The Nine Great Bugbeasts

Emperor Quietdark immediately gave the order for that clansman’s separated body to return.

In just a short while.

“Your Imperial Majesty, the clansman Floating Ferret, while guiding the great enemies including ‘Kuafu,’ was already crushed to death under Kuafu’s foot.” A subordinate soon came to report.

“What?” Emperor Quietdark’s expression turned ugly.

At such a catastrophic time as this, losing a few Empyrean God experts was nothing, but the only clansman whose separated body had witnessed the scene of the battle with Ji Ning had also been destroyed. This meant… the one hundred and ninety-nine clansmen who had already died had died for nothing.

“Kuafu!” Emperor Quietdark’s anger was palpable on his face.

“Where are their four teams now?” Emperor Quietdark asked.

The golden-robed elder beside him waved his hand, and a projection appeared in midair—a massive map of the Quietdark World itself. Four points of light shone upon it. The golden-robed elder pointed to the farthest point of light. “This is the squad led by Kuafu. This ancient god of the Three Realms, Kuafu, possesses boundless strength. I have heard that back in the primordial era, the ten Golden Crows were wreaking havoc, and Kuafu chased them madly, terrifying the ten Golden Crows into fleeing in panic, not daring to face him in battle. From our engagements with Kuafu’s squad… Kuafu’s power is astonishing. He is now close to the Elder God level.”

“Mm.” Emperor Quietdark nodded.

In the primordial times, Houyi and Kuafu had been equally famous.

Houyi’s power was now unfathomable, unquestionably a true leader.

Kuafu was slightly weaker, yet still close to the leader level, and he was exceptionally fierce and skilled in battle.

“This is the squad led by the Human Sovereign, ‘Fuxi.’ It is the most troublesome squad by far. Our formations, our arrangements… Fuxi sees through them with ease. Even if he falls into a dangerous situation, he can break his way out.” The golden-robed elder said. “Thus, for the time being, we are focusing our attention on the other three squads.”

“Here.” The golden-robed elder pointed to another point of light. “This is the squad led by the Buddhist leader, Tathagata. Its threat level is no less than Fuxi’s squad.”

“This last one is the squad of True Gods and Daofathers led by Daoist Jade Cauldron of the Daoist Sect. That Daoist Jade Cauldron possesses formidable divine abilities and has reached the fifth level of Sword Force. He is also extremely dangerous.” The golden-robed elder pointed at the final point of light as he spoke.

Emperor Quietdark listened, frowning.

This time, the Three Realms had dispatched two major leaders, ‘Tathagata’ and ‘Fuxi’. Close to the leader level were ‘Kuafu’ and ‘Daoist Jade Cauldron’. There were also several top-tier Daofathers, as well as a few ordinary Daofathers with special abilities.

Daoist Jade Cauldron was rather low-key, but he was one of the most powerful disciples of the Three Pure Ones. His most famous disciple was the number one divine general of the ancient Heavenly Court, ‘Erlang Shen, Yang Jian.’

“Where is Ji Ning?” Emperor Quietdark asked.

“The Sword Immortal Darknorth is here.” The golden-robed elder pointed to a corner where another point of light appeared. “He is closest to Kuafu’s squad.”

“Oh?” Emperor Quietdark nodded.

“Your Imperial Majesty.” Another grey-robed subordinate rushed in from outside, speaking urgently. “The squad led by the clansman Floating Stone attempted to lure Ji Ning into the Dreamshadow Forest. However, Ji Ning’s perception is far too acute. Whenever the guide drew near, he was discovered, and Ji Ning easily killed him. If they get close, they are slain. If they stay far, they cannot guide him.”

Emperor Quietdark frowned. “Leveraging the environment, and still unable to guide him? His perception is that powerful?”

How could he know that Ji Ning was at the half-step Elder God level, and his soul was exceptionally sharp?

“Tell them to stay away from Ji Ning for now.” Emperor Quietdark commanded. “Go.”

“Yes.” The subordinate withdrew.

“Your Imperial Majesty.” The golden-robed elder looked at Emperor Quietdark. “This Ji Ning is no easy opponent. He was able to easily annihilate the Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation we sent. His strength is at least at the top-tier Daofather level. One could even speculate that he has already reached the fifth level of Sword Force.”

“No.” Emperor Quietdark shook his head. “There are many possibilities for annihilating the Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation. For instance, Ji Ning may have broken through to become a True God. Or perhaps Ji Ning was not alone, and he brought other great powers from the Nuwa Alliance of the Three Realms with him. The one who killed the Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation might have been other great powers. Without seeing the scene of the battle… one should not speculate recklessly.”

“But even the Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation could not send back any information…” The golden-robed elder was distressed. “The squads of Tathagata, Suiren, Kuafu, and Daoist Jade Cauldron are being handled by the Great Demon God Cixiu, who is coordinating various forces. But this Ji Ning requires us to deal with him alone. Many of our clansmen have already died.”

“This time, I will personally test Ji Ning’s methods.” A trace of cold, grey light flickered in Emperor Quietdark’s eyes.

“Your Imperial Majesty, do not!” The golden-robed elder said anxiously.

“I will personally test him, but only by descending my heartforce into my children.” Emperor Quietdark said calmly. “Do not worry. I will not easily place myself in danger.”

The golden-robed elder breathed a sigh of relief.

Emperor Quietdark waved his hand.

Instantly, nine monsters like small mountains appeared in the hall. Some resembled stone giants, some were eight-legged beetle-like creatures, and some were double-headed serpents. Each one radiated a powerful aura, comparable to that of a Daofather.

“I have spent many years cultivating these pets, only managing to create a few bugbeasts that can match True Gods. I never thought that a sword immortal who has cultivated for less than a thousand years would force me to use them.” Emperor Quietdark looked at these bugbeasts. The bugbeasts chirped back at him, each one acting intimately, as if they regarded Emperor Quietdark as their father and mother. There were quite a few methods for cultivating bugbeasts in the boundless chaos.

Strictly speaking.

The methods recorded in the that Shaoyin Chou had obtained were actually more profound than what Emperor Quietdark knew. But Shaoyin Chou had been too weak; he could only use a tiny fraction of them.

“My nine children will fight Ji Ning. My heartforce will reside within them. Everything they experience, I will experience as if it were my own. That way, I will naturally be able to see Ji Ning’s true methods clearly.” Emperor Quietdark said.

“You want to dispatch all nine great bugbeasts?” The golden-robed elder was pained. “Sending two or three should be enough.”

“It is better to be cautious. I failed once already. This time, I cannot afford to fail again.” Emperor Quietdark willed it, and the nine bugbeasts all cried out. Then, with a series of whoosh sounds, they flew out of the hall one after another, charging into the void, heading straight for Ji Ning’s location.

The distorted spacetime could not harm Ji Ning at all. His soul’s perception allowed him to sense which areas posed a threat and which were safe.

Whoosh.

His vision suddenly cleared, revealing a beautiful marshland. In the center of the marsh was a small island, surrounded by wild overgrowth.

“I didn’t expect to find such a beautiful place in this twisted spacetime.” Ji Ning’s heartforce easily covered the tens of thousands of square kilometers of this region, sweeping over every inch of land like a ripple. After confirming it was not a trap, he flew directly to the island, sat down, took out a flask of wine, and began drinking leisurely.

Though he appeared relaxed, he was actually thinking about what to do next.

“Ever since I entered the Quietdark World, strange creatures have been coming to attack and provoke me. And they are very familiar with this harsh environment, as if they are quite certain of my exact location.” Ji Ning frowned. This feeling of others knowing where he was while he himself did not know where the enemy was… was extremely unpleasant.

But there was nothing he could do. The reason the Three Realms had never truly attacked the Ancient Ruins for such a long time was precisely because the environment there was too harsh and too difficult to assault.

“The Quietdark World is only so large. If I visit more places and sense some energy fluctuations, I am confident I will find the other four squads of True Gods and Daofathers.” Ji Ning suddenly frowned, looking off into the distance.

“Hm?”

“Over here as well?”

“And over there?”

Ji Ning looked around in all directions from the island in the center of the marsh. He could sense streams of auras rapidly approaching from different directions. He stood up, and the Northsea swords appeared in his hands.

“ROOOAR!” A low growl accompanied the emergence of a green-armored, winged bugbeast from the twisted void tens of thousands of kilometers away. Its golden eyes stared fixedly at Ji Ning.

“HISSSS!” A massive black serpent with two heads emerged from the void in another direction.

Bugbeast after bugbeast appeared. Each aura was as powerful as a True God or Daofather.

Ji Ning whispered softly: “Bugbeasts?”

Whether from the seven great techniques on the World Prison’s stone stele, or the techniques passed down by World God Northrest, Ji Ning had obtained methods for cultivating bugbeasts. In the boundless chaos, there were many great powers who cultivated bugbeasts.

Because great powers generally had extremely long lifespans. When it was difficult to improve their own strength, they might divert a bit of attention to cultivating some powerful bugbeasts. These bugbeasts were absolutely loyal and would never betray their master. At critical moments, they could be used to block attacks, scout dangerous areas, and so on… the uses were far too numerous.