People fight and become emperors in advance

Chapter 239 Stone-Eating Demon Ants, Beast Taming Sect Makes a Merit
Poisonous miasma abounds, and a chilling fog pervades the air.

In the hazy forest, wisps of mist, as if possessed, spread freely across the field of vision.

In this environment, visibility is extremely low, and even the perception of the soul is greatly limited. When used for detection, it can only detect a few hundred meters away and cannot extend any further.

"Chichi!"

In the misty forest where low roars of beasts occasionally echoed, a few faint sounds suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, several figures as agile as monkeys pierced through the cold mist and flashed out, quickly heading towards the depths of the mountains.

As they ventured deeper into the mountains, Chen Xiao and his companions gradually encountered some trouble.

The Lost Souls Mountain Range is vast, spanning thousands of miles. With soul perception restricted and vision obscured by the cold and poisonous barrier, finding the location of the Soul Palace within it is no easy task.

"How about we split up?"

Concealing his presence and aura while cautiously exploring, the Wind Venerable was getting impatient with the slow pace of his advance.

After all, if the time drags on for too long, in three to five days, the Soul Palace might discover that those spies outside the mountains have been eliminated, which could lead to other unforeseen events.

"No, this Mountain Range of the Dead is the territory of the Soul Palace. If you are scattered, you will be more easily detected. If you encounter Old Ghost Zhaixing, you may not be able to hold out until I come to your aid. Keep going, I have a plan!"

Chen Xiao refused without hesitation.

Although they were temporary teammates, since they were acting together, he didn't want anything to happen to Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword.

Seeing Chen Xiao's determination, Venerable Feng didn't say anything more and silently nodded and followed.

The Iron Sword Venerable, standing to the side, remained silent, but moved even closer to Chen Xiao.

He has discovered that the closer he is to Chen Xiao, the less the surrounding cold miasma affects him, as if Chen Xiao is naturally immune to cold and poison, and has his own field, which benefits even the people nearby.

Little did they know that the cold air here was nothing compared to even a fraction of Chen Xiao's fighting spirit, so how could it possibly affect him?

As for the poisonous afflictions, there's no need to elaborate further.

His resistance to poison is now at its maximum!
Everyone knows the reason.

They continued to explore for half a day until the three of them saw the surrounding cold mist gradually darkening, and they immediately understood the reason.

Venerable Feng frowned slightly and said softly, "It's getting dark, we can't continue on our way. The demonic beasts in the Lost Soul Mountains are extremely ferocious at night, and they are like leeches, very difficult to shake off. If we make any noise, not only will we alert the other demonic beasts, but we will also easily attract the attention of the Soul Palace experts."

The Iron Sword Venerable looked at Chen Xiao, waiting for him to make a decision.

This time, Chen Xiao did not reject Venerable Feng's suggestion and nodded slightly.

Nighttime is when Warcraft is most active.

This was also the opportunity Chen Xiao had been waiting for.

Upon seeing Chen Xiao nod, the Iron Sword Venerable immediately flicked his hand, taking out a bunch of dark things from his storage ring and shooting them out, scattering them in a huge circle around the three of them.

Witnessing the whole thing, Chen Xiao's lips twitched a few times.

A Dou Zun defecating—the scene is just too shocking!

"These are the droppings of high-level magical beasts, which can deter some of them from harassing us. The Jade Sword Sect that I dealt with before was also located deep in the mountains. At that time, for convenience, I collected a lot of these droppings and piled them up in my storage ring."

Noticing Chen Xiao's complicated gaze, the Iron Sword Venerable explained in a hoarse voice.

Chen Xiao glanced at his fingertips, wondering if the storage ring was still usable.

As if he had read his mind, the Iron Sword Venerable extended his left hand, with a storage ring on each of his five fingers.

"It's a personal habit of mine to store different things in different storage rings."

Chen Xiao nodded slightly. This is a good habit.

This made him find the Iron Sword Venerable even more pleasing to the eye.

...

The Lost Souls Mountain Range was exceptionally cold at night, with all sorts of howls echoing through the mountains, giving people a chilling feeling.

The roar of the beast echoed through the mountains for half the night before gradually fading away. Just as Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword breathed a sigh of relief, they suddenly heard some rustling sounds coming from afar.

Upon hearing these sounds, the two men abruptly opened their tightly closed eyes, their gazes sweeping across the distant white mist. Their expressions changed, and they exclaimed in alarm, "Damn it, it sounds like a swarm of stone-eating ants!"

Every place has its own 'specialty' or something famous.

The infamous reputation of the Lost Souls Mountain Range stems partly from its chilling atmosphere and poisonous barriers, but more so from a type of demonic beast found there.

This monstrous beast is none other than the Stone-Eating Demon Ant!
These Stone-Eating Demon Ants weren't actually that high-level, only around the third or fourth rank. A single one was only slightly stronger than Xiao Yan's father before he was captured.

But what makes them terrifying is their sheer number.

In this Mountain Range of the Dead, there are tens of millions of Stone-Eating Demon Ants!

With such terrifying numbers, they came in an overwhelming manner, and even eighth-tier magical beasts had to temporarily avoid their attacks.

Because these demonic ants can devour any flesh and blood that stands in their way, wherever the stone-eating ant swarm passes, there are only white bones scattered everywhere, and not even a trace of blood can be found. If a powerful person who accidentally enters the mountain range encounters the ant swarm, and does not have the strength of a Dou Zun, then it is equivalent to facing a certain death!

If these stone-eating demonic ants could survive only in the cold, poisonous fog, then perhaps no one would dare to live outside this mountain range!

With the current strength of the three, the Stone-Eating Ant swarm is actually not a significant threat.

However, once he used the power of a Dou Zun, he would inevitably be detected by the Soul Hall experts in the mountains, which is why Venerable Feng's expression was grim.

"Let's retreat. We can't fight these damned things head-on! If we alert them, it will be even harder to save Yao Chen next time. Let's leave now and come back another day!"

Venerable Wind quickly got up; this was the only solution he could think of.

It was a last resort.

Chen Xiao glanced at him, but his face showed no sign of panic.

He had been waiting for this swarm of stone-eating ants to arrive!

"Don't rush, stay here and don't wander around. I'll be right back!"

After saying this, Chen Xiao didn't bother to explain further and went straight into the forest shrouded in cold mist.

Upon seeing Chen Xiao's actions, Venerable Feng's expression changed drastically.

"What is he doing? Does he have to alert the Soul Palace?!"

Venerable Feng was furious. He wasn't worried about Chen Xiao's safety, but he felt that Chen Xiao's actions would inevitably ruin the plan and make rescuing Yao Chen even more difficult.

However, the Iron Sword Venerable remained calm and collected, listening intently.

"The sound of the ant colony has disappeared."

One sentence stunned the Wind Venerable, who was standing there in a state of powerless rage.

He calmed down and listened carefully.

Sure enough, the cold, poisonous miasma was completely silent, and the rustling sounds had vanished entirely.

"This"

Just as Venerable Feng was stunned, Chen Xiao emerged unharmed from the cold mist.

As you can see, a giant eight-winged ant, about half a foot in size and with a dark golden body, is perched on his shoulder!

"The Stone-Eating Ant Queen?" Upon seeing the dark golden eight-winged giant ant, Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

To control this Stone-Eating Ant Queen is equivalent to controlling an army powerful enough to make ordinary Dou Zun experts retreat in fear!
Although this army can only operate in the Dead Souls Mountains.

"I learned some beast-taming techniques before, but I never thought they would come in handy after so many years."

Ignoring the astonishment in their eyes, Chen Xiao patted the incredibly obedient Queen Stone-Eating Ant on his shoulder and laughed.

He wasn't lying; he learned the art of beast taming when he was just dabbling in the Black Corner Region, from a sect called the Beast Taming Sect.

Back then, the Beast Taming Sect provoked the Purple Cloud Pavilion, but it ended up losing more than it gained. Instead of benefiting, it became the chicken used to scare the monkey.

After the destruction of the Beast Taming Sect, its legacy naturally fell into the hands of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.

Not only Chen Xiao, but also Xiao Yixian and Zi Yan, all know this skill, and even Hai Bodong knows it.

The saying "It's always good to have many skills" is proven true at this moment.

As for finding the Queen Stone-Eating Ant, that's even simpler.

After Chen Xiao left, he only muttered a few words before the ant queen descended from the sky and landed in front of him. It was unclear which charming fairy had made the move.

"So, this is the method you were talking about." Venerable Wind suddenly realized.

Chen Xiao remained noncommittal. "Let's go. We'll set off tonight. This guy knows the location of the Soul Palace."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Xiao moved and took the lead, rushing into the depths of the mountain range shrouded in cold mist.

Behind him, the Iron Sword Venerable instantly caught up.

Venerable Wind didn't say anything more and followed closely behind.

After this experience, he finally understood himself.

Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't.

Since I'm not part of the main force in rescuing Yao Chen, I should set aside my doubts and have more trust in him so as not to hold him back.

This time, with the Queen of the Rock-Eating Ants leading the way, the three no longer had to fumble around blindly, and their speed increased several times over.

Therefore, in less than half an hour, they had penetrated deep into the heart of the mountain range.

"stop!"

In the misty forest, Chen Xiao, who was leading the way, suddenly raised his hand to stop.

Seeing this, although they had some doubts, Venerable Feng and Venerable Tiejian did not dare to ask any more questions. As promised, they stopped and remained silent, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Chen Xiao nodded in satisfaction and gently patted the queen ant on his shoulder.

The next moment, Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword saw that the queen ant on Chen Xiao's shoulder suddenly emitted a subtle and strange sound wave from its mouth, which then spread out like ripples.

"Puff puff…"

Just seconds after the sound wave was emitted, they saw black shadows fall from mid-air in the surrounding cold mist and land on the withered grass.

Venerable Wind focused his gaze on the nearest spot and saw that the black shadow that had fallen was a black bird no bigger than a palm. On its body was a black ant the size of a fist. This stone-eating demon ant was biting its throat tightly, preventing it from making any alarm sound.

"These magical beasts are very strange. They must have mutated in the special environment of the Lost Soul Mountain Range. They are too small and hidden in the cold mist. Even we cannot sense their presence."

Venerable Feng was startled, gaining a deeper understanding of the Soul Palace's methods.

If Chen Xiao hadn't controlled the Stone-Eating Ant Queen and learned of the existence of this strange bird beforehand, they probably would have been discovered by the Soul Palace's experts before they even found the Soul Palace.

"The methods of the Soul Palace are unpredictable and bizarre. These black birds are just insignificant little things, serving no other purpose except to act as spies."

Chen Xiao never underestimated the Soul Palace.

Or to be more precise, it's the Soul Clan behind it.

Knowing full well how many trump cards the Soul Clan had hidden and how many strange and unusual things they possessed, what they saw before them was not even the tip of the iceberg.

"The nearby messenger birds have all been cleared out by the Stone-Eating Ants and... I, so don't worry. Also, we're not far from the Soul Palace, so be prepared for battle at any time."

Upon hearing Chen Xiao's words, Venerable Feng and Venerable Tiejian felt a sudden tightness in their hearts, and their fighting spirit began to circulate quietly within them.

After dealing with these hidden Soul Palace spies, Chen Xiao continued to let the Stone-Eating Ant Queen lead the way. After traveling for another ten minutes or so, Chen Xiao finally stopped, patted the Stone-Eating Ant Queen, and ordered her to return to the colony.

"arrive?"

"Hmm." Chen Xiao raised his chin.

Following the direction Chen Xiao indicated, Venerable Feng and Venerable Tiejian discovered that, for some reason, the fog here had become much thinner.

They were now on an extremely high and steep slope, and at the end of the slope below was a huge valley surrounded by mountains on three sides.

Inside the giant valley, a massive black palace, hundreds of feet in size, lay there like a prehistoric beast, exuding a terrifying aura that sent chills down one's spine from its shadowy surroundings!
"So this is the Soul Palace? What a grand scheme!"

Looking at the colossal building in the valley, even the taciturn Iron Sword Venerable couldn't help but gasp.

Building such a grand palace is not difficult in itself; the difficulty lies in building it quietly in the deep mountains and forests without anyone noticing.

Even more horrifying is that they all know this is just one of the many branch halls of the Soul Palace.

There are countless other magnificent palaces like this hidden throughout the continent!

Venerable Wind also stepped forward and stood to Chen Xiao's left.

Looking at the massive black palace in the valley, a surge of excitement welled up in his eyes, but he also couldn't hide his solemnity.

Now, it's time to really fight tooth and nail!
"Wait, there's a spatial barrier here. We need to think of a way."

Venerable Feng sensed carefully and immediately noticed that the sky above the valley not far away was somewhat distorted. He frowned and said softly.

With this spatial barrier in place, whether they forcibly break through it or break in, they will inevitably be detected by the powerful figure who set up the spatial barrier.

Chen Xiao was also helpless in this regard.

If Zi Yan and Elder Qingshan were here, with the unique spatial talent of the Ancient Dragon Clan, they could quietly cut it open without disturbing the people inside.

But they don't have that talent.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

They had been cautious beforehand, simply because they didn't want to alert the people in this branch hall in advance, lest they be allowed to relocate or escape prematurely.

We've arrived here now...

Chen Xiao looked up at the sky and saw that the thin poisonous barrier in this space had quietly risen again at some point, and its color had changed significantly from the poisonous barrier he had seen as he went deeper into the space, with a more eerie green hue.

Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword believed that this was a unique phenomenon naturally formed in the Mountain Range of the Dead.

Only Chen Xiao was able to detect the hidden fluctuations of the strange fire within.

This is clearly the poisonous world domain that Little Fairy Doctor cultivates, "Heavenly Poison Covering the Void Chapter"!
"No need for all that trouble. Either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly. Since we're already here..."

"Then let's wipe them all out!"

(End of this chapter)