I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 196 - 194: Xi Yuan Tournament (Part 20)

Live broadcast scene.

The host was stunned by the spectacle before them: "Master Zou, wh-what’s happening here? How did the General Ant emerge from the body of the Big Red Fierce Ant? Is it a parasite?"

Zou Huali shook his head: "I don’t know either. I’ve never seen this before, and there’s no record of it in the books."

Lin Zhian adjusted his glasses and said slowly: "In a group of Bee Star Beasts, if the Queen Bee responsible for reproduction is lost due to an accident, in order to continue the species, a male bee in the colony will quickly change gender to become the new Queen Bee. This phenomenon is called feminization."

"The behavioral patterns of insect Star Beasts show similarities, and the Ant Clan likely has similar feminization mechanisms as the bee clan. The trigger for this mechanism could very well be the complete extinction of a certain differentiated form of Red Fierce Ants."

"As we’ve just seen, Chu Yunyi killed all the General Ants. To ensure the stability of the colony, some Big Red Fierce Ants quickly changed form and developed into new General Ants."

"Of course, this is just my personal speculation without theoretical basis. Take it as a story!"

The host looked at Lin Zhian with admiration: "No, Master Lin, I think your guess makes a lot of sense. Maybe you’ve uncovered the truth!"

Lin Zhian sighed: "I wish I’d guessed wrong."

If the Red Fierce Ants really have such a bizarre developmental mechanism, then the tactic of capturing the thief by capturing the king won’t work. Team Tianyi can only fight to the death with the ant swarm until the last one is killed.

————

Southwest desert.

Shangguan Xian Yu, due to constantly releasing her Primordial Spirit and spiritual power to maintain the Defense Talisman Array, was now utterly exhausted, lying weakly in Bai Ling’s arms.

Without her support, the burden of maintaining the defensive formation fell entirely on Shangguan Lin Yuan, and the effectiveness of the Defense Talisman Array was greatly reduced.

In harsh temperature conditions, continuously outputting Primordial Spirit, even though Shangguan Lin Yuan was less affected by the constraints of the five elements, his body and spirit were nearing collapse at this moment.

Every muscle in his body ached with unbearable pain, the flow of his Primordial Spirit was sluggish, and his body had accumulated a large amount of Chaotic Power. If Bai Ling hadn’t been helping him relieve this power every half hour, Shangguan Lin Yuan might have lost control by now.

His body was constantly protesting, forcing him to stop channeling Primordial Spirit, but Shangguan Lin Yuan knew that if he stopped, the defensive formation would immediately collapse, and the Blood-sucking Vines gathered around them would certainly suck everyone dry within seconds.

The team’s last Energy Stone had been absorbed by him twenty minutes ago, and now he showed signs of Primordial Spirit depletion. It seemed they had truly reached the end of the road.

"Captain, I..." Shangguan Lin Yuan looked at Bai Ling with guilt, who returned his gaze with a faint smile, showing no sign of blame in her eyes.

"Lin Yuan, it’s alright, you’ve tried your best."

Actually, Bai Ling hadn’t been so nonchalant. The venue and rules of this competition were skewed in favor of the Desert Boat Team, and she didn’t doubt the intervention of the Xi Yuan event organizers.

The whole of Xi Yuan City had high hopes for them, expecting them to use the favorable conditions of this competition to mount a comeback. Unfortunately, the principal and event organizers calculated everything except for luck.

Chen Qi’s eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white, feeling utterly frustrated.

"Captain, are we really going to give up just like this?"

Bai Ling sighed: "We have no choice."

Running into Blood-sucking Vines made their luck exceptionally bad. Thanks to the persistence of the Shangguan siblings, they held on for so long before conceding, which restored a bit of dignity for the Desert Boat Team.

As the home team under the spotlight, failing to take the championship was already a disappointment, and now having to forfeit was an utter disgrace. But compared to death, forfeiting didn’t seem so unacceptable.

Even though Bai Ling’s decision was right, Chen Qi still couldn’t calm the turmoil in his heart; he felt the most useless in this match.

He was a martial master of Heavenly Armor Elemental Spirit, yet from the start of the competition to now, he had hidden inside the defensive formation like a turtle. Seeing Shangguan Xian Yu’s Primordial Spirit exhausted, Chen Qi wished he could transfer his useless Elemental Power to her, but that was just wishful thinking.

They were all teammates, and Bai Ling, more than anyone, understood how hard Chen Qi trained, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a chance to showcase his skills.

"Chen Qi, Lin Yuan can’t last long, don’t waste any more time."

Chen Qi nodded dejectedly, his palm extended, hovering over his chest. Shangguan Lin Yuan was also ready for teleportation. Bai Ling placed one hand on her Transmission Array, and the other on Shangguan Xian Yu.

The prone Shangguan Xian Yu’s gaze was glued to the ground, peering through the gaps in the Blood-sucking Vine ball, looking toward the distant desert, waiting for the teleportation to start.

Just as Bai Ling was about to activate the Teleportation Array, Shangguan Xian Yu’s weak voice floated up:

"Bai... Sister... there’s fire..."

Bai Ling frowned, fire? What did that mean, could Xian Yu’s condition have deteriorated to the point of experiencing hallucinations?

Shangguan Xian Yu weakly lifted her hand, pointing to that bright red spot under the dune. Everyone saw it, it really was fire! In the pitch-black night, that red was the most dazzling amidst the heavens and earth.

"Why is there fire here?" Bai Ling stretched her spiritual power to the limit, finally discovering the secret of the fire.

"Oh my God, it’s them! No—it’s impossible!"

When Bai Ling was surrounded by Blood-sucking Vines, she hadn’t shown such a horrified expression, making Chen Qi and Shangguan Lin Yuan feel unprecedented tension—could it be they encountered something more terrifying than the Blood-sucking Vines?

Chen Qi: "Captain, is it a Star Beast? What kind?"

"Red, Red Armored Scorpion—!"

"What? You must be kidding!"

Chen Qi was a native of Xi Yuan, and his knowledge of Desert Star Beasts was no less than Zou Huali’s. The Red Armored Scorpion was a Star Beast exclusive to the Earth Lungs Area and certainly wouldn’t appear in a desert, let alone a nighttime desert below minus ten degrees Celsius.

Bai Ling realized Chen Qi wouldn’t believe it, and if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t believe it either.

The massive body of the Red Armored Scorpion, combined with the weight it carried, created vibrations that spread far.

The Blood-sucking Vines that had gathered outside the defensive formation and continuously attacked them suddenly stopped, then abandoned the assault on the Desert Boat Team and rolled en masse toward the direction of the Red Armored Scorpion.

From being surrounded to the disappearance of the siege took only a few seconds. The external pressure dropped abruptly, causing Shangguan Lin Yuan to fall to the ground as if he’d punched into thin air, and the defensive formation collapsed with a crash.

With the Blood-sucking Vines no longer blocking their view, Chen Qi and the Shangguan siblings finally saw the true nature of the fire, their mouths agape.

Chen Qi: "Oh my god, it really is the Red Armored Scorpion!"

Shangguan Lin Yuan: "Am I seeing things, is there someone on the back of the Red Armored Scorpion?"

Chen Qi: "Holy crap! There really is someone!"

Shangguan Xian Yu: "..." Can you guys help me up first before getting carried away? Don’t freaking step on my head!

By now Bai Ling had recovered from the shock. Whatever method Li Xing and his team used to tame the Red Armored Scorpion, it was less important than the match.

They were now freed from entrapment, and the immediate task was to escape while Li Xing and his team diverted the Blood-sucking Vines.

"Stop staring and make haste in retreat! If the Blood-sucking Vines come back, we won’t have a second chance!"

The situation turned around miraculously, and just when they were preparing to forfeit, they were saved at the last second. Amidst the joy, everyone felt a renewed sense of determination.

Chen Qi carried Shangguan Xian Yu, taking the lead and running in the opposite direction of the Red Armored Scorpion. Bai Ling supported Shangguan Lin Yuan, following closely behind.