With his mind made up, Qian Ye once again swept his gaze over all the cave passages, finally selecting the largest one on the lower level. This passage was nearly a hundred meters high, with obvious marks of scraping at the entrance, clearly indicating that massive beasts frequented here. The ordinary warriors of the Moonlight White Devils could not become invisible, and being detected by a massive beast would mean certain death, so naturally, they wouldn’t choose this path.
However, this passage sloped downward, leading to an even deeper part of the underground. By common sense, it was more likely for the Earth Dragon’s nest to be hidden deep underground. Therefore, Qian Ye resolutely chose this passage, leaping into it without hesitation.
As he walked into the giant beast passage, he could feel the wonder and grandeur of the underground world. This passage itself was equivalent to a huge underground cavern hall, stretching endlessly. On the ground, there were scattered shallow pits and intersecting channels filled with somewhat viscous fluid.
Qian Ye swiftly advanced along the cave wall. As he moved, he suddenly felt something was amiss about the shallow pits in the center of the passage. Upon closer inspection, he realized these several-meter-diameter pits were actually footprints, and the footprints of a massive beast! From the shape, it seemed this beast was different from the gargantuan rhinoceros he had encountered before.
If the shallow pits were footprints, then what were those channels? They didn’t look like natural formations at all.
After who knows how long, the passage took a turn, sloping down again. At the corner, two smaller cave openings appeared, leading to unknown destinations.
As he passed by the cave entrances, Qian Ye suddenly heard a faint rumbling. Yes, it wasn’t a natural sound, but the distinctive roar of origin guns. That unique frequency was unmistakable to Qian Ye.
His heart stirred, and he stealthily moved toward the direction of the battle. At this time, the fight was likely between the Empress Spider and the Moonlight White Devils’ squad against the Earth Dragon’s horde. This was an opportunity; no matter which side lost, Qian Ye could step in to harvest the spoils. He only hoped that the Moonlight White Devil’s squad wouldn’t fall too quickly, leaving the beast horde intact.
Qian Ye dashed through, sprinting past several turns, and suddenly found himself in a vast, blazingly lit underground hall.
This subterranean hall was hundreds of meters high, with a platform rising tens of meters in the center. A waterfall cascaded from the platform, flowing into the river below. The river meandered, disappearing into the cave walls, turning into an underground stream.
On the other side of the platform stood a structure that resembled both a camp and a nest. It was surrounded by a ring of stone walls, guarding a multi-story hive. Occasionally, an aberrant insect would fly out of the hive, landing on the stone walls, joining the guard force.
Qian Ye saw correctly; these giant insects were indeed guarding the stone walls. They lay atop the walls, using large boulders as cover, intermittently spitting out clouds of thick, black venom.
Outside the nest, the Empress Spider and the Moonlight White Devil’s troops were gathered, hundreds of elite warriors forming a stable line, surrounding the nest, and using precise firepower to gradually clear the giant insects off the stone walls.
The organized attack and defense shocked Qian Ye. The Empress Spider was one thing, but the sight of cattle-sized insects diligently defending the city was genuinely surprising. These insects had thick carapaces, and even if hit by an origin gun, it would only crack a piece of their shell, spilling some insect juice. For the incredibly resilient insect race, these were merely superficial injuries. However, too many minor injuries would still cause them to collapse, tumbling off the walls to become corpses.
In the middle of the battlefield, there were hundreds of alien insect corpses, identical to those that had previously attacked Qian Ye. Most of the insect corpses were severed into pieces, clearly killed during a charge.
Without close combat troops, relying solely on the venom-spewing carapace insects, the defensive line naturally became full of holes. However, the venom of the carapace insects was potent. An unlucky spider demon warrior, sprayed with the venom, immediately let out a wail, his body rapidly corroded, vanishing in an instant. The unhit venom vaporized into toxic mist, lingering for a long time. The continuous spraying of venom naturally created a cloud of toxic fog, forcing the spider demons and Moonlight White Devil warriors to constantly retreat.
However, the battle results were clearly unfavorable for the insects. The giant insects were continuously being killed, and the insect nest’s replenishment rate couldn’t keep up with the losses. Both defensive firepower and the toxic fog were gradually thinning.
From Qian Ye’s perspective, the toxic fog wasn’t particularly powerful. The dark races generally had incredible resistance to toxins and could easily charge through the fog, reaching the city gates. Then, these carapace insects, which seemed to only have thick armor and could spit venom, wouldn’t be able to hold the line.
Such a simple logic, the Empress Spider’s people couldn’t possibly not understand. But they continued to steadily grind down the enemy’s forces. Besides their cautious tactics, there was probably something else they were wary of.
Qian Ye slowly retreated, finding a better vantage point. He climbed up the cave wall, ascending to a small platform. This platform was a hundred meters high, overlooking the entire battlefield.
As the carapace insects were gradually reduced, the nest sped up its release of new insects. Unfortunately, no matter how fast, it couldn’t compensate for the losses on the defensive line. The nest seemed uneasy, starting to squirm. There were several wounds on the hive, and as it squirmed, pale silver liquid seeped from the cracks.
At that moment, Qian Ye’s blood core suddenly throbbed powerfully, nearly causing his bloodline to flare up!
Startled, Qian Ye immediately suppressed the blood core’s anomaly. But in that instant, he distinctly felt something within the nest, causing his blood to surge with a strong desire to devour, like a glutton confronted with a delicious meal. This instinctive craving rarely occurred in Qian Ye.
The dark gold blood qi, refined through the profound chapter, was extremely pure. Even Nighteye, an original breed, was slightly inferior. Something that could make the dark gold blood qi yearn piqued Qian Ye’s interest.
The more he desired, the calmer he had to be. Just as the blood core acted up, a commander wearing the Moonlight White Devil’s insignia instantly looked in his direction, showing sharp senses. Fortunately, Qian Ye was now a hundred meters above the ground, close to the cave ceiling, out of the commander’s line of sight, undetected.
With such a powerful figure holding the fort and a strong army, yet still advancing slowly and steadily, Qian Ye became increasingly convinced that this insect nest was not simple. The Moonlight White Devil’s strongman was clearly waiting for something.
Qian Ye was never short of patience, quietly observing.
As the carapace insects dwindled, the nest’s defenses began to crumble. The Moonlight White Devil’s strongman could no longer hold back, waving forward, and his troops leaped out, beginning the assault.
The toxic fog proved to be of limited effect. Aside from a few warriors falling in the fog, most managed to cross it, charging towards the nest. The leading warriors were evidently more powerful, agile enough to dodge the venom spewed by the carapace insects. With their distraction, the pressure on the trailing warriors lessened, and they quickly reached the nest.
The nest’s squirming accelerated, and suddenly, the top split open. A pale silver figure shot up, turning mid-air, and dived lightning-fast towards the warriors below!
“I’ve been waiting for you!” The strongman laughed, his figure flashing, rushing to the city gates, throwing a giant net at the silver figure. This net shimmered with a metallic sheen, adorned with sharp blades and hooks, clearly a deadly weapon.
The net, when it fell, would not only ensnare the silver figure but also trap several Moonlight White Devil warriors. Once trapped, even if they survived, they would be severely injured. But to the strongman, their lives were clearly less important than the silver figure; he would rather kill them than let it go.
Just as the net descended, the silver figure turned again, displaying an extremely agile maneuver. But it was a beat too slow, seemingly about to be caught by the net.
At that moment, an origin gun roared in the cave, a fist-sized fireball streaking across, hitting the strongman’s back!
The shot was immensely powerful, sending the strongman flying, spewing a mouthful of blood. The net instantly lost control, veering to the side, ensnaring over a dozen Moonlight White Devil warriors, but allowing the silver figure to escape.
On the other side of the cave, Qingyue’s figure flickered, the barrel of her left arm’s origin gun glowing. Before she could fire another shot, a soft, icy voice sounded, “I’ve been waiting for you!”
Qingyue suddenly turned, aiming her gun at the shadow on the side, firing. A rock there suddenly moved, and the illusion shattered, revealing a female warrior in silver armor. She deflected the origin bullet with a horizontal swing of her heavy sword.
Blocking Qingyue’s shot, she merely leaned back slightly, retreating half a step. In terms of strength, she clearly far surpassed the strongman who had just led the battle.
“As I thought, it’s you! I knew you’d come!” Qingyue gritted her teeth.
“Of course, how could I miss the chance to eliminate a Highu War Maiden?” the female warrior said coolly.
Qingyue angrily replied, “Your hands are stained with too much Highu blood. Our tribe will never forgive you!”
The female warrior burst into laughter, “What a joke! How many atrocities have your Highu people committed? How many small tribes have you exterminated? You dare to speak such words!”
Qingyue’s face darkened, and she huffed, her gun’s barrel glowing, ready to fire. Suddenly, she sensed something, turning to look in Qian Ye’s direction.
Qian Ye was taken aback. He had been preparing to act, but just as he retracted his bloodline concealment, Qingyue detected him. Her perception was too sharp, completely different from what he had known.
Qingyue reacted quickly, firing a shot and simultaneously throwing two origin grenades at her feet. The female warrior slashed through the origin bullet, about to charge, but suddenly saw the grenades, and couldn’t help cursing, forced to retreat and dodge.
After the explosion, a massive rock fell from the cave ceiling, accompanied by countless stones and dirt, creating a cloud of dust.
By the time the dust settled, Qingyue was nowhere to be seen. Qian Ye watched her disappear into a side passage, but the problem was that they were on opposite sides of the cave. To pursue her, he would need to cross the entire battlefield. Moreover, Qingyue had demonstrated exceptional stealth and speed, making it difficult for Qian Ye to track her after she had already fled.
The female warrior’s face was ashen, and she huffed, not pursuing further, clearly realizing she wouldn’t catch Qingyue.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage