With one final push, Zhang Yiyi and Shi Feng finally reached the designated spot. As they jumped into the hollow, Zhang Yiyi felt the pressure completely disappear, and the mutated ants that had been chasing them ceased their pursuit.

"Alright, this little life of ours is safe for now."

Shi Feng, panting heavily, plopped down on the ground, speaking rapidly as if he were afraid of losing even a moment of time.

"Once you catch your breath, let's start mining! The Liuyun Kou is not easy to harvest; it's quite strenuous, and you need special tools for it. You've prepared those, right? We might have an hour, maybe two, but we never know when the pressure here will return, and we might need to risk moving again."

Shi Feng relayed everything he thought was important for Zhang Yiyi to know. Then, he immediately began mining, ignoring everything else.

Zhang Yiyi nodded, indicating she understood. Although they hadn't come here solely for mining, they had to at least grasp the basics of how to do it and have the tools ready.

However, it was clear that most of Zhang Yiyi's attention was not on this task but on the cultivators outside who were being mercilessly attacked by the mutated ants.

No wonder the Bai family had suffered so many casualties on their mining trips lately. Just entering here had already cost them nearly thirty percent of their number, and they still had ten days ahead of them to endure. If they managed to return with even twenty percent of their group, it would be considered a success.

What Zhang Yiyi didn't realize was that this time, the mutated ant swarm was even more frenzied than before, and there were far more mutated ants involved. Furthermore, there seemed to be an endless stream of them. However, most of the cultivators here were entering the mining area for the first time and were unaware of this.

"Stop looking! Hurry up and mine; life and death are in the hands of fate; we can't control so much," Shi Feng urged, noticing that Zhang Yiyi was still standing still, seemingly observing outside.

Those who were unprepared had become food for the mutated ants as soon as they entered, with no trace left behind. Some who were somewhat prepared were simply unlucky, surrounded by wave after wave of mutated ants.

Even if they were still desperately resisting, it wouldn't last long. Before long, they too fell amidst the screams, devoured bit by bit by the mass of ants, leaving no remnants behind.

Shi Feng felt that someone as naive as Zhang Yiyi, who had not experienced much hardship, would definitely be shaken to see so many people dying right in front of her. If her blood got heated, it was very likely she would impulsively rush out to save them.

So, Shi Feng had to remind her again that they didn't have the ability to save anyone and that even they might not be able to survive for ten days among these mutated ants.

"Oh, I understand."

Zhang Yiyi replied after hearing this, retracting her gaze and no longer watching the one-sided slaughter outside.

She didn't know that Shi Feng thought of her as a good person; otherwise, she would probably feel even more embarrassed.

She had never been interested in being a saint, and she certainly had a good sense of self-awareness.

"Brother Shi, the ants outside seem especially frenzied. It looks like they won't retreat any time soon."

Zhang Yiyi pulled out her tools and began to collect Liuyun Kou, imitating Shi Feng as she spoke, "We might not be able to last ten days here. Let's be more cautious; once we've harvested enough, we should leave early."

"Yeah, that works. But you need to move quickly; otherwise, this trip will have been for nothing."

Seeing that Zhang Yiyi didn't want to rush out to save anyone, Shi Feng let out a sigh of relief. His words didn't hinder his work, and he started moving more forcefully.

"This stuff is really hard to mine."

Zhang Yiyi tried it out and found that Liuyun Kou was indeed difficult to collect. No wonder the Bai family calculated their commission by weight: "If we leave in ten days and still haven't gathered the minimum amount required by the Bai family, won't they refuse to pay us with spirit stones?"

"Of course not. Generally, as long as you survive to leave in ten days, that little amount required by the Bai family can be achieved by anyone. So no one worries about that."

Shi Feng chuckled, "Of course, if you leave before the ten days are up and haven't met the quota, then the Bai family will certainly send you back in. So don't dwell on those thoughts; take advantage of this relatively calm time to gather as much as possible."

Zhang Yiyi felt her heart twitch. Did she really have to work as a mining laborer here for ten days?

If she were mining for herself, that would be one thing, but everything she collected was for the Bai family. What would she do with that meager commission?

Just as she was considering whether to call Maoqiu out to help mine the Liuyun Kou to at least show some effort, Shi Feng suddenly stopped and looked outside with a worried expression.

"This is really bad!"

Shi Feng's tone was laced with urgency and fear, a stark contrast to the hope and energy he had earlier while mining.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Yiyi asked, confused, as she looked outside and saw that not much had changed.

The only difference was that the number of cultivators still struggling outside was decreasing; either they had been completely surrounded and devoured by the ant beasts or, like Zhang Yiyi and Shi Feng, had found a temporary safe spot.

"This is bad. This wave of ants might be worse than any previous one!"

Shi Feng's voice trembled as he continued, without needing Zhang Yiyi to ask further. "Before we came, I took great care to learn about the conditions here from two friends who had safely returned from mining Liuyun Kou with the Bai family several times. But now it's clearly much worse than what they described!"

"If things were the same as before, the mutated ants attacking should have gradually retreated by now. But look outside; those mutated ants show no signs of retreating at all. Instead, it seems like they're gathering more. What are they planning to do? Are they waiting for the pressure in our temporary mine to be restored so they can rush in and completely annihilate all the cultivators inside?"

The more Shi Feng spoke, the more he felt that his conjectures were likely true. The increasing number of mutated ants seemed endless, and the open space around their location was diminishing.

"So, does that mean the danger in this mining area has escalated again?"

Zhang Yiyi's expression turned grave.

She could clearly see that what Shi Feng said might very well come true.

The mutated ants were evolving with each confrontation with the cultivators, becoming increasingly intelligent and powerful, harboring a deep-seated hatred for humans.

"Exactly. I had hoped that we could be among the two out of ten who survived. But now it seems that all of us might perish here. No amount of preparation will help!"

Shi Feng's tone was increasingly despondent. It was no wonder; the speed at which the mutated ant swarm was expanding was truly frightening. They now had fewer than a hundred cultivators left. What could they do against such overwhelming odds?

"If that's the case, let's stop mining! Brother Shi, let's charge out now!"

Zhang Yiyi made a decisive decision. Fortunately, she had enough talismans on her; she could burn her way through to create an escape route.

But this had to be done sooner rather than later; if they hesitated too long, they might attract the ant king, and it would be very difficult to carve out a blood path.

"No way. Even putting aside whether we can escape smoothly, even if we do get out, the Golden Core cultivators of the Bai family outside won't believe us at all. They'll force us back inside immediately."

Shi Feng flatly rejected Zhang Yiyi's plan. Compared to her, he was more familiar with how things worked in this tier: "If we get forced back, that will be our death. There will be no way to turn back."

"..."

Zhang Yiyi was momentarily stunned, unsure of what to say.

What kind of unfortunate decision had she made to come in here to be a cannon fodder mining laborer, only to be surrounded by mutated ants and unable to mine or escape?

"But if we don't leave now, we'll only have one way to die. After all, no matter how many trump cards we have left, they won't be enough to fill this sea of ants."

She frowned and said, "We should move out while they haven't completely sealed off this place and while the ant king hasn't appeared yet. We still have a slim chance of escaping. As for the Bai family's Golden Core cultivators outside, I have a way to convince them to believe us."

"Really?"

Shi Feng was clearly swayed this time. After all, who wouldn't want to seize a slim chance of survival compared to certain death?

But before he could fully make up his mind, reality made the decision for him.

With a loud "bang," it suddenly felt as if something in the entire mining area had been smashed to pieces.

Next, the temporary pit they were in cracked open, and one mutated ant after another emerged from below, heading straight for them.

"Dammit, run!"

Shi Feng had no time to think. He grabbed Zhang Yiyi and ran out, even though the outside was also a mountain of ants.

In a moment of distraction, Shi Feng nearly stumbled over his feet.

Fortunately, Zhang Yiyi pulled him back with a firm grasp, leading him to leap out of the cracked mine pit.

"The pressure has returned; no wonder they can get in here."

Shi Feng secretly thanked Brother Han for his quick reflexes at a critical moment.

At this point, he felt less fear than before; his mind was becoming clearer: "Run that way with me; there's an exit over there."

In the face of life and death, Shi Feng still didn't abandon Zhang Yiyi, whom he saw as a burden, to escape alone. While speaking, he threw a fireball at the mutated ants that were trying to block their path.

The fireball hit a mutated ant and immediately ignited, clearing a small area for them to escape.

However, as effective as this spell was, it consumed a lot of spiritual energy. After all, they were still quite far from the mine exit. He could not keep burning a path through the sea of mutated ants for long with his current energy levels.

"Brother Shi, use this!"

Zhang Yiyi pulled out a large handful of fire talismans, lightning talismans, and other powerful attack talismans, shoving them into Shi Feng's hands. She herself was holding a big stack and immediately threw one at any ant that rushed at them.

Although these were just low-level talismans, they were still quite effective against the level-one mutated ants. Each toss was accurate, whether it was burning, striking with lightning, or using water talismans; all worked well.

At this moment, they were constrained by the pressure of this unique place, so it was better to conserve energy whenever possible.

Zhang Yiyi didn't want to start using up her spiritual energy too quickly unless absolutely necessary.

"Brother Han, you're truly my great savior!"

Shi Feng hadn't expected Zhang Yiyi to prepare so many talismans and to hand them over without hesitation. This unexpected surprise was truly delightful.

In a life-or-death situation, he didn't have the luxury to consider how much each talisman was worth in spirit stones or whether he would need to repay her later.

The only thing Shi Feng could do was to use the talismans in the most reasonable way possible, so they could get to the mine exit as quickly as possible. If they could conserve enough energy to leave this hellish place, their chances of survival would increase significantly.

Seeming to read Shi Feng's mind, Zhang Yiyi casually said, "You don't need to hold back; if you run out, I still have more!"

Hearing this, Shi Feng nearly dropped the talismans in shock.

He had long felt that Zhang Yiyi was not like the poor cultivators they knew, but he hadn't realized she was so wealthy.

Not only did she casually produce so many talismans, but she also didn't need to conserve them because if they ran out, Brother Han had more.

For the first time, Shi Feng felt that poverty truly limited his imagination. If only he could one day be as wealthy as Brother Han; that would be quite something—though it still made him feel pain!

"Alright..."

But soon, Shi Feng regained his composure because, in a life-and-death situation, he couldn't afford to think too much or be distracted.

However, his rhythm in throwing the talismans became more confident than before, but a straightforward person like him could not waste the talismans just because they belonged to someone else.

In no time, the two of them coordinated effectively, blasting a bloody path through the throng of mutated ants.

As they drew closer to the exit, their speed increased.

"Help! Help!"

"Please, come help me! Take me with you!"

In the distance, cries for help echoed as many people, seeing Shi Feng and Zhang Yiyi escaping so easily, desperately rushed toward them, seeking a glimmer of hope to escape.

At that moment, all the temporarily safe mine pits in the area had been completely destroyed by the frenzied ant beasts, and every surviving cultivator was forced to fight back while trying to escape the encirclement of the mutated ants.

However, none of them had as many effective talismans as Zhang Yiyi. Once their life-saving items were used up, they could only rely on their cultivation to fight.

In the end, when they could no longer hold on, they became food for the ant beasts, their bodies almost completely devoured in an instant.

"Don't get distracted; we need to keep moving forward!"

It wasn't that Shi Feng was heartless, but at this moment, they truly lacked the instinct to save others. Delaying even a moment meant getting closer to death.

If they softened their hearts for even a moment and were held back, they would end up like those cultivators who had fallen to the ant beasts.

"Understood!"

Zhang Yiyi felt waves of emotion in her heart, but she answered without hesitation, continuing to cooperate as they sped toward the exit.

With more and more ants and fewer human cultivators, it was already a feat for her to keep herself and Shi Feng alive. At such a critical moment, she could not afford to make any foolish decisions.

The exit grew closer, and the talismans in their hands dwindled. The number of cultivators in the mine area continued to decline.

Gradually, Zhang Yiyi and Shi Feng could barely hear any more cries for help, only the dense swarm of mutated ants chasing them.

Just as they were about to reach the mine exit, a massive shadow suddenly enveloped them, causing all the talismans they threw to lose their effect entirely.

"Is this... the Ant King?"

Shi Feng looked up at the gigantic super ant, nearly as tall as a city wall, and felt like crying.

"It's the Ant King..."

Zhang Yiyi looked expressionlessly at the mutated ants that had surrounded them, now retreating because of the Ant King's appearance, allowing ample space for their king. She coolly added, "The Queen hasn't come yet."

Damn it, what kind of luck is this?

Zhang Yiyi's mind was already starting to curse.

They had made it this far, so close to the mine exit, with plenty of talismans to throw around, yet at this moment, an Ant King had to block their path.

Did they really need to treat them with such importance? They were just two insignificant cultivators; why did the Ant King have to come personally to see them off?

Fortunately, the Ant Queen was certainly busy giving birth in their lair; otherwise, if the supreme Ant Queen came personally to greet them, they would truly be doomed before they even knew it.

"There's an Ant Queen? Then why hasn't the Ant King been eaten by her?"

Shi Feng, seemingly stunned, blurted out a question.

Zhang Yiyi couldn't help but roll her eyes at Shi Feng: "Do you think they're ordinary ants? Hurry up and kill the King to escape, big brother!"

"Oh, oh!"

After being scolded by Zhang Yiyi, Shi Feng regained his composure and felt braver: "There's still hope if we give it our all; we can see the mine exit right in front of us. Just hope we don't kill the King and then have the Queen come as well; that would truly be..."

"Shut up, Shi Feng! You're worse than a crow's mouth; you've summoned the Queen before we even start fighting!"

Zhang Yiyi's expression darkened, and she suddenly tossed a sword behind her, directly countering the soundwave attack that charged toward them without a word.