Yang Kai frowned, his thoughts rapidly spinning, looking for a countermeasure.
He had never imagined this insect king would actually be so strange, even his Yuan Qi could be swallowed.
After only a moment, the Yuan Qi stored in the Star Chart Space had decreased significantly, and would soon be empty. Yang Kai helplessly watched as several months' worth of accumulation for his Star Mark was turned into a meal for the insect king before he even had a chance to use it.
In order to stop the insect king from completely draining his stored Yuan Qi and then consuming his flesh and blood, Yang Kai quickly circulated his True Yang Secret Art, pouring the True Yang Yuan Qi from his meridians into the Star Chart Space.
The insect king continued to happily swallow everything he poured in.
Although this method was only a temporary solution, it would still buy him some time. Time Yang Kai could use to think about countermeasures. After thinking for a long time he thought if you want to eat I will let you eat enough. Yang Kai answered concisely, and then focused on channeling energy into the Star Chart Space.
As time passed, the insect king gradually became aware of a problem.
It had already developed some basic spirituality, or else it would not be able to command its henchmen to hunt down and capture prey for it. In the past, when it acquired its victims, the first thing it would do was swallow the various energies stored within them, after swallowing that clean, it would move on to the flesh and blood.
But this time something was different, this new prey's energy was actually like a steady stream, not showing any signs of depletion. Although in the beginning it was extremely happy, having an unlimited supply of food, but after a while, its body began to bloat up.
Unable to swallow any more, the energy still kept pouring in, rushing towards its body. It suddenly became restless, scurrying about within the Star Chart Space.
But after coming in so easily, how could it be so simple to leave?
Yang Kai was prepared, knowing how fast it was, once it was free it would be difficult to catch, naturally he couldn't let it escape, so he kept pouring energy into the Star Chart Space non-stop, sealing the one entrance so that it couldn't leave.
Yang Kai's True Yang Secret Art was pushed to the limit, his dantian's Yang Liquid was also more than half drained, all of it poured into the Star Chart Space, and was subsequently swallowed clean by the insect king.
A buzzing sound came from the back of his hand; obviously the insect king wanted to escape.
Suddenly showing a grin filled with ruthlessness, Yang Kai exploded a few drops of Yang Liquid, gathered it together with the Yuan Qi extracted from the Golden Skeleton, and then forced it all into the Star Chart Space.
Yang Kai had long since turned bright red, his whole body emitting steam, like it had been baked under a burning sun, his skin dripping blood here and there. As time passed, and the Insect King was forced to swallow more and more energy, the back of his hand was hot. Having been forced to channel so much Yuan Qi, Yang Kai had also suffered some injury. Observing it now, the originally hidden star chart was now radiating light; an endless stream of glowing stars was burned into his eyes. The air began to fill with a burnt taste since due to him having poured in too much True Yang Yuan Qi, his hand had been burned.
Despite this, Yang Kai insisted, still channeling in Yuan Qi. The huge Yuan Qi not only burdened the Insect King, forcing it to consume too much, the Insect King also wanted to flee, but he did not give it any chance.
[Star Mark!] Yang Kai loudly roared, slowly raising his right fist. Endless star images scattered about the sky, this gloomy cave suddenly resembling a bright starry night.
A loud noise burst out, the whole insect cave violently trembled, and blood sprayed out from Yang Kai.
There was no trace of the Star Mark martial skill materializing, Yang Kai spat out a few mouthfuls of blood, his face pale, panting heavily, he turned his eyes to his right hand to see.
The back of his hand was bloodied, and even the white of his bones was vaguely visible, but after carefully checking, Yang Kai suddenly laughed.
The Insect King was dead, the breath from its body completely dissipated.
After being bloated with so much energy, and then finally eating a full powered Star Mark, if it had survived it would be a miracle. Not admiring was impossible; after all, Yang Kai's Star Mark was not directed at an external target, but instead exploded in the back of his hand.
If there had been the slightest miscalculation, Yang Kai would have died!
Fortunately, Yang Kai's control was superb. Most of the explosion was channeled to the Insect King, while his body had only borne a little bit of it.
Being so decisive with his own life, this was not something an average person could do. He ripped his clothes, wrapping the injury on his right hand and closed his eyes.
Star Mark was an extremely powerful martial skill, allowing Yang Kai to knock a sixth-order Monster Beast to the ground. Now, even if he had only taken a fraction of its power, it was not something his Separation and Reunion Boundary Stage cultivation could handle.
Right hand in excruciating pain, Yuan Qi in disarray, five viscera and six organs all shifted and damaged. The only thing that gave Yang Kai some relief was that although the back of his hand was a bloody mess, the Star Chart Space still existed, meaning there was no worry about being unable to use Star Mark. And then his Immortal power began to act and began healing him.
-----------------------------
Yang Kai sat quietly in the insect king's lair, his body weary but mending after the fierce battle. The cavern was still, the oppressive hum of the swarm silenced with their king's defeat. His right hand, bandaged in torn cloth, ached faintly, but he had no tasks to occupy him during this healing period—just time to think. And think he did.
Such a monster, killed so decisively, yet it left nothing behind? Yang Kai frowned, skepticism gnawing at him. He refused to accept it. Hurriedly, he turned his focus inward, examining his body once more with meticulous care.
After a long, painstaking search, he found it—a faint, unusual ray of energy nestled in his dantian. It wasn't his cultivated True Yang Yuan Qi, nor had it been claimed by the Golden Body. It simply lingered there, alien and mysterious.
"What is this? The Insect King's residual energy?" Yang Kai mused, his curiosity ignited.
He turned to the memories he'd gained from slaying the old demon, sifting through fragmented knowledge for answers. At first, nothing matched this anomaly—these were the old demon's memories, not his own, and they didn't surface unless he deliberately sought them out. Digging deeper, a faint recollection stirred, buried in the old demon's ancient lore.
"A Heaven Devouring Insect!"
The name emerged with clarity, accompanied by a vivid description: This ancient insect can swallow anything, especially favoring energy and flesh. Within every Heaven Devouring Insect's body lies an opportunity—refine it, and one might reap great rewards: a supreme secret art, a mighty martial skill, a powerful artifact, or even a hidden strength within one's own body. Thousands of possibilities, dependent entirely on luck.
Yang Kai's breath quickened. So that's what it was. The insect king wasn't just a beast—it was a gamble, a potential treasure trove. If I refine this energy, I'll know if it's truly as amazing as the legends claim.
This was the description that he found in the memories of the old demon.
Since it can be refined, after refining it, I will know if it is truly so amazing or not.
Once again closing his eyes, Yang Kai tried to form a link between himself and the strange energy trace in his dantian, running the True Yang Secret Art, using his hot True Yang Yuan Qi to refine it.
One day, two days, day after day, constantly refining. Eventually, that trace of energy slowly showed a change; in the beginning, it conflicted with Yang Kai. After all, it was something that formerly belonged to the Insect King, not him.
But after continuously refining it, it gradually absorbed Yang Kai's energy, and finally one day, it suddenly divided into two and uncontrollably flooded into Yang Kai's body.
The pain came quickly and left just as fast, not giving Yang Kai any time to react.
After carefully checking his own strength, he discovered he was still the same cultivation as earlier.
"Pft, legends are there to deceive people!" Yang Kai snorted.
-----------
"But is it truely like that??"