“An ancient devouring insect?” Hearing the mutters of Gu Qingyang and the others, Xiao Yan was slightly startled. “These are small magical beasts that lived in the ancient times. Their size is extremely small, but their numbers are endless. As the name suggests, they can devour anything and constantly secrete pure energy. This kind of creature should have been extinct long ago, yet here we are encountering them.” Xuner explained softly.
“This light curtain must have been created by these ancient devouring insects. I didn’t expect that we have intruded into their nest. If they all awaken, everyone here will be reduced to nothing in an instant.” Gu Qingyang said with a serious expression, clearly surprised by the presence of these ancient devouring insects.
“Maybe not just this light curtain, but also a lot of the energy within this Heavenly Tomb might be generated by them,” Gu Zhen said, squatting down and touching the ground before slowly speaking.
“Gu Qingyang, you want us all to die here, don’t you?” Hunya sneered coldly.
“I brought you here at least keeping you alive until now. If you hadn’t come, you would have already died in the energy storm earlier,” Gu Qingyang replied coolly, glancing at him before looking at everyone and saying solemnly, “Now is not the time for this. The crystal walls on both sides are slowly closing. We must quickly break through the passage, or else…”
Hearing this, everyone nodded slightly. It was too late to say anything now. There was a raging energy storm outside the passage, leaving them dead if they stepped out, and staying here would also mean death. The only way to survive was to break through the passage!
“From now on, do not hold back. Of course, if you want to die, I won’t stop you,” Gu Qingyang said solemnly, then waved his hand, “Let’s start!”
“Okay.”
Seeing this, everyone nodded again and quickly stepped out, their battle aura surging out without reservation. For a moment, the channel resonated with intense rumbling sounds.
“Boom! Boom!”
Under the fierce onslaught of the group, the opening speed of the crystal walls suddenly accelerated. Crystalline debris flew everywhere, covering the ground with a thick layer.
While everyone was working hard to break through, the crystal walls on both sides started to slowly move closer, as if responding to the vibration. Eventually, it was even visible to the naked eye that the walls were slowly converging.
“More and more ancient devouring insects are gathering…” Gu Zhen said, his face grave. Continuous energy liquid was seeping out from the crystal walls, rapidly solidifying. At this rate, they might not fully break through the crystal walls before the passage was sealed.
“This can’t go on like this…” Seeing this, Xiao Yan slowly shook his head and said, “There’s no other way. Staying means death; we have to take the risk.”
“No choice, any attack will be devoured by these ancient devouring insects. Attacking randomly will only make them secrete more energy,” Gu Qingyang said, shaking his head. He waved his sleeve, releasing a strong burst of battle aura, which instantly disappeared upon hitting the crystal walls, replaced by a faster flow of energy liquid.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan’s eyes widened in surprise. These insignificant insects, when gathered together, possessed such a strange ability.
“If these devouring insects hide behind the crystal walls, attacks become ineffective. They might gather in front of us…” Thinking of this, a chill ran down Xiao Yan’s spine. If that happened, wouldn’t they be completely trapped here?
Seeing the change in Xiao Yan’s expression, Gu Qingyang was taken aback and quickly looked at the crystal wall in front, seeing small shadows quickly gathering.
“Bang!”
A punch filled with powerful wind fiercely hit the crystal wall, but this time, there was no expected splintering. The fist left only a half-foot-deep indentation, and it was quickly filled with flowing energy liquid, repairing the damage.
“The ancient devouring insects have moved to the front!” Seeing this, everyone’s faces turned grim. Some even showed panic. This was truly a dead end.
“Thump! Thump!”
Some people, not believing their fate, attacked again, but still with no significant result.
“Now what?” Everyone looked at each other, finally focusing on Gu Qingyang. But seeing his tight frown, their hearts sank.
“Huh, Gu Qingyang, you have quite the skill,” Hunya, who was already pale, became whiter, and spoke with a sinister tone.
“I’ll try,” Xiao Yan said, stepping forward and frowning.
“It’s useless!” Gu Qingyang sighed, explaining the terrifying devouring power of the ancient devouring insects. With their abilities, they couldn’t solve this situation.
Xiao Yan, ignoring the sigh, clenched his hand and summoned a purple-brown and silvery-white flame. The temperature inside the channel immediately rose.
“Go.” Xiao Yan flicked his finger, and the strange flame flew towards the crystal wall.
“Squeak!” A sharp screech came from the crystal wall, and to everyone’s amazement, a two-foot-deep pit appeared where the flame hit, incinerating countless ancient devouring insects.
“Looks like it’s not a dead end; these ancient devouring insects can’t devour our strange flames,” Xiao Yan said, relieved, smiling at everyone.
Everyone let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least there was some hope.
“Xiao Yan, hurry and clear the passage!” Hunya said, his eyes showing a hint of joy, urgently urging.
Ignoring Hunya, Xiao Yan turned to the red-clad woman from the Flame Clan and the man from the Medicine Clan: “I can handle clearing the passage, but I hope you can use your strange flames to delay the convergence of the crystal walls. This shouldn’t be difficult for you two.”
“Yahui of the Flame Clan has the eighth-ranked Crimson Lotus Karma Fire, and Yao Xingji of the Medicine Clan is known as the Medicinal Son, with extraordinary alchemy skills,” Xuner said softly, so only Xiao Yan could hear.
“Crimson Lotus Karma Fire?” Xiao Yahua, intrigued, nodded readily, while Yao Xingji hesitated but eventually agreed.
“Additionally… everyone should know breaking through the crystal walls is a massive task, and using strange flames is highly energy-consuming. I alone can’t sustain it, so, besides Yahui and Yao Xingji, I need the energy cores from the rest of you,” Xiao Yan said.
Everyone was stunned, but Gu Qingyang and the others didn’t object, nodding instead. The other clan members, after a pause, also did not oppose. They knew the truth in Xiao Yan’s words. Even working together, they felt exhausted, and now, he had to do it all alone.
“Brother Xiao Yan is direct but right. Here’s the energy core we’ve collected recently,” the Lei Clan duo said, tossing a bag full of energy cores to Xiao Yan. The others followed suit, presenting their own bags of energy cores.
Xiao Yan smiled, collecting the bags, then turned to Hunya and Hulie, saying, “You two?”
“Xiao Yan, isn’t what we gave you enough?” Hunya, trying to avoid it, said coldly.
“Whether it’s enough or not, I still need your share,” Xiao Yan said with a smile, making it clear he wouldn’t work for free.
Xuner, seeing this, couldn’t help but smile. Xiao Yan was determined to bleed these two dry today.
“You can leave if you don’t agree, but please turn around and walk back,” Xiao Yan added, gesturing politely.
Hunya and Hulie, seeing the many people supporting Xiao Yan, reluctantly handed over a bag, throwing it at Xiao Yan angrily.
“Take it and get started!” Hearing their angry voices, Xiao Yan’s smile grew even wider.
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