Gao Wu: I became the minor villain that the protagonist was about to destroy.

A faint layer of ice crystals appeared on one side of the Void Mantis's body. Under the sunlight, although the Void Mantis was still in a state of mimicry, its outline could already be seen.

With a flick of his wrist, Ji Wubai conjured three throwing knives, which he then hurled into three joints of the Void Mantis.

"Crack—!!"

The Void Mantis was hit by three throwing knives, and a wave of pain swept over its entire body. It roared to the sky and instantly exited its mimicry state.

Seeing this, Leng Ruoxue spun her longsword and thrust it fiercely towards the joint of the Void Mantis's neck. The longsword plunged into it, and she twisted her wrists to make the longsword spin.

With a "crack!" sound, the longsword pierced the monster's joints, separating the Void Mantis's head from its body.

Just when Leng Ruoxue thought the Void Mantis was dealt with, the scythes on either side of it suddenly closed. Fortunately, Ji Wubai reacted in time and pulled Leng Ruoxue away, allowing her to avoid the Void Mantis's final counterattack.

Leng Ruoxue looked terrified; if it weren't for Ji Wubai, she might have died here.

"Thank you so much..."

"It's alright, but this Void Mantis is really something else; even in death, it still manages to launch a counterattack."

"This is also my first time dealing with Void Mantis. I've never heard of Void Mantis having this characteristic before."

Immediately, Leng Ruoxue's longsword pierced the head of the Void Mantis, and a pale purple spirit crystal came into view.

"This is the spirit crystal inside the Void Mantis. The reason why the Void Mantis can be ranked in the top 100 of the Rare Monster Encyclopedia is not only because of its own spatial characteristics, but also because its core, which is the spirit crystal, has spatial attributes."

"Absorbing it has a chance to awaken the spatial properties. I see that you can sense space. Whether it's your inherent characteristics or your talent in that area, this spirit crystal will be of great use to you."

"You just saved me, so here's a spirit crystal for you."

"Oh...oh, thank you."

After seeing Ji Wubai accept the spirit crystal, Leng Ruoxue glanced around.

"The information here is incorrect. I don't know if the person who provided the clue did it intentionally or unintentionally."

"Let's go, we should leave here."

Just after the two left, a person appeared out of nowhere at the entrance of the village.

"I was so scared! I thought we'd been discovered."

The man looked at the Void Mantis's corpse on the ground and touched it with heartache.

"I'm sorry, little mantis, rest in peace."

Just as the man was about to collect the mantis's corpse, a voice came from behind him.

"So you're pretty brave, huh?"

Just as the man was about to turn around, a long sword was placed against his neck.

The man heard someone behind him approach, looked up, and saw that it was Ji Wubai.

"How...how is it you! Aren't you...?"

"We didn't leave, did we?"

"I just felt a human gaze, not a monster's gaze."

"Tell me! Who exactly are you?!"

"Hero, spare my life! Hero!"

"I...I'm just an ordinary person."

At this moment, Leng Ruoxue's cold voice rang out: "Ordinary people would raise Void Mantises and let them slaughter the entire Stone Village."

"Injustice... Injustice, heroine! I never made the little mantises do such a thing. When I came here, this stone village was already abandoned. I decided to raise them here because I saw that it was deserted and no one was here."

"I swear to God!"

Ji Wubai and Leng Ruoxue exchanged a glance. In this era of revival of psionic energy, as long as one dares to swear an oath to the heavens, then what the other party says must be true.

Leng Ruoxue said, "Show me your profile and let me see your name."

(This is to prevent the other party from swearing an oath under a false name.)

"Yes, heroine, I'll show you right away."

The only name displayed on the signboard was Bai Dafei, 28 years old.

"Swear it."

"Good heroine, good hero."

"I, Bai Dafei, swear here and now that if any of the words I just said are false, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"

"Well... that lady, I've already sworn an oath. So... could you please move your sword a little? My body is dirty, and it wouldn't be good if I got your sword dirty."

Seeing that the other party had sworn an oath, Leng Ruoxue put down her longsword, and Bai Dafei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ji Wubai asked, "You just said you're raising Void Mantises?"

"Hehe, this hero, not all of them are like that, there are all sorts of other things too."

"The Void Mantis is just one of them. My special ability is Mantis Taming, which increases the Mantis's affinity towards me. It's a kind of taming ability."

"I also keep other mantises, such as the Gale Mantis and the Wind-Listening Mantis."

"I just let them roam freely in these mountains."

Leng Ruoxue asked in confusion, "Then how did you conceal yourself?"

"Of course, we'll rely on Xiao Tang."

As he spoke, the man opened his palm, and a white praying mantis, only about 5 centimeters in size, appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Upon seeing the entirely white mantis, Ji Wubai exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! This is the first time I've ever seen a white mantis! Is it a type of Void Mantis?!"

"Of course, Xiao Tang is a variant of the Void Mantis. She can not only mimic herself, but also people, which is why I can hide myself."

This time, not only Ji Wubai was shocked, but Leng Ruoxue was also stunned by this ability.

Mimicry is an ability that allows one to remain undetected by enemies of a higher level than oneself, making it an extremely powerful survival ability among insect monsters.

If this mutated Void Mantis is used well, it can be said to be invincible at the same level.

"With such abilities, why do you live alone in this desolate place and complete the dungeon without taking any damage?"

Bai Dafei's expression turned somewhat dejected upon hearing this: "I...I want to too. I'm already 28 years old, and my cultivation level is still only at the 9th level of the Awakening Realm."

Leng Ruoxue frowned: "Your meridians are Grade F - Stagnant Meridian Type?"

"Yes...yes, it's an F-level meridian. While it's not impossible to cultivate, I only advance one stage almost every year."

"That shouldn't be the case. Even a stagnant pulse shouldn't be this slow unless you choose to push your limits at every stage."

"That's right. I know I'll never reach a higher level in this lifetime, so I slowly cultivate and pursue breakthroughs in the ultimate realm. This way, the mantis I raise can maintain its strongest state at every stage."

"However, my strongest mantis was also killed by the two of you. I feel I need to find a different place."