Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Just now.

Deep inside the abandoned mine, a chilling rustling sound suddenly came from within.

The sound was initially faint, but after only two or three breaths, it became as dense as a torrential downpour. Immediately afterwards, hundreds of Yinming insects, each the size of a fingernail and covered with hard black carapaces, surged out of the dark mine like a black tide bursting its banks.

In fact, the moment the illusion array outside was activated and the fighting spirit energy fluctuated violently, Xia Dong inside the mine had already noticed the abnormality outside.

Being cautious by nature, he did not choose to rush out immediately to play the hero.

He didn't know how many enemies were lying in ambush outside, nor did he know their strength. To be on the safe side, he prepared for the worst.

Without hesitation, Xia Dong took out several medicine bottles from his storage bag. Inside were insect-attracting powder and several medicinal herbs with extremely hot and stimulating properties.

After arriving at the mine, he gained a sufficient understanding of the habits of the leech borer. With his medical skills, it was naturally not difficult for him to formulate an insect-attracting powder specifically for the leech borer.

He slammed his palms together, and his immense martial arts qi and blood, at the peak of the Inner Strength Realm, erupted instantly.

This time, he didn't use any magic power. He relied solely on the crushing force of his physical body to instantly grind these medicinal herbs into an extremely fine powder and infuse them with a strong aura of blood and qi.

Xia Dong then quickly activated the "Ling Nong Gong" technique.

This technique not only allows him to regulate the spiritual fields, but also makes him extremely sensitive to the earth's vein energy and wind flow.

During his previous exploration of the abandoned mine shafts, Xia Dong had already determined the location of the nearest nest of the yin moth.

Following a faint, eerie wind blowing deeper into the mine, he forcefully threw the mixed powder into the air duct.

The yin moth, which lives deep within abandoned mines, resides in an extremely cold and gloomy environment year-round.

This sudden, intensely hot, yang-attribute medicinal powder was a deadly stimulus for them. The entire insect nest instantly erupted into chaos; the Yin-Yang Moths became incredibly agitated, surging towards the entrance of the nest like madmen, drawn by the scent of the powder.

Just moments before the insect swarm erupted, Xia Dong had already swiftly applied a Concealing Talisman and an Invisibility Talisman to himself.

At the same time, he fully activated the Divine Treasury Chapter of the "Changchun Xingqi Jue".

With the blessing of this secret technique, all the fluctuations of his qi, blood and magic power were locked up tightly.

Under the influence of the Concealing Breath Talisman and the Divine Treasury Chapter.

At that moment, he seemed to have turned into a lifeless, cold rock.

Using the invisibility talisman, Xia Dong crept along the rock wall of the mine tunnel and silently made his way to the vicinity of the cave entrance.

Just as Xia Dong was about to lend a hand, he discovered that the yin moths were emerging faster than he had expected.

He paused slightly.

Sure enough, in no time, hundreds of yin moths, accompanied by a nauseating stench, gushed out of the mine!

These hungry Yinming insects have an extremely strong desire to devour any living creature that has fluctuations of qi, blood, and spiritual energy.

"How did those mineral worms get out?"

The three assassins were terrified. Faced with the suddenly appearing Yinming insects, they no longer cared about killing Qin Wan.

Forced to retreat repeatedly, they had no choice but to immediately withdraw their attacking magical artifacts and instead fully activate the magical power within their bodies to activate their protective magical artifacts, creating a thick spiritual energy shield around their bodies.

Crackle, crackle.

The Yinming insects crashed into the spiritual energy shield like moths to a flame, emitting a dense, teeth-grinding sound.

Their sharp mouthparts frantically devoured the spiritual light on the shield, and in the blink of an eye, the shields of the three mid-stage Qi Refining assassins visibly dimmed.

They could only desperately pour magic into the protective shield, struggling to resist the deadly swarm of insects.

...

...

Meanwhile, Qin Wan, who was in dire straits, escaped this calamity.

Although Yinming insects have an extreme thirst for the life force of living beings, as strange insects that live in extremely yin places all year round, they are naturally afraid of the power of thunder.

Qin Wan had just unleashed an extremely powerful lightning spell, and the aura of the lightning spell still lingered on her body.

As the swarm of insects rushed past her, they instinctively parted and went around her, not daring to touch her in the slightest.

Qin Wan, who had escaped death, breathed a long sigh of relief.

She struggled to lift her head and looked into the dark, abandoned mine. A deep worry flashed in her eyes: So many Yinming insects have been lured out. What will happen to Brother Xia, who is still in seclusion inside?

But the life-or-death crisis at hand did not allow her to be distracted too much.

Taking advantage of the precious moment when the three assassins were busy with the swarm of Yinming insects and had no time to spare, Qin Wan took out a pill from her storage bag and put it in her mouth.

She immediately closed her eyes, using the medicine to fully circulate her cultivation technique, desperately trying to suppress the paralyzing toxins spreading in her body, and attempting to re-condense the stagnant magical power in her meridians.

The battlefield situation changes rapidly.

"Damn it! There are too many bugs, my shield is about to break!" The assassin, who was skilled in stealth and used the Demon-Binding Rope to ambush Qin Wan, let out a terrified curse.

With a soft "crack" sound, the spiritual energy shield on his body, which had been gnawed away to an extremely thin degree, was finally bitten open by several strong Yinming insects!

At that critical moment, when the old forces collapsed and the new forces had not yet emerged!

Xia Dong, who had been lurking in the shadows, accurately captured this fleeting flaw.

boom!

Xia Dong instantly pushed his martial arts internal energy and blood to the limit, reaching the peak of the Inner Strength Realm!

His heart pounded like a heavy drum, and his muscles were taut like a bowstring.

The already mastered "Crane Shadow Step" was unleashed with a roar!

Xia Dong's figure instantly transformed into a blurry, ghostly afterimage. With an incredibly powerful burst of physical strength, he precisely passed through the gaps in the swarm of flying insects and directly pressed himself against the back of the assassin whose protective shield had just shattered.

The assassin was frantically preparing to cast another spell to fend off the swarm of insects when he suddenly felt an extremely sharp gust of wind sweep up from behind him.

In an attack of this magnitude, an assassin simply wouldn't have time to react.

Xia Dong remained expressionless as his right hand shot out like a cannonball, unleashing the Dragon-Capturing Hand technique purely through sheer physical strength.

His five fingers, like iron pincers, gripped the assassin's nape and chin tightly.

A brutal, immense force suddenly erupted.

Click!

A chilling sound of bones breaking rang out amidst the flapping of the insects' wings.

The assassin's head was twisted 180 degrees, and his cervical spine was completely shattered.

Before he could even let out a scream, the life in his eyes vanished instantly, and he collapsed like a tattered sack.

Xia Dong casually released the corpse, his cold gaze sweeping over the other two assassins who were still struggling against the swarm of insects. His voice was low and flat:

"You all forced me to this."