Longevity starts with dual cultivation

Chapter 169: The Queen's Sorrow
On the side of Meteorite Abyss, the teams of cultivators from the nine major families withdrew with great reluctance.

The sudden disappearance of Wang Changan, or Ling Changqing, made these monks who were ready for a good fight lose their reason to take action.

The real culprit has already run away, so what's the point of fighting to the death?
Therefore, the Yu brothers, Yu Qingyang, Tang Yifeng and other leaders cursed at each other for a while, said some harsh words to each other, and then boarded the flying boat and left.

In the cabin of Tianzhou Tower.

"...Sister Lan, what should we do now?"

Yu Youqin, looking frustrated, asked Yu Yalan in a low voice.

It was not easy to meet Ling Changqing, and persuaded him to agree to marry his sister as his Taoist partner.

They thought there was hope for the future, but in the blink of an eye, this guy disappeared right under their noses.

It’s just...

Yu Yalan frowned and thought for a while before she said softly:
"I don't think the matter is that simple. Maybe he was...abducted by some force?"

This is also the unanimous opinion of various teams of cultivators. They all believe that certain people used shady means to kidnap Ling Changqing.

Therefore, Yu Qingyang and others had no choice but to go back to discuss with their elders.

Yu Youqin raised her eyebrows slightly and asked doubtfully:

"If that's the case, wouldn't the situation be even worse? It would be very difficult for him to escape, right?"

If Ling Changqing ran away secretly on his own, then there might be hope of meeting him again in the future.

But if he falls into the control of some powerful force, the other party will never give him any chance again, and it will be impossible for him to see the light of day again.

Yu Yalan sighed: "I also hope that the result will not be like this, but now... forget it, let's go back and talk about it first!"

Yu Youqin gently stroked the jade ring in her hand with her slender hand. This was Ling Changqing's personal item, so it naturally carried his scent.

"If we ask the ancestors of our clan to help, can we calculate his current location?"

Yu Youqin asked in a low voice.

Some advanced secret methods of deducing the secrets of the universe can be used to deduce information such as the other party's identity, origin, and location, as long as one has an object that the target has touched, or even just a wisp of breath as a medium for casting the spell.

If a great man who is well versed in the art of divination and numerology takes action, all the details and secrets of the target will be revealed at a glance, just like reading the lines on the palm of your hand.

Yu Yalan was slightly tempted, but after thinking about it, she shook her head and said:
"For others, this method may work, but Ling Changqing is a child of destiny. If we rashly make inferences, we may suffer the backlash of the heavens. Let's forget it!"

If the person is not found by then, the ancestor will suffer a loss, and it might even cause Ling Changqing's disgust. It will be a huge loss no matter how you look at it.

Yu Youqin thought about it and decided not to insist.

"Will we never see him again?"

She said with a melancholy look.

Yu Yalan sighed: "It's hard to say. Since he is willing to accept our things, it means he still has feelings for us. In the future... he should come to us, right?"

Thinking of the way that guy occasionally looked at herself and her sisters, Yu Yalan already understood that he was the kind of person with strong emotions and desires. To put it simply and bluntly: he's just an old pervert!
Therefore, Yu Yalan still has some hope for the future in her heart.

……

Deep in the mountain.

These caves are generally very large and connected to each other by tunnels. The stone walls and domes are covered with luminous red moss, making the environment not appear dim.

There are numerous stone pillars that are tens of feet high and several feet thick. Countless holes have been dug out on the stone walls and pillars, emitting a burning breath. These holes are the habitats of the Earth's core fireflies.

As outsiders broke in, these insects with a keen sense of smell crawled out of the holes one after another, flapping their wings and making sharp hissing sounds.

Occasionally, you can see some scattered spirit gold ores on the rugged ground, but their purity is average and their types are relatively rare and common, so they have little collection value.

In the central area of ​​the cave, Ling Changqing was killing people in all directions. With the sharp sword energy, the Earth Core Fireflies that rushed over were chopped into pieces in groups.

Behind him, the remnants of insect bodies burned to ashes by the spiritual flames could be seen everywhere.

However, as he went deeper, the Earth Core Fireflies that Ling Changqing encountered grew larger and larger, and their temperaments became more violent and ferocious, and the defenses of their bodies also increased significantly.

The Earth Core Fireflies that appeared before only had a faint red glow on their bodies. Now, as they gradually go deeper into the ground, the new Earth Core Fireflies that emerge are darker in color, and bright shadows of flames flash as they fly back and forth.

They were about 50% larger in size, had faster reaction times, and were able to use some rudimentary fire-based magical powers to attack, which doubled the pressure on Ling Changqing.

For this purpose, he had to release ten heavy armor puppets to help, and from time to time use water magic to suppress and interfere with the insect swarm's offensive, and only then did he manage to stabilize the situation.

A whirlwind of blazing flames swept out from the depths of the cave, bringing with it a large group of earth-core fireflies, piled up in layers, making people's scalps tingle.

Ling Changqing pinched his fingers and a frosty undercurrent vortex with a diameter of more than ten feet appeared out of thin air. It brought with it an inexplicable suction force, pulling all the surrounding Earth Core Fireflies over.

The sudden drop in temperature slowed down the insects' reaction speed a lot.

When these insects were gathered together for a short time, dark purple lightning struck down on their heads, and bright electric snakes twisted and jumped, causing endless howls.

After dozens of breaths, Ling Changqing, whose magic power was almost exhausted, finally stopped, and the dead insect bodies piled up on the ground like a mountain.

The remaining scattered fish that have escaped the net will be dealt with by the heavy armored puppets.

Ling Changqing secretly wiped a cold sweat. Fortunately, he had practiced the Langhuan Tianyuan Secret Book, and the total amount and purity of his magic power far exceeded that of ordinary geniuses, otherwise he would not be able to withstand such an attack.

An ordinary cultivator at the peak of the foundation building stage would not be able to hold out for long in the battle here, as he would become exhausted due to lack of mana.

Even so, Ling Changqing still had to take pills from time to time to restore his magic power and spirit, so as to ensure that he was always in peak condition.

After more than an hour, Ling Changqing finally cleared the cave and continued to go deeper into the underground world along the narrow tunnel.

The ten armored puppets are already covered with wounds. They can still fight, but they can't hold on for much longer.

"I feel like the cost of forcing our way in like this is a bit too much."

Ling Changqing pondered.

"Why don't we just use the same method we used last time? Just sneak into their lair, loot the items, and run away."

Gong Ling's voice sounded.

Last time at the top of the main peak of Luoying Mountain Range, Ling Changqing used this method to steal away three crystal beads without anyone noticing, leaving several cultivators who had fought for their lives with nothing to gain.

"Okay, it's settled!"

Ling Changqing agreed. He could afford the price of ten years of life now, and he would have a chance to recover in the future anyway.

Thus, in the sight of many Earth Core Fireflies in the distance, the figure of the foreign invader suddenly disappeared without a trace, even his breath.

These low-intelligence creatures made a commotion for a while, but after the scouts confirmed that the invaders had left, these vicious creatures finally quieted down.

Ling Changqing, in stealth mode, went deeper and deeper, easily passing through dozens of large-scale dungeons and thousands of insect tribes, heading deep into the underground.

According to certain records in the jade slips, when the Dragon Soul Valley training was opened in previous years, some cultivators had the chance to enter the deepest part of the Earth Core Fireflies' nest and reaped countless benefits.

As for how the other party did it, Ling Changqing was quite curious about it, but unfortunately the information was vague and glossed over it.

After passing through another magnificent cave, Ling Changqing found that the ground here was almost covered with insects, making it difficult to find a place to land.

Their bodies have become as big as buckets, the color of their bodies has turned dark red, the temperature is even higher, and the flickering flames are as solid as real objects.

For this reason, Ling Changqing could only keep himself in a suspended state and carefully avoid all the Earth Core Fireflies, so that he could continue to move forward.

After entering the next cave, Ling Changqing finally saw the figure of the Insect King.

It was a strange insect the size of a water tank, purple-red in color, with four pairs of translucent wings, and a hideous mouthpart that opened and closed from time to time. A large ball of fire was constantly flickering around it.

Ling Changqing hesitated for a moment, looked at the large number of fireflies guarding around it, and gave up the idea of ​​taking action.

Once the attack is made, the absolute invisibility state will disappear, and it will take another ten years of life to regain it.

Moreover, according to the description in the jade slip, this guy doesn't have much money on him, so there is no benefit in killing him.

The richest among the Earth Core Fireflies is of course the Supreme Queen. Its nest is a real treasure trove.

Ling Changqing quietly walked around several stone pillars and sneaked towards the tunnel behind.

As one gradually goes deeper underground, the temperature around them becomes higher and higher, gradually approaching the limit that a foundation-building cultivator can withstand.

Fortunately, Ling Changqing majored in high-level water-based martial arts and had several top-grade spiritual weapons on him, so he was able to deal with it easily.

After passing through another cave filled with high-temperature red crystals, Ling Changqing stopped for a while and roughly calculated his position, and found that he was already more than 2,000 feet away from the surface.

“…We’re still nearly halfway there!”

Ling Changqing muttered, fortunately there was no blocking attack from the swarm of insects, so it was not difficult to sneak all the way through.

If he really encountered any danger, it would not be a problem for him to escape with the help of Gong Ling. As he continued to go deeper, the earth core fireflies he saw along the way became more and more terrifying.

The individual strength of the insect swarms close to the ground does not reach the standard of a first-level ferocious beast, so Ling Changqing can easily kill a large group of them.

However, at this point, the strength of a single Earth Core Firefly has barely reached the threshold of a second-level monster. When they move in groups, they are definitely a nightmare for foundation-building cultivators.

Ling Changqing felt that with his own strength, it would not be a problem to deal with eight or ten insects in this place, but it would be very difficult if there were thirty or fifty of them at the same time.

If more than a hundred Earth Core Fireflies appeared at once, he would have no choice but to retreat to avoid their attack temporarily.

A moment later, Ling Changqing passed through a natural stone arch again, and the view in front of him suddenly opened up.

The ground within a radius of hundreds of miles was covered with red gravel and pebbles, and it was scorching hot.

A few miles away, a lava river hundreds of feet wide meandered by, emitting a low echo like thunder.

The sky above the river was filled with smoke and the pungent smell of sulfur lingered.

Bubbles of varying sizes were randomly generated on the surface of the magma, and soon exploded with a bang, with high-temperature magma splashing far away.

"Those herbs are good, you can pick them now, but be careful of the native beasts in the river that might attack you."

Gong Ling in the sea of ​​consciousness said.

Ling Changqing looked up and saw that on the bank of the lava river, he could occasionally find clusters of spiritual medicines shaped like orchids and glowing with a bright red light, and a faint fragrance filled the space.

These are all spiritual medicines and herbs with fire attributes, and most of them have reached the standard of upper-middle grade of the second grade, which is perfect for making medicines and pills.

Ling Changqing looked around. There were not many Earth Core Fireflies in the area near the lava river. It seemed that they were also afraid of some threats from the lava river?

He set his sights on a two-foot-tall Fire-Feathered Nine-Night Orchid and glided lightly across the empty river beach.

As the sword flashed, he had dug out the second-grade top-grade spiritual medicine with its roots and put it into his storage bag.

The next moment, Ling Changqing had left the river and retreated to the riverbank dozens of feet away.

On the rolling and boiling magma river, a huge head suddenly emerged, with a smooth body covered with fiery red scales and large flame shadows lingering around it.

It was a ferocious beast that looked like a giant lizard, with a half-foot long black horn on its forehead.

It blinked its narrow green vertical pupils and looked around in confusion, but found no clues.

After a long time, the big guy reluctantly shrank back, and his bloated body sank into the depths of the lava river.

At this time, Ling Changqing had already arrived in front of another cluster of amethyst lava flowers. He reached out his hand, dug them out with the roots, put them into the storage bag, and fled away.

As the magma surged, another giant lizard-like beast emerged with an angry roar.

Unfortunately, it looked around and found nothing.

In this way, Ling Changqing ran back and forth along the lava river, looting all the spiritual medicines and herbs he could find.

From time to time, angry beasts emerged from the magma, roaring and searching for the daring thief.

However, compared to Ling Changqing's speed, their reactions were still a little slow, and they always missed.

"Okay, let's go deeper!"

After putting the last elixir into his pocket, Ling Changqing flew over the lava river with a sense of unsatisfied desire and ran towards the huge cave group on the opposite side of the river bank.

He walked and stopped, avoiding the densely populated area of ​​the Earth's Core Fireflies, and gritted his teeth and kept moving forward despite the increasingly high temperature around him.

With Gong Ling's guidance, after several hours of trekking, Ling Changqing finally followed the correct path and found his way to the Queen Insect's nest.

This place is close to the lungs of the earth. There are numerous crisscrossing lava rivers, stone pillars hundreds of feet high, caves as grand and majestic as palaces, and groups of flaming balls suspended in the air.

The stone hall where the Queen of Insects lives is paved with translucent fiery red crystals. The temperature is oppressive, and from time to time, the Earth Core Fireflies that serve as servants and guards fly by with flapping wings.

Ling Changqing, in stealth mode, quietly sneaked into the hall, and hundreds of insect kings came into view. They were neatly distributed on both sides of the platform, just like civil and military officials paying homage to the king.

The throne of the Queen of Insects was on a high platform. It was a huge creature that was several feet long. The wings on its back had already degenerated and disappeared, and its dark blood-colored body was covered with light golden stripes.

Its throne shone with a magnificent halo of fantasy and its insect body was surrounded by piles of pale golden crystals, all of which were third-level and quasi-fourth-level spiritual gold materials.

Behind the platform, there are some unnamed magical herbs and medicines growing.

"The Queen's own combat power is nothing, but..."

Ling Changqing frowned and looked at the insect kings around him. Their killing power was not to be trifled with. Once they attacked in groups, he would not be able to withstand it at all.

Even if all the cards were played, the result seemed to be no different. After all, power beyond the foundation-building level could not be used in the Dragon Soul Valley.

"Is there anything you can do?"

Ling Changqing asked thoughtfully.

Gong Ling's voice sounded: "If we let one of these puppets out, we should be able to deal with them."

"But in Dragon Soul Valley, you can't use power beyond the foundation-building level. It's the combat power of the Golden Core Stage."

Ling Changqing frowned and said, even if it is just a disposable consumable, it cannot violate the rules of the Dragon Soul Valley.

"It's okay. All you have to do is prevent it from attacking and simply attract the insects' attention!"

Gong Ling explained.

"Makes sense."

Ling Changqing reacted and realized that even if this combat puppet could not fight back, its defense was still at the solid late Jindan level.

No matter how powerful the attack power of these insect kings is, it will take time to defeat them.

As long as they are attracted by the battle puppets, Ling Changqing can take advantage of the situation and take away all the good things here.

With a slight movement of his mind, the last of the twelve dark gold statues standing in front of the Jiyuan Star Palace hall quietly disappeared.

Soon, as a large amount of golden light emerged, a combat puppet about ten feet tall, wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, appeared in the center of the hall, holding a long spear in his hand.

Suddenly, the hall was like an explosion. With the sharp hissing of the Queen Insect, a large group of Insect Kings swarmed up and besieged the uninvited guest.

Ling Changqing, who was hiding in the dark, controlled the puppet with his divine consciousness, allowing it to break through the swarm of insects and move at high speed, but did not launch an attack.

Then a slightly funny scene appeared. The fighting puppet hid here and there in the hall with a trail of afterimages, attracting a large number of insects to chase after it.

Various sharp or hoarse screams came one after another, converging into a terrifying wave of sound in the hall, deafening.

Seeing that the battle puppet was about to be blocked, Ling Changqing decided to go all out and released another battle puppet to cooperate with it.

Now, the situation in the hall became more and more chaotic.

Ling Changqing himself took the opportunity to rush to the area behind the platform and packed up all the rare and precious medicinal herbs and took them away.

Then he rushed up to the platform again and got close to the Queen of Insects, almost unstoppable.

As the murder was approaching, the Queen of Insects on the throne seemed to sense something and raised her little head to look around, but unfortunately she saw nothing.

In the group of Earth Core Fireflies, the main function of the Queen is to reproduce offspring, and her own combat power is a mess.

Ling Changqing waved his hand and took out the mysterious jade book. As the pages turned, talismans lit up rapidly and were then all activated.

The next moment, dozens of blood-red thunders enveloped the platform area.

Amidst the shrill howls, the Queen Insect's little head was chopped off by Ling Changqing's sword, and then turned into ashes under the baptism of thunder. The bloated insect body was still twisting and struggling desperately.

At this moment, the insect kings in the hall finally woke up from their dream.

They roared with fear and anger, leaving the two fighting puppets behind and rushed towards the platform area like crazy.

However, it was too late. As Ling Changqing released a large-scale freezing spell, the temperature in the surrounding space dropped sharply, so that the speed of the insect kings slowed down significantly.

After kicking away the lifeless body of the Queen Insect, Ling Changqing put the entire throne into his storage bag, not even leaving out the precious spiritual gold materials scattered around it.

"Okay, let's leave now!"

Ling Changqing said nervously.

"As you wish, Master!"

Following Gong Ling's voice, Ling Changqing's figure disappeared from the spot, leaving the surrounding insect kings empty-handed.

When Ling Changqing's vision returned to normal, he found that he had returned to the ground.

(End of this chapter)