Translator: CinderTL
"Huh! What's that?"
Lan Chen, who was walking at the front, suddenly asked.
Her gaze was fixed on a corner of the stone steps, where there were two cocoon-like objects.
The cocoon-like objects were about the size of a fist, milky white in color, and had obvious signs of life pulsating within them.
"Gold-Eating Ant eggs!"
Xue Mei explained while shooting a burst of spiritual power, shattering the eggs.
Instantly, a foul stench assaulted their senses.
"Why does it smell so bad! And it seems to have some toxicity as well."
Lan Chen frowned slightly and increased her speed, swiftly passing by the eggs.
"It is indeed unbearable!" Xue Mei, clearly not expecting this, showed a hint of surprise on her face.
The appearance of the eggs was just a minor episode, but it further confirmed that this place was undoubtedly the nest of the Gold-Eating Ants.
The four of them continued forward.
The stone passageway was surprisingly safe, and they didn't encounter a single fourth-tier Gold-Eating Ant before reaching the bottom of the steps.
There, they found a massive underground cavern.
The cavern was several miles wide, with walls and floor bearing many man-made traces.
These traces had been severely damaged by the Gold-Eating Ants, with countless holes of various sizes drilled into them.
Gold-Eating Ants were constantly moving in and out of these holes.
The ant colony appeared very busy, with some carrying ores or ordinary vegetation from the Youlan Realm, and others carrying Gold-Eating Ant eggs.
All four of them had concealed their auras, so these low-tier ants didn't notice their presence and continued their usual activities.
"Fellow Daoist Xue Mei, what is that Gold-Eating Ant carrying in its mouth?"
Lan Chen asked, her tone carrying a hint of anticipation.
She pointed in the direction of a second-tier Gold-Eating Ant, which was carrying a large mushroom the size of a basin.
Judging from the aura it emitted, it should be a second-tier Spirit Herb.
Xue Mei glanced in the direction Lan Chen was pointing and replied, "That is the Five Elements Mushroom."
Having her guess confirmed, a glimmer of joy flashed in Lan Chen's eyes.
According to what Xue Mei had said earlier, the place where the Five Elements Mushroom was cultivated should also be where the Phantom Wing Butterfly existed.
At that moment, a magnetic voice echoed in the minds of all four.
"Four humans, welcome."
Hearing this, all four of them tensed up, their eyes scanning the surroundings with caution.
"Who are you?"
After searching around without finding anything, Lan Chen asked.
"I am the Ant Queen of the Gold-Eating Ants. You can call me 'Fu,'" the voice once again resonated in their minds.
The expressions of the four became even more serious.
Because, whether it was their eyes or their extended Divine Sense, none of them could detect the other's location.
"Have any of you found the location of that beast?" Mo Yexue transmitted her voice to the other three.
The three shook their heads slightly.
"Could its Divine Sense have surpassed all of ours? Could it have advanced to the fifth tier?" Mo Yexue transmitted her voice with some concern.
What she didn't notice was that her words indirectly revealed something.
Among the four of them, someone's Divine Sense had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
Xue Mei transmitted back, "It shouldn't have. The fifth tier for demon beasts is equivalent to the Divine Transformation stage for us humans. Even if it's just the Divine Sense, it's not that easy to break through."
"Then why can it transmit its voice to us, but we can't find its location?" Mo Yexue asked.
Xue Mei looked at the busy Gold-Eating Ants ahead and said, "There seems to be some special mental connection between the Ant Queen and these ordinary Gold-Eating Ants. It must have used the ants in the cave hall to relay its Divine Sense message." Her tone was somewhat uncertain.
As the four of them communicated secretly, the Ant Queen's Divine Sense message rang out again.
"Humans, how about we make a deal?"
"May I ask, Fellow Daoist Fu, what kind of deal are you proposing?" Lan Chen asked.
The Ant Queen replied, "You give me a Bronze Key Coffin. In exchange, everything in my ant nest is yours to take."
As for the Bronze Key Coffins, both Song Wen and Xue Mei had an extra one each, obtained from killing Xue Cangqiong and Tai He.
The Ant Queen's desire for the Bronze Key Coffin was undoubtedly to leave the Divine Blood Hall and gain true freedom in the outside world.
However, it was somewhat surprising to the four of them that a mere beast knew about the existence of the Bronze Key Coffin.
"Fellow Daoist Fu, do you wish to leave the Divine Blood Hall?" Song Wen asked.
"Exactly!" the Ant Queen replied.
"Is there a Bloodstone Exit here that leads to the outside world?" Song Wen inquired.
"Naturally, there is," the Ant Queen said.
"Where is it?" Song Wen asked.
"Follow the edge of the cave hall on your left for ten miles, and you will see the Bloodstone Exit," the Ant Queen explained.
In this underground cave hall, apart from the extremely dense spiritual energy, there was no other natural energy.
Without Song Wen releasing the Shadow Gu, only Lan Chen's Divine Sense among the four could perceive up to ten miles.
Her Divine Sense quickly swept through the cave hall, and then she nodded to Song Wen and the other two.
"Fellow Daoist Fu, are there any Phantom Wing Butterflies in the ant nest?" Lan Chen suddenly interjected.
"Yes! In my Five Elements Mushroom garden, there is a group of Phantom Wing Butterflies. As long as you give me a Bronze Key Coffin, all the Phantom Wing Butterflies are yours to deal with," the Ant Queen said.
"Really?" Lan Chen asked, somewhat surprised.
"Of course. To show my sincerity, I can give you a fourth-tier Phantom Wing Butterfly right now."
As soon as the Ant Queen finished speaking, a butterfly with a wingspan of over ten feet flew out from the depths of the cave hall.
The butterfly's wings were covered with delicate and intricate scales, shimmering with dazzling colors.
The scales ranged from deep blue to emerald green, with edges adorned with hints of violet, creating a mesmerizing display.
The Phantom Wing Butterfly's intelligence seemed to be controlled, as it flew towards Lan Chen with extreme docility.
Lan Chen's expression was a mix of delight and caution.
The Ant Queen was being far too accommodating.
However, the Phantom Wing Butterfly showed no signs of aggression, which slightly eased Lan Chen's mind.
She took out a Spirit Beast Pouch and cast several magic seals towards the Phantom Wing Butterfly.
Surprisingly, the Phantom Wing Butterfly cooperated willingly and flew into the Spirit Beast Pouch.
"Humans, now do you believe my words? Give me a Bronze Key Coffin, and everything in this nest is yours," the Ant Queen's voice rang out.
"Are you truly willing to abandon everything in the ant nest?" Lan Chen asked skeptically.
"I have lived in this narrow Dark Orchid Realm for thousands of years, and I have had enough," the Ant Queen's voice was filled with resentment and unwillingness. "I do not want to end up like my predecessors, trapped in this Dark Orchid Realm for my entire life."
Song Wen keenly caught a hint of information in the Ant Queen's words and quickly asked,
"Friend Fu, have you and your ancestors been trapped in this Dark Orchid Realm? Is there no Teleportation Array in the Dark Orchid Realm that leads to other parts of the Divine Blood Hall? Moreover, have you and your ancestors never considered breaking through the protective formations of the Dark Orchid Realm?"
(End of the Chapter)
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