Among the two people accompanying Gao Zhan, one of them, a blue-robed cultivator, left a faint impression on Jian Xiaolou. His name seemed to be Yuan Feiyu, and like Gao Zhan, he was at the seventh level of Qi Refinement. She had seen him half a year ago at the foot of the mountain; he was friends with that purple-robed cultivator who had been hung on the city wall.
That purple-robed cultivator had offended the Little Overlord of the East Continent, Li Jianzhào, and was hung from the city wall by a hook through his collarbone for seven days and nights, dying a miserable death. It was because Yuan Feiyu and another companion had fabricated false evidence accusing the purple-robed cultivator of slandering the Lord of Fuguang City.
In the three eastern immortal continents under the rule of the Destiny Alliance, killing privately was not a big deal. But if one killed openly, a reason was needed. Without a reason, the killer would face punishment.
It was said that Li Jianzhào, the pampered Little Overlord of the Li Clan, had been assigned to guard the Sundial in Fuguang City as a punishment for killing several sons of second-tier families in a fit of jealousy. Having learned a painful lesson, he would now always fabricate some kind of pretext before taking a life.
Even though Yuan Feiyu had acted under coercion, Jian Xiaolou still felt a deep sense of contempt for him. As for the other person, she was a female cultivator whose cultivation level was the highest, about to reach the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement. Jian Xiaolou had no recollection of her, but judging by the two star crystals hanging from the jade belt at her waist, she was clearly an inner disciple.
Jian Xiaolou collected her thoughts and greeted them politely but distantly, "Xiaolou greets Senior Brother and Senior Sister."
"How fortunate to meet Junior Sister Jian here," Gao Zhan said eagerly, introducing the two, "These are Inner Disciple Yu Xinrong and Inner Disciple Yuan Feiyu. The three of us are traveling together to set up a formation and capture the Golden Armor Queen Ant. Originally, an outer disciple, Fang Hui, was supposed to join us, but she was called away on sect duties today, and we are in need of another person."
Hunting demonic beasts wasn't Jian Xiaolou's forte, so she immediately declined, "I'm only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement. I'd only be a hindrance. Besides, I need to return and continue refining iron essence. Please excuse me." With that, she turned to leave.
Yuan Feiyu stepped in front of her. "It's just a matter of guarding a formation. Junior Sister Jian, you underestimate yourself. Golden Armor Ants are much rarer than Iron Armor Ants. If we capture the Queen Ant alive and sell it to the sect, we could earn a thousand low-grade spirit stones. The one who contributes the most, Senior Sister Yu, will take forty percent, and the remaining sixty percent will be split among Gao, you, and me—each of us receiving twenty percent. How does that sound?"
Two hundred spirit stones were tempting. Jian Xiaolou looked to Yu Xinrong for confirmation, as the distribution wasn't something a single person could decide.
Yu Xinrong's expression remained cold, but she gave a slight nod. "I have no objection."
For Gao Zhan, an outer disciple, joining Yu Xinrong's team was already a great opportunity, and Yuan Feiyu, even though he was also getting just twenty percent, didn't dare to raise any complaints. His expression, however, was a little sour.
Jian Xiaolou started to consider the offer. When she had left home, she carried over two thousand spirit stones. In just half a year, she had used up almost all of it, leaving only two hundred. Refining iron essence consumed a vast amount of spiritual energy, and buying materials to forge artifacts was also expensive. The monthly sect allowance was far from sufficient, and she'd soon be left with nothing.
Most sect disciples accepted extra hunting tasks to make money. Jian Xiaolou would have done so as well if she wasn't reluctant to kill. But if capturing the Queen Ant didn't require killing, what harm would it do to give it a shot?
"Alright, I'll give it a try," she agreed.
With four people now, they followed the swarming Iron Armor Ants. Yu Xinrong used a special spiritual tool to drive these ants forward, heading toward the Golden Armor Ants' nest. Though Golden Armor Ants were more powerful, Iron Armor Ants were not intimidated by them. Yu Xinrong had destroyed the Iron Armor Ants' nest and driven them forward. Once they found the Golden Armor Ants' nest, they would inevitably try to invade it. After the two ant colonies fought, they could then target the Queen Ant without expending much energy.
The group wound their way around Dragon Prison Mountain, almost to the opposite side from where they had started, climbing higher until they were nearly at the summit.
Lifting her head, Jian Xiaolou could see the swirling purple miasma just within reach, a sign they had reached a limit.
"We're here," Yu Xinrong announced, stopping in her tracks.
Jian Xiaolou released her spiritual sense, probing ahead. All she saw was a jagged rock wall. Searching more closely, she barely noticed the wall was dotted with holes the size of soybeans.
Meanwhile, the Iron Armor Ants began orderly crawling into the holes as if they had caught the scent of something irresistible.
Puzzled, Jian Xiaolou asked, "I heard the Golden Armor Queen Ant is as big as a fist. How does it enter and exit through these tiny holes?"
Standing beside her, Yuan Feiyu replied in a gentle, almost flirtatious voice, "The Queen Ant stays inside the nest and rarely comes out. And now happens to be the time when the Golden Armor Ants are out foraging. The nest only contains the Queen and a few guards, making it the perfect time to strike."
His warm breath brushed against her left cheek, causing her skin to prickle. Jian Xiaolou frowned, her dislike evident, and moved away from him.
Yuan Feiyu found her expression adorable, even when she showed clear distaste. Ever since he had first seen her at the foot of the mountain six months ago, he couldn't stop thinking about this green-robed girl, whose fresh, dewy appearance reminded him of morning flowers. After joining the sect, he had even asked around for her. But when he saw the red birthmark under her bangs at the Artifact Hall, he felt disappointed, as if a flawless piece of jade had a blemish. Over time, his interest had waned. However, meeting her again today rekindled those feelings.
Watching from the side, Gao Zhan's eyes flickered with disdain. He thought these inner disciples were all the same.
"Spread out and take a position," Yu Xinrong instructed. She pulled four bright red beads from her storage pouch, handing one to each of them, keeping one for herself. She directed Jian Xiaolou, whose cultivation was the weakest, "These form a spiritual tool array. Follow my command and activate it."
"How do I activate it?" Jian Xiaolou asked, holding the red bead.
"Just like melting crimson iron," Yu Xinrong replied.
That was simple enough. Jian Xiaolou felt a sense of relief.
"It's starting!" Gao Zhan suddenly shouted.
A series of "pops" echoed, like champagne corks popping, as stone fragments flew from the holes. The holes expanded rapidly, signaling the battle within the nest. Although the Iron Armor Ants were no match for the Queen, killing so many of them in one go would also drain her strength.
The four waited nearby until the noise grew louder.
Boom!
With a resounding crash, a massive hole burst open in the rock wall, and out crawled a Golden Armor Queen Ant, the size of a full-grown person. Its razor-sharp mandibles resembled hunting traps, capable of crushing an entire swarm of Iron Armor Ants in one bite.
It was Jian Xiaolou's first time seeing such an enormous ant, and she was stunned.
Was this some kind of joke? This was clearly a second-tier demonic beast, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Yu Xinrong and the others were equally shocked, their faces paling.
Yuan Feiyu no longer had the luxury of admiring Jian Xiaolou and, with concern etched on his face, said to Yu Xinrong, "Our plan to wear it down is useless. A Foundation Establishment-level beast is beyond us. We should give up."
"That's not necessarily true. Look at the sac behind its abdomen," Yu Xinrong said, regaining her composure. "It's in its egg-laying period, which greatly weakens it. We might stand a chance if we give it our all."
"Second-tier Queen Ants are worth five times more!" Gao Zhan's shock turned to excitement at the mention of the potential profit.
"Shall we risk it?" Yuan Feiyu hesitated, but greed swayed him. He noticed that Jian Xiaolou wasn't frightened; she was merely curious, observing the beast.
Indeed, Jian Xiaolou had nothing to fear. Her sister, Jian Xiaochai, practiced the path of beast taming, and their family kept two Foundation Establishment-level demonic beasts. Jian Xiaolou had often gone out with her sister to subdue beasts, learning exceptional skills to escape or protect herself.