Chapter 255: Chapter 248 Spirit Trapping Formation 1

“Can I take away three of them?”

“Just take them, if it’s not enough, you can still catch more. There’s plenty to go around.”

Qin Niu was very generous.

“You just need to open the door of the cage!”

Master He Shan signaled.

Qin Niu opened a small slit in the cage door, intending to let Termite control three armored crawlers into the other party’s jar. But Master He Shan had already made the first move.

With the jar in his right hand, the five fingers of his left hand were drawing imaginary lines towards the armored crawlers in the metal cage.

Muttering under his breath, “Come, come, come!”

Neither more nor less, after saying the word ‘come’ three times, three armored crawlers lined up and entered the other party’s insect jar.

The other armored crawlers in the metal cage became unusually quiet.

You can tell an expert by his first move.

This Master He Shan had managed to control over a dozen Grade Three armored crawlers without making a sound.

He was definitely a master of controlling insects.

“Master He Shan has impressive skills, I’m in awe!”

Qin Niu complimented sincerely.

“You flatter me, Master Qin Niu.”

Master He Shan did not look down on Qin Niu either. Being able to move freely among the hordes of Grade Two and Three armored crawlers, just this alone meant that Qin Niu was no ordinary Insect Master.

After taking away three armored crawlers, Master He Shan casually grabbed one with his hand.

Pfft!

Pfft!

Pfft!

The armored crawler was not tame and immediately began to struggle with bared fangs and claws, releasing three consecutive farts from its tail end.

Every time it farted, a puff of white smoke sprayed out from the tip of its backside.

Ordinary armored crawlers would excrete formic acid or quinones as defensive substances from their anal glands, a natural attack ability common to all adult specimens.

If you’re not careful while catching them, you can easily fall victim to it.

If their poison gas hits your hand, it’s not just unbearable skin pain, but if it gets in your eyes, that’s terrifying.

It could end up causing blindness.

“Shell defenses are weak, speed is several times faster than ordinary armored crawlers, they can swim in water, and behind the mandibles, there are even evolved poison glands. That must be their biggest highlight.”

Master He Shan casually took out a small wooden stick and brought it close to the armored crawler’s mandibles.

It immediately bit down hard.

Crack!

“The biting force is ordinary, but it’s more than enough to pierce human skin and flesh.”

He pulled out the wooden stick and then brought it up to his nose to smell.

“The venom is moderate, capable of causing the victim’s heart to swell and burst in a short time, leading to death with blood flowing from every orifice. What’s most terrifying is that the poison glands refill quickly with venom after a bite. By sucking fresh blood and gnawing on the flesh, it only takes about a quarter of an hour to refill. This creature is specifically bred to kill, truly vicious.”

Master He Shan’s ability to identify insects seems to be even better than that of Master Hu.

Real experts never show themselves openly.

Chairman Li of the Insect Master Association and Master Hu might just be the mundane persona that the authorities want people to see.

This was something Qin Niu had begun to suspect after his encounter with Old Master Huang.

Because no matter how weak the Black Tiger Gang was, it couldn’t possibly have just that little insect mastery power.

Otherwise, considering the brutality and greed of the Nine Insect Gang, they would have probably attacked the Black Tiger Gang long ago.

Placing Old Master Huang in Black Tiger City as an undercover agent was probably also to find out the true insect mastery strength of the Black Tiger Gang.

However, Old Master Huang got greedy after meeting Qin Niu.

He probably thought Qin Niu was weak and could be easily controlled, so without hesitation, he chose to take action.

Unexpectedly, Qin Niu looked weak, but he had an abundance of hidden strengths and ultimately, even killed Old Master Huang.

Not long after Old Master Huang died, the Nine Insect Gang declared war on the Black Tiger Gang.

Is there a direct relationship between the two?

Logically, the Nine Insect Gang wouldn’t declare war on another sect just because an inner hall Executor died.

This matter could be a coincidence.

Or perhaps the death of Old Master Huang led the Nine Insect Gang to mistakenly believe their cover was blown. In light of the Black Tiger Gang not yet being fully prepared, they chose to strike first to gain the upper hand.

The Nine Insect Gang couldn’t have dreamed that it wasn’t the higher-ups of the Black Tiger Gang who killed Old Master Huang, but a mountain village youth.

Moreover, this youth had no interest in the affairs of the martial factions and didn’t even think to report Old Master Huang’s death to the Black Tiger Gang.

In the dark, everything seemed like fate.

Time and again, due to a series of fortuitous mishaps, Qin Niu foiled the good fortunes of the Nine Insect Gang.

If one believed in destiny, Qin Niu might well have been preordained as the bane of the Nine Insect Gang.

“This insect seems only interested in the scent of humans. To raise such creatures, one must feed them large amounts of human flesh and blood. Such methods are very much like those of Elder Jiu Yin of the Nine Insect Gang. It’s very likely that Elder Jiu Yin has already arrived.”

Master He Shan’s eyes flickered with the light of wisdom.

Inferring so much information from just one insect, this was the sign of a true expert.

And he seemed quite familiar with the Insect Masters of the Nine Insect Gang.

“Jiu Yin has come? To prompt the Nine Insect Gang to dispatch an elder, the plans for this battle must be grand indeed! Not long ago, they tried to launch a surprise attack from Wash Crime River, but their commander, Song Zan, was unexpectedly killed by a mysterious person, exposing their scheme.

Now they’ve chosen to launch a stealth attack by crossing the river at Tianshui Town, in the territory of the Shennong Sect. Their audacity knows no bounds.”

Excitement tinged Bai Xuezhu’s tone.

Looking towards Master He Shan.

“Old He, we’ve fought against the Nine Insect Gang at the frontlines so many times, constantly being led by the nose. This time, having discovered their sneak attack plan in advance, should we not make a big move, to raise our spirits and boost morale?”

Bai Xuezhu, leading an army in battle, seemed to have always been on the losing end against the Nine Insect Gang.

Mainly because the Nine Insect Gang was very fond of ambushes.

Attacking from here today, striking from another direction tomorrow.

Every assault resulted in either massacring a village or pillaging the local area.

The number of young women taken captive was untold.

Their fate was certainly extremely tragic.

“Lord Bai means, to eliminate the invading enemy troops?”

“Merely killing some ordinary soldiers does not do justice to our slain kinsfolk. If Jiu Yin has truly come, shouldn’t we set our sights higher and directly take out Elder Jiu Yin? It would be akin to severing an arm of the Nine Insect Gang.” Bai Xuezhu indeed had the disposition for grand endeavors.

His goals were set remarkably high.

“Elder Jiu Yin is one of the top-ranking elders of the Nine Insect Gang, not only in cultivation but also in nurturing formidable insects. He is also protected by twelve prime disciples, four of whom are at the protector level, and six have become executors of the Nine Insect Gang. Killing him will be extremely difficult,” Master He Shan said, showing signs of second thoughts.

An Insect Master understands another Insect Master better.

Elder Jiu Yin was not just a powerhouse but also a formidable Insect Master.

With twelve prime disciples to guard him, killing him seemed too challenging.

Worse still, Vice City Lord Bai and Master He Shan might end up being the ones who failed.

“At the very least, it’s worth a try; he’s a big fish after all. If I set up the Spirit Trapping Formation in advance, trapping him will be tantamount to forcing Jiu Yin onto a stage of life and death,” Bai Xuezhu said, undeterred.

“Lord Bai can already set up a Spirit Trapping Formation? That requires at least the ability to command spirits, right? It seems your cultivation has broken through significantly! No wonder you aim to directly slaughter Elder Jiu Yin,” Master He Shan said, full of shock.

His expression also revealed deep envy.

Be it an Insect Master, a Beast Tamer, or even a Master of Herbology… no matter how revered the profession, their core power undeniably lies in their own cultivation.

Qin Niu had just entered the Innate Realm and knew nothing of the level required to manipulate spirits.

Bai Xuezhu was certainly at least a major realm above him.

To cultivate to the Innate Realm, one merely sets half a foot through the Immortal Gate; whether one could enter was still a question.

Only reaching the next major realm would count like having half one’s body through the Immortal Gate.

Bai Xuezhu, the five venerable ancestors of the Fang Family, and even Master He Shan might already be at that major realm.

Master He Shan’s cultivation was likely much weaker than Bai Xuezhu’s.

Because Qin Niu could faintly sense a whiff of Master He Shan’s cultivation aura.

He was possibly at the peak of the Innate Realm.

Yet even so, that was very powerful.

Qin Niu was just at the Initial Stage of the Innate Realm, far behind them.

“All, it’s a bit embarrassing, since my advancement to the Spirit Qi Realm and a whole sixty years of arduous cultivation, I’ve only recently made a minor breakthrough. Compared to those prodigies of the Hundred-Tempering Immortal Sect, my talents are truly dull,” Bai Xuezhu said, displaying genuine humility..