Chapter 265: You Fed the Insects, and Now They're Pregnant?
Chapter 265: You Fed the Insects, and Now They're Pregnant?
The pink miasma filled the entire insect room, adding a hint of ambiguity to the ashen-black space.
Two Hundred Poison Heart-Devouring Insects were entangled, writhing relentlessly in the pink miasma.
As they reached the height of their passion, they couldn't help but emit strange, shrill cries.
Contrary to Lu Chen's expectations, the sound was not melodious but rather sharp and grating, causing him to feel irritated.
"I was careless," Lu Chen thought to himself, taking a step back. "I wanted to listen to the insects' love song, but I didn't expect that even in the midst of their pleasure, their calls would have a venomous edge to them."
Shaking his head, he retreated a few steps. He had intended to observe the insects' mating ritual up close, but he hadn't anticipated that their cries would cause him physical discomfort.
"Perhaps, to these toxic lovers, this shrill song is the most beautiful and arousing melody," he mused, gazing at the black silhouettes writhing in the pink miasma as the cries grew sharper and more frenzied. Lu Chen quickly ran off to the other insect rooms.
Three days later, he returned to the room housing the Hundred Poison Heart-Devouring Insects.
The pink miasma in the room had thinned out significantly, allowing him to clearly see the position of the two insects.
They were still locked in the same embrace.
The male insect appeared much more withered and shriveled than before, even its toxic emissions were sporadic and weak, as if it had been drained of its essence.
In contrast, the female insect's skin looked smooth and moist. She clung tightly to the male's abdomen, refusing to let go, and on her back, three new bumps the size of pigeon eggs had appeared.
Due to his previous experience with the female insect, Lu Chen could understand her current state and sense the powerful life force growing within those black mist-shrouded bumps.
"Are they pregnant?" Lu Chen's heart leaped with joy. Noticing the male insect's apparent exhaustion, he added a large amount of pink miasma to the room.
"Let me help you get in the mood, my friends. Keep at it for a few more days!" he encouraged the withered male insect with a smile.
As he entered the room of the Jade Spiders, he found them in the midst of a chaotic brawl. Over a dozen White Jade Spiders were tangled together, their long, knife-like legs slashing through the air and eliciting shrill screams.
Lu Chen coldly huffed, and strands of green light fell upon each of the Jade Spiders, immediately calming them. Peace and tranquility returned to the room.
He had different approaches for different types of insect brawls.
For the Jade Spiders, he directly intervened to stop the fight, using the Quietude Chant to induce a state of calm and contentment, free from desires and cravings.
However, for the Hundred Poison Heart-Devouring Insects, he encouraged their passionate clash, even using the amorous miasma from the Bewitching Peach to give them a nudge.
Over time, Lu Chen had gradually discovered certain patterns in the behavior of these Jade Spiders that he had been rearing.
He visited their rooms multiple times a day, observing and recording their moods, eating habits, and behaviors. Through this meticulous process, he gained a detailed understanding of the Jade Spiders' conditions and was able to anticipate the moment they would spin their silk.
By working backward from the exact time of silk production, he could deduce the reasons for their unusual behavior just before spinning.
Lu Chen found that when a Jade Spider was about to spin silk, its appetite noticeably increased, and it exhibited protective behavior over its food. Additionally, the spider would actively avoid the ground, preferring to remain on the lower levels of the web.
These behaviors, though seemingly ordinary, occurred simultaneously, strongly indicating an imminent silk production.
Lu Chen made a mental note of his observations, deciding to continue testing his hypothesis over the next few days.
Occasionally, a bug would be flicked out, landing in front of Lu Chen, dazed but unharmed.
These insects, of course, were the type filled with putrid liquid, and the Demon Blade Black Mantis, having learned from previous lessons, quickly avoided them with lightning speed before its rapid slashes.
"Not bad. You're almost at the streak of thirty consecutive slashes," Lu Chen praised, marveling at the hunting talent of the Demon Blade Black Mantis. In just under two months, it could instantly kill over thirty strange insects in a flash while also identifying the 'bombs' among them.
It could unleash its instincts while maintaining exquisite and precise control, its actions flowing from its heart like a deer's antlers.
From the darkness, barely audible chewing sounds could be heard, and soon, the small, pitch-black head of the Demon Blade Black Mantis emerged. Its large, jet-black compound eyes glanced at Lu Chen.
It loved the little game Lu Chen had tailored for it.
It could stay in a comfortable and pleasant dark environment, face greater challenges in hunting the strange insects, and satisfy its lust for killing while getting ample exercise.
For the Demon Blade Black Mantis, which had a detached and ruthless personality, the fact that it voluntarily emerged from the darkness was a sign of its utmost affection for Lu Chen.
The strange insects in the other two chambers were also thriving exceptionally well.
As for the Yin Fire Ants, after two months of rearing, Lu Chen could control them with ease.
With a mere thought, he could command hundreds or even thousands of Yin Fire Ants, manipulating them as he wished.
In just a breath or two, they could transform into the shape of the Transformers from Lu Chen's memory, a truly cool sight.
As for the remaining Seven Star Glass Insects, Lu Chen, through his understanding of their physical condition, fed them the most suitable and appropriate substances, and by the way, he also figured out their schedule for defecating... no, expelling glass sand.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than three months had passed.
On this day, just as Lu Chen had finished tending to the insects in all the chambers and was about to return to his residence, a black light suddenly descended into the valley.
Countless slender black insects gathered, their hisses filling the air, and gradually, they condensed into a human figure.
It was Zhen Jing Shan, the true disciple who had left over three months ago.
He gazed silently at Lu Chen.
"Zhen Shan, you're back," Lu Chen greeted, already aware of the true disciple's introverted and taciturn personality.
"En," Zhen Jing Shan nodded slightly.
"Would you like to rest first, or shall we go and see the strange insects in the chambers?" Lu Chen asked.
"Let's take a look," Zhen Jing Shan replied softly. He had been away for months, and although he had entrusted the care of his insects to Lu Chen and Ge Pu, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Even though Ge Pu had highly recommended Lu Chen, he knew that Lu Chen had only recently become an inner disciple and that his experience in rearing spirit beasts, despite his natural talent, might not be sufficient in such a short time.
Lu Chen led Zhen Jing Shan to the chamber where the Hundred Poison Heart-Devouring Insects were kept.
"While you were away, I thought of some methods to induce this pair of Hundred Poison Heart-Devouring Insects to mate for several days, and they finally succeeded in conceiving," Lu Chen explained slowly.
Upon hearing this, Zhen Jing Shan turned abruptly and stared intently at Lu Chen.
"I just asked you to help take care of the insects. How did you end up getting them pregnant?" Zhen Jing Shan asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
(End of Chapter)
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