Chapter 135: Death God Mantis
"Long Ao, spare me your arrogance. Let's see you kill me first."
A cold smile touched his lips. Long Ying spun around and abruptly fled.
Now that things had come to this, there was no way Long Ao would let the man escape. He immediately gave chase.
A lingering fear washed over Long Ao. If the Long Clan actually believed Long Ying, the consequences would be unimaginable. Not just him, but his entire family would be dragged down with him.
For that very reason, killing intent flared in Long Ao's heart. He vowed to kill Long Ying.
Both men were incredibly fast. One pursued the other, and in the blink of an eye, they entered the back mountains of the Long Family's estate.
The moment he stepped into the back mountains, before Long Ao could react, the ground beneath him gave way. He plummeted into darkness. Daring not to be the least bit careless, he lashed out with his fists in all directions.
THUD.
Long Ao grimaced, his body trembling in agony. Even though his cultivation had broken through to the Unity Realm, he was still a man of flesh and blood. A normal person would have been killed instantly by such a fall.
After several minutes, Long Ao finally managed to struggle up from the ground.
'I've been had.' Long Ao knew Long Ying had duped him. He laughed bitterly, acknowledging his own carelessness this time. Not dwelling on the issue, he began to survey his surroundings.
In the dim light, Long Ao found himself in a cellar. The air was cold and damp, and a sinister chill assaulted him from all directions. Even Long Ao couldn't suppress a shiver.
"Hahaha! Long Ao, weren't you so arrogant just now? Weren't you going to kill me? Weren't you going to slaughter my clan?"
Hearing the voice echo all around him, Long Ao felt not a trace of anger. He simply stood his ground, perfectly calm.
"Shameless."
"Shameless?"
"Hahaha!" Long Ying's laughter boomed. "Long Ao, this cage is forged from refined steel. Forget about you—even a Transformed Martial Artist couldn't hope to escape. I'll give you a piece of advice: you'd best kill yourself now. Otherwise, I'll make you experience a fate worse than death."
"Moron."
Not deigning to reply to Long Ying, Long Ao began to nurse his injuries.
CHITTER, CHITTER...
Just then, countless piercing sounds echoed from all around. The assaulting cold aura grew even more sinister.
Curious, Long Ao glanced around, and the sight made him jump in alarm.
From out of nowhere, countless Blood-colored Mantises suddenly appeared. Each one was the size of a fist, and they poured out in a continuous, unstoppable swarm.
"Death God Mantis!"
Long Ao cried out in shock, for he was no stranger to the Death God Mantis.
Death God Mantises were not particularly powerful individually, but they were social Spirit Beasts. The reason they were so feared was that once touched by their poisonous mist, a victim would die instantly, regardless of how powerful they were.
Long Ao had never, ever imagined Long Ying would use such a tactic against him.
Not daring to let his guard down for an instant, he immediately drew his Blood-Drinking Mad Saber and unleashed the first three of the Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques simultaneously: the Netherworld Nine-Link Strike, the Ice-Sealed Heart Devourer, and the Sea of Blazing Flames.
Long Ao quickly discovered that among the three techniques, Sea of Blazing Flames was the most suitable for dealing with these pack-dwelling Spirit Beasts.
For this reason, Long Ao stopped using the first two techniques and focused solely on unleashing a continuous Sea of Blazing Flames, using its Sword Aura to form a Blade Aura Shield around himself.
It had to be admitted that Long Ao's Blood-Drinking Mad Saber and his Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques were indeed immensely powerful. The countless Death God Mantises swarming around him were unable to get near.
But Long Ao was no fool. He knew that if this continued, even if the Death God Mantises didn't get him, he would be worked to death.
As he swung his Blood-Drinking Mad Saber, continuously unleashing the Sea of Blazing Flames, his mind raced, searching for a way to eliminate the surrounding Death God Mantises for good.
A Dragon's Roar echoed, and in the next moment, Long Qiang's massive body suddenly appeared in the cellar.
Spirit Beasts were also divided into Levels. Among all Spirit Beasts, Giant Dragons were absolutely peak-Level existences. This was the true reason the Long Clan was able to become one of the superpowers of the Celestial Martial Continent.
Long Qiang was a mutated Giant Dragon. The mere pressure of his aura completely suppressed the surrounding Death God Mantises. The countless insects didn't dare to move or continue their attack; they simply lay prostrate and still.
Hiding outside, Long Ying saw this, and his expression became incomparably grim.
'A Dragon Martial Artist. The clan used to have a Dragon Martial Artist, but because of this man, all of our hopes were shattered.'
"Long Ao, you will die here today without fail."
Still ignoring Long Ying, Long Ao, with Long Qiang's help, began slaughtering the surrounding Death God Mantises without hesitation. In just a few short minutes, all of them had been completely wiped out.
Long Ao would not let this opportunity pass. He sent all the souls into his spatial artifact, preparing to have Long Fu begin the Refinement process.
With his Death God Mantises slaughtered, Long Ying didn't even have time to feel the loss. Right now, his heart held only hatred. As long as he could kill this man, any price was worth it.
Countless sharp arrows flew in from all directions, but ordinary arrows had no hope of harming Long Ao.
"Long Ao, let's see how you withstand *this* Death God Mantis."
As soon as Long Ying's words fell, a massive Death God Mantis appeared. Its entire body was blood-red, and its cold eyes were locked onto the young man before it. Its two sharp, blade-like legs made a KLAK-KLAK sound, reflecting an icy glint in the dim light.
Staring at the giant Death God Mantis that had suddenly appeared, Long Ao could sense its power. Without a doubt, this Death God Mantis was an existence on the same Level as himself: the Innate Unity Realm.
Ever since his cultivation had broken through to the Unity Realm, Long Ao had been filled with confidence. With his current strength, even if he couldn't instantly kill another Unity Martial Artist, he could at least dominate the Innate Realm. It was no exaggeration to say he was the number one person below the Transformation Realm.
In other words, the number one person in the Innate Realm.
But even so, Long Ao still felt a sense of threat from this Death God Mantis.
Long Ao was certain that this Death God Mantis was at the Peak of the Unity Realm. For this very reason, he didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless, even summoning the Corpse Slave he had just finished refining, Ye Yidao.
Ever since making his three-year agreement with the Fire Qilin, Long Ao had started bringing the Corpse Slave with him again. In any case, the Corpse Slave was at the Thunder Tribulation Realm. With the two of them fighting together, his confidence instantly skyrocketed.