Chapter 497: Hall Master Han Gets Beaten

"Who is it?"

Looking around, Hall Master Han raised his hand, his face full of vigilance.

If he had suspected earlier that Elder Hu and the others had secretly eaten the deer herd beast, now he knew for sure it wasn't them.

But... who could it be? Who could eat the meat of the deer herd beast right in front of him without being discovered?

Wasn't that method too bizarre?

"Hall Master, look!" Elder Hu pointed.

Hall Master Han looked down and immediately saw something wrong. On the golden deer herd beast straight ahead, a dense layer of pale yellow insects, the size of ants, had crawled up. Wherever they went, the beast's flesh disappeared, leaving only bones.

Clearly, those two legs had been devoured clean by these things.

These insects were small, and their color resembled the roasted beast meat; if you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't notice them at all.

"What... is this?"

Hall Master Han was stunned.

As a four-star beast tamer, he had never seen anything like it.

"Hall Master, could it be..."

Suddenly remembering something, Elder Hu's body stiffened, and his eyes filled with terror.

"You mean..." Seeing the other's expression, Hall Master Han paused, then realized and was startled.

"Yes, otherwise how could it have eaten the deer herd beast's meat so quickly..." Elder Hu swallowed his saliva.

"If it really is that thing... we're in trouble!"

Suddenly thinking of something, Hall Master Han quickly looked up at the light curtain ahead. He saw that the demon beast trapped in the formation had somehow opened its eyes, which were like lightning, bright and piercing.

The corners of its huge mouth suddenly curled up, as if it were sneering.

...

"Master Zhang, what is this?"

The distant crowd also saw this bizarre scene. Guild Master Sai couldn't help asking.

As the guild master of the Appraisal Hall, his knowledge was vast as the ocean, yet he had never heard of such a strange thing.

The others also looked over.

Master Zhang had known something would happen and brought them here. Now it seemed this was what he was worried about.

"It's Soul-Eating Ants!"

Zhang Xuan's face was grave.

"Soul-Eating Ants?"

Everyone was bewildered.

They had never even heard of this thing, let alone knew what it was.

However, Luo Zhu beside them stiffened at the name, his face full of disbelief: "Legend says they are the bane of soul shamans, feeding on souls and spiritual energy..."

Soul-Eating Ants could devour souls and consume spiritual energy, incredibly eerie.

They were the nemesis of soul shamans.

How could such things exist near a soul shaman's tomb?

Without answering him, Zhang Xuan turned and asked, "That soul shaman tomb you mentioned, if I'm not mistaken, should be beneath that pool, right?"

"How... do you know?"

Luo Zhu was startled.

He had only said the soul shaman's tomb was nearby, not the exact location. How could this man see it at a glance?

Burial sites follow feng shui; burying under a deep pool is inauspicious, and almost no one does that.

Thus, if you told someone there was a tomb underwater, they would laugh at your ignorance.

Even he, after consulting relevant texts and knowing the exact location, found it hard to believe.

That's why he had been so confident earlier that others couldn't discover it.

But... this man said it outright. Could it be related to these Soul-Eating Ants?

"Soul-Eating Ants devour souls and are the bane of soul shamans, but... they fear water. To avoid them and preserve the soul for a long time, one must bury it underwater!"

Zhang Xuan said.

Guild Master Sai had collected books on soul shamans. Though they didn't contain much useful knowledge, reading them all allowed him to analyze some things.

Moreover, Soul-Eating Ants were a type of spirit beast, recorded in the Beast Tamer Guild's books. As soon as he arrived at the Eye of Clarity and looked at the ground, he noticed something off.

With a little deduction, he could figure it out.

"Isn't burying a tomb underwater inauspicious for both the living and the dead?" The question came not from Luo Zhu but from Zhao Feiwu.

Hearing that the tomb was actually beneath the pool, he was also very surprised.

They had seen this deep pool upon arrival, formed by a waterfall that had been pounding for years, hundreds of meters in diameter and of unknown depth. Building a tomb down there—wouldn't it be eternally eroded by water, disturbing the soul's peace?

"For soul shamans, souls can reincarnate by possessing bodies. Thus, in their eyes, death is just a brief sleep; there is no concept of feng shui. Whether in water or anywhere else, it doesn't matter."

Zhang Xuan explained.

"Oh!" Everyone understood.

Feng shui in burial is meant to change the fate of descendants after death. Soul shamans don't consider themselves dead, so naturally they don't care where the so-called tomb is placed.

"That's not right!"

After a moment's hesitation, Luo Zhu suddenly remembered something and looked over again: "Although this soul shaman tomb is buried under the pool, it's an underground palace, not submerged in water. Even if Soul-Eating Ants can't enter the water, they could definitely enter that palace. How..."

If the soul shaman tomb were in the water, he wouldn't have been possessed that day. The underground palace he entered, though sealed for who knows how many years, had dry air and allowed free breathing.

If humans could enter, Soul-Eating Ants probably could too! So how had the soul inside been preserved for so many years?

"If I'm not mistaken, these Soul-Eating Ants were attracted by you!" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Me?" Luo Zhu was stunned.

He had heard of these things but never seen them. How could he have attracted them?

"The soul shaman tomb was well sealed. For thousands of years, no one entered, and its aura never leaked. You went in and brought out a soul, leaking its aura... thus attracting these soul-devouring creatures. They arrived not long ago and haven't found the entrance yet. If we delayed another month, even if we went in again, we wouldn't find the soul!"

Zhang Xuan said gravely.

Soul-Eating Ants are the bane of soul shamans, so soul shamans naturally know how to guard against them, ensuring their soul aura doesn't leak out and attract attention.

But Luo Zhu didn't understand. If he wasn't mistaken, these Soul-Eating Ants had only recently arrived; otherwise, they would have already burrowed under the deep pool and wouldn't still be here, attracted by the scent of the deer herd beast.

"This..." Luo Zhu's face turned pale.

These terrifying things had been attracted by him... The thought made him shudder.

"Even if Soul-Eating Ants devour souls and like to eat deer herd beast meat, why do we need to hide so far away? Normally, these things don't have much effect on humans, do they?"

After the shock, Luo Zhu was puzzled again.

Soul-Eating Ants are the bane of soul shamans, but they can do nothing to normal humans. They might seem eerie, but they're just disgusting.

Why had they retreated hundreds of meters away?

"They have no effect on us, but... don't forget, besides devouring souls, they also consume spiritual energy. And... what consumes the most energy in a formation's operation is... spiritual energy!"

Zhang Xuan continued.

"Formation?"

Everyone was taken aback, then their pupils contracted as they quickly looked forward.

...

"Damn!"

Seeing the demon beast open its eyes, Hall Master Han also realized something was wrong. His pupils shrank, and his body tensed.

The Soul-Eating Ants were hidden underground; even as a beast tamer, he couldn't detect them, but the demon beast was different.

Spirit beasts are naturally sensitive to their environment, and this was its lair. How could it not know something had arrived?

It seemed it knew these things would be attracted by the deer herd beast and could consume spiritual energy, so it acted with impunity, neither struggling nor causing trouble, but closing its eyes and waiting.

Once the formation's spiritual energy was devoured by the Soul-Eating Ants, it would be like a carriage losing its horses—without power, how could it operate?

Thinking of this, he quickly ordered: "Increase power quickly, reinforce the formation..."

Before he finished, a furious roar erupted. The demon beast's trapped wings suddenly shook violently.

Crack!

The spiritual energy chains locking it seemed to be bitten through by something, snapping directly. Then a powerful aura burst from the spirit beast. Its wings struck, and it flew straight out.

Whoosh!

The formation was completely destroyed. The mist before everyone's eyes vanished instantly, and they saw the demon beast's massive figure appear before Elder Hu and the others, who had just run past.

Roar!

A furious roar.

Wings flapped, gale winds howled.

"What?"

Elder Hu and the others had no time to resist before they were struck, flying backward, spitting blood in midair.

A peak Mortal Transformation fourth-tier spirit beast was inherently stronger than a human of the same level. Moreover, it had just been captured and forced to submit, its anger pent up, putting it in a berserk state. How could they withstand it?

With one move, they were all injured.

"Damn it!"

Not expecting the beast to be so ferocious, disregarding three years of rapport, Hall Master Han's face turned ashen. He raised his arm, and a long spear appeared in his palm.

Though a beast tamer, his personal strength was also formidable, already at the peak of Mortal Transformation fourth-tier. As the spear emerged, his true energy rained down, turning into a long dragon that stabbed straight at the demon beast.

Facing the attack, the demon beast didn't even dodge; it charged straight ahead.

Clang! Clang!

The sharp spear struck the demon beast's chest but didn't even break the skin, let alone injure it.

"Such strong defense..."

Zhang Xuan, Guild Master Sai, and the others exchanged glances, their eyes wide.

They had known this beast possessed dragon bloodline and was invincible in defense, hard to pierce with ordinary weapons. But Hall Master Han's full-force strike with his weapon didn't even leave a white mark—that truly shocked them.

No wonder it was famous throughout the entire kingdom alliance; the royal family had besieged it many times without success. It was indeed terrifying.

Roar!

Blocking the spear with its chest, the demon beast suddenly roared, its furious sound like a storm, howling toward them.

Hall Master Han bore the brunt. Even at the peak of Mortal Transformation fourth-tier, he still felt dizzy and almost spat blood.

Whoosh!

After roaring, the demon beast's huge wings swept across.

Dust flew, carving a massive crack in the ground. Hall Master Han hurriedly brought his spear back to defend, but his strength couldn't withstand the beast. His arms went numb, and he flew backward like a kicked ball.

Pfft!

In midair, he also spat blood, his face turning pale.

"Could it be... that two-star beast tamer knew this would happen?"

His chest churning, internal organs shaking, his whole body felt like it was about to explode, but somehow, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.