Ji Ningxuan had already released her perception and felt around her several times!
Within a few hundred meters radius, she felt no signs of any living creature’s presence.
If there were traces of blood worms under her feet, how could it be possible that she felt nothing?
Moreover, Ji Ningxuan herself was endowed with some secret methods by the Jade Pool Holy Master, which could detect situations beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Even the two Martial Emperors standing beside her had not noticed the trace of the Netherworld Blood Worms. Could a villager living here be aware of the blood worms?
In Ji Ningxuan’s mind, she thought Ye Fan was just a villager living here, perhaps someone who had been missed during the recent move!
“I really can see them, move three steps to the left quickly, they are already under your feet, and they might bite you at any moment!” Ye Fan, not far away, stared seriously at the ground beneath Ji Ningxuan’s feet as he spoke with utter conviction.
But Ji Ningxuan just smiled faintly. “Stop joking! Little brother, your way of flirting really isn’t impressive. Do you think I’m the type of person who gets scared easily? You…”
Ji Ningxuan was still muttering under her breath when one of the bodyguards beside her seemed to sense something was wrong.
“Empress, the soil under your feet… the soil under your feet…” The bodyguard’s voice was filled with terror as he spoke.
Ji Ningxuan frowned and scolded the bodyguard next to her, “What’s with the soil under my feet? Finish what you’re saying!”
“The soil under your feet is moving… hurry…”
The bodyguard, his face full of terror, watched the soil under Ji Ningxuan’s feet start to wriggle, and then a head glowing with green light emerged from the earth, followed by a second, then a third… The heads poking out belonged to none other than the Netherworld Blood Worms, which were supposed to have been completely eradicated!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In an instant, in the blink of an eye, countless densely packed Netherworld Blood Worms burst forth from underground. Seen from above, they resembled sesame seeds scattered on the ground.
“Ah!
“Ah!”
Several bodyguards, too slow to react, were ambushed and bitten on the ankles by a few blood worms. Then, a swarm of blood worms surged over them, and in the blink of an eye, they were devoured.
“Empress, step on my shoulder, hurry and go!” The bodyguard who reacted first saw that everyone was already surrounded by the Netherworld Blood Worms, and there was no place left to step.
All the ground beneath their feet was teeming with Netherworld Blood Worms. If the Empress didn’t leave, she was sure to be bitten.
The toxicity of the poison smoke emitted by the Netherworld Blood Worms earlier was so colossal. If she were to be bitten by these blood worms, that toxin would invade her, and the Empress might truly die!
Without any hesitation, the bodyguard scolded her to move while grabbing Ji Ningxuan’s ankle and hoisting her up directly.
Hm?
Ji Ningxuan, seeing the situation unfold before her, was also thoroughly shocked.
A moment ago, she could not sense the presence of a single Netherworld Blood Worm. How did they suddenly appear?
Could these blood worms possess intelligence, knowing how to hide their own presence?
Ji Ningxuan still wanted to continue taking out the Rune Talismans from before to suppress these blood worms.
However, obviously, the blood worms had taken their precautions. Seeing Ji Ningxuan getting ready to act, from four directions, four groups of Netherworld Blood Worms rapidly darted toward Ji Ningxuan, attempting to prevent her from using those Rune Talismans.
Hiss!
Seeing those frantically approaching Netherworld Blood Worms, Ji Ningxuan finally started to tremble with fear.
These blood worms were not simple at all—they had their own consciousness and actually knew how to block her from casting the Rune Talismans?
Left with no choice, Ning Xuan swung her battle saber in hand to block the approaching blood worms while trying to use her subordinate’s shoulder to leave the place.
Puchi!
But just as Ning Xuan was about to push off, the bodyguard beneath her feet had already been completely engulfed by the Netherworld Blood Worms, devoured in an instant, collapsing amid a swarm of them.
Ning Xuan, losing the support of strength, fell to the ground in an instant!
At that moment, the ground was teeming with Netherworld Blood Worms, swarming like a tide with individuals as large as footballs.
Most of them were black blood worms, but among them were a few red blood worms. However, these red blood worms did not attack people; they simply waved their tentacles, seemingly the so-called commanders!
Is there a hierarchy among Netherworld Blood Worms?
Realizing the situation before her, Ning Xuan felt for a moment that the world had become somewhat unreal!
In modern society, to think that such evil insects as Netherworld Blood Worms still existed! And they even had their own intelligence and hierarchy?
As she was about to fall to the ground, the other bodyguards blocking the Netherworld Blood Worms were stunned, “Empress, be careful!”
The lead guard captain, Gao Fei, scolded as he slashed with his saber to repel the blood worms around, then hastily rushed towards Ning Xuan.
Within this task force, the strongest were two bigwigs at the Martial Emperor level, followed by Gao Fei at the peak of Martial Master strength, and then Ning Xuan.
The Netherworld Blood Worms had suddenly launched an attack from underground, and most of the bodyguards had perished because they couldn’t defend in time… The only ones left were the two Martial Emperor bigwigs and a few Martial Lords who could barely clean up the surrounding Netherworld Blood Worms and barely protect themselves!
But the endless Netherworld Blood Worms surging upward from the ground left the ordinary Martial Lords unable to spare any attention to assist Ning Xuan.
The two Martial Emperor bigwigs also saw the Empress’s crisis. After clearing the Netherworld Blood Worms around them with a palm strike, they flickered on their ankles and rushed towards Ning Xuan with urgency.
Now, the Great Xia Empire was beset with internal strife and external threats; the royal family’s influence was waning, so Ning Xuan absolutely couldn’t encounter any trouble.
Even if everyone present had to perish here, it was imperative to ensure Ning Xuan’s safety.
However, these bodyguards still underestimated the intelligence of the Netherworld Blood Worms.
When the two Martial Emperor bigwigs and Gao Fei attempted to rush over to rescue Ning Xuan, even more Netherworld Blood Worms emerged from the ground, swooping down from high above and forming a wall of blood worms that resolutely blocked the three experts.
Moreover, from these charging blood worms emerged seven or eight golden Netherworld Blood Worms.
These blood worms were surging with Martial Arts Qi, and even a Grandmaster, slashing with a saber, couldn’t harm these golden blood worms. The venom of the golden blood worms, their speed of action, was several times faster than that of the black and red blood worms.
They worked in coordination, systematically targeting Gao Fei and the other two gray-robed elders.
Did they even understand the tactic of “encircle the point to aid elsewhere”?
It was clear that these Netherworld Blood Worms had identified Ning Xuan as the most valued, most significant person at the scene from the start.
So from beginning to end, they were plotting, luring the enemy in deep, then striking from an unexpected direction, encircling to strike the reinforcements… Their target for attack was the two Martial Lord powerhouses from the get-go… and Ning Xuan was just bait they used…
Interesting!
Ye Fan watched this scene from a distance, squinting his eyes to a slit!
If such intelligent Netherworld Blood Worms could be harnessed, they would undoubtedly be a mighty hidden force…
Ye Fan shifted his gaze towards the ruins of the temple below. Since a portion of the blood worms had attacked Ning Xuan and the others, that mysterious barrier had once again disappeared.
Finally, Ye Fan could see what was beneath the temple. So this was the reason so many Netherworld Blood Worms had gathered here…