Chapter 114: Chapter 114 Zhiwei’s Secluded Cultivation
This swarm of insects belongs to the category of locusts known as Black-armored Locusts.
As the name suggests, you can identify them by their shiny black armor-like shell on their backs.
The Black-armored Locusts have higher defense compared to other locusts, but their size is comparable.
Aside from their slightly stronger defense, they have no other advantages, and their appetite is enormous.
As the leader of the swarm, the Black-armored Locust King can advance its evolution by continuously devouring food.
It can even consume its own kind to trigger mutations if necessary, making it a particularly troublesome Insect King in this locust plague.
Previously, Lu Zhiwei and Sun Jinxiu had joined forces to slay a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Locust King.
This time, neither of them felt much apprehension.
After cooperating for these days, the two had developed some tacit understanding. With a glance at each other, they unleashed their magical artifacts, heading towards the locust swarm.
The Zhaoyun Sword and the Golden Light Blade flew side by side from the two girls, transforming into a silver and a gold light, slicing towards the Black-armored Demon Locusts.
The locusts were densely packed, covering the sky and earth.
In the center of the swarm, the Black-armored Demon Locusts, frantically devouring the surrounding crops, saw the two magical artifacts slashing through the sky, and immediately reacted.
It emitted a series of cries, summoning the surrounding swarm to quickly gather and form a thick meat shield in front of it.
Meanwhile, its large wings flapped rapidly, buzzing as it retreated into the depths of the swarm.
Puff, puff, puff!
A continuous series of shell-bursting sounds echoed.
The Golden Light Blade and the Zhaoyun Sword were unstoppable, cutting through the massive swarm of locusts, splashing mottled blood rain.
In an instant, hundreds of locusts were cleared, creating a temporary gap in the swarm.
This gap was quickly filled as more locusts rushed forward.
"This girl’s strength is not inferior to mine at all, designing a scheme to kill her would be extremely difficult. For now, I’ll spare her life and find another opportunity later."
"The Cyan Mountain Sect is protected by the Sect System, but only for a few more years."
Seeing Lu Zhiwei’s decisive actions and her seamless coordination with Sun Jinxiu, Wei Yuan, standing ten meters away from Lu Zhiwei, furrowed his brows slightly.
During the days of resisting the locust plague, he often observed Lu Zhiwei’s actions, and her strength was unquestionable.
She could be said to stand shoulder to shoulder with men.
If it really came to a fight, he couldn’t guarantee he could kill Lu Zhiwei, and he might end up getting himself trapped.
The grudges between sects were not a topic to bring up at this moment.
Shaking his head quietly, Wei Yuan no longer paid attention to Lu Zhiwei and called for Hengyue Sect disciples to take action against the swarm.
On the other side, Tang Zhixian had not been ignoring the Cyan Mountain Sect members these days.
Having witnessed Lu Zhiwei’s impressive strength and the noticeable change in her demeanor to a more lively state, he felt rather conflicted.
He had left the Cyan Mountain Sect only a little over a year ago, how had Lu Zhiwei changed so much?
Moreover, looking at Zhang Nianchuan and the others, they were also quite strong.
Most importantly, the Cyan Bamboo Swords they wielded seemed to have reached the level of Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts.
Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts indeed!
Wasn’t the Cyan Mountain Sect on the verge of extinction?
How do they still have the funds to equip their disciples with Tier Two Cyan Bamboo Swords?
The Patriarch of the Tang Family’s spiritual artifact was merely a Tier One Top-Grade Meridian Fierce Sun Saber.
Tang Zhixian had many questions in his heart, even a slight pang of regret.
If he hadn’t left the Cyan Mountain Sect originally and decided to stay, relying on his Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation strength and Fire and Wood Dual Spirit Roots, he might have also obtained a Tier Two Cyan Bamboo Sword.
Would he need to, now seemingly thriving within the Tang Family, actually carry only a Tier One Middle-Grade Black Cloud Banner as a personal spiritual artifact?
While Tang Zhixian was filled with mixed feelings, the Tier Two Cyan Bamboo Swords in Zhang Nianchuan and the others’ hands also caught the attention of other forces, including the Heaven-Facing Sect.
Alongside their astonishment, there was also curiosity about the Cyan Mountain Sect.
A Qi Cultivation Sect’s disciples possessing Tier Two Flying Swords, with four of them revealed, plus Lu Zhiwei’s Zhaoyun Sword, made it a total of five Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts.
One must know that typical Foundation Establishment Clans only have one or two Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts.
For Qi Cultivators to possess Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts, they either had an exceptional background or extraordinary opportunities.
When it came to background, the Cyan Mountain Sect was once a Golden Core Sect.
These Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts might well be a part of their inherited foundation.
A camel, even one that is dying of exhaustion, is still bigger than a horse.
The Cyan Mountain Sect still retained some heritage.
...
In the following days, the Tang Family continued to have little interaction and casual conversation with the Cyan Mountain Sect, occasionally glancing at the Zhaoyun Sword and Cyan Bamboo Swords with some envy, yet not daring to entertain the evil notion of killing to seize treasures during this time.
The Hengyue Sect was essentially the same, just fighting alongside them and exchanging a few combat-related words, very few.
Lu Zhiwei didn’t care much about the attitude of the Tang Family or the Hengyue Sect.
Being a woman with a cold personality, she didn’t like dealing with outsiders, so she simply refrained from speaking.
Unlike these two sides, the Heaven-Facing Sect and Shenxiao Palace, as well as some other cultivation clans, actively engaged with Lu Zhiwei.
In particular, the Zhang Family and the Han Family within those small cultivation clans were quite friendly towards the Cyan Mountain Sect, showing an interest in forming alliances.
Nevertheless, the four major cultivation families, the Luo Family and the others, preferred to align with the Heaven-Facing Sect and Shenxiao Palace instead.
As for Yuan Lang, he wasn’t keen on engaging with these clan cultivators.
It wasn’t until the groups continued to guard Heze County for three more days and confirmed that the locust plague had been eradicated, that all parties finally breathed a sigh of relief.
To express their gratitude for the assistance from the Cyan Mountain Sect, the Heaven-Facing Sect, and the large cultivation clans, the people of Heze County and Zhurong County could finally take a breather from the spread of disaster.
Normally, cultivators eat Spirit Rice and absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, rarely consuming mundane food.
Nevertheless, Lu Zhiwei and her companions did not let down the people’s goodwill, they stayed for a day, enjoyed some local delicacies, and then bid farewell.
Since they participated voluntarily to combat the locust plague, without the leadership of a giant like the Dubhe Institute, the forces including the Cyan Mountain Sect, Hengyue Sect, and the Tang Family, only acquired some valuable refining materials from the corpse of the Locust King, which they took back to their sects to refine a few magical artifacts.
The spoils of war allocated to Lu Zhiwei included the bodies of three Locust Kings, which could yield approximately five magical artifacts when refined.
Five new magical artifacts, which was not a small amount for the Cyan Mountain Sect.
In the following days, the people of the Tang Family saw little interaction with the Cyan Mountain Sect. They often cast their eyes on the Zhaoyun Sword and the Cyan Bamboo Swords with some envy, yet refrained from engaging too much.
The Hengyue Sect disciples only fought alongside the others, exchanging a few words about the battle, keeping the conversation minimal.
Lu Zhiwei, being a woman of few words, preferred not to deal with outsiders unless necessary, so she didn’t bother to initiate conversation.
The Han Family and the Zhang Family maintained friendly attitudes towards the Cyan Mountain Sect, hoping to establish relations.
The other four major families, the Luo Family, the Xu Family, the You Family, and the He Family, all chose to side with the Heaven-Facing Sect and Shenxiao Palace.
Yet, Yuan Lang was not too keen on interacting with these family cultivators.
It was not until the few days of holding down Heze County, ensuring the complete eradication of the locust plague, that all the parties finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, they had halted the spread of the disaster.
In gratitude for the assistance of the Cyan Mountain Sect, the Heaven-Facing Sect, and several large cultivation clans, the people of Heze County and Zhurong County decided to host a celebration.
Cultivators, who usually consume Spirit Rice and absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, rarely eat mundane food.
However, Lu Zhiwei and her team did not want to disregard the goodwill of the people, so they stayed for a day, enjoyed some local delicacies, and then took their leave.
Because they had participated in combating the locust plague voluntarily, without major forces like the Dubhe Institute leading them, the Cyan Mountain Sect, Hengyue Sect, Tang Family, and other forces only obtained some valuable refining materials from the bodies of the Locust Kings.
These were taken back to the sect to refine a few spiritual artifacts.
Lu Zhiwei’s share of the spoils included the bodies of the three Locust Kings, which could make around five magical artifacts when refined.
Five new magical artifacts are not a small amount for the Cyan Mountain Sect.
Lu Yuanshan came early to welcome them, feeling a sense of relief when he saw Lu Zhiwei and her group return safely.
"The next phase of combatting the locust plague will run smoothly if we rely on the alliance with Heaven-Facing Sect and other major cultivation clans."
"By the way, how did things go?"
Lu Yuanshan asked with a smile.
"Although our sect was involved, the task went on quite smoothly."
Lu Zhiwei responded briefly, then proceeded to describe the process of resisting the locust plague to Lu Yuanshan, mentioning some important people involved, including Yuan Lang.
Upon finding out that Yuan Lang also participated in the locust eradication, Lu Yuanshan nodded: "I have a good impression of that young man, it’s nice that you could work together again."
With that, Lu Zhiwei bid farewell the next day and proceeded to secluded cultivation.
"In the coming period, I will be in seclusion. I brought back some good refining materials this time, I’ll try and craft a few spiritual artifacts for the sect."
"Also, I will follow Father’s instructions from before he went into seclusion and practice the ’Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword Technique’ diligently to reach the Second Layer quickly and forge my Lifebound Flying Sword, the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword."
Lu Zhiwei started her secluded cultivation the very next day.