Chapter 2268: Soil Emperor Nail

"Since I have gifted this disc, there is naturally no reason for me to take it back." Baohua smiled sweetly upon hearing this.

"With this item for protection, and Fellow Daoist Baohua also having borrowed a counteracting Profound Heaven Treasure, I believe we can handle the Insect Mother, no matter how fierce she is. Then, this old man will risk his life for this journey." The ancient old man's eyes flickered a few times before he agreed.

The black-robed woman thought for a moment, then nodded as well.

"Brother Han, what are your thoughts?" Baohua was overjoyed but did not forget Han Li, whom she valued most, and turned her head to ask.

"Since all of you fellow daoists are going, how can I possibly retreat now?" Han Li put away the item in his hand, his face showing no unusual expression as he spoke.

With his current divine abilities and the protection of a supreme treasure like the Profound Heaven Spirit Slaying Sword, he was confident he could even defend himself against a True Immortal. Thus, he naturally wouldn't be too afraid of an Insect Mother that had lost much of its vitality.

"Excellent. I will have the Spirit of the Seal send us over immediately. The two fellow daoists from the Night Realm should also be nearby. Once we rendezvous with them, our chances will increase even further," Baohua said with a light chuckle.

Without further hesitation, she formed a hand seal and sent a magical incantation into the gray mist.

In an instant, the mist churned, then parted, revealing a direct passage.

Baohua's figure moved, and she floated inside without hesitation.

The others quickly followed suit.

A moment later, as they exited the passage, their eyes lit up to reveal an empty area. A grayish-white teleportation array stood on the ground before them.

A buzzing sound emanated from the surrounding void, as if someone was speaking.

However, Han Li and the others were completely bewildered, unable to comprehend anything. Only Baohua nodded slightly towards the sky, then, with a solemn expression, walked a few steps into the array.

Seeing this, the others showed various expressions, but after a slight hesitation, they also stepped into the array one after another.

The moment the last black-robed woman stepped into the array, with a "whoosh," the entire formation spontaneously activated.

After a burst of shimmering light enveloped them, their figures blurred, and they vanished into thin air.

At the same time, on the blood-colored altar within the mysterious stone forest, the previously motionless dark alms bowl suddenly trembled. A low male voice murmured, "These people truly intend to deal with the Insect Mother, huh? Heh heh, they really don't know what's good for them! With their meager strength, aren't they just seeking death? However, that kid cannot die now. It seems I must find a way to save his life first. *Cough*, it looks like I can't avoid using that thing now..."

The man's voice let out a long sigh of reluctance, as if his most cherished possession was about to be forcibly given up.

A crisp clang of metal echoed in the void!

A faint light flashed above the altar, revealing eight slender, pale silver chains.

Each chain was wrapped around the edge of the alms bowl at one end, while the other end extended to the top of one of the eight bronze pillars, disappearing directly into the ancient lamps.

A series of obscure incantations emanated from the alms bowl. The slender chain connected to the only ancient lamp that was still flickering with light actually trembled slightly.

Countless rice-grain-sized pale golden runes suddenly appeared on the ancient lamp and quickly transmitted along the silver chain to the altar, disappearing into the black alms bowl.

The faint black mist swirling around the surface of the black alms bowl gradually thickened, and an extremely terrifying and powerful aura began to emanate from it, rapidly growing at an incredible speed.

"This is the habitat of the Insect Mother!" Han Li's gaze swept around, an expression of extreme surprise appearing on his face.

Not only Han Li, but Baohua and the other Mahayana cultivators also surveyed the surrounding scenery, their faces showing similar astonishment.

The group found themselves in the middle of a vast ocean. Everywhere they looked, there was nothing but an endless expanse of pale blue sea, with occasional gusts of humid sea breeze blowing past.

"This isn't an illusion! What's going on? Is there such a place within the underground palace?" The ancient old man frowned and asked Baohua.

"Of course not. The underground palace is only so big; how could such a vast body of water be constructed within it?" Baohua shook her head, denying it.

"Then where is this place? Have we been directly teleported out of the Land of Initial Seal?" The red-faced man looked around for a moment, then asked with some hesitation.

"Probably not. Otherwise, our spiritual sense wouldn't still be suppressed by the seal, preventing us from probing too far," the black-robed woman stated.

Clearly, she had already attempted to use her spiritual sense.

"Everyone, please look up!" Han Li suddenly said calmly.

"Up there? This old man just looked, there's nothing unusual!" The ancient old man was startled, looking up at the gray sky as he spoke.

The black-robed woman and the red-faced man also looked up, revealing a hint of confusion.

Baohua glanced at the gray sky, then let out a soft exclamation, an expression of realization dawning on her face.

At that moment, Han Li raised his arm and drew a finger across the high void. With a sharp "swoosh," a sword light hundreds of feet long flashed into existence and sliced down towards the sky.

The entire gray sky surged wildly with light, and simultaneously, a piercing shriek suddenly erupted.

The dazzling blue sword light was immense and powerful, as if it intended to cleave the entire sky in half.

But after the blue light flashed and vanished, the sky didn't actually split in two. Instead, after a dull, thunder-like roar, a colossal dark spell formation, almost completely obscuring the sky, vaguely appeared high above.

This luminous formation was as black as ink, entirely composed of countless black runes of various sizes. However, at a glance, at the center of the formation, a mountain-sized white giant insect lay quietly.

The insect's entire body was pure white like jade, without a single blemish. Its head was deeply buried within its body, so its true appearance couldn't be seen. However, its large, plump body, from a distance, resembled a giant silkworm.

Even stranger, the giant insect seemed to be in a deep slumber. As its body gently rose and fell, golden runes flickered in and out of sight, slowly circulating erratically.

"The Insect Mother!" The black-robed woman exclaimed in shock.

The red-faced man and the ancient old man, upon seeing this astonishing scene, naturally also changed greatly in expression, their auras condensing, immediately appearing as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, Baohua said very calmly, "Everyone, there's no need to be too nervous. This insect still has some time before it wakes up. As long as we don't act rashly, we won't disturb it. It appears this is a spatial rift it created itself. The two fellow daoists from the Night Realm will likely be unable to rendezvous with us."

"A self-created spatial rift? The Insect Mother's divine abilities certainly allow her to do such a thing. This also explains why this place is still affected by the seal's power." The ancient old man let out a long breath, his expression slightly relaxed as he replied.

"But without the two fellow daoists from the Night Realm, our strength feels a bit thin. Should we first find the exit and bring those two into this space? I imagine they've been monitoring from outside," the black-robed woman suggested after looking around again.

"No. This insect is already close to waking up; the commotion from your entering and exiting would likely awaken it immediately. The two fellow daoists from the Night Realm probably considered this, which is why they didn't dare to enter this space directly. After all, unlike us, they don't have the power of the seal to transport them directly into this space," Baohua flatly refused.

The others found her words reasonable, and no one brought up the matter again.

At this moment, Han Li, who had been watching the giant light formation high in the sky, slowly said, "There's no need for useless talk. It's best to act quickly while this insect is still asleep. If we can heavily wound the Insect Mother with a single strike, that would naturally be the best possible outcome."

"Fellow Daoist Han, your words seem to underestimate us too much, don't they? If the few of us were to launch a combined strike, even a True Immortal caught off guard would likely perish on the spot," the black-robed woman said, looking at Han Li with some dissatisfaction.

"Hmph, if this Insect Mother were truly that easy to eliminate, the two True Immortals who sealed her back then wouldn't have merely suppressed her. When I do anything, I always prepare for the worst first!" Han Li replied indifferently.

The black-robed woman's face darkened upon hearing this, and she was about to say something more, but Baohua interrupted her with a wave of her hand: "There's no need for you two fellow daoists to argue. We just need to do our best on this journey. Whether we truly succeed in the end depends entirely on fate. But it's always better to be cautious. So, for the first strike, not only must we all act together, but I will also fully activate the Profound Heaven Treasure I borrowed. If any of you have any hidden trump cards, please bring them out. Perhaps this Insect Mother will only grant us this one opportunity to strike with full force."

"Fellow Daoist Baohua's words are reasonable. This old man has no other opinions," the ancient old man said, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

The black-robed woman and the red-faced man naturally had no objections.

Han Li, however, pondered for a moment before nodding slightly with a solemn expression.

Seeing this, Baohua's face revealed a slight smile. After taking a deep breath, she formed a hand seal with one hand. A flash of pink light behind her revealed the illusory image of a giant pink flower tree.

Simultaneously, her lips moved silently, and her other palm slowly rose. As her five fingers spread apart, a yellow light suddenly flashed in her palm, revealing a rusty, yellowish giant nail.

This nail was only about half a foot long, but its surface was pitted and uneven, and the spiritual patterns inscribed on it were blurred and indistinct. It appeared exceptionally worn, as if an ancient artifact buried underground for countless years.

Baohua held the item, her expression solemn. After her incantations ceased, she spoke directly and solemnly to the others: "This Earth Emperor Nail contains the Laws of Dry Earth from an entire realm. As long as it's nailed onto someone, all their earth-attribute divine abilities will be completely unusable. If I remember correctly, the primary divine ability of this Insect Mother seems to be earth-attribute. So, as long as I succeed with one strike, this Insect Mother's divine abilities will practically be crippled."