While Fang Yingying talked to the young man in low voices, Nie Tian and the girls arrived at the Silver Beetle nest on Yin Yanan’s air-transportation spiritual tool.
Since the two of them had intentionally lowered their voices, and Nie Tian didn’t pay close attention to them, he didn’t hear the content of their conversation.
He and the girls had confidence in their strength, and thus weren’t very worried by the Heavenly Witchcraft Sect’s scheme.
The Silver Beetles hadn’t followed the Heavenly Witchcraft Sect disciples to the other nests as they had withdrawn, but were still flying around that mountain peak.
However, as Nie Tian and the girls attempted to approach that mountain peak, their action seemed to enrage the Silver Beetles.
Countless Silver Beetles instantly swarmed towards them.
As they approached Nie Tian, they seemed to catch a whiff of something delicious, and grew even more violent and mad.
Almost all of the Silver Beetles targeted Nie Tian. As they did, their s.h.i.+ny silver bodies that were the size of fists clashed with each other, giving rise to metallic clanks and sending out silver sparks.
Upon seeing this, both Yin Yanan and Mu Biqiong grew confused.
They were standing side by side with Nie Tian, but the Silver Beetles had clearly ignored them, as if they had nothing but Nie Tian in their small, beady eyes.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Like numerous small but hard stones, Silver Beetles kept slamming into Yin Yanan’s air-transportation spiritual tool.
The air-transportation spiritual tool wobbled briefly before falling out of the air.
FIZZ! FIZZ!
As Nie Tian let out a cold harrumph and channeled flame power from within his vortex of flame power, a crimson aura rose from his skin, forming a fiery ward around him.
He jumped off the air-transportation spiritual tool before it crashed, and landed steadily at the foot of the Silver Beetle nest.
At the same time, he summoned his Flame Star, whose fiery blade light swept back and forth like a flame dragon trying to devour heaven and earth.
A large number of Silver Beetles were slashed by the Flame Star’s blade light and fell from the sky like rain.
However, after they fell to the ground, their small silver bodies wiggled about and soon flew back up again.
A surprised expression appeared on Nie Tian’s face, as he hadn’t at all expected that the Silver Beetles’ sh.e.l.ls were actually so solid that the Flame Star failed to cut them open.
After putting her air-transportation spiritual tool back in her ring of holding, Yin Yanan gasped at the scene of countless Silver Beetles attacking Nie Tian.
She and Mu Biqiong were indeed completely ignored by the Silver Beetles.
They had landed in a place that was just about ten meters from Nie Tian, yet not a single one of the swarming Silver Beetles flew to attack them.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Silver Beetles engulfed Nie Tian like a sea, blocking him from view.
“Why are the Silver Beetles attacking him so madly?” Mu Biqiong asked with a confused look in her deep eyes.
Yin Yanan was puzzled by the same question.
She gently placed her hand on the Frost Blood Python’s head and sent a wisp of soul awareness through her hand.
In the next moment, she sensed the Frost Blood Python’s strong yearning for Nie Tian’s flesh.
Since the Frost Blood Python had entered the eighth grade, a soul connection had already formed between it and Yin Yanan, eliminating all obstacles to their communication.
The Frost Blood Python told her that Nie Tian’s aura had an irresistible appeal to it.
If Yin Yanan hadn’t stopped it, and if it hadn’t witnessed Nie Tian’s formidable might before, it would have long since given in to its yearning and attempted to swallow Nie Tian.
Silver Beetles were an ancient species from the Desolate Antiquity Era. Even though their intelligence wasn’t so developed, they could tell that Nie Tian’s flesh and blood would be of great help to them.
PUFF! PUFF!
The wave upon wave of Silver Beetles finally burst the defensive ward Nie Tian had formed with flame power.
The Silver Beetles let out sharp excited screeches as they pounced on Nie Tian and planted their teeth into his flesh.
BANG!
In the blink of an eye, close to a hundred Silver Beetles clung on to Nie Tian with their sharp teeth.
A numbing toxin was instantly injected into Nie Tian’s flesh through the Silver Beetle’s teeth.
While experiencing severe pain, Nie Tian also felt that the toxin was even slowing his circulation of flesh aura.
After seeing what was happening to Nie Tian, the Frost Blood Python, which was coiled by Yin Yanan’s feet, seemed to be stirred as well. Its eyes shone with blood-colored light as it unconsciously inched towards Nie Tian.
“Don’t even think about it!” Yin Yanan berated sternly.
She had noticed the look of desire in the Frost Blood Python’s eyes, and thus stopped it in time.
Gnawed by the Silver Beetles, Nie Tian grinned sinisterly. “You lot must have a death wis.h.!.+”
Life Drain was then activated.
Like bands of red silk, streaks of blood-colored light instantly shot out of him.
Like intangible needles, they pierced and pinned all of the Silver Beetle that dared to bite into his skin.
Afterwards, fine cyan, crystalline strings that were branded with his bloodline power flew out of the blood-colored light, drilling into the Silver Beetles.
Each and every Silver Beetle seemed to have their flesh aura hooked and forcibly dragged into the blood-colored light.
The steaks of blood-colored light rapidly expanded to become as thick as fingers.
Afterwards, they returned to Nie Tian, infusing him with numerous strands of rich flesh power.
At the same time, the s.h.i.+ny silver glow rapidly disappeared from the sh.e.l.ls of the Silver Beetles that were clinging to him.
BAM! BAM!
Dozens of Silver Beetles fell from Nie Tian’s skin to the ground, bereft of any aura of life.
The other Silver Beetles that were swarming around Nie Tian saw what had just happened.
Then, they trembled with fear while fleeing from Nie Tian, dropping all other ideas, as if they had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.
Within seconds, the sea of Silver Beetles that had engulfed Nie Tian scattered, leaving nothing but a few dozen dead Silver Beetles on the ground.
Since Nie Tian had been blocked from sight by the Silver Beetles when he had activated Life Drain, neither Fang Yingying nor Yin Yanan had seen what had happened.
Only after all of the Silver Beetles had scattered and fled from Nie Tian did they see the corpses of the Silver Beetles that had dared to bite Nie Tian just now.
SSSS! SSSS!
The Frost Blood Python, which had almost given in to its desire to pounce on Nie Tian to get a share of Nie Tian’s flesh from the Silver Beetles, let out insecure hisses as it hastily backed up to Yin Yanan’s feet, fear filling its eyes.
Even though it hadn’t seen what had happened just now either, it had a terrifying feeling that if it dared to approach Nie Tian, it would suffered from a fatal disaster.
Over at the Heavenly Witchcraft Sect disciples’ location, both Fang Yingying and Luo Hui had strange expressions on their faces.
They had been shocked by the fact that the Silver Beetles had completely ignored Yin Yanan and Mu Biqiong, but had madly swarmed Nie Tian.
Then, what had shocked them even more was that dozens of Silver Beetles had died soon after biting Nie Tian, and that all of the other Silver Beetles had scattered and fled upon seeing this, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Luo Hui’s emaciated face was filled with confusion as he said, “That person is far beyond ordinary. All of the Silver Beetles that managed to break through his spiritual power ward and bite his flesh died afterwards.”
With these words, he shot a glance at the few fleshless skeletons of the dead Heavenly Witchcraft Sect disciples.
Fang Yingying followed his gaze, and frowned as she remembered how the Silver Beetles had shattered those fellow disciples’ spiritual power wards and engulfed them. Only a few seconds later, they had been reduced to pale-white skeletons, bereft of a shred of flesh.
She stood there and thought to herself, “Those Silver Beetles clearly bit him and poisoned him, but he somehow survived, and even scared the rest of the Silver Beetles away.”
Standing among the corpses of a few dozen Silver Beetles, Nie Tian narrowed his eyes slightly, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Numerous s.h.i.+ny silver spots flowed into his heart with the streams of rich flesh power he had absorbed from the Silver Beetles.
Like a resting dragon, the green aura in his heart awoke from its dormancy and devoured the s.h.i.+ny silver spots.
The majority of the flesh power flowed to every part of Nie Tian’s body to provide him with long-lasting fleshly strength, which he could mix with wood power to further refine his body with the help of Heavenly Wood Heal.
A surprised expression appeared on Nie Tian’s face. “These s.h.i.+ny silver spots seem to be the essence of those Silver Beetle’s flesh auras, which carry the profound truths of their bloodline power.”
He had a strange feeling that the silver spots would help him accelerate the upgrade of his bloodline aura.
Then, he realized that his bloodline aura must want more of these silver spots.
With this thought in his mind, he marched towards the Silver Beetle nest, looking calm and composed.
However, as he approached the countless Silver Beetles that were hovering in the air, they backed away bit by bit to avoid him.
They had nothing but fear and panic in their small, beady eyes. By the time Nie Tian arrived in front of their nest, many of them broke down.
SHEW! SHEW! SHEW!
Like rays of silver light, they returned to the densely packed holes that filled the silver mountain peaks.
Moments later, not a single Silver Beetle could be seen flying around the mountain peak.
Yin Yanan’s expression grew even stranger.
Fang Yingying and Luo Hui frowned deeply, as they also couldn’t figure out what was happening.
Standing at the foot of the silver mountain, Nie Tian looked up and located a hole that could allow him to enter among the countless holes, most of which were only the size of fists.
“If my speculation is correct, then that’s the tunnel through which the mother beetle enters and exits the nest.” With a smile, Nie Tian leapt into the air and shot into the considerably larger hole in the sloping silver mountain’s surface like a large bird.
Upon seeing this, Yin Yanan and Mu Biqiong exchanged a glance, then followed him into that hole.
Luo Hui was taken aback. “I can’t believe they actually found their way into the mother beetle’s nest so easily.”
Fang Yingying secretly took a deep breath. “Let’s go take a look together, junior martial brother. There’s something strange with that guy.”
“I told you not to play this game, but you just wouldn’t listen,” Luo Hui berated. Even so, he decided to go with her. The two of them flew into the Silver Beetle nest through the same hole Nie Tian and the girls had flown in.
After entering the hole, he added, “You’d better take them seriously. I have a feeling that those three aren’t easy to deal with.”
Fang Yingying pursed her lips into a smile. “What’s there to be afraid of? I’ve got you, right? Your spirit vermin is our sect’s most powerful treasure! I refuse to believe those three from the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries can handle it in battle.”
“But we need to avoid unnecessary trouble,” Luo Hui said impatiently.
Fang Yingying nodded, smiling, but inwardly, she still thought Nie Tian and the girls wouldn’t pose a threat as long as Luo Hui was there to help her.