The goal was to uncover all the insect’s properties and discover what made them demonized. To do this, Lu Qingshan assembled four groups. First was Liu Yingting and Wu Ruoling, who Song Lin volunteered to join. Second was Qin Ye and Li Fanghua, relying on the insights found in Daoist Qingxu’s journal. Third was the An siblings, who might have their own unique understandings during their journeys as lone cultivators.

  And the fourth group was made up of the rest of the martial artists who would be subduing the insects and bringing them back. Lu Qingshan himself was too much to bear for simple captures. He might end up easily killing them with his strength. Plus, this would give everyone experience in combating the insects properly without his help — if something happened to him.

  Lu Qingshan quickly located the remnants of a swarm that had just fought a harsh battle. He eyed the heavily injured insects. There were enough of them still to pose a minor threat to a group of martial artists, but they had three groups here.

  “Go,” he told everyone. “Time to earn your keep.”

  The three Viscera Tempering experts were not fully loyal, but they were quick to perform. They were the first to pull in a batch of insects, followed closely by Jin Teng with Feng Ranran by his side. After passing off the insects to each group, they went back in for more.

  Lu Qingshan eyed the squirming mantis with its limbs shattered and wings torn. Even now, it was still trying to claw at him with its snapped frontal limbs. He chanted the Insect Harmony Mantra, and it did nothing as he expected.

  But unlike before, he had an indefinite amount of time he could spend chanting the mantra. Perhaps all that was stopping him was time.

  Unfortunately, even as the other groups gained their own set of insects to experiment with, Lu Qingshan’s giant mantis expired before he could produce any effects. He switched to the next giant insect, a centipede with sharp blades all over its body, but it also died too quickly. None of the insects survived for long, and he ran out of subjects after the entire swarm had been dismantled.

  “We need to find a demonized insect with regenerative abilities,” Lu Qingshan said. “Have any of you seen something similar?”

  Everybody shook their heads. With the fairly rapid deaths after doing enough damage to subdue these insects, it seemed they needed to take an even softer approach. The only ones who got anything out of the initial batch of experiments was Liu Yingting, who somehow managed to accelerate the deaths of his batch.

  “It could become useful,” he defended himself. “So we don’t get surrounded.”

  “Try to heal them, please,” Lu Qingshan said. “Or incapacitate them.”

  He found another swarm of insects, but they were too intact. It would be a considerable risk to attack this swarm without some secret cards he could play. They currently needed quantity, so deploying the crystal cicada to force them to scatter would not provide enough subjects to satisfy their needs. Instead, they had to wait.

  In the meantime, Lu Qingshan finally took the Roaming Tiger Breathing Method to the limit. He breathed out a low, savage growl. At this level, he gained a surprising amount of control over his body. Not only could he actually disguise his blood energy to a level no longer resembling an Innate realm expert, he could also reduce his strength to the exact amount he needed to tear open a thin slice on whatever he attacked.

  Lu Qingshan bared his teeth. Perhaps he wouldn’t need to rely on the others to incapacitate the insects. He could likely do it himself now, though he still wanted to try finding a demonized insect with self-regeneration.

  After another brief scan of their surroundings with his flies, Lu Qingshan decided it was worth a try. The fifth level of the Giant Whale Breathing Method gave him an enhanced production of primordial qi simply by controlling how he breathed. It almost doubled the Innate realm power he could wield, ensuring he wouldn't be exhausted as quickly in a drawn-out fight. It was perfect for long battles, and the Blood Seas Inner Force helped him preserve the other half of his reserves: his stamina and regeneration.

  "Stay here," Lu Qingshan said. "There's a swarm nearby. I'll go take care of it."

  His sect nodded, but the other martial artists looked a bit disgruntled, doubtful of his abilities. "You alone?" one of them asked. It seemed they did not know the difference between the Mortal Shedding realm and true Qi Refinement realm.

  "Yes," Lu Qingshan answered. "Is there a reason for you to try and stop me?"

  "It's not that we won't let you," the man said. "But most of us are relying on you to survive. If you died alone or ran into trouble, how will we continue?"

  "I can handle myself," Lu Qingshan assured. "If you feel nervous, you can come with me. But please stay far away from the battle. You might get in my way."

  "Should we help as well?" Song Lin whispered to Qin Ye.

  "No, our sect master is much stronger than you think." Qin Ye gave him an offhanded shake of his hand, dismissing his concerns in favor of studying Qingxu's journal. "You haven't seen him go all-out yet, so it's understandable."

  "He's not in the Qi Refinement realm, though. I haven't seen any other cultivators fight like him. Not even my cousin," muttered Song Lin, his face scrunched up in confusion. "Is he a martial artist?"

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  "Like he said, if you're so worried, then go with him. You'll be able to see why he remains our sect leader and not me."

  Eventually, all of the people not in the Seven Mysteries Gate followed him towards the battlefield. Lu Qingshan was fine with this. It was the perfect opportunity to gain authority over this group of foreigners.

  He spotted the swarm before it could see him. Without hesitation, Lu Qingshan smashed into the demonized insect horde like a truck. Briefly, a bloody sea rose behind him, mixed with the life energies absorbed from the deaths of each insect. The vision was soon swallowed by the mass of demonized bugs.

  Lu Qingshan roared, but it had no effect on the swarm’s ferocity. He switched to chanting the Insect Harmony Mantra. Then all he could do afterwards was fight for his life. If he made a single mistake, their giant insect claws might tear him apart.

  Though he tore through them with absolute ease, there were too many enemies. It was impossible to avoid accumulating injuries with how many powerful bites and stings were present in the horde. He did his best to deflect each blow and summoned the power of the Innate realm to continuously back away. Bloody tendrils lashed out at the insect swarm, severing legs and limbs.

  The martial artists behind him began to retreat as well. Some even fled frantically — Lu Qingshan would not miss their presence. The three Viscera Tempering experts stayed, pleasing him, as he had high hopes for them. Even the three immortal cultivators sought to help him by mobilizing spiritual qi.

  “Stop!” he shouted. Lu Qingshan leapt out of the fray with his Seven Steps Technique and Red Falcon Soaring Leap. Then he crashed back into the right flank of the insect swarm, cutting down another swathe of enemies. With high mobility, stamina regeneration, wound recovery, and a constantly replenishing primordial power, he was near invincible in mortal battles.

  His next attack cleaved off the head of a pair of vicious beetles. Then he punched straight through the carapace of a roach, and launched its body into a flock of wasps in the air. Tendrils of blood rushed to cut through their downed bodies by the stingers.

  Lu Qingshan's wounds faded away. Five elements bloomed on his body as he shot forward into the middle of the swarm once again. But with all the damage carved through their ranks, they were no longer able to surround him as cleanly as the first round.

  Now, he held the advantage. Lu Qingshan's primordial qi showed no signs of running out, and he continuously unleashed powerful blow after blow into the demonized swarm. Bloody insect chunks rained down on the martial arts behind him who had frozen still to watch the massacre. As gore splattered on their faces, their eyes remained enthralled.

  He snuck a glance at the stone slab. Indeed, the Insect Harmony Mantra's proficiency was rising at an even faster rate than he expected. It outweighed his frequent chanting sessions with the crystal cicada by many times, and he hadn't even reached the full potential of the technique. If he attracted a larger swarm, the speed would only increase.

  Lu Qingshan ripped off chunks of a centipede's face, leaving it barely alive to squirm on the dirt. He tore open spider mandibles and threw them away. One particularly large mantis tried to slice open his back. Lu Qingshan simply dodged to the side and slammed a kick into its wings, forcing it to limp towards him.

  With most of the demonized insects losing essential limbs, all they could do was struggle to crawl towards him. The whole time, Lu Qingshan chanted the Insect Harmony Mantra, staying just a step beyond their reach. His proficiency rose rapidly on the stone slab.

  Throughout the whole process, Lu Qingshan found it much more efficient to target them himself. For one, he gained the advantage of speed, while also managing to extend the lifespans of the demonized insects by a considerable amount. This generated even more proficiency over time. Furthermore, the Blood Seas Inner Force was constantly tempering his consciousness, and he felt his upper aperture grow a little fuller.

  Lu Qingshan watched as the last insect died from their struggle. Even though he had taken care to not cause too much damage, they still expired from overtaxing their bodies. It was as if they would never rest unless they destroyed him. Still, this experience had been highly effective. He sought out more demonized insect swarms around the area, but a quick glance through his Bloodseeker Flies revealed they were all gone.

  "Does anyone have another place to hunt for swarms?" Lu Qingshan asked, turning to the slackjaw martial artists and immortal cultivators. "I might've missed something. If you find any, please tell me."

  No one spoke a word as he walked away. It took them some time to follow him. Before he reached their makeshift campsite, Lu Qingshan checked the stone slab and studied his progress.

  Lu Qingshan (28 years old)

  Lifespan Remaining: 36 years

  Cultivation: Mortal Shedding - Aperture Tempering

  Techniques: Hundred Beasts Refinement (Level 1, 11/10000), Insect Harmony Mantra (Level 6, 6714/10000), Blood Seas Inner Force (Limit), Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique (Level 2, 1320/10000), Giant Whale Breathing Method (Level 5, 233/10000), Blood Pulse Technique (Level 2, 2379/10000), Dragon Spine Manual (Level 4, 4821/10000), Great Ape Breathing Method (Limit), Roaming Tiger Breathing Method (Limit), Red Falcon Breathing Method (Limit), Tiger Fist (Limit), Deer Steps (Limit), Stoneskin Technique (Limit), Seven Steps Technique (Level 4, 1417/10000), Verdant Summer Inner Force (Level 2, 8079/10000), Black Fury Inner Force (Level 4, 1243/10000), Raging Bear Breathing Method (Level 2, 4577/10000), Soaring Crane Breathing Method (Level 3, 3599/10000), Flowing Cloud Inner Force (Level 3, 3599/10000), Golden Shell Body (Level 2, 1782/10000), Nimble Deer Breathing Method (Level 4, 9620/10000), Golden Drop Inner Force (Level 3, 9857/10000), Earthen Crust Inner Force (Level 2, 999/10000), Hidden Veil Technique (Level 4, 6412/10000), Turtle Breath Inner Force (Level 3, 8513/10000), Wave Motions Fist (Limit), Tiger Roar Technique (Limit), Crane Wings Technique (Limit), Iron Bear Technique (Limit), Viper Strike Technique (Limit), Silent Step Technique (Limit), Basic Hand-to-hand (Limit)

  Mystic Jade Essence - Dao Fruit of Sublime Miracles - Condensing... 71%

  In another month and two more of these swarms, the Insect Harmony Mantra would reach the seventh level. This was much, much faster than he expected. But this speed couldn't maintain itself, since the demonized insect swarms were relatively limited. He would have to rely on the others to discover more.

  Otherwise the only choice was to return to the mountain peak and hunt down the gargantuan swarm there. That one was more than three or four times the size of these roaming swarms. There was also the chance that his Insect Harmony Mantra or Liu Yingting's poisons would develop enough to be able to pacify these demonized insects, but Lu Qingshan didn't count on it.

  With four different martial techniques on the cusp of reaching their next level, it was wiser to focus on them instead. His sect had time to locate another swarm deeper into the forests.