Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 338 - 15: Changes in the Creation Plate, Taking the Initiative

Chapter 338: Chapter 15: Changes in the Creation Plate, Taking the Initiative

Fifty mother insects glided downstream.

During this time, Zhao Ke and ten Insect Witches, for the most part, did not exhibit any fluctuations in vital energy. They merely controlled the direction of the Magic Ship simply.

Only when encountering obstacles or grounding did their bodies exhibit a significant surge of vital energy. Using the water veins, they repositioned the Magic Ship and let it drift toward the destination.

The speed of the Magic Ship was not fast; it drifted merely 20 miles in one "hour".

Though slow, the pace was secure.

Whether it was the Magic Ship, mother insects, or Zhao Ke, the vital energy fluctuations caused by their spellcasting were minimal, and the traces of spellcasting were highly concealed, making them nearly impossible to detect.

This was what made the Insect Witches troublesome; from a great distance, they could strike at the enemy undetected by gods or ghosts.

The hundred-mile-long river took Zhao Ke and his group more than five "hours" to navigate.

When the fifty mother insects arrived just outside Cloud City, it was precisely midnight.

At this time, the defenses in every aspect were relatively weak.

"The boundary marker of Cloud City."

At this moment, Zhao Ke emitted a unique life fluctuation from his body. Far away, hundreds of miles on a Magic Ship, a mother insect about the size of a fist with two pairs of compound eyes suddenly turned its gaze.

At this moment, the mother insect started to wake up, and Insect Witch Zhao Ke began to control it. The fluctuations from his spellcasting also grew stronger.

Throughout the process, only at this moment did Zhao Ke need to use his vital energy to cast spells.

Because he needed to control the mother insect to find a suitable environment for laying eggs and breeding.

"Enter Cloud City from the Mei River entrance, and you can directly drift into the heartland. You two, control the mother insects to enter from the Mei River entrance, and the others continue to search for the next tributary."

"Yes."

Zhao Ke and the other Human Witches cast spells together.

Fifty mother insects, ten of which drifted toward the Mei River crossing.

The other forty entered Cloud City through the next tributary.

To the other Insect Witches, there seemed no need to divide their forces; all could enter directly from the Mei River entrance into Cloud City.

But just to be cautious, Zhao Ke still chose to divide the forces.

Splash~

At the Mei River entrance, two sections of wood floated by.

They were about to pass through the entrance into the territory.

But at that moment—

"Splash~"

The flow of the water suddenly slowed, and two whirlpools emerged in the river.

The two sections of deadwood were instantly pulled toward the center of the whirlpools.

"Hmm?"

Two Insect Witches were immediately puzzled.

"What’s happening?" Zhao Ke asked.

"It might be catching a backcurrent," a Insect Witch replied, "My mother insect Magic Ship is moving backward."

"My Magic Ship is sinking down, but it should resurface in a while," another Insect Witch wasn’t too concerned.

Zhao Ke nodded.

However, in less than 15 minutes, the expressions of the two Insect Witches grew serious.

"Young Master, there seems to be a problem."

"My Magic Ship hasn’t resurfaced."

"Mine hasn’t either."

Zhao Ke immediately ordered, "See what’s going on. If it’s a Great Zhou’s Array, destroy the Magic Ship and try to get the mother insects in."

"Yes."

The patterns on the faces of the two Insect Witches lit up, as if insects were wriggling beneath their skin.

On the compound eyes of the ten mother insects, the images of the two Insect Witches were reflected.

Simultaneously, the Magic Ship carrying the ten mother insects sped up its floating pace.

"Splash~"

One of the Magic Ships accelerated with the current, attempting to rush toward the shore.

However, the current seemed to oppose him at this moment, wave after wave slapping the deadwood back.

"Swish~"

The next moment, that section of deadwood completely submerged into the whirlpool.

"Buzz~"

The Insect Witch shivered, his face turning pale.

The other section of deadwood had already sunk to the river bottom, as if trapped in black mud; no matter how they cast spells, it would not float up.

"Buzz~"

The second Insect Witch also lost contact with the mother insect and the Magic Ship.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Ke, observing the elders’ expressions, immediately realized there was a problem.

Sure enough, the next moment, the two reported the situation.

They could no longer sense the condition of the Magic Ship and the mother insects.

"Whirlpools, black mud?"

Zhao Ke was about to ask for details.

But then two more Insect Witches groaned, their situation identical to the previous two.

"Stop!"

"The remaining thirty mother insects and Magic Ships, all keep silent and wait, do not proceed any further!"

Zhao Ke swiftly reacted.

One or two could be considered accidents, but four Insect Witches encountering the same situation indicated that Cloud City had extremely sophisticated defense mechanisms.

"They can even defend against an Insect Witch’s infiltration?"

"Wasn’t the intelligence saying Cloud City was weak?"

"Young Master, what should we do?"

Zhao Ke pondered for a moment, then stood up: "A Divine Envoy’s mission cannot be incomplete unless it surpasses a certain level."

"Being too far, the spell’s power weakens too much, unable to determine the exact situation, let’s follow the Canglan River downward and see."

One of the elder Insect Witches advised: "Young Master, isn’t that too risky? We aren’t Power Witches; if we suddenly encounter Great Zhou’s soldiers, we could easily be killed."

Zhao Ke said, "Failing a Divine Envoy’s mission within a month is worse than death. I am the Young Master of the Hana Tribe; I might be exempted from punishment, but half of you would be taken for insect sacrifice."

The ten Insect Witches fell silent; over the years, Divine Mountain had heavily invested in the training of Insect Witches, offering resources exceeding that of other types of witches. None of these were given without reason.

Zhao Ke: "Hatch two Flying Mother Locusts, monitor the surroundings as we move forward, being careful, we should still be fine."

"Yes."

...

Cloud City, Mei River entrance.

Ling Yuan called out to the Mechanical Master controlling the triple-hoist dragon boat, lifting a black box from the water.