The First Venerable of All Paths

A moment later, the ant turned around and sped off into the depths of the anthill.

Before long, three enormous black shadows, several times the size of ordinary flying ants, led hundreds of elite worker ants and approached the cave entrance in a grand procession.

The three at the front are the leaders of the six-winged flying ants!

Each of its leaders is comparable to a martial artist at the first or second level of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Its body is as hard as iron, its wings are as sharp as knives, and it can spew corrosive venom from its mouth, making it extremely fierce in battle.

"Buzzing!"

The sound of the ant colony flapping its wings was dense and piercing, echoing through the dark passage.

The leading ant leader held its head high, its compound eyes flashing with a cold, eerie light, its gaze fixed on the direction of the cave, clearly sensing the unfamiliar aura isolated by the array.

Within its territory, no strange creature is allowed to hide!

"Snap!"

The ant leader struck first, its sharp forelimbs slashing fiercely at the void formation.

The solid array-patterned barrier rippled and trembled violently.

Hundreds of elite worker ants swarmed forward simultaneously from behind, spitting venom, slicing with their wings, and scratching with their forelimbs, bombarding the Thousand Concealment Array with frenzied attacks.

The originally stable and ingenious concealment formation was rapidly weakened and damaged under the relentless bombardment of the massive ant swarm, with cracks spreading at breakneck speed.

Inside the cave, Fang Xuan, who was in the final crucial stage of refining the weapon, instantly sensed a violent tremor outside.

His eyes turned cold, but he showed no sign of panic.

Instead, it accelerated, fully activating the Phoenix Flame and completely integrating the last wisp of thunderous essence into the spear!

"Freeze it!"

Fang Xuan let out a low shout, pouring out all the remaining Yuan energy in his body.

"Buzz!"

A powerful gunshot rang out throughout the cave!

The Thunderfire War Gun has undergone a complete transformation.

The gun was wreathed in purple-gold lightning and golden-red flames, with lightning and fire intertwined.

A violent surge of dual-attribute power erupted, increasing its killing power several times over.

Its grade also broke through, becoming infinitely close to a fifth-grade martial soldier!

"Snap!"

At the same time, the formation shattered with a deafening roar.

Several six-winged flying ants rushed towards Fang Xuan, raising their sharp forelegs to grab him.

Fang Xuan's eyes turned cold, and he thrust out his spear.

"die!"

Fang Xuan's eyes were sharp, and his spear moved with the speed of a dragon.

He swept out with the Thunderfire Spear in his hand, and the lightning and flames wrapped around the spear instantly erupted, sweeping out all directions with an incomparably domineering power.

The leader of the flying ants, which was the first to break through the formation, didn't even have time to react before its body was instantly pierced by lightning and fire.

"Boom!"

Thunder roared, and flames engulfed them.

The ant leader's tough body was instantly torn apart and burned, turning into ashes in an instant, and it perished completely.

Seeing this, the remaining two ant leaders and hundreds of worker ants not only did not retreat, but became even more ferocious, fearlessly attacking Fang Xuan.

"Perfect, let's test the power of the brand-new Thunderfire Battle Gun!"

Fang Xuan used the Dragon Fish Body Technique to move nimbly among the ant swarm, his spear flashing and crackling with lightning and fire.

With each thrust of the spear, several flying ants were shattered by lightning or burned by flames.

The raging power of thunder and fire is specifically designed to counter gregarious monsters, dealing maximum area-of-effect damage.

The ant swarm's dense attack turned into a suicide mission.

In just a few dozen breaths, hundreds of elite worker ants and the two ant leaders were all burned to death by lightning and fire.

There were no survivors inside the passage.

Fang Xuan put away his spear and stood there, slightly out of breath.

This battle exhausted the meager energy he had just recovered, and his body once again felt weak.

But Fang Xuan was full of excitement.

The Thunderfire Spear, after being refined anew, was truly incredibly powerful, exceeding Fang Xuan's expectations.

Just as he was preparing to recover, his gaze inadvertently swept over the ashes on the ground, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Amidst the ashes, countless tiny, rice-grain-sized, jet-black, and lustrous crystals were scattered, faintly emanating a faint fluctuation of divine soul energy.

"This is... a companion ant crystal!"

Fang Xuan's eyes instantly erupted with extreme joy.

He possessed the memories inherited from the Nine Emperors and instantly recognized the origin of this item.

The companion ant crystal is a treasure formed from the life essence, spiritual power, and divine soul essence of a six-winged flying ant!

When ordinary flying ants fall, they only condense into tiny crystal fragments the size of rice grains, while when a commander-level flying ant falls, the ant crystals condense are much purer and more refined.

The most miraculous effect of this item is that it nourishes the soul, repairs spiritual injuries, and stabilizes the sea of ​​consciousness!

This is the most precious treasure that he and Li Xintong urgently need right now!

Fang Xuan was overjoyed; his long-standing and seemingly incurable soul injury finally had a glimmer of hope for repair.

If the death of an ordinary worker ant can condense ant crystals, then the nest of the queen ant, which breeds ant eggs and controls the entire ant colony, must contain a massive amount of pure ant crystals!

Especially newly laid ant eggs will produce a large number of top-quality ant crystals, which are far more effective than ordinary ant crystals!

At this thought, a bold idea instantly formed in Fang Xuan's mind:

Infiltrate the flying ant nest and steal the companion ant crystals!

It can not only completely repair the hidden injuries to one's own soul, but also nourish Li Xintong's damaged sea of ​​consciousness.

The risks are extremely high, and one careless mistake could even cost you your life, but the potential rewards are enough to make people take the risk.

"Fortune favors the bold; without healing my soul injuries, I will never be able to regain my peak combat power."

Having made his decision, Fang Xuan did not act blindly.

As he pondered a solution, he began selecting items from his storage ring.

"This is... an invisibility talisman?"

Soon, Fang Xuan found a talisman in a wooden box inside Zhou Yan's ring.

This talisman is slightly transparent and as thin as a cicada's wing.

It's so fragile, it seems like it could shatter at the slightest touch.

But Fang Xuan knew that this was referring to the most special type of talisman—the invisibility talisman.

"It's just like finding a pillow when you're about to fall asleep."

Fang Xuan smiled calmly, took out a talisman, and gently patted it onto his body.

next moment.

A faint, transparent halo enveloped Fang Xuan.

Fang Xuan completely concealed his figure, Yuan Power fluctuations, and all his aura.

Even ordinary experts at the Divine Realm level couldn't detect it in the slightest.

After putting away his spear and carrying the sword case on his back, Fang Xuan carefully inspected the area before quietly sneaking into the anthill above through the dark and deep underground passage.

The deeper you go, the wider the passage becomes, and the more terrifying the number of ants becomes.

Moreover, these six-winged flying ants have a clear division of labor, and even in large numbers, they are well-ordered, resembling a huge underground ant kingdom.

Fang Xuan held his breath and, with the help of an invisibility talisman, carefully moved among the ants.

Countless six-winged flying ants swept past him, the powerful wind from their flapping wings brushing against his body, yet he could not detect the presence of the living person so close at hand.

The whole process was thrilling, with every step teetering on the edge of life and death.

If even the slightest flaw appears, or if one's aura is leaked even a fraction, one will be instantly surrounded and devoured by a swarm of billions of ants.

More than an hour later, Fang Xuan finally arrived at the core of the ant nest, the mother nest area.

Suddenly, a vast, enormous underground cavern came into view.

This is the central nest and hatching ground of the six-winged flying ants.

In the center of the cave, on a flat stone platform, there are countless milky white ant eggs piled up.

Each ant egg is glistening and plump, shimmering with a faint glow, nurturing a newborn six-winged flying ant.

Scattered around the ant eggs were numerous, round, jet-black, and gleaming top-quality ant crystals, piled up in large quantities.

Countless larger, elite worker ants surrounded the stone platform, constantly guarding the ant eggs and ant crystals, displaying extreme vigilance.

Furthermore, several ant commanders, comparable to those at the fifth or sixth level of the Condensation Realm, patrolled back and forth, displaying fierce combat power and intimidating all directions.

Fang Xuan hid in a dark side passage, holding his breath, his eyes fixed on the massive number of ant eggs and ant crystals on the stone platform, his heart filled with excitement.

These numerous top-grade ant crystals are enough to completely repair the damage to his and Li Xintong's souls, and can even nourish their souls, allowing them to advance further in their soul realm.

"We must act quickly and resolve this swiftly!"

Fang Xuan was on edge, knowing that he should not stay here for long, as there must be even stronger ant-race experts in the core area.

He quickly took out a pre-arranged explosive array plate, flicked his fingertips, and accurately threw the array plate into an open passage in the distance, then crushed the array plate!

"Boom!"

A violent explosion resounded through the underground cavern, flames shot into the sky, and debris flew everywhere. The huge commotion instantly attracted the attention of the entire ant colony in the nest.

"Buzzing!"

All the guardian worker ants and patrol leaders instantly turned around and swarmed towards the direction of the explosion, all drawn away from the hatching platform by the unusual activity.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Fang Xuan's eyes narrowed, and he instantly darted out, reaching the edge of the stone platform.

With lightning speed, he swept all the ant eggs and top-quality ant crystals from the sky and the ground into his storage ring, leaving not a single one behind!

The whole process was smooth and fast, taking no more than two breaths.

Just as Fang Xuan was about to withdraw and quietly retreat, his eyes inadvertently swept over the corner of the stone platform, and his body suddenly stiffened.

In the shadowy corner of the incubation room, several broken and dried-up martial arts corpses lay quietly.

The corpse's clothes had long since rotted and weathered away, the body was withered and blackened, and all the flesh and blood had been devoured, leaving only a hard skeleton.

However, one can still tell from the bone structure and meridian traces that these people were not weak in their cultivation during their lifetime.

Especially the corpse in the very center, with its magnificent and massive skeleton, and faint martial arts aura lingering around its bones.

Even though he has been dead for many years, a faint aura of power still lingers!

A master of the Divine Intent Realm!

Fang Xuan was shocked. He never expected that a powerful expert at the Divine Intent Realm had perished deep within this anthill!

His gaze shifted downwards, instantly locking onto the waist of the divine corpse.

A rough, old-fashioned animal skin bag was tightly tied around the skeleton's waist. Despite the erosion of time, it showed no signs of decay or damage.

The bag faintly exudes a warm and profound spiritual light, clearly indicating that what's inside is extraordinary!

"For a Divine Intent Realm expert to treasure it so much, it must be an invaluable treasure!"

Fang Xuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light; the ultimate temptation was right in front of him, making him somewhat tempted.

However, this is tantamount to playing with fire; the risk is too great.

But he had a gut feeling that if he missed this, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

At this moment, the ant colony in the distance had already realized they had fallen into a trap and was rapidly turning back, with a series of ear-piercing flapping sounds quickly approaching.

Fight!

Without further hesitation, Fang Xuan gritted his teeth, his figure flashed out, and his large hand reached out precisely, tearing off the animal skin bag from the skeleton's waist and quickly putting it into his storage ring.

Get it!

Fang Xuan felt relieved and immediately turned around and sped away through the passage.

But the moment he turned around, the transparent halo around him suddenly flickered and dissipated.

Invisibility Talisman!

Time limit expired!

"Whoosh!"

Three enormous, pitch-black figures rushed out from the corner of the passage and collided head-on with Fang Xuan, who was retreating at full speed!

Three six-winged flying ant leaders, comparable to the third level of the Condensation Realm, locked their compound eyes on Fang Xuan, their icy killing intent instantly locking onto his entire body!

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

A sharp, piercing sound came from the mouth of the six-winged flying ants, and hundreds of them rushed over, instantly engulfing Fang Xuan.