Translator: CinderTL
In the blink of an eye, Mo Yexue swiftly formed several Sword Incantations with her hands.
The flying sword shot forth like a meteor, heading straight for the Gold-Eating Ant.
The Gold-Eating Ant, ferocious and unyielding, glared with a menacing light in its eyes as it faced the flying sword capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers.
Its massive mandibles opened wide, resembling two enormous scythes, and snapped at the incoming flying sword.
Mo Yexue's control over the flying sword was precise and meticulous. The sword nimbly dodged, evading the ant's mandibles.
The sword's light shifted like a serpent emerging from its burrow, circling to the side of the Gold-Eating Ant.
Mo Yexue's intent was clear—she aimed for the ant's relatively vulnerable flank.
The Gold-Eating Ant suddenly raised one of its hind legs, which was covered in a hard exoskeleton, resembling a black iron pillar.
With a powerful kick, the air was torn apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out.
The ant's hind leg struck the flying sword.
Sword Qi erupted from the flying sword.
Countless strands of Sword Qi instantly enveloped the Gold-Eating Ant.
Each strand of Sword Qi, under Mo Yexue's control, precisely targeted the ant's abdomen and joints—its more vulnerable areas.
However, even so, the ant remained unharmed.
The Sword Qi struck the ant's body as if hitting an indestructible boulder, shattering upon impact.
Seeing this, Mo Yexue's brow furrowed slightly. She changed her Sword Incantation, and the flying sword, which had been kicked away, returned with renewed vigor, once again darting toward the ant.
The Gold-Eating Ant, baring its claws, lunged at the flying sword.
At that moment, a wisp of pink smoke drifted over, effortlessly penetrating the ant's hard exoskeleton and entering its head.
However, Lan Chen, who was holding the Jade Ruyi and controlling the pink smoke, suddenly showed a hint of surprise in her eyes.
Her Divine Sense, which had invaded the ant's consciousness, was crushed by a powerful, malevolent Spiritual Sense Control.
Moreover, Lan Chen could clearly sense that this malevolent Spiritual Sense did not belong to the Gold-Eating Ant but was an external force.
This meant that there was an even more powerful entity secretly aiding the ant.
This discovery made Lan Chen even more vigilant.
With her Spiritual Sense Control rendered useless, Lan Chen immediately put away the Jade Ruyi and summoned the Red Silk that was coiled around her waist.
The Red Silk floated gently, resembling a soft, long rope.
Since the flying sword could not harm the ant, Lan Chen decided to try a softer approach, hoping to entangle the ant with the Red Silk.
Faced with the flying sword and the Red Silk attacking from both sides in a pincer formation, the Gold-Eating Ant appeared cautious.
It opened its mouth and spat out a stream of Corrosive Poison Liquid, aiming for the Red Silk.
Meanwhile, it swung its massive mandibles, lunging at the flying sword.
Unexpectedly, before the three attacks could collide, a dull sound came from the ant's lower abdomen.
The sound originated from the ant's most vulnerable spot...
Its rear passage!
There, a foot-long, handleless curved blade had struck.
The blade's power was somewhat underwhelming. Even though it struck the ant's most vulnerable area, it failed to pierce its exoskeleton.
However, the ant appeared to be in extreme pain.
Its six limbs flailed wildly in the air, and its head shook incessantly.
The Corrosive Poison Liquid it had spat out also lost control, allowing the Red Silk to easily evade it.
The Red Silk, avoiding the poison, coiled around the ant.
Ahead of the Red Silk was Mo Yexue's flying sword.
The tip of the flying sword pierced the ant's eye.
"Screech, screech, screech..."
The Gold-Eating Ant let out a series of agonizing screams.
The tip of the sword pierced its eye, and black blood spurted out.
The flying sword attempted to continue its thrust, aiming to pierce through the Gold-Eating Ant's skull. However, the violent shaking of the ant's head caused the sword to be knocked away.
At that moment, the Red Silk flew over, tightly wrapping around the Gold-Eating Ant's body, leaving only its head exposed, resembling a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
The Gold-Eating Ant struggled fiercely, trying to break free from the red silk's restraint.
Yet, the silk seemed to have an adhesive quality, clinging tightly to the ant's body, making it difficult for the ant to exert force.
Not only did the Gold-Eating Ant fail to break free, but the Red Silk continued to contract, tightening more and more.
Seeing this, Mo Yexue seized the opportunity, quickly urging her flying sword to strike the remaining eye of the Gold-Eating Ant.
Just then, Song Wen's voice suddenly rang out.
"Not good! More fourth-tier Gold-Eating Ants are coming, let's go!"
As he spoke, Song Wen had already activated his movement technique, his figure turning into a blur as he dashed forward.
Hearing this, the other three also activated their speed, racing forward.
The four of them had just flown a little over ten meters when, from three corners of the cavern, three Gold-Eating Ants emerged from the Blood Sea.
These three ants were each the size of a millstone, with bodies over three meters long.
The three ants opened their large mouths, each spewing a stream of Corrosive Poison Liquid, targeting the three female cultivators who were a step behind Song Wen.
Xue Mei, who had not yet shown her true strength, raised her hand and tapped her forehead. Three figures identical to her separated from her body and actively moved towards the three streams of poison.
Lan Chen couldn't help but be surprised.
The illusion technique Xue Mei used was indistinguishable from a real person, even she couldn't tell the difference.
If Lan Chen couldn't discern the truth of Xue Mei's illusion, the three Gold-Eating Ants certainly couldn't.
Under their control, the three streams of poison slightly changed direction, targeting the three illusionary clones.
The clones were pierced through by the poison and immediately disintegrated, vanishing without a trace.
"Let's go! These Gold-Eating Ants are just Ant Kings, and the strongest among them is already at the late fourth tier. This means that behind them, there must be a late fourth-tier or peak fourth-tier Ant Queen. There's no need to fight them head-on," Xue Mei loudly reminded.
Her words were mainly directed at Lan Chen and Mo Yexue.
Lan Chen's Red Silk was still wrapped around the Gold-Eating Ant.
Meanwhile, Mo Yexue's flying sword had already blinded the ant's other eye and was preparing to launch another attack to finish it off.
"Listen to her!"
Lan Chen spoke to Mo Yexue.
Lan Chen had no doubt about Xue Mei's words.
She had always had a faint feeling that there was a higher-level creature controlling these Gold-Eating Ants.
After speaking, Lan Chen gave a sharp flick of the Red Silk, throwing the Gold-Eating Ant towards one of the other ants.
Faced with the incoming fellow ant, the Gold-Eating Ants showed remarkable unity.
The three ants simultaneously waved their six limbs, creating gusts of wind that caught the blinded ant and held it steady.
Then, they continued to control their respective streams of poison that had been diverted by the illusionary clones.
The poison turned around and continued to shoot towards the three women.
Below, the Blood Sea surged, and a wave of blood rose up.
In an instant, the blood wave reached the cavern's ceiling, forming a Blood Wall that sealed off the entire cavern, blocking the path of the poison.
The poison struck the Blood Wall, emitting faint, grating sizzling sounds.
The Blood Wall was being corroded at a visible rate, and a hole quickly appeared.
The Corrosive Poison Liquid pierced through the Blood Wall and continued forward.
Following closely behind the Corrosive Poison Liquid were three Gold-Eating Ants.
With the opening and closing of their mandibles, they enlarged the hole and passed through the Blood Wall.
(End of the Chapter)
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