The Insect Scripture, the Supreme Insect God Manual, the insect corpse...
Each item had its own introduction.
However, the most eye-catching thing on the altar wasn't any of those three items, but rather a bug-shaped artifact spirit!
The moment he saw it, Qi Ping recognized it. It was the terrifying insect from the center of the manor!
Six legs and eight wings, as large as a human, with its entire body inscribed with incredibly complex and powerful golden marks.
A terrifying bloodline pressure radiated from it. Compared to this, the bloodline pressure of the Heavenly Phoenix Cicada or the Demonic Insect King was like that of a younger brother!
And the insect corpse on the altar seemed to belong to this very spirit!
Faced with this pressure, Qi Ping felt a significant amount of stress, as he could only channel a portion of the Azure Heaven Region's power here.
As Sister Nan entered, the gaze of the eight-winged insect spirit fell upon her, looking at her like one would a child.
A voice, ancient and weathered by countless ages, spoke.
"The Great Spirit Insect King Physique..."
"After a hundred thousand years, someone has finally awakened this constitution."
"Greetings, little one. I am the Guardian Saint Beast of the Beast God Sect, the Eight-Winged Pith-Immortal!"
The moment she heard the voice, the marks on her face seemed to come alive. A pulse of power burst forth, continuously refining her body.
"Junior Mu Nan greets the Pith-Immortal Senior!" she said respectfully, bowing.
"Mu Nan? A descendant of Old Mu? Do you know your ancestor's name? Does your bloodline inheritance mention me?" the Pith-Immortal asked.
"Senior, the family was down to just me by my generation. When I was seven, my parents were killed by enemies. They hadn't told me about the family inheritance yet. I only knew I was of the ancient Beast God Sect's bloodline from their belongings..."
"Except for the time when I was six and accidentally entered this space to obtain a manual for rearing insects."
"Because my natural talent was poor, I struggled all the way to the fifth level of Qi Refinement. It wasn't until later, with the help of a friend, that I could avoid the wars and finally reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, awakening my physique."
After hearing her story, the Eight-Winged Pith-Immortal fell into silence.
It hadn't expected the Beast God Sect to have fallen so far. In its day, there were Void Refinement stage experts!
It was a Void Refinement existence itself.
At its peak, the sect could even stand against Synthesis stage titans.
And now, a direct descendant had struggled just to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
After a long while, a complex look appeared on the Pith-Immortal's face, and it sighed.
"I didn't think the sect would fall this far..."
"However, after the sect was destroyed by those people, it's already good that some bloodlines remained... I assume the world outside has declined significantly? Which factions rule this area now?" it asked, seemingly having expected the world's decline.
"Senior, as of several thousand years ago, the outside world only had two Third-Grade spiritual veins left. Second-Grade veins barely numbered ten. The region was ruled by the Qing Yuan Sect."
Hearing this, the Pith-Immortal's eyes went wide.
"What? Two Third-Grade veins? What kind of dump is that?"
It had expected decline, but not this.
When the Beast God Sect ruled, there were Sixth-Grade spiritual veins! Fifth-Grade veins were common. In just a hundred thousand years, it had become this pathetic? This was practically a latrine.
It hadn't heard of the Qing Yuan Sect.
"No wonder your cultivation was so difficult!"
It finally understood why she, a girl with poor talent, had struggled so much to reach Foundation Establishment.
In fact, 'difficult' wasn't the word for it. Without the benefactor she mentioned, she probably wouldn't have even reached the late stages of Qi Refinement.
But while it understood, it was still furious that its prosperous home had become such a mess.
It couldn't help but feel murderous intent toward the enemies who had attacked the sect.
But then it felt a sense of powerlessness. Even at its peak, the sect had been crushed. It had only escaped to this realm because Old Mu and the Sect Master had fought to the death to cover its retreat. It had barely managed to hide the coordinates before its heavy injuries forced it to become the manor's spirit and seal its own body.
Now, a hundred thousand years had passed, and none of its friends had returned. The result was obvious: they were all dead.
It was trapped in this manor.
The long ages had eroded almost everything in the realm. With broken laws and no maintenance, the veins had withered, and life had vanished. Almost everything had been ground away by the power of time and space.
Now, besides a few jade slips and its own precious corpse, almost everything else was gone.
"What about now?" it asked, noticing she had used the past tense.
She had been describing the state of things a thousand years ago.
The spirit's mood darkened further.
However, her next words changed everything.
"It's much better now."
"Oh? Better?" The spirit was stunned.
How could this world have improved?
"Yes, because of a legend."
"A legend?"
"It started about a hundred years ago... the Immortal Alliance was rampaging, and the Qing Yuan Sect had a hidden demonic mastermind who planned to swallow the entire Azure Heaven Region to reach the Deity Transformation stage... In the moment of life and death, a legend called the Bee Daoist emerged and suppressed everything..."
She began to tell the story of the Azure Heaven Region.
"Now, the region has Fourth-Grade spiritual veins and is the most sought-after place for rogue cultivators on the continent. The Qing Yuan Academy is a dream for many. This is surely the best era for the region in tens of thousands of years."
"Demon insect manual? Earth Immortal?" After hearing the story, the spirit's eyes went wide!
It was even more shocked by this than the world's decline!
It then burst into laughter.
"Good! Good! Good!"
It said 'good' six times!
"I didn't expect the region to have such Providence. Not only an Earth Immortal, but one who inherited the demon insect manual. He can be considered a successor of our sect!"
"Earth Immortal? What is that?" she asked, puzzled.
She didn't understand what it was that could shock a former Void Refinement spirit so much.
"An Earth Immortal... it's natural you don't know. They were rare even in ancient times! I only know of them from some ancient secrets. Likely no one on the continent knows..."
The spirit began to explain.
"An Earth Immortal is a being with the Providence and blessing of the land. Only a few can be born in any given era. Every Earth Immortal is a blessing for their region!"
"The conditions for their birth are incredibly harsh. Even the records don't have the full details, only the extent of their power."
"Depending on the strength of the region, their combat power varies. But without a doubt, within their own domain, they are nearly invincible—unless one can destroy that entire part of the world!"
"But for a great cultivator, while sinking a region might be possible, they would never want to face that kind of Providence and Daoist backlash. They would even face the most terrifying Heavenly Punishment during their breakthrough... it would essentially be mutual destruction."
"Based on what you said, I estimate that person in the Azure Heaven Region has at least the combat power of the Void Refinement stage."
"Void Refinement?" Her eyes went wide.
She was now eighty or ninety percent sure Qi Ping was the Bee Daoist. The spirit had said the bee swarm surely came from the manual, and since she had only ever given it to Qi Ping, and added to the other coincidences, it was clear that the legendary figure was the boy who had nearly cried while asking her to find his bees.
But she could have accepted that. Now she was being told he had the strength of a Void Refinement expert?
Heavens!
Her Foundation Establishment strength was likely no more than an ant in his eyes.
But then she thought about it and felt it made sense!
She was certain Qi Ping was right beside her, and yet this former Void Refinement spirit couldn't detect him!
Even if the spirit had been trapped for a hundred thousand years, that was still terrifying.
Thus, it was possible he truly had Void Refinement strength or even more.
"Yes, an Earth Immortal is that terrifying. Favored by the world, invincible in their domain! And you said he's using policies to attract cultivators from other regions?"
"Yes!" she nodded.
"His methods are impressive. Given the situation, I can be certain the region's strength is surging. As an Earth Immortal, his strength will grow with it... if this continues, he might even reach the Synthesis stage!"
"Synthesis stage?" Her head was spinning.
Just what kind of person had she befriended?
"Yes!" the Pith-Immortal said with certainty. "By then, if an enemy wanted to kill him, they would need a Synthesis stage expert to commit suicide with him, and even those closely related to that expert would likely perish with them!"
"According to the records, killing an Earth Immortal always requires a tragic price!"
"Then doesn't that mean he's essentially safe?" she asked.
The Pith-Immortal shook its head, looking desolate.
"Perhaps not. Those at the top won't allow an Earth Immortal to grow unchecked, especially on the Star Sea Continent. They likely have a plan to kill him already in motion..."
"What?" Panic surged in her heart.
Concern for Qi Ping's safety immediately overwhelmed her.
"What are you panicking for? Do you know him?" The spirit looked at her with suspicion.
It had seen much in its life, and even her subtle reaction was noticed.
"I might," she said, uncertain. "Mostly because everyone's peaceful life depends on him. If he's gone, the region will be bathed in blood."
"Well... it's not without opportunity. Killing an Earth Immortal costs too much. Losing several Void Refinement or Synthesis experts can ruin a faction. Few are willing to pay that price."
"After all, an Earth Immortal is only strong in their own domain, and the Azure Heaven Region is insignificant. It's not worth the price to kill him, but it's impossible to let him grow... so I suspect they will target his weakness!"
"What weakness?" she pressed.
"They will target the regions outside his domain to steal Providence. The world is tightly connected. By sending many ordinary cultivators and demons to plunder the Providence and creations of the surrounding regions, they can isolate and weaken the Azure Heaven Region!"
"Once it has declined to a certain point, or becomes unstable, and they interfere with the world's power, they can kill an Earth Immortal with minimal cost!"
"What can we do if that happens?" she asked anxiously.
Looking at her, the Eight-Winged Pith-Immortal smiled proudly and pointed at the items on the altar.
"Didn't the Bee Daoist study the rearing manual? That Insect Scripture and my own body can solve this dilemma!"