Qin Shilei searched the sky above Changzhou City at high speed, riding Xiaoqiang.
It was only in the evening when an anomaly was discovered in a dense forest about a hundred kilometers away from Changzhou City.
Occasionally, silver beetles led swarms of scythe beetles out of the dense forest.
Qin Shilei recalled Xiaoqiang and flew directly into the dense forest.
After some searching, he finally found the space rift, more than two meters in diameter, five meters above the ground.
No wonder no golden-ranked insects had been found in the Changzhou area yet; it turned out the space rift wasn't large enough.
Qin Shilei casually killed dozens of scythe beetles near the space rift and then jumped headfirst into it.
Time and space shifted, and he found himself in the insect world once more.
A biting cold wind swept across his face.
Before Qin Shilei could observe his surroundings, countless fierce winds struck him from all directions.
Devouring Thunder!
As ten thousand bolts of heavenly lightning descended, countless insects were reduced to charcoal.
Qin Shilei waved his hand and summoned Chihuo.
"Roar!"
Chihuo let out an enraged roar, intimidating the insects further away.
Only then did Qin Shilei have time to observe the surrounding environment.
He was standing on the summit of a great mountain.
Feather-like snow drifted with the wind, cloaking the surrounding mountains in a silvery guise.
Innumerable insects were crawling from the foot of the mountain towards the summit, presumably preparing to enter Blue Star through the space rift.
"Chihuo, let's go. First, let's find a golden-ranked insect."
Qin Shilei jumped onto Chihuo's back and instructed it to fly in the direction the insects were coming from.
After descending from the snowy mountain and flying for another hour, they finally spotted the first golden beetle.
"Chihuo, your subordinate has delivered itself to your doorstep. What are you still doing there like an idiot?"
Qin Shilei kicked Chihuo, signaling it to get to work.
"Master, this golden beetle also has another Insect Emperor's brand on it. I can't fully control it," Chihuo responded with a wronged expression.
"Hmm." Qin Shilei pondered for a moment and then instructed, "Have it lead us to its Insect Emperor."
The golden beetle did not resist Chihuo's command and turned, leading the way.
After traveling for several hundred kilometers, Qin Shilei found the golden beetle too slow and had Xiaoqiang grab it and fly them forward.
They flew for nearly twenty thousand kilometers, and as the red moon hung high, they finally saw a mountain tens of thousands of meters tall.
"Master, this golden beetle says their Insect Emperor is in a cave within this great mountain," Chihuo said, pointing to the mountain ahead.
Just then, a powerful pressure emanated from the mountain.
Following that, a dark silhouette rapidly flew out from within the mountain.
In the blink of an eye, the dark silhouette had approached within ten kilometers.
"Wind's picking up, let's scram!"
Qin Shilei quickly recalled Chihuo into his pet space and rode Xiaoqiang in another direction to escape.
Although he didn't know the opponent's strength, judging by its speed, it was likely not much weaker than the Illusionary Sound Butterfly Emperor he had sealed in the combat barrier.
He currently didn't have a second combat barrier available for sealing, so temporary retreat was the only option.
After Xiaoqiang activated all its acceleration abilities, its speed was barely a hair faster than the opponent's.
However, after just three minutes, its acceleration abilities failed, and the distance between them began to shrink slowly.
Soon, the pursuer closed in to within one kilometer.
"We don't have any deep grudges. Do you really need to chase me like this?" Qin Shilei cursed inwardly.
With a thought, he recalled Xiaoqiang beneath his feet into his pet space and then plunged into the dense forest below.
Lightning Escape!
Qin Shilei transformed into a bolt of lightning, changed direction, and fled into the distance from within the dense forest.
In the blink of an eye, he had fled ten kilometers. After reappearing, he immediately concealed his aura and hid within the thick foliage of a large tree.
Just as Qin Shilei thought he had escaped the pursuit, the faint sensation of being locked onto suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
Through the leaves, he saw a dark silhouette rapidly flying towards his location in the distance.
"Damn it, eat my arrow!"
Qin Shilei took out the Serpent-Piercing Bow, nocked an arrow, and drew it.
He poured his energy into the Serpent-Piercing Bow with fierce intensity.
The originally dark Serpent-Piercing Bow began to emit a faint white light.
The dark silhouette was getting closer.
Qin Shilei could finally see that it was an earth-yellow, fleshy worm.
Forty to fifty meters long and nearly three meters wide.
Name: Worm Emperor
Description: Peak Platinum Nine Stars, skilled in earth elemental abilities. Possesses great suction power in its mouth, capable of sucking enemies into its body.
One thousand meters.
Five hundred meters.
Two hundred meters.
One hundred meters.
Silver Dragon!
A silver long dragon shot out like lightning towards the Worm Emperor.
It instantly reached the Worm Emperor's eyes.
The Worm Emperor never imagined that the anomaly it was chasing, a mere golden-ranked human, could unleash such an astonishingly fast arrow.
Caught completely off guard, it was unable to dodge the Silver Dragon.
An earth shield instantly formed in front of it.
*Puff!*
The earth shield was instantly shot to pieces.
The Silver Dragon, having absorbed thirty percent of Qin Shilei's vital energy, continued its unstoppable charge into the Worm Emperor's gaping maw.
*Whoosh!*
A torrent of violent wind erupted from the Worm Emperor's belly.
Blown by this gust of wind, the Silver Dragon immediately shrank by half.
However, it still resolutely continued to burrow into the Worm Emperor's insides.
*Thud!*
A muffled sound echoed, and a layer of earth-yellow light flashed across the Worm Emperor's body. It then plummeted straight to the ground.
????
Qin Shilei couldn't believe the Serpent-Piercing Bow was so powerful that it took down the peak Platinum Worm Emperor with a single arrow.
No!
This was the effect of the stun.
He reacted instantly.
Teleportation!
Qin Shilei instantly appeared beside the rapidly falling Worm Emperor.
Illusion!
Dharma Manifestation of Heaven and Earth!
One-Punch Man!
One ultimate skill and two attribute enhancements were unleashed simultaneously.
Seven Stars Fall to the Firmament!
Qin Shilei, who was continuously growing in size, swiftly swung his Great Que Sword around the Worm Emperor.
A thick layer of earth-yellow armor suddenly appeared on the Worm Emperor's body.
With Qin Shilei's full power, his attack was astonishing. Just as he cleaved through one layer of armor, another layer grew.
Only the seventh sword strike managed to barely shatter the opponent's armor, leaving a wound several meters long and over ten centimeters deep.
However, Qin Shilei had hesitated for a moment, and his two-second stun time after unleashing Seven Stars Fall to the Firmament had expired.
Illusion, who had been standing ready nearby, thrust his sword into the wound left by Qin Shilei.
Piercing through the earth-elemental armor that had reappeared above the wound, it plunged into the Worm Emperor's body, and the stun effect took hold once more.
To Qin Shilei's despair, despite their full-power attacks for two seconds, they had only managed to widen the previous wound to thirty to forty centimeters deep.
Compared to the Worm Emperor's nearly three-meter width, this injury was far from critical.
Moreover, the wound was quickly protected by a thick layer of earth-elemental armor.
"Roar!"
After two seconds, the Worm Emperor finally regained its ability to move and let out an enraged roar.
An even more powerful aura emanated from its body.