Chapter 7: Goodbye, withered trees (Part 1)

The insect swarm, spanning thousands of miles, swept through everything in its path, destroying everything that stood in its way. The ground even sank dozens of meters, and small hills and peaks were reduced to nothingness by the Void Insects. As for the flying vehicles and spaceships, not a single one managed to escape once it came into contact with the swarm. After the swarm passed, what remained was a terrifyingly damaged landscape—desolate and devoid of any sign of life.

Guo Shier and the others had been observing the Void Insects all along. Only now did they gain some understanding of them, realizing that spatial stability was crucial for them.

As they neared the exit, the space became more stable, and the swarm slowed down again. It wasn’t that they couldn’t speed up—it was that as the space stabilized, the spatial cracks around their bodies decreased, and the Void energy they could obtain became scarcer. Their speed gradually slowed, leaving them far behind Li Ran and the others, who finally felt relieved.

Li Ran said, “I guess the Void Insects can’t get out of this space. If they try to force their way out, they’ll be destroyed quickly. After all, the space of the projected starry sky is extremely stable—they can’t be that rampant anymore.”

Guo Shier sighed, “This journey… it’s simply terrifying.”

Selin whispered, “Even though those insects are powerful, we still managed to escape.”

Qi Wuzhen said, “Watch out! The insects are gathering!”

As a large number of Void Insects converged, the swarm spanning thousands of miles rapidly contracted, forming a massive cluster about a kilometer in diameter—a terrifyingly dense mass that rolled rapidly through the air like a giant sphere. Spatial cracks multiplied wildly, resembling a hairy ball, with those long, fluttering hairs being the spatial cracks themselves.

The speed of the insect cluster increased again as it rushed toward Li Ran’s team.

Guo Shier was shocked and said, “That’s a clever tactic—they know how to gather together to absorb Void energy.”

Li Ran and Qi Wuzhen said in unison, “Smart insects!”

Since they had put some distance between them, the group wasn’t too worried. Wang Dayang asked, “Why do these insects keep chasing us? It seems like they’re only after us…” He couldn’t understand at all.

Guo Shier replied, “It’s because you have a powerful soul, and they’re interested in powerful souls!”

Wang Dayang suddenly realized, “Uh, no wonder you used soul attacks…” He remembered discussing this issue before; he had been too preoccupied with his own escape. He hadn’t had the time to figure out the weaknesses of the Void Worms like Li Ran and the others had.

The Void Worms gathered tighter and tighter, forming a dark mass. Spatial cracks spread rapidly around them. Even though the space here was stable, it was shaken by the cracks created by these worms. The entire sky began to tremble, leaving countless tiny fractured spaces wherever the swarm passed. There was only one option: wait for the space to heal on its own. If anyone collided with it, they would almost certainly be cut into countless pieces.

The swarm left behind an invisible band of spatial cracks in the air—a death zone filled with twisted, fragmented cracks. Clearly, the stable space here was extremely unfavorable for the Void Worms. They could only rely on their collective strength to force their way through the void, which drained them greatly. That’s why, after speeding up for a while, they slowed down again.

Li Ran and the other five finally felt a bit relieved. Flying at full speed was also a huge burden for them. They could fly at full speed for days or even weeks, but doing so for long periods caused severe damage to the altar and consumed a lot of soul energy. Any chance to relax a little was a great relief.

Guo Shier continued to emit soul shock waves to detect changes in the swarm. This was crucial for their survival, so he never stopped working.

Then he noticed a change in the swarm and said, “The worms are getting smaller! Hmm, they must be consuming a lot of energy.” He then observed an even bigger change and added, “The swarm is splitting up…”

Sure enough, a group of Void Worms separated from the swarm and headed back the way they came, while the rest continued to chase Li Ran and the others.

Li Ran said, “It seems the stronger worms are still chasing us, while the weaker ones have given up… Sometimes I wonder if they even have intelligence.”

As they got closer to the exit, the swarm kept splitting, with waves of Void Worms returning the way they came. It was only then that Li Ran and the others were certain that the stable space not only blocked the Void Worms but was also extremely harmful to them. They now had a much better chance of escaping.

The Void Worms clearly became less active, no longer chasing even the ships just dozens of kilometers away, focusing instead intently on Li Ran’s team. At this point, the swarm had a diameter of no more than 500 meters, a pitch-black mass whose shape kept twisting, looking extremely terrifying. Although their speed had slowed down, it was still countless times faster than that of ships and the like.

Wang Dayang said, “We’re almost there… ahead is the gathering point at the ruins exit. I wonder if there are still people there?”

Qi Wu Zhen replied indifferently, “It depends on their luck. With so many messages sent over, if they still don’t flee, they deserve to die!” She really didn’t care. People without strength who ventured into such a terrifying place and weren’t clever enough, in her view, truly deserved to die. They had made a lot of noise along the way, so the news must have already spread throughout the Luotian Ruins. If anyone was still here, they were really seeking death.

Guo Shier guessed, “They should be mostly gone by now. I saw several ships escape along the way; the news must have reached them.” He knew that the Tianling Clan and the Mechanical Clan could transmit messages very quickly. Once someone knew, other races would also hear about it soon.

But when they saw the gathering point at the ruins exit, they realized they were wrong. There were numerous flying vehicles and ships, along with a large number of people, and there was no order at all. The gathering point was in complete chaos, with flying vehicles and ships taking off and landing constantly—no one knew what they were doing.

Guo Shier said, “This is bad—there seem to be a lot of people… We’re very close to them!” By “very close,” they still had to fly for a few minutes, according to the information from soul detection.

Li Ran asked, “Is there any other exit?” He didn’t want to drag so many people into trouble at once. He was well aware of the power of the Void Worms. If they charged in, not many of those people would be able to escape. Of course, at the ruins exit, thanks to stable space, there was still a chance of escape. But in unstable spaces, not a single person could get away.

Wang Dayang said with a wry smile, “There’s no other exit… This path is like a gourd opening, with strange winds on both sides. If someone unaware of this touches them, they’ll immediately have all their body fluids sucked out and turn into a mummy.”

Qi Wu Zhen asked curiously, “What kind of winds? Do such winds really exist?”

Wang Dayang thought for a moment before saying, “I can’t describe it precisely in words… I can only compare it to wind. The land on both sides is extremely dry, with not a trace of moisture. I’ve heard that some experts tried to enter it, but they started losing a lot of water within a kilometer—there’s no way to resist it. If they can’t exit quickly, they’ll die silently in no time. It’s just as dangerous as spatial rifts, but as long as you don’t enter those places, it’s fine.”

“There are clear markers on this path, so there’s no need to worry about accidentally entering it. But it’s very narrow. At our speed, we might accidentally go in and get deeper. Forget it—let me lead the way!”

As he spoke, Wang Dayang rushed to the front and used the purple chains on his body to pull everyone forward. No wonder he was worried—the narrowest part of this path was only 100 kilometers wide, and for them, that distance could be covered in the blink of an eye.

In just a few words, Li Ran and the others were already approaching the gathering point. Serichelin exclaimed, “Wow, so many flying cars and spaceships, and so many people!”

When those people saw the swarm of insects approaching from afar, they became even more panicked and chaotic. They had already received confirmed news that everyone there was preparing to leave, but they never expected the insect swarm to reach this place. These days, a terrifying legend had been circulating in the Luotian Ruins: a group of insects of unknown species that could destroy anything. Once encountered, not a single expert from any race could survive—they would all be wiped out completely.

At Li Ran and the others’ speed, it took only a few dozen seconds to reach the gathering point after spotting it. They were speeding at full force, incredibly fast—like lightning, with no slowdown at all. Meanwhile, the panicked crowd had just begun to head toward the exit of the ruins. They felt regret and anger—if they had left earlier, they would have been safe by now. The gathering point was only a few hundred kilometers from the exit, and with the speed of flying cars and spaceships, it would take less than half an hour to get there.

In the chaos, some members of certain races began preparing to attack. They didn’t realize that the Void Insects were immune to attacks. Seeing someone launch a remote attack, more and more people joined in, and many spaceships also turned around to attack. It was as if everyone was united, finding an outlet for their fear—anyone who could launch a remote attack joined in.

Li Ran and the others suddenly found themselves under countless attacks. Guo Shier burst into an oath and quickly cast dozens of spells, causing the Soul-Calming Cauldron to emit intense light.

Most of those attacks fell on Guo Shier and the others, or more precisely, on Guo Shier himself, as he was at the front and was carrying a Soul-Calming Cauldron on his head—making him an extremely obvious target. However, it was only during this first wave of attacks that their speed was so fast; many subsequent attacks missed, with only about 10% hitting the screen of the Soul-Calming Cauldron. Although such blows meant little to Guo Shier, the force of the attacks still slowed him down for a moment. He couldn’t help but curse, pausing slightly before charging forward again. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen were instantly furious, and even Wang Dayang cursed out in anger. With that brief pause, the swarm of insects closed in on them. Guo Shier led everyone in a fierce charge toward the gathering point, with the swarm following closely behind.