Legend of the Great Sage

air and ground to powder.
They immediately staved off the Soaring Locust King’s attack.

“Thanks.” Li Qingshan communicated mentally.

“Where is Xiao An?” Gu Yanying asked.

“I don’t know, probably still cultivating.
But we’re enough.” Li Qingshan shrugged.

At this moment, the Golden Cicada Spirit King looked over and nodded as if he was thanking them.

Li Qingshan waved his hand and decided to not dwell on the matter of the gift.
However, the Golden Cicada Spirit King gradually began to change in shape.
His tender skin hardened and became half-transparent.
Within the skin, the Golden Cicada Spirit King was no longer human.
He had turned into an insect, squirming around under the golden, half-transparent skin.

His transformation did not come off as eerie at all.
Instead, he gave off a sense of holiness, like the development of a nobleman, like a phoenix undergoing rebirth in fire.

“That’s…”

“The golden cicada is shedding its skin!” Gu Yanying blurted out and smiled towards Li Qingshan.
“Looks like that’s for you!”

Li Qingshan praised inside, The Golden Cicada Spirit King sure is a man of his word.
I can tell that the golden cicada skin is something good with just a single glance.

At this moment, the insect swarms began to recede, returning to the underground cavern.
He suddenly became puzzled again.
Everything had progressed a little too smoothly.
Even until now, he had yet to sense the Soaring Locust King’s main body.

Don’t tell me the Soaring Locust King has given up on seeking revenge on the Golden Cicada Spirit King?

He immediately dismissed an idea like that.
The Soaring Locust King clearly was not that generous and forgiving.

Or perhaps he’s afraid of being sucked into the heavenly tribulation, as well as being intercepted, so he’s hiding underground and controlling the insect swarms?

That was very likely.

“The Soaring Locust King is not here,” Gu Yanying said with a frown.

“How do you know?” Li Qingshan immediately asked.

“They’re too weak.
They shouldn’t be so weak.
They’re like a formation missing a core, which seems to still operate, but they can’t even unleash half of their strength.” Gu Yanying furrowed her brows in thought.

“Perhaps he knows he’s not our opponent, so he refuses to show himself,” Li Qingshan said.
That was the most logical guess.

“In terms of strength alone, probably only the Great Banyan Tree King across the entire world can surpass him.
If he really wants to fight, not even we can necessarily stop him,” said Gu Yanying.

“Really?” Li Qingshan was surprised.
He had never clashed properly with the Soaring Locust King.

“Yes.
In the past when the locust plague swept through the Green province, beyond anyone’s control, the Soaring Locust King had not achieved that through caution.
Back then, the Soaring Locust King was not even as cautious as right now.
He once gathered the insect swarms for a direct confrontation against the armies of Chu.
Although it ended in his defeat, his terrifying strength was enough to be recorded in the annals of history.
His main body might not be particularly powerful, but once he gathers billions of insects, he can contend against an entire kingdom.
An attack as feeble as this is pointless.”

“You mean this is just a front and a diversion? The main target for his attack is elsewhere?”

Li Qingshan thought about how Xiao An had never replied and became slightly worried, but he did not find that to be particularly likely.
Even if the Soaring Locust King really were that foolish, Xiao An was not that weak, and if she really was in danger, she would obviously ask him for help.
Their transmission talismans came as a pair.
If one was destroyed, both were destroyed.
Even if they were sealed up in different spaces, unable to convey messages to one another, they could still seek help from each other.

“I can’t think of any target that’s even more important than the Golden Cicada Spirit King,” said Gu Yanying.

“No, there might be one.” Li Qingshan’s heart lurched.

Gu Yanying said directly, “The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga! But that’s not too likely.
Most of the insects are all gathered here.
We can’t be wrong about that.
If the Soaring Locust King only uses the strength of his main body, he’s definitely not the opponent of the four guardian kings.”

At this moment, the Golden Cicada Spirit King used the might of the heavenly tribulation to break free from the cicada shell bit by bit.

“Perhaps we’re overthinking.” Li Qingshan crossed his arms.
“Who knows, he might just appear from underground in the next moment!”

“Hopefully he does!”