Chapter 408: Lightning Strike

Chapter 408: Lightning Strike

The darkening sky did not hinder Ji Xinghuo's hunt for the Earth Devouring Insects; the cover of night provided a certain amount of concealment, allowing him to hunt more freely.

After a night of sweeping through the area, his spiritual source energy had surged to 20,000 points!

There were too many exotic species, and the saddlebags on his flight motorcycle soon became filled to capacity. Ji Xinghuo had no choice but to discard some of the lower-value, bulkier specimens. Occasionally, he didn't even bother to collect the exotic species from the Earth Devouring Insects that he had killed before they could emerge from the ground.

The hunt continued on the second day.

Ji Xinghuo immersed himself in the pleasurable harvesting while venturing deeper into the Silent Wasteland, heading westward.

It wasn't until the third night, after he had cleared the Earth Devouring Insects within a radius of several dozen kilometers, that he finally stopped to rest.

He set up camp amidst the ruins.

His personal terminal kept reminding him that the ionizing radiation levels in the area were extremely high, a remnant of a nuclear explosion that had occurred over a thousand years ago.

While this would be dangerous for ordinary people, it had no effect on Ji Xinghuo; the radiation was negligible to him.

After eating and cleaning himself, Ji Xinghuo released Qinghong and fed it some of its favorite food. Jiu You also emerged from the Ultimate Dark Artifact, allowing the two battle pets to become acquainted and foster a bond.

However, it didn't take long for the two beasts to start fighting, and there seemed to be no sign of them getting along.

"Damn it!"

Ji Xinghuo sighed in exasperation and forcibly commanded them to separate.

Jiu You blended into the night, guarding the camp, while Qinghong, proud and content, shrunk in size and scurried back into the tent.

Ji Xinghuo shook his head.

He sat by the campfire and opened the interface of the Myriad Star Pupils.

[Spiritual Source Energy: 53,320]



This was the result of three days of hunting the Earth Devouring Insects. Considering that he would soon be able to acquire even more spiritual source energy, Ji Xinghuo saw no need to hoard it. He decided to use it immediately to transform it into his combat power.

Without hesitation, he invested it all into "Electromagnetic Oscillation."

As his core ability, the higher the level of Electromagnetic Oscillation, the better. Enhancing it would never be a mistake.

His ability progress soared!

Before long, Electromagnetic Oscillation reached (Level 5 53,618/333,331).

Ji Xinghuo clearly felt the changes within himself. The most noticeable improvement was the range of his electromagnetic induction, which had doubled in radius to 30 kilometers, quadrupling the area of perception. He immediately sensed the presence of Earth Devouring Insects in the distance.

"With such a large range of perception, I can hunt the Earth Devouring Insects even more efficiently," Ji Xinghuo rejoiced.

Additionally, his ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves had increased to a distance of around 430 meters.

His strength, speed, and recovery, along with various other abilities based on electromagnetic fields, had all received significant boosts.

"As expected..."

Ji Xinghuo was unsurprised by these developments, as Electromagnetic Oscillation was interconnected with too many of his other abilities.

"Just 280,000 more to go."

As he looked at the upgrade progress of Electromagnetic Oscillation, he eagerly anticipated reaching the sixth level.

"The Silent Wasteland spans over twenty million square kilometers, roughly the size of North America. The number of Earth Devouring Insects I've killed these past few days is negligible in comparison."

"At my current hunting efficiency, it should take around twenty days to upgrade Electromagnetic Oscillation to the sixth level."

"Time to sleep!"

Ji Xinghuo entered the tent and lay down, but he awoke after less than two hours.

Having undergone five evolutions, he was far from an ordinary human and no longer required extended periods of sleep. Two hours was more than sufficient, and his physical and mental energy were fully restored to their peak condition, leaving him brimming with vigor.

It was still night when he awoke.

Undeterred, Ji Xinghuo quickly packed up his camp and mounted his flight motorcycle, speeding off toward a group of Earth Devouring Insects over twenty kilometers away.

By the time the sun rose, he had acquired another 3,000-plus points of spiritual source energy, which he immediately invested into Electromagnetic Oscillation.

Three days later...

Ji Xinghuo had ventured over a thousand kilometers into the Silent Wasteland.

His pace was gradually slowing down, as everywhere he passed, he left behind a swath of emptiness over thirty kilometers wide. Within this area, he had eradicated every last Earth Devouring Insect, leaving none alive.

Initially, Ji Xinghuo had been concerned that killing too many of the insects might attract the attention of others who would notice the abnormal distribution of their population.

He contemplated the idea of occasionally changing locations to avoid suspicion.

However, he soon discovered that his worries were unfounded. Before long, Earth Devouring Insects would arrive from elsewhere, not only filling the vacant areas but also consuming the corpses of their kin that had been left behind.

Ji Xinghuo took advantage of this behavior, using the corpses of the insects as bait to harvest waves of spiritual source energy.

It wasn't until there were no more Earth Devouring Insects within a hundred-kilometer radius that he would finally depart.

Nevertheless, he lacked the patience to wait for the insects from even farther away to arrive, which could take a day or two.

Boom!

A seven-meter-long Earth Devouring Insect fell from the sky, splitting into two halves upon impact with the ground. Qinghong retracted its massive Rift-tear Claws, shrinking in size before scurrying back to Ji Xinghuo's side.

Jiu You emerged from its invisibility, transforming into Ji Xinghuo's likeness and shooting a provocative glare at Qinghong.

"Roar!"

Qinghong roared in defiance.

Ji Xinghuo quickly restrained its neck to prevent another fight from breaking out.

He then ordered Jiu You to return, and it transformed into a ghostly light, disappearing into the Ultimate Dark Artifact within his left eye.

Over the past few days, he had frequently unleashed both battle pets to eradicate the Earth Devouring Insects, preventing them from getting stir-crazy and also fostering some combat cohesion.

While their cohesion had improved significantly, they would invariably turn on each other as soon as the battle ended.

Ji Xinghuo had suppressed them multiple times, and while they would behave for a while, they would soon revert to their old ways, constantly at each other's throats. This was the drawback of having exceptionally intelligent battle pets—they each had their own thoughts and emotions, and Ji Xinghuo could only keep them in check constantly.

Glancing at the interface, he saw that these Earth Devouring Insects had provided nearly 300 points of spiritual source energy, which he immediately invested into Electromagnetic Oscillation.

[Ability: Electromagnetic Oscillation (Level 5 102,362/333,331)]



A smile spread across Ji Xinghuo's face.

The radius of his electromagnetic induction had reached 45 kilometers, signifying a notable increase in strength compared to a few days ago.

This feeling of growing stronger day by day, and at such a rapid pace, had Ji Xinghuo thoroughly immersed, almost to the point of addiction. It made him forget all about the seismic-level Earth Devouring Insect.

It was just one Starfall ability, after all. How could it compare to the importance of reaping spiritual source energy? As long as he had enough spiritual source energy, he could upgrade his abilities like crazy, and Starfall abilities would be in no short supply!

"Keep killing!"

Ji Xinghuo casually collected the exotic species from the largest Earth Devouring Insect, storing it in the Dragon Ring and then mounting his flight motorcycle to take to the skies.

The motorcycle's saddlebags were already stuffed full, serving only as a disguise.

Soon, three more Earth Devouring Insects were lured out and contributed their spiritual source energy before Ji Xinghuo moved on to the next target.

Often, while still in the midst of battle, Ji Xinghuo would already have locked onto another group of Earth Devouring Insects.

At times, his electromagnetic induction would detect over a dozen groups of Earth Devouring Insects simultaneously, or even more, and he would have to rush from one location to another like a busy bee to slaughter them before they could escape.

There were also instances where Earth Devouring Insects were startled by the sounds of combat and would foolishly come to investigate, only to meet their demise.

Ji Xinghuo relished this relentless hunt.

Moments later, at the foot of a mountain that stood just over a thousand meters high, Ji Xinghuo hovered in mid-air on his motorcycle, watching as Qinghong and Jiu You worked together to effortlessly dispatch a relatively large group of Earth Devouring Insects.

Within a radius of over ten kilometers, his electromagnetic induction picked up the presence of numerous Earth Devouring Insects scurrying underground towards them.

Spiritual source energy notifications kept popping up.

"Awesome!"

Ji Xinghuo didn't even need to lift a finger as Qinghong and Jiu You's strength ensured that these Earth Devouring Insects posed no threat to them.

In less than half a minute, all seven Earth Devouring Insects lay dead.

Qinghong and Jiu You remained in place, waiting for more Earth Devouring Insects to arrive, and Qinghong deliberately stomped on the ground to create noise and attract them.

Suddenly, Ji Xinghuo turned his head to look south.

"Big catch incoming!"

An unprecedentedly massive Earth Devouring Insect entered his electromagnetic induction range, moving swiftly underground like an arrowfish in the sea. Its appearance startled the other Earth Devouring Insects, causing them to abandon their prey and scatter in all directions.

Ji Xinghuo quickly alerted Qinghong and Jiu You.

However, he also instructed Qinghong to continue making noise to attract the monster.

Before long, the colossal Earth Devouring Insect appeared within Ji Xinghuo's field of vision. It lurked at a depth of over 300 meters, with a body length of about 18 meters and a diameter of more than 2 meters. Despite its enormous size, it moved with surprising agility underground.

"A calamity-level Earth Devouring Insect!"

Ji Xinghuo felt a mix of excitement and disappointment.

He had initially thought it might be the seismic-level Earth Devouring Insect, as the distance from its last known location was only about 1,000 kilometers, making the probability of encountering it low but not zero.

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

This Earth Devouring Insect wasn't as powerful as the legends suggested, as the energy fluctuations indicated it was only at the Can level.

While the Silent Wasteland was home to a vast number of Earth Devouring Insects, only a minuscule percentage evolved to the calamity level.

Ji Xinghuo had been hunting for seven to eight days and had only come across one Hong-level Earth Devouring Insect.

And it had been easily dispatched.

The Hong-level Earth Devouring Insect possessed several ultra-limit exotic species, but that was nothing out of the ordinary.

"A Can-level Earth Devouring Insect... Will it give me some unexpected gains?" Ji Xinghuo wondered, his gaze fixed on the monster.

As it entered the three-kilometer range, the Earth Devouring Insect slowed down.

Completely unaware that it had been detected, it rose closer to the surface as it continued to approach Qinghong's position.

Ji Xinghuo furrowed his brows.

The insect's display of caution indicated a high level of intelligence, setting it apart from the average Earth Devouring Insect.

The two to three thousand insects he had hunted previously seemed to act purely on instinct. They were like fish taking the bait, easily lured and attacking their prey without hesitation, including the Hong-level insect.

"It actually knows how to 'observe'," Ji Xinghuo remarked, a bit surprised. He then pretended not to have noticed the insect and landed his flight motorcycle, beginning to collect the exotic species.

He was using himself as bait.

However, even after Ji Xinghuo finished collecting the exotic species, the Earth Devouring Insect still didn't launch an attack.

It exhibited great patience, circling underground and probing from different angles.

"Let's play a game," Ji Xinghuo said, shrinking Qinghong back to its smaller size and riding his flight motorcycle away.

The motorcycle quickly disappeared into the distant horizon.

The area fell silent, leaving only the corpses of a few Earth Devouring Insects. After several minutes, the ground slightly caved in, the soil softening like sand, and the insect corpses sank into a terrifyingly large mouth.

A thousand meters above, a pair of invisible eyes quietly observed everything.

They belonged to Ji Xinghuo.

After flying away, he noticed that the insect wasn't following, so he immediately stored his flight motorcycle into his Dimensional Stomach and then activated his invisibility, stealthily returning from the sky.

The Earth Devouring Insect was patient, but Ji Xinghuo was even more so.

"Almost there," Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself as he slowly descended while invisible, making no sound and ghosting closer to the feeding insect.

When he was 400 meters above the ground, he gripped his Electric Potential Battle Blade, and electric current coils burst out from his body, accelerating his descent.

Boom!

A thunderous roar split the sky.

The Earth Devouring Insect, hidden underground, immediately tried to burrow deeper, but at that moment, a shadowy figure leaped out from the shadows beneath a large boulder just dozens of meters away from the insect, and with a spread of their hands, they unleashed an ability.

In an instant, a black vortex about fifteen meters in diameter enveloped the Earth Devouring Insect.

It didn't even have time to react.

The insect was immediately sucked into the Dark Energy Vortex Field, its massive body pulled out from underground and fully exposed.

In the sky, Ji Xinghuo's body had swollen to a height of five meters. His battle blade had also synchronized and grown, turning into a nearly four-meter-long giant blade that flashed with dazzling electric light. His entire body overflowed with overloading currents, like a thick bolt of lightning about to strike.

His speed and strength reached their peak in an instant.

Lightning Cut!

Ji Xinghuo slashed downward with his blade.

He deliberately adjusted his attack angle with "Acceleration," causing his strike to zigzag like lightning. The Electric Potential Battle Blade sliced through the front end of the Earth Devouring Insect, its "head," cleaving through the insect's body along with Ji Xinghuo's arm.

With a loud crack, the electric light exploded, and Ji Xinghuo reappeared a hundred meters away, having gone from extreme speed to a complete stop in the blink of an eye.

He casually turned back to look at the Earth Devouring Insect.

Its massive body was split in two, vertically cleaved and fallen to the ground, with countless blood and fluids spraying out and flooding a large area.

[Spiritual Source Energy +2243]



Ji Xinghuo saw the prompt and confirmed that the insect was truly dead.

Only then did he shrink back to his normal size and sheathe his battle blade, looking at the insect's corpse with satisfaction at the power of his strike.

A Can-level monster was equivalent to a second-stage Legend, and this Earth Devouring Insect was even stronger, at the peak of the Legend realm, yet it had been easily slain by his single blow, with barely any effort expended. This was a pleasing result of the recent investment of spiritual source energy.

Of course, Jiu You also deserved credit.

The Shadow Serpent spirit body was perfect for ambushes, especially the Dark Energy Vortex Field. As long as the target was trapped, it was an instant kill.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at it.

The Dark Energy Vortex Field was currently at (Level 4 12/66629).

"Such a useful ability. After upgrading Electromagnetic Oscillation to Level 6, I can consider giving this priority for an upgrade," he thought to himself as he walked towards the massive corpse of the Earth Devouring Insect, intending to check its ability information.

However, he had only taken a few steps when he stopped.

Ji Xinghuo looked up at the sky, and after a few seconds, a shuttle shaped like a true dragon burst out from the clouds and dived towards his position at high speed.

"Soaring Dragon Shuttle?"

Ji Xinghuo recognized the origin of the shuttle, a common universal aerospace fighter in the True Dragon Dynasty, capable of traveling in both the atmosphere and outer space, with multiple functions including combat and transportation.

His gaze pierced through the shuttle's exterior, and he saw the person inside.

His expression changed slightly.

There was a King-level powerhouse on that Soaring Dragon Shuttle, and from their appearance, they were a True Dragon human!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end