Ian Song did not lose his composure over the Radiant Emperor’s Treasure.
He looked at the woman in the black dress, pondering for a moment before asking, "Who is Drake Tang? Why do you want me to kill him?"
A flash of hatred crossed the face of the woman in the black dress. "Drake Tang is my ex-husband, and the man who destroyed my family!"
Ian considered for a moment and asked, "Was it all for the Radiant Emperor’s Treasure key?"
The woman in the black dress gritted her teeth and nodded. "That’s right. Somehow he found out that my Hua Clan possessed one of the keys to open the Radiant Emperor’s Treasure, so he deliberately got close to me and tricked me into falling for him.
Then, on our wedding night, the entire Tang Clan suddenly turned on us. Caught off guard, countless members of my Hua Clan were slaughtered, and the survivors were all captured by the Tang Clan.
To help me escape, my parents sacrificed themselves by self-destructing their souls to force open the clan formation and send me out!
After that, Drake Tang chased me with his men for a full three years. Five years ago, when I was driven to desperation, I broke into a forbidden ground and obtained the Poison Emperor Canon’s inheritance.
Once I cultivated the Poison Emperor Canon to small completion, I came out of the forbidden ground and killed all the Tang Clan martial artists who hunted me down, but unfortunately, Drake Tang managed to escape!
Cultivating the Poison Emperor Canon requires vast amounts of toxins. In order to reach great completion, I came to the Insect Horde’s territory and used the ambient poisons here to train.
Who would’ve thought, just as I perfected the Poison Emperor Canon, I would run into you!
At this point, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on the woman’s face.
"How strong is the Tang Clan?"
Ian pressed further.
The woman replied, "The Tang Clan isn’t considered a major power in the Central Domain. As far as I know, their strongest expert is only a sixth-level War General. My own strength is about equal to a fifth-level War General, but if I strike from the shadows, I could even kill a seventh-level War General!"
She looked more confident as she spoke, but when she thought of Ian Song, who had defeated her so easily, she grew despondent again.
"What’s your name?"
Ian asked again.
"Flora Thrall."
"Do you want to take revenge yourself?"
Flora Thrall said fiercely, "Of course I do! I dream about it every night! I wish I could flay the entire Tang Clan!"
Ian thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you can stay by my side as a maid for now. Once I finish my business with the Insect Horde, I’ll help you take revenge on the Tang Clan."
"You’re not going to kill me?" Flora Thrall looked at Ian in surprise.
"What’s wrong, do you want to die that badly?" Ian said with a playful smile.
"Thank you for sparing me, Young Master. As long as I can take revenge, Flora Thrall is willing to work like an ox or horse by your side!" Flora said gratefully.
"Alright!"
Ian waved his hand. "You’ve stayed in the Insect Horde’s territory for so long—do you know where their main nest is?"
Flora Thrall looked apologetic. "Young Master, I’ve spent these years mostly cultivating and rarely paid attention to other matters, so..."
"Never mind, if you don’t know, forget it."
Ian looked a little disappointed.
Flora Thrall said cautiously, "But Young Master..."
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"Yes, Young Master. Although I don’t know exactly where the Insect Horde’s nest is, I might have a way to find it."
"Oh? Really?" Ian was delighted.
"Because I cultivate poison arts, I’m extremely sensitive to toxins. I think the Insect Horde’s nest should be where the toxins are thickest. If we keep heading toward denser poison, we might find it."
"If that’s the case, then you lead the way!"
Flora Thrall nodded, sensed for a moment, then pointed in a direction. "Young Master, the poison is thicker that way. Let’s head in that direction!"
"Alright!"
With a light shout, the two sped off in that direction.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed, but they still hadn’t found the Insect Horde’s nest.
But Ian felt they were probably heading in the right direction.
With Flora Thrall’s guidance, he’d already traveled over a million li in this direction. The poison here was dozens of times thicker than where he’d first met Flora, and along the way, the poisonous insects had grown much stronger.
They were even ambushed several times by Sigilforge-realm poisonous bugs.
"Let’s rest for a bit!"
Ian glanced at the visibly weakened Flora Thrall and said, having noticed that over these days, besides traveling nonstop, she also had to keep using her spiritual sense to track toxins, so her energy was greatly depleted.
Ian, on the other hand, looked completely unaffected.
"Take this pill!"
Ian tossed a Frost Spirit Pill to Flora Thrall. After observing her these past few days, he realized that because she cultivated poison arts, her constitution was weak, especially since her body and soul had been eroded by toxins, causing considerable damage.
He was certain that if she kept cultivating this way, she wouldn’t live past a hundred. The day the toxins completely corroded her soul would be the day she died.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
Flora Thrall took the pill and swallowed it. Although she didn’t know what it was, the Hua Clan was a prominent family in the Central Domain, and as its only daughter, she’d seen her share of treasures.
Soon, Flora Thrall absorbed the Frost Spirit Pill. Not only was her constitution strengthened, but even her soul grew a bit stronger, and she took the opportunity to expel some of the toxins from her soul.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
Flora Thrall thanked him again, her face full of gratitude.
"The cultivation method you’re practicing has problems."
Ian said seriously, "If you advance one more realm, your lifespan will be reduced even further!"
Flora Thrall forced a bitter smile. "I know, but I have no other choice. The Hua Clan does have an imperial scripture, but its cultivation speed is too slow. This Poison Emperor Canon increases strength quickly, so for revenge, I can’t worry about the consequences!"
Ian didn’t say anything more. After resting for half an hour, the two continued on their way.
They traveled for another five days.
Ian and Flora Thrall were attacked by a massive swarm of insects, and even encountered a Queen Mother bug.
This made Ian even more excited, certain they were on the right track. The insect horde must have learned of human intruders and sent an army to attack.
Even when faced with over a billion insects, Ian was completely unafraid.
He unleashed dozens of palm strikes, annihilating the swarm, and grabbed the Queen Mother bug as she tried to escape into the void.
Seeing the Queen Mother’s disgusting appearance, Ian suppressed his discomfort and used a puppet technique to enslave her.
Through mental communication with the Queen Mother, Ian finally learned the location of the insect horde’s nest and their situation.
There aren’t many experts among the insect horde.
There are only a little over a hundred demigod-level insects.
As for the number of insect gods, the Queen Mother wasn’t sure, but there are at least seven. Fortunately, their gods are generally not very powerful.