Treasure-Hunting Plane.
At the moment Lu Jun battled the United Forces of Various Nations, the scattered members of the Chinese Team across the plane were also reaping great rewards. With no interference from others, they only needed to deal with the demons guarding the treasures, making things naturally much easier.
Moreover, the group knew of the earth-shattering battle on the central plains. If Lu Jun hadn't forbidden them from going over, they would have rushed to assist long ago.
Presumably, the captain feared that if they went to help and failed, they might be captured as hostages, creating an even bigger problem.
Even so, the six silently felt grateful. They planned to give Lu Jun some heavenly materials and treasures—a kind of "protection fee"—since their ability to develop safely relied on Lu Jun's restraining influence.
At this moment, Jiang Shaoxu and Nan Jue's faces were flushed with excitement. Their luck was good, as the Nightmare Thunder Beast, a peak-level Commander boss, accompanied them, bringing immense profits.
Along the way, they had already acquired a considerable amount of heavenly treasures.
Now, they encountered yet another supreme treasure.
Originally buried deep within countless underground caverns, the plains' great battle had shaken the plane's structure, triggering earthquakes and collapses that forced the treasures out.
Naturally, this also brought forth the demons inhabiting those subterranean chambers—the centipede demons.
Crunch! Crack!
In the basin, Jiang Shaoxu and Nan Jue's faces turned pale as they watched countless dark holes around them. One by one, centipede demons crawled out, producing a series of spine-chilling sounds.
These centipedes ranged from two or three meters to several dozen meters in length, with jet-green bodies covered in rigid carapaces. Their ventral legs curved like crescent hooks, sharp and gleaming.
Depending on their rank, centipedes were divided by body length and number of leg blades: Ten-legged centipedes were servant-class, usually two to three meters; Hundred-legged centipedes were general-class, around ten meters.
Thousand-legged centipedes were commander-class great demons, highly conspicuous within their species, like long, winding green juvenile dragons, coiling through the air.
In an instant, the two women were trapped in a sea of centipedes, completely surrounded by swarming, nauseating masses. Sticky fluids splattered everywhere, and numerous eerie compound eyes stared intently at the pair and the beast.
"Really unlucky… walking along fine, who knew we'd step on a centipede nest!"
Jiang Shaoxu's face drained of color, nearly screaming. Girls were naturally afraid of centipedes and other venomous creatures, and now trapped in a centipede sea, their situation was extremely perilous.
The centipedes were vast in number. Even the six commander-class centipedes nearby reared up, blotting out the sky, their poisonous and dark aura mingling to form a green miasma enveloping the two.
Nan Jue quickly administered some antidotes to both and controlled Stars, releasing Plant-type magic.
Rumble rumble! Countless dark vines erupted from the ground, silently absorbing the poisonous miasma, barely forming a barrier.
Only Nan Jue remained calm, pointing into the air: "Don't panic. See that circle of crystal-white treasure orb entwined by the six commander-level centipedes? It bears a mark—it's the Battlefield Treasure!"
As she spoke, Jiang Shaoxu looked up and saw six enormous green dragon-like centipedes encircling the two of them, tracing arcs, chasing a dazzlingly bright orb as if performing the Six Dragons Playing with a Pearl.
However, the pure white orb was wrapped in a seal, impervious to the demons' influence.
Seeing this, her expression brightened: "This year's Battlefield Treasure must be an extraordinary supreme treasure."
Nearby, the Nightmare Thunder Beast remained hidden in the dense black mist, its form indistinct, only the pair of crimson eyes visible, scanning back and forth among the six commander-class thousand-legged centipedes.
The centipede sea had not immediately attacked, for this reason.
Commander-class peak-level great demons were not to be underestimated by anyone.
Jiang Shaoxu whispered: "We excel at AoE control. We'll restrain the minions for the Nightmare Thunder Beast, letting it snatch the Battlefield Treasure from in front of the six commander-class centipedes, then we escape immediately."
"The Nightmare Thunder Beast is fastest. If it succeeds, we'll give this treasure to Lu Jun. Anyway, we've gathered enough loot. The captain's summoned beast has done a lot for us."
Nan Jue nodded silently, controlling Stars, ready to strike.
At this moment, the basin was tense, poised for battle.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Suddenly, a void portal opened, and a ghostly figure descended from above.
Swish! The Nightmare Thunder Beast sensed its master's aura, delightedly looking up. At that moment, one of the six commander centipedes seized the opportunity, lunging out like a colossal train toward the darkness.
Lu Jun had just appeared. Turning his mind, he sneered: "Attempting a sneak attack?"
Rumble rumble!
The next moment, he clenched his fist. His body emanated overlapping shadows, with the two great Yin-Yang Ghost Fiends forcibly merging with his soul form. Patterns of curses spread across his refined soul, adapted from Zujiming's Cursed Borrowed Body Technique.
Outside observers, clueless, mistook it for a purely Curse-type ability. While true, without Soul Magic, one could not astrally project.
Lu Jun unleashed an endless, raging sandstorm. Cyan-white, murky sands rapidly spread, filling the basin, with flying stones and dust.
The towering cyan-white wind swept through the centipede sea. The many servant-class ten-legged centipedes were turned to stone, then cut into pieces by the fierce wind.
Even the six commander centipedes were affected, their green carapaces turning gray and stone-like, with dense, crisscrossed scars appearing, greatly reducing their speed.
Seeing this, the Nightmare Thunder Beast reacted swiftly. Boom! Black mist dispersed, ripples formed in the void, and its form vanished, ascending violently into the air. Its blurred limbs landed atop the centipedes' thick backs.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each step left a deep shadow imprint, edges gleaming with black lightning.
A series of footprints burned into the backs of the thousand-legged centipedes, exploding simultaneously, releasing vast amounts of black smoke that corroded the centipedes' bodies. Clusters of lightning pierced through, ravaging the surrounding energy.
Shriek! The thousand-legged centipedes' screams were shrill and high-pitched. Before the six commanders could react, the Nightmare Thunder Beast had already leveraged the commander centipede beneath it, approaching the crystal-white treasure orb in midair, as pure as the moon.
With a powerful kick, it leapt, biting the orb gracefully and descending into the shadows.
The Nightmare Thunder Beast's success relied heavily on the combined efforts of Lu Jun, Jiang Shaoxu, and Nan Jue.
One's eyes flashed black and red, the power of Curse descending, forming countless threads of web wrapping around three commander centipedes. Another's mind radiated transparent brilliance like a wheel, forcibly controlling one commander. The last released purple sound waves, disrupting the remaining centipede commander.
The three worked together, effortlessly restraining enough space for the beast to seize the treasure.
In the void, Lu Jun's soul form swirled his long sleeves gracefully, whispering: "Go!"
One second later, the Nightmare Thunder Beast, carrying the two women, dashed across the centipede sea, its body wrapped in black-and-yellow violent thunder, racing out of the encirclement.
Lu Jun then activated his Heaven-Earth Domain, erecting wall after wall of grand cyan-white wind and sand, blocking the pursuing centipede horde. After several breaths, the walls dissipated into a wisp of white light.
The soul returned to the body!
He was too lazy to entangle with the centipede demons—it was meaningless. With his main body absent, he couldn't eliminate them; taking the Battlefield Treasure was the key.
In the basin, the centipedes howled in anger, lamenting the lost treasure but hesitating to pursue. Lu Jun alone was equivalent to a peak commander-level ghost servant. Combined with the Nightmare Thunder Beast, the outcome of a real battle was uncertain.
For additional chapters
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