Inside the passageway.
Two streaks of light, one in front of the other.
That Sword Intent, flashing with golden-white light, was like a bird leading the way.
Gradually, traces of a struggle began to appear around the passageway, including numerous sword marks.
"Senior Qingyun, have you found Yuandu?"
The passageway ahead suddenly opened up, and an aura mixed with the smell of blood and residual Law Power rushed towards us.
After passing through the last narrow passage, a huge circular nest chamber suddenly appeared before them.
The nest chamber's dome was over ten zhang high, and its four walls were covered with densely packed holes, clearly leading in different directions.
Scattered on the ground were numerous broken stones and fractured bones, with several deep sword marks running across the ground, the cuts as smooth as a mirror, exuding a chilling aura.
In the center of the nest chamber, a figure sat cross-legged with his back against a thick stone pillar, surrounded by bluish-white sword light, regulating his breathing as if he had just experienced a great battle.
It was none other than the Azure Cloud Sword Lord.
"Who?"
The Azure Cloud Sword Lord suddenly turned around, his murderous gaze shooting over with a sudden burst of light. That single glance, unique to Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator, was enough to shake the Divine Ability light surrounding Chen Shuangbai and Qingchen.
"Senior Qingyun!"
Chen Shuangbai spoke up in time, and the Sword Alliance leader finally realized what was happening, revealing a slight smile, "So it's Far-Reaching Luminous Sword Immortal..."
He paused, then looked at True Lord Qingchen and said, "Fellow Qingchen has returned successfully, congratulations!"
True Lord Qingchen cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Fellow Qingyun."
"Fellow Daoist, what is this...?"
The Azure Cloud Sword Lord slowly rose, and the turbid energy on his body gradually descended, transforming into streaks of dark demonic light. Upon landing, these streaks turned into countless black rats that scattered in all directions before being annihilated by the sharp sword light.
"It's nothing, I was just caught off guard by the Divine Ability left behind by that bastard Yuandu."
Upon hearing this, Chen Shuangbai frowned slightly. "Senior fought him?"
"Not a direct confrontation."
The Azure Cloud Sword Lord said calmly, "He took three sword strikes from me, leaving sword marks on his body that are difficult to remove in a short time. That's why I was able to sense his location from afar..."
"I tracked them all the way here, and as soon as I entered, I was ambushed by the two Yin Ghosts he left behind. Although I killed them, I was accidentally tainted by the Divine Ability he left on those two Yin Ghosts... It's nothing serious, just a little troublesome."
"He has already begun to refine the body of that Night Devil Beast?"
A hint of solemnity appeared on Azure Cloud Sword Lord's face. "It possesses a certain mystical quality, unlike the Divine Ability he displayed earlier."
Although the sects of Parting Hate Gate and Transformation Sect have been destroyed, as long as Hentian and Yuandu have not perished... given time, once they recover and return to the present world, rebuilding their sects will be a piece of cake.
That's why Azure Cloud Sword Lord and Chen Shuangbai relentlessly pursued them.
But now...
" Hentian has disappeared, but Yuandu is clearly still hiding somewhere in this old lair..."
Chen Shuangbai's gaze was deep, his tone chilling, and his killing intent resonated with that of the Azure Cloud Sword Lord before him. "We cannot let him go!"
After a quick discussion, the three of them gave it a try and gave chase again.
But as they continued their pursuit, the old nest suddenly began to shake, and the obviously sturdy tunnel began to shed dust, as if some enormous creature was constantly crashing into it from the outside.
What happened?
The three immediately unleashed their Divine Sense. Although compressed to a limited extent, one was a genuine Nascent Soul Late Stage, another could reach the Nascent Soul Late Stage realm by borrowing power, and a third, despite being Nascent Soul Middle Stage, could rival a Nascent Soul Late Stage...
Three powerful Divine Sense echoed continuously within the passageway, eventually discovering a section on the left side. A huge opening had been torn open from the outside, revealing a ferocious void beast waving its sharp claws and opening its mouth to devour the passageway.
" Changming!"
Chen Shuangbai summoned Changming, and the jade spirit looked at the enormous void beast, its eyes faintly gleaming with jade light. After a short while, it called out:
"It's Void Worm."
"These strange beasts roam the depths of the void. They are not very intelligent, but they are naturally gluttonous and will eat anything they come across."
"The lair of the Void-Piercing Borer Dragon is its favorite food."
As the saying goes, everything has its counter.
These gregarious Void-Piercing Borer Dragon are numerous and highly aggressive, almost invincible in the void, yet they are helpless against these Void Worm.
This Void Worm is not very intelligent; it could be described as extremely stupid. However, it is naturally thick-skinned and tough, so even king worms below the Nascent Soul Middle Stage can hardly cause it any harm.
Only those Nascent Soul Late Stage stage king insects can harm it.
Before Changming could finish speaking, the Void Worm launched another violent attack, causing the entire tunnel to tremble violently and countless fragments of stone to fall.
The worm was several tens of feet long; it was more like a millipede than a worm.
Its enormous body was a twisted grayish-white, its skin covered with spiral patterns. When its huge round mouth opened, it revealed densely packed, layered serrated teeth. Each bite tore a large chunk from the solid tunnel wall, which it chewed and swallowed.
The Void Worm was still some distance away from the three of them, and the three of them did not intend to go forward to make contact with this unknown void beast. They only wanted to continue to hunt down Yuandu.
But at that moment, Azure Cloud Sword Lord suddenly seemed to realize something, and looked sharply at the terrifying maw of the Void Worm that was constantly devouring the tunnel, a solemn expression appearing on his face.
"This is bad!"
Buzz buzz buzz!
Amidst the violent noise, a surging black tide suddenly appeared from the opposite passageway. Upon closer inspection, one could see strange insects, each the size of an elephant, continuously surging forward.
These strange insects resemble beetles in appearance, but they have long tails that look like they are made of scales, sharp mouthparts, and bone spikes hanging from their limbs. They are constantly emitting sharp hissing sounds.
Among this swarm of insects, there were also some larger individuals, with even more ferocious appearances, their bodies gradually shimmering with various colors of Divine Ability light. They were mixed in with them, rushing one after another towards the Void Worm that was feeding on it.
The three exchanged a glance, their expressions subtly changing.
Chen Shuangbai picked up Changming and asked quickly, "Wasn't it supposed to be an abandoned old nest?"
Changming shuddered slightly, as if remembering something, and explained, "Although the nest is abandoned, there might still be some Borer Dragon eggs left in the deeper chambers, which would explain the remnants of this Borer Dragon swarm!"
"The noise from the Void Worm gnawing on the nest was too loud, waking them up!"
Before the words were even finished, the surging swarm of insects had already collided violently with the Void Worm.
Thousands of Void-Piercing Borer Dragon surged forward like a black tide, relentlessly attacking the enormous Void Worm.