Immortal Taoist

Meng Lin felt her breath catch at her throat as the Ancient Ant Queen's aura washed over her. The oppressive heat and malevolent energy made the volcanic crater stifling.

The other ants, emboldened by their queen's presence, formed a defensive perimeter, their eyes glowing sinister red.

"An Ancient Ant Queen," Meng Lin muttered, her eyes narrowing. "This is going to be troublesome."

The queen ant let out a shrill cry. The surrounding ants moved with purpose, their mandibles clicking in unison as they formed a protective circle.

Meng Lin's mind raced. The queen's presence amplified the threat. The mid-stage ants alone were formidable, but with the queen, their coordinated force was dangerous.

She tightened her grip on the Celestial-Thunder Blade, its crackling energy increasing, matching the presence of the ants before her.

The queen ant's eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence as it noticed the surge in energy.

Shrill!

It issued another command, and the ants opened their mandibles wide, spewing forth thick, acrid smoke. The smoke formed a dense, swirling cloud rushing toward her.

Meng Lin's instincts kicked in. She leaped into the air, flying to the limit of the space, narrowly avoiding the encroaching smoke.

Everywhere she looked was filled with black smoke. The heat burned up the poison, filling the air with the same stench, making her stomach churn and her chest tighten.

Gritting her teeth, she took a small black tablet out of her inventory. It was the Void-State Tablet, her only sacred grade item.

With a swift motion, she activated the tablet. The air around her shimmered as a spatial rift opened up in space, the air moved and the small spatial rift suddenly started sucking in the acrid smoke, its speed increasing with every second.

After just ten seconds the volcanic crater's air cleared, revealing the horde of ants crowded besides their queen.

Meng Lin landed a few dozen meters away, her eyes locking onto the Ancient Ant Queen. The queen's crimson eyes were locked onto the small floating black tablet behind Meng Lin, it felt that this item was incredibly dangerous.

"So you noticed," Meng Lin whispered to herself, her grip on the Celestial-Thunder Blade tightening. "Then have a taste of its power"

The black tablet behind her shook the surrounding space and the ant queen suddenly felt a pull as it suddenly appeared right in front of Meng Lin.

The queen's eyes widened in shock, and in that split second of confusion, Meng Lin attacked, she lunged forward, her Celestial-Thunder Blade crackling with intense energy. With a swift and powerful motion, she slashed at the queen ant.

The ant queen barely had time to react. The blade struck true, slicing open its stomach while sending a burst of electrical energy coursing through its body.

Shrill!

The ant queen screeched in pain, its crimson eyes flashing with fury and confusion, it could not understand what just happened.

Meng Lin didn't stop, pressing her advantage, opening another wound on the queen ant's body as the electrical qi wreaked havoc on its internal systems.

Shrill!!

The surrounding Blackfire Ants heard their queen's call and they surged forward in a desperate bid to protect their monarch, balls of lava began to target Meng Lin, who quickly jumped back, dodging some of the lava.

The ants didn't stop as a dozen more balls of lava targeted her, with their power combined, even Meng Lin felt a sense of danger towards the incoming attack.

Her eyes flickered as the black tablet, still hovering ominously in the air shook the surrounding space once more.

Whoosh!

The ant queen which was retreating suddenly saw ten balls of lava within her vision and before it could act, it felt its carapace crack and its injury worsen as a large explosion surrounded it.

Boom!!

The explosion sent shockwaves through the volcanic crater, scattering debris and causing the ground to tremble.

The black fire ants, momentarily stunned by the explosion, hesitated in their advance, they attacked their queen?

Amidst the smoke and flying debris, Meng Lin saw the Ancient Ant Queen, the queen's carapace was cracked and charred, its movements sluggish and pained. Yet, the malevolent glow in its crimson eyes remained.

Shrill!!

It issued a command as its aura suddenly began to change, and a large amount of energy gathered as armor began to cover its whole body.

Seeing this, Meng Lin knew she had to act swiftly. She couldn't afford to let all the other ants utilize their armor, she would be having an even more challenging fight in her hand.

She raised her hand and a fiery red glow enveloped it as a golden lizard sprung up with its body expanding at an alarming rate.

It appeared behind Meng Lin, with its head raised high, its aura coming together as it used all its might.

ROAR!!

A giant dragon head roared, its voice amplified with energy reverberating through the volcanic crater, the roar stunned all the ants that wanted to use their armor, leaving them paralyzed for a second.

Meng Lin seized the opportunity, slamming her fist into the ground and circulating her Elemental Qi Convergence Method to the maximum.

She realized that with the small amounts of fire elemental qi within the ground it was not possible to affect the ground deeply, however she only wanted to affect the surface of the fiery ground.

As she circulated her qi to the maximum, she finally felt a large strain as she used the only technique within her Sacred Grade Cultivation Method, The Elemental Qi Convergence Method.

"Elemental Qi Convergence: Elemental Domain"

Rumble!!

The ground beneath Meng Lin's feet shimmered as a radiant, multi-colored aura spread outwards, enveloping the entire battlefield. The air seemed to vibrate with the sheer intensity of the elemental domain.

The elemental energies of water, corrosive mud, and darkness surged together in a harmonious yet destructive way, creating a space where Meng Lin's power was even more destructive.

The ants, caught within this domain, found themselves overpowered by the overwhelming elemental forces. Streams of corrosive mud twisted and turned, covering the whole volcanic crater.

hundreds of dark tendrils of water flew through the air, entrapping the ants and sapping their strength.

The Ancient Ant Queen, though encased in her newly formed armor, struggled against a hundred dark tendrils as it felt its movement restricted, even though it was not bound. It's movements were further hindered by the corrosive mud that suddenly covered the whole ground, eating away at her armor.

Meng Lin, standing at the center of her Elemental Domain, felt a surge of pain and power. Her Celestial-Thunder Blade hummed with renewed vigor, and she raised her sword, preparing to attack.

The elemental qi of water, mud, darkness, and Erosion converted into a balanced yet destructive qi around her blade as she slashed horizontally without uttering any technique.

A crescent slash of pure elemental energy tore through the air, a blazing arc that seemed to defy the very laws of nature.

Slash!

The slash cut through the air, leaving a shimmering trail of multicolored light as it killed all the mid stage ants in its wake, Its target however was the ant queen.

The Ancient Ant Queen, sensing the imminent danger, tried to muster a last-ditch defense. But the combined might of the elemental energies still continued to restrict her movement and it could do nothing but watch as the crescent slash made contact.

Peng!

The crescent slash connected with it, the force of the impact sending shockwaves through the ground and the air alike.

Crack!

Boom!

The armor, already weakened by the corrosive mud and dark water, shattered under the assault. The Ant Queen roared in pain, its voice echoing through the battlefield. It staggered back, its once-imposing form now riddled with cracks and fractures.

Meng Lin did not relent. She pressed forward, her blade a blur of motion as she struck again and again, each strike infused with the raw power of her Elemental Domain. The other ants, disoriented and weakened by the domain, could do little to aid their queen. They were swept away by the torrents of corrosive mud and bound tightly by the dark tendrils of water.

With her fifth swing, Meng Lin saw the strike cleave through the queen's body, splitting her in two. The battlefield fell silent, the only sound the crackling of dissipating elemental energy.

Meng Lin quickly stopped circulating the elemental qi convergence method as she felt damage within her spiritual vein.

"Caugh"

Her chest tightened, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. The strain of wielding such immense power had taken its toll.

It surprised her a little, after all her spiritual vein was dozens of times sturdier than a normal cultivator, and yet it was still damaged after circulating the sacred grade cultivation method to the maximum.

She shook her head, getting rid of her dizziness, and looked at the battlefield, it was eerily quiet, and the remaining ants seemed to be unsure of what to do.

"Go" Meng Lin gave the command and the Golden Lizard behind her quickly roared, lunging towards the remaining five ants which were still trapped.

While the golden lizard was dealing with the remaining ants, Meng Lin began to think about the battle, she could have finished the battle easier if she had used the brute qi, however, she didn't want to rely too much on that.

At least now she knows where her strength lay, she should be able to contend with the late stage of the Soul Wondering Realm, and if she utilizes the brute qi method, then she shouldn't have too much of a problem with the late stage.

The Elemental Domain which she had just used was a bit similar to the brute Qi in strength, it made her realize how much of a difference the cultivation method makes to maximize her energies.

If she uses the Brute Vortex Cultivation Method, then she felt that she could not be harmed by those within the Late Stage, of course, that's just her thoughts.

Taking a few pills out of the inventory to eat, she held a finger under her chin as she wondered if she should continue to the next floor or not, the next floor should be multiple late-stage Rank 4 ancient beasts.

After thinking about it, she decided to stop, she had already assessed her strength and she felt that further fight will not add more to her experience, she needed some time to digest these past battles and come back afterwards.

There were still those other pagodas, she wanted to enter all of them now but she already felt fatigued, furthermore she still has to take care of the injury within her spiritual veins.

Nodding her head, she quickly surveyed the battle, noticing a white light descending at the center of the area, it seems that all the ants were dead.

She began to look for the corpses of the ants, wondering if these ants also had a crystal like the other beasts from the previous floors.