Chapter 101: The Secrets of the Underworld (Part II)

At this moment, the battlefield presented a new scene. The silver figure, having narrowly escaped, darted back and forth like lightning, leaving a trail of blood wherever it passed. In an instant, dozens of high-ranking warriors fell to its blade.

The strong warrior, severely injured by Qian Ye’s sneak attack, his speed greatly reduced, roared in pursuit of the silver figure, but no matter how fast or adaptable he was, he could not catch up.

The female warrior arched her brows, her body coiled like a spring, then shot towards the silver figure like a cannonball. With one swift stroke, she cut it down from the air!

The moment she moved, her origin power cultivation could no longer be hidden. Five vortexes of origin power shone brilliantly in Qian Ye’s true sight. To Qian Ye, the purity of her origin power was merely passable, barely hinting at the potential to break through to the rank of divine general. This indicated that compared to the top imperial families and clans, the cultivation method she practiced was somewhat inferior. However, her timing and execution in this attack were impeccable, her use of origin power masterful, and her combat skills almost fully matured. In terms of the art of battle, she stood on the same level as Qian Ye and Zhao Jundu.

The powerful figure of the Moonlight White Devil, who was clearly a marquis and equivalent to a human of the sixteenth level, was outshone by her in actual combat.

The silver figure finally revealed its true form upon landing, a larger variant of the alien insect, its body shimmering with a silvery luster. Its two forelimbs were particularly sharp. It had been struck by the female warrior’s sword, leaving only a thin wound, but it flapped its wings and took flight again. Its physical resilience alone surpassed that of ordinary armored alloys.

After taking flight, the silver alien insect suddenly changed direction, circling around the powerful figure and causing a gush of blood. A long wound appeared on the warrior’s back. He instinctively counter-attacked but was dodged by the silver insect. However, while evading this strike, the silver insect could not avoid the female warrior’s sword. Struck three times in quick succession, it tumbled helplessly.

It suddenly soared into the sky, rapidly beating its wings, sending shockwaves far and wide. The female warrior’s face changed, and she said, “Not good, it’s calling for more insects. We must retreat!”

The strong warrior, still unwilling, said, “We were just a step away!”

“Kemal, are you defying my orders? We have already destroyed this nest. One more strike and it would have been done. Now, we must withdraw immediately!”

Seeing the female warrior’s stern expression, Kemal, though reluctant, had to call the surviving warriors and quickly retreat.

In a short while, the hall buzzed with the sound of flapping wings as countless alien insects flew in from every entrance, converging around the nest. Only then did the silver alien insect land and burrow into the nest.

Thousands of alien insects landed on the nest, crawling over it, spitting out mucus to repair the damage. Other insects scattered across the battlefield, devouring corpses. They made no distinction between friend and foe, consuming any flesh they found. In a blink, the corpses were cleaned up, and the insects returned to the nest to continue the repairs.

Faced with such a massive swarm, it was no wonder the female warrior had to retreat. Even if she possessed unparalleled combat skills, she might still be overwhelmed by the sea of insects. Only Qian Ye, with his Sea Domain and Life Plunder abilities, dared to confront such a horde.

Seeing the dense swarm of alien insects, Qian Ye’s heart stirred. If he launched an attack now, using his domain and Life Plunder, he could eliminate eighty percent of the insects, and the harvested blood essence would be enough to support his advancement to the rank of Earl Gad.

However, Qian Ye immediately dismissed the idea. The results of his previous battle with the giant rhinoceros were far from being fully digested, and he didn’t need more blood essence. Moreover, if he encountered another such beast, Life Plunder would be a decisive move, and he couldn’t afford to waste it.

But the opportunity before him was too good to pass up. After a moment’s thought, Qian Ye made his decision. He took out two boxes of origin power grenades, arranged them neatly, and then, taking a deep breath, threw more than twenty grenades in the air, forming a perfect semicircle around the nest. Then, he threw another dozen grenades, creating an inner semicircle, and finally, a few more, sealing the top.

In an instant, dozens of grenades formed a perfect encirclement, from the ground to the sky, leaving no gaps.

With a roar, the outer circle of grenades exploded first, followed a split second later by the inner circle. This slight delay allowed the shockwave from the inner circle to be pushed back by the outer, intensifying the impact on the nest. In a flash, the explosions converged into a terrifying vortex of fire, soaring toward the ceiling!

Countless alien insects were torn apart in the blast, their remains ignited by the intense heat of the origin flames, turning into a part of the fiery stream, spraying into the sky!

In the next moment, the entire cave hall was like a rain of alien insect corpses, falling with a crackling sound. Only after the firestorm passed did the damaged nest become visible.

The nest’s outer shell was completely stripped away, revealing a honeycomb-like structure inside. The alien insects around the nest were all wiped out, with only a few survivors remaining.

As the outer shell disappeared, Qian Ye’s blood core once again stirred, sensing the aura that made him feel incredibly hungry.

Without hesitation, Qian Ye leaped and pounced towards the nest.

The silver alien insect emerged from the nest, but before it could take flight, a sword light crossed several dozen meters, striking it.

Annihilation Slash!

It let out a shrill scream, its body sliced open by nearly a third. Even its hard exoskeleton couldn’t withstand the devastating blow from the sword.

Having dealt a heavy blow to the silver alien insect, Qian Ye stretched his body, pouncing towards the nest, and then, without breaking stride, swung another Annihilation Slash at the silver insect.

The silver insect desperately rolled and flew, managing to avoid a fatal blow, but another wound appeared on its body. It sank, despite frantic wing flaps, unable to stop its descent.

Qian Ye didn’t follow up but instead raised the sword, his body like a meteor, diving towards the nest. The sword, descending from above, cleaved the nest in two!

The nest creaked and groaned, splitting down the middle. The internal passages were over a meter high, allowing humans to advance with a slight bend. In the center, there were many hatching chambers. Most of the eggs had hatched, leaving behind shells. It seemed the nest had exhausted its war potential in the recent fierce battle.

At the bottom of the nest was a small pond, filled with a pale silver liquid. This must have been the home of the silver alien insect.

Qian Ye leaped into the pond, the water splashing onto his combat suit, instantly producing a cloud of green smoke. The corrosive nature of the liquid was evident, even the specially reinforced suit couldn’t withstand it. But Qian Ye paid no mind; his body was far stronger. Indeed, the water corroded his pants but left his skin unharmed.

The pond wasn’t deep, reaching only to his knees. In the center, a silver orb lay quietly. This was the source of the dark gold blood’s hunger.

Bending down, Qian Ye picked up the silver orb. As soon as he grasped it, his hand felt heavy. Surprised, he realized that the fist-sized orb weighed hundreds of kilograms!

The orb wasn’t solid, feeling soft and somewhat like jelly, with a texture similar to mercury. Holding it, Qian Ye felt a stinging sensation in his palm, as if pricked by tiny needles.

He switched the orb to his right hand. When he checked his left, he saw a layer of silver on his palm. The orb’s corrosive power was many times stronger than the pond’s, even Qian Ye struggled to resist it.

It was metallic yet not, something Qian Ye had never seen before. But it was this object that had aroused the dark gold blood’s thirst.

Before he could study it further, Qian Ye suddenly felt a chill on his back, a strong killing intent making his hair stand on end!

Without thinking, Qian Ye swung the sword backward. This strike ignored his own defense, aiming only to injure the opponent, relying on the ancient bloodline’s robust physique to exchange wounds.

The attacker was surprised, not expecting Qian Ye to choose a mutually destructive tactic. She had to block the strike. As the swords clashed, she deftly flipped her sword, redirecting Qian Ye’s, and then thrust a direct strike at his back!

Qian Ye, following the sword’s momentum, turned and saw it was the female warrior who had just retreated. Her sword, now pointing at his waist, carried the illusion of a giant sword, clearly a deadly technique.

Ignoring her thrust, Qian Ye flicked his wrist, bringing the sword down on her. Even if her thrust hit him, she would be cleaved in half by his strike.

The female warrior swiftly retreated ten meters, creating distance. Decisively, seeing her ambush failed, she stopped.

“Lay down the Wyrm’s Blood, and I will spare your life!”

Weighing the silver orb, Qian Ye replied, “Spare my life? Why should I trust you?”

The female warrior coldly said, “I am Claudia, the sole daughter of the Moonlight White Devil, leader of the Masked. If I say you can leave, you can leave this underground nest alive.”

Claudia was tall, nearly matching Qian Ye in height. Her face was sharp, her eyes like swords, exuding a fierce aura. Though Qian Ye appeared calm, he recognized her as a formidable opponent. During the clash of swords, his sword felt like it was stuck in a swamp, moving with great difficulty, pulled in different directions. If not for his robust body and overwhelming strength, he would have been at a disadvantage.

However, beneath Claudia’s killing intent, there was a sense of unease. Her little finger trembled slightly, and when she blocked Qian Ye’s strike, she felt his strength like a volcanic eruption, numbing her arms and stirring her blood. Had she not withdrawn, she doubted she could hold her sword after a few more clashes.

Qian Ye looked Claudia up and down, saying, “Why should I give this to you?”

“Hand over the Wyrm’s Blood. It is not meant for a lowly human like you!” a stern voice interrupted. The strong warrior, Kemal, had returned.

With his appearance, a large number of warriors rushed into the cave, surrounding Qian Ye on the high platform.

Before Qian Ye could respond, Kemal snarled, shouting, “Enough talk, kill him!” and fired a shot at Qian Ye.