Under the dark sky, a thin rain fell like silk, its barely perceptible black gleam drifting down to the forest below.
The trees in the forest were neither tall nor dense, but their branches and leaves were unusually lush, covered with dark spots as if they were diseased.
“Snap.”
When Randall landed, he didn’t notice where he stepped until he heard the snapping sound in the mud and looked down to see a thick sap oozing out from beside his foot.
“My apologies, my apologies.”
Continue your journey with empire
He recognized at a glance that it was an unknown insect egg and couldn’t help but frown.
As an insect enthusiast, stepping on an insect egg with his very first step was not a good sign.
Without waiting for his command, a golden beetle crawled out from his sorcerer robe, invigorated by the environment here. Seeing Randall not taking action, the golden beetle muttered a few complaints.
If anyone could understand its words, they would find that the golden beetle mentioned the names of his disciples Ivan, Scented Butterfly, and Wind Moth, along with phrases like “losing face” and “can’t show my face,” venting its dissatisfaction towards Randall.
“You’ve always refused to come out, so this was the reason, huh?” Randall watched his Golden Beetle General, both amused and exasperated.
His insect swarm was no ordinary one, named the ‘Nine-Colored Bugs.’ The insects were divided into nine colors, with gold, cyan, red, blue, and black being the most prestigious, the foremost of course being the golden beetle, which he had named the ‘Golden Beetle General.’
The Golden Beetle General possessed high spiritual intelligence but was just shy of becoming a true intelligent creature.
As one of Randall’s insects, it considered itself an elder of the rapid wood silkworm lineage, yet two of its juniors had outstripped it, becoming intelligent creatures first.
For the Golden Beetle General, this was absolutely an embarrassing situation.
So much so that it wouldn’t even heed Randall’s summons if the Scented Butterfly or Wind Moth were present, simply refusing to show itself.
This time, seeing Randall still able to smile, the Golden Beetle General looked at him indignantly, muttering against his face again.
“You’re right, I can’t let my disciples outshine me. I would lose face bearing the title of Number One Insect Control Master of the academy,” Randall said seriously as he conceded the point.
Sometimes, he couldn’t help marveling at his disciple’s good fortune, though, of course, it was not merely a matter of luck. Insect metamorphosis into intelligent creatures was never simple, something he suspected his disciple didn’t fully appreciate.
Regardless, under Ivan’s guidance, he already had two insects that had become intelligent creatures, whereas not one had under his own tutelage—a hard fact to accept.
In other areas, like Enchantment or apothecary, Randall would simply offer praise.
When it came to raising insects, however, he felt somewhat unreconciled internally, though he never showed it in front of his disciple.
Seeing his sorcerer finally understanding his feelings, the Golden Beetle General took the opportunity to reveal their current goal, which was to advance further into becoming an intelligent creature.
Randall nodded; man and insect aligned in their goal, they proceeded deeper into the secret realm with renewed vigor.
In the area where he was, the journey was filled with diseased-looking trees. Using his extensive experience, Randall quickly located a nest hidden in the mud.
Peeling away the outer layer of mud, a complex ant hill was revealed, its intricacy astonishing, but it was devoid of any ants.
The Golden Beetle General could smell the sweet fragrance of ant honey.
“Randall.”
After Randall collected the uniquely fragrant ant honey and was about to rebury it with mud, a familiar figure appeared nearby—it was his friend Molly.
Before Randall could respond, the Golden Beetle General expelled a burst of ‘Dust to Gray Light,’ the gray light swiftly engulfing Molly as she approached.
Randall did not interfere.
After being attacked by the gray light, Molly’s body stiffened, revealing her true form—it was actually a swarm of densely clustered insects disguised as her. Under the influence of the gray light, the swarm turned to dust and drifted away with the wind.
“Randall, I finally caught up with you.”
It didn’t take a few seconds, another familiar figure caught up.
“Hey Molly, you’ve improved quite a bit, able to keep not far behind me now,” he said.
“That’s right.”
This was indeed Molly herself, not impersonated by an insect.
The two decided to move forward together.
Suddenly, the secret realm underwent some strange changes.
Randall and Molly looked at each other, both aware of new changes around them, even the aura becoming more lively.
The next moment, the mud underfoot began to wriggle, the trees rustled, cracks appeared on the surface of the rocky mountains, and the clouds in the sky unconsciously started transforming into insect phantoms.
The two knew that this was influenced by some kind of aura, and the insects would soon appear.
The Golden Beetle General informed Randall of a message; it had sensed a more enticing bloody scent deeper within the secret realm, where something it greatly desired lay.
“Let’s go!”
In fact, not only the Golden Beetle General, but Randall’s other insect generals also experienced the same feeling, gradually becoming restless.
Molly was also a deep-seated Insect Control Master, and her insects felt the same.
The two promptly decided to check out the depths of the secret realm.
Elsewhere, either ahead or behind, every sorcerer who had insects sensed the anomaly at the same time; some recalled the words spoken upon entering the secret realm.
“The denser the gathering of the insect aura, the more valuable the resources that appear.”
Based on the number of people from past comparisons, this reopening of the Red Cloud Realm likely harbored something extraordinary in the deepest part of the secret realm.
Suddenly, a large number of sorcerers, disregarding other valuable resources, sped directly towards the depths of the secret realm.
Only the sorcerers who had taken the Disguise Potion were clueless; they were initially at the forefront of the secret realm, utterly unaware of the changes happening deeper within.
…
At the end of the secret realm.
Only Sorcerer Ivan and the masked sorcerer were present.
Five stones surrounded a pool, each stationed at one, with one stone pool between them, neither too near nor too far.
Under their gaze, black water appeared in the distance, trickling slowly along a narrow channel and flowing into the stone pool.
Ivan didn’t take any rash actions; he sensed that this black liquid was likely the blood of the high-level giant insect at the end, seemingly calm but actually containing shocking energy, along with an immensely dense insect aura.
“Sorcerer Ivan, I was thinking of taking a dip inside.” The Wind Moth was the first to propose entering the pool.
“Me too, if I could merge with the energy inside, I feel a new transformation could occur,” Scented Butterfly said, unable to restrain herself any longer, as she followed with a request.
“Mother said the same.”
Although the Silkworm Queen couldn’t speak, she expressed the same desire, even more eagerly than the Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly.
In fact, the Silkworm Queen was always somewhat resentful that her own offspring had become intelligent creatures while she had achieved nothing.
“Sorcerer Ivan, may I speak a word?” As the Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly spoke, the masked sorcerer realized the two insects were intelligent creatures, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.