Chapter 850: Tiger's Mouth Snatch Food

Wang Changsheng nodded and released a dozen second-tier flying puppet beasts, which flew into the purple miasma.

Soon, a buzzing sound was heard. The flying puppet beasts successively dropped to the ground, their surfaces pitted. A swarm of fist-sized purple ants crawled on the puppet beasts; their wings were golden, and they had a pair of golden fangs in their mouths.

Wang Changsheng frowned slightly upon recognizing them as Golden-winged Crystal Ants. These highly venomous insects are ranked 47th on the List of Heavenly and Earthly Marvelous Insects. They are incredibly ferocious and highly aggressive. Besides being impervious to weapons, they can spray highly corrosive flames specifically designed to corrode magical treasures.

"It's not too late to deal with them before moving on," Wang Ruyan said with a faint smile. She took out her Golden Lotus Guqin, realizing that sonic attacks would be most suitable for these venomous insects.

Just then, a deafening roar sounded. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were startled; it seemed there were other cultivators on this island. Who could it be?

It shouldn't be Guang Dongren, who was unaware of their expedition and thus unlikely to be following them. It must be someone else.

"Since there are other cultivators, we'd better not make any noise to avoid disturbing them," Wang Changsheng said. He was worried that the other party, like them, was also here for treasure, and they might even be Lu Gang's companions.

Wang Changsheng sighed softly, explaining that Golden-winged Crystal Ants were very bloodthirsty, and if they didn't offer them something, the ants might not let them pass. He concluded, "We can only use the Nine-Cloud Sparrows to distract them."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan each possessed a second-tier high-grade Nine-Cloud Sparrow. Although they had been tamed for many years, they had not advanced to the third tier. Now, to distract the Golden-winged Crystal Ants, they had no choice but to sacrifice them.

He took out the Mountain Sea Pearl and injected spiritual power into it. A large expanse of clear water flew out, enveloping them. Encased in a blue water sphere, the two of them flew towards the sky above the swamp.

Just as they approached the purple miasma, a buzzing sound was heard as tens of thousands of Golden-winged Crystal Ants flew out from within, swarming towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

The Mountain Sea Pearl in Wang Changsheng's hand glowed brightly, surging out a large amount of clear water to block the Golden-winged Crystal Ants.

A strange hiss sounded as a three-zhang large Golden-winged Crystal Ant Queen flew out from the purple miasma. It sprayed a stream of purple flame, which struck the clear water, causing a large amount to vaporize. Other Golden-winged Crystal Ants followed suit, spraying purple flames to attack Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

"Husband," Wang Ruyan urged, "quickly release the Nine-Cloud Sparrows to distract them, otherwise we won't be able to pass through here safely." She released an all-green peacock, which flew to the left, while Wang Changsheng also released a Nine-Cloud Sparrow, which flew to the right.

Seeing this, the swarm of Golden-winged Crystal Ants immediately split into two groups, pursuing the two Nine-Cloud Sparrows.

Blue light surged from Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan's bodies, more than doubling their escape speed. They transformed into a long blue rainbow and passed through the purple miasma. Thousands of Golden-winged Crystal Ants crawled on the blue water curtain, which was enveloped by a large expanse of purple flames.

Wang Ruyan conjured a white command flag, releasing a large expanse of white cold air. The blue water curtain quickly froze, trapping the Golden-winged Crystal Ants crawling on it in ice.

At this moment, the two Nine-Cloud Sparrows were also completely devoured by the Golden-winged Crystal Ants, and tens of thousands of them swarmed towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

Wang Changsheng frowned tightly. He flipped his hand, and a green jade bottle appeared in his palm, which he then threw out.

He flicked his finger, and a blue light flew out, accurately hitting the green jade bottle. A large expanse of purple liquid, Heavenly Moon Divine Water, splashed out.

The Heavenly Moon Divine Water contained potent venom. As Golden-winged Crystal Ants came into contact with it, blue smoke immediately billowed, leaving nothing behind. Thousands of Golden-winged Crystal Ants vanished just like that.

A fiery glow lit up between Wang Ruyan's eyebrows as the Dark Phoenix Dharma Eye appeared out of thin air. It released a large expanse of crimson firelight, sending heat waves rolling forth.

Thousands of Golden-winged Crystal Ants were enveloped by the crimson firelight; their bodies spontaneously combusted without wind, turning into ashes.

The evasion light around Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan surged, and their escape speed accelerated once more.

After thousands of Golden-winged Crystal Ants were killed or injured, the remaining ones ceased their pursuit.

A few faint whooshing sounds were heard as several black shadows flew out from the swamp, striking towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

The white command flag in Wang Ruyan's hand glowed brightly, and a large expanse of white cold air surged out furiously, striking the black shadows.

Upon contact with the white cold air, the black shadows were instantly frozen, turning into ice sculptures.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan accelerated their escape speed, safely passing through this swampy area.

Behind the swamp lay a thousand-zhang high mountain peak. No grass grew on the mountain, giving it a desolate appearance.

Boom! Another tremendous roar echoed, and a gigantic crimson mushroom cloud lit up in the distance.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and began walking up the mountain.

Inside a U-shaped valley, in an open area, three men and one woman held formation plates, controlling a formation to attack a strange beast resembling a Qilin. The beast was entirely black, its body covered in black scales, and it had a peculiar pair of ox horns on its head.

There were four cultivators: two at the Nascent Soul stage and two at the Core Formation stage. The Qilin-like beast was a fourth-tier mid-grade demonic beast, equivalent to a cultivator at the sixth layer of the Nascent Soul stage.

A gigantic red light curtain trapped it inside. The Qilin-like beast spat out black lightning orbs, each the size of a watermelon, which slammed against the red light curtain, producing a muffled thud like rain hitting banana leaves.

Streams of crimson fire blades appeared out of thin air, hovering in the void before overwhelmingly striking the Qilin-like beast, leaving its body covered in wounds.

"Push harder," a rosy-faced old man in a green robe commanded in a deep voice, "this beast won't last much longer."

At the end of the valley, there was a cave entrance several zhang wide.

Deep inside the cave was a stone grotto roughly an acre in size, with some stone tables and chairs scattered within. In the lower-left corner of the stone wall was a yellow light curtain, its surface adorned with a lifelike beast-man pattern—a creature with two wings on its back, eight arms, and four legs. Behind the yellow light curtain was a green stone door, on which a Qilin pattern was carved.

The ground suddenly became uneven as Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan emerged from underground, their expressions tense.

He discovered five cultivators besieging a fourth-tier mid-grade demonic beast. Judging by their stance, they intended to kill it, which would be a convenient opportunity for Wang Changsheng.

He flicked his sleeve, and dozens of golden formation flags flew out, disappearing into the surrounding stone walls. A layer of golden light curtain then appeared on the stone walls.

This was the Five-Element Spirit Isolation Array, a third-tier mid-grade formation that could isolate all sound and possessed considerable defensive power.

Wang Changsheng quickly approached the yellow light curtain, holding a Mountain Sea Pearl in his right hand, and fiercely smashed it towards the barrier.

An astonishing scene unfolded: the yellow light curtain sagged inward, and Wang Changsheng felt as if he had struck a ball of cotton. Soon, the yellow light curtain rebounded, pushing him back several steps, an incredulous look on his face.