Chapter 141: Ocean of Insects

But just as Zuo Zhicheng was swallowed by the ocean of insects, a large flame suddenly burst from his body and spread across his entire form in an instant.

It was like pouring oil on a fire. The black insects screamed wildly and scattered in all directions, but many thick clusters of them were turned to charcoal and fell to the ground.

“What?” The old man saw his insects destroyed by the fire, and a trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

At the same time as the flames rose, Zuo Zhicheng stumbled toward the window. From outside, it looked like a ball of fire flew out of the window and fell to the ground.

The old man slowly walked to the window and looked down. Apart from faint scorch marks, there was no trace of Zuo Zhicheng. It was as if he had never existed and had vanished without a trace.

Yilezi turned around with a troubled expression and saw that Alice and the other two had already recovered. Quinlin patted his head and slowly stood up.

“Who was that guy?” Quinlin looked fierce, but deep in his eyes, there was still a hint of lingering fear.

If it hadn’t been for Yilezi’s presence, that man alone could have wiped out all four of them. Especially that feeling of killing intent rushing toward them, the sense that death was just a second away, made him feel an unprecedented fear.

By all reason, Quinlin was someone who had survived life-and-death situations and shouldn’t have been so afraid of death. But when he thought of that man’s calm movements and icy gaze, he couldn’t help but feel scared.

However, he wouldn’t show this feeling and only asked fiercely, “Yilezi, why didn’t you notice him? That man’s strength definitely comes from a god’s blessing.”

Quinlin meant that Yilezi’s Spiritual Energy Vision should have detected the martial artist’s presence early on. The so-called Innate Primordial Breath is known in the West as a god’s blessing, meaning that a person is born with a part of their body blessed by a god, giving them abilities beyond ordinary people.

Yilezi glanced at him and said indifferently, “You didn’t notice him either, right? That guy used some method to hide his Innate Primordial Breath, so I couldn’t find him. But his strength should be about the same as you guys, maybe a little weaker than you. It’s just that the Magical Artifact in his hand is quite powerful.”

At this point, he frowned. “It seems Peter and the others ran into trouble because of this man. We can’t let him leave here. If the news reaches the Great Qi Dynasty court, the consequences would be unthinkable.”

“Let’s go kill him,” Quinlin said, then let out a loud roar that shook the heavens and spread in all directions, quickly echoing throughout the island base.

Countless howls and roars responded to Quinlin’s bellow. Clearly, with that one roar, he had awakened all the ghouls in the base, as if he had roused the Underworld itself.

Hearing this, Quinlin sneered coldly. “I’ll make him wish he were dead.” As he spoke, his and the others’—Alice and the two—facial muscles and skin twisted and deformed, turning into green-skinned, fanged faces. Rows of piranha-like teeth emerged, and angry hisses came from their mouths.

Yilezi frowned and reminded them, “I want him alive. I need to know how he…”

Just then, a fierce tremor came from under their feet, like an earthquake. At the same time, a series of explosions sounded from the eastern part of the base.

“That’s the sound of cannons,” a ghoul with a scarred face said.

Alice exclaimed, “Could it be that the gunpowder store exploded?”

“Impossible,” Quinlin’s eyes glinted coldly. “Someone is firing at us. Who found us?”

“Damn it, I knew it,” Yilezi said angrily, pointing at Quinlin. “You must have leaked information when you robbed those ships. You blockheads have no idea how important this island is! If only I had more time…”

“Enough, Yilezi. It’s our fault, but now isn’t the time to argue,” Quinlin turned to Alice and the others. “Scarface, Alice, Jack, take some people and stop the intruders. If they’re strong, send a signal and prepare to escape. If they’re weak, wipe them all out. Yilezi and I will go catch that rat.”

“No,” Yilezi said with a dark expression. “That guy was hit by my ghostly howl. He doesn’t have your kind of recovery ability. I’ll go catch him alone. Quinlin, use all your strength to annihilate the intruders. Don’t let them interfere with my research! Once I catch that little rat, I’ll come support you.”

Seemingly unaccustomed to Yilezi giving orders, Quinlin narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing in them. But Yilezi was now surrounded by swirling black energy, like a ghost emerging from the Underworld. Within the rolling black smoke, constant wails could be heard.

Although Quinlin had long known that Yilezi was powerful—a formidable mage—this was the first time he had seen him unleash such might.

He paused for a moment, then slightly curled his lips. “Understood. Don’t worry, I’ll turn them all into food for the sea.”

Waving his hand, Quinlin left with Alice, Scarface, and Jack.

Seeing this, Yilezi snorted coldly. The next second, his entire body shattered with a bang, turning into a thick black cloud that shot out the window and began to circle above the Pirate Base.

…

Meanwhile, on the roof of a certain warehouse, Zuo Zhicheng lay motionless, only the slight rise and fall of his chest showing he was still alive.

The flames on his body had long gone out, but faint smoke still rose from him.

The worst part was the aftereffects of the sonic attack, which left him temporarily without a sense of balance.

‘Trouble. I don’t have Super Rapid Regeneration. This kind of injury will take at least half an hour to gradually heal.’ As Zuo Zhicheng thought this, he suddenly felt a slight sting on the back of his hand. He looked up and saw that, without him noticing, his hand had become covered in red lines, like vein-like tattoos.

‘Blood Curse?’ His heart sank. ‘Does intense movement and faster blood flow speed up the spread of the Blood Curse?’

Just then, the sky suddenly darkened. A plume of black smoke shot into the air, circled once over the Pirate Base, then charged straight toward Zuo Zhicheng’s location.