The brawny man screamed. Flames ignited all over his body, leaving no question that he was a fire wielder. He'd been helpless earlier when they were surrounded by ocean water, so he'd thought he ought to reveal a hand here to show his worth. Little had he expected this damned beetle to be this formidable.
He quickly severed his withered arm, but he was still a step too slow. The beetle had already slipped into his body.
He anxiously channeled his fire ability to its full extent in hopes that the intense heat would incinerate the beetle, but to his horror, the raging flames he channeled swiftly extinguished. It was as if there was a black hole in his body devouring his flames.
It went without saying that the terrifying beetle was the culprit.
How is this possible? How can my almighty flames fail to incinerate a mere bug?
He would never get an answer to that question. His screams died down, and it came to a point where his withered body could no longer support its weight and fell to the ground.
“What’s that?!” the old shaman woman exclaimed in horror.
Alfred grimly replied, “It’s a Soul Gnawing Beetle. It devours all energies, be it ki or mana. That fellow tried to incinerate the Soul Gnawing Beetle, but his flames did nothing but nourish it.”
The others gulped. A being that can devour all energies? Isn’t it invincible then?!
“Does that beetle have no weaknesses?” Isabella asked.
“All beings are bound to have a weakness, but no one knows the Soul Gnawing Beetle’s weakness because no one has ever survived after encountering them.”
More chirping sounds echoed.
Pah!
The brawny man’s chest suddenly burst open. A black beetle crawled out, followed by a huge army of little beetles.
The crowd felt chills run down their spine. It reproduced so much within such a short time?
The Soul Gnawing Beetle flapped its wings, producing sharp whistling sounds.
A moment later, similar sounds came from the other skerries. More black beetles emerged from the cracks within the rock, creating a hellish sight for anyone who suffered from trypophobia[1]. Isabella nearly passed out from the sight.
The other guests dared not dawdle anymore and immediately fled. They regretted not being born with more limbs so that they could flee faster.
The Soul Gnawing Beetles were alarmed by the crowd’s movements and charged over. There were so many beetles that it was impossible to avoid all of them. It didn’t take long for a guest to be rushed down by the beetles.
It was the person who had attempted to scout the way earlier with talisman figures. He hurriedly conjured an army of birds to devour the Soul Gnawing Beetles.
But there were so many beetles that they overran the birds in a mere second. The birds cried in agony as they transformed back into paper talismans and were devoured clean. The talisman user also let out a miserable scream as a wave of Soul Gnawing Beetles washed over him.
Several guests tried to rescue him. Despite having heard from Alfred that the Soul Gnawing Beetles could devour all energies, they still wanted to give it a try.
The results were disappointing, though. The Soul Gnawing Beetles devoured all the attacks without a hitch. In the meantime, the beetles got to another guest and siphoned her dry.
But their efforts weren't all futile. They discovered that physical attacks worked on the beetles, but the attacks had to involve direct physical contact. Sword ki and the like wouldn’t work.
Unfortunately, there were simply too many Soul Gnawing Beetles, and these beetles were capable of gnawing through weapons as well. Several guests lost their weapons in such a manner and burst into tears.
Zu An was glad he hadn’t whipped out the Tai’e Sword. Otherwise, Mi Li could have lost her home. He'd dealt with enemies with such traits before, but none of them had been as formidable as the Soul Gnawing Beetles.
The guests gathered here were from different worlds, and their attacks were of all kinds and patterns, but the Soul Gnawing Beetles still devoured them with ease.
All of a sudden, the crowd grimly halted their footsteps. The path ahead had been blocked by Soul Gnawing Beetles. In fact, they were completely surrounded.
Cornered, the guests unleashed all their methods. Isabella even whipped out all sorts of artifacts from her bag, but none of them worked against the Soul Gnawing Beetles.
Zu An’s heart quivered. I do have an idea, but I don’t know if it’ll work.
Faced with the encroaching Soul Gnawing Beetles, Tingxue said, “I’ll deal with them.” She took a step forward.
That provoked the Soul Gnawing Beetles, and they furiously charged at her.
“Be careful!” Zu An was worried. How could he not be after witnessing other guests being siphoned dry by the Soul Gnawing Beetles?
With a crisp reverberation, Tingxue drew her sword. It sliced through the world, tearing open a void.
The crowd suddenly felt cold and desolate, as if there was no meaning to life. By the time they snapped out of their trance, the terrifying Soul Gnawing Beetles were nowhere to be seen.
“Where did those beetles go?” Isabella asked in astonishment.
“I have exiled them to another dimension,” Tingxue calmly replied.
The crowd frowned. That didn’t feel like any normal dimension—it resembles the nebula. In the nebula’s voidlike space, the Soul Gnawing Beetles won’t have anything to devour.
The crowd looked at Tingxue in shock. What’s her background? How can she slice open a pathway to the nebula just like that?
Yani clenched her fists. She was tempted to spar with Tingxue, but she dropped that thought, knowing they weren’t out of danger yet.
Tingxue walked at the forefront, and the other guests followed her. There was no reason not to clutch onto that extra thick thigh dangling in front of them.
Isabella remained by Zu An’s side. She whispered, “Big brother Zu, you’re incredible to have befriended someone like that.”
Alfred was speechless. That’s a pair of absurdly rose-tinted glasses you’re wearing, big miss. You’re crediting that to him, too?
“I don’t know if she thinks of me as a friend.” Zu An sighed. She’s even colder than Yan Xuehen.
After the earlier crisis, the guests were exceptionally vigilant.
Some time later, Tingxue suddenly stopped. Yani frowned as well.
“Haven’t we been here before?”
1. Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns of holes or bumps, triggering intense feelings of disgust, fear, or discomfort ☜