Qin Shilei frowned and said, "This leader is indeed a five-star golden beetle."
An Qian suggested, "How about I go and try to subdue it?"
Qin Shilei shook his head. "The golden beetle's cultivation is higher than yours, and it is protected by many other beetles. We don't need to take such a risk for now."
He paused and added, "First, go catch a silver beetle and see if you can succeed in contracting it."
"Alright."
An Qian said and unfurled her Phoenix Wings, flying towards a silver beetle a few hundred meters away.
As soon as she left the coverage of the stealth array, she immediately attracted the attention of the many beetles at the bottom of the valley, who all looked up and launched energy attacks at her.
Several large fleshy masses nearby even opened their huge mouths, aiming at An Qian in the air.
An Qian was like a bolt of lightning, arriving in the blink of an eye before her chosen target, a silver beetle.
She clenched her right fist and threw several punches, each hitting the silver beetle's head.
Before the silver beetle could react, it was instantly knocked unconscious by An Qian's blows.
Before the surrounding beetles could react, An Qian grabbed the silver beetle and flew back towards Qin Shilei and the others.
"Quick, here."
As An Qian flew closer, Qin Shilei suddenly canceled the effect of the stealth array, revealing himself.
Then, he made the stealth array function again, making the three of them and the silver beetle disappear from the eyes of the pursuing beetles.
Qin Shilei took the silver beetle and said, "Let's leave here first."
Not long after, the three of them had traveled more than a thousand meters away from the valley.
Qin Shilei threw the silver beetle onto the ground, then took out a Contract Scroll and tore it open, throwing it at the beetle.
The Contract Scroll transformed into a white light that enveloped the silver beetle.
As the white light entered the silver beetle's body, Qin Shilei's spiritual power immediately connected with the beetle.
With the help of the Contract Scroll, Qin Shilei's spiritual power broke through like a sharp arrow into the depths of the silver beetle's consciousness, preparing to leave a mark of control on it.
The silver beetle's spiritual power was not as strong as Qin Shilei's, and it had also been knocked unconscious by An Qian, so it was unable to mount any effective resistance.
Just as Qin Shilei was about to fully subdue the silver beetle, a golden phantom of a beetle suddenly appeared in the silver beetle's mind.
As soon as the phantom of the golden beetle appeared, it roared and charged at Qin Shilei's spiritual power.
Qin Shilei's spiritual power shot towards the phantom like an arrow.
As expected of a golden-tier beast, the golden beetle's spiritual power was even higher than Qin Shilei's.
However, what appeared in the silver beetle's mental sea at this moment was merely a mark it had left behind, and it was no match for Qin Shilei.
It was quickly shattered and disappeared into fragments.
Just as Qin Shilei was about to leave his spiritual imprint in the silver beetle's mind, the silver beetle's mental sea suddenly trembled violently. Immediately afterward, his spiritual power was ejected from the silver beetle's mental sea.
Looking down, the silver beetle had already died with blood flowing from all seven orifices.
At this moment, Zhang Xiaoli's anxious voice reached his ears, "Brother Qin, that golden beetle is charging at us."
"I'll go and meet this golden beetle." An Qian couldn't help but want to test her current strength.
Floating Light, Fleeting Shadow!
Her figure instantly crossed over a hundred meters, appearing on the path of the golden beetle's advance.
In the eyes of Qin Shilei and the others, An Qian's fiery red figure instantly became entangled with the golden beetle's massive body.
Dust billowed, and sword energy crisscrossed.
The sickle beetles and silver beetles around them suffered terribly.
They were either cut in half by An Qian's sword energy or crushed into a pulp by their leader's charge.
Zhang Xiaoli asked with some worry, "Brother Qin, won't An Qian be in trouble?"
Qin Shilei frowned and said, "An Qian should be fine. It's just that she has only recently advanced to the golden tier. Her cultivation is not only weaker than the opponent's, but she also hasn't fully grasped her own strength. She probably can't defeat the golden beetle."
As Qin Shilei had said, An Qian was being pushed back by the golden beetle.
Her sword energy did little damage to the incredibly defensive golden beetle, but the Golden Wheel Slash that the golden beetle unleashed was extremely lethal to her.
Moreover, she had to defend against other beetles charging from the surroundings, so she quickly fell into a disadvantage.
An Qian once again used Floating Light, Fleeting Shadow to retreat twenty meters away and raised her long sword.
Dragon Soaring Phoenix Dancing!
A lifelike phantom of a phoenix, dozens of meters tall, pierced through the sword.
As An Qian slashed forward, the phantom of the phoenix, burning with purple flames all over its body, fiercely charged at the approaching golden beetle.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, like two high-speed vehicles colliding, a deafening sound erupted.
The golden beetle's massive body was also forced back several meters, and a deep sword mark appeared on its body.
The flames that came with the phoenix phantom instantly spread onto the opponent's body, engulfing the golden beetle in an instant.
The golden beetle's body flashed with golden light, quickly extinguishing the flames on its body.
Dragon Soaring Phoenix Dancing: A golden-tier ultimate move from Phoenix Dancing in Nine Heavens, forming a giant phoenix phantom that attacks the enemy.
Perhaps intimidated by the power of An Qian's move, the golden beetle actually opened its mouth and let out a high-pitched roar.
Instantly, all the beetles in the entire valley became active and surged towards An Qian.
An Qian unleashed three consecutive moves of Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, killing thousands of beetles.
However, the number of beetles in the valley did not seem to decrease at all, and she was unable to get close to the golden beetle that had retreated into the distance again.
Seeing that more than half of her vital energy was depleted, An Qian had no choice but to use Void Walking to leave her original position and return to Qin Shilei and the others.
The three of them used the stealth array to hide in a new location.
"If it were a one-on-one fight, I could still try to kill the golden beetle. In this bug valley, I can't kill it at all, let alone capture it," An Qian said with a frown.
Qin Shilei comforted her, "It's okay, we'll deal with it when we're stronger."
He paused and added, "Let's go catch another silver beetle and try."
With that, he handed the stealth array to Zhang Xiaoli and appeared beside a silver beetle with a single teleportation.
The silver beetle, caught completely off guard, was quickly injured by Qin Shilei, then knocked unconscious and brought back.
"An Qian, you contract it this time." Qin Shilei took out a Contract Scroll and handed it over.
One minute later, this silver beetle also died with blood flowing from all seven orifices, and the golden beetle once again charged over, following the disappearing spiritual imprint.
Qin Shilei said helplessly, "Let's go back first."
With that, the three of them returned to the cave with the spatial rift through the gaps between the numerous bugs.
Zhang Xiaoli suggested, "Brother Qin, why don't we blow up this cave and bury the spatial rift underground? Then the bugs won't be able to find the spatial rift and go to Blue Star, right?"
Qin Shilei shook his head. "I've tried blocking the exit on Blue Star twice before, but I couldn't stop these bugs."
"So even if we destroy this place, the bugs will dig another passage."
"If we could capture the golden beetle and make it lead the bugs in the bug valley to guard this spatial rift, then it would be foolproof."