"Stay close to me."
Li Xiaoyu walked at the front of the group. With every step, he carefully probed the path ahead with his spiritual sense, avoiding the mud pits and traps hidden beneath the mire.
Lu Xueqi and Lin Jingyu took up positions on either side, their divine weapons already drawn as they warily watched their surroundings.
Zeng Shushu brought up the rear. He took a compass-shaped magical treasure from his storage pouch, its surface engraved with runes to ward off evil and miasma, and used it to guide them.
The four formed an exploration formation and struggled onward through this land of death.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
After they had ventured dozens of li into the swamp, a chorus of shrill cries, like metal scraping against metal, suddenly came from the dense, twisted woods ahead.
The next moment, a black tide surged out of the trees.
It was a horde of enormous ants, their bodies covered in black carapaces and their mouths bristling with sharp mandibles.
They numbered in the thousands, packed tightly together as they swept toward the four like an army.
"Death Swamp Giant Ants!" Zeng Shushu's expression changed at the sight of the black tide.
"Everyone, be careful! Their bones are hard, their mandibles carry deadly poison, and they fight to the death. They're extremely difficult to deal with!"
Before he had finished speaking, the black swarm had already rushed up to them.
"Looking for death!" A cold glint flashed in Lin Jingyu's eyes as the Dragon-Severing Sword in his hand let out a dragon's roar.
"Ghost-Severing God!"
He barked the words and unleashed the Green Cloud Sect's killing sword art.
A tremendous beam of emerald swordlight, carrying an unstoppable momentum, slashed viciously toward the black tide.
"Boom!"
A thunderous crash rang out.
Hundreds of Death Swamp