I am an insect

"Have you found anything?"

The young man walking the dog was dressed in casual clothes. He looked to be no more than twenty years old. He had regular features and a handsome face. When he smiled, his eyes curved into two crescent moons, making him look very pretty and cute.

The giant dog seemed to understand him, nodding its head twice in front of it, just like a human.

"Sure enough, these idiots, they still can't find it after two days, and they have to trouble us with such a small thing..." The young man muttered to himself, or perhaps to the giant dog.

The giant dog raised its head and suddenly looked at the elderly men and women and several children gathered in the distance.

It seemed to know that these humans were watching it and talking about it. Its mouth was slightly open, revealing its snow-white fangs. It seemed to be somewhat unhappy.

"Mantis, let's go. Don't pay attention to those people; they're just ordinary larvae."

The young man suddenly grinned, reached out, and gently stroked the giant dog's head. The dog then closed its mouth. He then led the strangely named giant dog, called "Mantis," away from Nanzhuang Community, holding the iron chain.

This giant dog, called "Mantis," kept sniffing, sometimes lowering its head, sometimes raising it, as if it were sniffing something.

The person and the dog walked very fast, but the appearance of such a large dog on the road still attracted a lot of attention. Many people kept their distance and dared not approach.

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a big dog." A few young people in the distance were also talking about it.

"This is called a Caucasian Shepherd Dog. It is the largest dog breed and is known as the king of dogs. When it grows up, it can weigh more than 70 kilograms."

One of them knew a bit about dogs and immediately started introducing them to his companion.

"However, it seems that Caucasian Shepherds are not allowed to be kept in China. These dogs are too big and aggressive, and they are too unsafe. This is the first time I have seen someone keeping a Caucasian Shepherd in the city."

"They probably kept it secretly, but now they're bringing it out openly..."

Amid their discussion, the young man and his giant dog named "Mantis" had already disappeared into the alley on the other side of the street. Both the man and the dog were incredibly fast; most people would have to jog to keep up with them.

"Is the praying mantis in that direction?"

The giant dog was faster than the young man and led the way. The young man, holding the chain, could only follow behind. It looked more like the dog was walking the young man than the young man was walking the dog.

A person and a dog kept weaving between different residential areas, startling many pedestrians. No matter who it was, they would instinctively avoid such a large dog and dare not approach it.

Finally, the giant dog that had been leading the way stopped. Across the road, on the other side, was the residential area where Wang Yecheng and Wu Yumei lived.

Both the man and the dog stopped, as if observing the oncoming residential area. The young man's pupils dilated slightly.

"This is quite astonishing... To create such a spectacle in broad daylight, this adult insect is truly remarkable, no wonder it has endured a hundred years of larval development..."

Through the young man's squinting eyes, which were narrowed into two crescent moons, he saw one of the buildings in the distant residential area, its surface covered by billowing clouds that were threatening to engulf the entire building.

Ordinary humans cannot see it, but he can see it clearly and understands that the rolling clouds are the energy of his mind, which is rising from the ground up the building and converging on the fifth floor.

"Mantis, you're really something. You managed to find it using only a trace of your consciousness left behind two days ago... You deserve the most credit for this."

The young man still had a nice smile on his face and looked harmless.

"This adult insect is a bit cunning. It thought it could escape by changing its body, but it probably didn't expect that there would be someone like you, mantis. No matter how many bodies it changes into or how many identities it adopts, it can't escape your sharp eyes."

The young man was muttering to himself when the giant Caucasian Shepherd Dog named Mantis raised its head, opened its blood-red maw to reveal its fangs, and saliva dripped down the edge of its mouth, making it look extremely ferocious.

"Mantis, no, this area hasn't been cleared yet, it's not a good time. Let's wait until sunset..."

The young man looked up as he spoke, muttering, "It's too late to clear the area now; it would alert them. Perhaps we should wait until dark, when they're asleep..."

The sun is setting in the west, and darkness is not far off.

***

Ji Ye, who had entered a state of complete absorption in the world around him, suddenly woke up with a start.

He suddenly opened his eyes. For some reason, he had just felt a sudden panic, as if something had disturbed him and brought him back to his meditative state of complete absorption.

As he regained consciousness, the spiritual energy that had gathered here began to flow backward, sinking with the building and retreating back into the earth.

"What just happened? It looked like something was there..." Ji Ye got out of bed, opened the curtains, and looked outside for a while, but didn't find anything special.

He frowned slightly. He couldn't explain the feeling he had just experienced. He had just suddenly woken up, as if there was something making him uncomfortable, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was or why it made him uncomfortable.

He could only shake his head and close the curtains again. Ji Ye stretched out his right hand, and the black hook reappeared. The hook had grown longer, and now the length extending out of his body was at least sixty centimeters.

"I never expected that I would just enter a state of true selflessness for the first time. It seems that the incident at Vajraji Temple had a significant impact on me, creating an effect similar to a mental demon. Now, I've essentially broken through that mental demon, hence the first time I've entered a state of selflessness. This period of cultivation just now was even more effective than the previous two times combined..."

Ji Ye tested the hook in his right hand and could feel that the power contained within it had become even stronger, and the strength of his mental body had also improved.

A little while later, Wu Yumei and Wang Qinshu also returned home. As soon as Wu Yumei got home, she started talking about the circumambulation of the Buddha, and she seemed very excited. She also complained that Wang Yecheng hadn't accompanied her.

Although Ji Ye knew the truth, he couldn't tell her, so he could only make an excuse that he had something to do and left early.

In the evening, after dinner, Wu Yumei and Wang Qinshu were yawning and wanted to go to sleep.

This was exactly what Ji Ye wanted. With Wu Yumei and Wang Qinshu asleep, he could go up to the rooftop to cultivate earlier.

He now has some experience; bathed in moonlight at night, his mental power is at its strongest, and his cultivation is most effective.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going to sleep..." Wang Qinshu yawned, his eyes barely open.

"You were so tired after just a trip to Kongoji Temple?" Ji Ye asked curiously, looking at Wang Qinshu. He noticed that as Wang Qinshu said, "I'm going to sleep," he lay down on the sofa and fell asleep.

Ji Ye immediately sensed something was wrong and turned his head sharply. Wu Yumei, who was sitting in the chair, had fallen asleep at some point.