Steady Mortal Path: Starting from Obtaining the Golden Core Inheritance

Lin Changsheng casually activated a second-tier ice attribute spell.

An extremely cold aura burst forth from the talisman, and the visible, chilling white air instantly enveloped the cloud of silver beetles surrounding it.

A thin layer of frost quickly formed on the surface of each silver beetle's body.

'patta'

'patta'

The frozen silver beetle fell from mid-air like hail.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that these silver beetles are only temporarily frozen and move slowly, but they are not completely dead. On the contrary, they continuously emit a faint aura of demonic power, and the frost on their bodies continues to melt away.

Lin Changsheng saw this scene, then lightly touched the ground with his toes and moved closer to the man in black robes.

At the same time, he shook the storage bag and spirit beast bag at his waist, releasing the second-tier puppet 'Qi Mu Xiang' and the second-tier demonic bird 'Xun Feng Ya'.

The 'Four-Unlikes' is made entirely of iron, incredibly fierce, and fearless of death, making it ideal for confronting mysterious cultivators of unknown origin head-on.

The 'Wind Crow' is incredibly fast. After advancing to the second tier, its bloodline awakened, allowing it to learn wind-attribute spells without a teacher. It is well-suited for surprise attacks, and once caught by this demonic bird, it is extremely difficult to escape.

Lin Changsheng, meanwhile, controlled the 'four unlikes' from the side, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

"Good lad, a mere talisman master actually possesses a second-tier puppet and a demonic bird. I underestimated you."

Seeing Lin Changsheng break free from the silver beetles in an instant and use such a method, the man in black robes sounded somewhat surprised.

For ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, mastering an additional second-tier technique, in addition to maintaining their own cultivation, incurs additional costs.

Not to mention that both second-tier demonic birds and second-tier puppets are major consumers of spirit stones.

As soon as he finished speaking, a surge of magical energy emanated from the black-robed man once again.

Hundreds and thousands of silver beetles flew out as the black robe fluttered.

Lin Changsheng frowned inwardly and activated another second-tier ice attribute spell.

This time, the black-robed man activated his magic, controlling the silver beetles to form a small silver shield, isolating the ice-attribute aura.

After a long stalemate, only the outer layer of silver beetles remained frozen, eventually falling to the ground.

Then the 'four unlikes' charged in fiercely, and the small shield made of silver beetles shattered upon impact.

The 'Wind Crow' let out a long cry and its body shot straight toward the location of the black-robed man like a sharp arrow!

Lin Changsheng seized the opportunity and activated the attack talisman in his hand.

Caught in a pincer attack, even with the extraordinary spirit insects controlled by the black-robed man, he was overwhelmed and left in a sorry state.

After dodging Lin Changsheng's spell attack, it activated the silver beetle to transform into a giant hand to resist the 'four unlikes' attack.

Ultimately, however, he was unfortunately hit by several wind blades released by the 'Wind Crow' as it spread its wings.

The black-robed man's body trembled, and his robes were torn apart by the sharp wind blades, revealing half of his body.

Lin Changsheng glanced down instinctively, only to be met with a scene that sent chills down his spine.

Beneath the tattered black robe, one could vaguely see that the surface of the black-robed figure's body was covered with countless holes, and from time to time, beetles the size of sesame seeds and mung beans could be seen crawling in and out of them.

Many of the holes were filled with translucent insect eggs, which, nourished by the magic, seemed ready to hatch at any moment.

Its body was completely hollowed out by insects.

"It's an extreme method of insect control: feeding insects with one's own body!"

The sight of such a battered and bruised body made Lin Changsheng's heart tremble slightly.

In the memories of 'True Poison Master', there are memories of such extreme 'insect cultivation' practices, such as feeding insects with one's own body.

This method is extremely cruel and puts cultivators to a great test of both body and mind. Once one reaches this point, there is no turning back.

Therefore, most 'insect cultivators' who feed on insects with their own bodies are eccentric, strange, twisted, and violent in nature...

However, this method of sacrificing one's own magical power and flesh to cultivate spirit insects helps the spirit insects grow and mutate, making them far more powerful than cultivators of the same level, and it is common for them to kill opponents even if they cross minor realms.

To a certain extent, cultivators who feed their bodies to insects are similar to the Heavenly Poison Master who specializes in poison techniques. They are regarded as unorthodox cultivators, and although they are powerful in combat, they also have undeniable drawbacks.

At the same time, the silver beetles that had been frozen by Lin Changsheng gradually thawed and began to flutter their wings and fly again.

Countless tiny silver beetles transformed into several silver threads, converging into a silver cloud of insects in front of the man in black robes.

Lin Changsheng and the man in black exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of unease.

Whether it's a second-tier low-grade puppet or a second-tier early-stage mutated demonic bird, theoretically both are capable of dealing with early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

With Lin Changsheng, a second-tier talisman master, having a continuous supply of second-tier talismans, there was also an abundance of them.

The combination of these three factors would force even a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator to temporarily avoid their attacks.

The silver beetles raised by this black-robed man were extraordinary; they were fearless of water and fire and could devour all kinds of treasures and magical power.

Even the powerful and formidable second-tier 'Heavenly Thunder Talisman' could be tricked.

Unless we can learn about this insect and find something to counter it, perhaps only a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can better deal with this person.

Just as the two were at an impasse.

'Shuh! '

'Shuh! '

The silver beetles that had gathered in mid-air fell down again with a 'whoosh', and a layer of light purple appeared on their originally silver bodies.

In the blink of an eye, the ground was covered with a layer of silver beetles.

Along with the flowers, grasses, and vegetation within a radius of several dozen feet, the leaves and branches turned black and withered.

"You...you actually used poison!?"

The sudden turn of events filled the man in black robes with shock and anger.

"As a physician, I only have a little knowledge of the use of poisons. It seems that your spirit insects do not have high resistance to poison."

Lin Changsheng said calmly, as if he had not been affected in the slightest.

Next, Lin Changsheng continued to activate the second-tier puppet 'Qi Mu Xiang' and attack the man in black robes.

As the latter dodged, it continuously used its magic to generate new silver beetles within its body.

Within a few breaths, a large number of insect eggs inside his body hatched into new silver beetles. After devouring the flesh and magic power of the black-robed man's body, they grew to the size of soybeans at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A small, new cloud of silver insects formed and attached itself to the second-tier puppet, constantly gnawing at the metal material. The 'four-legged creature' quickly became pitted and uneven.

Lin Changsheng unleashed a water-attribute spell, the powerful impact washing away the silver beetle on the 'four unlikes' face and summoning it back.

Because it secretly releases a second-tier high-grade poison, the Wind Crow dares not approach and can only harass it from above by releasing wind blades from time to time.

However, all these magical attacks were blocked by the black-robed man urging on his silver beetles.

As time went by, the field was filled with countless silver beetles that had fallen to the ground.

But every now and then, the silver beetles expel the toxins from their bodies and take flight again.

However, Lin Changsheng clearly sensed that the life force of these silver beetles, which had recovered after being contaminated with the toxin, was significantly weaker.

It must have been that the man in black robes used some method to stimulate the potential of the spirit insects, accelerating their metabolism in a short period of time, and quickly eliminating toxins from their bodies by sacrificing the lifespan of the silver beetle.

This is also the secret behind the silver beetle's ability to recover quickly from various attacks.

However, insects are inherently short-lived and cannot regenerate indefinitely.

Thinking of this, Lin Changsheng produced several more second-tier poison talismans in his hand.