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Now that they had been discovered, Lin Yongming calmly announced his identity.
At the same time, he gripped his Thunder Blade and transformed into a bolt of lightning, appearing before the two fallen ones with the speed of teleportation.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Bright King Wave Formation!"
"Damn it, how did you find this place?!" The two, trapped within the wave formation, struggled. The Soul Emperor shouted in anger and shock.
"Do you really think no one would notice what you've been doing?" Lin Yongming said coldly.
"Break!" Without wasting any more words, Lin Yongming directly detonated the thunder beads.
"The Spider Queen will not let you get away with this!" The Soul Emperor, with his dying breath, pointed at Lin Yongming before collapsing.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Thrust Formation!"
"First Soul Skill: Death's Blade!"
Bibidong and the Blue Silver Emperor, leading Deacon Fang Yan and the Spirit Hall knights, quickly dealt with the other fallen ones.
"Twenty-six fallen ones in total: one Soul Emperor, one Soul King, four Soul Ancestors, and the rest averaging around the Great Soul Master level," Bibidong reported after finishing off the others.
"Xiao Ming, I heard the Soul Emperor mention a name before he died—Spider Queen. Did you catch that?" The Blue Silver Emperor approached Lin Yongming, puzzled.
"Yes, he called her the Spider Queen. But from his tone, it seems she's not here," Lin Yongming nodded, his expression serious.
"Who would have thought these fallen ones have formed an organization? Where did they go? Or are they hiding deep in these caves?" Bibidong chimed in.
"And we haven't seen any trace of the villagers. Even if they're dead, there should be remains," Bibidong added.
"Everyone, search the caves," Lin Yongming ordered.
"Wait, I noticed a peculiar smell on their bodies—a herbal scent," the Blue Silver Emperor crouched beside the Soul Emperor's corpse and sniffed.
"It's the smell of Poison-Dispelling Grass. A faint scent. I was wondering how these weaker fallen ones could survive in this naturally toxic valley. Turns out they had Poison-Dispelling Grass," the Blue Silver Emperor recalled the scent and realized something.
"Poison-Dispelling Grass?" Bibidong asked, confused.
"Yes. Generally, where there are natural toxins, there are corresponding antidotes nearby. It's a law of nature. Otherwise, the miasma wouldn't linger in the valley for so long without dispersing," the Blue Silver Emperor explained.
"Then could it be that the fallen ones placed the Poison-Dispelling Grass inside the caves, which is why the poison doesn't reach the cave entrances?" Bibidong suggested.
"Possibly," Blue Silver Emperor nodded.
"Let's go in. There might still be villagers alive, waiting for us to rescue them. Even if they're just remains, we should bring them back to their village. Let them return to their roots," Lin Yongming said.
"Let's go!"
There were eight caves, so the group split into eight teams and entered.
After about ten minutes of exploring, they discovered that all the cave passages connected to a massive cavern.
The cavern was empty, but there were stone rooms carved into the walls, filled with signs of habitation.
There were five stone rooms, and the largest one had a dressing table and women's clothing, clearly belonging to a woman.
"This room must belong to the Spider Queen," Blue Silver Emperor and Bibidong concluded after inspecting it.
"Esteemed guests, we've found many corpses here," Deacon Fang Yan's voice came from outside.
"Let's go!"
Lin Yongming and the others hurried to the stone room at the far end of the cavern. There, they found a larger space with a pile of corpses in the center. The ones at the bottom had turned to bones, while the ones on top were dried-up bodies.
Against the wall was a clean platform, clearly used by someone for meditation.
"Damn it, so many corpses!" Bibidong exclaimed in shock.
"Judging by the state, the ones on top must be the recently missing villagers, while the ones at the bottom have been dead for years," Blue Silver Emperor analyzed grimly.
"Sigh... Let's carry them out. Whether they died recently or long ago, leaving them in this dark, damp cavern is no way to rest in peace. Let's bury them outside the Hundred Insect Valley, under the sunlight," Lin Yongming sighed helplessly.
"Yes, esteemed guests!"
"Everyone, be careful when moving them. Handle them gently," Deacon Fang Yan instructed the group.
"By the way, I found some Poison-Dispelling Powder made from Poison-Dispelling Grass in one of the stone rooms. Let me sprinkle some on everyone," Blue Silver Emperor said, distributing the grayish-brown powder she had found.
With that, each person carried a corpse out of the cave. In total, there were over fifty bodies.
"Esteemed guests, there are fifty-six corpses in total. Elders, adults, and children are all here," Deacon Fang Yan reported, his voice filled with both sorrow and anger.
"Understood. The ones from the past month still have clothes on them. The villagers should be able to recognize the clothes their missing loved ones wore. Let's take those down the mountain. As for the others, bury them outside the valley," Lin Yongming sighed.
Lin Yongming realized that this was all he could do at the moment.
After more than two years of training, he had seen many ordinary people and even some soul masters fall victim to the fallen ones.
So, when they learned that the villagers had gone missing due to the fallen ones, they knew the chances of survival were slim.
"Yes, esteemed guests!"
As the group composed themselves and prepared to leave, small venomous spiders began to appear around them.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a Spirit Hall knight at the edge of the group let out a scream.
"Enemies! Prepare for battle!" Lin Yongming shouted.
Within the range of his mind's eye, eleven figures appeared. The leader was a woman, and her aura was overwhelmingly powerful, far surpassing that of a Soul Sage.
"To think that my home was raided just days after I left."
"Very well. All of you shall become nourishment for me!" A cold female voice echoed as a woman emerged from the thick, white miasma.
The woman wore dark purple and black clothing, her figure curvaceous and alluring. Her long, dark purple hair was tied up, and she wore a ghostly mask that revealed only her phoenix-like eyes, a small nose, and purple lips.
She stood at around 1.7 meters tall, similar in height to Bibidong and Blue Silver Emperor.
"Eighty-first level Soul Douluo!" Lin Yongming's expression turned grave. He could sense the eight soul rings pulsating around her.
Behind her were ten subordinates, also releasing their soul rings: two Soul Emperors, five Soul Kings, and three Soul Ancestors around level 45.
At the woman's feet were small, dark green spiders.
"Wait... this woman's martial soul!" Bibidong's eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost.
"It's the Devouring Soul Spider Emperor martial soul."
That's right. The so-called Spider Queen's martial soul was the same as Bibidong's second martial soul—the Devouring Soul Spider Emperor.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 262 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 105 power stones I will publish the next chapter.