Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen raised his hand and waved, sending a blood-colored tentacle soaring into the sky, piercing into the rock above.
After the tentacle penetrated several miles into the rock, it was halted by an indestructible barrier, unable to advance any further.
"There really is a barrier formation," Song Wen's expression turned grim.
"This Dark Orchid Realm is a place where the Divine Blood Gate cultivates rare treasures. It's not surprising that it's protected by a formation. If we want to leave this place, there are only two options. First, continue exploring the Dark Orchid Realm and find the Teleportation Array to leave. Second, locate the protective formation of the Dark Orchid Realm, dismantle it, and then break through the rock ceiling to escape."
After Xue Mei finished speaking, she turned to Lan Chen.
"Fellow Daoist Lan Chen, if you wish to obtain the Phantom Wing Butterfly, you'll likely have to venture into the nest of the Gold-Eating Ants."
Lan Chen asked in confusion, "Why is that?"
"Don't you know that the Phantom Wing Butterfly is a symbiotic demon beast of the Gold-Eating Ants?" Xue Mei replied.
"Symbiotic demon beast?" Lan Chen's tone was filled with surprise. "Fellow Daoist Xue Mei, are you serious?"
"Absolutely," Xue Mei said firmly. "The Phantom Wing Butterfly is not adept at foraging or fighting, but it excels at cultivating Five Elements Mushrooms. The larvae of the Gold-Eating Ants particularly favor Five Elements Mushrooms as their food."
Seeing Xue Mei speak with such conviction, Lan Chen no longer doubted her.
"Would the three of you accompany me to explore the nest of the Gold-Eating Ants?"
"Lan Chen, I'll go with you," Mo Yexue said without hesitation.
"I'll go too! Fellow Daoist Lan Chen gifted the Withered Corpse Bamboo to me and Yin Shuo. How could I not repay such kindness?" Xue Mei added.
Song Wen frowned slightly. The nest of the Gold-Eating Ants was undoubtedly fraught with danger, and he wasn't keen on risking himself unnecessarily.
However, he found Xue Mei's behavior quite puzzling.
First, she had proactively revealed information about the Phantom Wing Butterfly, and now she had agreed to accompany Lan Chen to the Gold-Eating Ants' nest. If she had no ulterior motive, why would she be so generous?
Xue Mei's next words cleared up Song Wen's confusion.
"I suspect that the Teleportation Array might very well be located within the nest of the Gold-Eating Ants. This place is isolated from the outside world by a protective formation, which means the Gold-Eating Ants couldn't have migrated here later. They must have been raised here by the Divine Blood Gate. It's highly likely that there are some things left behind by the Divine Blood Gate in the ants' nest."
Hearing this, Song Wen and the others nodded in agreement.
At this point, they had already thoroughly explored the entire cavern. Their only option now was to try their luck in the nest of the Gold-Eating Ants.
"But where exactly is the nest of the Gold-Eating Ants? This underground cavern stretches for thousands of miles. Are we supposed to search the entire area?" Mo Yexue asked.
"I know where the nest is," Song Wen said.
"Where?" Lan Chen pressed.
"It's deep underground, where Fellow Daoist Lan Chen and Fellow Daoist Mo first encountered the Gold-Eating Ants. When I covered the cavern with the Blood Sea, I extended it deep underground. That area is riddled with countless holes of various sizes, likely left by the Gold-Eating Ants after years of breeding and living there," Song Wen explained.
...
The four of them returned to the spot where they had encountered the Gold-Eating Ants.
Mo Yexue channeled his Spiritual Power from his dantian into his pitch-black flying sword like a raging torrent.
In an instant, a dark sword light began to flow along the blade.
The sword light extended a hundred feet, exuding a terrifying pressure capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers.
"Strike!"
With a soft command, Mo Yexue's flying sword slashed down with immense force.
The rock on the cavern floor was as fragile as paper, easily torn apart.
A crack over a hundred zhang long and bottomless instantly spread from where the flying sword had landed.
Lan Chen raised her hand and pointed, summoning a strong wind out of thin air.
The howling wind swept away the dust and debris that filled the air.
The scene within the sword mark was immediately revealed to the four of them.
The sword mark extended downward for several li.
The rocks on either side were densely covered with holes of varying sizes.
The larger holes were big enough for a person to stand and walk through, while the smaller ones were only the size of a fist.
At the bottom of these holes, piles of rubble had just fallen.
Among the rubble, the bodies of dozens of Gold-Eating Ants were crushed, evidently killed by Mo Yexue's earlier sword strike.
"Look over there," Xue Mei pointed to a spot deep within the sword mark, her voice tinged with surprise.
Hearing her, Song Wen and the other two followed her gaze.
There, on one side of the deep sword mark, was a set of stone steps.
Man-made stone steps!
Judging by their direction, they likely led deep underground.
"It seems our earlier analysis was correct. The Gold-Eating Ants were indeed raised by the Divine Blood Gate. There should have been a set of stone steps leading to the Gold-Eating Ant nest here. But over time, it's unclear whether the steps were destroyed by the ants or if the rocks from the ceiling above weathered and fell, burying the entrance," Xue Mei said.
"Xue Mei is right," Lan Chen agreed.
She then continued, "Let's head down. But everyone, be cautious. From what we've seen earlier, the Ant Queen of the Gold-Eating Ants possesses extremely high intelligence. There's a special mental connection between her and the ordinary ants, allowing her to secretly command the entire colony. Moreover, the Ant Queen's mental realm has likely reached the peak of the fourth stage, making my Divine Sense control techniques ineffective against the ants."
After speaking, Lan Chen took the lead, leaping down to the entrance of the stone steps.
Song Wen and the other two followed closely.
All four of them were prepared with their own methods to deal with any potential Gold-Eating Ants.
In front of Lan Chen, the Red Silk danced like a crimson flame.
The Red Silk could both attack and defend, making it perfect for scouting ahead.
Mo Yexue's flying sword hovered above her head, its blade glowing, ready to strike at any moment.
Xue Mei summoned the Black Water of Destruction, transforming it into two Soul Breaking Awls that floated protectively in front and behind her.
Song Wen activated his Ten Thousand Poisons Body, and a green, zhang-tall phantom formed around him.
A black shield covered in scales circled his body continuously.
While the other three employed offensive or dual-purpose techniques, Song Wen's two techniques were purely defensive.
This earned him several sidelong glances from Mo Yexue, her eyes filled with a hint of disdain.
The stone passage was about a zhang high, sloping downward.
The steps were also riddled with holes dug by the Gold-Eating Ants.
From these holes, low-level Gold-Eating Ants occasionally emerged, but they were easily dealt with by the four.
Some of the ants had milky-white bodies, clearly just born.
They seemed to treat the stone steps as a playground, crawling around without realizing they had encountered four ruthless killers.
Wherever the four passed, the Gold-Eating Ants met their demise.
Adhering to the principle of never wasting, the souls of these Gold-Eating Ants were stealthily devoured by a tentacle that extended from Song Wen's body, becoming nourishment for his sea of consciousness.
(End of the Chapter)
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