Chapter 42: Spirit Insects

A few days later, with the urgent efforts of the Fang family, a much larger silk net was finally completed.

"Elder, thank you for your trouble!" Fang Yun said, looking at Fang Lin, who had specially brought the silk net up the mountain. He felt a bit excited; he couldn't fully relax until he had the silk net in hand.

Now he could finally feel at ease.

"Clan Leader, there's no need for such polite words. As long as it helps you, what we clan members do is really nothing!" Fang Lin waved his hand.

He then glanced at the lush spirit field and realized that this was not a place for an ordinary person like him to linger.

So he quickly said, "Clan Leader, since I've handed over the items to you, I have some matters to attend to, so I'll head back down the mountain!"

Fang Yun nodded. He indeed had many things to do, so he didn't insist on keeping Fang Lin.

Of course, the main reason was that there was nothing particularly special on the mountain to offer as hospitality.

Keeping him there would only make things awkward for himself.

After Fang Lin left, Fang Yun opened the silk net and found that the quality of this silk net was not much worse than the previous one.

This relieved him.

He brought the silk net back into the cave. In the following days, Fang Yun stayed on the mountain, alert for the arrival of the green beetles.

Sure enough, just a few days after the silk net arrived, one night, Fang Yun keenly sensed the familiar uncomfortable feeling coming from the spirit rice while in the cave.

He grabbed the silk net and dashed out of the cave.

Following the sensation from the spirit rice, he arrived beside the affected spirit rice.

There, he indeed saw several spirit rice plants on the outskirts of the spirit field covered with a dense swarm of green beetles.

Fang Yun took a deep breath, set the silk net aside, and then used both hands to strip away all the green beetles.

He didn't have any other pest control methods, so he could only resort to this primitive approach.

Only by reaching the third level of Qi training and learning another spell from the Eternal Spring Technique, the Golden Qi Technique, could he escape this predicament!

Fortunately, the first batch of green beetles wasn't too numerous, so Fang Yun wasn't caught off guard.

After dealing with the first batch of green beetles, Fang Yun quickly processed the spirit rice according to how he handled the previous batch.

He built a framework using bamboo strips and then covered it with the silk net.

After completing all this, all he could do was wait for the insect swarm to arrive.

The next night, a large number of green beetles suddenly emerged from some corner of the island.

They then began to frantically crash into the silk net.

Fang Yun, who had been waiting there, didn't dare to slack off; he nervously watched the defenses of the silk net.

Meanwhile, he used a shovel in his hand to crush all the fallen green beetles.

In just one night, the area around the spirit field was covered in the bodies of green beetles.

The number was even greater than that during the previous batch's harvest.

But this was normal; after all, this time the quantity of spirit rice was five times that of the last.

It was only natural that it would have a stronger attraction for these pests.

Fortunately, the silk net held strong; despite the impact of so many green beetles, there wasn't a single tear.

This made Fang Yun feel a little relieved.

However, he didn't get to enjoy this relief for long. A few days later, one night, while Fang Yun was guarding the spirit field, he watched as the green beetles continuously slammed against the silk net.

He occasionally used the shovel in his hand to crush the green beetles that fell to the ground.

At that moment, the green beetles crashing into the silk net suddenly caused a commotion.

Feeling something was off, Fang Yun instinctively sensed danger.

Then, in the moonlight, he saw a glowing insect flying in from a distance.

This insect was about the size of a fist, moved at incredible speed, and emitted a silvery light similar to moonlight.

In the blink of an eye, the insect reached Fang Yun's side.

Seeing this, Fang Yun immediately realized it was a spirit insect capable of absorbing spiritual energy.

Without having time to think about how there could be spirit insects on Spirit Water Island, Fang Yun's heart raced.

Facing such a spirit insect, Fang Yun did not believe that his silk net could withstand it.

If the silk net were to be destroyed and the green beetles rushed in, all the spirit rice he had painstakingly planted would be lost.

Fang Yun didn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent; he channeled his magic power directly into the iron shovel in his hand.

The shovel immediately emitted a faint glow, and then Fang Yun swung it toward the incoming insect.

With a loud bang, it was as if a baseball had been hit; the silver-glowing insect was instantly sent flying hundreds of meters away.

However, it was still a spirit insect; it couldn't be taken down with just one blow from a shovel.

After flying several circles in the sky, the spirit insect recovered from the impact.

Its wings buzzed, and it quickly charged back toward Fang Yun.

Fang Yun squinted his eyes, realizing that hitting it again with the shovel wouldn't kill it.

Instead, it would only anger the insect further and lead to an endless entanglement.

Now he had to protect the spirit rice, and he didn't have time to tangle with this insect.

So, Fang Yun switched the shovel to his left hand while quietly gripping the magic blade with his right hand.

Magic power surged into both the iron shovel and the blade.

When the insect reached Fang Yun, he stood the shovel upright with his left hand, blocking the insect's path.

Another loud crash ensued as the insect collided with the shovel.

The immense impact almost caused Fang Yun to lose grip of the shovel in his left hand.

However, the insect was momentarily halted by the collision and flew back several meters.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Fang Yun unsheathed the magic blade, and as the blade's aura surrounded it, he struck down fiercely at the insect.

With a clang, it felt as if the blade had struck a piece of refined iron; Fang Yun clearly sensed a strong recoil.

Fortunately, the spirit insect was still knocked down to the ground.

Yet, Fang Yun was surprised to see that the insect only lost one of its wings and wasn't split in half.

After all, he had tested the sharpness of the magic blade before.

He didn't expect this insect to have such a hard body.

Seizing this chance, Fang Yun pressed the iron shovel down hard onto the struggling insect.

After a wild struggle, whether from being severely injured or from exhausting its internal spiritual energy, the glow from the insect gradually faded away, revealing its dark blue-black body.

Fang Yun crouched down and hesitated for a moment. He then wrapped his hand with the leftover silk net from the last time and finally caught the insect.

Ignoring its struggles, he carefully examined the insect in his hand.

The insect was about the size of a fist, oval-shaped, resembling a giant beetle.

It was entirely blue-black; the reason it appeared silver earlier was likely due to the spiritual energy within it, not its natural color.