This black spear was one of the few items Chen Wentian had yet to reveal to his disciples. This one in particular was a dangerous item that he had not dared to use until now. Spirit Lord Realm items were created using a variety of methods. The safest type was those crafted from base materials that were originally at the Spirit Lord Realm. This was very expensive but there were no side effects and even mortals could use them if they were lucky enough.
The second type was those that had been refined using the power of immortals. Whether it was humans, beasts, or demons, such refinement took a long time and left behind the creator's spiritual imprint and immortal will. If the wielder was not compatible with the creator's intentions, then there was bound to be backlash. This also meant that mortals were likely to lose their minds straight away if they stayed too long near such an item or if they tried to use it.
The spear in his hand was one which had been refined by a powerful demon. Even at the Spirit Lord Realm, he did not dare to use it, fearing that it would cause damage to his spiritual sea. But now that he was a Spirit King, he could overpower the will of the spear to some extent.
Chen Wentian and Jasmine faced off against each other in the middle of the forest. She was still in her human form, clad in a simple white dress that clung to her slender and petite frame. He was clad in black armor and wielding a black spear. They couldn't be any more different.
"Be careful, this spear has quite the temperament." He said.
"Shut up and hit me!"
"Alright, you asked for it!"
He raised the spear above his head with both and made a sweeping slash. The large spear tip cut through the air, leaving behind a trail of dark energy. At the apex, a beam of black light shot out and cut through the surrounding trees.
Ka! Ka!
Crash!
Tree trunks several meters thick were sliced apart as easily as tofu. These ancients that had stood for many thousands of years tumbled to the ground, snapping branches and splintering upon impact. That wasn't all as whatever the black energy had touched started to rot away and die with incredible speed.
Jasmine raised a finger toward the incoming spear and shot off a beam of moonlight. The impact knocked the black energy askew. She frowned and added a second beam of moonlight, then a third. This finally dulled the momentum of the spear to a standstill.
"Impressive… for a demon trinket." She said.
"I know right? I didn't use any of my own strength at all!"
Chen Wentian was excited. The power of this demonic spear surpassed his estimates. With a casual swing, it was able to produce spiritual force at the baseline Spirit Lord Realm. If he was to utilize his own strength on top, then the power would be even deadlier.
"How about this?" He pulled back and thrust the spear forward sharply in a random direction.
A jet of baleful black energy erupted like a fountain. Wherever the blackness fell, the forest died. He attacked a few more times, making random movements at nothing in particular. Each attack left large swaths of forest destroyed. Jasmine contributed a few stray beams of moonlight here and there.
Their purpose wasn't to actually fight to leave behind evidence of one. This was their way of causing trouble and luring out one of the mantis lords.
Chen Wentian liked the spear. He liked the black armor and he enjoyed the animal skull helmet. The whole attire had a certain appeal, like he was someone who had cultivated demonic arts. Perhaps the original owner was someone like this, a human immortal with a demon bloodline who had been awarded a prized demonic spear by their demon master.
The world was so vast. These things were more than possible. The Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent was relatively unremarkable and did not have to deal with too many serious problems. This was different from human continents like the Martial Brilliance Continent. They were juicy pieces of meat that could arouse the desires of many other forces.
"Alright, that's probably enough." Chen Wentian said and stopped play fighting.
The surrounding forest for ten kilometers had been utterly destroyed. What used to be a sea of green was nothing but brown dirt and blackened tree trunks.
"Wait for me at the meeting place."
Jasmine nodded. She hid her aura and flew off towards the south.
Chen Wentian, meanwhile, continued to emit demonic energy from his outfit. He rose into the air and shot off directly eastward.
---
Several hours later, a large mantis with a yellow and brown colored carapace and sharp spikes all over landed on the ground where Chen Wentian and Jasmine had fought. This was the mantis lord of the eastern forest. Its name was Yellow Butt but no insect dared to call it that except the queen mother.
"Lord Spike Head! Lord Spike Head!" A squad of mantis flew in from the east.
They had similar appearances to Yellow Butt but were much smaller.
"Speak."
The mantises took turns chattering and snapping their mandibles in an incomprehensible insect language.
Once they were done, Spike Head scratched its large yellow butt that was covered in spikes. "I see. I see. I think this demon may have been chasing something. They reached here and had a final battle where the demon emerged victorious, after which it went back the way it came.
Its underlings chattered some more.
"You're right. There is always a chance that the demon will stick around to explore this area. Good thing I am more than a match if it ever dares to show its face again."
Spike Head flew into the air with his cohort, "Have the grubs clean up this area. Bring the Yellow Legion east and have them form defensive lines in this region. If that demon does dare to come back, I cannot let it bother Mama."
Several mantises flew off to carry out the orders.
Spike Head felt there was still something that was suspicious about the situation but couldn't quite grasp it. It was reluctant to ask for help as its brothers always made fun of it for being the dumbest out of the bunch. It scratched its huge ass again in annoyance. It would prove them wrong this time!
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