Liu Changqing was dealing with official business within the prefect’s office. The documents stacked up on his desk like a mountain. Even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator whose physical and mental strength far exceeded that of mortals, he was absolutely swamped in work. He regretted not resigning from this post sooner.
Suddenly, the army of locusts drew near, and the warning bells rang out through the city. He could not even care about his regret anymore. He immediately sought assistance from the commandery city of Ruyi while he hurried towards the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.
In order to guard against events like this, apart from constructing a large-scale formation, every single city was under the watch of a Golden Core cultivator who could also control the formation.
The controller of the formation for the Clear River prefecture happened to be standing on the rooftop of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. She was dressed in a solemn, black dress, with a thick, black veil over her face. She stared at the blanketing swarm of insects and suddenly uttered, “Chenglu!” With that, she wanted to fly over and rescue her.
“Sect master Qiu! You must not!” Liu Changqing called out loudly to stop her.
“Prefect Liu, Chenglu is still outside.” Qiu Haitang frowned.
“Even if you go, you might not be able to save commander Hua, fellow. If no one controls the formation in the city, then it’ll fall to the Soaring Locust King’s attacks very quickly. By then, several million lives will die in the mouths of the insects!” Liu Changqing bowed all the way to the ground, slightly afraid to meet her eyes.
Qiu Haitang was caught in a slight conflict before finally letting out a sigh. She knew that Liu Changqing was right. Her cultivation was not weak, but she was not skilled in direct battle. It was almost impossible for her to save Hua Chenglu from the sea of insects. The most logical choice was to stand guard with the formation and buy as much time as possible until the reinforcements arrived from the commandery city of Ruyi.
Chenglu, you have to escape from there! Qiu Haitang prayed inside and activated the protective formation. Suddenly, she heard the Soaring Locust King’s roar, and her heart skipped a beat, but what she thought of was that scarlet-haired, scarlet-eyed daemon.
The sound waves rolled in from the distance. Everyone in the city felt like the roars had just erupted beside their ears. Yu Shukuang and the others bore the brunt of the blow, clutching their ears and kneeling on the ground. Blood seeped from their mouths and noses as their faces warped in pain. If it were not for the protection from Hua Chenglu’s fragrance, they might have even died on the spot.
Hua Chenglu shuddered gently, but she remained composed. She did have a few items for saving her life in her possession, but they had all become useless given the current situation. Am I really going to die here today?
The world darkened, and the cloud of insects passed by, buzzing and whistling as they pressed towards the prefectural city of Clear River.
The strange, terrifying, half-human, half-locust Daemon Commander smiled viciously. He had not come here for the sake of Li Qingshan alone. Even if Liu Hong and the others did not know Li Qingshan, he still would have hunted them down the same way. The slight delight of revenge would just be missing.
If it were only for the sake of revenge, there was no need for him to mobilise such a great force at all. Sending a locust Daemon Commander over was enough. He had been planning an assault on a city for a very long time now. Through the locust plagues and famines, thousands of villages were abandoned. A large number of people gathered in the prefectural city. If he could “eat” a prefectural city, then not only would it be a heavy blow to the cultivation community of the Green province, but it could also increase the quality and quantity of his clones.
This was his war against all the humans of the Green province. It did not matter if they were Li Qingshan’s friends. They all had to die. As for Li Qingshan who had escaped to the Mist province, he would obviously go and find him in person after dealing with the Green province.
Golden light flashed through Hua Chenglu’s eyes, and golden vines coiled around her, blooming into golden sun vine flowers. They erupted with resplendent and scorching light, charring thousands of locusts to ashes. Even the locust Daemon Generals began to smoke, making them retreat backwards. The locust Daemon Commander squinted slightly as a streak of light shot towards his forehead.
This was originally a life-saving sword talisman that the Sword Collection palace gave to their disciples. It was equivalent to the full-powered strike of a second heavenly tribulation sword cultivator. Hua Chengzan had specially given it to her.
“Measly tricks!” The locust Daemon Commander’s mouth suddenly split open, turning into the mandibles of a locust. He bit down on the streak of light and crushed it to pieces before swallowing it.
Hua Chenglu used the opportunity to activate the Escape talisman immediately. She turned into a streak of light and shot backwards, passing through the surging cloud of insects.
“You’re just asking to die!” The locust Daemon Commander sneered and did not go after her.
The Escape talisman that Hua Chenglu used was a Five-kilometer Escape talisman. It could turn her into a streak of light and immediately escape to five kilometers away. Because of the locust Daemon Commander in her path, the only direction available to her was backwards. She was not even bold enough to go to the sides, just in case she was intercepted. All she could do was increase the distance between her and the locust Daemon Commander as much as possible, which also meant travelling away from the prefectural city.
However, after escaping to five kilometers away, she had not fled to safety. She discovered that she had fallen into the sea of insects, and she could not see or hear anything else. Only countless locusts surged towards her from all directions. The buzzing sound of their wings was deafening. She happened to have retreated into the depths of the sea of insects. She happened to have gone from one dire strait to another.
She had grown accustomed to death a long time ago, and she had received the Great Banyan Tree King’s wisdom imbuement, so she originally thought she could face her own death calmly. However, she never expected there to still be some fear when she truly faced death. She did not want to die in the mouths of the insects. Right when she was about to try and perish with them, a familiar voice rang out by her ears.
“Don’t be afraid.”
She looked back in surprise and discovered that she was not actually alone in the surging sea of insects. A man smiled at her calmly, basically no different from the face in her memories. Was this an illusion occurring at the brink of death?
“Long time no see, Chenglu!”
Li Qingshan did not rush straight over because of a single statement from the Soaring Locust King. Instead, he hid his aura completely and used an Invisibility talisman. When he saw Hua Chenglu and the others face dire straits, he approached silently, ready to rescue them. In this chaotic landscape, no one would notice that.
“Big brother Li!” Hua Chenglu blinked her eyes and said in disbelief.
The insects suddenly discovered Li Qingshan, and all of them surged over to tear away at him.
“Demonification!” Li Qingshan chanted, and his demon heart flashed. Demon qi surged out, and the locusts were sent flying, ground to dust. He carved out a hole in the sea of insects.
In the centre of the hole, Li Qingshan was clad in demonic armour. The ox-horned helmet covered half of his face, revealing a pair of dark-red eyes. His chestplate was shaped like a roaring tiger’s head, only serving as the most basic protection and revealing his powerful, bronze body. He gave off a sense of viciousness.
“You’ve returned!” Hua Chenglu went from her initial shock to a charming smile.
“Let me butcher these puny insects first and then we can catch up!” Li Qingshan brought his left arm around her waist and waved his right hand. “Chains of Demon Suppression!”
Jagle! A chain whistled out like a black dragon, reaching three thousand meters long. One end was tied around his hand. With a gentle shake, it straightened out, and he swung it forwards.
The Soaring Locust King could not be bothered with torturing Yu Shukuang and the others anymore. Right when he was about to eat them, he suddenly became alarmed, and a black chain cut through the sea of insects violently. Two figures leapt out.
“Chains of Demon Suppression! You are?”
“What, you don’t even recognise me anymore, Soaring Locust King? Speaking of which, we’ve never met, so I’ll have you know who I am today!”
Li Qingshan roared out like thunder, “Here stands Li Qingshan!”
