Chapter Forty-Two: The Lime Sword Immortal, Ancestor Luo

Wind manipulation combined with fire control—thus, the two together created this spectacle.

The blaze, instead of dying out amid the violent explosions, surged upward a thousand feet, shrouding the entire forest beneath its fiery canopy.

All the moths and insects were annihilated, along with any other creatures fluttering through the sky, such as hornets and dragonflies.

After the intense burst of light, everyone’s vision was plunged into darkness for a brief moment; then, suddenly, the world was speckled with fireflies, star-like glimmers overhead as if night had fallen.

Most insects are drawn to light. In that instant, the shadowed crowd found themselves spared from any insect attacks. Some bugs leapt skyward, others froze in place, motionless, and more than a few met their end right then and there—perhaps overwhelmed by excitement.

The only one prepared for danger, Lord Luo, immediately summoned the distant Giant Blade back to his side, then launched a swift attack, slaughtering anew amid the insect swarm.

"Kill!" Lord Luo shouted.

Those who understood his words—the "Cave Dwellers"—rushed forward, wielding their iron blades.

Now that the tribe had built a high furnace, though there was no coal, their supernatural abilities allowed them to conjure fireballs and imbue metal with power. Thus, the "Cave Dwellers" bypassed the Bronze Age, stepping straight into the Iron Age—a feat worth celebrating.

Though their iron was not as refined as the celestial iron from the pocket realm, it was far sturdier and sharper than bronze swords. Moreover, the land beneath their feet seemed laced with veins of ore, the soil rich in iron—an ideal resource for smelting.

So, every hunter carried two sharp blades: one for regular use, the other as a reserve. Now, with their first blades dulled and worn, it was the perfect moment to draw their backup iron knives.

Swift hands, swift blades—each strike cleaving in two, hacking through without hesitation.

If you asked whether their eyes grew dry, you would need to count just how many bugs there were.

Yet their hands were growing sore.

And soon enough, their second iron blades were dulled as well.

After hacking their way a hundred paces, their vision cleared, only to reveal that they were already submerged in a sea of insects.

Every kind imaginable teemed before them—not just bear-faced beetles, twin-bladed mantises, and locusts, but many species unknown even to Lord Luo. Fortunately, none possessed extraordinary abilities, serving only to swell the ranks and create a terrifying tableau of insect disaster.

Of course, to say they were useless would be wrong. Even ants, in great numbers, can kill an elephant. These bugs, each fist-sized, human-sized, and some larger than oxen, crowded forward. Even without biting, their sheer numbers threatened to suffocate.

"Retreat!" Lord Luo shouted.

They hurriedly fell back, but as soon as they did, the insects surged forward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then, the Giant Blade, still brimming with energy, came barreling in.

By now, the forest was a shadow of its former self, destroyed by the onslaught of insects and the relentless fury of the “Cave Dwellers.” What had once been lush now offered only a handful of stumps, with shrubs and flowers reduced to a flat dimension.

Thus, the Giant Blade need not worry about colliding with trees or being hindered in flight. It plunged straight into the insect sea, carving a trench through which the “Cave Dwellers” could retreat in safety.

A roar!

Meanwhile, the woman on the other side had grown to a height of fifty feet, taller than many young trees of the primordial wilds. Her massive bone club had stretched to seventy feet, its diameter over ten feet. Despite the enlargement, its surface remained as smooth as jade, without a single porous mark that bone should have.

She was no longer sweeping through enemies as before, for now she was locked in combat with a colossal gorilla, unable to aid her companions.

At last, a beast—not an insect—had arrived.

No, this was a monster, perhaps even a proper demon.

He was chanting in the tongue of demons, reciting some incantation.

Yet his dialect seemed obscure, not the common demon language.

Lord Luo wasted no time. He drew copious amounts of grease from the lower realm of his pocket universe and hurled it into the forest.

This grease was a habit developed over the years. When faced with an overwhelming foe, he would drench the battlefield in oil, ignite it, and either slay the enemy in the chaos or buy himself precious time to escape.

Besides the grease, he had a pile of lime and a pool of concentrated sulfuric acid of his own concoction—tools to turn the tide in emergencies.

Now he poured out the grease to set the forest ablaze.

Though the woods were ruined, the timber remained, and the heaps of insect corpses made excellent fuel. With the addition of grease, the fire would not die for at least five or six days.

Lord Luo reserved a ton of grease, preparing to use it against the great gorilla.

As soon as he hurled the oil, the kindling points he’d laid ignited, and a raging inferno swallowed the forest for miles.

Insects, drawn to light, continued to swarm into the flames, fulfilling the old saying—like moths drawn to a fire!

Some hesitated, refusing to advance.

But the blaze did indeed halt the tide of insects.

The fire burned so fiercely that even the burrowing bugs were forced to flee, unable to cross.

The gorilla and the woman’s battlefield was engulfed as well.

The woman merely rubbed her giant bone club, and a radiance shrouded her, shielding her from the searing heat.

The gorilla paid no heed to the fire, letting the flames lick its oily fur.

Such a ferocious beast, Lord Luo mused.

And as the gorilla found itself engulfed, it only grew more savage, as if driven into a frenzy.

Now it seemed a fire god incarnate—a gorilla, battered by the woman’s club but still enduring, its monstrous body withstanding the blows. It landed two or three punches, bruising her face and body, the radiance unable to shield her from its crushing fists.

Lord Luo understood that this was just mortal fire; neither the gorilla nor the woman were ordinary beings, nor were they undead—fire was not their bane.

So Lord Luo showed no mercy. He infused the Giant Blade with true energy, splitting off a portion of his spirit and merging with the weapon.

Boom! Thunder rolled!

The Giant Blade soared skyward!

It carved a wave of searing air above the fire!

It reached the battlefield!

It struck its target!

It pierced the gorilla’s chest, then detonated a firestorm within its body.

Half the gorilla’s form was reduced to mangled flesh, cast into the flames.

At last, something substantial was roasted.

Yet even wounded so grievously, the gorilla did not die.

Beating its chest with both fists, it hammered the sky again and again.

It was trying to strike the Giant Blade.