Chapter 2017: You Are That Person!  

Zu An’s expression was a bit strange as he murmured, “The one in the capital...”

This bug isn’t talking about me, is it?

But I’ve never seen it before!

The demonic bug buzzed, “Hmph, that War Priest just couldn't hold himself back and showed himself near the capital, but he ended up being killed by a powerful native. Then, the human country started to become wary, and is now on guard against us invaders. Now, we can only operate in secret.

“I didn’t actually want to show myself that quickly for fear of drawing that murderous demon over, but who would have thought that Lu Sanyuan and Chi Fuzi would be such trash, unable to even handle such an easy matter? I had no choice but to make an appearance.”

Qiu Honglei gave Zu An a look. She smiled and asked the demonic bug, “Are you not scared of that murderous demon?”

“Hmph, that person is far away at the capital, so how could he know about what is happening here? As for news leaking out...” The demonic bug smiled sinisterly as it said, “It’s also simple enough. I just need to kill everyone here and evolve them into demonic bugs. There won’t be any chance of anyone leaking our secrets anymore hen.”

When they heard it speak so casually, as if killing everyone was an extremely simple matter, the survivors felt their scalps go numb.

The members of the Devil Sect were actually quite the bold and tough sort. After all, those who could survive in the Devil Sect and even make it to their general headquarters were definitely not good and noble. Even so, this demonic bug in front of them really surpassed their imaginations. It was as if they were facing their natural predator, leaving them so scared that they couldn't even produce thoughts of fighting back.

“From the looks of it, it seems you have many others similar to you who have infiltrated this world, right?” Zu An asked, wanting to use the chance to get more intelligence.

However, the demonic bug grew vigilant and retorted, “Are you stalling for time? You’ll naturally find out once I evolve all of you into demonic bugs.”

Zu An thought of something. This was already the second time the bug had mentioned 'evolution'. What did that really mean?

Just then, buzzing filled the air, and two flesh spheres suddenly appeared from the giant bug's abdomen. They floated behind it and quickly swelled up. Immediately after, they turned into two bugs identical to itself! Of course, they were a bit smaller. And yet, when compared to the ones transformed from the earlier soldiers, they were much larger.

The demonic bug to the right moved its head a bit. It spoke in a strange voice, wondering, “Is this what it's like to be a higher-level lifeform? As expected, the feeling is much better, hahaha...”

Those present were horrified when they heard the voice, because even though it was a bit distorted, they could still vaguely recognize that it was Chi Fuzi’s. If this was Chi Fuzi, then the other one had to be...

The demonic bug to the left moved its limbs a bit. After a long sigh, it said, “So it turns out I was just a frog at the bottom of a well before. The feeling of demonic transformation really is wonderful. Everyone, do not refuse it any longer and welcome a new form of life along with the rest of us.”

He called out to his soldiers and subordinates, but those people all stayed far away.

Are you kidding? Why would we stop living as wonderful humans and become this kind of damned thing?!

Zu An frowned slightly. So it turned out this was what the monster meant by evolution. The people it ate would then transform into more of its own species. If so... As long as it was given enough time, wouldn’t it be able to turn the entire world into demonic bugs? In battle, this kind of creature wasn't necessarily as strong as the War Priest was, but the threat it posed to the world was something that not even ten War Priests could compare to.

By then, the demonic bugs who had once been Chi Fuzi and Lu Sanyuan trembled strangely. Then, they both spat out an egg. After that, two more demonic bugs appeared in the air, a bit smaller than themselves.

Zu An thought to himself that if they became smaller and smaller, that would make things easier. However, as soon as that thought appeared in his mind, the two new demonic bugs trembled. They both spat out two demonic bugs that were exactly the same.

Zu An was speechless. magic

Why aren’t these things following the law of conservation of energy?! Doesn’t this mean they'll just divide endlessly?

The smaller demonic bugs moved. They immediately sprayed mouthfuls of green mist at the survivors.

Zu An waved his hand to dispel the mist sprayed at him. At the same time, he warned the people present loudly, “Everyone, be careful not to take in any of this mist. They might be using spores to infect you with parasites.”

Everyone at the Devil Sect General Headquarters was an elite. Many people had already activated their respective defensive abilities. Even so, who would have thought that the demonic bug corpses that had been killed would suddenly explode? Blasts of green mist filled the air.

They had all fled in alarm, but they hadn’t expected that even these bug corpses would do such a thing! There were many unfortunate souls who were a bit slower than the others and took in a bit of the green mist. Then, their faces turned green, and they frantically grabbed at their faces and throats. In just a few seconds, bony outgrowths emerged from their backs and limbs. They were just like Lu Sanyuan’s soldiers, undergoing demonic bug transformation.

Zu An observed the process carefully. These bugs were even smaller than the other ones. It seemed they were the lowest level demonic bugs. Evidently, only the higher-level demonic bugs had the ability to divide.

He suddenly heard Mi Li’s anxious voice in his head, saying, “These are Demonic Motherbugs. They can devour all living creatures and transform them into demonic bugs. If they're not restrained, their reproductive abilities can easily occupy an entire world.”

“Are there any limits to their reproduction?” Zu An asked, pleasantly surprised at her sudden awakening. Ever since she had recovered some of her memories, her soul had clearly already healed, and yet she was still always sleeping. She seemed to be preparing and accumulating something.

“There is no limit!” Mi Li replied, her voice full of apprehension. “Additionally, you must eliminate their posterity as quickly as possible. You can't let them accumulate enough energy. The Demonic Motherbugs can continue to evolve crazily, becoming many, many times stronger than how they are right now.”

“How much stronger is 'many, many times'?” Zu An asked.

“Using the classification system of this world, they can instantly kill an earth immortal," Mi Li replied.

Zu An was speechless.

“Why are you still not doing anything?” Mi Li asked in confusion when she saw that he still remained calm.

“I want to test it and see just how strong it is after it goes berserk. Only then will I have enough information if I encounter a Demonic Motherbug in a different world,” Zu An said. He knew that the Demonic Motherbug was actually being restrained by the natural protection of this world and didn’t have its original strength. However, who knew how much longer that natural protection would last for? Besides that, he had a premonition that in the future, he would probably have to face its perfect form. He had to use this chance to understand it more.

“You're playing with fire!” Mi Li replied. She knew what he was thinking, but she still couldn't help but feel worried.

“You also know that this is the most rational choice,” Zu An said with a chuckle. The Tai’e Sword appeared out of thin air. Despite what he'd just said, he still didn’t dare to be careless in the slightest.

“If you die, everything will be over,” Mi Li said quietly.

“I won’t die,” Zu An replied calmly.

Of course, he wouldn’t just sit still as the demonic bugs infected all living people. The Crescent Ring quickly moved, drawing out a perfect arc. All of the smallest demonic bugs were killed one by one. Whenever he killed them, a flame passed over the bugs and burned them away until not a trace remained, to prevent their corpses from releasing more spores. Many people in the sect carried some apprehension.

When did the sect master learn fire element skills? Also, it doesn’t seem like ordinary fire...

However, they were even more grateful. With that help, they finally stabilized their mental states. They attacked to wipe out all of the lowest-level demonic bugs that still remained.

The original Demonic Motherbug stared at Zu An, saying, “You are even stronger than I imagined. What a pity, however, that it is all useless.”

After that, its wings released a wave of ear-splitting buzzing. The other demonic bugs also shook their wings in response, filling the air with a strange noise.

Everyone present clutched their heads in pain, but this sound seemed to directly target the soul. No matter how they covered their ears, the noise still entered their heads.

Just then, a giant golden bell appeared in the sky.

Riiiiiiing!

A heavy bell toll echoed through the air. Countless sound waves spread out and scattered the sharp and ear-splitting bug vibrations.

“This seems to be Tranquility Temple’s Tranquility Bell...” the Freedom Path Master said, feeling a bit absent-minded.

The World School Master looked around, wondering, “Could it be that Tranquility Temple's balding donkeys came here? But how is that possible?!”

Unfortunately, they didn’t see a trace of a Tranquility Temple disciple anywhere.

This was naturally not the real Tranquility Bell, but rather something Zu An had created through his Rune Weapon Chart. He had witnessed the power of the bell before at Violet Mountain and knew that it was a perfect counter to these demonic bugs’ sound attack.

“Hm? You seem to have quite a few tricks up your sleeve,” the Demonic Motherbug said, clearly recognizing that this was his work. It finally felt that something was wrong, saying, “Hmph, I won’t be giving you any more chances.”

It raised its head, and all of its wings spread out. Its body doubled in size. Then, the remaining big demonic bugs, including Chi Fuzi and Lu Sanyuan, turned into streaks of green light that were instantly absorbed into its body. In this instant, it was as if the entire world were covered in a layer of green. The next second, it vanished.

Zu An’s expression changed. He picked up Qiu Honglei and instantly moved a hundred meters backward. At almost the same instant, a pair of sharp teeth appeared from the space he had just been standing in; they belonged to the giant mouth in the Demonic Motherbug’s chest! Everything within a range of thirty or so meters from it was corroded by a mysterious power. Only a huge crater remained in the era. It went without saying what would have happened had they not dodged in time.

The Demonic Motherbug was a bit surprised. It clearly hadn’t expected him to be able to avoid such a surefire attack. Even so, it didn’t hesitate. With a shake of its wings, it instantly turned into a streak of lightning and attacked Zu An again.

Due to its speed, it was as if countless demonic bugs had appeared in the air, all attacking the target at the very center. Under those attacks, even the beautiful crescent ring turned dim. The next moment, it actually shattered under the powerful onslaught.

When they saw that scene, the Devil Sect’s disciples all felt their hearts shatter along with it.

Even Sect Master Yun’s weapon was destroyed... It seems that it’s all over now.

The next instant, a bell tolled quickly. A translucent outline of a giant golden bell seemed to surrounded Zu An’s body. However, as the endless demonic bugs crashed into it, cracks appeared one after another across its surface; it clearly couldn't stop this murderous barrage of attacks.

Suddenly, Zu An sighed and said, “I already know the limits of this berserk form of yours.”

After saying that, he drew the Tai’e Sword. A dazzling streak of sword radiance illuminated the world, and the green space was sliced apart from within.

The Demonic Motherbug screamed in horror, exclaiming, “You... You are that person!”

It tried to flee, but how could it move more quickly than the sword radiance? Soon after, its body was penetrated by a beam of light. Then, its body was obliterated by the destruction of endless sword ki, completely vanishing from this world.