2693 Sand Angel!
Since the Source Sand evolved, Lin Yuan had not used it in battle.

Among all of Lin Yuan’s feys, the Source Sand had always been relatively more skilled at combat.

Not only did it have attacking and controlling abilities, but it could also significantly raise Lin Yuan’s defensive abilities.

After evolving to Suzerain, the Source Sand could now produce something Overlord Sand, which could serve as the control tower for the sea of sand and exert a highly precise level of control over the sea of sand.

Every grain of sand could absorb a metal. After absorbing the metal, the sea of sand under the Overlord Sand’s control would be boosted by the metal attributes.

Liu Jie’s Halberd Corner Sky-Defying Rhinoceros Beetle could use metals to boost the insect army, but Lin Yuan’s Source Sand could similarly utilize metals.

Chubby Pocket attained metal attributes by consuming and storing the metals in its body.

But to the Source Sand, the metals were food. It viewed any and all metals as delicious meals.

Because of this, the Source Sand could continuously replenish its metal attributes while it clashed against the insect army. The vibrations and friction from the sand granules could easily grind the insects into crumbs.

The gusts of wind would rapidly blow and push the crushed insect bones around until they became part of the sea of sand.

Normally, Lin Yuan released the Source Sand by allowing it to fall from his sleeve cuff before it began creating sand on the ground.

However, Lin Yuan went for a different course of action in this battle against the ferocious insect army.

The amber-button-shaped Source Sand transformed into the Close Guard Sand straight away.

Thousands of crystalline Overlord Sand granules formed the main area of the Close Guard Sand.

A portion of the Overlord Sand embedded itself into the four pairs of wings on Lin Yuan’s back, adding an orange tint to his black wings.

The wings also started to elongate while two pairs of auxiliary wings sprouted next to the eight wings.

Eventually, Lin Yuan had six pairs of amber wings sprouting from his back, giving him an indescribable air of godly sacredness.

After the Overlord Sand was attached to Lin Yuan’s back, the remainder of the Overlord Sand formed a sand barrier around Lin Yuan.

It was as though the granules of Close Guard Sand had found a main core as they began rapidly gathering toward and covering the barrier of Overlord Sand.

Close Guard Sand’s granules began using their own energy and producing sand at an accelerated rate.

Yellow sand flew in all directions, landing on the surface of the hypha-covered ground.

Because of the Hypha Tapeworm’s exclusive skill, Resilient Corded Body, there were countless tapeworms produced from the ability Long Body Split that were hidden within the carpet of fungi and which significantly strengthened the carpet of fungi.

The carpet of fungi that appeared to be sticky and soft could be easily consumed by insects. However, anything non-insect would not be able to break free from the tight bindings of this carpet of fungi regardless of how hard they struggled!

Alas, compared to the yellow sand, the carpet of fungi was rather weak.

With the Source Sand being Myth II, it could use Metal Consume Manifestation and Overlord Sand Control to take control of many metal-type spiritual ingredients.

However, there was a limit to the Source Sand’s endurance or rather capacity. If it consumed more high-grade metals, the sea of sand would not be able to contain as many metals as when it consumed low-grade metals.

Lin Yuan did not insist on only allowing the Source Sand to consume high-grade metal spiritual ingredients. He was striving for the best combination.

The Source Sand still retained radium, which was both sharp and durable. But while it could only absorb a small amount in the past, it could now consume a large amount and transform it into a part of its own body.

A large amount of sand was produced from the radium, and the immense force of the sea of sand sandwiched the radium against the carpet of fungi, causing the carpet of fungi to break down.

The environment that Liu Jie had put a lot of effort into building and ensuring that it would complement the insects during battle was thus destroyed by Lin Yuan.

The cloud arena that used to be blanketed by the carpet of fungi was now covered by the yellow sand that Lin Yuan had created.

There was still a portion of the carpet of fungi that had yet to be ground away by the sea of sand, but the insects within the carpet of fungi would need to exit the sea of sand in order to survive. Due to the enormous pressure within the sea of sand, no oxygen could penetrate the sand.

Naturally, Lin Yuan would not give these insects the chance to make it out of the sea of sand.

The sea of sand moved rapidly, forming thousands of giant vortexes. All of the lifeforms within the sea of sand would be swallowed to its depths by the vortexes.

The Source Sand’s sea of sand was already 800 meters deep and was still enlarging. It would be a struggle for even Creation Breed feys to make it out of the sea of sand that was thousands of meters deep.

The weight would easily crush the exoskeletons that the insects were so proud of.
Using this method of dumping heavy sand on the insects to kill them would be able to minimize the amount of energy that the Source Sand used.

Lin Yuan had noticed a chink in Liu Jie’s style long ago. He relied too much on setting the scene and building his advantage early on.

When he faced opponents who were weaker than him, this style would come across as stunning and would easily allow him to attain victory by crushing his opponent.

But when he faced stronger opponents, relying too heavily on setting the scene would limit his actions. Moreover, those stronger opponents would not always wait for him to be done with his preparations like Lin Yuan had. Even if he did manage to successfully set the scene, his opponent would be capable of destroying this advantage he had built for himself.

Liu Jie was intelligent. Through this fight, he would definitely be able to notice his issue and make the necessary adjustments to address it.

The sea of sand was growing much faster than the insect-species carcinoma feys could reproduce.

This was because the method of growth was different for the two sides.

The insect-species feys increased their numbers through the mothers’ reproductive abilities. The mothers needed to absorb energy before they could give birth to the next batch.

For example, the Blade Queen Bee needed suitable sacrifices and sufficient time to nurture powerful Blade Worms. The strong Blade Worms needed to digest the sacrifices to a certain extent before they could begin brandishing their strength.

On the other hand, the Source Sand enlarged itself by breaking down elements. All it needed was energy, and it could split up the elements.

Aside from the Source Sand expanding its own body, Close Guard Sand could also change the ground beneath it to generate even more sand.

Previously, the battle taking place in the cloud arena involved Lin Yuan taking on the staggering insect army. But now, the tables had completely turned.

The yellow sand buried everything. Even the Lonely Night Hurricane Moths produced by Elegance were also grabbed by the hand formed from the yellow sand.

Aside from the fairies transformed from the insect-species carcinoma feys that Lin Yuan had yet to target, the rest of Liu Jie’s army of insects had died in the sea of sand.

The three Exploding Body Dung Beetles under Liu Jie’s control produced millions of offspring, and they created significant turbulence under the sea of sand. However, the explosions were unable to harm the Source Sand. Rather, they helped the Source Sand to kill a large number of insects.

The Parasite Decay Locusts were so focused on producing offspring that they were unable to avoid being grabbed by the hand of sand and pushed into the sea of sand. As a result, Elegance’s link to the Parasite Decay Locusts was broken.

Aside from these insect-species carcinoma feys that had been transformed into fairies, the rest of the insect-species carcinoma feys under Liu Jie’s control were all hidden in the folded space created by the Illusionary Layered Caterpillar.

Because this battle was taking place on Star Web, Lin Yuan did not need to hold back in this battle. He did not need to be afraid of harming the feys Liu Jie had contracted.

Otherwise, he would not dare to unleash the Source Sand’s power in such an unrestrained manner.

The waves of sand barrelled through everything in the arena, and the spectators finally understood what a sea of sand looked like.

The army of insects on the surface of the sea of sand were like stones that had been tossed into the sea as they promptly sunk into the water.

Liu Jie had intended to utilize Chubby Pocket to launch a powerful counterattack on Lin Yuan. But he had not anticipated the army of insects outside of the folded space to be rampaged by Lin Yuan so swiftly.

Liu Jie gulped. He had not been caught in such a bind ever since Elegance began controlling insect-species carcinoma feys.

Now, as he was facing Lin Yuan, Liu Jie was reminded of how he felt all those years ago in Cold Frost City when he single-handedly faced the wave of alien beasts.

Liu Jie was familiar with Lin Yuan’s Source Sand.

Lin Yuan mostly used the Source Sand when he first started fighting on Star Web. Liu Jie had also accompanied Lin Yuan many times while he tested the Source Sand’s absorption of various metals.

However, he had not expected the weak Source Sand of the past to be nurtured to such a magnitude!

Liu Jie and Wen Yu had been with Lin Yuan when he traded for the Source Sand at the private trading event.

But Lin Yuan created a miracle out of the Source Sand in two years.

This was just like how Lin Yuan had created a miracle for Liu Jie when he saved him.

Liu Jie took a deep breath and let out a loud cry.

The Illusionary Layered Caterpillar’s body started to glow with blinding bursts of light.

Lin Yuan could clearly sense the vitality being slowly extracted from the Illusionary Layered Caterpillar’s body.

Soon, the folded space started spitting insects like a drunken man vomiting at the end of the night.

The Dimensional Light Moth also started releasing everything in its storage.

Liu Jie said softly, “Chubby Pocket, use these insects to reveal your strongest side! Your target is the ball of sand in the sky that looks like the sun! After this battle, I will find more of the metals you like eating.”

Liu Jie was also very gentle in his treatment of his insect-species carcinoma feys.

When a lifeform gained sufficient intelligence, it would be able to reflect on itself.

Once the insect-species carcinoma feys transformed into fairies, they all became aware that their power came from being nurtured by Liu Jie.

When Chubby Pocket received Liu Jie’s order, it immediately used Metal Forge Angle and covered its horn with all of the metal attributes in its possession.

Next, it used Spread Wings Insect Cry to distribute the metal attributes to the insects spat out by the Illusionary Layered Caterpillar to raise the defense of the army of insects.

Halberd Banner and Abdomen Battle Drum were also used.

Chubby Pocket also used Metal Solidification Style for the first time, turning its armor and horn into a full set of weaponized equipment.

Insect Soul Undestroyed was also fully activated. Once the insects under Chubby Pocket’s protection or were boosted by it died, their souls would gather around Chubby Pocket to help it to defend against damage.

This ensured that when Chubby Pocket used Broken Halberd Fury and Insect Death, the attacks would be able to hit the ball that had enveloped Lin Yuan.

However, Liu Jie had no clue that Lin Yuan was not present in the ball in the sky.

While the ball of sand was creating the sea of sand, he had already moved to the ground.

He was currently located in a secret and secure area protected by the Overlord Sand.

Since this was a battle, Lin Yuan was going to give it his best. There was no way he would allow himself to become Liu Jie’s punching bag.

It was not just power that was important in battle. Skill was just as important. As the commander of an insect army, Liu Jie should be well aware of this.

However, in this situation where he was disadvantaged, his mind was clouded over. This should never happen to the commander of an insect army.

He hoped that when Chubby Pocket slammed into the ball of sand in the sky, the rebound effect would allow Liu Jie to understand the logic of ‘all’s fair in love and war’.

The sea of insects clashed against the sea of sand and took back control over half of the area.

Soon, the waves of insects encased the sea of sand, and it looked as though they were about to suppress the sea of sand.

However, more discerning people knew that the sea of insects’ advantage was only temporary.

The sea of insects could still hold its own against the sea of sand now. But it was inevitable that the sea of insects would be swallowed and destroyed by the sea of sand.

Liu Jie did not intend to take back the advantage by using the sea of insects to overpower the sea of sand. Instead, he was going to sacrifice the army of insects so that Chubby Pocket could gather more insect souls.

The more insects died, the greater Chubby Pocket’s power would grow through Insect Death.

Chubby Pocket let out a feral bellow, indicating that it had reached its limit of the metals it could transform. Its body would not be able to handle any more.

Liu Jie was in no rush to instruct Chubby Pocket to launch its final attack. Instead, he summoned the Empress Core of All Insects.

Recently, Liu Jie had invested most of his effort into enabling the Empress Core of All Insects’ Stars to break through instead of evolving Elegance’s grade and nurturing the insect-species carcinoma feys.

During Lin Yuan’s crusade across the five dimensional worlds, he had collected many insect-related source totems and gave them to Liu Jie. The latter had selected those that were the most compatible with the Empress Core of All Insects so that it could consume them.

The Empress Core of All Insects had reached 7 Stars and gained its third ability.

Liu Jie was prepared to lay it all out on the table and use the Empress Core of All Insects’ abilities to boost Chubby Pocket.

Liu Jie tossed the Empress Core of All Insects at Chubby Pocket, and it landed on Chubby Pocket’s back.

In an instant, the might of an insect empress wrapped around Chubby Pocket, evolving its aura!

Chubby Pocket was fused with the Empress Core of All Insects through Final Weapon, and it began transforming into the Final Weapon.

This process also strengthened Chubby Pocket’s body, allowing it to contain even more insect souls and metal attributes.