Earth Cicada

Scorpion Demon shrunk his neck and gave a sheepish laugh. "I just cannot bear to, I cannot bear to."

"Cannot bear your grandfather! Eat it and you will heal. What are you keeping it for? To pass down to your kids?"

Scorpion Demon thought about it and realized he was right, so he finally tucked the pill into his mouth with extreme care.

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, and a warm torrent rose from his stomach.

He could feel his lost blood energy rapidly replenishing, the wounds on his legs healing, and the stump of his tail itching as new flesh and blood grew.

His cultivation was also rising.

Scorpion Demon opened his eyes, which were filled with excitement.

He felt that if he could eat another pill like this, he would definitely break through to the fifth-stage!

The fifth-stage!

In the former Earth Dissolving Cave, the fifth-stage was definitely considered an expert. Most of those old fellows who had lived for seven or eight hundred years were only at that level!

If he encountered a hundred corpse patchwork again, he would not be so pathetic. At the very least, he would have no trouble protecting himself!

Scorpion Demon felt like he was floating. He felt his steps were so light he could fly into the sky, and he wanted to spar with everyone he saw.

He suddenly thought of Plague Rat. Over a hundred years ago, when the little black rat left the Earth Dissolving Cave, he was not even at the fourth-stage.

And now?

He was at the sixth-stage with three transformations of Eerification!

It was a height he could only look up to!

"No wonder..." Scorpion Demon muttered in his heart. "Following a Lord like this, never mind a rat—even a pile of dung could ascend!"

No wonder he was so respectful to this Lord. No wonder he was willing to risk his life for him.

If it were me, I would be willing too!

Scorpion Demon's heart surged with emotion. A blessing in disguise indeed. So what if the Earth Dissolving Cave was gone? He had to cling tightly to the Lord's leg. This was a massive opportunity!

Scorpion Demon led Chen Zhou and his group forward.

Communal quarters like the Earth Dissolving Cave were usually only for low-stage small demons who stayed together to survive.

Stronger, high-stage demons would usually find places with less pollution to live alone to avoid the concentrated outbreaks of the plague.

Earth Cicada was the same.

Along the way, the small demons who had escaped the Earth Dissolving Cave followed behind them, their numbers growing.

Some had originally been running in the opposite direction, but after running for a while, they looked back and turned around to silently join the end of the line.

Plague Rat looked back and sneered. "These little brats certainly know which way the wind blows. At least they are not stupid."

Jing Hui walked silently at the back, looking at the small demons with a complex expression.

A thousand years ago, most of the demon race in Tianchi Province were like this.

They would gather wherever there was food, resources, and the least amount of plague.

Only back then, the place they gathered was called the Royal Capital.

But now, they were following a god from an outside province.

The group was grand as they walked for about half an hour until a stone forest appeared ahead.

Countless stone pillars rose from the ground, some dozens of feet high and others only a few feet tall, dense and packed like a petrified forest.

The humanoid marks on the ground were noticeably fewer, and the soil was much firmer. Scorpion Demon pointed to a stone tree in the distance. "Lord, that old fellow Earth Cicada should be sleeping right here."

"The soil under this stone forest is very hard, making it the perfect place for him to sleep."

Chen Zhou looked up and saw an exceptionally thick stone pillar ahead. Its base was over a dozen feet wide, and many branches split off from the top, truly looking a bit like a tree.

Scorpion Demon walked to the side of the stone tree, crouched down, knocked on the ground, and began to dig.

His two claws dug into the earth rapidly, sending soil and stones flying.

But after digging for a while, he stopped, panting heavily.

The soil under this stone forest was too hard. His claws had been digging for a long time, yet he had only managed to make a hole about a foot deep.

"Lord Scorpion, let us help you!"

Scorpion Demon looked back and saw dozens of small demons had followed them at some point.

There were moles, pangolins, hares, and a few marmot-like demons.

The small demons were full of energy and attacked the ground frantically, but their speed was nothing to boast about.

Wu Gou crouched nearby and watched for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Earth Cicada is down there?"

Scorpion Demon poked his head out of the pit, his face covered in dirt. "Yes, that old fellow is an expert in the earth-tunneling technique and breath-concealment technique. He usually likes to sleep a hundred feet underground."

"The Earth Dissolving Cave was originally a nest he dug for himself. Later, too many small demons gathered there, so he found it too noisy and moved here."

Wu Gou nodded and asked again, "He is a hundred feet underground. If you dig like this, how long will it take?"

Hearing this, a mole crawled out of the pit with a proud face. "Do not worry, Lord! Digging holes is our specialty. It will not take more than half a month to reach him!"

Wu Gou was speechless.

"Forget it. You all come up first. Do not get in the way."

The small demons did not understand, but they still obediently crawled out of the pit.

Wu Gou summoned Diting.

Diting poked its head out of the earth, its half-body slumped listlessly on the ground as it panted weakly.

Wu Gou patted its head. "Baby, go down and bring Earth Cicada up."

Diting looked up and squeaked a few complaints before reluctantly wriggling its body and diving into the ground.

Everyone stood by the pit and waited.

Before long, the ground trembled.

Then, a massive object was squeezed out of the pit.

It was as big as a calf, earthy brown all over, with a hard carapace covering its back. Its six legs were covered in barbs, and the two compound eyes on its head were spinning wildly.

It was coiled by Diting's body, struggling desperately and letting out piercing, chaotic screams.

"Do not eat me! I have bad breath! Cicada meat is sour! Help!"

Diting tossed him onto the ground and then listlessly crawled back to Wu Gou's side, lying still.

Earth Cicada was thrown into a daze. He rolled over on the ground, his six legs kicking wildly, before he finally managed to right himself.

He looked at the people around him warily, his compound eyes filled with terror.

Scorpion Demon quickly hurried over. "Ancestor Earth Cicada, do not be afraid! We are on the same side!"

Earth Cicada relaxed slightly after seeing it was Scorpion Demon.

"Little Black Scorpion? What are you... doing? Who are these people?"

Scorpion Demon explained hurriedly, "Ancestor, this is the Lord. He came specifically to find you to ask some questions."

"Also, that one over there is the True Lord of Purity and Filth."

Earth Cicada breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were not going to eat him, it was fine.

But in the next second, upon hearing the name Jing Hui, the entire cicada seemed to be struck by lightning and suddenly bounced up.

"Jing... Jing Hui?!"

Earth Cicada screamed, his six legs digging frantically into the earth as he tried to burrow underground with all his might.

"The Plague God! It is that madman Plague God! It is over, it is over, it is over!"

"Death's door has arrived!"

His front legs dug into the soil frantically, sending dirt and rocks flying. In the blink of an eye, half his body was already submerged.

Chen Zhou reached out and grabbed one of his back legs, lifting Earth Cicada up like a salted fish.

Earth Cicada hung in the air, his six legs kicking desperately as he shrieked.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"That old beast Jing Hui is going to kill me! He is going to silence me! It is over, it is over! After hiding for so many years, I was still found!"