In this spacious area, teeming with insect eggs and under the influence of some special factor, the surroundings suddenly sprang to life. From some of the eggs came clear tapping sounds, others kept expanding, and some even began rolling, attempting to reach the depths of the secret realm first.
Such anomalies were noticed by Ivan and the masked sorcerer, but neither paid much attention to them.
“Sorcerer Solomon, I wonder what insight you might have,” Ivan responded after hearing the masked sorcerer’s remark, “Across the entire Moon Pincer Peninsula, I doubt anyone surpasses you in understanding the Dead Insects Cloud Realm.”
His words were not mere flattery; there were things even Randall didn’t know that Solomon did, clearly having access to some more secret and comprehensive information.
From what had been seen so far, Solomon’s intentions seemed benign, and he was eager to hear the other’s opinion.
“Of course, I came well-prepared.”
“Actually, this is a place governed by insect fate; the more outstanding your insect fate, the more your insects will catch the favor of the ancient Black Scythe Lord and, hence, the more likely you are to acquire the item you desire.”
“My suggestion is, you pick a bug that represents your insect fate, send it into the pond, and let it try its luck for you; you might get unexpected gains.”
The masked sorcerer was not modest, explaining unhurriedly and then making a suggestion.
Insect fate?
Ivan pondered for a few seconds, his gaze landing on the eager Silkworm Queen. If there truly was such a thing as insect fate, his would come from the rapid wood silkworm lineage, which originated from the Silkworm Queen.
Among all the rapid wood silkworms, none could represent him better than the Silkworm Queen.
“Nngh nngh.”
The Silkworm Queen urged with firm determination.
The Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly also heard the prior discussion, exchanged glances, and then both opted to remain silent.
“Go ahead, stake our insect fate,” Ivan nodded gravely at the Silkworm Queen, stretching out his hand to place it beside the pond already filled with a considerable amount of black liquid.
The Silkworm Queen twisted its plump white body, glanced back at Ivan, and moved slowly yet resolutely forward, dropping from his hand and transforming into a moth in midair.
The moth plunged into the black liquid with the swiftness of lightning.
“Good luck, Sorcerer Ivan,” the masked sorcerer had been keeping an eye on his actions and, seeing his decisive move, couldn’t help expressing his approval.
As he spoke, he pulled out a scroll from his pocket, activating it; an ‘Insect Being’ appeared and directly Descended into the pond, promptly seating itself in the center.
Clearly, he too decided to chance his insect fate with this Insect Being.
‘What is this—-‘
Nearby, Ivan, catching a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, felt his pupils sharply contract.
The Insect Being was a living creature puppet, generally resembling the academy’s Shadow Ant servant, although the Shadow Ant servant was an element creature, while this living creature puppet was clearly made of flesh and blood.
Moreover, it was an insect-control wizard thoroughly transformed by insectification.
Ivan trusted his judgment that the Insect Being dropped into the pond was none other than an insect-control sorcerer, similar to himself, yet turned into a living creature puppet.
That was almost too hard to believe.
Suddenly, Ivan felt a new apprehension, regretting his earlier decisiveness. He glanced at the sorcerer not far away and then turned to look at the Silkworm Queen in the pond.
The masked man caught every change in his expression and just smiled indifferently, without bothering to explain anything.
“Nnngh.”
In the black liquid, the Silkworm Queen sensed the sorcerer’s unease, continuously making light, cheerful sounds to signal her well-being.
Hearing its noises, Ivan could only suppress his inner worries and quietly wait for events to unfold.
A small channel connected the corpse of the Black Scythe Lord and the stone pool, slowly bringing black liquid to the pool and massive amounts of energy, causing wisps of black smoke to begin emanating from the stone pool and drifting with the wind behind.
The Silkworm Queen had stopped making sounds, focusing all her attention on absorbing the energy within the black liquid.
In another stone pool, an Insect Being was also voraciously absorbing the energy around it, its greed for power clearly visible.
“Eat up, eat up, once you have the strength, you can resist,” the masked man chuckled as he watched the scene, murmuring softly.
As time ticked by, both creatures in the pools, absorbing the energy from the black liquid, displayed distinct manners; the Insect Being occasionally experienced partial mutations, such as growing bone spurs on its body or its eyes splitting into many.
The twisted appearance involuntarily made one anxious for it. Continue your story on empire
Compared to the Silkworm Queen, who swam around the stone pool, its body also underwent some changes, looking like a fat, overstuffed worm at one moment and then slimming down the next, its physique shriveled to normal by hunger.
“Sorcerer Ivan, would you mind answering a question for me as well?”
“Please ask.”
“If I’m not mistaken, your insect should be able to cultivate on its own, correct?”
“Sorcerer Solomon, you are correct; it practices a simple Insect Breathing Method, which is no big deal.”
As a sorcerer, Ivan also abided by the principle of equivalent exchange; since the other party had shared quite a bit of information with him, he reciprocated by answering truthfully.
“I see, that’s not a simple matter at all; I understand now why you could make it here, impressive,” the masked sorcerer complimented generously after hearing the answer.
At this, Ivan could neither confirm nor deny.
“Additionally, let me add that this puppet was not made by me.” After pausing for a few seconds, the masked man added.
Ivan nodded slightly, not saying much more, the apprehension in his mind clearly not so easily dispelled.
Behind them, in many places, insects were hatching, fed by the black smoke, their bodies suddenly swelling, becoming enormous and bizarre.
The newly formed insects broke the common boundaries of creatures; centipedes, cockroaches, dragonflies, grasshoppers, fleas, ants, earthworms, and mole crickets, various creature characteristics arbitrarily melded together, boldly appeared in the secret realm.
These insects, each over ten meters in length, without exception, displayed a fierce appearance.
Like normal insects, they too felt the allure coming from not too far away, and the first thing they did after taking shape was to rush towards the depths of the secret realm to seize something immensely tempting to them.
“Sorcerer Ivan, another reminder for you, don’t let them enter the pool you’re guarding, or their aura might clash with your insect luck, and that would be unfortunate,” the masked man warned.
“Thank you.”
Ivan, followed by the Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly, turned around only to see one enormous insect after another, coupled with more reviving, creating an almost overwhelmingly adversarial sight.
He could guess that quite a few sorcerers, upon noticing the anomaly in the secret realm, were probably hurrying towards this location, likely heralding yet another troublesome affair.
It seems, it was time to stretch his limbs once more, careful not to disturb the Silkworm Queen’s transformation.