A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu Transmigrates into a Book, the Dao Ancestor of Rein

Chapter 189 The Migrating Swarm of Fire Ants, the Underestimated Foundation of the Void Heaven Palace, and the Annoying Duo
Pulling himself back to reality, Han Li faced the giant, about twenty feet tall, formed from the swarm of fire ants, and his smile grew even brighter.

"I'm a little unsure about dealing with a true Nascent Soul cultivator, but as for dealing with you..."

next moment.

He unleashed his full spiritual power.

It was released without any reservation.

Even the restrictions placed here were triggered, and ripples spread through the void.

With the arrival of the oppressive aura, it suddenly acted upon the Cyclops formed by the Queen Ant summoning hundreds of thousands of Ironfire Ants.

The giant, which was originally extremely imposing, suddenly showed signs of cracking.

The giant's once-perfect, metallic-sheen armor cracked open in patches, disintegrating once more into dazed and disoriented fire ants.

Not only that.

Han Li also took out more than a dozen soul bottles, which were specially used to seal away Yin spirits and ghosts, from his storage bag. Then he poured out more than a dozen magic spheres wrapped in sealing talismans.

"Let me show you another way to make the Gold-Eating Insects fail."

He threw more than a dozen sealed orbs far away, and they quietly unsealed in mid-air. Immediately afterward, a series of shrill screams echoed throughout the area.

More than ten high-level soul-snatching flying spirits all emitted soul-snatching ghostly sounds.

A haunting, seductive voice, capable of captivating the soul and bewitching the heart.

The swarm of iron fire ants, which had been crushed by the divine sense of a great cultivator, immediately fell from mid-air in swarms, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Even the three-colored gold-devouring insects cultivated by the original owner, whose individual strength was even greater than that of the iron fire ants, could not withstand a single soul-snatching ghostly sound, and tens of thousands of them lost their fighting power as a result. How could these iron fire ants, which were also far from reaching maturity, be any different?

"come back."

enough.

Several powerful magical hands materialized, and Han Li captured the soul-snatching flying spirits of high-level ghosts one by one. After sealing them, he put them back into the soul bottles for safekeeping.

As the saying goes, one thing reduces another.

If it were any other high-level being, even if they screamed their lungs out, the Ironfire Ants would not be affected in the slightest.

But the soul-snatching ghostly voice is different.

This ghostly sound happens to be one of the nemesis of immature spirit insects.

It has a weakness critical strike effect that is ten times or even dozens of times greater than that of most spirit insects, including the Gold-Eating Insect and the Iron Fire Ant.

This is not.

Hundreds of thousands of fire ants were attacked by the ghostly sounds of a dozen or so soul-snatching flying spirits. Their bodies were unharmed, but their souls were severely damaged. The vast majority were knocked to the ground by the ghostly sounds, their bodies convulsing and temporarily losing their efficient physical coordination.

Others, though not severely disrupted, were scattered and disorganized, barely holding on.

The Gold-Eating Insects, which had been isolated and protected by a wall formed by the divine sense of the great cultivator, no longer lay dormant but waited for an opportunity to emerge, swarming out like a tide.

In the blink of an eye, the insect clouds, which had been in a defensive formation, transformed into a torrent of attacking tentacles.

"Buzzing..."

The high-frequency vibration of the wings was extremely rapid.

The gold-devouring insects pounced on it and feasted once again.

Those who stubbornly resist will be dealt a heavy blow.

Moreover, it wasn't just the Gold-Eating Insects that moved; Han Li moved as well.

With a flash, it passed through the swarm of insects and arrived in front of the stumbling queen ant, who was still trying to command the fire ant colony. Then, a magical hand reached out and snatched the queen from among the hundreds of loyal fire ants that were desperately protecting her.

Then, various sealing talismans were thrown out in a dazzling display, and various sealing techniques left behind afterimages.

"Take a nap. When you wake up, it will all be over."

As they spoke, they took out a spherical object the size of an egg, shimmering with a strange black light, from inside the queen ant's body.

Immediately, they captured the queen ant.

They also collected over a thousand fire ants.

Just as the two were about to leave.

Sudden.

Han Li seemed to remember something and stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong, husband?"

Han Li narrowed his eyes, then pondered for a moment and explained, "The Ironfire Ant colony has been breeding here for at least tens of thousands of years, so the queen ant must have existed for a long time. If it takes tens of thousands of years to accumulate such a small amount of refining crystals, the efficiency is really too low."

Yuan Yao thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up: "Does my husband mean that there are such precious and rare materials here?"

"Just look and you'll find out. This area isn't that big anyway."

Han Li smiled.

I used my divine sense to investigate again.

After discovering that his divine sense could not penetrate deep into the underground of the Iron Desert, he simply summoned more than a dozen Iron-Armed Beasts.

The monsters are really good at physical fitness and are very resilient. Even in this place with extremely high temperatures, they can withstand it for a short time.

So he took out the crystal, waved it in front of the Iron-Armed Beasts, and let them smell it before giving his orders:

"Go find something similar underground nearby."

If there are still top-tier materials like refining crystals underground, these Iron-Armed Beasts should be able to obtain them, as long as they are not too far away.

The big guys received the order, remembered the taste, and each chose a direction to use earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique).

The level four Iron-Armed Beast already possesses the ability to burrow into the earth.

Although it wasn't a particularly powerful intermediate-level earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of secret technique used in Chinese martial arts), it was still easy to dive hundreds of feet underground to investigate.

The queen fire ant would never hide herself that deep underground.

It's at most ten feet away from the Black Desert ground.

time flies.

Three hours passed by in a blink of an eye.

The Iron-Armed Beasts returned one after another.

When Han Li saw the three crystals in front of him, each the size of a goose egg or a peanut, his mouth stretched almost to his ears.

Can't hold it down.

"so close!"

I almost missed a truly great opportunity!

Crystals are materials that the queen ant consumes daily by eating minerals and then regurgitates them into her stomach.

When too much time has passed and the ant has accumulated too much waste in its abdomen with no use for it, the queen ant has no choice but to excrete this difficult-to-absorb "waste".

In other words, it's excrement.

Each queen ant could easily live for ten thousand years.

Over tens of thousands of years, it would be a disservice to the title of queen ant if she didn't produce dozens of clumps of droppings.

"It's impossible that there were only two queen ants in the Black Desert after the Ice Soul Fairy. There must have been others before that. When those queen ants died, the crystals they produced during their lifetime must have remained here."

This is the easiest thing to overlook.

However, his time was limited this time.

This black desert is also very vast.

It is unrealistic to continue the inch-by-inch, thorough search.

We'll have to come back again.

"This Void Heaven Palace is indeed a treasure trove of opportunities."

Han Li couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The Ice Soul Fairy allowed this place to settle for sixty to seventy thousand years, greatly increasing its value. However, its potential value is still severely underestimated by all parties in the Chaotic Star Sea.

After that, he continued to explore this black desert, launching a massive sweep.

He showed no pity for the ordinary fire ants, feeding them almost entirely to the gold-eating beetles.

That is, the queen ant, whom he cherishes dearly.

On the third day, he encountered another super-large ant colony with a queen in charge of overall command.

First, they imitated the cat's movements and subdued the ant colony, obtaining a small piece of refining crystal the size of a fingernail. Then, they had the Iron-Armed Beasts explore the underground, digging deep into the nearby Black Desert to see if there were any other refining crystals they had missed.

Unsurprisingly, I got two more.

Great harvest.

But just as Han Li was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and abruptly stopped.

"What's wrong, husband?"

"Yuan Yao, do you think the Iron Fire Ant colonies might be like the cattle and sheep on the grasslands of the mortal world, not staying in one place but wandering and moving around?"

Han Li asked in return, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Does my husband mean that the fire ant colony will migrate?"

After understanding Han Li's meaning, Yuan Yao's eyes widened.

Han Li nodded slightly.

"Yes, migration."

A colony of fire ants with a queen may only stay in one area for hundreds or thousands of years.

After enough time has passed, especially when the population has multiplied to an extremely large number, they will lead the majority of their population to migrate to other places.

“Look, don’t those dozens of small and medium-sized fire ant colonies we encountered earlier look like branches left behind after the fire ant colonies migrated?”

"picture."

very similar!

It is practically true!
If a colony of millions of fire ants had remained in one small area without migrating, the iron ore deposits in that black desert area would have been completely depleted over tens of thousands of years.

However, neither in this area nor in the rest of the Black Desert did the iron ore be completely devoured by the fire ant swarms.

This is enough to show that fire ant colonies migrate, with most of the colony members moving to areas with richer iron ore deposits to reproduce and thrive.

This is the instinct for life to reproduce.

Fire ants are no exception.

"Husband, do you suspect that there are also crystals buried in the area where those small colonies of iron fire ants live?"

"Would you like to know if you try it?"

If the large and small ant colonies scattered across the Black Desert are all branches left behind by the queen ant during her migration, there will most likely be crystals underground.

Han arrived at the next swarm of fire ants.

...

Fourth day.

The two arrived at a black desert very close to the end of the Lava Road.

Here, they found the ground littered with the corpses of insects.

"The wounds on these fire ant corpses appear to have been caused by flying needle-type magical artifacts or talismans?"

Yuan Yao picked up a few dead fire ants and asked in surprise.

"It must be the masterpiece of the Azure Needle Talisman Treasure."

Han Li guessed.

"Is that you, senior sister?"

Yuan Yao's eyes lit up. "Most likely."

"Then, my husband, why did my senior sister walk ahead of us?"

"This road to the end doesn't necessarily require forcing your way through the Black Desert. There are roads on both sides as well. Your sister must have been lucky enough to be teleported to one of the less difficult sides," Han Li said with a smile. "Let's go, she should be waiting for us at the end, let's go and meet up with her."

"it is good."

Yuan Yao nodded excitedly.

just.

As the two reached the finish line, Han Li's brows gradually furrowed.

Here stands a stone temple.

Inside the stone hall is a teleportation array.

Activate the teleportation array to proceed to the next safe zone.

But to Han Li's surprise, his divine sense could not find Yan Li's figure near the teleportation array.

I couldn't find any purple light sensing beads or anything like that.

It seems that Yanli has not yet reached the finish line!
"Husband..."

"It's alright, let's search the surrounding area for miles. If she's been here, we'll find some clues. By the way, those three swarms of fire ants that were wiped out by flying needle magic weapons might be proof that Yanli came back to find us..."

Han Li comforted him.

...

The fifth day since the Ice and Fire Path opened.

Inside an extremely simple stone hall, more than ten people gathered.

The stone hall is about fifty or sixty zhang in area and about seven or eight zhang in height.

Besides the teleportation array in the center, there are four large blue stone gates, each several meters high, on each of the four sides.

The four stone doors were now tightly shut, sealing off the area like a large prison.
Inside the stone hall, there are dozens of stone tables and benches.

On these stone benches sat a dozen or so cultivators with different expressions.

The two with the lowest cultivation levels were Wu Chou from Ji Yin Island and a female cultivator, both of whom were in the mid-stage of Core Formation.

The rest of the cultivators were all at the late stage of Core Formation.

At this moment, Ji Yin's face looked extremely ugly.

Without him.

His disciples and grand-disciples lost two mid-stage Core Formation cultivators due to the suddenly increased difficulty of the Ice and Fire Path trial.

In the past, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator who had been given a protective treasure by him would not have perished.

But this time is different from the past; it's hard to say what will happen this time.

That's why his face turned even more ashen.

Like Ji Yin, the three righteous cultivators, including Wan Tianming, also had grim expressions.

Although they suffered no casualties, the Star Palace's sudden increase in the difficulty of the Mystic Crystal Path and the Lava Road was far too provocative. This left them bewildered and increasingly wary and displeased with the Star Palace.

On the other hand, Man Hu Zi and Qing Yi Ju Shi were in high spirits when they saw that Yan Li was safe and sound.

Yanli, on the other hand, was in a state of utter confusion because Han Li and Yuan Yao had not yet appeared.

"I shouldn't have teleported in prematurely; I should have waited longer for my husband and junior sister."

The lava path she took did not pass through the Black Desert region.

Therefore, with his valuable treasures, he easily passed through the level and reached the finish line.

Later, after much consideration, she used the teleportation array at the end of the Lava Road to travel here.

Before this, she had considered going back to find the two of them, and she did, spending a whole day doing so. But after returning and entering the Black Desert on the side, she narrowly escaped death twice, and the spiritual power of her Azure Needle Talisman was mostly depleted.

If we were to grit our teeth and venture deeper into the desert to search for people, we might end up losing everything before even finding them.

If they retreated to the vicinity of the teleportation array to wait for others, they might be misunderstood or ambushed by other passing cultivators due to their poor condition.

Left with no other choice, she had to clear the level first.

First, teleport into this safe zone to restore your mana.

I won't cause Han Li any trouble.

"Husband, junior sister, you must come out alive."

She became increasingly worried about their situation.

...

A few more hours passed.

The five-day trial period for the second stage is about to end.

At this moment, not only Yanli became anxious, but Manhuzi and Qingyi also frowned:

It shouldn't be.

Even if the Ice and Fire Path was tampered with by the two from the Star Palace, it shouldn't have been difficult for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Could it be that Xiao Cha has crashed again?" the bearded man wondered to himself.

Just as everyone in the shop was filled with mixed emotions and harboring their own secrets, the two white-robed elders from the Star Palace appeared in the teleportation array.

In that instant, it attracted the attention of everyone around.

The six Nascent Soul cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths in the Chaotic Star Sea all had undisguised hostility in their eyes.

Several late-stage Core Formation cultivators and two mid-stage Core Formation cultivators were filled with shock, anger, and extreme apprehension.

"Ahem, we don't know which fellow Daoist triggered the powerful restrictions of the Ice and Fire Dao, causing a drastic change within the canyon. We two searched specifically for it, but unfortunately found nothing, and many innocent comrades perished in the process. We two have failed in our duty this time, and after the Void Heaven Palace, we will definitely return to apologize to the two Holy Lords and then spend a hundred years in seclusion..."

The kind-faced old man in white ignored the chilling gazes of everyone present and sighed calmly.

He really is both responsible and independent.

This caused cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths to inwardly curse this person's shamelessness.

"Humph."

After a few Nascent Soul stage monsters snorted coldly, they went their separate ways.

Yes, they are repeatedly considering the feasibility of subsequent plans, such as those involving Wan Tianming and Ji Yin.

Some, like Manhuzi and Qingyi, are preparing to change their plans.

Just as everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts and Yanli was on the verge of despair, the teleportation array lit up with a white light once again.

Immediately afterward, two figures emerged from within; it was Han Li and Yuan Yao.

At this moment, Han Li's face was dark, and his eyes were so gloomy that they seemed to drip water.

Yuan Yao's eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

Without him.

It was simply because they couldn't meet up with Yanli at the end of Lava Road.

Finding no clues at the destination, they turned back to look for them.

As a result, the only traces left after the flying needle magic weapon or talisman was found were always located at the edge of the black desert near the teleportation array.

I thought there might be more clues, such as the purple light sensing bead.

pity.

Han Li and Yuan Yao searched the entire area within a thousand miles for the remaining day and a half, but to no avail. Even he felt his spiritual senses were becoming fatigued.

With the final deadline fast approaching, the two had no choice but to grit their teeth and board the teleportation array.

only.

To their mixed feelings of joy and frustration, Yanli was found alive and well in the safe zone, contrary to their suspicions that she had been murdered.

"Senior sister!"

"Junior sister, husband?!"

When the three reunited, their emotions fluctuated wildly, causing a great deal of heartache.

"Husband, Junior Sister, why are you so late coming in?"

Yanli said worriedly.

The next moment, three soundproof barriers rose up, cutting off outsiders from eavesdropping.

Seeing this, Yuan Yao relaxed considerably and explained via telepathy:
"Sister, we were also searching for you, which is why we were delayed for an extra day and a half. Otherwise, my husband could have obtained even more precious refining materials..."

After learning about each other's experiences, Han Li quickly grasped the key point:

"Yanli, are you saying that before you entered this space, you buried a purple light sensing bead near the Lava Road teleportation array?"

"Yes, my husband."

Upon hearing this, Han Li and Yuan Yao exchanged a glance, their expressions changing slightly.

"what happened?"

"We did not find the purple light sensing bead that you buried."

"How could that be? I buried it."

Yanli said anxiously.

Han Li thought for a moment, then opened his storage bag and took out one purple light sensing bead after another to begin sensing.

Five of them could sense the five matching beads on Yuan Yao's body.

Four others did not react at all.

This proves that Yanli did indeed use those purple light sensing beads.

immediately.

Another one also reacted.

The target was none other than Elder Ximen, one of the two elders of the Star Palace.

"Ok?"

Han Li narrowed his eyes upon seeing this.

Among the Star Palace duo opposite, the kind-faced old man suddenly touched the storage bag at his waist and then cast his gaze in their direction.

Their eyes met, each filled with surprise and doubt.

Han Li accepted the Purple Light Sensing Bead without saying a word.

just.

My dislike for those two has intensified.

Wan Tianming and Tian Wuzi didn't touch the Purple Light Sensing Bead, a trivial device, thus not interfering with the Core Formation stage cultivators' trials. They acted uprightly and honestly. However, the two judges, Ximen and his companion, were causing trouble behind the scenes. Their meddling even affected him, causing him to waste an extra day and a half on the Lava Road.

As a result, they gained far fewer refining crystals.

You should know that each of these crystals is priceless; even selling a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't be enough to cover the losses.

Furthermore, the gold-eating insect swarm was repeatedly manipulated into engaging in direct combat with the fire ant swarm due to his excessive anxiety in searching for someone, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of insects.

If the Turks of the grasslands knew of such a great loss, they would be heartbroken.

Han Li felt very sorry for this.

He developed a strong aversion to the two men from the Star Palace.

Why are they hesitant to target the Nascent Soul stage cultivators of both the righteous and demonic paths, instead focusing their attacks on the Core Formation cultivators from all sides?
　Guys, I need free votes! I'm desperate for votes!

(End of this chapter)