97: Insect eggs everywhere

"As the old saying goes, since we're already here, why wouldn't we go in and take a look? It's only a kilometer, not far at all!" Hearing the distance, Bai Sitong immediately decided to go in and check it out.

She didn't stand on ceremony, looking inside from the opening. All she saw was rotten wooden flooring, and she wasn't sure how sturdy it was.

After a brief moment of thought, Bai Sitong first summoned the Lava Turtle, letting it walk ahead to scout. Not only could it provide light, but it could also test if the ground was stable, preventing them from falling through after only a few steps.

"Ang~~~" The Lava Turtle was quite large and its shell made it very heavy. It lumbered into the dark area with heavy steps.

"Stick close to me. There are a lot of nasty things in here, and if you're too far, I might not be able to save you in time!" Bai Sitong cautioned Lin Chen next to her.

"Don't worry! I value my life more than you do!" Lin Chen waved his hand dismissively, summoning his Morning Dew and placing it on his shoulder, constantly on guard.

Upon entering the main trunk, the sudden darkness made them a little uncomfortable, even unable to see properly. The two didn't rush deeper but stopped to adjust for a while before continuing their journey inside.

After getting used to the darkness, they could somewhat distinguish things, especially the occasional flashes of light, which allowed them to roughly observe the terrain within the main trunk.

It was like an underground grotto, with a special sense of layering, except this grotto was made of wood, not stone.

The so-called streaks of light were quickly identified: some were the dark flames burning on Fire-element Spirit Beasts, some were the glow emitted by special gems, and others were reflections of light shining through cracks.

"Those Spirit Beasts, they should be Starfire Butterflies, right? But why do they feel like they've been dead for a very long time? Their wings even have tattered holes?" Lin Chen looked up, frowning as he asked.

The feeling inside was very bad for him: cold, decaying, damp, evil... all sorts of destructive words surfaced in his mind, even making him feel a little nauseous.

"You guessed correctly, they are indeed dead, but demonic energy has taken over their consciousness and given them almost eternal life. Here they come!" Bai Sitong explained.

No sooner had she spoken than several demonized Starfire Butterflies, closer to them, spotted the two and immediately flew towards them.

Abyssal Monsters seek life; it is incredibly delicious and palatable food in their eyes. At this moment, Lin Chen and Bai Sitong were like lambs entering a wolf's den, emitting an enticing aroma.

"Squeak! Squeak!" Without the Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow needing to act, the Blazing Flame Monkey had already charged forward, swinging its iron rod and smashing them into pulp one by one.

Starfire Butterflies, like Phantom Light Butterflies, are one of the evolutionary forms of Spirit Leaf Insects. Their evolution is similar to that of the Little Spirit Sparrow clan, changing based on their elemental attributes.

These Starfire Butterflies were not high-level, only around three-star strength, completely no match for the Blazing Flame Monkey.

"The Five-Star and Six-Star Spirit Beasts that Yan Wu Fox mentioned should be here, but their numbers definitely aren't large. Let's move quickly and try to get out before they discover us!" Lin Chen said, looking at the scattered sparks.

"What a coincidence, isn't it? I was thinking the same thing! You've got quite the combat awareness, young man!" Bai Sitong said with an appreciative smile, instructing the Lava Turtle ahead to quicken its pace.

Although the Lava Turtle was leading the way, a kilometer wasn't a long distance. After dealing with several batches of Starfire Butterflies and their kin along the way, the two arrived at a relatively open area.

The open space, roughly the size of a football field, was covered in black silk and nauseating mucus, with countless insect eggs piled up, making one's scalp tingle.

"Oh! Ugh~~~ No! What kind of hellhole is this?" Bai Sitong immediately clutched the Lava Turtle and vomited to the side.

Lin Chen's face wasn't much better. If anyone with trypophobia or entomophobia came here, they would probably pass out instantly.

"Back then, a group of Spirit Leaf Insects must have been gathered here, forming a colony!" Lin Chen said, suppressing his nausea, and patted Bai Sitong's shoulder.

"Stop throwing up. We'll probably still have to fight. Something is about to emerge from that chrysalis!"

Bai Sitong looked up, following Lin Chen's gaze, and saw a giant chrysalis in the center of the area. As the two arrived, it began to constantly writhe, as if something was about to crawl out of it.

Not only that, but the smaller chrysalises around them also began to crack open, with Spirit Butterflies and even incompletely evolved worms crawling out, looking extremely disgusting and eerie.

"Ugh~~~ What kind of hellhole did you bring me to? Are you sure there's really treasure here?" Bai Sitong almost threw up again, glaring at Lin Chen and scolding him angrily.

"I feel like this is the right place. It seems to be inside that chrysalis!" Lin Chen said, pointing at the writhing chrysalis.

"Damn it! I'm definitely going to beat you to a pulp when we get back!" Bai Sitong cursed incoherently, simultaneously commanding the Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow to charge forward.

Lin Chen silently took two steps back. My mom? Isn't my mom your sister? We're all family, no need to be polite!

"Chirp~~~" The cry of the Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow echoed in the sky, and large swathes of flames poured down, illuminating the entire tree hollow space.

The insect eggs on the ground were all burned to ashes, and even some broken wood nearby was ignited, turning the vicinity into a sea of fire.

However, the remnants of the qiling silverwood seemed particularly sturdy; at most, they barely ignited, but they would extinguish after only a brief burn and could not spread.

"Roar!" A low growl seemed to come from within the sea of fire. The giant chrysalis in the arena writhed continuously, and an incompletely evolved worm crawled out, opening its jagged maw and roaring furiously at the Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow.

"Hiss~~~ This is truly~~~ disgusting!" Bai Sitong said with a look of disgust, about to have the Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow use Blazing Flame Burst to finish it off, but Lin Chen pulled her back.

"Look there!" Lin Chen shouted, pointing at the freshly broken chrysalis. A green glow flickered, emitting a strong aura of life.

"This? There really is something?" Bai Sitong exclaimed, but before she could say more, more beast roars came from the distance.

"Damn it, the life aura is too strong, it's attracting more monsters. I'll lure it out first, and have the Blazing Flame Monkey help you retrieve the item. Once we have it, we leave!" Bai Sitong said quickly, abandoning the high-destructive skill of Blazing Flame Burst and instead having the Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow fan strong winds, wanting to blow the worm out.

"Take it easy. If the wind is too strong later, and the treasure gets blown away, we'll have nowhere to look for it!"

"Shut up! Fierce Wind Vermilion Sparrow, stop blowing! Lava Turtle, Flame Wheel, ram it out for me!"