Chapter 514: Han Leader Gets Beaten Up

"Who is it?"

Head Steward Han looked around, his palm raised, his face full of vigilance. If he had previously suspected Elder Hu and the others of secretly eating the deer beast, he now knew for certain it wasn't them. But... who could it be? Who could eat the deer beast's meat right under his nose without being discovered? The method was far too strange!

"Master Han, look!" Elder Hu pointed.

Head Steward Han looked down and immediately saw something amiss: the golden-brown deer beast in front of them was, at some unknown point, covered in a dense layer of small, pale-yellow insects, about the size of ants. Wherever they went, the beast's meat vanished, leaving only bones. Clearly, these creatures had devoured the two legs entirely. The insects were tiny and their color resembled roasted meat, making them impossible to spot without close inspection.

"What... what are these things?" Head Steward Han was stunned. As a Four-Star Beast Tamer, he had never seen anything like them.

"Master Han, could it be..." Elder Hu's body stiffened as he suddenly remembered something, his eyes wide with terror.

"Are you talking about..." Seeing his expression, Head Steward Han paused, then reacted with a jolt of fear himself.

"Yes, otherwise, how could the deer beast's meat be eaten so quickly..." Elder Hu swallowed hard. "If it really is these things... then we're in trouble!"

Suddenly recalling something, Head Steward Han hastily looked up at the shimmering barrier before them. He saw the Demonic Beast trapped within the formation had, at some point, opened its eyes, which gleamed like lightning, sharp and alert. Its large mouth suddenly curled into what looked like a sneer.

"Master Zhang, what is this?"

The others, observing the bizarre scene from afar, also saw it. Pavilion Master Sai couldn't help but ask. As the Head of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, his knowledge was vast, yet he had never heard of such strange creatures. Everyone else also looked over. Master Zhang had known something would happen, which was why he brought them here. Now, it seemed this was what they should be worried about.

"They are Soul Devouring Ants!" Zhang Xuan's expression was grim.

"Soul Devouring Ants?" The group was bewildered. They had never even heard of such creatures, let alone knew what they specifically were.

However, Luo Zhu, standing to the side, stiffened at the name, his face filled with disbelief: "Legend says these are the bane of Witch Soul Masters, feeding on souls and spiritual energy..."

Soul Devouring Ants could consume souls and spiritual energy, making them incredibly bizarre. They were indeed the nemesis of Witch Soul Masters. How could such creatures be found near a Witch Soul Master's tomb?

Without answering him, Zhang Xuan turned and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, the Witch Soul tomb you mentioned is beneath that pool of water, isn't it?"

"How... how did you know?" Luo Zhu was startled. He had only said the Witch Soul Master's tomb was nearby, not its precise location. How did this person know at a glance? Burial sites emphasized feng shui, and being buried beneath a deep pool was inherently inauspicious; almost no one would do that. Even after finding relevant texts and learning the exact location himself, he found it hard to believe. That's why he had been so confident earlier that no one else could discover it. But... this person before him stated it directly. Could it be related to these Soul Devouring Ants?

"Soul Devouring Ants consume souls and are the bane of Witch Soul Masters, but... they are afraid of water. To evade them and ensure a soul's long-term preservation, it would have to be buried underwater!" Zhang Xuan explained. Although the books on Witch Soul Masters that Pavilion Master Sai had collected didn't contain much useful knowledge, reading them all allowed some things to be analyzed. Furthermore, Soul Devouring Ants were a type of spirit beast mentioned in the Beast Tamer Guild's records. After arriving and observing the ground with the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan had noticed something was off. With a bit of deduction, it all became clear.

"Isn't burying a tomb underwater inauspicious for both the living and the dead?" The question came not from Luo Zhu, but from Zhao Feiwu. He too was astonished to hear the tomb was beneath the pool. They had seen the deep pool immediately upon arrival; a waterfall constantly plunged into it, and it was hundreds of meters in diameter and of unknown depth. Wasn't the tomb-builder afraid of it being constantly eroded by water, preventing the soul from resting in peace?

"For Witch Soul Masters, a soul can take over a new body and be reborn. Therefore, in their eyes, death is merely a brief sleep. The concept of feng shui doesn't apply; whether it's in water or anywhere else, it doesn't matter," Zhang Xuan explained.

"Oh!" The others understood. Burying according to feng shui was for the hope that after death, descendants could change their fate. Witch Soul Masters, however, did not believe they truly died, so they naturally didn't care where their so-called tombs were placed.

"That's not right!" Hesitating, Luo Zhu suddenly remembered something and looked back: "Although this Witch Soul tomb is buried beneath the pool, it's an underground palace, not submerged in water. Even if Soul Devouring Ants can't enter the water, they could certainly enter that palace, so how could..." If the Witch Soul tomb had been submerged in water, he wouldn't have been able to take over the body that day. The place they entered was an underground palace; though sealed for countless years, the air inside was dry, allowing people to breathe freely. If humans could enter, surely Soul Devouring Ants could too! How, then, could the souls inside have been preserved for so many years?

"If I'm not mistaken, you're the one who attracted these Soul Devouring Ants!" Zhang Xuan looked at him.

"Me?" Luo Zhu was stunned. Although he had heard of these creatures, he had never seen them. How could he have attracted them?

"The Witch Soul tomb was sealed very well. For thousands of years, no one entered it, and its aura never leaked out. When you went in and brought a soul out, the leaked aura... consequently attracted these creatures that feed solely on souls. They haven't been here for long, which is why they haven't found the entrance yet. If we had delayed another month, you probably wouldn't have found any souls even if you went back in!" Zhang Xuan said with a grave expression. Soul Devouring Ants were the bane of Witch Soul Masters, so Witch Soul Masters naturally knew how to defend against them, ensuring their soul aura didn't leak out and attract attention. But Luo Zhu didn't understand this. If Zhang Xuan wasn't mistaken, these Soul Devouring Ants must have only recently arrived; otherwise, they would have already burrowed beneath the deep pool instead of remaining here, attracted by the scent of the deer beast.

"This..." Luo Zhu's face turned pale. These terrifying creatures had actually been attracted by him... The thought sent shivers down his spine.

"Even if Soul Devouring Ants devour souls and like eating deer beast meat, do we really need to retreat this far? Under normal circumstances, don't they have little effect on humans?" After the initial shock, Luo Zhu again felt puzzled. Soul Devouring Ants were the nemesis of Witch Soul Masters, but they posed no threat to ordinary humans. Though they looked bizarre, they were merely repulsive. Why had they retreated several hundred meters away?

"They don't affect us, but... don't forget, besides consuming souls, these creatures also consume spiritual energy. And the greatest consumption for a formation to operate is... spiritual energy!" Zhang Xuan continued.

"The formation?" Everyone was startled, their pupils contracting simultaneously as they quickly looked ahead.

"Oh no!" Seeing the Demonic Beast open its eyes, Head Steward Han also realized something was wrong. His pupils contracted, and his body tensed. Even if he, as a Beast Tamer, couldn't detect the Soul Devouring Ants hidden underground, the Demonic Beast was different. Spirit beasts were naturally sensitive to their environment, and this was its lair. How could it not know something had arrived? It seemed the beast had known these creatures would be attracted by the deer beast and could consume spiritual energy. That's why it had been so brazen, neither struggling nor causing trouble, but instead closing its eyes and waiting. Once the formation's spiritual energy was devoured by the Soul Devouring Ants, it would be like a carriage losing its horses—without power, how could it operate? Thinking of this, he hastily ordered, "Quickly, increase power, reinforce the formation..."

Before he could finish, a furious roar exploded. The Demonic Beast's trapped limbs suddenly shook violently. *Whoosh!* The spiritual energy chains that bound it snapped apart as if bitten through, and an incredibly powerful aura burst forth from the spirit beast. It flapped its wings and shot straight out. The formation was completely destroyed, and the mist before their eyes instantly vanished. Immediately afterward, the colossal figure of the Demonic Beast appeared before Elder Hu and the others, who had just run past.

A furious roar. Its wings flapped violently, unleashing a howling gale.

"What?" Before Elder Hu and the others could even resist, they were struck, sent flying backward, spewing blood in mid-air. A peak Transcendent Mortal 4-dan spirit beast was already stronger than a human of the same cultivation level. Moreover, having just been captured and forced into submission, it was filled with pent-up rage and in a berserk state. How could a few people possibly withstand it? In just one move, all of them were injured simultaneously.

"Damn it!" Unbeknownst to them, the beast was so ferocious, completely disregarding their three years of shared history. Head Steward Han's face turned ashen. He raised his arm, and a long spear appeared in his palm. Though a Beast Tamer, his personal strength was formidable, having already reached the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan. As the spear emerged, True Qi rained down, immediately forming a long dragon that shot straight towards the Demonic Beast.

Facing the attack, the Demonic Beast did not dodge much, directly meeting it with its body. *Clang! Clang!* The incomparably sharp spear landed on the Demonic Beast's chest but failed to even pierce its skin, let alone injure it.

"Such powerful defense..." Zhang Xuan, Pavilion Master Sai, and the others exchanged glances, their eyes wide. They knew the beast possessed dragon bloodline, granting it invincible defense that was difficult for ordinary weapons to pierce. But for Head Steward Han's full-force attack with a weapon to leave no mark at all truly astonished them. No wonder it was renowned throughout the Kingdom Alliance, with the royal family failing to subdue it multiple times. It was indeed terrifying.

Its chest having blocked the spear, the Demonic Beast suddenly roared, its furious voice sweeping forth like a tempest. Head Steward Han bore the brunt of it. Even at the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, he felt dizzy and disoriented, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

*Whoosh!* After roaring, the Demonic Beast swept its massive wings. Dust flew up from the ground, and a huge crack appeared. Head Steward Han hastily brought his spear back to defend, but his strength was no match for the beast. He felt a numbness in both arms and was sent flying backward like a kicked ball. In mid-air, blood gushed from him, and his face turned pale.

"Could it be... that Two-Star Beast Tamer already knew this would happen?" His chest churned, his internal organs rattled, and he felt so miserable he was about to explode. Yet, for some reason, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.