I, a cultivator, have ended up in the world of tomb raiding.

Outside the building, countless poisonous insects swarmed, lingering and crawling on the hard cast iron surface.

The continuous, soft sounds of shells colliding and mouthparts gnawing echoed into the building, making one's teeth ache.

Most of these poisonous insects belong to the lineage of the six-winged centipede, or are the offshoots and demons it has been ruling for many years.

With the previous insect demon dead, the insect swarm in the mountains was leaderless. According to the nature of the evil insect demons underground, they would naturally fight for the throne again.

These kinds of evil insects and spirits are different from beasts and monsters; they belong to the Yin Sha Gu category of creatures and are born with a thirst for killing.

They usually devour each other, adding poison to poison.

The birth of a new king will not be through submission and obedience, but rather through following the natural order of things, engaging in mutual destruction and slaughter.

Only those who nourish themselves with the flesh and blood of their own kind, and who are the strongest survivors, can be revered as kings.

It sounds no different from raising Gu poison in folk practices, except that the life cycle of the Gu king is extremely long, often taking decades.

During this period, a large number of insects will die out, due to the ferocious instincts of these yin creatures.

Li Yue roughly understood that his earlier excessive manipulation of Yin energy had stirred up the entire Qi of the Dan Palace.

This is tantamount to sending a signal to all the dormant poisonous insects, prematurely triggering this battle of their own kind.

Unwittingly, this accelerated the fierce process of the swarm choosing its king.

With Li Yue's century-long experience in the cultivation world, he naturally understood the habits of all the demons and monsters in the heavens.

Although the scenery and things in this world are different, the greed of living beings and the instincts of yin creatures are largely the same.

Centipedes and venomous insects are almost indistinguishable in their ferocity.

It was precisely because he was wary and understood that the disturbance of Yin energy would inevitably lead to changes that he specially summoned the Angry Sun Rooster to stay by his side and protect him.

As the thought crossed his mind, he was secretly surprised that the building, constructed entirely of cast iron, was so defensively robust.

When he entered, he not only checked the interior security but also closed the doors and windows tightly.

The gaps are sealed tightly, isolating the inside from the outside, leaving no gaps whatsoever.

Seeing the unusually venomous insects writhing and unable to penetrate, he understood the intention of the craftsmen who built this pavilion.

Below the Dan Palace, all the buildings were cast from pig iron, presumably intended specifically to ward off the scourge of Yin insects.

Pig iron belongs to the metal element in the Five Elements theory, and metal can overcome evil spirits and insect poisons.

Moreover, its texture is cold and heavy, making it much better than rock brick walls for blocking pests.

In terms of insect-repellent properties, bronze is second only to cast iron.

In ancient times, emperors and nobles often used bronze to make their coffins.

Firstly, bronze is corrosion-resistant and can prevent snakes and insects from crawling or biting.

Its insect-repellent ability is moderate, stronger than wood and stone, but inferior to cast iron.

Secondly, the rare materials used highlight the distinguished status of the individual.

Since it is scarce, it is impossible to mine and cast it in large quantities.

Even for the emperor, it would be difficult to assemble four buildings and palaces.

Furthermore, centipede venom contains anionic acid, which, although difficult to corrode thick copper in a short time,

Even after years of soaking, the copper surface will still oxidize and develop green rust and decay.

Only the energy of raw iron and aged gold is the strongest, naturally restraining insidious poisons.

However, it is the best material for building insect-proof buildings in this area.

At this moment, the venomous insects outside the building became increasingly agitated.

They sensed a powerful surge of Yin energy within the building, understanding that it contained the ultimate source of Yin.

Once you burrow in and devour it, you'll gain the upper hand in the competition among the insect swarms.

This desire to seize the opportunity made countless poisonous insects even more ferocious, desperately gnawing at the outer walls of the iron building, attempting to break in and take its place.

In an instant, the sound of countless claws scratching at iron grew increasingly louder.

Gathering all the accumulated Yin energy, Li Yue stopped analyzing and focused his mind on suddenly attacking his cultivation barrier.

A thick, cold aura surged through his body, causing the yin energy that had been suppressed outside his body to gather and be washed away layer by layer.

In an instant, the shackles were broken, and his cultivation level smoothly stepped into the sixth level of Qi Refining.

However, the immense Yin energy did not stop there.

The surging Yin energy continued unabated, its momentum undiminished, flowing through the meridians and accumulating once more.

In just a few breaths, the barrier was broken again, and his realm rose once more, directly entering the seventh level of Qi Refining!

A chilling aura emanated from his body, spreading outwards and creating invisible waves of energy that swept around him.

The poisonous insects outside sensed the surge of yin energy inside and became increasingly agitated, their clawing at the wall growing louder and louder.

They were huddled together in the gaps between doors and windows, constantly spewing out poisonous saliva that corroded the iron rust.

This cast iron pavilion, having endured a century of damp erosion, is now rusted and mottled in its cracks, its structure already damaged.

As the poisonous insects continuously corroded and gnawed at the hard iron rust, it slowly melted away, and a tiny crack was actually drilled open.

Several green centipedes, each about three fingers long, scrambled into the building through the crack.

Their bodies twisted and slid, their limbs moving rapidly, following the dense yin energy.

Its bright green shell gleams with a cold light, its jaws open and close, and its tail spikes sway.

In the darkness, the centipedes' eyes seemed to glow with a sinister red light, revealing their bloodthirsty greed.

They are of shallow intelligence and cannot distinguish why the "demon" sitting quietly indoors looks so different from them.

All that is known is that the Yin energy here is abundant, and the "demon" that is currently absorbing and exhaling Yin energy is a great tonic.

In the simple understanding of insects, as long as they devour this Yin Source, their combat power will surge and they will gain the upper hand over the Insect King.

The tiny, rapidly moving feet quickly closed in and surrounded the area.

They are eager to launch an attack and start the first battle for the throne.

But when they were not far away, they suddenly saw two cold, golden eyes.

In the darkness, they resemble two glowing pieces of amber, captivating and mesmerizing.

The brightness and clarity in those eyes suddenly entered the perception of all the centipedes.

The Angry Rooster stood quietly beside Li Yue, its feathers folded and not spread, its body faintly exuding a pure yang pressure, separating it from the gradually fading yin energy around the futon.

That was the primordial aura of the naturally born phoenix species, suppressing all poisons—extremely yang and intense.

The Angry Rooster gazed down indifferently at the crawling insects below from its high perch.

The mere presence of yin insects and evil spirits instantly triggered an extreme fear deep within his instincts, causing his previous bloodthirsty excitement to freeze in an instant.

The insects froze, their jaws snapping shut, their previously restless posture completely stiffened.

The tiny insect creatures clearly felt the crushing power at the level of bloodline at this moment.

At the same time.

Chen Yulou led his band of thieves to assemble the centipede-shaped mountain ladder, then lowered it down, preparing to climb down the deep well.

The whereabouts of those poisonous insects were still unknown, but he was not completely careless and only brought a few skilled men with him.

Let Hong Guniang and the others stay above the well to provide support; if there is danger below, they can be pulled out.

He then warned the bandits who were with him to be very careful before grabbing the ladder and climbing down the mountain.

Partridge Whistle was at the very back.

After coming down, when they looked up and saw the huge ancient osmanthus tree with its towering branches and shady canopy covering the ground, everyone gasped in astonishment.

Immediately, someone with sharp eyes exclaimed in surprise, pointing to the surface of the tree trunk, where countless human face outlines were embedded in the bark.

All of them had sorrowful and distorted expressions, with lifelike features, and were densely attached to the tree trunks, making them extremely eerie.

Partridge Whistle looked slightly surprised, raised his hand and drew his short knife, took a step forward, and the sharp blade sliced ​​through the bark.

The moment the blade pierced through, a viscous, dark red sap seeped from inside the tree trunk.

Its color was murky, like human blood, accompanied by a putrid, fishy stench that wafted over, with a strange smell.

Dark red juice slowly flowed down the cut.

Wherever the sap flowed, the human-face outlines on the surrounding tree bark visibly dried and wrinkled rapidly.

The skin and flesh were sunken and withered, like a decaying corpse, giving it an indescribable eeriness.

One of the thieves felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but gasp, his fear evident in his voice.

Chen Yulou was looking around at the terrain when he heard a low shout behind him, and he was immediately displeased.

I felt I had truly disgraced the Xieling bandits.

His face darkened slightly, and he was about to speak sternly when a glance from the corner of his eye caused his expression to suddenly freeze.