Among the two people traveling with Gao Zhan, one of them—a blue-robed cultivator—looked somewhat familiar to Jian Xiaolou. She recalled his name was Yuan Feiyu, and like Gao Zhan, he was at the seventh layer of the Qi Refining realm.
She had seen him once half a year ago at the foot of the mountain. He had been friends with the purple-robed cultivator who was hung on the city wall.
That purple-robed cultivator had offended Dongzhou's little tyrant, Li Jianzhao, and was hung from the city wall with a hook pierced through his collarbone for seven days—until he died. This was all because Yuan Feiyu and another companion had fabricated evidence, falsely claiming that the purple-robed cultivator had insulted the Lord of Fuguang City.
In the Eastern Immortal Three Provinces under the control of the Tianyi Alliance, killing someone in private was no big deal.
But to kill openly, one needed a reason. Without one, the killer would be punished.
It was said that the pampered little tyrant of the Li family had once killed several disciples from second-rate clans in a fit of jealousy. As punishment, he had been sent to guard the Celestial Sundial in Fuguang City. After that incident, he learned his lesson and would make up some excuse before killing anyone again.
Although this man—someone who twisted black and white—had been coerced, Jian Xiaolou still held him in contempt.
As for the other person, she was a female cultivator with the highest cultivation among them—around the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Refining. Jian Xiaolou had no recollection of her, but seeing the two star crystals hanging from her jade belt, she guessed this woman must be a senior inner sect sister.
Jian Xiaolou composed herself and greeted them politely yet distantly. "Xiaolou greets Senior Brother and Senior Sister."
"How fortunate to run into Junior Sister Jian," Gao Zhan said quickly. "These two are Inner Sect Senior Sister Yu Xinrong and Inner Sect Senior Brother Yuan Feiyu."
"We three came together to set up a formation to capture a Golden Armored Queen Ant. Originally, there was also Outer Sect Junior Sister Fang Hui, but she was sent out on assignment by the sect today, so we're one person short."
Jian Xiaolou wasn't skilled in hunting demon beasts, so she refused without hesitation: "I'm only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining—my abilities are limited. I fear I'll just get in the way. Besides, I still need to go back and smelt some iron essence. I'll take my leave now." With that, she turned to go.
Yuan Feiyu stepped in front of her, quicker than she was. "You'd only be guarding one part of the formation. No need to underestimate yourself, Junior Sister. The Golden Armored Ant is unlike the Iron Armored Ant; it's quite rare. If we capture a live queen and sell her to the sect, we can earn a thousand low-grade spirit stones. Senior Sister Yu will get forty percent for doing the most work. The remaining sixty percent will be split between Gao, you, and me—twenty percent each. What do you think, Junior Sister?"
Two hundred low-grade spirit stones was no small sum. It would be a lie to say she wasn't tempted.
However, such distribution couldn't be decided by just one person, so Jian Xiaolou looked toward Yu Xinrong, the group's leader.
Yu Xinrong's expression was a bit cold, but she still gave a slight nod. "I have no objections."
For Gao Zhan, a mere outer sect disciple, to join Yu Xinrong's team was already a stroke of luck. Since Yuan Feiyu—an inner sect disciple—was also only taking twenty percent, Gao Zhan naturally wouldn't dare object, even if he felt a bit uncomfortable.
Jian Xiaolou began to seriously consider it.
When she left home, she brought over two thousand spirit stones, but in just half a year, she had already spent all but two hundred. Smelting iron essence consumed large amounts of spiritual energy, and exchanging materials to craft magical tools was also a major expense. Relying solely on the sect's monthly stipend, she would soon burn through her resources.
Most disciples in the sect took on additional hunting missions. If Jian Xiaolou weren't unable to kill, she would've joined long ago.
If this mission only required capturing the Golden Armored Queen Ant alive—without the need to kill—what harm would there be in giving it a try?
So she agreed, saying, "I'll give it a try, then."
The group of three became four, continuing to follow the dark tide of Iron Armored Ants. These ants were being driven forward by Yu Xinrong using a special spiritual tool. Their destination was the Golden Armored Ants' nest. Although Golden Armored Ants were stronger than their iron counterparts, Iron Armored Ants did not fear them. After Yu Xinrong destroyed the Iron Armored Ants' nests and drove them along, once they encountered the Golden Armored Ants' nest, they would surely try to seize it.
Letting the two ant types fight first before taking action against the queen was a clever way to conserve energy.
They weaved and twisted their way along, nearly circling from one side of Mount Caged Dragon to the opposite side.
They had also climbed from the mid-mountain range to almost the summit.
Looking up, the swirling purple miasma was within arm's reach—they had reached the outer limit of where they could safely go.
"We're here," Yu Xinrong said, coming to a stop.
Jian Xiaolou extended her spiritual sense to scout ahead but saw nothing beyond jagged stone walls—no sign of life. Only after carefully examining the area did she barely notice that the rock face was covered with pits the size of soybeans.
Moments later, the Iron Armored Ants that had been driven there seemed to catch the scent of something enticing and began crawling into the pits in an orderly manner.
Jian Xiaolou asked in confusion, "They say a first-rank Golden Armored Queen Ant is as big as a fist. With such tiny holes, how does the queen get in and out?"
Yuan Feiyu stood beside her and answered in a tender tone, "The queen stays inside the nest and usually doesn't come out. Right now is when the Golden Armored Ants are out foraging. Only the queen and a few guards remain inside—this is the best time to strike."
A breath of warm air blew across her left cheek. Jian Xiaolou's skin instantly broke into goosebumps. She frowned and moved a few steps away from him in disgust.
That expression of distaste only made her look even more adorable in Yuan Feiyu's eyes. Ever since they first met at the mountain foot half a year ago, Yuan Feiyu had never been able to forget her. He had always thought that this green-robed girl was as pure and fresh as morning dew on a flower.
Because of that, after joining the sect, he had even inquired about her whereabouts.
Later, when he saw her again at the Gadget Hall and noticed the red birthmark under her bangs, a faint sense of disappointment—like a blemish on flawless jade—surfaced in his heart, and his interest slowly faded.
But now, meeting her again by chance, his thoughts began to stir once more.
Gao Zhan watched coldly from the side, a trace of disdain in his eyes. These inner sect disciples—what part of them could compare to him?
"Each take one and spread out a bit," Yu Xinrong said as she pulled four round, crimson-red beads from her storage pouch and tossed one to each of them, keeping one for herself. She specifically instructed Jian Xiaolou, who had the lowest cultivation among them, "This is a set of spiritual tools. Wait for my command, and then activate it."
"How do I activate it?" Jian Xiaolou asked as she held the red bead in her hand.
"Use the same hand seal as when smelting Chihun Iron."
That was easy enough—Jian Xiaolou felt a weight lift from her heart.
Suddenly, Gao Zhan shouted, "It's starting!"
There was a series of pop pop pop sounds, like champagne corks being opened. In Jian Xiaolou's ears, that was exactly what it sounded like. The bean-sized holes in the rock wall began spraying out fragments of stone, and the holes grew larger and larger. It seemed a fierce battle had already started inside the nest. These Iron Armored Ants weren't even first-rank; the Golden Armored Queen Ant could slaughter them effortlessly. But wiping out so many at once was still a physically demanding task.
The four of them crouched a short distance away and watched, the noise growing louder and louder.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, a large hole burst open in the stone wall, blasted apart by a sudden force.
A giant ant, the size of a full-grown person, crawled out of the hole. Its sharp, shearing mandibles were like beast traps—it could devour an entire nest of Iron Armored Ants in a single bite.
It was the first time in her life Jian Xiaolou had seen an ant that massive—she stared in shock.
Was this a joke?
This was clearly a second-rank demonic beast, equivalent to a human Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage!
Even the other three hadn't expected this and their expressions shifted dramatically.
Yuan Feiyu no longer had the mind to gawk at Jian Xiaolou. With a worried look, he turned to Yu Xinrong and said, "Our plan to exhaust it first probably won't work. A Foundation-stage beast—we can't beat that. We should give up."
"Not necessarily. Did you see the pouch under its tail? That queen ant is currently in its egg-laying period. Its cultivation has drastically weakened," Yu Xinrong said. As someone who was already half a step into the Foundation Establishment realm, her look of panic faded quickly. "If we fight smart, we might just win."
"A second-rank Golden Armored Queen Ant—its value increases fivefold!" Gao Zhan also shed his earlier shock, replacing it with eager anticipation.
"So… we take the risk?" Yuan Feiyu hesitated, but the mention of money made him waver. He glanced at Jian Xiaolou again and was surprised to find no trace of fear on her face—only curiosity, as she studied the beast intently.
Jian Xiaolou truly had nothing to fear.
Her elder sister, Jian Xiaochai, cultivated the Beast Taming Path, and their family owned two Foundation Establishment–level demonic beasts. In order to learn how to handle demonic beasts without killing, Jian Xiaolou often accompanied her sister on beast-taming expeditions. Her escape and survival skills were top-notch.
She wasn't bragging, but among the four of them—even though she had the lowest cultivation—if only one person could survive, it would definitely be her.
While the others were still discussing, the second-rank Golden Armored Queen Ant had already nearly finished slaughtering all the invading Iron Armored Ants. It had noticed the hiding human cultivators long ago. Now furious, it raised its forelimbs and let out a harsh grinding noise with its mandibles—like steel blades scraping together.
Then it charged straight toward the four of them.
Its movement was swift and nimble, running like a wolf; from a distance, it seemed to fly across the ground.
"Form the array!" Yu Xinrong shouted.
The four quickly scattered. Jian Xiaolou copied their movements, tossing her crimson bead into the air. Then she formed a smelting hand seal, guiding her spiritual energy into the bead and melting it with her mental power.
The four beads rose into the air simultaneously. As they were refined, red threads of light extended from them, connecting together and forming a barrier that trapped the queen ant.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The queen ant rammed into the array walls, biting wildly with its mandibles.