At the same time, Zou Fengâs team had indeed already suffered considerable casualties.
This was only thanks to his continuous efforts to neutralize the poison; otherwise, their losses would have been devastating.
Fortunately, the special Red Ant Assassins had all been slain, greatly reducing the pressure on Zou Feng.
Meanwhile, the decapitation strike led by Zhao Qian and several other powerful disciples had also succeeded.
The exceptionally powerful scorpions were slain one by one.
With the special Alien Race slaughtered and the poison neutralized by Zou Feng, the battle situation naturally grew more optimistic.
From here, whether they pushed a little harder to wipe out the remaining ordinary ant monsters or just held on for rescue, it seemed they would be fine.
But one thing deeply concerned Zou Feng.
When his teammates were injured or killed, the blood that spilled onto the ground was absorbed instantly, leaving no stains behind...
The mysterious Outer Realm was full of such enigmas, and naturally, Zou Feng couldnât make sense of it.
After a little more time, the number of ant monsters finally stopped increasing. Their total annihilation was now just a matter of time.
PHEWâ
Zou Feng breathed a small sigh of relief. Just as he thought the situation was under control, Xiaolv, nestled in his robes, suddenly reacted violently.
It shot out, its gaze locked on a spot that was seemingly empty.
Its scorpion-like tail thrashed wildly, a clear signal for Zou Feng to run.
"Whatâs wrong?"
Though confused, Zou Feng immediately activated Iron Block Gang.
BANGâ
The deafening impact made the ground tremble violently.
Then, a human-shaped insect monster abruptly appeared, shooting toward Zou Feng.
The creatureâs speed was incredible, and it had attacked without any warning whatsoever.
If not for Xiaolvâs sudden warning, Zou Feng would have almost certainly been struck.
But forewarned, he managed to react just in time, unleashing the Five Poison Heart-Burning Palm without a momentâs hesitation.
âTo use the Five Poison Heart-Burning Palm right away... he clearly wasnât taking any chances.â
Yet, despite Zou Fengâs caution and the full power behind his Five Poison Heart-Burning Palm, the Palm Force barely caused the mid-air monster to hesitate.
As for the palmâs poison, the creature was completely immune.
âWhat kind of freakishly powerful poisonous creature is this?!â
HISSâ
In that critical moment, Xiaolv shrieked and charged forward to intercept the attack.
It concentrated all the poison in its tiny body into its Poison Hook and stabbed at the claw the monster had extended toward Zou Feng.
A cloud of poisonous smoke erupted. Green blood sprayed from Xiaolvâs body as it was sent flying, crashing heavily into Zou Fengâs chest.
"Xiaolv?"
With his Lifebound Gu Insect heavily wounded, a sweet taste filled Zou Fengâs throat, and he barely managed to suppress a mouthful of his own blood.
He looked down at Xiaolv, who was now barely breathing.
Zou Feng channeled poison into his palms and rubbed it all over Xiaolvâs body, even as he hastily retreated.
Only then did he finally get a clear look at the human-shaped Gu Insectâs appearance.
It was only vaguely "human-shaped." In reality, it had the head of an ant, beetle-like wings, and a tail like a rattlesnakeâs.
One glance was enough to tell him it was unbelievably venomous.
The reason it had targeted him first was simple.
He didnât know the extent of the monsterâs Spiritual Wisdom, but it had clearly sensed on an instinctual level that he was... "delicious."
Conversely, Zou Feng desperately wanted to devour this thing as well, but he knew with equal certainty that he was no match for it!
âThatâs why Xiaolvâs warning hadnât been to fight, but to run...â
Without another momentâs hesitation, Zou Feng cradled Xiaolv and fled!
âThere was absolutely no reason to fight this thing head-on.â
As he fled, Zou Feng opened the List of Gods.
Back in the era of the Great Yan, Demon Beasts wouldnât have appeared on the list.
But this human-shaped insect monster was clearly in a league far beyond the low-level Demon Beasts of the Great Yan.
Sure enough, a new name had appeared on it: Ant General!
âAnt General? Doesnât that mean there might also be... an Ant King?â
Zou Fengâs escape was resolute, even as many powerful disciples rushed forward to intercept the Ant General.
Zhao Qian and the other Core Disciples were also rushing back to help.
It seemed like staying put and relying on his teammates might resolve the danger.
But Xiaolv, cradled in his hands, was still trembling, its tail pointing in one directionâa clear, insistent signal for Zou Feng to keep running.
Zou Feng trusted Xiaolvâs judgment completely. There was likely more than one Ant General lurking nearby.
If multiple Ant Generals launched coordinated ambushes, not even Zhao Qian could protect him.
As if to confirm his fears, three more names instantly appeared on the List of Gods.
Ant General Two, Ant General Three, Ant General Four.
Four of them in total!
No longer hesitating, Zou Feng instantly entered his True Man State, pushing the Drunken Immortal Moon Chasing Step to its absolute limit.
As for those from Teng County, Gongsun Jinghong, and the other women...
In fact, by fleeing, Zou Feng was actually increasing their chances of survival.
After all, the Ant Generals wanted to devour him. They would surely pursue him rather than stay behind to slaughter his teammates.
Conversely, if the Ant Generals had stayed, it was likely that no oneâaside from Zhao Qian, the other Core Disciples, and a few exceptionally strong Inner Sect Disciplesâwould have survived for long.
Besides, Xiaolv clearly wasnât just pointing in a random direction. It was guiding him to a specific location within the underground caverns...
"Hang in there!" Zou Feng continuously poured poisonâand even his own toxic bloodâinto Xiaolv. For the Gu Insect, this was the best possible nourishment.
Unexpectedly, Xiaolvâs condition didnât improve. It only grew weaker.
Still, its Poison Hook tail continued to twitch, changing directions from time to time to guide Zou Feng.
Seeing that Xiaolvâs chances of survival were slim, a dark fury ignited within Zou Feng.
His Cultivation involved drawing upon baleful energies, and even when not actively training, a great deal of violent qi would naturally accumulate within him.
Now, stirred by his turbulent emotions, this violent qi detonated. It began to transform into pure Evil Qi, pushing Zou Feng into a state of Cultivation even as he fled.
âWhen is Evil Qi at its most potent?â
âWhen one succumbs to it, falling into a demonic state and becoming a pure killing machine.â
Therefore, cultivating now wasnât a sign of arrogance on Zou Fengâs part; it was simply incredibly effective.
âPerfect. Time to let these big brother bugs have a taste.â
Indeed, Zou Feng couldnât guarantee he could shake the Ant Generals.
He had to use his ability to transfer negative side effects to impact the Ant Generalsâ speed, or even interfere with their ability to track him.
As he sprinted madly, he encountered other insects, but his speed was so great that they couldnât even react before he was gone.
As for the tenacious Ant Generals, thanks to Zou Fengâs repeated tricks, none of them managed to catch him.
Whenever his True Man State began to falter, Zou Feng would desperately consume Elixirs to forcibly sustain it.
Guided by Xiaolv, Zou Feng sprinted for about the time it takes to eat a meal before passing through a narrow tunnel and emerging onto a cliff edge.
He hadnât left the caverns; they were simply so vast that they contained entire underground valleys like this one.
Xiaolvâs tail finally went limp. It was barely hanging on.
It had stopped giving directions, which meant they had finally arrived.
Zou Feng looked down from the cliff and saw that the area below was swarming with countless ant monsters.
They moved in orderly lines, marching toward a distant pool of blood.
Each ant monster carried a strangely shaped piece of flesh in its mandibles.
They tossed these chunks of flesh into the blood pool.
Hanging above the pool was a multitude of enormous, blood-red cocoons!
Each cocoon was the size of a house, and something indistinct could be seen squirming within from time to time.
Connecting the cocoons were thick, vein-like "blood vessels."
These vessels not only connected to the blood pool but also burrowed deep into the ground.
Zou Feng finally understood. This was why the blood of his fallen comrades had vanished so quickly from the ground.
âIt was being absorbed by these vessels...â
âNo wonder Xiaolv had risked everything to guide me here.â
The creatures inside these giant cocoons were all incredibly potent, nourishing poisons!
He wouldnât need to absorb all of them. Just the Refinement of a single one would be enough to completely restore all the energy he had expended.
It would even allow his Poison Skill to reach a whole new level.
But high reward meant high risk. If he made a move, he would undoubtedly plunge himself into a situation even more perilous than the one heâd just escaped...