Secret Realm Eight.
Deep within the canopy of a colossal, ancient tree.
Chu Sheng was lounging comfortably on a giant leaf, his two hind legs crossed as he relaxed without a care in the world.
Before him floated several Qi Blood Crystal Balls, exuding a dense aura of Qi Blood.
Three hours had passed, and the thirty thousand points of Qi Blood he had absorbed earlier were now fully digested.
âTime for another three!â
SLURPâ
Chu Sheng extended his proboscis and took a deep drink from one of the Qi Blood Crystal Balls.
Instantly, that incomparably pure Qi Blood Energy, completely free of impurities, transformed into a surging, hot current that flowed through his entire body.
âAwesome!â
âThis is amazing!â
It was like chugging iced watermelon juice on a hot summer day, and the best part was, this juice made you stronger!
[Ding! Qi Blood +10,000! Estimated digestion time: 1 hour...]
...
âSo comfortable!â
Chu Sheng closed his eyes and activated Nether Vision.
In his field of view, his little Bloodthirsty Demon Bee brothers were scattered everywhere, diligently working to collect blood for him...
Every so often, a batch of Bloodthirsty Demon Bees would return with Qi Blood Packages.
All Chu Sheng had to do was use the Nether Flame Insect Nest to purify and recycle this Qi Blood with a single click, turning it into new Qi Blood Crystal Balls!
A short while later, Chu Shengâs Qi Blood had increased by another thirty thousand.
Before entering Secret Realm Eight, Chu Sheng had 19 full Qi Blood Crystal Balls in his Lifebound Space, each containing ten thousand points of Qi Blood.
But now, six hours later...
Chu Sheng had absorbed six Qi Blood Crystal Balls, increasing his Qi Blood by sixty thousand.
Yet when he counted the Qi Blood Crystal Balls in his Lifebound Space, there were still 19 of them!
âNot a single one missing?â
âWhy?â
Because in those six hours, his little Bloodthirsty Demon Bee brothers had collected another sixty thousand points of Qi Blood for him...
âHoly crap!â
âAt this rate, isnât this an endless supply? A perpetual motion machine?â
...
Of course.
A perpetual motion machine was impossible.
The law of conservation of energy applied even in this high-martial world.
Qi Blood didnât appear from nowhere, nor did it vanish into thin air. He was just a delivery boy for nature.
He wasnât creating energy; he was just moving the Qi Blood from the Demon Beasts in Secret Realm Eight into his own stomach.
Although Secret Realm Eight was large and had many Demon Beasts, it couldnât withstand tens of thousands of Demon Bees "madly hauling" away Qi Blood like this.
And this was with Chu Sheng practicing "sustainable development" and holding back.
This led to the current situation where every Demon Beast in Secret Realm Eight looked like it had donated too much bloodâpale and emaciated, with lifeless eyes, staggering as they walked.
If he kept this up, Secret Realm Eight was probably going to become the "Anemic Secret Realm."
âNo, no, canât be too ruthless as a mosquito. I have to give them some time to recover.â
Although Chu Sheng was greedy, he understood the value of a long-term investment.
âIf I shear the sheep bald, how will I get any more wool next time?â
"My boys! Retreat!"
"Weâre done shearing Eight, so letâs just find a new place to shear!"
...
And so.
That day was a day full of confusion for Jing Universityâs Secret Realm management office.
First, the monitoring data for Secret Realm Eight showed abnormalities: the activity level of the Demon Beasts inside had dropped sharply, and their vital signs were universally weak.
Before they could figure out what was going on, Secret Realm Seven began to exhibit the exact same symptoms!
It was as if an invisible plague was spreading between the Secret Realms.
And the source of this "plague" was a single, unremarkable-looking White-striped Aedes Mosquito that no one had noticed.
Chu Sheng was like a guerrilla fighter, hitting one spot and moving to the next.
Once he had pretty much sheared Secret Realm Eight clean, he moved the battle to Secret Realm Seven.
When Secret Realm Seven was also nearly shorn, he charged into Secret Realm Six without stopping!
ăThe next day, at noon.ă
In a hidden valley within Secret Realm Six.
Chu Sheng was coiled atop a giant boulder, surrounded by layers upon layers of vigilant Soldier Bees.
At this moment, his entire body was crimson, as if a volcano were erupting inside him!
RUMBLEâ
Qi Blood surged and roared through his body like a great river, emitting a deafening boom.
His hard, chitinous shell now glowed with an eerie red light, with faint, arcane patterns swirling across its surface.
This was... a sign of a breakthrough!
After a frantic binge of absorption, his Qi Blood Value had finally broken the six hundred thousand mark!
âBreak... for me!!!â
Chu Sheng roared in his mind.
CRACK!
It was as if some shackle within his body had been violently shattered!
An unprecedentedly terrifying aura instantly erupted from him, sweeping out in all directions!
BOOM!!!
The surrounding vegetation was instantly bent low by the shockwave, and countless bits of gravel were blasted into the air!
Sixth-Grade!
Qi Blood Sixth-Grade!
âI did it!â
Chu Sheng slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them as if two bolts of blood-red lightning had torn through the sky.
âOpen the system panel, now!â
[Host: Chu Sheng]
[Race: Silent Extinction Divine Mosquito]
[Lifespan: 500 Years]
[Bloodline: King-level (Five Stars)]
[Qi Blood: 609,800 (Sixth-Grade Early Stage)]
[Mental Power: 308,998 (Fifth-Grade Late Stage)]
[Evolution Points: 9,910]
âSix hundred and nine thousand, eight hundred!â
Feeling the vast, ocean-like power within his body, Chu Sheng felt as if he were omnipotent at this very moment!
âWith my current body, even without activating the Silent Annihilation Battle Armor, I dare say Iâm invincible within the Middle-Grade Realm!â
"Who agrees? Who objects?"
âAnd if I activate the Silent Annihilation Battle Armor, even just to Fifth Gear, Iâd dare to clash with a Seventh-Grade Late Stage expert! Even a Peak Seventh-Grade wouldnât be an impossible fight!â
âAwesome!â
This feeling of surging power was simply intoxicating.
Chu Sheng gleefully inspected his "little private stash."
Inside his Lifebound Space, twenty whole Qi Blood Crystal Balls now lay quietly!
That was one more than he had when he first came out of Secret Realm Nine!
âTsk tsk, this is what you call not just breaking even, but turning a profit!â
âI really am a good, frugal, home-making mosquito!â
However.
These good times had temporarily come to an end.
Chu Sheng sensed the situation in Secret Realm Six.
The Demon Beasts within a radius of dozens of miles had all gone into hiding. The weaker ones had been scared witless, cowering and trembling in their dens.
In a sense,
he had become a walking disaster for Secret Realms Six, Seven, and Eight!
âSigh, I canât keep draining them.â
Chu Sheng sighed, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.
He had already wreaked havoc on Secret Realms Six, Seven, and Eight. They were severely depleted and would need at least a month or so to recover.
As for the higher-level Secret Realms One through Five...
Chu Sheng thought about it, then shook his head.
Those Secret Realms were home to a large number of Seventh-Grade, Eighth-Grade, and even Ninth-Grade Demon Beasts!
There might even be King-level beings guarding them!
âMy little brothers may be numerous, but their individual strength is only Fifth-Grade, after all.â
âIf they really charged into those high-level Secret Realms, they probably wouldnât be collecting bloodâtheyâd be serving themselves up as a meal.â
âThe casualties would be heavy, and Iâd be the one feeling the heartache.â
âForget it, forget it. Canât be too greedy as a mosquito. I should quit while Iâm ahead.â
Chu Sheng reined in his thoughts and recalled all the Demon Bees still roaming outside to the Insect Nest.
Then, he found a large tree that looked most pleasing to the eye, hid among its dense leaves, and prepared to rest for a bit to consolidate his newly broken-through realm.
...
Just as Chu Sheng closed his eyes to rest and meditate, a few young voices suddenly sounded from beneath the tree.