"Brother Teng, give me a hand!" the Great Elder shouted, instantly transforming into a streak of azure light that flashed across a mountainside rock before darting twice more to arrive beside Teng Qingshan. The Great Elder, his clothes tattered and bearing streaks of blood, gasped, "Brother Teng, this fiend is incredibly formidable."
Teng Qingshan, meanwhile, was intently observing the triangular head emerging from a pit carved into the rock face.
Hiss-hiss~~
As the triangular head fully cleared the pit, two slender antennae on the skull were revealed.
"Hmm, its eyes?" Teng Qingshan took a closer look.
At the center of those two massive golden orbs were pupils of extremely small, black dots, similar in size to the pupils of ordinary human eyes.
Crack~~ The mountain rock fractured, and a pair of enormous, razor-sharp golden blades erupted from beneath the monster. Immediately following that—hummm!—the creature shot out from the stone, hovering suspended in mid-air. Hummm-hummm~~~ Its outstretched, faintly translucent golden wings began to beat.
Hanging in the air, the monster coldly surveyed the two humans poised on the stones before it.
"This is—" The Great Elder was utterly stunned.
"Huh?"
Teng Qingshan’s eyes also widened.
He had never witnessed a demon beast resembling this, yet... the appearance of this monstrous creature brought to mind a common animal from his previous life—the praying mantis! This demon beast looked incredibly similar to a mantis! Though this creature was vastly larger than a mantis, and its aura was far more terrifying!
A triangular head! A pair of huge, dual eyes, and those two minuscule black pupils.
The thorax was slender, seemingly cast from golden armor plating.
The abdomen was slightly wider, its scales shimmering with dazzling golden light. The beast’s total length was estimated to be over seven zhang (about eighteen meters).
Of course, the most horrifying aspect was the monster’s six legs! Three pairs—fore, middle, and hind.
A pair of massive, scythe-like forelegs radiated a faint golden hue. Along the joints of these forelegs were needle-sharp spikes, each nearly four chi (one meter) long, resembling sharpened awls growing from the limb. Worse still, at the joints of the forelegs were barbs, some extending as long as eight chi (two meters).
The length of the forelegs themselves reached an alarming five zhang or more (nearly thirteen meters). They were thick, immensely powerful, and as sharp as blades!
The middle and hind legs were comparatively slender, but this slenderness was relative; in Teng Qingshan’s estimation... the middle and hind legs were still nearly four chi (one meter) thick, and the spikes and barbs running along them reflected a cold, golden luster.
"What kind of demon beast is this?" Teng Qingshan felt his breath catch.
"This is... the Six-Legged Saber Cicada!" the Great Elder couldn't help but exclaim.
"Six-Legged Saber Cicada?" Teng Qingshan, while remaining highly vigilant of the demon beast hovering above, listened as the Great Elder narrated. Knowing the enemy was vital for victory; Teng Qingshan was unaware of this creature's true terror.
The Great Elder continued, "This Six-Legged Saber Cicada appeared in the Northern Cold Region over a thousand years ago. Back then, two clan armies were locked in battle, and one Martial Saint master inadvertently excavated it from deep underground. Upon emerging, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada was enraged and commenced a slaughter."
"Legend says its entire body is impervious to blades and spears!"
"It moves as fast as a phantom, especially those six legs! Its six limbs, like giant scythes, are incomparably sharp. Those spikes and barbs can easily pierce a person and slice them in half."
"That time, only a few hundred out of twelve thousand soldiers managed to escape; everyone else was killed, including two Martial Saints."
"But after that incident, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada was never seen again; for over a millennium, there has been no news of its reappearance. I never imagined... we would encounter it here today." The Great Elder tightly gripped his Blood-Drinking Saber. A creature capable of slaughtering ten thousand troops until only a few hundred fled commanded respect. Even Teng Qingshan, if faced with ten thousand pursuers, couldn't have eliminated that many. This indicated one thing—the Six-Legged Saber Cicada’s speed was terrifying, and it killed swiftly! Escape was nearly impossible!
"Roar~~"
High in the air, the golden eyes on the Six-Legged Saber Cicada’s triangular head fixed below, emitting a piercing shriek from its throat. It suddenly dove down! Its massive body transformed into a golden blur, whipping up a fierce gale as it rushed forward, simultaneously swinging its pair of gigantic scythe-forelegs!
"Get lost!"
Teng Qingshan and the Great Elder acted in concert, one with a spear, the other with a saber!
Clang~~ Crash~~
A chaotic explosion of sound erupted, sending stones tumbling, with dust and smoke filling the air.
"Go!" Teng Qingshan roared.
Swish! Swish!
Teng Qingshan and the Great Elder immediately fled in opposite directions.
"This monster is too strong to fight head-on." Teng Qingshan’s clothes now showed the first signs of damage, while the Great Elder of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild had increasingly ragged attire, a wound even staining his abdomen with blood.
It was only a brief exchange!
Teng Qingshan now understood the true horror of the Six-Legged Saber Cicada!
"I can’t believe that even with my spear techniques, I couldn't completely defend against the Saber Cicada’s attacks!" Teng Qingshan clearly recalled the terrifying moment. Yes, the sweeping strikes of the Six-Legged Saber Cicada’s forelegs could indeed be described as 'saber techniques,' and they were exquisitely precise! In the instant Teng Qingshan blocked, he was astonished to discover—the spikes along the saber-legs seemed to subtly shift direction, one aiming straight for him!
In other words—
A single swing from the Six-Legged Saber Cicada was not merely an attack from the blade edge of its leg, but also an assault from all the sharp spikes surrounding the blade edge! Facing over a dozen simultaneous attacks, all lightning-fast! Even Teng Qingshan’s 'Primal Unity Spear Technique' missed one of the spikes.
"Fortunately, the penetrating power of the spikes is only about one-tenth that of the main foreleg blade. Even if a spike struck me, it would, at most, tear my clothes; it couldn't actually wound me." The primary offensive power of the Saber Cicada lay in its foreleg blades; the spikes and barbs possessed significantly less force.
"However, this Six-Legged Saber Cicada has six legs. Dealing with just one leg is already this difficult for me. If all six bladed legs attacked together, then..." Teng Qingshan felt the true terror of the creature. If all six legs struck simultaneously, Teng Qingshan had no confidence in surviving.
"Roar~~" Another ear-splitting sound, like glass scraping against iron, echoed.
The Six-Legged Saber Cicada plunged from the sky like lightning, targeting Teng Qingshan!
Clearly, Teng Qingshan’s escape speed was slower than the Great Elder's! Secondly, after the brief clash, the Saber Cicada had determined Teng Qingshan was the tougher opponent, meaning it would eliminate him first before dealing with the Great Elder!
"Brother Teng, be careful," the Great Elder shouted from a distance.
"Get away!" As Teng Qingshan sprang onto a large tree, he suddenly executed a sharp pivot, his Reincarnation Spear transforming into a silver lightning bolt, thrusting toward the Saber Cicada’s triangular head. But the Cicada had two pairs of wings. These two pairs, thin as cicada wings, merely trembled, and it easily dodged the attack.
Next came the assault from its pair of saber-legs!
"Ah Roar~~" The Saber Cicada’s unpleasant cry sounded again, its razor-sharp forelegs chopping down, clearly intending to tear Teng Qingshan in half.
"Fiend!"
Teng Qingshan roared, and the Reincarnation Spear instantly became a circular halo of spear shadows. This time, Teng Qingshan focused entirely on defending against the two foreleg blades. As for the individual spikes... Teng Qingshan completely abandoned trying to block them. After all, his spear technique did not allow him to defend against so many attacks simultaneously! If ordinary arrows were fired in a barrage, Teng Qingshan could easily block them. But this Six-Legged Saber Cicada, with just over a dozen spikes, made complete defense impossible for him.
"Chi!" "Chi!"...
With crisp sounds, the sharp spikes pierced Teng Qingshan’s outer garments, but when they hit his skin, it was as if they struck hardened scales, producing a chi-chi sound. At most, they left a slight red mark beneath his skin, unable to even break the surface!
Teng Qingshan landed back on the ground.
Seeing that its initial attack had failed to kill the human, the Saber Cicada’s remaining four extremely long legs swept in.
Six legs attacking simultaneously!
"The force from just two legs made my arms go numb; six legs?" Teng Qingshan immediately activated his 'Swimming Fish Movement Technique.' While he couldn't match the Great Elder in straight-line distance running, his ability to dodge and weave, combining the movement principles from the 'Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting' and the technique he derived from the 'Way of Water'—the 'Swimming Fish Movement Technique'—was formidable.
Teng Qingshan moved like a slippery loach in water, deftly evading strikes. The six saber-legs could not converge on him at once.
"This beast has such long legs; I can't even get close enough to attack its body. And with such reach, a single extension traps me in a pincer movement," Teng Qingshan thought, when a flicker of realization crossed his eyes. He saw a figure leap down from a distant tree, followed by a fierce saber light slashing downward!
It was the Great Elder!
"Clang!" The wings, thin as cicada wings, acted like weapons. The edge of a wing collided with the saber light, sending the Great Elder flying back, while the Six-Legged Saber Cicada remained completely unharmed.
"Roar~~"
The Six-Legged Saber Cicada was enraged. Ignoring Teng Qingshan entirely, its four wings flickered, and it lunged back toward the Great Elder.
"Yoo~~~"
A shrill avian cry pierced the heavens, followed by a fiery, phantom streak crossing the sky. It paused directly in front of the Six-Legged Saber Cicada, engulfed in dancing flames—the mythical bird 'Azure Luan' that seemed plucked from a dream, looking down upon the Saber Cicada. The Saber Cicada immediately tilted its head back, fixing its gaze on the flying creature before it.
"Azure Luan!" Teng Qingshan looked up.
"Whoosh!"
The Azure Luan spat forth black flames, within which subtle hints of purple flickered. This terrifying fire burned the very space around it, causing the air to warp and tremble. The flames instantly enveloped the Six-Legged Saber Cicada, which tried to dodge. In terms of aerial evasion, the Azure Luan was no less capable than the Saber Cicada!
Under the Azure Luan’s flames, the terrifying golden scales of the Saber Cicada—scales that even the Great Elder’s attack couldn't damage—began to emit chi-chi sounds.
"Roar~~~" A sharp, furious roar erupted. The Six-Legged Saber Cicada abruptly dove toward the ground, its six saber-legs instantly tearing open the earth. Its large, somewhat scorched body plunged into the soil and vanished, fleeing underground.
"Yoo~~" The Azure Luan landed before Teng Qingshan, proudly flapping its wings.
"Azure Luan..." Teng Qingshan felt a mixture of joy and astonishment. "Truly worthy of being called the 'Divine Bird Azure Luan,' a beast considered invincible below the Void Realm on the Nine Provinces continent. Azure Luan and I have sparred twice, but only in contest, never in a fight to the death. Azure Luan is indeed a divine fire-attribute bird; the flames it spits... their power is truly terrifying."
Teng Qingshan now fully grasped the horror of the Azure Luan's ultimate technique.
"Brother Teng, this... this avian demon beast seems quite familiar with you?" The Great Elder approached in astonishment.
"Yes," Teng Qingshan replied with a smile.
"Seeing the Six-Legged Saber Cicada, I thought it was the strongest demon beast below the War God level. I never imagined it..." The Great Elder gazed at the Azure Luan with shining eyes. The Azure Luan, however, proudly turned its head away, refusing to acknowledge the Great Elder. The Elder continued in awe, "A beast like this, in this world, perhaps only my teacher and the Heavenly Wind War God could handle it. And it’s an avian creature... if it wishes to flee, even a War God expert cannot pursue it."
The Azure Luan was the fastest flying avian beast Teng Qingshan had ever encountered. Indeed... Void Realm experts could only fly upon achieving the Great Perfection stage. Even if a typical Void Realm expert could contend with the Azure Luan, if the Luan decided to flee, the expert could only look up as it vanished. Even flight achieved through manipulating the power of Heaven and Earth—who could say which was faster than the Azure Luan?
"Brother Teng, you are truly amazing; I am envious," the Great Elder praised.
"Great Elder, you mentioned your teacher just now?" Teng Qingshan asked, surprised.
"Haha... Some of the top great families in the world are aware of this," the Great Elder chuckled. "On our Duanmu Continent, there are only two who have reached the War God level. One is from the Heavenly Wind family, known as the 'Heavenly Wind War God.' The other is from our Rising Sun Merchant Guild, who is my teacher, known as the 'Dream Cloud War God.'"
Teng Qingshan was deeply shocked. He had previously only guessed the number of War God (Void Realm) experts on the Duanmu Continent; he hadn't known for sure. The Yangzhou region of the Nine Provinces Continent had two Void Realm experts! This Duanmu Continent also had two!
"Heavenly Wind War God, Dream Cloud War God..." Teng Qingshan committed both names to memory.
"We were truly fortunate to survive the Six-Legged Saber Cicada's attack this time," the Great Elder praised, then looked towards Teng Qingshan, "Brother Teng, you still don't know my name, do you?"
"I only know the Great Elder’s surname is Mu!" Teng Qingshan laughed.
"My name is Mu Wang!" the Great Elder laughed. "If you don't mind, call me Brother Mu. I am already over one hundred and thirty years old; I should be older than you."
After this battle, and observing how long Teng Qingshan managed to fight the Six-Legged Saber Cicada, the Great Elder 'Mu Wang' held him in high regard. Especially... the Azure Luan!
"Tsk, tsk," the Great Elder praised the Azure Luan twice, then continued, "Brother Teng, our battle was satisfying for me. I won't linger! If you have time, look me up in the West Tang Domain."
"Alright," Teng Qingshan nodded with a smile.
The Great Elder shouldered his giant Blood-Drinking Saber and shot away like an azure light.
"Azure Luan, let's go back too," Teng Qingshan said, moving alongside the Azure Luan swiftly toward Crescent Lake.