Those light dots kept buzzing like bees, but they looked like fireflies with light flashing on their tails. Each of them was large as a fist, and the face was ugly as a housefly.

　　Ji Meng’s hair stood on their ends. He would not be so afraid if he came across one or two such things, as he could just kill them with his sword. But, in just the blink of an eye, there were already thousands of them, which veiled the sky and completely enveloped the whole town.

　　“What are these things, Young Master Yun? I can’t believe each of them is as strong as a warrior!” He felt his flesh creep. From the aura emanated from these thousands of demon beetles, he could tell that each of them was as strong as a warrior of the Origin Realm.

　　“They are Avici Beetles, a kind of first-tier demon beast that grows on the nutrition from corpses. They are not strong, but they always come in great numbers. It is very easy to breed a swarm of them in a place filled with corpses.”

　　Looking at the beetles that kept popping out of the corpses around them, Yunxiao said in a cold voice, “No wonder they turned this place into such a dead place, so they can breed these beetles…I can see many of them have just hatched, so they are not that strong. But, there are also some old beetles, which are likely as strong as peak-level warriors.”

　　“Even though they are only as strong as warriors, their numbers…”

　　Yunxiao drew the cold sword of Taiyin and sneered, “Don’t worry. These beetles have no intelligence and are not controlled by anyone. They are just ugly and disgusting. And they are easy to kill. Watch me!”

　　He raised the sword and slashed it down hard, sending a beam of cold energy through the air.

　　As if they could sense the danger, the beetles buzzed and retreated. However, as there were too many of them, a dozen were cut by the sword energy, frozen into ice cubes in the air before falling and smashing into pieces on the ground.

　　The attack seemed to have provoked the beetles. One by one, they turned around and swarmed toward the two men angrily.

　　Ji Meng calmed down slightly, but at the same time, he was smiling wryly in his mind. Yunxiao, too, only had the cultivation base of a warrior, and yet he just killed a dozen demon beasts of the same realm with just one sword strike.

　　But luckily, he had already gotten used to all the surprises thrown at his face by Yunxiao. So, he gathered himself very quickly and pulled out his soft sword before swinging it fiercely. Peach flowers bloomed wherever his blade went, and with the birth and death of each flower, a beetle was ground to pieces.

　　“I don’t need protection, so you just kill as many beetles as you can. Don’t use techniques that are too fancy, and save your strength for later.” Yunxiao said as he kept moving, dodging, and slashing out his sword casually, killing a dozen beetles with every strike.

　　Ji Meng was shocked, and he understood that at once, changing his attacks to simple cuts and slashes. Immediately, more beetles were killed.

　　Soon, dead beetles piled up like hills around them, the buzzing noise in the air grew faint, and there were only a few hundred beetles left, who were still attacking them like moths darting into the fire. Suddenly, a dark cloud drifted over the sky, veiling the sunlight and turning the town into night. Yunxiao and Ji Meng looked up and were startled by what they saw.

　　It was not a dark cloud at all, but four enormous Avici Beetles who had joined with one another, each as large as a millstone. Soon, they swooped down at both of them.

　　The strength of the four beetles was at the Two Forces Realm, which made them the kings among the rest of the beetles.

　　The reason Yunxiao and Ji Meng were startled was because of their disgusting appearances that made their stomach tumble and feel like throwing up.

　　These four kings of the Avici Beetles seemed to have some intelligence and could tell the difference in strength between the two men, as they all went snapping at Yunxiao. Terrified, Ji Meng was about to rush over when he saw a flash of cold light, and then several ice lotus flowers bloomed one after another in the sky.

　　“The Song of Blue Lotus Sword!”

　　A total of seven huge ice lotus flowers appeared in the sky and then fell onto the ground, turning into a work of art that was extremely pleasing to the eye. Meanwhile, all four beetle kings were frozen within four of the lotus flowers.

　　After turning into a work of art, the disgusting beetle kings no longer looked so nasty, but had a rather unique flavor to them.

　　Ji Meng’s eyes lit up, as if he had a sudden enlightenment. He slashed out his sword like Yunxiao, and with that, seven huge peach flowers appeared in a row over the sky. Then, with the blowing of the wind, the petals broke into pieces, falling like snowflakes and sweeping toward the remaining beetles.

　　‘The fallen petals are not heartless things. Although turned to mud, they would nurture flowers next spring…’

　　Bits of broken petals blotted the sky as they darted through the air like specks of gold, piercing through the remaining hundreds of beetles that were still in the air and throwing them to the ground.

　　Yunxiao watched with a smile, and then he said approvingly, “Not bad! Your sword intent is much better than before. I bet you will make a breakthrough soon.”

　　Indeed, Ji Meng had an enlightenment, but it was plain that this was not a place he could stop and meditate, causing him to sigh.

　　All the dead beetles around them and the green fluid that covered the ground made them sick and queasy, so they quickly left the town, running toward Mount Phoenix.

　　…

　　In front of a huge cliff wall in Mount Phoenix, a group of people was focusing on the changes of a pattern on the wall. It was a flashing six-pointed star in a circle, with eight straight lines of unknown tiny characters crawling out of it, and a smaller pattern of a fire phoenix dancing inside the star.

　　A red-haired middle-aged man was controlling the changes of the pattern with a serious expression. He looked very labored and confused, and would ponder for a long time before throwing out each incantation seal. Most of the unknown characters on the pattern already shone with silver light, and only a few were still dark gray.

　　Suddenly, the expression of a man riding on a lion changed. He took out a jade pendant from his pocket and found it broken to pieces. His eyes narrowed, and he clenched his palm into a fist, crushing the pendant into powder.

　　“What’s wrong, Pinghong?” asked an old man, his eyes flickering.

　　The man riding on the lion said faintly, “Someone killed the four Avici Beetles I placed in Feifeng.”

　　“Did someone finally break in?” the old man said in a cold voice.

　　“Hehe…Senior Brother Xu, your beetles are just some rubbish at the Two Forces Realm. I thought it’s normal for someone to kill them?” said a seductive woman, whose forehead leaned against the shoulder of a man like a gentle, understanding wife.

　　The old man said in a serious tone, “We can’t be careless. Which one of you will solve it?”

　　The seductive woman said in a gentle voice, “It’s just some little mice. Let me go with Senior Brother Li.”

　　Xu Pinghong gave the woman and the man beside her a cold glance. “They killed my beetles, so let me go. I can do it alone.”

　　As soon as he had finished, he turned and rode the lion down the mountain.

　　A man who constantly emanated cold air said, “I heard Xiao Qingwang is here as well. If he is one of the people in the town, I fear Junior Brother Xu will not be a match of him.”

　　The old man frowned and considered a moment, then said, “Xiao Qingwang had been wounded by your extreme cold energy for five years. Even if he has recovered, his cultivation base would be greatly reduced, so he is not to be feared. Moreover, Pinghong has a Darkthunder, so he will not be defeated even if he encounters a Martial King. Let’s wait and see. I’ll send someone again if need be.”

　　The man shrouded in cold air was none other than Yi Xiaoshan, the Martial King from Baizhan. He said respectfully to the old man, “Understood, Uncle-Master!”

　　The old man’s name was Qi Zhenzi, and he was the deputy palace master of the Supreme Palace in the Firecrow Empire.

　　The seductive woman’s name was Sun Xiumei, a fellow disciple and also wife to the man beside her, Li Wenshi. The man who was focusing on solving the formation was Huyan Ming, and another man, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating with closed eyes, was called Song Chengtian. Together with Yi Xiaoshan and Xu Pinghong, they were called the Supreme Six!

　　With an affectionate smile, Sun Xiumei said, “Senior Brother Yi, you’ve been in Baizhan for too many years. Come back with us to Supreme Palace when we are done here. Master is missing you a lot.”

　　There was a lonely look on Yi Xiaoshan’s face as he sighed and said, “The emperor of Baizhan had done me great kindness in those years, and I need to repay him. Over the last ten years, I’ve been working very hard to turn Baizhan into an upper-rank vassal state, but my effort was fruitless. The qualifying match, which is held every five years, is coming soon, and this is the biggest chance. I’ll have no regrets after the match is over, and then I’ll return to the Supreme Palace, cut my ties with all the secular affairs, and focus only on martial arts.”

　　Song Chengtian, who had been meditating, flicked open his eyes and said, “Senior Brother Yi, after you left, I’ve never found anyone who can be a match for me. Come back, or I’ll be very lonely.”

　　“Junior Brother Song, you are already an eight-stars Martial King, and I’m no longer a match for you.” Although he answered in a lazy voice, there was not a hint of admitting defeat in his eyes. Instead, they were burning with a fighting spirit.

　　…

　　Yunxiao and Ji Meng came to the end of the town, and ahead of them was Mount Phoenix. As they were about to step into the mountain, they felt a faint pressure coming at them, and when they looked up, they saw a middle-aged man riding on a lion waiting quietly at the foot of the mountain.

　　Xu Pinghong seemed impatient with the wait, and he said lazily, “I thought some big mice had broken in, but it turns out only a two-stars Martial Lord and a nine-stars warrior.” He scoffed disdainfully, “Rubbish!”

　　Yunxiao smiled faintly. “You don’t have to tell us your name. We are not interested.”

　　“You have a glib tongue, boy! Well, I’ll send you to hell now and then use your corpses to breed two more Avici Beetles.”

　　There was a flicker of anger in Xu Pinghong’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a killing intent. Without saying another word, he leaped into the air and threw out a punch at Ji Meng. He planned to kill the Martial Lord first, because the warrior was too weak for him to consider a threat.

　　Yunxiao did not move, but stared at the lion. “A Darkthunder?” He laughed. “Oh well, just when I was wondering where do I find some Darkthunder Blood, the heavens immediately send me a Darkthunder beast. Ji Meng, hold that guy and let me deal with the demon beast.”

　　Xu Pinghong was shocked when Yunxiao called out the name of his mount, but then he broke into laugher immediately when he heard the boy say he would deal with the demon beast.