They were indeed charging.
It was as if something here was attracting them.
The two Thousand Jun Ant Kings charged toward Hu Liena and the others, one after another.
Their momentum suggested they would stop at nothing.
They were closing in fast.
"If you seek death, I'll grant your wish!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo coldly snorted.
The Thousand Jun Ant Kings were only a few miles away from him. He hadn't intended to engage, but they were getting too close.
Hu Liena and the other two, along with the five Soul Saints, quickly responded.
They were merely Thousand Jun Ants with monotonous Soul Skills—no match for Chrysanthemum Douluo.
The eight of them were still basking in the joy of Hu Liena obtaining the External Soul Bone.
"Nana, once the Pope finds out, she'll surely reward you!" Yan said excitedly for Hu Liena.
Xie Yue was equally thrilled, his eyes narrowing into slits.
With the External Soul Bone, his sister might even be capable of fighting above her level.
The five Soul Saints were even more exhilarated. They had only been protecting Hu Liena as she absorbed the Spirit Ring, yet they were blessed with this unexpected boon.
Once they returned to Spirit Hall, the Pope would surely bestow great rewards.
They could only hope Chrysanthemum Douluo would hurry back so they could return to Spirit City swiftly.
Just as their joy peaked, disaster struck—a classic case of "extreme joy begets sorrow."
Much like Tang San's experience before, even though Hu Liena was a Soul King, she stood no chance against Old Scorpion, a Soul Saint.
Her body instantly began sinking, as if being dragged underground.
"Who's there?!"
"No!"
"How dare you—!"
The five Soul Saints reacted first, swiftly moving toward the center to grab Hu Liena.
But how could their speed compare to Old Scorpion's premeditated strike?
Earlier, the two Thousand Jun Ant Kings had charged recklessly toward this territory.
It was because underground, all the Ant Queen's pheromones had been released, exerting an irresistible pull.
That was why the Thousand Jun Ant Kings had charged without hesitation.
By then, Old Scorpion was already preparing to strike.
The moment Dugu Feng's Core Pearl detected Chrysanthemum Douluo's departure, he immediately ordered Old Scorpion into action.
Without the slightest delay, Old Scorpion used an earth escape technique to seize Hu Liena.
In the blink of an eye, Hu Liena vanished without a trace.
Xie Yue, Yan, and the five Soul Saints were stunned!
What had just happened?
Chrysanthemum Douluo was equally bewildered.
He had already closed in on the 40,000-year-old Thousand Jun Ant King. Just as he activated his Soul Skill, he sensed something amiss with Hu Liena.
"Damn it, a diversion!" Chrysanthemum Douluo realized instantly.
He immediately extended his spiritual sense underground, following Hu Liena's fading aura.
To his alarm, she was rapidly descending deeper underground.
The earth's interference threatened to erase her presence entirely.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression darkened.
"Too fast! You think you can escape? Impossible!"
His figure flashed back to the original location.
"Golden Stamen Floating Rosy Clouds—stand back!"
A massive flower bud materialized around Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Then, his sixth Spirit Ring lit up.
The petals of the bud unfurled one by one, transforming into enormous meteors that rained down from the sky.
These meteors rapidly shrank in size before crashing precisely into the spot where Hu Liena had disappeared.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's control was impeccable.
The meteors struck the earth in rapid succession, each burrowing deeper underground.
With a series of deafening booms,
hundreds of meters below, a cavern was blasted open.
No—this wasn't just a cavern. It was a vast underground chamber.
The cave was like a maze, causing Chrysanthemum Douluo to freeze momentarily.
His spiritual power probed through the labyrinth.
But after traversing all the passages, he only encountered solid earth.
Yet despite being solid ground, the other party kept descending deeper.
Chrysanthemum Douluo could barely sense Hu Liena now—the earth's obstruction was too severe.
Already in his Martial Soul Avatar state, his spiritual power rapidly expanded outward.
Still, tracking remained difficult.
"The enemy has an earth-escape skill and has prepared tunnels beneath the Three-Eyed Magic Fox's territory!
Were they targeting Hu Liena specifically? Or is this just coincidence?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't make sense of it immediately.
They had only decided on this Three-Eyed Magic Fox today.
How could the enemy have been waiting here for Hu Liena?
If it were coincidence, they'd seized the perfect moment—capturing Hu Liena right after he'd left.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes turned icy with fury.
He refused to give up, continuing his relentless spiritual search.
Meanwhile, streams of petals transformed into meteors, burrowing ever deeper.
"Earth-escape Soul Skills have limits—you can't descend infinitely.
You must be using pre-dug tunnels to escape my spiritual detection range!
I refuse to believe you could have dug that deep!"
His face hardening, Chrysanthemum Douluo channeled Soul Power to tunnel downward.
If the enemy were merely using shallow earth-escape, his spiritual power could detect them.
Now they'd exceeded his spiritual range.
They must be extremely deep.
At depths beyond his spiritual perception, even a Titled Douluo would struggle against the earth's pressure.
With Hu Liena in tow, Chrysanthemum Douluo refused to accept they couldn't be found.
As he channeled Soul Power, his cold gaze locked onto the Thousand Jun Ant King nearby.
"This is all your doing..."
With a furious roar, he charged forward.
The ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast region of Star Dou Great Forest trembled violently.
Deep underground.
In winding caverns, Old Scorpion emerged with Hu Liena.
The girl had already succumbed to poison, unconscious.
This was Old Scorpion's precaution—leaving no chance of exposure.
"Young Master, begin now. We only have moments—Chrysanthemum Douluo's too powerful, still tracking relentlessly!"
Old Scorpion gave a bitter smile.
They'd prepared in advance, using earth-escape to reach depths where further descent was impossible.
After digging some distance further, they'd created this cavern.
At his Soul Saint level, once earth pressure reached certain levels, he couldn't maintain rapid escape techniques.
Dugu Feng nodded, instantly activating Martial Soul Avatar.
Simultaneously, bulges formed on his back.
Eight spider legs manifested.
For this absorption, he didn't use his Scorpion Pincers, but the Eight Spider Lances instead.
"Little fox, don't blame me. 'Innocence invites persecution when one possesses treasure.'
You foolish, lovestruck fool—having an External Soul Bone yet failing to utilize it.
Since that's the case, let me put it to better use!"
Dugu Feng snorted coldly.
The lowest pair of spider legs stabbed into Hu Liena's back near her tailbone.
Twin streams of devouring Soul Power probed along her spine.
Soon, at the lower half of her spinal column, he detected a surge of fiery energy.
This energy clung distinctly to the spot, showing no signs of fusion.
"That's the energy—devour it!"
Purple-red halos began pulsing along the spider legs.
The fiery red energy flowed through the Spider Leg and entered Dugu Feng's back.
With the experience from the previous devouring, this time went exceptionally smoothly.
The energy descended and similarly entered his tailbone.
Dugu Feng's bones erupted with intense absorption force, as if eagerly yearning to obtain the fox tail energy.
(End of chapter)