Volume One: The Soul-Guiding Gourd and the Flame of the Spirit Lantern Chapter 88: A Battle with No Retreat

A massive shadow flashed past.

A black worker ant, over twenty meters long, now stood before Gu Mo.

With a sharp whoosh, a long, glinting tongue shot out, cold and swift. After a slicing sound split the air, an ant’s head, weighing several tons, crashed down at Gu Mo’s feet.

The stench was overwhelming, mingled with pale yellow fluids pooling on the ground, enough to turn one’s stomach.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The ant’s severed head glared at Gu Mo with black and bloodshot eyes. Its two steel-like mandibles, over a meter long, snapped open and shut relentlessly. Even its scythe-shaped mouthparts rasped and screeched, as if desperate to grind Gu Mo into pulp.

Gurgle, gurgle!

The little gluttonous Furball yelped, as if warning Gu Mo to be cautious.

In an instant, Gu Mo clenched his teeth, steeled his heart, and gripped the Sky-Measuring Ruler, charging at the black worker ant ahead.

With a few swift steps, weaving through the Seven Stars Heavenly Dipper footwork, Gu Mo darted beneath another black worker ant.

Yet this ant, eyes fixed on the ring of fire ahead, was eager to lunge. Within the fiery ring, Xiao Yulou brandished his sword fingers, fending off the pestering ants.

Thwip, thwip, thwip—

Three arrows whistled through the air, and three enormous black flying ants, trailing dense smoke, plummeted to the ground.

Boom!

Waves erupted in the pool of ant fluids.

Gu Mo, Xiao Yulou, and Li Hetang—the three cautious men who still had cards up their sleeves—were locked in a fierce, exhilarating battle.

If they didn’t deal with these vermin quickly, who knew when reinforcements might arrive?

The scene shifted.

Suddenly, Gu Mo summoned all his strength, swinging the Sky-Measuring Ruler in a wide, powerful arc.

A crisp crack sounded.

Before him, a massive black ant leg was smashed clean off, and a torrent of thick, pale yellow fluid spurted everywhere.

A terrifying shriek echoed as Gu Mo broke two more of the behemoth’s legs.

Snap, snap!

The wounded ant thrashed its steel mandibles in vain, but due to its size and clumsiness, it couldn’t reach Gu Mo.

Though Gu Mo seemed tiny and insignificant before the ant, his size meant agility.

Boom, boom, boom—

The steel jaws snapped at Gu Mo, the thick black legs trying to crush him beneath their weight.

When Gu Mo struck another leg with the ghostly fire-wreathed Sky-Measuring Ruler, the monstrous ant finally lost its support and crashed heavily before him.

With a sudden leap, Gu Mo landed atop the ant’s back.

Brandishing his ruler, he hacked through the tough bristles covering the ant’s body, finally reaching its head.

At that critical moment, the black worker ant thrashed its enormous head, howling hysterically.

The deafening noise battered Gu Mo’s eardrums.

Enraged, Gu Mo gritted his teeth, grasped the Sky-Measuring Ruler with both hands, and drove it down with all his might.

Thud!

The iron-hard ant skull was pierced by the green-flamed ruler, leaving a gaping, gruesome hole. The massive black worker ant was slain.

A hiss sounded.

Caught off guard, Gu Mo was drenched head to toe by the yellowish ant fluid.

Instantly, wisps of white smoke rose from his body.

A sizzling sound, mingled with a sharp, acrid stench, enveloped him.

Seeing this, Gu Mo’s heart clenched with dread.

“Damn it, this stuff is formic acid!”

Sizzle, sizzle—

Panic-stricken, Gu Mo had no idea how to respond.

“Shit, am I going to be corroded to death?”

He considered rolling on the ground, but worried that might only spread the corrosive liquid further.

While Gu Mo was frantically weighing his options, a swift swish sounded—Furball the glutton simply swept away the formic acid with a flick of its tongue, sparing the ghostly fire around Gu Mo.

Stunned, tears welled in Gu Mo’s eyes. He clutched Furball, pouring out his heartfelt gratitude.

“Furball, as long as I have food, you’ll never have to settle for just soup!”

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

The deep bond between master and companion blossomed like a seedling sprouting.

Suddenly, atop the corpses of black worker ants, Xiao Yulou, still fighting fiercely, found a moment to shout out a curse.

“The fire’s at our backs and you’re still flirting?!”

Hearing this, Gu Mo could only grab his Sky-Measuring Ruler and plunge back into the fray.

Thud!

Just as Gu Mo was about to repeat his tactics, a black worker ant head-butted him, sending him flying.

The violent impact made Gu Mo feel as if his organs had been struck by cannon fire. The wind roared past his ears.

Hurtling through the air like a shooting star, Gu Mo vanished from the battlefield.

Watching this, Xiao Yulou was left dumbfounded, while Li Hetang, hidden in the shadows with bow in hand, stifled a laugh.

The scene shifted again.

Still airborne, Gu Mo spat blood, his face twisted in misery.

“Well, looks like I’ll be flying for dozens of meters before I stop.”

Sometimes, a man’s intuition is spot on.

After an indeterminate time, Gu Mo crashed into something hard.

Splurt!

A gush of clear green aloe juice surrounded him as he coughed up blood.

Gasping for air, ignoring the pain wracking his body, Gu Mo stretched out, swimming desperately for the surface.

After several seconds, slick with aloe juice, he finally emerged.

Huff—cough, cough!

Kneeling on the ground, Gu Mo spat another mouthful of blood, then greedily gulped the fresh air.

Only then did he realize: the ant’s blow had knocked him back to where he started. Furball the glutton clung faithfully to his shoulder.

After a few coughs, Gu Mo wiped the aloe juice from himself and Furball.

A chill breeze passed, and a thin layer of aloe skin formed over him.

By the faint glow from the aloe (for it gave off a soft light), Gu Mo spotted, not far away, a box of cigarettes.

Grinning widely at the sight of this treasure, Gu Mo strode over.

The moment he picked up the pack, he knew it belonged to Li Hetang.

Exhausted from the brutal fight, Gu Mo held a cigarette to his mouth but hesitated.

Blood at the corner of his lips stained the pristine filter.

As the scene zoomed in, a wicked little devil whispered in his left ear.

“Smoke it! Smoke it! Isn’t rest what you need?”

Gu Mo grinned and opened the pack. To his delight, Li Hetang had left a lighter inside. Perfect!

In his right ear, a pure little angel spoke up.

“Your two companions are still fighting. Are you sure this is right? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

Gu Mo wondered if he’d been hit so hard he was hallucinating.

The next instant, he reached toward his crotch—thank goodness the ant hadn’t knocked the stuffing out of him. That would have been truly humiliating!

Should he smoke or not?

At last, with a deep breath, Gu Mo flicked the lighter. The two little figures vanished.

Click.

A flame danced orange and gold.

This wasn’t just light—this was holy radiance!

Huff—

A fragrant wisp of smoke drifted in.

It wasn’t merely smoke; it was divine salvation.

With a deep inhalation, Gu Mo felt a profound sense of comfort, letting the tar and nicotine surge through his lungs.

Yet, remembering his two companions still locked in battle, he felt a twinge of guilt.

So, cigarette dangling from his lips, he grabbed the Sky-Measuring Ruler and strode back toward the fight.

Soon, peering from behind a boulder, he saw the battlefield engulfed in smoke and flames—but the struggle was nearing its end.

Xiao Yulou and Li Hetang had dispatched many ants.

All around, heaps of ant corpses oozed pale yellow fluids, pooling into lakes. Yet not a trace of human blood could be seen.

Xiao Yulou’s Daoist robe remained immaculate, not a speck of dust. Li Hetang’s combat suit, though splashed with yellow acid, seemed untouched beneath the wisps of smoke—not a hint of corrosion.

Seeing this, Gu Mo felt a pang of jealousy.

“Damn it—those two didn’t even tear their clothes?!”

With three black worker ants remaining, Gu Mo lit another cigarette, climbed atop a boulder, and laughed boisterously toward the battlefield.

“Hahaha—Hu Hansan is back again!”

With that, he charged boldly forward.

The three, fighting with their backs to the wall, each displayed their unique skills.

In mere seconds, the last three ants were defeated.

Boom—

Exhausted, the trio slumped together, smoking in weary camaraderie.

As the tension ebbed, pain flooded their bodies.

They exchanged grimaces, yet a sense of shared survival bound them.

After a long pause, Gu Mo turned to Li Hetang, curiosity in his eyes.

“Hetang, what’s the deal with your gear? Why didn’t you use it when we fought the scarecrow?”

Li Hetang, cigarette in mouth, forced a wry smile.

“This is called the ‘Nano Symbiote Armor,’ or ‘Polar Combat Suit.’ Made from polar spider silk and meteorite metal. It can greatly boost my combat power for a short time. As for…”

Before he could finish, Xiao Yulou raised an eyebrow and teased from behind.

“What’s there to hide now? Just admit you forgot!”

Li Hetang shrugged in embarrassment, conceding the point as he gathered his arrows.

Gu Mo’s eyes gleamed as he eyed the armor.

“Are there many of those in the company? If there’s a spare, could I get one too?”

Li Hetang laughed bitterly and waved his hand.

“Mr. Gu, only five were ever made. I only have one on special grounds. I’ve never even seen the other four.”

Hearing this, Gu Mo’s face darkened with envy.

Of the three, Gu Mo alone was in rags. How he longed for an indestructible suit of his own.

After a brief rest, Li Hetang surveyed the perilous darkness, uncertain where the path ahead lay.

In such circumstances, gathering intelligence became paramount.

With that in mind, Li Hetang strode to a nearby ant corpse. Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou watched with curiosity, wondering what he was up to.

Suddenly, Li Hetang knelt and placed his hand on the head of a black flying ant.

A blue glow shimmered, and a flood of memories flashed before Li Hetang’s eyes.

An ant’s eyes are composed of hundreds of individual units—a compound structure—meaning their resolution is far inferior to a human’s. Their vision is only about ten percent as sharp as ours. The world is clear to us, but to ants, it’s a blur of shapes. Yet their field of vision is much wider.

The memory images left Li Hetang reeling.

After a moment, having glimpsed part of the map, Li Hetang staggered over to Gu Mo.

“Gentlemen, within this microscopic world, the land for a hundred miles is like a dense thicket. I can’t find any way out!”

Hearing this, Gu Mo’s face twisted in horror, cold sweat pouring down.

“Shit!”

Suddenly, Xiao Yulou’s Daoist bearing turned grave. He frowned, shushed them, and pressed his ear to the ground.

After a moment’s listening, his face turned ashen.

“Reinforcements are coming!”

At that, Gu Mo and Li Hetang clenched in terror, their bodies tensing in fright…