

"A Celestial Heart Toad?"

Realizing he had a new Exotic Insect underling, the corners of Gu Zheng’s mouth couldn’t help but lift.

A Celestial Heart Toad!

A magical toad so rare it could be considered a spirit of heaven and earth.

This was because its saliva could cleanse any filth in the world.

Note, filth—not poison!

The Great Sun Golden Silkworm had the ability to devour poisonous gas and miasma.

The Celestial Heart Toad Saliva, however, cleansed things, restoring them to their original essence.

Whether it was flesh and blood, plants, or metal, if it was contaminated, applying the Celestial Heart Toad Saliva would purify it completely.

Incidentally, this miraculous saliva could also counter the special abilities of several other Exotic Insects.

For example, the Ten Thousand Souls Spider!

The Celestial Heart Toad Saliva could dissolve the web of a Ten Thousand Souls Spider!

Even if the spider silk was infused into metal to create armor.

The tracking and binding functions that the Zhong Family of the Jing Country royal court had secretly imbued into the Great Sun Armor could now be removed!

"What a pleasant surprise."

Gu Zheng soothed the newly awakened Celestial Heart Toad.

"CROAK~"

The jade-white Celestial Heart Toad was more intelligent than the Great Sun Golden Silkworm and the Mist Shadow Celestial Dragon, on par with Pang Hu.

It let out a cry, conveying its meaning to Gu Zheng.

"You want to come out?"

Gu Zheng understood.

He first let out the Insect Tower, waited for the Celestial Heart Toad to jump out of the eighth-floor exit, and watched as it grew from small to large before landing on his shoulder.

"CROAK~!"

With its jade-white body and jewel-like eyes, it gave Gu Zheng a deep look.

"Go on, you’ve slept for at least ten thousand years. Go out and stretch your legs..."

BOOM~!

A loud bang suddenly echoed from outside the stone house, interrupting Gu Zheng.

"CROAK!"

The Celestial Heart Toad trembled, transformed into a speck of light, and shot back into the eighth floor of the Insect Tower.

"So timid?"

Amused, Gu Zheng retrieved the Insect Tower into his hand.

With a flicker, his figure shot out of the stone house.

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH~

Following the direction of the billowing dust and flying debris, he rushed over at top speed.

As he drew near, he saw Nangong Yaoguang holding a broad stone axe. Divine Wondrous energy surged from his body, light coiling around him, and his aura was immense.

"Nangong."

Gu Zheng stopped atop the ruins of a half-collapsed wall. Gazing at the exhilarated Nangong Yaoguang, he asked, "Did you find a Spiritual Soldier?"

"Haha, it is a Spiritual Soldier, and a high-grade one at that!"

Nangong Yaoguang gently swung the stone axe, creating a ripple in the air as he laughed heartily. "It’s this very axe! At first, I thought it was just a decoration. I never expected that once I infused it with Divine Wondrous energy, it would immediately activate and release immense power. Just a single light swing was enough to split all these stone houses apart."

Nangong Yaoguang pointed to a row of stone houses in front of him that had been cleaved in two.

The farthest one was a full three to four hundred meters away, and a round stone pillar had also been severed, split into two sections down the middle.

Its power was truly incredible.

"Nangong, your luck is enviable," Gu Zheng praised. "An Ancient Spiritual Soldier like this might even rival a Divine Weapon."

"Not even close, not even close." Nangong Yaoguang raised a hand, suppressing his excitement but keeping a smile on his face. "It’s a far cry from a Divine Weapon. A true Divine Weapon... Gu, you’ll know when you encounter one."

"Is that so?" Gu Zheng raised a sharp eyebrow.

He had indeed never come into contact with the physical form of a Divine Weapon.

He had, however, seen their projections from across space several times.

"CRACK~"

Suddenly, a crisp cracking sound came from nearby.

CRACK! CRACK~

As Gu Zheng looked toward the source of the noise, it sounded again, much louder this time.

"What’s that sound?"

Nangong Yaoguang heard it too. He immediately suppressed his aura, stopped talking, and peered in the direction of the sound.