Setting up a killing field with three other 'mage' type cultivator's when your enemies were stupid oversized bug's wasn't at all an issue. Honestly, the biggest issue was the fact that bulk of the monsters got in the way.
After they died uselessly trying to smash their way into the tunnel we were in. All the while, Dao Xuan, Dao Xu, and Dao Mengdi had sharp icicles shoot up from the floor and stab into their bodies.
All the while I was likewise sending beast flame enhanced exploding fireballs into their bodies from below at the same time. "These Diamond Gu are also useful in making some inner armor. But I imagine you ladies aren't interested in that?' I said with a teasing smile.
And even Dao Toubi to say the least all shuddered at my words. With Dao Xu and Dao Xuan in particular throwing me looks of revulsion at the thought.
As for the Gu Queen in the back, she just happened to die of being burnt alive after we sat back and filled the main boss room with fire.
"I am going to collect some reagents while you ladies check out the boss chest." I said with a wave towards the big glowing broze chest. A much better chest then the iron tier chest I found last time for sure.
The girls smiled and happily ran over to check the loot but all the while... I instead went straight towards the Gu Queen! And after collecting some chitin powder to act as a reagent for some alchemy experments.
The real reason I was fucking with the bugs in general was the Gu Queen's Gu Controlling Gem that was embedded in it's skull.
I smiled as the dark purple gem fell into my hand. And I could feel my qi all but naturally sinking into it as the girls happily cried out as one of the rewards was a blue robe that clearly enhanced water based qi spells.
I slipped the Gu Controlling Gem into my farming space to make sure no one else could find it. And then Dao Xuan hurried over with a difficult expression as she said helplessly.
"Jake... Do you want these Gu Egg's? We don't know what these three Gu Eggs are. And we also don't know anything about or want to use Gu either."
'The Ice and Water Mother/Child Gu Heaven Worms. And the Heaven Piercing Wasp Gu. These three Gu are going to be extremely valuable for me!' I thought as I carefully accepted the three insect eggs.
The Heaven Piercing Wasp Gu egg was covered in black and red scales and just generally looked like some soon to be monster. While the Water and Ice, Heaven Worms were attached together with a seeming umbilical cord, with the thicker end leading to the water Heaven Worm.
Because with water, ice obviously couldn't exist so its nature as the 'Parent' worm was obvious. Though as I looked at the water and ice worm, I looked back over at Dao Xuan and I recalled her future overpowered chance.
And I realized that if I gave her the ice gu in particular, it would balance the overpowering fire energy she would be cultivating with that phenex and dragon union cultivation art she would find.
"Yeah. I will need to research it a bit. But I am sure I can make use of it." I said slowly.
Because even if the Water, Heaven Worm could boost my weaker water spirit root greatly. I had read too much Fate Stay Night Fanfics, and the idea of taking a bug into my body and making it a symbiotic relationship?
Ugh...
At least I wasn't in the world of Revered Insanity, which seemingly ran entirely by stuffing Gu into your body to use said Gu's abilities.
But then Dao Mengdi spoke up with a harsh frown. "Wait, we killed the boss monster. We emptied the dungeon's boss treasure chest. Where is the portal out of here?!"
Here came the real boss as it were.
I looked around as well, along with walking towards the end of the room where the exit gate typically was supposed to be behind the dungeon treasure chest. And I said helplessly. "Girls... With how this dungeon has exploded in power, it clearly meaning to go beyond a mere dungeon break and maybe even possibly break through to a Golden Core level dungeon. What if there is a hidden room?"
Because while Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment dungeons tested a cultivator's will to kill and general combat/survival skills. The Golden Core dungeons and above were clearly focused on testing a cultivator's power of observation and deductive ability.
Not only were higher-ranked dungeons far, far larger than these lower-ranked dungeons. But it wasn't just the stronger monsters that would lead to a cultivator's death in them. Often it was in hiding the true tunnel out of the dungeon behind some illusion, many cultivators were just worn down after days, if not weeks of constant monster attacks.
The four girls having come from a cultivator family themselves, quickly picked up what I meant. With Dao Mengdi quickly creating a heavy mist as she sat down and said with an appreciative smile.
"Good observation, Jake. Give me a moment, this spell is called the Mist of Feeling, which was specifically made to find such illusions and hidden rooms."
Dao Xuan who was still beside me then happily explained. "The Mist of Feeling spell is like a precursor to divine senses that Nascent Souls can use. It basically attaches a tiny bit of awareness in the mist you create so you can feel if the mist goes outside of where its supposed to actually fit."
Then Dao Xu said with a slight frown as she came over to give Dao Mengdi space to focus. "There is a very notable problem with the spell in that it always causes extreme mental exhaustion after use."
Though unlike the 'bad' timeline in which Dao Xu and her were the last surviving sisters at this point. Dao Mengdi was both in a much better mental space and still having a good deal more qi altogether.
So while it only took a few minutes for her to find the hidden entrance point. She wasn't looking dead on her feet afterwards, even as she held a piece of summoned ice to soothe her obviously hurting mind.
Unlike if were you were syncing your mind with a treasure like an alchemy cauldron or something like that. The human mind simply was not made to be able to process the informational scan of hundreds of meters of material information constantly bombarding the mind.
Dao Mengdi pointed towards a part in the wall and Dao Toubi slashed a hole through the thin stone wall with her sword. Which revealed a new tunnel as was expected.
And as we entered the tunnel I spoke out firmly. "You girls be careful. As again, this is likely going to lead to another boss monster which guards the exit."
I was actually a bit worried about the Void Mantis. As it was truly only a bit larger then a human so it could dive into our tunnel to attack us. So we coudn't cheese the fight at all.
But also the Void Mantis itself was extremely fast, could teleport, and could coat it's large mantis blades with spatial energy. So any 'normal' defense would be utterly worthless in front of that.
"We should be fine Jake. After all, with your aid in leading us we have turned this disaster into a trial that will push our cultivation ever further. To say nothing of the better rewards from the chests we got." Dao Mengdi said a throaty chuckle.
But I was inwardly bemoaning how this damned bloodline with the name Dao was seemingly trying to tempt fate. To spit in the face of the 'Dao' they took the name of.
The woman who was supposed to die in this damned room shoudn't be the one setting the death flags!