Translator: CinderTL
The Gold-Eating Ant's carapace was incredibly tough, especially the shell on its head.
This resilience made the Gold-Eating Ant's body exceptionally robust, nearly indestructible.
But now, this very toughness had become the source of its agony.
The late fourth-tier Ant King's head was tightly bound by the Bronze Ring Phantom Shadow.
The immense pressure exerted by the contracting Bronze Ring Phantom Shadow pressed against its carapace.
The shell deformed slightly, squeezing the tissues within its skull. Waves of excruciating pain surged through the Ant King, leaving it writhing in agony.
It was a torment akin to being trapped between life and death, a despair beyond words.
With a sickening "pop," the carapace finally shattered under the relentless pressure of the Bronze Ring Phantom Shadow. The Ant King's head exploded like an overripe watermelon.
Gui Ni narrowed his eyes slightly. This Bronze Ring Phantom Shadow was truly bizarre.
His mind raced, desperately searching for a means of escape.
He had once obtained two Minor Teleportation Talismans from Xue Mei. These talismans were undoubtedly the best tools for breaking free.
However, he had already used one before.
That Talisman had allowed him to teleport three hundred miles, but it hadn't helped him escape Lan Chen and Mo Yexue's pursuit. The main reason was Mo Yexue's natal flying sword, which was simply too sharp. It caught up to him in an instant and pinned him down.
Now, only one Minor Teleportation Talisman remained. He had to plan carefully.
To survive, he had to abandon some of his possessions.
Thinking this, Gui Ni's gaze swept over the Ant Queen beside him and the Fourth-Tier Peak Ant King, who was locked in an endless battle with Mo Yexue.
"Ji Yin, how dare you kill my Spirit Beast! You will pay with your life!" Gui Ni roared, his fury reaching the heavens.
Then, he turned to the Ant Queen. "Fu, you and the Ant King hold those two women back. I will deal with Ji Yin myself. I swear I will avenge your people!"
The Ant Queen didn't respond, but the Poison Qi Flood Dragon it controlled suddenly grew several times more powerful, lunging fiercely at Lan Chen.
Red silk ribbons swirled around Lan Chen, forming a cocoon-like shield that protected her from the corrosive poison.
At the same time, the Ant Queen conjured several transparent cone-shaped spikes in front of her, firing them directly at Mo Yexue.
Mo Yexue was currently focused on manipulating her natal flying sword to fend off the Fourth-Tier Peak Ant King's relentless attacks.
After hearing Gui Ni's words, the Fourth-Tier Peak Ant King's attacks became even more ferocious. Ignoring Mo Yexue's flying sword, the Ant King relentlessly advanced towards her, displaying a fearless determination.
Seeing several transparent cone-shaped spikes hurtling towards her, Mo Yexue hastily retreated towards Lan Chen.
Lacking a High-Grade Magic Treasure-level soul defense artifact, she couldn't withstand the Ant Queen's Spiritual Sense Attack and had no choice but to seek Lan Chen's help.
Hovering before Lan Chen was a palm-sized Bone Bottle, radiating a soft, milky-white glow.
Clearly aware of Mo Yexue's predicament, Lan Chen was already moving towards her.
The two women had been staying close to each other for mutual support, so the distance between them was already minimal.
Before the transparent spikes could reach Mo Yexue, the Bone Bottle's milky-white light had enveloped her entirely.
In the end, the Ant Queen's Spiritual Sense Attack failed to harm Mo Yexue.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
After inciting the Ant Queen and the Ant King to fight with their lives, Gui Ni brandished his Yin Soul Banner, summoning green nether fire to wash over Song Wen.
Song Wen activated the Mount Tai Ring hovering above his head, conjuring an azure shield that enveloped his entire body.
The nether fire slammed against the azure shield like a raging torrent crashing against an unyielding boulder.
The massive rock remained unmoved, while the surging torrent scattered in all directions.
Song Wen activated the Phantom Shadow of the Mount Tai Ring, aiming it at Gui Ni.
Suddenly, a silver talisman appeared in Gui Ni's hand.
As the talisman activated, dazzling silver light erupted, causing Gui Ni's form to gradually fade.
Just before being teleported away, a massive surge of crimson Malevolent Qi erupted from his mouth.
The Malevolent Qi condensed without dissipating, transforming into a ten-zhang-long spear that shot toward Song Wen.
Song Wen immediately recognized that this crimson Malevolent Qi bore a resemblance to the Refined Tribulation Evil Qi Gui Ni had obtained from Xue Cangqiong's relics years ago, yet it wasn't exactly the same.
Clearly, Gui Ni had refined it further, amplifying its power.
Confident in the Mount Tai Ring's defensive capabilities, Song Wen paid little attention to the spear formed from Malevolent Qi.
He formed a Thunder Incantation with his hands, causing the sky above to churn with wind and clouds, darkening with dense storm clouds.
A streak of purple Thunderlight, like a writhing giant serpent, darted through the clouds, hidden but ready to strike.
At the same time, Song Wen's Spirit Sense spread out in all directions, searching for Gui Ni's trail, ready to unleash divine thunder the moment he reappeared.
Suddenly!
Gui Ni's form materialized three hundred miles southeast.
Song Wen's magic seal suddenly shifted, and purple lightning was about to burst through the dark clouds.
Just then, a crimson spear streaked across the sky and slammed heavily against the azure shield.
The Malevolent Qi radiating from the spear was frigid, and the spear itself was utterly unstoppable.
The azure shield rippled slightly.
The immense force from the spear sent Song Wen and his shield reeling backward dozens of yards.
Just when Song Wen thought the spear's power was all there was to it, the crimson spear exploded with a thunderous boom, transforming into a swirling mass of crimson Malevolent Qi.
Within the Malevolent Qi, a towering resentment surged skyward.
The resentment and Malevolent Qi intertwined, forming a blood-red hurricane that swept toward Song Wen.
Song Wen and his azure shield were instantly swallowed by the crimson hurricane.
The hurricane, sharp as a blade, relentlessly pounded against the azure shield.
The azure shield trembled violently but held firm, refusing to shatter.
Darkness enveloped Song Wen's vision.
His eyes and Spirit Sense were both disrupted by the crimson hurricane, and he lost all sense of Gui Ni's location.
Song Wen frowned slightly, and the Thunder Incantation he had been chanting faltered.
Without knowing Gui Ni's position, there was no way his Thunder Magic could strike him.
Song Wen channeled his Spiritual Power, activating his escape technique to fight against the hurricane and escape the crimson landscape.
His form flickered in and out of view within the storm, like a fish swimming against the current.
By the time Song Wen finally broke through the hurricane's blockade, Gui Ni had vanished without a trace.
With the aid of the Shadow King Gu, Song Wen's Spirit Sense could cover a radius of eight hundred miles, yet he couldn't detect Gui Ni's presence.
"Where did Gui Ni flee?" Song Wen asked Lan Chen and Mo Yexue.
"He fled southeast," Lan Chen replied, simultaneously fending off the Poison Qi Flood Dragon controlled by the Ant Queen.
Song Wen nodded slightly but didn't immediately pursue Gui Ni. Instead, he activated the phantom shadow of the Mount Tai Ring, enveloping the Ant Queen.
Gui Ni was cunning and wouldn't have left any trace for Song Wen to follow. Therefore, Song Wen needed another method to track him.
His first thought was the Thousand Miles Breath Tracking Technique.
However, casting this technique required an object tainted with Gui Ni's aura as a medium.
The most suitable medium at hand was the Ant Queen's Demon Soul.
Within the Ant Queen's Demon Soul lay the spell Gui Ni had used to control her, which must still carry his aura.
(End of the Chapter)
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