Chapter 227: All the Prodigies
Zhu Ge still hadn’t forgotten the time and place he first saw the Plague God Sparrow.
Back then, the Plague God Sparrow had only cast a curious glance at Zhu Ge from a distance.
That single glance was as casual as a normal person glancing at the flowers and grass by the roadside while walking.
But that one look had nearly killed him.
However, the real focus at that time wasn’t the Plague God Sparrow, but the insect tide.
An insect tide!
An insect tide that someone was controlling!
Because of this, Zhu Ge had endured two insect tides back then, barely managing to save the few remaining survivors of Jianshan Village.
During the first of those tides, Gu Insects had come to attack him.
So, from that moment on, Zhu Ge knew someone was behind the Plague God Sparrow.
After obtaining the memories from the Bone Monster Avatar’s skull, he became even more certain.
He himself knew more than a few Insect Extermination Techniques.
That was why he had been prepared long ago when he laid out his plans, codenamed “Spider.”
SHH-SHH!!!
Countless mycelial threads pierced its body, strangling the Plague God Sparrow in an instant.
However, this was merely one of the Plague God Sparrow’s shrines.
For the Plague God Sparrow, only the shrine from when it became a Great God was truly important.
To kill a god, one had to destroy all its shrines.
Otherwise, as long as a single shrine remained, the god could always make a comeback.
Moreover, Hongmi Immortal had previously explained the mysteries of Great Gods to him.
Upon reaching the Great Realm, everything would change.
A Great God, for instance, could cultivate their way back as long as a single shrine existed.
In other words, even though two of the Plague God Sparrow’s shrines had now been destroyed, it only needed to spend some time refining two new ones.
Zhu Ge had only just obliterated one of the Plague God Sparrow’s bodies and its shrine; the creature could recover quickly.
But the Plague God Sparrow was not the focus now.
Zhu Ge looked up at the being high in the sky as the countless mycelial threads retracted back into Six Paths Valley.
BZZZZZ—
The swarm of insects danced as a fierce wind howled.
The figure stood silently in the sky, an invisible pressure spreading between heaven and earth.
Fortunately, Zhu Ge had already moved everyone from Six Paths Valley to Jianshui City. Otherwise, few would have been able to remain standing.
It was unfortunate for the buildings and ordinary mulberry trees, which had to bear the immense pressure.
“You are very bold.”
The voice, cold and filled with rage, echoed from the sky. “Now that you’ve used an array to execute the Plague God Sparrow, are you prepared to die?”
“Die?” Zhu Ge laughed dismissively. “You think my array can’t reach you just because you’re far away?”
As his voice fell, powerful auras emerged from all directions.
“Hahaha! So it’s a Gu Master from Nanyue Mianhuang? I like it!”
“I didn’t think these barbarian foreigners would be so bold as to invade our Central Plains Region!”
“Brother Yan, is this the kid called Zhu Ge? He’s impressive, indeed!”
“I wonder how his strategic planning compares to Lin Zhi’s military tactics?”
More than a dozen voices spoke one after another as figures appeared in the sky, surrounding the target.
Prodigies!
Every single one of them was a prodigy!
Meanwhile, Zhu Ge stood in Six Paths Valley. The Bone Monster Avatar had already taken Liu Jianjian back to White Bone Cave to lie low.
“Thank you all for coming to assist!” Zhu Ge cupped his hands in a salute to those around him. “For this joint effort to surround this person from Nanyue Mianhuang, I must rely on all of you. I will not take any of their belongings after their death. Furthermore, I will offer a monetary reward. So please, don’t hold back!”
These people were all prodigies of the Human Race!
True Monarch of the Lantern, True Monarch Minmian, and Hongmi Immortal had all said that this place would soon become eventful.
And just as they predicted, countless prodigies had indeed poured into Yunjiang from all over, flooding into Red River Prefecture.
How could Zhu Ge’s “Spider” plan, which accounted for every possibility, neglect so much potential help?
Therefore, he had calculated everything long ago, just waiting for the Great Realm Gu Master—the Great Witch—to appear!
As Zhu Ge finished speaking, many of them cupped their fists in return.
“Indeed, indeed! We shall execute this person and make a name for ourselves in Da Sheng!”
“Don’t any of you try to steal this from me! I’m getting on the Raccoon Fur List!”
“No, no, no, this humble Daoist will go first. I’m in a hurry.”
“Damn it, Zhu Ge! For something this good, you should’ve just called me! Why’d you bring all these idiots?”
They all started chatting as if the one they were about to surround wasn’t a Great Witch, but a pig or sheep waiting for slaughter.
One must understand, these were all renowned figures from the Sheji Chart!
Aside from the top ten, almost everyone else was ranked in the top one hundred.
There were also three or four Third Realm cultivators who, despite not being in the top ten, were not much weaker—like the Wood Daoist from before.
Figures like Yan Liyuan, Guan Julan, and Su Feibai were old acquaintances of Zhu Ge.
Although they were all in the Third Realm, their strength was immense.
“Hahaha, and how do you know that I didn’t know about your little scheme?”
Just then, a great laugh boomed from the figure high in the sky.
The next moment, a young man stepped out from the swarm of insects, his face becoming visible.
He was a young man wearing a jade crown and golden-yellow robes, appearing no older than thirty.
However, the handsome youth’s bare upper body was densely covered in holes, with all sorts of insects nestled inside.
In the holes where his nipples should have been, there was a golden locust nestled in each.
Seeing this person, the crowd fell silent.
“This is…” Su Feibai frowned, his grip on the Spiritual Artifact in his hand tightening. “A member of the Nanyue Mianhuang Royal Family?”
Yan Liyuan’s brow was also tightly furrowed. “I had heard that the Barbarian Royal Family of Nanyue Mianhuang was cautious, but I never thought a member of the Royal Family was actually still at large.”
The others’ expressions also grew solemn.
The Royal Family itself wasn’t terrifying. What was terrifying was that the aura of the person before them was far more tyrannical than that of an ordinary Great Realm cultivator.
Previously obscured by the swarm, the crowd hadn’t noticed. But now that the insects had dispersed, they saw that the locusts in the two large cavities on the man’s chest were also at the Great Realm.
This was equivalent to three Great Realm existences!
“If I’m not mistaken, you are the Locust Demon Crown Prince of Nanyue Mianhuang!” the Wood Daoist suddenly spoke up. “In my early years, this old Daoist heard that the Locust Demon Crown Prince of Nanyue Mianhuang was rumored to have vanished without a trace.”
“It seems now that you used your ‘disappearance’ as a cover to sneak from Nanyue Mianhuang into our Yunjiang, all to escape the annihilation of your people, correct?”
“No, perhaps you had this planned long ago. Everything that has happened in Red River Prefecture was your doing, all to strengthen your insect swarm and break through to the next realm.”
“At the same time, you knew this would bring about the extermination of your clan, so you hid behind the Plague God Sparrow. And since the experts of my Da Sheng have already destroyed your Royal Family, it wouldn’t be proper for them to continue hunting you down.”
“This gave you the perfect opportunity to break through. Once you do, you can return not as a Crown Prince, but as a King, and rule over all of Nanyue Mianhuang.”
“By then…”
The Wood Daoist didn’t finish, but everyone present understood.
By then, even if ninety-nine percent of Nanyue Mianhuang’s population was dead, the survivors would follow the Locust Demon Crown Prince’s lead without question.
At that time, perhaps less than a tenth of Nanyue Mianhuang’s territory would remain, but the Locust Demon Crown Prince would be stronger, and his subordinates would be more loyal.
For Nanyue Mianhuang, it was a catastrophe.
But for the Locust Demon Crown Prince, it was an opportunity.