"Brother Qiu, should we make our move? It looks like there's only one person down there." The fierce-looking man's voice carried a hint of nervousness.
The pockmarked old man stared downward, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. He did not reply immediately.
But when he watched the blue-robed young man produce a black bowl and begin extracting the soul of the Glass Beast, his expression changed drastically, and a flash of dread appeared in his eyes.
"This person is a bit odd. Why don't we forget it? There's no need to provoke someone whose background we know nothing about." The cultivator surnamed Min was taken aback by the old man's reaction and furrowed his brow, probing cautiously.
The three of them had managed to survive and thrive in the Outer Star Sea for so long precisely because each of them was extraordinarily cautious.
The scene before them now was simply too bizarre for words. It had already planted the seeds of retreat in Min's mind!
"Forget it? This isn't a question of whether we attack or not anymore. It's whether we can even leave here alive."
The pockmarked old man's gaze flickered uncertainly for a long moment before he let out a bitter laugh and spoke a cryptic sentence.
The words stunned both the fierce man and Min.
They knew the old man's temperament well and understood he would never say something like this without good reason. A look of surprise soon crept onto their faces.
"Have you two failed to notice that this person bears a striking resemblance to a certain demon who's been making waves lately?" The pockmarked old man pressed his lips together and murmured in a hoarse voice.
"A demon? Could you mean—"
"What, it's that man!"
The two on either side first froze, then immediately cried out in alarm.
Their faces were already filled with horror.
"I'm quite certain. Look at him — young in age, able to unleash multiple flying swords, and the sword-light is cyan. It all matches the rumors perfectly!" the pockmarked old man murmured cautiously, as though he were reasoning it out for himself.
"But isn't that man famous for commanding a swarm of insects? The one here hasn't used any insect techniques from beginning to end. Could it just be a coincidence?" The fierce man's face had gone pale, and his voice trembled slightly, as if the person the old man had just mentioned was some inconceivably terrifying existence.
"Brother Qiu is probably right. That demon typically shows only early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, and he also has a habit of extracting the essence souls of spirit beasts. As for why he didn't release any flying insects just now, he probably felt there was no need!" Min's sallow complexion was trending toward green, and even his voice-transmission had shrunk involuntarily in volume.
"Then you're saying this guy really could be that 'Insect Demon' from the rumors? Then shouldn't we leave immediately? If we run into this demon, none of us will walk away alive!" The big man's face was full of panic.
"Don't panic. If this truly is that Insect Demon, when we arrived he was focused entirely on the Glass Beast. That's why he didn't detect us. Now that he's already killed the beast, if we act rashly, we might reveal our position instead." The pockmarked old man still managed to maintain a measure of composure, speaking calmly.
Hearing this, the other two exchanged a glance, realized the logic, and dared not act rashly.
But the man surnamed Xuan, after watching the young man performing the soul extraction from afar for a while, suddenly seemed to recall something. A doubtful look appeared on his face as he lowered his voice:
"I've heard that four years ago, the Insect Demon got into a confrontation with a group of cultivators over a seventh-grade spirit beast. He single-handedly wiped out seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators — only one at late-stage Foundation Establishment managed to escape. Are all these rumors actually true?"
"They should be! The cultivator who escaped with his life was an expert from the Azure Cloud Sect. The ones who were killed along with him were all his fellow sect members. That single battle cost the Azure Cloud Sect — one of the five great powers of Qiyuan Island — nearly a third of their manpower. Their strength plummeted overnight. The Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Elder, 'True Master Miaohe,' was so furious he nearly exploded! He went out to sea alone multiple times to hunt down the Insect Demon, but every time he came back empty-handed. In fact, many people speculate that even if True Master Miaohe actually found the Insect Demon, he might not necessarily be able to do anything about him. After all, if the man possesses such power, he could very well be a newly emerged Nascent Soul expert. I've also heard that the other powers on Qiyuan Island are keeping tabs on this Insect Demon, apparently eager to recruit him." After swallowing several times, Min explained in a low voice.
"Nascent Soul? Not necessarily. I've heard a different theory — supposedly the Insect Demon's own cultivation isn't all that impressive. The only reason he's so powerful is because of that horde of bizarre insects he commands. Apparently, in that battle, he didn't even use any other magical treasures. He simply released countless flying insects and they devoured all those Foundation Establishment cultivators alive. He didn't even lift a finger. That's how he earned the title 'Insect Demon.'" The pockmarked old man was silent for a moment, then shook his head in disagreement.
"But Brother Qiu, you just saw it yourself. This person here didn't use any insects at all — he killed that Glass Beast with a single sword strike. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator might not be able to do that. He's clearly a Nascent Soul monster disguised as someone else!" Min still clung to his own theory.
The pockmarked old man looked unconvinced and was about to say something more when the fierce man at the side cut in helplessly.
"Two Fellow Daoists, whether this Insect Demon is a Nascent Soul cultivator or not makes no difference to us. The fact that he could eliminate us without breaking a sweat — that part is absolutely true. What worries me is his reputation. I've heard that practically every cultivator who's encountered this Insect Demon has ended up being fed to his insects. Over the years, he's claimed well over a hundred victims. In the last two years alone, this demon has become someone whose very name makes people tremble."
Hearing the fierce man's words, Min's expression grew even uglier. He gazed down at the blue-robed young man and let out a long breath:
"The Insect Demon is ruthless, vicious, and murders without batting an eye — that much is probably true. Many of the cultivator murders and treasure thefts in recent years have had witnesses who identified this demon as the culprit! And here we are, having delivered ourselves right to his doorstep." His words were already brimming with regret.