199: Chapter 199: Hua Zi

The roar of the Insectoid Demon Venerable shook Li Changsheng's eardrums until they hurt.

At this moment, the green venom from the Insect Venerable's mouth splashed everywhere as if it cost nothing.

Everywhere it passed, the ground was corroded into deep pits emitting white smoke.

Its six legs clawed frantically at the ground, sending dirt and gravel flying to pelt Li Changsheng's body.

"Fuck!"

Li Changsheng felt the pain and immediately struggled to crawl up from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The toxins in his left arm were spreading; black lines had already reached his shoulder, and his entire arm burned with pain.

Li Changsheng immediately swallowed two Medicinal Pills, then used Clear Qi to seal the Meridians in his left arm, temporarily stopping the toxins from spreading further.

"Damn it, I've really overplayed my hand this time."

He cursed under his breath, flashing away to dodge another pounce from the Insectoid Demon Venerable.

"I have no choice but to use my trump cards."

Li Changsheng's tone carried a hint of heartache; these were all things he had managed to save up with great difficulty.

He couldn't help it; he was used to being poor.

But at this moment, he couldn't care about that. Li Changsheng immediately took a jade Talisman from his robe and crushed it.

The jade Talisman instantly transformed into a golden light shield, enveloping him within.

This was a life-saving Magic Treasure he had brought out from his Sect.

The Great Jade Vajra Shield Talisman could withstand a full-strength strike from the Peak Soul Transformation Stage.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable slammed a claw against the shield, causing it to vibrate violently and develop several cracks.

Li Changsheng's expression changed; this thing could only block one attack, and once it broke, it was gone.

Before the shield could shatter, he hurriedly took out another jade Talisman from his robe.

This was one of the Legacies he had obtained from the ruins of the Ancient Battlefield.

The Ground Shrinking Talisman could teleport him a hundred feet away in an instant.

The moment the shield shattered, he crushed the Ground Shrinking Talisman, and his figure flashed, appearing a hundred feet away.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable's pounce hit nothing, making it even more furious.

It beat its wings and took flight, circling once in the air before diving down at Li Changsheng again.

Its speed was as fast as a bolt of purple lightning.

Li Changsheng took out a small flag from his robe again.

This was another Magic Treasure he had obtained in the ruins, capable of instantly setting up a defensive Formation.

He planted the Five Elements Flags into the ground and injected spiritual energy.

The five small flags lit up with five-colored light, forming a pentagonal shield that protected him in the center.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable crashed into the shield, which vibrated violently, but this time it did not break.

Li Changsheng called out frantically to Xiao Ran through their Soul Link.

"Xiao Ran! Where the fuck are you? I can't hold on much longer! This big bug has gone crazy!"

Xiao Ran's voice came through, sounding breathless.

"Almost there! I'll be there in a second! Just hold on a little longer!"

Li Changsheng cursed, "Hold on my ass! My life-saving Magic Treasures are almost all gone! If you don't come soon, you'll just be collecting my corpse!"

Xiao Ran: "Hold on! I've thought of a way to deal with the big bug!"

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up: "What way?"

Xiao Ran spoke quickly: "I need you to continue acting as bait to draw its attention. I'll launch a sneak attack from the side, and we'll attack its weakness together."

Li Changsheng gritted his teeth: "Are you sure it'll work?"

Xiao Ran: "Do you have any other choice?"

Li Changsheng fell silent.

There truly was no other way.

He had already consumed a tenth of his life-saving Magic Treasures, and it pained him to the core.

So now he could only listen to Xiao Ran.

"Fine, I'll be the bait. Hurry up!"

Li Changsheng took a deep breath, put away the Five Elements Flags, and charged out from the shield.

Seeing him emerge from the shield, the Insectoid Demon Venerable immediately pounced.

Its mouthparts opened, spitting out a stream of venom directly at Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng dodged and continued running in another direction.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable pursued relentlessly, its six legs digging into the ground with incredible speed.

As Li Changsheng ran, he pulled out various Talismans from his robe and tossed them behind him.

Fireball Talismans, Ice Spike Talismans, Lightning Strike Talismans... all sorts of Talismans exploded on the Insectoid Demon Venerable, but the effect was negligible.

Its carapace was too hard; these low-level Talismans couldn't hurt it at all and could only temporarily hinder its pursuit.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable was enraged; it stopped spitting venom and instead tried to ram him with its body.

Its body was like a small mountain; when it charged, Li Changsheng felt the ground shaking.

Fortunately, he dodged in time, or he would have been finished.

"Xiao Ran! Are you ready yet!"

Li Changsheng urged frantically.

Xiao Ran's voice came through: "Almost! Just ten more breaths!"

Li Changsheng gritted his teeth and took a blood-colored Medicinal Pill from his robe, stuffing it into his mouth.

As the pill entered his stomach, a violent power exploded within his body.

His aura surged instantly, and Clear Qi swirled around him, forming a massive vortex.

"Come on! You beast!"

Li Changsheng roared, charging toward the Insectoid Demon Venerable instead of retreating.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable was puzzled; was this human looking for death?

So it immediately pounced as well.

At that moment.

Xiao Ran's voice rang out in the Soul Link: "Now!"

Hearing this, Li Changsheng immediately mobilized the Clear Qi in his body to condense a ten-foot-long sword of Clear Qi in his hand.

Runes flowed over the blade, emitting a blinding light.

Seeing Li Changsheng charge, the Insectoid Demon Venerable instinctively opened its mouthparts to spit venom.

Right then, a gray shadow burst out from the side.

It was Xiao Ran.

His eyes were filled with killing intent.

The ten thousand poison bead hovered in his palm, its grayish-black vortex spinning frantically.

He injected all his remaining spiritual energy into the ten thousand poison bead, which erupted with blinding light.

A massive cloud of poisonous mist gushed out, transforming into a poison dragon that lunged at the base of the Insectoid Demon Venerable's mouthparts.

This scene unfolded extremely quickly.

By the time the Insect Venerable reacted, the poison dragon had already crashed into its body, instantly corroding a small hole.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable shrieked in pain, struggling frantically.

Li Changsheng seized the opportunity to thrust his sword of Clear Qi into that small hole.

The sword tip pierced through soft flesh and went straight into the Insectoid Demon Venerable's head.

The Insectoid Demon Venerable let out a shrill, miserable scream, its body twitching violently, six legs kicking wildly, and mouthparts snapping at random.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng immediately retreated to create distance.

After a short while, the strength of the Insectoid Demon Venerable's struggles gradually weakened.

Finally, it stopped moving altogether.

With the Insect Venerable dead, the surrounding Yao Beasts instantly lost their leader and began to scatter and flee.

The beast tide was also resolved.

Xiao Ran lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Li Changsheng also lay on the ground, his chest heaving violently.

His left arm had completely lost sensation, as the toxins had already spread to his shoulder.

The two of them lay on the ground, looking up at the murky sky.

A long time passed.

Li Changsheng spoke, his voice as raspy as sandpaper rubbing against wood.

"You fucking... took way too long."

Xiao Ran felt guilty, knowing his own happiness had been exchanged for his good buddy's hard work.

So he immediately pulled out two cigarettes from his robe.

These were 'Huazi' he had exchanged from the System shop.

He handed one to Li Changsheng and bit down on one himself.

"Here, have a smoke and calm down."

Li Changsheng looked at the cigarette in his hand and fell silent for a moment.

Then he took the cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Xiao Ran snapped his fingers, and a flicker of flame ignited at his fingertip, lighting both their cigarettes.

Wisps of smoke rose into the air.