Chapter 290: Annihilating a Powerful Foe

Chapter 290: Annihilating a Powerful Foe

Fiery Maniac's blood and flames erupted simultaneously, forming a firework with a diameter of dozens of meters. Ji Xinghuo dashed through the center of this fiery display, his body shielded from the blast and shockwaves by the flux barrier.

Several hundred meters away, suspended in mid-air, Wind Walker cried out a name, his face a mask of anguish and sorrow.

In the blink of an eye, the kinsman who had faced life and death together with him was gone, leaving him alone.

Wind Walker fired an arrow but didn't stay to witness its impact. He turned and fled.

Ji Xinghuo nimbly sidestepped the arrow and was about to return fire when a large swarm of black beetles descended upon him.

These beetles had been meticulously bred by the Insect Emperor.

They were only the size of a thumb, pitch-black in color, and covered in a carapace harder than alloys, resembling metallic soybeans. Immune to physical strikes and high temperatures, they flew with speed and agility.

But what was truly terrifying were their ferocious mandibles, capable of biting through anything.

Earlier, Ren Mian's Poison Spine Dragon had been set upon by these beetles, its scales quickly gnawed through, its body invaded, and it was ultimately bitten to death.

The beetles that survived the ion storm were even more formidable.

Ji Xinghuo dared not let them bite him.

He unleashed a lightning bolt from his fingertip, which instantly split into countless electric arcs, spreading out and striking the beetles. None could dodge, and they were sent tumbling in all directions by the "pulse arc," their flight speed plummeting. Though not dead, they wobbled as if drunk, descending unsteadily.

Boom!

Seizing the opportunity of the beetles' loss of control, Ji Xinghuo hurled a ball of spherical lightning, hastily condensed with only about 300 points of stellar power due to the time constraint.

The lightning exploded amidst the beetle swarm, annihilating a portion of them.

"So hard to kill!"

Ji Xinghuo gazed at the remaining multitude of beetles, knowing that even if he threw several more balls of spherical lightning, he wouldn't be able to wipe them all out.

The beetles halted their chaotic flight and once again surged forward.

They split into several groups, encircling him from multiple directions in a relatively concentrated yet dispersed formation.

Unwilling to engage in a protracted battle, Ji Xinghuo flew backward, maintaining his distance from the beetles while simultaneously manipulating the Spirit Sword Wristband.

Four sharp sword beams slashed into the beetle swarm from the side.

Ding, ding, dang...

The clash of metal rang out, accompanied by flying sparks, as the sword beams sliced through some of the beetles. However, compared to their numbers, the efficiency was too slow.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Xinghuo had flown several kilometers away, with the beetle cloud in hot pursuit.

Suddenly, he veered in a circular motion, accelerating back the way he had come, effectively shaking off the beetle cloud. The Spirit Sword Wristband also retracted, abandoning the attempt to slay the beetles and returning to his side.

The beetles flew swiftly, but they couldn't match Ji Xinghuo's speed.

This might be their only weakness.

Ji Xinghuo flew at full speed toward Ren Mian's location. When he was about a kilometer away, a painful cry suddenly erupted from underground, followed by the ground heaving and a hundred-meter radius of earth being upheaved.

A formidable figure leaped out—it was Qi Feng!

The Natural Lord had several deep, bone-exposing wounds on his body, as if clawed by a wild beast. The most severe wound had nearly torn him open from chest to abdomen.

Despite possessing Earth Pulse, with his wounds rapidly healing, Qi Feng's face was ashen, and he scrambled out of the ground in a disheveled state, frantically running.

Qinghong gave chase, its massive body now over twenty meters in size, its claws brandishing Rending Sky Blades.

It pounced forward, slashing with its sharp claws.

"Get away!"

Qi Feng abruptly spun around, his right foot stamping the ground, causing it to shake violently. Simultaneously, a tall and sturdy stone wall erupted from the ground in front of him.

Vines sprouted from the ground, entangling Qinghong, along with numerous earth thorns.

Qinghong collided with the stone wall, unable to break through, its abdomen pierced by the earth thorns, its body bound by countless vines.

Seizing the opportunity, Qi Feng scattered a handful of seeds, and a vast forest sprouted around him.

Suddenly, he sensed an immense danger from above.

Without hesitation, Qi Feng roared, his body expanding to a height of over five meters. His skin turned gray-white like stone, his flesh transforming into rock harder than steel. Branches and leaves sprouted from various parts of his body, forming a natural armor, and the wooden club in his hand also enlarged, becoming a thick stone club.

He raised the stone club overhead.

Boom!

A lightning bolt struck Qi Feng, but he remained unmoved, standing firm like a hill.

In the instant the lightning struck, Ji Xinghuo dove down, his right fist clenched, his arm crackling with electricity.

Electric Spiral Force!

Boom...

The ground caved in, and dust billowed.

The lower half of the stone giant's body was driven into the ground, but his upper torso still stood erect, both hands gripping the stone club to withstand Ji Xinghuo's blow.

Cracks appeared on Qi Feng's rocky body, accompanied by the sound of shattering, but they swiftly mended.

"Earth Pulse combined with the healing abilities of a Plant Shaman," Ji Xinghuo remarked, unsurprised.

No sooner had he left than Qinghong arrived.

Boom!

Qi Feng was viciously pounced on, his stone club slipping from his grasp. Qinghong's Rending Sky Claws slashed, leaving wounds all over his body, and debris of stone, vines, and thorns flew everywhere, yet not a drop of blood was spilled.

Unmindful of his injuries, Qi Feng swung his stone club, aiming for Qinghong's head, but he found himself moving slower.

His body felt heavy as a mountain, each action requiring more effort than before.

Qinghong had activated a gravitational field, pinning Qi Feng down.

Manipulating the surrounding plants and thorns to attack Qinghong became more difficult, and four sword beams slashed, cutting through the vines and thorns. However, their numbers were simply too great.

Further away, the monster army was also held back by Ren Mian's monsters, unable to provide assistance.

Then, Qinghong opened its mouth and spat out a ball of spherical lightning, which exploded on Qi Feng's face. With a retreat, Qinghong loosened its claws but kept Qi Feng within the gravitational field's range.

Boom!

Ji Xinghuo descended from the sky, riding the aftermath of the spherical lightning.

He had activated his rotational magnetic field, and the turbulent shockwaves continued to accelerate, taking advantage of the gravitational pull.

In a head-down, feet-up position, he unleashed a full-power Electric Spiral Force, striking Qi Feng's head.

A loud explosion rang out.

Like a hammer to the head, Ji Xinghuo's fist drove Qi Feng's head into the ground. The violent electromagnetic stellar power erupted, shattering Qi Feng's stellar power protection and basaltic body. The intense impact, shock, and pain instantly robbed Qi Feng of his will to resist.

However, he did not die. His wounds were still healing, and his robust stellar power restored his external protective layer.

Ji Xinghuo took to the skies once more.

Ascend, accelerate, descend.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

Ji Xinghuo went up and down, each landing an intense blow of the Electric Spiral Force on Qi Feng's head. With each lightning strike, the cracks grew larger and deeper, and the rate of healing could not keep up with the damage.

When Ji Xinghuo's fourth punch landed, a gray protective layer appeared on Qi Feng, mitigating most of the Electric Spiral Force's damage.

"Hmm?"

Ji Xinghuo frowned as he ascended.

This punch hadn't dealt enough damage, and Qi Feng's wounds suddenly accelerated, restoring his consciousness. His body immediately merged with the earth.

Ji Xinghuo continued to fly upward without attempting to stop him.

The next second.

Countless Qing Suo Dragons emerged from underground like a fountain, lifting Qi Feng off the ground and entangling him wildly.

The Earth Pulse required physical contact with the ground to take effect.

Suddenly, Qi Feng's healing slowed down severalfold, and he sensed something amiss.

Ji Xinghuo flew up to a height of hundreds of meters and heard the buzzing of wings. The Insect Emperor had finally returned, just a few dozen meters away.

A thick beam of light shot up from below, piercing through the insect swarm.

The corpses of beetles rained down.

The insect swarm scattered to avoid the light beams, but they became denser and more precise, their extreme penetration killing any beetle they touched. They were the bane of the beetles.

Ji Xinghuo paid no heed to the insect cloud, knowing that Ren Mian could handle it.

He accelerated downward like a meteor.

With all his might, he unleashed the Electric Spiral Force, striking Qi Feng's head. A loud explosion rang out, and without the boost of Earth Pulse, Qi Feng's defense and strength plummeted, unable to withstand Ji Xinghuo's assault. His head exploded.

[Spiritual Source Power +1435]



Ji Xinghuo killed the Natural Lord without pausing for a second. Qinghong shrank and jumped onto his shoulder, and he immediately took to the skies again, heading straight for the insect swarm.

The four sword beams followed closely behind.

As they reached the side of the insect swarm, Qinghong released a gravitational field.

The beetles' bodies became several dozen times heavier, slowing them down as if they were drenched, becoming extremely clumsy and wobbling as they fell.

Ji Xinghuo was also affected by the gravitational field, but he managed to maintain his hover. He first unleashed an arc pulse, enveloping all the beetles and further reducing their speed, then manipulated the sword beams to slash and kill them.

Below, Ren Mian continued to shoot out light beams.

Deprived of their agility and speed, the beetles became sitting ducks, easy targets for slaughter.

Their numbers rapidly diminished.

Finally, they stopped pursuing Ji Xinghuo and scattered in all directions, but their speed was now painfully slow, like snails.

Every few seconds, Ji Xinghuo released an arc pulse to slow them down further.

When some beetles were about to escape the gravitational field's range, Ji Xinghuo quickly closed in and prioritized killing them.

"Sssss..."

After this beetle died, an invisible spirit let out a pained hiss. Faintly, one could make out the angry and twisted visage of a "Man Rixie," but it dissipated a few seconds later.

The battlefield fell silent.

Ji Xinghuo landed on the ground and approached Ren Mian. She said, "The Insect Emperor isn't dead."

"Should we pursue?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

His electromagnetic senses couldn't locate the Insect Emperor's main body, and he hadn't detected its presence from start to finish. Apparently, the Insect Emperor's main body was far beyond his perception range, and it would be difficult to find the enemy for the time being.

Since they had now become enemies with this Insect Emperor, they had to make sure to eradicate the threat.

"It won't be easy to find him," Ren Mian shook her head. "As a legendary Insect Emperor, the spread of its insect pheromones can reach hundreds of kilometers, or even four to five hundred kilometers. I can track its scent, but we definitely won't make it in time."

"Then forget it," Ji Xinghuo said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Mian's eyes widened in surprise as he suddenly drew out a tungsten-cored heavy arrow and nocked it on his Black Eternal Crystal War Bow, turning to shoot it into the distance.

Boom!

A sonic boom rang out.

The tungsten-cored heavy arrow disappeared into the horizon, and after two and a half seconds, it exploded a mound of dirt over two thousand five hundred meters away, splattering a puddle of blood.

Another two and a half seconds later, a painful cry rang out.

Only then did Ren Mian see that it was Wind Walker, who had fled earlier. The tungsten-cored heavy arrow had pierced through the mound of dirt and then through his back, the terrible force creating a gaping hole. His heart, flesh, and bones within that area were completely gone, and there was no doubt he was dead.

Ji Xinghuo lowered his war bow and coldly smiled, "I gave you a chance to live, but you didn't take it, preferring to hide and watch instead."

This Wind Walker had fled and then doubled back.

He had hidden behind the mound of dirt.

Thinking he was very well-hidden, he had, in fact, been completely within Ji Xinghuo's grasp the entire time. Earlier, while Ji Xinghuo was searching for the Insect Emperor, he had also locked onto Wind Walker's position. Seeing that Wind Walker had turned his back to him, he took the opportunity to shoot him. Wind Walker was not a Natural Lord, so of course, he couldn't withstand the killing power of the Black Eternal Crystal War Bow.

Sure enough, it was a one-hit kill.

Ren Mian was so shocked that she stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before exclaiming, "Your archery skills are truly terrifying!"

A distance of over two thousand five hundred meters, such a long-range shot was beyond her comprehension.

A hidden arrow was hard to guard against.

What was even more terrifying was an arrow shot from several kilometers away. Anyone who attracted Ji Xinghuo's attention would be in for a nightmare.

Ji Xinghuo merely smiled at her.

In the distant surroundings, there were actually quite a few people hiding, not just Wind Walker. Dozens of Eternal Day Guards, upon seeing Ji Xinghuo's arrow, turned pale and quickly left. This spectacle was not for them to witness, and at any moment, they could lose their lives.

Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic senses detected that those with ill intentions had all withdrawn.

"Let's continue looking for the exotic species," he said.

The remains of the Flowering Snake were scattered all over the place and continued to writhe and grow.

The two of them searched through the remains, attacking the fragments from time to time to prevent them from resurrecting.

A few minutes later...

As Ji Xinghuo touched a piece of flesh, this particular piece was rather unremarkable, only about half a meter long, and it was unclear which part of the body it belonged to. Suddenly, information popped up in his field of vision.

[Monster: Flowering Snake]



[Level: Catastrophe - Brilliant]



[Exotic Species: Wither and Flourish Rebirth]



Ji Xinghuo's face lit up with joy.

On the interface, the silhouette on the right displayed the location of the exotic species within this piece of flesh.

He controlled his blade, and a silver sword light flew over to cut open the flesh. Reaching out, he grabbed a seed-like lump of flesh that was greenish in color and extremely tough in texture.

As the exotic species was separated from the flesh and blood, the surrounding writhing blood and fragments trembled, and then they lost their vitality and stopped growing.

"I found it," Ji Xinghuo said.

At the same time, he also saw the information for the exotic species.

[Exotic Species: Wither and Flourish Rebirth]



[Grade: Starfall]



[Fusion Success Rate: 82%, 45%]



[Can it be upgraded: Yes]



Ji Xinghuo was taken aback. Why was the fusion success rate for Wither and Flourish Rebirth so low? The success rate for merging with Qinghong was even more pitiful, less than half.

"Let me see," Ren Mian said excitedly as she walked over.

Ji Xinghuo casually handed the exotic species to her, his face devoid of any reluctance, as if this were not a priceless Starfall exotic species, but rather a dispensable toy.

"It's definitely Wither and Flourish Rebirth!" Ren Mian nodded and returned the exotic species to Ji Xinghuo. Looking around, she said, "We can't stay here for long. Let's collect the exotic species from the Flowering Snake and leave immediately."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end