Chapter 149: Chapter 143: The Sixth Progenitor

Jade Spirit Damselfly?

To the untrained eye, there isn’t much difference between a damselfly and a dragonfly. But a damselfly isn’t a dragonfly; it’s a relative.

But that wasn’t the most critical point. The key was that this Soul Beast actually possessed the bloodline of a dragon?

This world... it really does have dragons.

Han Ning had his doubts when he first saw the giant Insect Dragon, and now, they were finally confirmed.

In everyone’s mind, dragons were synonymous with power.

"Nia has already given us her family’s entire legacy, which includes a series of cultivation methods for the Jade Spirit Damselfly."

"Because it possesses a dragon bloodline, this Soul Beast’s chances of being suppressed by an Insect Master from an Ancestor Family are greatly minimized."

"However, the conditions for raising them are extremely demanding, and I haven’t translated all of the cultivation methods yet."

Lena cleared her throat, glanced at the papers in front of her, and said,

"I’ve gotten a bit off-topic. Let’s circle back. We were just talking about Attributes."

"Element, Feature, and Spirit—these three Attribute categories are not mutually exclusive; they complement each other."

"For example, there’s a terrifying creature called the Shadow Spider Demon. It’s a classic example of a Soul Beast where all three major Attribute categories interact. It has the Undead Feature Attribute, controls the Dark Element, and possesses immense Spiritual Power."

"Its powerful Spiritual Power allowed it to evolve the ability of ’Curse’."

"Curse, also known as the Curse Attribute, uses immense Spiritual Power to inflict venomous curses on enemies, causing all sorts of negative effects."

"Its bodily fluids secrete a potent toxin. Poison isn’t really an Attribute; it’s a special byproduct created by the combination of a Soul Beast’s features and its Spiritual Energy. If you were to classify it as an Attribute, it would be a bit on the weaker side."

"This type of Soul Beast lives in the southeastern corner of the Insect Continent, in a place called the ’Grudge Abyss.’ It’s a terrifying existence that even Insect Masters dare not provoke."

"The southeastern corner?" Han Ning frowned. "Isn’t that where we are? Is their habitat anywhere near us?"

"I heard you went to a place filled with dense fog a few days ago? That place should be called the Mist Deep Valley. It’s the entrance to the Grudge Abyss. The surrounding environment is influenced by the Abyss’s Dark Power and automatically lures surface creatures inside. It’s said that there’s a seal left by an Ancestor Family within, meant to prevent the terrifying Soul Beasts from the Abyss from rushing into the Insect Continent and slaughtering the surface-dwellers on a massive scale."

"As long as we don’t venture too deep inside, we should generally be fine."

Hearing Lena’s description, the few who had previously been to the bottom of that foggy valley turned pale.

’It’s a good thing we didn’t dig up the Crystal Stones at the bottom of the pool. The consequences would have been unimaginable.’

Han Ning recalled that they had also collected many eggs from a large purple serpent in the Mist Deep Valley, as well as one large, shriveled egg of an unknown species. He then said:

"Lady Lenna, did Lord Taman leave behind a distribution map of the Soul Beasts in the Mist Deep Valley? I’d like to understand the distribution of Soul Beast species there."

"He should have. The various Beast Hide Scrolls Nia handed over to me total more than 1,000 rolls. I’ll need some time to translate them."

Over a thousand scrolls. ’Nia must have something similar to the Insect-man’s waist pouch, but even more advanced. Otherwise, she couldn’t possibly carry so many items,’ Han Ning thought.

Han Ning nodded. "Thank you for your trouble."

"Aside from the Grudge Abyss, the other dangerous areas are a great distance from our academy. Once I finish translating the relevant Beast Hide Scrolls, I’ll organize the information and distribute it to everyone."

...

After learning the basic information about the continent, everyone began to actively discuss the problem of how to construct an insect cultivation base.

"To cultivate these three types of insects, besides the queen insect, we’ll also need a large amount of Insect Crystals. I remember in that underground ruin we found on the Blood-colored Grassland, many of the statues inside were cast from pure Insect Crystals. If we brought them over, we could cultivate a lot of insects," Han Ning suggested.

"If we move the statues, won’t that alert the Insect-men? After all, those are their deities," Lü Xiuning said, his expression a little strange.

Upon hearing this, Lena turned and translated Lü Xiuning’s words to Nia in the Insect Language.

"Ssu~"

Nia set down the doll in her hands and spoke a few soft, faint words.

Lena translated:

"I’ve mentioned this to her before. She said that as long as the Ink Ring Mosquitos inside the ruin are put into hibernation, it won’t attract the attention of the Insect-men. The prerequisite is that it isn’t a ruin built by an Ancestor Family."

"Ruins of the Ancestor Families have distinct features. They leave their family’s insect insignia on the walls of the ruin, which are very conspicuous. If there are none, then it’s a ruin left by an ordinary Insect Master, generally used for worshipping the Queen, but with no real special purpose."

"That place is close to an Insect Master Tribe, so there might be some danger. I’ll take on the scouting mission," Han Ning volunteered.

Currently, their insect cultivation was in its infancy, and it was fundamentally difficult to obtain high-quality Insect Crystals. The fastest way was to snatch them directly from the Insect-men.

The Insect Crystals from the dozen or so statues in the ruin would weigh several tons at least. It was worth the risk.

Furthermore, if the Insect Masters were to discover the deaths of their Insect Servants, they would surely follow the trail and track them down.

The fact that they hadn’t shown up yet meant they still hadn’t found out, making this the time of least danger.

"It’s still too dangerous," Dean Wu and Lü Xiuning said, hesitating.

Lena also said, "Mr. Han, don’t be hasty. When I get back, I’ll look for a map of the area around the academy. Lord Taman must have recorded the distribution of the Insect Master forces. We can make a decision after studying it."