Cave Refuge

But since he'd already come to this area, regret was pointless. Ignorant of what rewards passing the trial might yield, Dong Tianyu didn't concern himself with it.

Having heard the buzzing of insects, Dong Tianyu could roughly guess what dangers lurked in the forest.

Compared to plants devoid of Spiritual Wisdom, insects, although less intellectually advanced, could differentiate between the living and the non-living.

Dong Tianyu walked slowly forward, and with each step he took, the Bugs Clan hidden in every nook seemed to sense his presence, turning their collective attention toward him.

At this point, Dong Tianyu was still using the Concealing Breath Skill and hadn't stopped. Unlike plants that relied on perception to identify targets, the Bugs Clan could directly see Dong Tianyu's figure as he advanced.

Although Dong Tianyu could have used the Invisibility Technique to hide his form, he chose not to. His previous experiences told him that while various methods could help him escape attacks from within the forest,

escaping would mean that when it was time to distribute rewards, they wouldn't naturally appear.

Dong Tianyu ventured into the forest to explore, not to sightsee. He was after the gains to be had; without them, he had no interest in idly wandering the woods.

As Dong Tianyu continued at a steady pace, the ground up ahead swarmed with the Bugs Clan like a black tide, rapidly encircling him from all sides.

Seeing this, Dong Tianyu swept over them with his Divine Sense. The silhouettes of bugs with black shells entered his mind.

Faced with this overwhelming attack, Dong Tianyu first tried using his Divine Sense. The outcome was as expected: The approaching Bugs Clan possessed no strong souls. Thus, under the assault of his Divine Sense, the souls of the approaching Bugs Clan were crushed instantly, leaving them motionless like vegetation bugs.

With wave after wave of Bugs Clan closing in, Dong Tianyu's pace didn't falter, still advancing in a steady walk. But as he moved on, those Bugs Clan that kept rushing toward him came to a standstill.

Just as Dong Tianyu was about to step on them, his Flying Swords appeared beneath his feet. He lightly stepped onto the Flying Swords and skimmed low over the bodies of the soulless Bugs Clan.

Although Dong Tianyu was now aboard his Flying Swords, it seemed he was still targeted by the forest's Bugs Clan. Despite his flight, incessant waves of bugs persistently approached his position.

Even flying low on his Swords, certain of being out of direct attack range from the bugs below, Dong Tianyu continued to use his Divine Sense, crushing the souls of the encroaching Bugs Clan.

He noticed some bugs had climbed onto the surrounding trees, seemingly waiting for Dong Tianyu to pass underneath before jumping from the branches to attack from the air.

Naturally, Dong Tianyu would not allow such sneak attacks. The impact from his Divine Sense was of the most basic usage, a centered range attack rippling outward like waves. Once unleashed, all beings within the Divine Sense's radius would suffer its impact.

Most people knew the broader the range of an attack, the less damage it dealt to individual targets. Even with Divine Sense attuned to the Golden Core Stage, an attack on all life within its maximum range would at most injure a common person's soul.

But compared to humans' resilient souls, the majority of the Bugs Clan's souls were weaker. Plus, Dong Tianyu only covered a radius of about fifty meters with his Divine Sense.

He also limited its power, so each Divine Sense impact used minimal energy. This allowed him to continue attacking without interruption.

Dong Tianyu made his way through, and though it couldn't be claimed he killed millions, at least a million bugs had died. If not for the fragility of the bug's souls, Dong Tianyu would have brought out the Three Flags to clear the field.

After all, the Three Flags he had forged were best suited for battle sustenance during low-intensity clashes.

Unfortunately, the Bugs Clan was too weak, and using the Three Flags to clear them would not gain enough to compensate for the Spirit Power expended. So, Dong Tianyu simply continued to use Divine Sense impacts to erase the bugs' fragile souls.

As Dong Tianyu traveled on, every bug that appeared within his Divine Sense range, whether on the ground or on branches, lost its soul without exception.

As Dong Tianyu was about to reach the next boundary line, the relentless wave of Bugs Clan dwindled, eventually ceasing to appear.

As Dong Tianyu had expected, choosing not to avoid, but to confront the challenge head-on, the reward appeared at the edge of the boundary: a captivatingly fragrant Vermillion Fruit.

The name 'Vermillion Fruit' was likely known to most, yet its functions—as depicted across various works—varied considerably.