Translator: CinderTL
"Why aren't you attacking anymore? Why did you stop?" The Ant Queen's smug voice echoed. "This Stone Sphere of mine has been reinforced by me and all the previous Ant Queens over tens of thousands of years. Did you really think you could break through it in such a short time?"
As her voice faded, the Poison Mist inside the Stone Sphere gradually thinned and was reabsorbed into the Ant Queen's body.
The Divine Sense of Song Wen and the other three also managed to penetrate the Stone Sphere and perceive the situation inside.
Within the Stone Sphere was a giant insect over ten zhang in length.
The insect's body was a pale gray, massive and bloated, resembling a mountain of flesh.
Beneath its abdomen grew two rows of densely packed, short legs.
These legs were extremely thin, seemingly incapable of supporting the enormous mass of flesh, forcing the giant insect to lie motionless on the ground.
Its head was black, only the size of a millstone, appearing disproportionately small compared to its massive body.
The tail of the giant insect occasionally twitched slightly.
With each twitch, a fist-sized Insect Egg was squeezed out from its body.
"I thought the Ant Queen would be some majestic being. I never expected it to be a bug that can barely even crawl. You've probably been trapped in this Stone Sphere your entire life, never taking a single step outside, haven't you?" Having been mocked by the Ant Queen repeatedly, Mo Yexue couldn't help but retort.
"Foolish humans, you are so ignorant."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Ant Queen's bloated body began to shrink rapidly, soon becoming only one zhang in length.
Now, its short, thin legs and head appeared much more proportionate.
"Humans, did you not expect this? I can control the size of my body at will. Do you still think I can't leave this Stone Sphere?"
The Ant Queen paced back and forth inside the Stone Sphere, her voice laced with mockery.
"Hand over all the Bronze Key Coffins you possess, and I'll grant you a chance to reincarnate."
"Dream on!" Mo Yexue roared, her voice sharp as a drawn sword, reverberating endlessly.
Her sleeves fluttered, and her sword intent surged, clearly ready to fight to the death.
Under the continuous spraying of the four Ant Kings and other low-level Gold-Eating Ants, the Poison Mist in the cavern grew increasingly dense.
To resist the erosion of the Poison Mist, the four of them were consuming their Spiritual Power at an alarming rate.
The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for them.
It would be better to take advantage of their still abundant Spiritual Power and make a desperate attempt to break through. There was still a slim chance of success.
"Fellow Daoist Mo, wait."
Xue Mei suddenly spoke up, stopping Mo Yexue just as she was about to act.
"The Celestial Gold Fluid isn't without weaknesses. If I recall correctly, it fears yang-attribute spiritual flames. Has anyone among you refined yang fire? Using yang fire to burn the Stone Sphere where the Ant Queen resides should be able to break it."
Hearing this, Song Wen opened his mouth and spat out a Silver Firebird.
The Jade Radiance Flame and the Nether Corpse Cold Fire he had refined were not particularly powerful.
After he formed his Nascent Soul, these two flames had become rather useless, so he hadn't used them since.
Just as Song Wen was about to control the Silver Firebird to release the Jade Radiance Flame, he saw Mo Yexue's flying sword suddenly ignite with a crimson spiritual flame.
The flame surged, and a majestic aura spread out.
"Primal Luminary True Fire!"
A flicker of surprise flashed in Xue Mei's eyes.
At the same time, she subtly distanced herself from Mo Yexue. The heat radiating from the Primal Luminary True Fire was indeed quite uncomfortable.
The flying sword, wreathed in blazing flames, soared into the air and shot straight toward the Stone Sphere.
"Who are you? How do you know so many secrets about my Gold-Eating Ants, even the weakness of the Celestial Gold Fluid?"
The Ant Queen's words were clearly directed at Xue Mei. Her voice carried a hint of panic.
The Gold-Eating Ants, which had been hiding in the holes of the cavern and slowly spewing Poison Mist, also became restless at this moment.
Regardless of their strength, the Gold-Eating Ants emerged from the ground and charged towards the four individuals.
"Fellow Daoist Mo, focus on burning the Stone Sphere. Leave these Gold-Eating Ants to us," Lan Chen said.
She held the Jade Ruyi in her hand, continuously channeling her Spiritual Power into it.
Four strands of pink smoke drifted out from the Jade Ruyi and swiftly moved towards the four Ant Kings.
The smoke entered the heads of the four Ant Kings, causing the ferocious creatures to freeze in place.
However, in an instant, the four Ant Kings regained their mobility.
Lan Chen glanced back at the Stone Sphere. It was clear that the Ant Queen had helped the four Ant Kings break free from her Divine Sense control.
"Xue Mei, Yin Shuo, each of you take on one Ant King. I'll handle the remaining two. We must not let them interfere with Fellow Daoist Mo's spellcasting. Otherwise, escaping this Ant Nest today will be nearly impossible," Lan Chen instructed.
After speaking, she summoned the Red Silk wrapped around her waist and directed it towards two of the Ant Kings.
Song Wen and Xue Mei each faced off against one Ant King.
Song Wen transformed into a three-zhang tall Giant Corpse, and with the ever-changing Blood Sea Seal, he managed to barely hold off one Ant King.
Xue Mei, on the other hand, was in a much more precarious situation.
Her combat strength wasn't particularly high, and she relied on illusions and the eerie Black Water of Destruction to barely restrain one Ant King.
Mo Yexue's flying sword circled the Stone Sphere, raining down strands of crimson flames like a fine drizzle.
Each flame carried a temperature high enough to melt metal and scorch stone.
The flames clung to the Stone Sphere, burning fiercely as if they had ignited the sphere itself.
Under the intense heat of the Yuanming True Fire, cracks began to appear on the surface of the Stone Sphere, spreading like a spiderweb across its entire surface.
With a series of crackling sounds, fragments of stone began to peel off the sphere.
The fragments were incinerated by the spiritual flames, turning into wisps of smoke that drifted away with the wind.
The Stone Sphere visibly shrank at a rapid pace.
Inside the Stone Sphere, the Ant Queen, surrounded by the intense heat seeping through the holes in the sphere, was like a trapped beast with no way out, frantically scurrying back and forth.
The Ant Queen released a large amount of yellow Poison Mist, filling the entire stone chamber in an attempt to keep the spiritual flames at bay.
Unnoticed by everyone, deep within the Ant Queen's eyes, there was a strange glint of excitement.
It was the thrill of a scheme coming to fruition, the joy of finally escaping the prison that had confined it for thousands of years.
As the Stone Sphere continued to be scorched by the spiritual flames and its surface crumbled away, it became increasingly unstable.
Suddenly.
With a loud "boom," the Stone Sphere exploded.
A violent burst of energy, accompanied by crimson flames, erupted in all directions.
The Ant Queen's figure was revealed, along with countless ant eggs.
Mo Yexue's flying sword pierced through the flying debris and rain of fire, heading straight for the Ant Queen.
As Xue Mei had mentioned earlier, the Ant Queen seemed to have few means of defense. It suddenly emitted an extremely dense yellow Poison Mist, instantly enveloping its entire body.
Mo Yexue suddenly felt the loss of her connection with the Ant Queen, and the bond between her and the flying sword was rapidly weakening.
However, she did not withdraw the flying sword. Instead, she continued to drive it forward, slashing toward the location where she remembered the Ant Queen to be.
The flying sword pierced through the Poison Mist, but it was clear that it had not struck the Ant Queen.
"Hahaha... I'm finally free."
The Ant Queen's triumphant voice echoed in the minds of the four.
"Humans, I truly must thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have been trapped in my nest until death."
"Fu! Stop playing tricks here. This is your lair—what could possibly trap you?"
Mo Yexue's gaze swept back and forth across the dense Toxic Yellow Mist, as if searching for any clues that might reveal the Ant Queen's hiding place.
(End of the Chapter)
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