Die threw her first strike, displaying impressive cultivation and strength. Three blasts of piercing force shot out, accompanied by three soft pops, as the three fat demon beasts charging toward them were split cleanly in two. Pale yellow fluid sprayed through the air, which instantly filled with a nauseating stench.
More demon bugs swarmed in, their mouthparts spewing out globules of highly corrosive venom. Die moved with agile grace, dodging deftly so as not to let the venom touch her body. Whenever an opening appeared, she unleashed formidable Shamanic Arts, slaying the demon bugs by the dozens.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai charged headlong into the horde of demon bugs. His fists opened and closed with devastating force, his fighting style as bold and fearless as that of a true Barbarian warrior — a stark contrast to Die's elegance, yet no less lethal in its pace of slaughter. Even so, not a speck of dust clung to him, every droplet of venom and slime spraying toward him deflected by his shield of Shamanic Arts.
In less than half a shi-chen, the nest of demon bugs had been completely cleared.
The two of them said nothing, simply beginning to search through the corpses for inner cores.
But once he had collected the cores, Yang Kai noticed that these demon bug cores were somewhat shriveled. Unlike the inner cores of beasts in the outside world, which were round and plump, these were all misshapen — not only small in size, but the energy contained within was pitifully meager.
That was probably the result of the environment here.
These demon bugs lived by parasitizing the Eternal Green Divine Tree, drawing upon its energy to survive. They could grow quickly, but their foundations were nothing like those of the outside world's demon beasts, and consequently their inner cores were of inferior quality.
Still, it didn't matter. There were plenty of them. If quality was lacking, then quantity would make up for it. Ever since arriving in this ancient world, Yang Kai's appetite had been enormous. He had refined and consumed no fewer than eight hundred demon beast inner cores, possibly closer to a thousand. As long as it could help him rapidly advance to the rank of Shaman, he wouldn't let a single one slip by.
After all the cores had been collected, Die looked up and said, "Grandpa Green, next spot."
The moment her words fell, a rift suddenly split open in the ground beneath them, leading straight to the next demon bug nest.
They moved through location after location. With Yang Kai and Die fighting side by side, the demon bugs stood no chance and were exterminated to the last. Yang Kai suddenly realized something: "Since Elder Green can sense these demon bugs' presence, why doesn't he eliminate them himself? Why does he need to rely on others?"
He hadn't experienced much of Green's power firsthand, but he could make some guesses. The bugs parasitizing his body weren't anything truly formidable — at the end of the day, they were a minor ailment. If he were truly motivated, he could have resolved the matter easily on his own. Yet he had been consistently asking Die for help.
Die replied, "Grandpa Green never kills living things."
Yang Kai's mouth twitched. He found himself at a loss for words.
Though he couldn't fully agree with Green's philosophy, considering that this was a Protective Tree, he could at least understand the sentiment.
He said nothing more and focused with Die on clearing out the demon bugs within the tree.
Three whole days passed. Yang Kai and Die had lost count of how many demon bug nests they had cycled through. The quality of the inner cores they'd collected remained poor, but the quantity was virtually limitless.
After three continuous days of battle, Die was slightly out of breath, while Yang Kai was still brimming with vitality — a fact that left Die genuinely stunned.
"That should be enough. You two little ones, come back," Green's voice suddenly rang in their ears.
At the same time, a passage appeared before them without warning. At its far end, a faint light was visible.
Yang Kai and Die exchanged a glance, then stepped into the passage.
Before long, they returned to Yang Kai's tree hollow. Green was still standing there, watching Yang Kai with a smile. "Thank you, young man."
"Helping others is its own reward. No need for thanks, Elder." Yang Kai grinned widely, clutching his bundle of inner cores with obvious delight.
With these inner cores, advancing to the rank of Shaman shouldn't be much of a problem.
Meanwhile, Die spoke with an apologetic tone, "Grandpa Green, once I'm a little stronger, I'll definitely help you drive out that Insect King!"
Yang Kai's eyes widened. "There's an Insect King?"
Die said, "Why else do you think those bugs never seem to run out? Every time Grandpa Green wakes up, I go through and exterminate them. But the next time I return, there are still plenty of bugs."
"You should have said so earlier, Elder." Yang Kai immediately set down his bundle and said eagerly, "Open a passage — I'll go take a crack at that Insect King!"
Die stared at him as though he'd lost his mind.
Green smiled gently. "You're not strong enough. It isn't your opponent yet, not in your current state."
Die added, "That thing is on par with a Shaman King. Be careful it doesn't just swallow you whole in a single bite."
Yang Kai had never directly experienced the strength of a Shaman King. The hierarchy of power in this world differed greatly from the later ages, but in this ancient era, a Shaman King was already a figure who dominated an entire region — equivalent in the cultivation system of later times to the Emperor Realm!
Someone like Die was probably around the Dao Origin Realm.
After being teased by Die, Yang Kai was about to retort when Green spoke: "You have a visitor. She's been waiting for you for two days. You should go see her first."
Yang Kai frowned and poked his head out of the hollow entrance, peering downward. A familiar figure was pacing anxiously below.
Yu!