Chapter 86: Insect Egg
Chapter 86: Insect Egg
Bloodline Ability — Lurking Abyss!
Lurking Abyss, derived from the idea of a hidden dragon in the depths, meant lying low to conserve strength and prepare for action.
However, this ability came from the violent and arrogant Black Dragon, so its nature wasn’t “concealment,” but “retaliation”!
Lurking Abyss extracted a small portion of the damage inflicted by spells, combat techniques, elements, curses, and so on, condensed it between the fingers and palms, and released it during a counterattack. This ability was related to physical strength; the stronger the body, the more power one could control.
Overall, this ability was also unconventional in its approach, even more obscure than Bearing the Stele.
However, compared to Bearing the Stele, which had equally obvious strengths and weaknesses, Lurking Abyss had much greater practical value.
“To hit others, one must first get hit? Worthy of the Five-Colored Dragons, arrogant and extreme. Heh heh, I like it.” Li Yi’s thoughts were active, understanding much from a single clue. “This kind of ability is even more effective against sustained damage, like Holy Strike, Sacrificial Aura, Wall of Flame, and so on! Related to physical strength… Looking at it this way, I absolutely cannot neglect my practice of the Five Beasts Exercise.”
After daydreaming for a while, Li Yi calmed down. He sat with his knees hugged to his chest and began to meditate.
After the battle with Yazi, he was drained once more. Not only his mana, but his soul and consciousness also seemed withered and weak.
If not for that, for that decisive final secret technique, he would have chosen Thunderclap Strike, not Maple-Shadow Flowing Fire.
And the chance of Yazi escaping would have been much smaller.
Whoosh!
He stretched his arms. His left shoulder performed Turtle Hibernation Art, and his right shoulder performed Alligator-Resting Art. Two roars, no less majestic than a dragon’s cry, sounded and echoed continuously.
Turtle Hibernation Art!
Alligator-Resting Art!
Using split concentration, he refined mana.
For Li Yi, this was also the first time.
It was also a move born of necessity.
Inside the Dragon’s Burial Ground, the elements were sparse, far less concentrated than in the Star Radiance Tower. Compared to the Star-Slaying Knot, it was not even in the same league.
Recovering mana would take a full day and night!
There were too many variables in that time. Having learned from past experience, Li Yi did not dare to gamble again.
Hum!
On his left shoulder, a stream of elements babbled gently. On his right shoulder, a curtain of elemental rain fell. Gurgling energy descended from his shoulders and sank into the depths of his body.
A mysterious Balance formed between his shoulders. Mana, like grains of sand in an hourglass, gathered inside him one grain after another.
“Hmm?”
Li Yi frowned. His figure flickered, wind swirling and thunder rumbling under his feet. With a few steps, he jumped into a bone crevice within the skeleton.
Not long after, the sound of conversation and arguing arose.
“Are they looking for me again? Doesn’t seem like it… If they wanted to snatch the Six Strategies Qi, they wouldn’t be this reckless and noisy. A surprise attack like Yazi’s would be more effective, wouldn’t it?”
“However, reaching this place requires passing through the Starfall Domain, which isn’t an easy task. What are these people here for?”
Li Yi held his breath, feeling puzzled.
After waiting a moment, a chilling, rustling sound arose noisily.
Li Yi thought of something, and his expression changed drastically. Goosebumps rose on his back.
“Abyssal Erhai?”
He suddenly remembered something.
Among those chasing him within Leixu’s gravity Domain, there wasn’t a single person from Abyssal Erhai.
If there had been Abyssal Erhai’s evil magic or their various gu insects blocking and pursuing him, Li Yi believed he definitely couldn’t have escaped.
What were those people doing? What were they after? They could even set aside the most important Six Strategies Qi?
Li Yi grew increasingly puzzled. He didn’t dare to peek out, holding his breath uncomfortably.
“Huh? Why are there signs of battle here? Could it be someone else got here first?”
“Relax, who besides us could find those little things?”
“Judging from the marks, it’s been some time. They might have already left. No need to worry about them.”
From the voices, there were three people. Hearing the last person’s words, Li Yi let out a long sigh of relief.
Just as his tension eased, a shadowy presence moved across his brow, emitting a chilly intent.
Li Yi looked up and almost screamed!
Before him was a massive bluish-purple blind snake, hissing with its tongue flickering. Between its scales, an aura of death and gloom emanated, gnawing at vitality, making one’s heart race with fear.
He definitely understood now. That last statement earlier was just to let his guard down!
Li Yi held his breath, unconsciously clenching his fist, ready to erupt at any moment.
After a long while, seeing the blind snake patrol left and right but remain unmoving, he figured something out and relaxed his mind.
Sure enough, after a short while, the blind snake turned its body and slithered elsewhere.
“This blind snake has no vision but can discern auras. And on me, there are remnants of three strands of Six Strategies Qi, similar to the aura of the Dragon’s Burial Ground, which is why it ignored me. If it were anyone else, they’d have died a hundred times over!”
Li Yi felt a lingering fear. His mana wasn’t even half recovered. If discovered, his chances of survival were slim.
“Alright, there’s no one else.” After waiting quietly for a moment, one person said arrogantly, “My Underworld Blind Snake can break illusions, concealment, spells that hide underground, and so on. Anyone who can fool it, hmph, hasn’t been born yet.”
“Enough, stop bragging. Have your little snake keep watch,” another person said sharply, not politely. “Hurry up and start! We need to be quick. Our group is already far behind the others!”
“Don’t argue,” the last speaker’s voice was imperious, clearly the leader. “Be careful with your movements. If you break the egg, that’s a great crime!”
“Egg?” Li Yi slightly raised an eyebrow.
The sound of digging, clinking and clanging, arose.
Li Yi sat cross-legged, still as still water, listening intently. After a while, he also felt somewhat bored.
Clang!
A clear clang, as if something was broken, followed by loud curses.
“Are you an idiot? I already said to be careful! Tell me, what do we do now?” the leader yelled angrily.
“It’s over, what do we do?” The one who made the grave mistake was the sharp-voiced person. An idea struck him. “Wait, I have a way! We all agree and say this was an unhatched dead egg that we discarded. Anyway, with so many eggs, it’s normal for one or two not to hatch…”
“You want us to lie to the elders?” The owner of the Underworld Blind Snake snorted lightly. “Why should I help you?”
“Helping me is helping yourselves!” The sharp-voiced person, quick-witted in a crisis, said rapidly, “Our group is already behind. Now with this mistake, I won’t be the only one punished. You two will also be implicated!”
“Fine,” the owner of the Underworld Blind Snake thought for a moment and extorted, “However, I think your Heart-Piercing Scorpion is pretty good…”
“Deal!”
“I want the Blood-Crying Toad!” the leader said flatly.
“That works too!”
The transaction was quickly settled. The three carefully collected the dug-up eggs.
“That’s enough. Now bury the new insect eggs back in,” the leader clapped his hands. “Next time we come to collect them will be ten years later.”
The sound of filling in the dirt arose again.
“This broken egg, why keep it? Dispose of it quickly!” the leader said rudely.
“Got it!” came the resentful, sharp voice.
Smack!
A crisp sound. A broken egg landed in the bone crevice where Li Yi was, about ten meters away from him.
It seemed those people also thought this place was good for hiding things.
Li Yi was nervous inside but didn’t move a muscle.
“Let’s go, hurry to the next location! Our time is quite precious.”
The rustling sounds gradually faded away.
Li Yi still didn’t move.
He waited a full half-hour, completely sure that the group had left, before cautiously walking forward.
It was a bluish-green egg, broken at one corner, with egg white leaking out.
In other words, the impact from landing just now actually didn’t leave a single crack on it.
“What were those people digging with? To be able to break such a hard egg?”
The bluish egg was about palm-sized. Li Yi held it in his palm to examine. Looking through the broken gap, he could barely tell it was a snake-lizard type of creature.
After a while, Li Yi’s expression changed slightly.
Around him, there were still scattered remnants of Six Strategies Qi. Their aura, surprisingly uncontrollably, surged toward the broken insect egg!
Soon, that gap was completely filled.
However, the vitality within remained quite faint, more dead than alive.
“Could it be these Abyssal Erhai guys buried the insect eggs underground to absorb Six Strategies Qi and refine unusual insects? That idea isn’t bad…”
Li Yi thought about digging up the newly buried insect eggs to get a closer look, but after consideration, he didn’t do it.
Who knew if there were any restrictions on them?
Li Yi was like a startled bird at this point.
Obtaining a new Bloodline Ability, he was already quite satisfied. His only remaining task was to stay alive.
Putting the insect egg into his Sumeru Ring, Li Yi sat cross-legged again and resumed his meditation.