I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 63 - 57: The Fourth Piece of Equipment

"HISS~"

"ROAR!"

"Kill him~!"

Furious roars and sharp hisses instantly echoed throughout the cavern.

Three Lizard Demons, each with two stripes on its chest, brandished their sharp claws. Their scale-covered bodies turned invisible before they lunged viciously at Gu Zheng from three different directions.

A foul, demonic wind kicked up dust from the ground, the acrid stench obscuring vision.

But that was only for others. In Gu Zheng’s dual vision, the movement trajectories of the three Lizard Demons were perfectly clear.

SWOOSH~

Gu Zheng’s figure blurred, as if creating several afterimages—one to the left, one to the right, and one in the center.

He met the three charging Lizard Demons head-on, throwing a punch and a sweeping kick.

"BANG!" "BANG!" "BANG~!"

Three heavy thuds rang out in succession as three bursts of Demon Blood exploded in midair.

The three charging Lizard Demons had their heads blown apart before they could even get close to Gu Zheng.

WHOOSH!

Slightly turning his body to dodge the three Lizard Demon corpses flying past from their own momentum, Gu Zheng dashed forward and appeared before the remaining Lizard Demons.

"ROAR~"

"Run!"

The Lizard Demons, who had been clustered together, shrieked in terror and tried to scatter and flee.

But it was too late.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~!

A fierce gale swept through the vast cavern, its force echoing off the walls and stirring the waters of the underground river into concentric ripples.

Gu Zheng charged left and right. His hands transformed into Steel Claws, and with a surge of Divine Wondrous power, he crushed the Lizard Demons’ necks, tore their bodies apart, or used his Bronze Fist Blades to blow their heads to bits.

BAM! BAM! CRACK~

"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!!"

The sounds of explosions, cracking bones, sharp shrieks, bursting flesh, and violent tremors.

For a moment, all sorts of noises mingled, echoing endlessly through the cavern.

Only after two minutes did the cavern fall silent again.

Amidst the drifting dust and mist, Gu Zheng’s bronze-colored body was dripping with Demon Blood, and steam rose from his sweat like vapor.

All around him, the ground was littered with the mangled corpses of Lizard Demons.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +3]

[Demon Points +6]

[Demon Points +5]

...

What a haul!

With this, every last Lizard Demon in the underground cavern had been slaughtered.

Just in case, Gu Zheng, still in his steaming Bronze Transformation form, walked through the various caves and tunnels, searching for any Lizard Demons that might be hiding.

After a thorough sweep, he found no stragglers.

Instead, upon entering a spacious cave sealed by a stone slab door, he saw a large piece of jade, half a man tall and over two meters long—

[Equippable Item Discovered]

[Mother Empress Short Toe - Remnant]

[Equip Conditions: Strength 90, Constitution 90, Spirit 90]

[Equipment Effect: Lord of Hundred Insects]

[Lord of Hundred Insects: Unconditionally command one hundred types of Exotic Insects.]

[Equip?]

...

’Lord of Hundred Insects?’

’Unconditionally command one hundred types of Exotic Insects?’

’What are Exotic Insects...?’

Just as the question formed, a bundle of information about Exotic Insects suddenly appeared in his mind.

And it wasn’t a few more or a few less—it was exactly one hundred types.

Exotic Insects were the essence of heaven and earth. They could be born in any world, as long as specific conditions were met.

Even a Low Martial World was no exception, though the probability of an Exotic Insect being born in one was extremely low.

Thousands or even tens of thousands of years might pass without a single one appearing.

But if one did successfully appear, the abilities it possessed would be exceptionally powerful.

For example, the Time Butterfly could carry a person through the river of time.

In other words, time travel!

Whether it was to the past or the future depended on the specific circumstances.

Among the one hundred types of Exotic Insects included in the equipment’s effect was, coincidentally, the Time Butterfly.

The problem was, the Time Butterfly was a creature of legend. Even though Gu Zheng could unconditionally command it after equipping the item, it was useless if he didn’t actually have a Time Butterfly.

Simply put, for the "Lord of Hundred Insects" equipment effect to be of any use, Gu Zheng first had to find one of the one hundred types of Exotic Insects.

"Tch!"

Having figured out the situation, Gu Zheng shook his head, took out his Storage Leaf, and put the jade-like Mother Empress Short Toe away for now.

...

After confirming that the Lizard Demons were completely wiped out, Gu Zheng returned to the previous cavern. He cut off the sharp claws from each Lizard Demon corpse, stored them in his Storage Leaf, and then activated Fire Manipulation to set every body ablaze.

Amidst the roaring flames, Gu Zheng retraced his steps back to the mountain stream.

"Master!"

Zhang Meiyuan, who was guarding the cave entrance, spoke respectfully at the perfect moment. "This Lizard Demon tried to sneak out just now. This subordinate has already killed it."

Zhang Meiyuan stepped aside, pointing to a Lizard Demon corpse lying on the ground a dozen meters behind him, its body severed into several pieces.

"Good work."

Gu Zheng nodded. "The Lizard Demons have been eliminated, so our business here is done. Return to Qingshi and continue your undercover work."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Meiyuan responded and bowed deeply.

Then, with a light touch of his toes, he scaled the cliff wall, soaring straight up into the clouds and disappearing from sight.

Gu Zheng glanced up at the sky, then looked away and walked toward the Lizard Demon corpse a dozen meters away.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +4]

Demon Essence had its advantages, and Bloodshed had its own wonders.

Gu Zheng strode across the mountain stream to the bank of a river and, with a SPLASH, jumped into the water to wash himself.

After washing off all the clinging Demon Blood, Gu Zheng deactivated his Bronze Transformation, returning to his normal size. He then put on the clothes he had stored in his Storage Leaf.

The Stretchable Clothing that Nangong Yaoyue had given him could certainly expand and contract, but it was a hassle to wash bloodstains out of it.

That’s why for missions like this—exterminating Demon Fiends—it was more convenient to just take his clothes off and fight naked.

THUD!

He leaped, soaring straight into the air.

BANG! BANG! BANG~

After a quick Triple Jump, Gu Zheng was gliding high in the sky, heading back to the county town where "Gu Zheng" was staying.

...

「The next morning.」

When Gu Zheng gathered Zhang Boshong and Yan Hongxue to continue their journey to Daping County, he informed them that Wu Qingzhou’s mysterious backer, "Dongji," had been eliminated.

Yan Hongxue believed him without a doubt, while Zhang Boshong was skeptical.

It had happened too fast.

’The mastermind who wanted revenge on them was taken care of in just one night?’

But skeptical as he was, Zhang Boshong had long known how formidable Gu Zheng was and had the sense not to ask any questions.

The group of three headed straight for Daping County.

By noon, the county seat of Daping County was already visible in the distance.

The trio rode along the main road without slowing down.

As they rounded a bend, they saw two groups of people on the road ahead, facing off and shouting at each other.

"Have you all lost your minds? He’s been dead for a month, and you want to dig him up? Hu Mazi, Liu Heizi, Li Datou, do you want your own mothers and fathers to have no peace even in death?"

A rugged-looking man in his thirties, with a powerful, booming voice, was yelling irritably at a dozen or so men holding hoes and shovels. "By doing this, can you face your ancestors? Can you face your own children...?"

"Enough, Chief Sun. It’s not illegal for us to dig up our own family’s graves. You don’t need to worry about it."

A middle-aged man with a pockmarked face interrupted impatiently, "Let’s go. We’ll head up the mountain while it’s noon and dig up the grave quickly!"