Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen watched the Ant King charge at him, a sneer playing on his lips.
Like a moth to a flame, courting its own demise!
With a flick of his right hand, Song Wen produced a one-inch-long dagger.
As the Ant King closed in, its massive mandibles snapping shut like a pair of heavy iron pliers, Song Wen neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he swung the dagger with a sudden, violent motion.
The Ant King's mandibles clamped down on Song Wen's waist, as if trying to crush him.
However, Song Wen was protected by an azure shield formed by the Mount Tai Ring.
The Ant King felt as if it had bitten into forged steel, unable to make the slightest dent.
Instead, a powerful recoil jolted through its mandibles, causing excruciating pain.
Just then, a flash of blade light erupted.
Song Wen's dagger struck the side of the Ant King's head.
The carapace, which had withstood even Mo Yexue's Supreme-Grade Mystic Treasure-level flying sword without a scratch, proved utterly fragile against the dagger, splitting open with ease to reveal the white, bone-like tissue beneath.
The Soul Cleaving Blade's razor-sharp qi surged through the wound, tearing through the Ant King's head and reducing half its brain matter to a bloody pulp.
The Ant King's vitality proved tenacious; it hadn't died outright, but it was writhing in agony, emitting pained squeals.
Its body spiraled out of control, plummeting toward the ground and sending rocks flying in all directions.
The Ant King, wracked with unbearable pain, thrashed its six long limbs wildly, churning the surrounding earth into a chaotic mess.
"Despicable Human Race! Your betrayal will be met with the Heavenly Dao's scorn!" the Ant Queen roared in fury.
Whether its rage stemmed from witnessing the Ant King's pitiful state or from the impending death that loomed over it, Song Wen couldn't tell.
Ignoring the Ant Queen, Song Wen summoned two crimson rivers of blood that snaked out from his feet, one engulfing the Ant King and the other the Ant Queen.
Neither the Ant King nor the Ant Queen offered any resistance. Once caught in the blood rivers, they vanished without a trace.
The blood rivers retracted, merging back into Song Wen's body, leaving only a single tentacle. It held a bowl-sized sphere of light before him.
Within the sphere, a translucent, miniature version of the Ant Queen floated—her Demon Soul.
A chain radiating black energy coiled around the Demon Soul.
This was Gui Ni's method of controlling the Ant Queen.
Song Wen pinched his fingers into a magic seal, channeling the black energy from the chain to begin his spell.
At this moment, Lan Chen and Mo Yexue approached.
"Ji Yin, your methods are truly remarkable. You effortlessly defeated the Ant Queen and Ant King," Mo Yexue praised.
Song Wen's eyes remained fixed on the black qi drawn from the chain as he continued his spell, responding casually, "Fellow Daoist Mo flatters me. Without your and Immortal Maiden Lan Chen's assistance, I would have needed to expend considerable effort to subdue them."
During Song Wen's previous encounter at the Beastmaster Sect, Lan Chen had witnessed his prowess firsthand. She wasn't surprised at all that he could easily defeat the Ant King and Ant Queen.
Gazing at the Ant Queen's Demon Soul, she sighed. "If the Ant Queen hadn't schemed to escape the Divine Blood Hall back then, she wouldn't have been enslaved by Gui Ni for decades, only to meet such a tragic end—her entire clan annihilated!"
Mo Yexue added, "It was her own foolishness, her own doing. She thought that with a bit of intelligence and some strength, she could swagger around the Human Race's territory. Little did she know that the human heart is the most dangerous thing in this world."
As the three spoke, Song Wen's spell was complete.
A wisp of blue smoke drifted before Song Wen, pulsating eastward.
"Gui Ni is to the east! Chase him!"
With those words, Song Wen activated his escape light and shot eastward.
Lan Chen and Mo Yexue transformed into streaks of light, flanking Song Wen.
After fleeing thousands of miles, Song Wen abruptly adjusted his course slightly.
Mo Yexue, watching the blue smoke that had remained suspended before Song Wen the entire time, remarked, "Ji Yin, your tracking technique is truly remarkable. It can actually sense Gui Ni's location at all times."
Song Wen smiled faintly but remained silent.
Before long, the three had traveled tens of thousands of miles. During this time, Song Wen adjusted his course several times. Both women were envious of the Thousand Miles Breath Tracking Technique but refrained from asking about it.
Suddenly, a vast river appeared below. It was dozens of miles wide, its muddy waters swirling with sediment. The river surged with violent currents, roaring like thunder.
Song Wen pointed at the river and said, "Gui Ni must be hiding in the water, following the river downstream."
A mocking expression crossed Mo Yexue's face.
"Gui Ni, a towering figure in the Ghost Dao, actually fled for his life by using the river's current. It seems he truly had nowhere else to turn," Lan Chen remarked.
"Strike while the iron's hot! We must eliminate Gui Ni now, or the consequences will be endless," she declared, glancing at Song Wen as she spoke.
Yang Yu, Gui Ni, and Xue Mei had all met their current fates because they had tried to harm Song Wen but failed. Lan Chen didn't want to risk Gui Ni returning one day to seek revenge.
"Ji Yin, where do you think Gui Ni is now?" Lan Chen asked.
Song Wen replied, "He's about a thousand miles from us and still drifting downriver."
Lan Chen said, "He probably never imagined we'd travel tens of thousands of miles to pursue him. We can use this to our advantage and launch a surprise attack, aiming for a swift kill to leave him no chance to escape. Do either of you have a plan?"
Song Wen said, "The best way to deal with Gui Ni right now is Fellow Daoist Mo's Evil Extermination Sword Formation. We can get to Xia Ling ahead of him, set up the formation, and wait for him to walk right into our trap."
Gui Ni's escape speed is incredibly fast; we must prevent him from fleeing. Otherwise, tracking him down again will take an unknown amount of time.
"This plan is excellent!" Lan Chen's tone shifted slightly as she turned to Mo Yexue and asked, "Yexue, what do you think?"
Mo Yexue replied, "I have no objections."
"Very well, let's proceed according to Ji Yin's plan," Lan Chen declared, sealing the decision.
To avoid being detected by Gui Ni, the three of them veered hundreds of miles away from the river, speeding straight downstream. They soon overtook Gui Ni, who was still following the winding river.
After finding a suitable spot to set up the sword formation, Mo Yexue began arranging the array on the riverbed.
Meanwhile, Song Wen focused intently on the wisp of green smoke in front of his chest, ready to react if Gui Ni suddenly changed his escape strategy and stopped following the river.
The river water was murky yellow, and Gui Ni, deep within its depths, could barely see.
However, his Spirit Sense allowed him to perceive everything on the riverbed, so he wasn't afraid of any surprises.
Having fled tens of thousands of miles, the tension in his heart eased slightly.
Ji Yin and the others should have a hard time catching up now.
Feeling safe, Gui Ni's anger began to surge again.
Xue Mei is dead!
Hong Li is dead!
The Ant Queen and the Three-Headed Gold-Eating Ant King are gone too!
The Profound Yin Sect is doomed!
He had gone from being a towering figure in the Immortal Cultivation World to a lone fugitive, fleeing in disgrace.
All of this was thanks to Ji Yin and his companions.
"I will make them pay for this!" Gui Ni vowed fiercely.
His mind instantly conjured various methods of revenge.
Lan Chen and Mo Yexue each had their own sects, making them easy targets.
In a flash, he envisioned the He Huan Sect and the Profound Heaven Sword Sect thrown into chaos.
However, when he considered how to deal with Ji Yin, Gui Ni suddenly felt a sense of helplessness, even a flicker of fear and retreat.
Ji Yin's power was simply too overwhelming.
Moreover, he seemed to have no weaknesses.
Gui Ni realized he couldn't think of any way to avenge himself against Ji Yin.
(End of the Chapter)
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