Wang Xi Qiang squatted on the ground, studying a caterpillar. Beside him, more than a dozen mutated caterpillars had already died.
"This method is wrong again, how could this happen? Is there a problem with the crystallization point?" Wang Xi Qiang crouched on the ground, looking at the dead caterpillars and constantly thinking.
Wang Xi Qiang actually wanted to make a contribution very much. If possible, he wanted to perform well in this operation and become the most dazzling star among Shen Feng's disciples. After all, he had been following Shen Feng for ten years since Shen Feng saved him. If he didn't perform well, how could he live up to the city lord's trust in him?
Wang Xi Qiang was constantly researching. Unknowingly, the sky had turned dark. He was still releasing his abilities on the captured caterpillars. He wanted to turn all these caterpillars into a crystalline state. As long as he could achieve this, no matter how many caterpillars were around, they would not be his opponents.
Unfortunately, after a long period of research, Wang Xi Qiang had not made any progress.
In the following days, the soldiers continued to advance towards Shanhaiguan. As long as they passed the Great Wall, they would soon reach Yanjing.
Unfortunately, good things often come with setbacks. Just as the group felt they had a clear path ahead, the scouts returned. These people brought important intelligence: the road ahead was no longer passable.
He Qiuan led more than twenty elite personnel to the front and discovered that the mountaintops were covered with dense silk webs. These webs were not woven by spiders, but by caterpillars.
Caterpillars not only defended themselves with their poisonous spines, but many also wove silk webs to confuse enemies and even build nests for themselves.
But now, the entire forest ahead was densely covered with silk webs. Many of these webs were also attached with fine hairs, which were clearly the poisonous spines of the caterpillars.
The forest covered by the silk webs was vast. It was impossible to clear these webs from the trees. If they really did so, it would consume a lot of time.
"Do we still need to keep taking detours?" He Qiuan thought helplessly.
During this period of travel, the group had been constantly detouring. What was originally a two or three-day journey, and with trucks at their side enabling motorization, tens of thousands of people were now trapped by a forest, constantly detouring every day.
"Mr. He, one of my students has made a significant discovery. Please come and see. It might help you reach Shanhaiguan quickly!" At this moment, Lu Kaiyang came up. If he hadn't spoken, he would have delivered important news.
"Then let's go and see quickly. I've seen it clearly. All of you from Yuzhou are hidden dragons and crouching tigers; each person has some real skill." He Qiuan said quickly.
Now, He Qiuan had completely put away his previous contempt. Although he had spoken many flattering words before, he had not held much hope for a group of young ability users. However, a few days ago, Yang Ming discovered the source of the food poisoning, and now, perhaps someone could still give him a surprise.
Then, He Qiuan arrived at the place Lu Kaiyang mentioned, where Wang Xi Qiang proudly displayed his results to everyone.
On a wide wooden board lay more than a dozen dead insects. These insects were caterpillars, their bodies stiff and motionless on the board.
"What does this mean?" He Qiuan couldn't help but ask.
If it was just killing a dozen insects, it was insignificant and not enough to alarm He Qiuan, so He Qiuan wanted to know what this meant.
"Mr. He, please look. I killed these insects using my abilities. They are completely dead!" Wang Xi Qiang said proudly.
"You mean you can use your abilities to kill all these insects?" He Qiuan quickly reacted and then looked at Wang Xi Qiang excitedly.
Wang Xi Qiang nodded proudly and said, "Yes, that's what I mean! I've been researching for four or five days and finally figured out the protein crystallization point of these insects. You don't know this, but I possess nature-element abilities. As long as I use my abilities, many surrounding things will crystallize."
"Then why did these insects crystallize?" He Qiuan continued to ask, still very confused.
"Actually, many things in this world crystallize, from rain and snow in the sky to table salt and MSG, even humans are no exception. The human body contains many proteins, and these proteins can also crystallize, it's just that this situation usually doesn't occur. Now, I've caused the proteins in the insects' bodies to crystallize directly, and thus, these insects were all pierced by crystals, and their cells were destroyed, killing them one by one." Wang Xi Qiang explained without hiding anything.
"Then I'd like to know what your current range of influence is?" He Qiuan continued to ask.
"My range of influence is definitely not as large as my master's. My current influence radius is about 100 meters, which is a spherical area with a diameter of 200 meters. Within this range, all insects will be killed by my abilities," Wang Xi Qiang explained.
"Truly a case of a great master producing a brilliant disciple. Your ability is truly too useful. In the future, if we encounter any more hairy caterpillars, we won't have to take detours." He Qiuan couldn't help but praise.
Next, another problem lay before He Qiuan, which was the silk webs in the forest ahead. These webs were covered with poisonous spines. As long as the skin accidentally came into contact with these spines, the soldiers would be poisoned.
So, after much thought, He Qiuan decided to take a detour at this time. Even if these insects could be killed, the poisonous spines they left behind would still block the way.
At this moment, Qu Zhaoqian also came out and said, "It seems I have to act. I originally wanted to show my skills after reaching Yanjing, but now it seems I have to step forward to resolve the current troubles on the road. You know Su Liuying, right? His abilities are with me, so I can accelerate the oxidation of surrounding objects. This way, the toxins in these poisonous spines will become inactive."
"If you had a way earlier, why didn't you come forward sooner? Why did you only appear now?" Lu Kaiyang couldn't help but scold.
"Actually, I didn't think about what effects my abilities could achieve before, so I couldn't help it. Today, I was enlightened by Wang Xi Qiang, and suddenly realized that my abilities are very useful, so I'm speaking now." Qu Zhaoqian said sheepishly.
"In that case, please, the two young heroes, lead the way. You two will have the greatest merit this time, and I will definitely reward you greatly in the future," He Qiuan said quickly.
Next, Wang Xi Qiang and Qu Zhaoqian did not decline and immediately began to act. First, Wang Xi Qiang used his abilities. After he used his abilities, countless surrounding insects fell down with a rustling sound. The bodies of these insects were stiff, clearly dead.
Countless insects fell down together, hitting the leaves or the ground with a pattering sound, as if it had suddenly rained from the sky.
After Wang Xi Qiang killed the caterpillars in the surrounding area, he retreated, and then Qu Zhaoqian stepped forward. After he stepped forward, he immediately used his abilities, and the surrounding objects began to accelerate their oxidation. Many lush trees suddenly became withered and yellow.
"These two kids are really amazing. Although they are only in their teens, they have such abilities." Many soldiers marveled after witnessing this scene.
He Qiuan was also very jealous. He thought to himself, "Why are all of Shen Feng's disciples so talented, while I can't cultivate any decent talents under my command?"
He Qiuan did not expect that Shen Feng's disciples were also all skilled. Many troublesome matters were easily resolved in their hands.
After Qu Zhaoqian finished using his abilities, scouts went forward and took a poisonous spine from the silk web, pricking it into their skin. Apart from a slight stinging sensation, there was no reaction. This indicated that the toxin in the poisonous spines had been oxidized and rendered ineffective.
"We can continue to move forward now. These poisonous spines have lost their effect," the scouts said in surprise.
Finally, the soldiers found many tree branches and used the branches in their hands to continuously clear the silk webs in the air. This way, death no longer obstructed their vision. Even though poisonous spines kept falling from the sky, they did not cause any harm to people because the toxins in the poisonous spines had become ineffective.
The rest of the journey became very simple. Wang Xi Qiang and Qu Zhaoqian took turns clearing the path, killing the caterpillars and then rendering the toxins ineffective. Following that, the scouts continuously cleared the webs from the trees, thus, a clear path appeared before them.
This path was very conspicuous in the forest. When viewed from above, it was evident that a yellow road had appeared in the forest. This was because all the trees in the path had been oxidized, and the growth of the trees had accelerated, quickly reaching a state of decay. As a result, the surrounding areas were lush green, while the areas that had been passed through were all withered and yellow.
"Let's travel and enjoy the autumn leaves in spring at the same time!" someone joked.
After another five days, the group finally arrived outside Shanhaiguan. Here were lofty mountains and ridges. It was imaginable that if Wu Sangui had not opened the gate back then, the Jin soldiers would not have been able to enter at all. However, this pass was no longer defended, and everyone passed through Shanhaiguan unimpeded.