Li Nanzhu gently patted Suisui’s bones, comforting it, "It’s okay, they’re gone."
Everyone in the cave breathed a sigh of relief, but no one dared to sleep again, fearing the spirit-siphoning fire ants would turn back. Duan Xianxing hugged his sword, leaning against the rock wall as he muttered softly, "This place is truly eerie. Even the ants are this vicious."
Liu Qingyang said in a low voice, "The spirit-siphoning fire ants feed exclusively on spiritual energy and are extremely sensitive to a cultivator’s spiritual power. Fortunately, we had the stealth stone to hide us, otherwise we would have been discovered long ago."
Zhu Yinxi closed his eyes to sense the surroundings for a moment. After confirming it was temporarily safe, he slowly opened them. "We will take turns keeping watch tonight, just in case."
Li Nanzhu nodded. "I’ll go first. The rest of you, hurry and take the time to regulate your breathing."
Duan Xianxing immediately raised his hand. "Then I’m second! My injuries are just superficial. Yours are more serious, so you shouldn't be on watch."
Liu Qingyang gave him a helpless look. "Are you sure you won’t fall asleep?"
Duan Xianxing vowed solemnly, "Absolutely not! I am a sword cultivator; my willpower is steadfast!"
Li Nanzhu couldn’t help but chuckle. She gave a light cough. "Alright, it’s settled then. I’ll take the first half of the night, Seventh Senior Brother will take the second half, and everyone else rest peacefully."
As the night deepened, occasional low roars of demonic beasts echoed outside the cave, but the glow of the stealth stone remained stable, isolating the cave from the outside world.
Li Nanzhu sat at the cave entrance, using the faint light of the fire to flip through an ancient book on talismans, occasionally looking up to observe any movement outside.
Suisui lay at her feet, its bones emitting a faint pearly white glow as if providing light for her.
Li Nanzhu rubbed its head and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."
Suisui made a couple of "ka-ka" sounds and rubbed against her palm.
In the latter half of the night, Duan Xianxing woke up on time to take over Li Nanzhu's position.
He sat at the cave entrance with his sword in hand, looking spirited and ready for anything.
Li Nanzhu smiled and walked aside to meditate and regulate her breathing.
The night proved to be unexpectedly peaceful.
...
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the shadows of the trees, dappling the cave entrance.
Li Nanzhu was the first to wake. She found Duan Xianxing leaning against the rock wall, his head nodding periodically—he had clearly fallen asleep again.
She sighed helplessly, walked over, and gently nudged him. "Seventh Senior Brother, it's dawn."
Duan Xianxing jolted awake and wiped the corner of his mouth. "I wasn't sleeping! I was just closing my eyes to rest my spirit!"
Li Nanzhu suppressed a smile. "Yes, yes, resting it so much that you're drooling."
Duan Xianxing: "..."
The others woke up one after another. After a night of recovery, their injuries had healed considerably.
Zhu Yinxi flexed his wrist and said, "Today we must find a way to leave the inner-middle region and return to the outer area, otherwise we’ll run into even more dangerous demonic beasts sooner or later."
Duan Xianxing stretched his limbs. "I feel like I've recovered seventy to eighty percent!"
Zhu Yinxi glanced at him. "Is that so? Then you lead the way?"
Duan Xianxing immediately recoiled. "...I think I can stand to recover a bit more."
Liu Qingyang let out a chuckle. "My spiritual power has mostly recovered. The communication jade slip might not be reliable, so I’ll try to contact the sect using a communication talisman again. But I need to find a place where spiritual energy fluctuations are weaker, otherwise it might attract demonic beasts."
Li Nanzhu thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we follow the stream? There are usually fewer demonic beasts near water sources, and streams typically lead to the outer regions."
Zhu Yinxi agreed, "That’s feasible."
After packing their things, they deactivated the stealth stone and the soundproofing array, then cautiously stepped out of the cave. The morning forest was shrouded in mist, as if the crisis of the previous night were merely an illusion.
Just as everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, feeling that the surroundings were relatively safe, Suisui suddenly began to tremble violently, its bones clattering.
Li Nanzhu’s heart tightened as she whispered, "Something is approaching!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead, and a black shadow suddenly lunged out—it was a jet-black leopard-like demonic beast with jagged fangs and eyes glowing with an eerie green light.
"A shadow leopard!" Liu Qingyang’s expression changed. "Golden Core stage, extremely fast. Everyone be careful!"
The shadow leopard let out a low growl. Its body moved like lightning as it pounced directly toward Duan Xianxing, who was in the lead.
Fortunately, Duan Xianxing reacted quickly. His long sword left its sheath, and a sweep of sword qi forced the beast's attack back.
Zhu Yinxi also immediately held his jade flute. With a wave of his hand, several pillars of water condensed into sharp blades and shot toward the shadow leopard.
However, the beast was agile. With a few leaps, it evaded the attacks and turned to pounce on Li Nanzhu.
Li Nanzhu retreated rapidly. Fortunately, she had placed an acceleration talisman on everyone beforehand. Simultaneously, she formed a hand seal, and a wall of earth rose from the ground to block her path.
The shadow leopard swung its sharp claws, and the earth wall shattered instantly, but that split second of delay was enough for Liu Qingyang to act.
A ball of scorching flame condensed in his palm, which he slammed hard against the shadow leopard’s back.
The beast howled in pain and turned to pounce on Liu Qingyang in a rage.
Duan Xianxing took the opportunity to thrust his sword from the side, aiming directly for the shadow leopard’s throat.
However, the beast seemed to have eyes in the back of its head. It performed a side-flip to dodge the fatal blow, then swiped its claw back at Duan Xianxing’s shoulder.
"Behind you!" Li Nanzhu shouted.
In the nick of time, Zhu Yinxi flashed into position, his jade flute once again transforming into a long sword. He blocked the claws but was shaken back several steps by the force.
Seeing this, the murderous light in the shadow leopard’s eyes grew even more intense. Just as it was about to pounce again, a sharp cry echoed from the distance—it was the sound of the Golden-Feathered Thunder Roc.
The shadow leopard froze, seemingly terrified of the sound.
It let out a low growl, gave the group an unwilling look, and then turned to vanish into the jungle.
Duan Xianxing breathed a long sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "This godforsaken place! Even a leopard is this difficult to deal with!"
Liu Qingyang frowned. "The Golden-Feathered Thunder Roc's voice scared it off, but that also means we might be getting closer to that roc. And why is it constantly crying out?"
Zhu Yinxi caught his breath and said solemnly, "This is no place to linger. We must pick up the pace."
Not daring to delay, the group hurried along the stream.
However, they hadn't walked far before more movement came from the jungle behind them. This time, it was a dense, rustling sound.
Li Nanzhu looked back, and her face turned pale. "The spirit-siphoning fire ants! How did they catch up again!"
The crimson swarm surged forward like a tide. Everywhere they passed, plants withered and even the soil was scorched black by corrosion.
In the center of the swarm, the massive ant queen’s antennae quivered, seemingly locked onto their scent.
Duan Xianxing’s scalp felt numb. "These ants just won't stay dead!"
Zhu Yinxi made an immediate decision. "Run!"
The four of them didn't care about preserving spiritual power as they sprinted toward the lower reaches of the stream.
However, the swarm was faster than they had imagined. Li Nanzhu quickly threw the talismans she had drawn over the past two idle days behind her.
The talismans burst into raging flames in mid-air, temporarily blocking the swarm's pursuit.
But with a sharp shriek from the ant queen, the spirit-siphoning fire ants charged straight through the wall of fire and continued their chase.
While running, Li Nanzhu rummaged through her storage bag and suddenly felt a packet of powder. Her eyes lit up. "I have an idea!"
She scattered the powder behind her. The powder dispersed in the wind, turning into a pale green mist.
As the swarm charged into the mist, their speed slowed drastically.
"Great job, Little Junior Sister!" Duan Xianxing took the opportunity to slash backward with his sword qi, cutting down many fire ants.
Liu Qingyang was surprised. "This is?"
"Insect repellent powder. It was originally meant for ordinary poisonous insects, but I didn't expect it to work on these fire ants too!" Li Nanzhu explained.
Zhu Yinxi seized the opportunity and pulled Duan Xianxing along. "While we have the chance, let's go!"
The four of them bolted and finally lost the swarm.
However, before they could catch their breath, a massive splash erupted from the stream ahead—a giant crocodile-shaped demonic beast leaped from the water, blocking their path.
Duan Xianxing wailed, "Is there no end to this!"
Li Nanzhu gripped her talismans tightly. "What do we do now?"
Rate on N.U.
