71: Chapter 71 Harvest of Spirit Beasts

He formed hand seals once more and activated the Thunder Net Technique, targeting the group of Soldier Ants in front of the Queen Ant!

A blue-purple thunder net descended, enveloping ten Soldier Ants.

However, the resistance of the Soldier Ants' carapaces to lightning was far superior to that of the worker ants; they merely slowed down, their carapaces charred and smoking, emitting pained hisses, yet they continued to struggle forward, even attempting to tear at the thunder net with their mouthparts.

The Queen Ant's scarlet compound eyes locked onto Lin Xuan, its bloated abdomen writhing violently, and it suddenly opened its mouth!

"Hiss—!"

A stream of acid, as thick as an arm, pale gold in color, and emitting a pungent odor, shot out like an arrow, striking the thunder net head-on!

"Sizzle... crackle!"

As the acid came into contact with the lightning energy, a violent corrosive sound erupted, and the thunder net's light dimmed and dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In less than three breaths, a large hole was corroded through the thunder net, rendering it completely ineffective.

"To think this acid could corrode spiritual energy so quickly!" Lin Xuan's heart sank; the difficulty of dealing with this Queen Ant exceeded his expectations.

Before he could think further, the Queen Ant hissed again, and the group of Soldier Ants, as if receiving an order, charged at him fearlessly!

At the same time, the Queen Ant's mouthparts opened and closed, and another stream of acid was ready to be unleashed!

Lin Xuan waved his left hand repeatedly, instantly activating five lightning strike talismans, which transformed into five bolts of silver lightning and shot toward the Soldier Ants in the front.

Amidst "crackle" sounds, the Soldier Ants' charge was slightly hindered, and a few scorch marks were added to their carapaces, but no substantial damage was inflicted.

"It can only delay them..." Lin Xuan gritted his teeth, knowing he could no longer hold back.

He retreated rapidly, and while creating distance, he gripped his right hand in the air, causing the Thunder Spiritual Energy in his Dantian to surge wildly toward his palm, where it was highly compressed and solidified! His aura suddenly became violent.

Thunder Spear Technique!

A lightning spear, as thick as a child's arm, wrapped in purple electricity with a blinding silver light condensed at its tip, rapidly formed in his palm. The spear body vibrated, emitting a low thunderous rumble!

"Go!"

With a loud shout, Lin Xuan released the spear, which transformed into a purple streak that tore through the air, shooting straight toward the Queen Ant's head!

The Soldier Ants leaped up faithfully to block it.

"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The thunder spear was unstoppable, piercing through four leaping Soldier Ants in succession! For every Soldier Ant pierced, its carapace shattered upon contact, and the lightning light raged within its body, resulting in a miserable death.

However, having pierced four Soldier Ants in a row, the light of the thunder spear noticeably dimmed, and its speed slowed down.

A fierce glint flashed in the Queen Ant's scarlet compound eyes; it did not dodge, but instead raised one of its thick forelimbs, using the limb segment covered in a heavy carapace like a shield to block in front of its head!

"Boom—!"

The thunder spear slammed violently into the carapace of the Queen Ant's forelimb, exploding into a blinding burst of lightning!

"Crack!"

A clear cracking sound rang out! The Queen Ant's forelimb carapace, which was comparable to refined iron, had been blown open with a fist-sized gap, and pale golden fluid gushed out!

"Hiss—!!!"

The Queen Ant let out a shrill cry mixed with pain and rage, its massive body twisting violently in agony, causing debris to fall from the cave walls. However, it was not severely injured; instead, it was thoroughly enraged!

It no longer spat acid but, with a speed that defied its bloated physique, charged fiercely toward Lin Xuan! The Soldier Ants and worker ants blocking its path were knocked aside one after another, as unstoppable as a charging bull!

Lin Xuan had not expected the Queen Ant's defense to be so formidable, and that it would become even more violent after being injured.

His feet flickered with Thunder Flash Step, narrowly avoiding the Queen Ant's charge, and he backhanded the startling thunder whip against the Queen Ant's carapace, but it only left a white mark.

The Queen Ant turned, opened its mouthparts, and another stream of acid sprayed out!

Lin Xuan hurriedly dodged, the acid brushing past him and splashing onto the rock wall behind, immediately corroding a small pit and emitting wisps of green smoke.

"I can't fight it head-on!" Lin Xuan's thoughts raced. The Queen Ant's carapace was too thick, the acid was troublesome, and there were still a large number of Soldier Ants interfering.

A fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he used the lightning strike talisman again. This time, he did not shoot at the Queen Ant, but at the cave walls beside and above the Queen Ant!

"Crackle! Crackle!"

Several bolts of lightning struck the rock wall, blasting open a small patch of rubble and dust; although it caused no major damage, it successfully disrupted the Queen Ant's vision and perception.

Taking this opportunity, Lin Xuan retreated rapidly and simultaneously took out that Medium Grade Grade 1 Explosive Flame Talisman from his bosom!

Stimulated by spiritual energy, the Talisman instantly burned, transforming into a basin-sized, intensely scorching crimson fireball that whistled as it smashed toward the Queen Ant, which was slightly hesitant due to its obstructed vision!

Fire overcomes Metal!

The Queen Ant instinctively felt the threat and wanted to dodge, but its bloated body and injured forelimb hindered its agility.

"Boom—!!!"

The explosive fireball slammed solidly onto the carapace of the Queen Ant's bloated abdomen and exploded violently!

The violent Fire Spiritual Energy clashed fiercely with the metal-attribute Yao energy within its body, emitting a muffled explosion!

A larger gap was blown into the Queen Ant's abdominal carapace, and pale golden fluid mixed with dark red fluid sprayed out, instantly filling the air with a burnt stench and a bloody odor.

"Hiss... woo..." The Queen Ant's hiss turned into a painful wail, its charging momentum came to an abrupt halt, and its massive body collapsed to the ground, its six legs paddling weakly as its aura rapidly declined.

With their leader critically injured and dying, the entire ant colony fell into immediate chaos! The Soldier Ants, having lost their command, wandered aimlessly around the Queen Ant, while the worker ants scurried about in panic.

Now is the chance!

Forcing himself to endure the weakness of having consumed over half of his spiritual energy, Lin Xuan danced the startling thunder whip into a blur of light, coordinating with the constant release of small-range Thunder Net Technique and precise Palm Thunder to carry out a ruthless purge at the narrow intersection.

The ant colony, having lost unified command and being naturally countered by lightning Spells, fell in droves.

Another quarter of an hour passed before the battle finally ended completely.

The mine was filled with a thick smell of burnt, acidic, and bloody odors. The ground was covered with the corpses of Gold-Eroding Ants. The Queen Ant lay in the deepest part, its abdomen almost blown to pieces, having already breathed its last.

Lin Xuan leaned on the startling thunder whip, panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat.

Continuously casting high-intensity Spells, especially the Thunder Spear Technique and maintaining the thunder net, combined with extreme mental tension, had exhausted him greatly.

He hurriedly swallowed two Qi-Restoring Pills and sat cross-legged to quickly regulate his breathing.

After resting for a moment and recovering some spiritual energy, Lin Xuan began to clean up the battlefield.

The Queen Ant's intact head and some of the best-preserved Soldier Ant carapaces were the proof of the mission, so he carefully cut them off.

With a thought, he collected the remaining Gold-Eroding Ant corpses into the Spirit-Taming Tower Space, stacking them in an empty area far from the spiritual fields, intending to process them later—these Yao Beast corpses were rich in metal and earth attributes, and long-term decomposition might improve part of the soil.

"You two go explore and see what else is in this mine, and be careful." Lin Xuan instructed the two little ones.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse squeaked and excitedly darted into a side tunnel. The Pangolin also growled lowly and burrowed underground.

Before long, the Herb-Seeking Mouse returned with a strange herb in its mouth.

The grass was three inches tall, with narrow, dark golden leaves, fine serrated edges, and silver-bright veins.

"Gold-Devouring Grass, Medium Grade Grade 1." Lin Xuan recognized it. This was a spiritual plant that grew near metal mineral veins and could be used to refine special Magical Artifacts or metal-attribute Medicinal Pills; its value was decent.

Following the Herb-Seeking Mouse, he discovered four or five more young Gold-Devouring Grasses on the rock wall of that secluded side tunnel; he carefully harvested most of them, leaving the smallest one behind.

The Pangolin brought back from underground a fist-sized Ore with dark golden wavy patterns.

"Gold-Vein Iron, Medium Grade Grade 1 Artifact Refining Materials." Lin Xuan weighed it in his hand; it felt solid. The Pangolin conveyed information: about five zhang below, there was a small outcrop of good-quality mineral vein, with not much reserve but easy to mine.

Lin Xuan thought for a moment, then had the Pangolin help him dig out a dozen more high-quality Gold-Vein Iron Ores to keep.

As for the main body of the mineral vein, he currently had neither the strength nor the desire to mine it on a large scale.

Quickly cleaning up the obvious traces he had left behind, Lin Xuan took the mission proof and his extra harvest and retreated from the mine.

When the setting sun dyed the treetops of the Coniferous Forest golden-red, he returned to the Sect's General Affairs Hall.

He handed in the mission, had the proof verified, and three hundred and fifty contribution points were successfully credited to his account.

Lin Xuan mentioned that there seemed to be weak mineral vein fluctuations near the mine and submitted a rough location map.

The duty deacon recorded it and gave him a temporary certificate, stating that there would be additional rewards if the exploration proved to be true.

Returning to the small courtyard on Emerald Bamboo Peak, the night had grown deep.

Lin Xuan first entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

He planted the five Gold-Devouring Grasses in the metal-element area specially reserved at the edge of the spiritual field, with the substrate mixed with Gold-Vein Iron powder.

The dozen Gold-Vein Iron Ores were stacked in a corner. He then buried a large number of Gold-Eroding Ant corpses deep under the spiritual fields, letting them slowly decompose to nourish the soil.

Standing by the spiritual field, watching the various spiritual plants growing quietly in the unique environment of the space, Lin Xuan let out a sigh of relief.

Although this trip was dangerous, the harvest was bountiful. The basic reward plus the extra Materials amounted to nearly five hundred contribution points. More importantly, there was the tempering of actual combat and a deeper understanding of the coordination of his own methods.

"The Breath Concealment Technique has advanced another step." He looked up at the endless gray mist above the space, his gaze firm.

The road is still long, but every step of hunting and harvesting is accumulating strength for his future concealment and rise.