From waterfowl, it began to transform into the Great Sun Golden Crow.

"Little brat, are you out of your mind? What are you doing playing with these fire ants?"

Gu Heting, standing before me, was stepping on a Manjusaka fruit.

She moved through the ant colony as if it were empty. Seeing this, the River-Swallowing Fish inhaled sharply. Using its Water Reversal Technique, it unleashed a giant wave of water.

The giant waves crashed against the red imported fire ants on the shore.

Gu Heting lost his balance, and the waves of red fire ants beneath his feet were swept away. He tumbled into the still waters of Ningguang, carried by the currents along the riverbank.

As soon as Gu Heting turned over, he met the eyes of the river-swallowing fish.

He chuckled and said, "Here it is. Is this it?"

The River-Swallowing Fish carefully examined the red spider lily fruit. The fire ants on the surface were still struggling. With a flick of its tail, it swatted the ants away from the bank: "How did you end up with these ants?"

"Do you know that these ants can swallow a Core Formation cultivator like it's nothing?"

"Little one, what's wrong with you?"

Gu Heting poked his head out and chuckled awkwardly. His bird calls were broken and disjointed, making him seem somewhat indifferent.

Seeing his expression, the River-Swallowing Fish didn't ask any further questions. It opened its mouth wide and swallowed the Manjusaka fruit in one gulp. The wound beneath its skin was burned by the poison.

It is recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The wound that had never scabbed over finally scabbed over. After Hulun swallowed it, the River-Swallowing Fish closed its eyes.

"Jingli, Senior Jingli, could you please clear a path for me?"

"what?"

The river-swallowing fish stared blankly with its large eyes, wondering what the little bird was up to. In a dozen or so breaths, its previously listless mind cleared up.

The intense heat of the snake venom has subsided.

The river-swallowing fish, its eyes glancing downwards, asked with a puzzled look, "Why?"

Gu Heting had witnessed the water conservancy techniques of this river-swallowing fish. As for why he bombed Changsha Island, the main reason lay underground, in the thousand-year-old honey ant flower and fruit.

Having just obtained the Crimson Serpent Glazed Blade, he still knows too few spells.

The income from the Phoenix-Carrying Book, plus an additional wind-attribute skill, wouldn't be a bad thing for him. Having more skills provides security. Besides, he has nothing else to do right now. He might not even find one if he just randomly searches.

Gu Heting said, "Inside this ant nest, there are several thousand-year-old honey ant flowers and fruits."

"You mean this is an ant fruit? It's sweet and cloying, and slightly poisonous. Little one, you might not be able to absorb it."

Having lived for 2000 years, it has some understanding of this blessed land of Dongting.

He had personally witnessed large spirit beasts devouring the ant fruit and eventually slowly dying.

Human cultivators are not the same as these rare beasts from blessed lands.

There are specific methods for handling these supplements. The saying goes, "A weak body cannot tolerate strong tonics," and consuming them haphazardly is not a good thing.

"Senior, I can handle this. Don't worry."

Gu Heting's greatest reliance was his Phoenix-carried Book.

He didn't know if Feng Xianshu could handle such a rare and precious material.

In short, let's include it first.

What he wanted wasn't a body nourished by tonics, but rather the abilities that Feng Xianshu had awakened.

"Never mind, you little brat..." Whale-like fish, Li, thought to himself, puzzled. He swallowed a mouthful of water, then spat it out. The water transformed in the sky into a free-flowing dragon.

Water Manipulation Techniques

【Shui Ming turns into a dragon】

At this moment, the water became viscous, like sugar water stuck together. A huge water dragon surged towards the shore, crashing against the ant nests on the bank.

It was quickly shattered with a violent crash.

A large hole was blasted into the ant nest.

That's impressive.

The next step after reaching the late stage of Core Formation is becoming a Great Demon in human form. Over 2000 years of cultivation is indeed a long time. To become a Great Demon in human form truly makes one an exceptional individual.

I'm afraid the River-Swallowing Fish and that Flood Dragon are of similar strength.

He was just one step away from becoming a fully-formed demon.

"Senior, how much longer until you can transform into human form?"

"Transformation?"

The River-Swallowing Fish was thoroughly amused by the little water bird before him. Despite possessing a vast and intelligent mind, he was completely unaware of the survival rules of this strange beast.

This is the nature of the cultivation world.

It's not as simple as he thinks. A transformed demon is truly astonishing. Even cultivators undergoing the Nascent Soul Tribulation must overcome the inner demons within their Nascent Soul.

Wouldn't a great demon that can transform into human form do the same?

The Nascent Soul realm is truly difficult.

There are quite a few people stuck in the late stage of Core Formation. Those whose lifespans are nearing their end are as numerous as a feather. This is all preparation for the Nascent Soul stage's tribulation.

It is not something that ordinary cultivators can withstand.

He had already reached the late stage of Core Formation 300 years ago.

Now, only that dragon has achieved the Great Perfection of Core Formation.

"Little one, there are some things you may not understand. The conditions for forming the Core and breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage are extremely demanding. These are divided into innate and acquired."

"Those who are born with innate abilities have already reached the Great Perfection of Core Formation. This is a prerequisite."

"Secondly, the spiritual energy within the dantian and sea of ​​consciousness must reach its peak."

"The day after tomorrow is the time to establish your foundation, cultivate your mind and spirit. You need to prepare elixirs, rare treasures, and even protective artifacts. You also need to satisfy the right timing, location, and people."

"You're not that old yet; you'll understand later."

Innate or acquired?

I know about rare and precious materials, but what is mindset and spirit?

Do you need someone to protect you when you break through to the Core Formation stage?

"What is meant by 'mindset and spirit'?" Gu Heting tilted his head, somewhat puzzled. His already intelligent eyes became even more insightful at this moment.

"Um....."

Tunjiangyu gave a soft "hmm," feeling utterly exhausted. There was no point in saying more. Once his experience reached the Core Formation stage, he would understand these things, even those he didn't understand before.

"Are you going or not? The ants have started rebuilding their nest."

"WC"

The fire ants, like voles, continued pecking at the surrounding pebbles. They quickly adjusted themselves and began mending the door that had just been blasted open by the water pumping technique.

The rare earth elements along the riverbank are sculpted by red imported fire ants.

The soil they were talking about was filling in a gate.

Gu Heting became anxious upon seeing this.

He quickly took out the honey ant flower root he had hidden. He bit into the honey ant flower root and extracted its juice. He then smeared the juice onto his wings.

The customer heard a carp leap up.

His little bird claws trod on the water's surface.

He swiftly darted into the anthill. The anthill was pitch black inside, with only the faint light from the red imported fire ants' eyes. Gu Heting closed his eyes and activated his Clarity Gaze to its maximum.

Before me, countless red imported fire ants surged forth.

They stumbled and fell.

A swarm of red imported fire ants bumped into Gu Heting, making the winch unstable. Gu Heting, who almost fell, leaned against the edge of the ant nest to regain his footing.

This group of red imported fire ants has a clear division of labor.

Some carried leaves in their mouths, while others carried sand and pebbles.

Some red imported fire ants carried fire ant eggs in their mouths. Among them, Gu Heting smelled a strong stench of blood. Only when he leaned closer did he see that they were pieces of spirit beast corpses.

The red imported fire ants' enormous mandibles crushed the corpse.

They divided the spirit beast into pieces, dragging them one by one into the cave. Gu Heting followed the direction of the ant colony, heading towards the cave entrance.

Following the rolling tide of red imported fire ants.

His vision began to clear. A huge, fat queen ant lay on her side inside the nest. Her head was hundreds of times taller than her enormous abdomen.

"This is"

"The Queen Ant".