In another entrance of the cave, the Eighth Prince Li Ge and his group were under a barrage of attacks.
He had finally exhausted all his strength to deal with the flying bats.
However, he unexpectedly encountered the fire-swallowing ants soon after. These ants, though small, had incredibly tough bodies that were impervious to sword or blade.
What was even more despairing was the intense flame emanating from these ants. Even a slight touch would ignite a fire that would burn for three days and three nights, stopping only when the burning object was completely consumed.
A single fire-swallowing ant was not terrifying, but when tens of thousands attacked simultaneously, the resulting power was extraordinary.
Despite their strength, Li Ge and his companions found themselves in a difficult situation against these bizarre ants. Fortunately, someone beside Li Ge produced a treasure, and at the cost of lives, they managed to evade the attack.
They had thought the danger was over.
But as they walked down the passage, they realized how wrong their decision had been.
Some unknown small insects suddenly appeared and bit anyone they encountered.
They ate with astonishing speed. The moment they touched the group, two people were already killed.
Their eating was so rapid that the two individuals were reduced to mere skeletons, with no time for even their Nascent Souls to escape.
Originally, Li Ge was only allowed to bring ten people into the cave. Now, without having done anything, he had already lost two, which pained him greatly.
After all, every loss of a person meant a significant blow to their chances of success.
Seeing this, Li Ge's expression turned grim.
He had confidently assured the person he promised that there would be no danger.
But who would have expected such heavy losses?
With such severe casualties, what should they do next?
"Are you sure that person was right?" Li Ge asked the person beside him, his voice heavy.
If it weren't for that person, he wouldn't be in this predicament.
Seeing everything before him, sweat began to bead on the person's forehead.
This situation was also beyond his expectations. This place was fraught with so many dangers.
He wasn't concerned about the deaths of those people; he was only worried if his plan could still be completed.
The situation before them seemed perfectly normal, with no apparent issues.
Everything had appeared to be this way, so he didn't know what had gone wrong.
He hadn't anticipated the previous events at all.
"I believe if we just keep moving forward, we'll definitely find something good."
Xie Feng rubbed his head, his tone filled with helplessness.
The information he had received indicated that they should proceed through this area.
Therefore, even with heavy losses, he didn't want to refuse. Otherwise, if investigated later, he would be in trouble.
After all, the other information recorded in the guide was completely accurate, so he didn't know where the problem lay.
Hearing Xie Feng's words, Li Ge took a deep breath. After some thought, he said, "I'll trust you one more time. If there's another accident next time, don't blame me for turning hostile and leaving."
He had agreed to help Xie Feng initially to leverage Xie Feng's power.
However, Xie Feng had not only failed to provide any assistance but had also caused him such significant losses. Thus, he certainly wouldn't continue indefinitely.
But knowing Xie Feng's capabilities, he didn't want to jeopardize their relationship completely just yet. However, if he didn't secure a good ranking in this competition, there would be no need to maintain ties with Xie Feng.
Xie Feng clearly understood the situation and did not insist further.
He and Li Ge were merely partners, not subordinates. If he angered Li Ge, his chances of obtaining the treasure would be significantly reduced.
If he then delayed the important figures' plans, he would have no way out.
Su Xi was unaware of the events outside. Seeing Ouyang Chu Ge walking unsteadily, like an old man, she thoughtfully offered him a wooden stick.
If she had a bowl, she might have offered him one as well.
Ouyang Chu Ge knew Su Xi was mocking him, but he wasn't angry at all, even showing a slight smile.
After all, the most important thing for him now was to recover his body.
Beyond that, nothing else was on his mind.
Su Xi's words caused him no harm.
Seeing this, he began to mobilize the hidden power within his body, intending to regain his strength.
As the hidden power flowed into his body, his previously unstable stance gradually stabilized.
After regaining his balance, he looked at Su Xi and asked, "What in the world is this?"
He had initially assumed that whatever Su Xi was looking for would be precious, but not outrageously so.
After all, given his status, he had seen many valuable items, and other things held little importance.
But before even seeing the treasure, he was already experiencing such immense pressure. This indicated that the treasure was definitely not simple.
Ordinary treasures would not have such potent effects.
Su Xi smiled upon hearing Ouyang Chu Ge's question and replied, "I just wanted to find a piece of iron. It's not anything special, so don't get your hopes too high."
Ouyang Chu Ge: "..."
Black Mountain Demon: "..."
They weren't three-year-old children anymore. Couldn't Su Xi be a bit more convincing when she lied next time?
Su Xi was feeling helpless but also powerless.
After all, Su Xi was the one they cared about; nothing else mattered to them.
Su Xi hadn't intended for them to believe her. Seeing that they were indeed heavily affected, she didn't force the issue. "If you really can't bear this pressure, perhaps I should go in alone."
The others had no issues with Su Xi; their accompanying her now would be of no use.
Since they would be of no help and might even cause problems, it was better for them not to get in the way.
Su Xi instructed them to wait there and then went to find the item.
She knew that due to the illusory effects of the phantom iron, it was difficult for other creatures to survive nearby, so Su Xi didn't need to worry about any danger.
The closer she got to the center of the phantom iron, the stronger the illusory effect became.
Thanks to the information shielding from her supercomputer, Su Xi was completely unaffected and quickly reached the phantom iron.
Su Xi had initially thought the phantom iron would be a small piece, but upon seeing a whole pile of phantom iron ore, her expression couldn't help but change.
If people in the interstellar world knew about such a large quantity of phantom iron ore, they would surely go mad and might even occupy this planet.
Phantom iron ore was an extremely precious commodity in the interstellar world.
Even for ordinary factions, possessing a single gram of phantom iron would be a sign of a powerful family's foundation, let alone this pile of phantom iron ore weighing several hundred catties.
This much phantom iron was more than what people in legendary cultivation places possessed.
"Holy crap, I'm so rich."
Su Xi exclaimed, swallowed, and began to frantically harvest the ore before her.
Phantom iron had the highest tensile strength in the interstellar world. Even a small addition would increase the toughness by tens of times. Moreover, it was highly malleable and could be forged into anything.
The strength of diamonds known on Earth was merely one ten-millionth of that of phantom iron.
Phantom iron was also an excellent material for manufacturing interstellar spacecraft and high-level battle armor, making it the most important hard currency in the interstellar realm.
Even the mere mention of phantom iron would trigger a bloody conflict.
Su Xi didn't miss a single piece of phantom iron, directly storing all of it in her supercomputer. After finishing, a smile spread across her face.
With so much phantom iron, all she needed was to collect some more materials to build the most powerful mecha in the interstellar world.
An individual possessing a mecha would have their strength amplified by a million times. Many abilities could also be realized.
This meant that even if her current cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul stage, with a mecha, she could directly contend with a cultivator at the Mahayana stage.
Furthermore, if her mecha was of a decent grade, it could directly annihilate Mahayana stage cultivators.
Although Mahayana stage cultivators possessed strong offensive power, their physical resilience was weak. Once hit, they would disintegrate like ordinary people.
The thought of the power she was about to gain instantly excited Su Xi.
With this item, combined with the supercomputer's operating system, she would be an invincible presence in the interstellar world, and she could finally eliminate her past enemies.
Su Xi instructed the supercomputer to refine the mecha's capabilities and then walked out.
The supercomputer had a degree of self-awareness and understood how to handle certain matters; she didn't need to worry about the rest.
Now that the phantom iron had been collected, the strange magnetic field might dissipate, and Ouyang Chu Ge and the others would no longer be affected.
As long as she could get them out, the problem would be solved.
However, after walking out for a short while, she suddenly heard the sounds of intense fighting, accompanied by mocking tones.
The fluctuations of battle were extremely powerful, and the immense energy made her frown.
Because amidst these combat fluctuations, she sensed a familiar aura.
Upon sensing this aura, Su Xi no longer hesitated and quickly accelerated her pace, heading outwards to understand what was happening.
No matter what problems were occurring, they had to be resolved.
Su Xi reached the cave entrance and saw Ouyang Chu Ge cornered by a group of people.
Facing attacks from five individuals simultaneously, he was on the verge of collapse. However, the group's intention was to trap Ouyang Chu Ge, not to kill him outright.
"Someone's coming out," suddenly, someone among the group surrounding Ouyang Chu Ge shouted.
Although they had many ways to kill Ouyang Chu Ge, they deliberately surrounded him without attacking, waiting for Su Xi. Their goal was to wait for Su Xi to appear.
Seeing Su Xi emerge, Li Ge sneered, "Your luck seems to be good, but since we're here, hand over what you've obtained."
They had endured so much hardship to emerge from the secret realm, and they couldn't let Su Xi claim the final fruits of their labor.
Su Xi looked at Li Ge and the others and smiled.
It truly was a case of searching everywhere in vain, only to find it easily.
She hadn't even gone to seek trouble with these people, and now they had come to her.
This was good; it saved her a lot of trouble.
Li Ge, seeing Su Xi still smiling, couldn't help but ask, "What are you smiling about?"