Chapter Thirty-Six: The Golden Body of the Cicada Carries the Weight of Years

  The endless years, like a great wave flowing away, the vast and desolate surface with gentle breeze and light clouds, yet in the eyes of the great masters, there is an invisible smoke lingering.

  Ten thousand years ago, the battle of Qilin Cliff shocked Honghuang, and the great name of Zulong was known to all living beings in Honghuang, leaving behind the magnificent feat of "Dragon Court appears, Heaven's Way changes", which can be said to have no predecessors.

  This magnificent feat not only allowed Zu Long to ascend to the throne of the strongest in Hongyuan, but also made the Dragon Heavenly Court's power unprecedented and unmatched for a time.

  What's more, this grand move left many ambitious great cultivators with the notion that "the Way of Heaven can be changed". This notion is extremely frightening, and the great cultivators have emerged from their caves, no longer focusing on cultivating in seclusion, but instead entering the Primordial Chaos to search for the legacy of the Chaotic Demon God, hoping to obtain its inheritance and become like the Ancestral Dragon, cultivating the Chaotic Demon God's Great Dao principles, establishing their own power, and joining the struggle in the Primordial Chaos.

  The emergence of Da Shentong also led to more struggles in the Hongyuan, although all parties had some restraint, but also added many sources of conflict.

  No matter the changes in the vast wilderness, in a certain place in the southern wilderness, large tracts of barren land were corroded by toxic decay, with demonic energy surging everywhere, and black forests and black viscous rivers and lakes were all around, like a dead land.

  Bai Man Mountain, the southern wilderness, a great land of demonic caves, where hundreds of poisons converge, where the evil energy and murderous energy of the earth gather, forming strips of toxic veins, gathering all kinds of poisonous insects and demons, with extremely fierce and sinister energies.

  Ten thousand years ago, there were vast expanses of green wilderness forests, crystal-clear mountain streams and waterfalls visible everywhere, eagles flying high, and great demons frolicking. Now, apart from the rolling black forests filled with evil energy, and the rugged mountains corroded by the poisonous demonic energy, there are only swarms of golden insects dancing in the air.

  What is astonishing and unbelievable, however, is that amidst the desolate land, a vigorous vitality is being nurtured, an air of carefree wandering that seems to contain infinite possibilities envelops a great mountain in the midst of this barren land.

  The great mountain is eight million feet high, with pieces of divine wood thriving and flourishing. A stock of innate spiritual energy surges up and dances, sometimes like a crane flying and dancing, sometimes like a group of monkeys playing and frolicking.

  From a distance, only the waist of the big mountain can be seen, where groups of white apes are playing and practicing martial arts.

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! That group of insects is back again. This time they're led by the strongest Twelve-Winged Golden Bodied Cicada. They've already chewed a hole in our formation!" A white-armed gibbon rushed in and exclaimed.

  "Don't be afraid, young masters! A great expert from thousands of years ago said that our clan's mountain protection formation is very powerful. The outermost layer is the Chaotic Sky Covering Formation, followed by the Chaotic Yuan Destroying God Formation and the Chaotic Five Elements Formation. Although the Chaotic Sky Covering Formation was broken by Pan Wang, the remaining formations are all defensive, not so easy to break! Just focus on brewing wine and cultivating the 'Great Dragon Xiang Huang's Nine Turns' mysterious skill!" A majestic white ape said.

  This white ape is actually White Qi, who was taught the "Great Dragon's Desolate God Nine Turns" by Huang Xiaoyou ten thousand years ago. After ten thousand years of cultivation, he has reached the fourth turn realm, comparable to a Daluo Golden Immortal. His physical body is incredibly powerful, and his combat strength is comparable to that of an initial quasi-saint.

  Ten thousand years ago, after Huang Xiaoyao closed his cultivation, he relied on his powerful physical body to gain the reputation of "White Ape Wasteland King".

  "But this time, a twelve-winged golden-bodied cicada has arrived, its physical body is extremely powerful. I don't know what the Pan Wang fed them, but they can actually gnaw at our yuanqi. Our mountain-protecting array has been destroyed in several places. If they come in, it'll be disastrous! Just look outside, after only a million years have passed, the vast Southern Wilderness has become a dead land. It's too terrifying!" said Tongbi Baiyuan.

  The other white apes also shuddered at the thought, and even the powerful Bai Qi felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the scene of being torn apart by the swarm.

  "Haha, don't worry, young masters. Even if they come in, I have a way to stop them. Look at this!" Bai Qi took down a golden circular hairpiece from his head.

  As soon as the golden hair tie appeared, it transformed into a golden light circle emitting an aura of mystery. A terrifying aura rose from the bottom of the white apes' hearts, as if it was something that could enslave them.

  "Great King, is this the spiritual treasure bestowed by that senior? It's terrifying, I feel like it can control my mind as soon as it falls into my hands." Tongbi Baixi was a spirit ape who grew up with Bai Qi and had seen much.

  "Not bad, this is called the Beast Taming Ring. Even divine beasts can be enslaved by it, let alone a low-intelligent Golden Body Cicada. You guys focus on your cultivation and don't bother with what's outside. We absolutely cannot disturb Master's closed-door training right now. Once Master comes out of seclusion, we'll go dig up that Pan Wang's two little peaches! Haha!" said Bai Qi.

  Bai Qi said, looking at the cave shrouded in mysterious aura, his heart was also uneasy, but he still remembered Huang Xiaoyao's orders from ten thousand years ago. In Bai Qi's mind, Huang Xiaoyao was like an elder to him. Without Huang Xiaoyao, perhaps he would have already become a pile of dung for the Golden Cicada. He absolutely could not let anyone disturb Huang Xiaoyao's seclusion.

  "Squeak squeak squeak! Scratch scratch scratch!"

  A series of grinding sounds arose, and all that could be seen was a group of golden insects crawling on a gray light circle, constantly gnawing at the light circle, some even searching for weak points to bite down.

  Their teeth were like golden swords, cutting through the gray light halo with ease, as if slicing tofu. These insects were none other than the Golden Body Cicadas, a kind of ancient divine insect whose origins had not been studied, seemingly existing since the dawn of time. They possessed the divine ability to merge with objects and refine their bodies, forging indestructible golden bodies that could defy heaven and earth, and even possessed a terrifying soul-devouring ability that made all living beings tremble with fear at the mere mention of it.

  For ten thousand years, they treated Nanhuang as a hunting ground, causing the creatures of Nanhuang to become extinct.

  "Zhi zhi zhi, Emperor of the Gods, why won't you let us leave the Southern Wilderness and devour more delicious food, higher-quality blood, and stronger, intact souls? Instead, we've been stuck here gnawing on this light halo for thousands of years. How boring!" asked a ten-winged golden-bodied cicada god.

  As there is human language for humans, so there is insect language for insects!

  "Squeak! Don't doubt the great decision of our revered master, I know you've all been starving for years. As long as we annihilate the Hall of Mountain Court before us and let our master obtain that person's soul, we can march into the Desolate Lands and feast on delicious souls and powerful metals to our heart's content! The Desolate Lands will be ours! They will be our master's!" said the Twelve-Winged Divine Cicada.

  Moreover, Tangting Mountain is famous for its divine wood and Xiantian Gengjin mineral veins in the southern wilderness, which are things they have been coveting for a long time.

  In the ancient divine insects, there are also strict levels, from two wings to twelve wings, with vastly different strengths and statuses, ranging from the weakest small soldier insect to the strongest insect emperor.

  "Hiss! Divine Emperor, you are so powerful. Over the years, we have devoured the souls of the Southern Wilderness' living beings, and our spiritual intelligence has been elevated to an unprecedented level. We have also found our own path of cultivation. Why do we still need to obey the Lord's orders?" The other ten-winged divine cicadas also had this question.

  "Hmph! This time, I can pretend I didn't hear that. You don't know the power of our master. With just one thought, he can make us die without a burial ground. Alright, focus on the task at hand. Our master has already found a weakness in this formation. The eight of you, Ten-Winged Divine Kings, each lead a team, and I'll lead one too. We'll be positioned in nine locations, simultaneously tearing apart the light circle with the Nine Palaces One Yuan method to break the formation!" said the Twelve-Winged Divine Cicada.

  This halo envelops the 90,000-zhang hall of the Mountain of Grandeur, which can be said to be enormous beyond compare. However, for the Divine Cicada, it is only a momentary distance. The nine stocks of insect tides flew over, as if they were nine golden lights, and disappeared in an instant.

  "Golden Cicada Divine Method, Pre-Heaven Golden Sword, Shatter the Law!"

  "Golden Cicada Divine Technique, Innate Soul Power, Devouring Souls!"

  "Golden Cicada Divine Technique, Primordial Golden Energy, Shatter the Origin!"

  Rumble! Nine strong auras formed a nine-palace array, the vast aura pressed towards the gray light circle, gradually closing in on the center, then an even stronger and more distant aura took shape, and a golden black light burst forth.

  That was a sword, a black-golden sword, a hundred-meter-long greatsword. The greatsword emitted intense sword energy, piercing the gray light circle.

  "Boom!" With a deafening roar, a rolling grey aura seemed to descend like dark clouds, the explosive energy tearing open a deep chasm in the desolate earth.

  The vast gas was even more so that countless weak and small gods were transformed into yuanqi, only the gods who had already practiced the indestructible golden body were spared.

  "Damn it! I didn't expect the origin of this formation to be so powerful. What a pity, our Golden Body Cicada clan has been thriving for countless eons and now we've lost so many in just one battle!" The Twelve-Winged Cicada said angrily.

  "Hah! Charge ahead, devour all living things, devour all metals!"

  A wave of golden insects flew into the Tangting Mountains, wanting to devour their long-coveted divine tree and the innate golden veins that could make them invincible. The white apes in the Tangting Mountains were extremely spiritual and had strong souls.

  Boom! A colorful light ring rose, blocking their way! The five-colored light ring was crisscrossed with five different auras. The golden one was like a sharp sword, with a strong killing intent. The yellow one was like a thick and continuous earth, connecting everything. The black one was like an eternal ocean, embracing all things. The red one was like a raging volcano, destroying everything. The green one was like a lush forest, creating life!

  Five Elements Five Qi, Chaotic Five Elements Formation! This formation was comprehended by Huang Xiaoyou when he bravely charged into the Great Wilderness Sacred Tower, using the Pre-Heavenly Five Elements Qi as its foundation to cast the Primordial One Qi. Its defense is incredibly powerful.

  "Haha, little bugs, work hard, grandpas are waiting here!"

  The divine cicadas were blocked outside the formation, and at a loss for what to do, they saw the white apes on the mountain of Tangting stop their cultivation, drinking fragrant ape wine, eating spiritual fruits with a lingering aura, and watching with relish.

  "Rustle, rustle, rustle!" The Golden Cicadas gritted their teeth.

  However, at this moment, the twelve-winged golden body cicada's eyes changed, becoming profound, mysterious and abstruse, like two black holes devouring people, filled with Taoist aura and undying soul breath.

  A dark and eerie voice emerged from the mouth of the Twelve-Winged Divine Cicada, as if an awakened demon god. "First, it was the Chaotic Heaven Concealing Array to mask your aura, then the Chaotic Yuan Exterminating God Array, and now the Chaotic Five Elements Array... You do have some tricks up your sleeve. I'm getting more and more curious about you. That unextinguishable aura of yours, which Chaos Demon God's reincarnation are you?"