Chapter 527

Chapter 527: The Three Great Insect Nests

The Ten-Thousand Gu Sect truly lived up to its reputation as a major sect. Their eighth-rank treasure vault contained numerous valuable items—over a hundred compartments filled with various goods.

Regrettably, more than half contained materials and spirit herbs, while the remainder held eighth-rank treasures. Among these treasures, only about a dozen were crafted by the Ten-Thousand Gu Sect itself—all variations of their signature Ten-Thousand Gu Flags.

These flags stood as the sect’s deadliest weapons, each housing at least a hundred billion high-grade poison Gu insects. Such quality was necessary to qualify as eighth-rank treasures. In terms of combat strength, these flags surpassed most treasures of the same rank, each capable of slaying Thunder Tribulation Immortals.

Yet they carried a fatal flaw: every battle caused irreversible damage. Against Thunder Tribulation Immortals, victory would leave the flag nearly destroyed. Restoring it required astronomical resources. Thus, the Ten-Thousand Gu Flags embodied contradiction—supremely powerful yet fragile.

Their greatest merit lay in profit generation. Each poison Gu insect produced trace spiritual items, and with hundreds of billions housed within, these items accumulated into substantial wealth. Possessing a Ten-Thousand Gu Flag meant wielding both a formidable weapon and a golden goose.

This made the flags highly sought-after, especially eighth-rank versions. Raising poison Gu demanded endless resources, while crafting flags capable of sustaining such vast insect populations posed immense difficulty. Even the affluent Ten-Thousand Gu Sect—richest among Demonic Path sects—had only twelve or thirteen eighth-rank flags in their Secret Vault, likely accumulated over millennia. Now they all fell into Fang Lie’s hands.

Showing no mercy to his enemies, Fang Lie claimed everything. This loot alone guaranteed staggering profits.

Beyond the sect’s local specialties, the vault held other eighth-rank treasures—Flying Swords from righteous sects, White Bone Pearls from the Demonic Path, totaling over a dozen items. Clearly plundered goods. The Ten-Thousand Gu Sect cared nothing for alliances, seizing valuables from both righteous and demonic factions alike.

Fang Lie discovered artifacts from the White Bone Sect, Ghost Realm Sect, Blood Sea Sect, and other wicked sects. Righteous sects contributed more treasures, including two from the Mo Sect: a bronze puppet soldier and gigantic thunder-veined wings spanning over thirty meters—clearly mechanical beast attachments.

These eighth-rank middle-grade accessories rivaled full treasures in value. When equipped on mechanical puppets, they multiplied combat strength and granted advanced lightning escape techniques.

Among the haul lay Fang Lie’s primary target—the Nine Dragons Flame Order. This palm-sized token bore nine exquisitely carved flame dragons.

Without hesitation, Fang Lie claimed everything. With Old Bird’s assistance, he emptied the vault of portable treasures in fifteen minutes.

Three massive treasures remained. Too large for Sending-Home Art, they required Old Bird to tear through space—an action that would trigger spatial tremors, alerting both cultivators and the sect’s protective array.

Like his Ghost Realm Sect heist, Fang Lie had one shot. He must choose between three eighth-rank large treasure weapons:

All reflected the Ten-Thousand Gu Sect’s expertise. Their large treasures fell into two categories—those forged from colossal poison Gu corpses (retaining and enhancing the creatures’ divine skills), and those crafted from cultivated insect nests.

The former faced limitations, as eighth-rank giant poison Gu proved rare. Most such treasures ranked below eighth-rank. Nests, however, grew indefinitely through constant insect labor and resource investment.

The three remaining treasures were all insect nests:

– Eighth-Rank High-Grade Earth Soldier Ant Nest

– Eighth-Rank Middle-Grade Sword Gu Nest

– Eighth-Rank High-Grade Heavenly Spider Bone Nest

The Earth Soldier Ant Nest resembled a compressed yellow hillock, palm-sized yet capable of expanding across thousands of miles.

The surface was densely covered with Earth Soldier Ants. These scoundrels were as large as wild dogs, containing the Essence of Earth Element within their bodies. Skilled in earth-element divine skills, even the weakest worker ants were third rank, while the core soldier ants ranged from fourth to fifth rank. Special variants like flying ants and steel-jawed ants reached sixth or seventh rank.

As for the strongest queen ant and her royal guards, they were all eighth-rank monsters. Though a single one posed little threat—any Fire Tribulation Immortal could take on ten—their overwhelming numbers made them fearsome. With thousands swarming together, even Thunder Tribulation Immortals would have to flee or perish!

Truthfully, after seeing this Earth Soldier Ant Nest, Fang Lie immediately wanted to claim it. These creatures boasted high defense and rapid reproduction, perfectly compensating for other poison Gu insects’ fragility.

Notably, the spiritual items produced by Earth Soldier Ants were Essence of Earth Element. This substance could drastically enhance Spiritual Fields’ Spiritual Energy, even upgrading their quality when accumulated sufficiently. Such treasures were endlessly sought after, guaranteeing easy sales regardless of quantity.

Owning this was like sitting on a goldmine.

Yet Fang Lie’s gaze shifted to the Heavenly Spider Bone Nest. Heavenly Spiders ranked among the top ten most fearsome poison insects. These giants measured dozens to hundreds of feet long.

They spun silken webs and possessed near-impenetrable armored shells.

They hunted cooperatively, entrapping prey in webs before injecting toxic liquid to dissolve flesh, then draining the liquefied nutrients.

The remaining bones, infused with prey’s essence through the venom, became extraordinarily durable. Combined with spider silk, these formed the nest’s construction materials—hence the name Heavenly Spider Bone Nest.

The nest before Fang Lie spanned hundreds of miles, containing thousands of eighth-rank Heavenly Spiders. Countless high-level demon beasts had been hunted, their massive bleached bones forming the nest’s outer structure.

Every part of Heavenly Spiders held value. Their lightweight yet ultra-durable shells made premium armor materials. Their versatile silk could weave garments or craft treasures, making it highly coveted.

Coupled with their formidable combat strength, this nest became equally desirable.

Fang Lie now wavered between the Earth Soldier Ants and Heavenly Spider Bone Nest.

Then he noticed the final large treasure weapon—the Sword Gu Nest. Though labeled eighth-rank middle-grade, a full rank below the others, Fang Lie unhesitatingly chose it.

Sword Gu resembled steel blades, similar yet distinct from Demonic Realm’s demon weapons. Both were weapon-shaped, but Sword Gu exclusively took identical sword forms, while demon weapons varied wildly.

Both advanced by absorbing metal’s essence, excreting valuable materials. The difference lay in Sword Gu using their excretions to build nests, unlike nestless demon weapons.

The Sword Gu Nest spanned a hundred miles, its spiked surface comprising countless Sword Gu.

Though weaker in combat than the other nests due to singular attributes and smaller numbers, it perfectly suited Fang Lie’s needs. His demon weapons required massive metal consumption to evolve.

Eighth-rank Sword Gu excreted seventh-rank metals, occasionally eighth-rank. Lower-ranked Sword Gu produced metals one grade below, yet consumed any metal type—low quality simply required greater quantities.

This posed no issue for Fang Lie. His vast Central World contained endless iron deposits, while his billion-strong metal-devouring beasts excelled at mass smelting.

The Sword Gu Nest promised endless high-grade metal production, fulfilling his demon weapons’ needs while generating surplus for trade. Thus despite its lower grade, Fang Lie chose it without hesitation!