Chang Ming's heart thumped. He stiffened in shock.

Feng Xian was surprised as well. She knew how strong Zhang Lie was, but neither Li Feng nor Yang Ze were weak, either.

They easily neutralized all attacks coming their way and were impressive fighters in their own right.

Clearly, none of the three were even using their full strength.

Suddenly, Chen Feng feinted and charged toward the silver bug monarch, intending to claim it before anyone else could.

Chang Ming's eyes glinted, his armor radiating light. He shot over himself, divine light emitting from his palms.

"Techniques from the Eternal Hill?" Chen Feng's eyes widened in shock. He clearly feared this secret technique. He shifted over to the side to dodge the blow, then retaliated with an electrifying punch.

Yang Ze easily ascertained that Chang Ming was more skilled than his junior brother.

As the two cultivators struck each other, the dark golden bugs all around them grew furious. These cultivators were clearly disregarding them by starting a fight in their domain!

Runes formed in the air and condensed in a killing blow of massive proportions.

Chang Ming and Feng Xian were both shocked. Chen Feng took the lead, guarding the trio and defending against the frightening attack as he howled.

Yang Ze clashed against Chang Ming, his body quaking with residual momentum, before the bugs' runes struck him. Golden sword energy filled the air and forced him to retreat.

Just then, Zhang Lie appeared, descending from the skies. His foot headed to the most impactful spot on the battlefield.

"You dare!" Chen Feng roared. Beneath him were furious bugs striking at him from below; above him was Zhang Lie coming at him with a foot from above right at his head.

No matter what, he didn't want anyone to step on his head. That would be far too shameful to bear! He punched upward with clenched fists.

However, the cultivator above him had terrifying strength, which weighed down on him like a great mountain. Wind whooshed—his face burned from the friction, as though blades were scraping at his skin.

Unable to move, Chen Feng was hit squarely by the golden bugs' runes, causing his body to quake as wounds appeared all over.

He coughed out a mouthful of blood as he stumbled in weakness.

Zhang Lie descended from the heavens like a god, indomitable and invincible. Chen Feng found himself defenseless against Zhang Lie's blow.Chen Feng roared. A palm of light, dozens of meters wide, slammed into the sky—but it was useless. Zhang Lie's foot landed like an imposing mountain, causing his body to shake.

Chen Feng thundered in rage. The bugs beneath him glowed with light, a dangerous threat. Swords of golden light thrust into his body.

The foot in the sky pushed downward, plastered against his head. Badly wounded by the bug swarm, he was unable to fight back. He roared in anger.

He held both hands skyward, protecting his body even as his hair fell in disarray. His skull ached; blood seeped out. He had barely avoided having his skull crushed from Zhang Lie's foot. He fell toward the bug swarm.

The bugs' light took on a bloody tint as he was struck by rune after rune. The bugs' attacks were too concentrated for him to defend against, and he had no choice but to suffer the attacks head-on.

Chen Feng screamed, pain wracking his body. He struggled furiously as he headed toward the monarch.

All this happened in the blink of an eye, so quickly that an ordinary cultivator wouldn't have been able to sense a thing. One moment, Chen Feng was fine; the next, he had been seriously injured.

Chang Ming and Feng Xian watched on in shock, but there was no time to think. They swooped downward in an attempt to claim the bug monarch for themselves. Chen Feng's downfall had disrupted the bug swarm; this was an excellent opportunity.

Li Feng naturally wasn't about to let the enemy cultivators claim the bug monarch. He reached out to intercept them.

"[Light's Bulwark: Draconic Fist]!"

Li Feng clenched his fist. His right arm, clad with light, was covered with scales. The scales began to move as an arclight dragon materialized, howled, and rushed forward."[The Boundless Blade: Sea Serpent]!"

Yang Ze's sword morphed into a sea serpent, pale blue in color, with gills on either side of its body, its scales like crystalline shards of ice.

The two dragons combined into one, twining around each other as light- and water-attuned genetic energy intersected. Even Chang Ming and Feng Xian had to retreat and deal with the attack.

Zhang Lie descended as a stellar river streamed down, capturing the silver bug monarch and sealing it with his genetic energy.

Countless runes flashed around him.

Chang Ming and Feng Xian had been intercepted by Yang Ze and Li Feng working together. The three enemy cultivators looked at Zhang Lie. Chang Ming and Feng Xian frowned in annoyance, but they didn't strike at him. They had each exchanged blows with Zhang Lie and knew how strong he was; fighting him for a bug monarch wasn't worth it.

Chen Feng's hair lay scattered, his body full of blood. His face was ashen, his eyes crazed and malevolent. Zhang Lie had stomped on his head, almost killing him as a result. This was a grave insult, and he very much wanted to challenge Zhang Lie to a fight to the death.

"Captain, let me handle this fellow."

Li Feng stepped forward and looked at Chen Feng.Chen Feng eventually restrained himself, not wanting to fight under such disadvantageous conditions, because he had suffered significant injures from the bug swarms.

Zhang Lie didn't strike, either. He could sense more cultivators massing by the edges of the battlefield, and he had no intention of letting them take advantage of him.

More importantly, he knew that the Stargods were surrounding and attacking Fang Yi, and didn't want to waste time here.

Chen Feng was upset, but ultimately chose to retreat.

Chang Ming and Feng Xian also vanished from sight, not wanting to engage Zhang Lie in battle just for a bug monarch.

The cultivators skulking about sighed and retreated themselves.

Zhang Lie shook the dudou in his hands. "Feng Xian, don't you want this back?"

Feng Xian stopped short. She blushed as she glared at Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie smiled. "Women's clothing is useless to me. I wouldn't mind returning it to you."

Feng Xian was tempted, but she forced herself to remain calm. She left with a snort.

Zhang Lie sighed. He had been intending to exchange it for information, but it looked as though he would be stuck with it.

Zhang Lie turned to see Yang Ze and Li Feng giving him a strange look.

Zhang Lie scowled. "It's not what you're thinking!"

Yang Ze raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything, Captain! But what are you planning to do?"

"Are you going to chase her?" Li Feng asked.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "Let's find Fang Yi first."

Yang Ze corrected, "No, Captain, Li Feng's asking you if you're planning to woo her!"Li Feng nodded. "You can leave Fang Yi to us."

Zhang Lie rapped them both on the head.

Yang Ze picked up the silver bug monarch and asked, "Captain, what good is this?"

Although Zhang Lie had seized the bug monarch, he hadn't done so because he wanted it, but rather because he didn't want others coveting his possessions. He had no idea how to use it or why it was valuable.

Li Feng asked, "Don't any of you know what it's good for?"