Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Chapter 853 - 506: Traveling Cultivator’s Cloud Technique

The second explosion might not destroy the meatballs, nor can it kill all these worms; sending the Fire Cultivators to their deaths in vain could even accelerate the spread of these worms.

In an urgent situation, Chen Changrui was still contemplating strategies when Li Banfeng asked, "Is there any Insect Cultivator?"

A middle-aged man named He Bensheng stepped forward.

The Insect Cultivation technique is rare in the Taoist Sect; among the entire Public Security Team, over a hundred people, there is just this one Insect Cultivator.

He Bensheng glanced at the video and shook his head, "I’ve never seen these worms before, I’m afraid they can’t be controlled."

Li Banfeng said, "It doesn’t matter if you can’t control them, just call all the insects in the factory and surround these worms, and fight them!"

This was He Bensheng’s specialty. He was just about to walk into the factory area when Big Head stepped forward, saying, "I’ll go with you."

When He Bensheng deals with insects, there needs to be somebody by his side for protection.

Li Banfeng asked Big Head, "Which Taoist Sect are you from?"

"Fighter."

"Martial Cultivators shouldn’t go, going would be useless!" Li Banfeng shouted back, "Is there any Traveling Cultivator?"

Six people stepped forward, two from the Third Layer, four from the Second Layer. Li Banfeng said, "The Second Layer ones can stay out for now. The two from the Third Layer accompany Old He inside. If Old He can’t hold on, you two use Trample Over Thousands of Rivers to support him. If Trample Over Thousands of Rivers doesn’t hold up, you should quickly withdraw. Your main task is to surround these worms and prevent further spreading."

After the three headed inside, Li Banfeng called over Dumpling, "Bring over all Literature Cultivators from Fourth Layer and above."

Dumpling was startled, "Does that include me?"

"Aren’t you Fourth Layer?"

"I am! I understand!" Dumpling called the Literature Cultivators of Fourth Layer and above to Li Banfeng’s side.

Counting Dumpling, a total of five people came, Li Banfeng said as a reminder, "If you’re scared, stay here; if not, follow me!"

These Literature Cultivators weren’t cowards; not one chose to stay behind.

Li Banfeng told the remaining members of the Explosives Team, "You wait outside on standby; upon receiving my command, immediately go in and clear the explosives."

The Explosives Team was fully prepared; Li Banfeng turned back to Old Chen, "Get the Fire Cultivators, Alcohol Cultivators, Water Cultivators, Oil Cultivators, Cold Cultivators ready."

Chen Changrui, battle-hardened, didn’t need much explanation from Li Banfeng, he knew what to do.

Li Banfeng led five Literature Cultivators into the textile factory; Chuuni was anxiously watching but unable to help.

He Bensheng had already surrounded the second workshop with insects. During midsummer, the abandoned factory was teeming with insects, which, under the Insect Cultivation technique, became unusually formidable and were engaged in fierce battles with a group of worms.

The insects greatly outnumbered the worms and had obvious advantages in speed and strength. At first, they held an absolute advantage, not only forcing the worms back into the workshop but also continuously narrowing the encirclement, seemingly about to annihilate the worms.

However, the worms were incredibly resilient; a locust went forward and bit a red worm in half, yet both halves were alive, one burrowing into the locust’s abdomen.

The locust did not struggle; remaining motionless, several small worms quickly emerged from its body.

Nearby, a dragonfly suffered the same fate; it ate a worm, but instead of dying, the worm reproduced inside its body.

A group of ants nearby tore apart a red worm; this red worm seemed completely dead.

To thoroughly kill a red worm, these insects needed to go through much trouble. As long as the red worm wasn’t completely dead, it would parasitize the insects’ bodies.

If this trend continued, the insects wouldn’t sustain for long; the worms would proliferate.

But He Bensheng’s task was already accomplished; he hadn’t let the red worms spread outside the workshop.

Li Banfeng ordered two Traveling Cultivators to take He Bensheng away, letting the five Literature Cultivators take action.

No need to think much, initiate Searching Ink Technique directly this time.

Because this technique doesn’t distinguish between allies and enemies, it has significant restrictions when used.

But now, distinction is unnecessary; within the technique’s range, kill anything that moves.

Dumpling was the first to rush into the workshop, writing hundreds of "Dumpling" characters, her codename’s first character, writing with remarkable fluency.

Each "Dumpling" character emitted heat like boiling water; a "Dumpling" character embracing a red worm quickly scalds the worm to death.

The Searching Ink Technique lasts briefly; Dumpling’s technique became ineffective, yet it shrank the encirclement considerably, forcing the red worms to retreat towards the meatballs.

Dumpling rested on the side; afterward, a fifty-something old Public Security Team member followed suit.

This old team member had experience; he wrote a very simple character, "Ten."

This character has only two strokes, quick for a Literature Cultivator to write, releasing thousands of "Ten" characters in a single move.

The character appeared thin, not enduring; however, understanding the battlefield, the old Literature Cultivator realized that against worms, resilience wasn’t crucial; quantity was.

Each "Ten" character inserted into the ground like a nail, pinned the worms, then gouged along the worm’s body lengthwise, splitting it in two lengthwise.

Horizontally severed worms might regenerate; lengthwise split worms die instantly.

Text slaughtering worms, effortlessly like slicing vegetables, worms excelled in parasitism but couldn’t affect text; after the old team member acted, the encirclement shrank considerably.

The old team member’s technique lost effectiveness; the next Public Security Team member rushed forward, seeing the advantage gained from writing "Ten," aimed to take the shortcut, writing an even simpler "One."

"One" was faster to write than "Ten," yet upon writing, the person regretted it.