Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

After feeding the last piece, Lin Gui patted the crumbs off his palms, then flipped over and jumped onto the very front of the saddle.

He grasped the reins fixed to both sides of the carapace and gave them a gentle jerk.

The ironback army ant raised its head, its antennae swaying in the air.

Then it took six steps and walked deeper into the insect tunnel.

His steps were steady and swift.

Elvia's body swayed gently with the ants' movements, so smoothly that the jolt was almost imperceptible.

She secretly complained.

This... is much easier to ride than a horse.

"So we relied on it to cross the red desert?"

"Why don't we just fly there ourselves?"

"Didn't you say that the weaker you are, the easier it is to travel through time?"

"Won't even the most terrifying epic demons in those forbidden lands notice us passing by?"

The iron-backed army ants move swiftly through the insect tunnels.

The six limbs move in alternating steps, with precise and swift movements.

The walls of the narrow passage almost grazed the edge of its carapace.

It did not slow down at all, its whiskers swaying constantly, as if it could sense every corner and undulation in advance.

The surrounding scenery was rushing past.

The smell of dry earth and a faint sourness emanated from the walls.

Lin Gui held the reins loosely in his hand, without exerting any force to control the direction.

He simply let the ironback army ants lead them into the unknown depths.

Lillian answered Elvia's question for Lin Gui.

"Teacher's wife."

"The epic demon certainly won't notice our crossing."

"But the dangers of the forbidden zone aren't limited to epic demons."

"Poisonous fog, sand traps, underground fissures, periodically erupting geothermal springs, the surging of demon lairs, the domain of demon rulers, and the chain reaction triggered by demon uprisings..."

"In other forbidden areas, there might only be a few of these dangers."

"But in the Red Desert, a place that houses dozens of forbidden zones and more than a dozen demon overlords."

"Similar deadly traps could be found everywhere."

"Without a thorough understanding of the red desert, you might not even know how you died."

"You should know that we are not legends, nor epics, but high-level beings."

"The epic demon can kill us even by unintentionally releasing poisonous mist."

"The extreme environments that the dominant species creates can also kill us."

Elvia's lips twitched slightly:

"Then why did you go and provoke that Blood Leech King?"

Lillian shrank back awkwardly.

Lin Gui added from the side:

"Moreover, the red desert is not static."

"The occasional battles at the Dominator level are enough to completely change the terrain of this red desert."

"The location of the restricted area will also move accordingly."

"Even the routes I've traveled before, if I were to walk them again now, would probably present a completely different scene."

Elvia's eyelids twitched wildly:

"you mean......"

"You freaking don't even know how to get through this?"

"Are we walking on the same golden path you once walked?"

Lin Gui smiled:

"right."

"Actually, I don't know what I'll encounter next."

Elvia's mouth dropped open.

Lin Gui looked down at the iron-backed army ants beneath his rear, and said calmly:

"But it knows."

"No, to be precise... it's them that know."

Lin Gui looked at the fork in the road ahead.

The iron-backed army ants stopped there.

Its tentacles stretched forward and swayed left and right a few times, as if it were trying to catch some information in the air.

It paused for about three seconds, then turned to the left worm tunnel without hesitation and continued forward.

Elvia and Lillian saw it.

Not far ahead, there is another horizontal passage on the wall of the insect tunnel.

Several smaller ironback army ants emerged from the tunnel and touched antennae with the guide ant.

A brief and silent exchange.

Then, more ironback army ants poured out from the passage next to them.

They merged into a black torrent.

They proceeded in an orderly fashion through this underground network.

With intertwined whiskers and slightly bright compound eyes, it resembled a silent, marching army.

The iron-backed army ants marched towards their nest to the east.

As they went deeper, the number of ants increased.

The insect passage widened, from initially only allowing one person to pass through.

It was gradually expanded to a width sufficient for two carriages to travel side by side.

The smell of folic acid in the air grew stronger.

It has a pungent, sour smell, like fermented plants.

The grooves on the walls of the worm tunnels are more densely packed.

The marks left by countless joints rubbing against each other were layered upon each other.

Like tree rings, they record the ant colony's journey over many years.

Occasionally, a larger passage would branch off from the side, from which came more footsteps and the subtle sounds of swaying whiskers.

Alvia sat on the ant's back, but she was restless.

She looked up from time to time.

The oppressive feeling from above returned.

The oppressive feeling emanating from the top forbidden area weighed heavily on her head, making it difficult for her to breathe.

She understood that in just one hour of walking, they had entered another forbidden area.

A forbidden area as terrifying as the Weeping Blood Hill.

However, being underground, she could not see the entire forbidden area.

This made her restless.

What terrified her most was...

The reins in Lin Gui's hand were almost just for show.

This is undoubtedly telling her.

In the wasteland, this is tantamount to entrusting one's life to these demons who are weaker than themselves.

Watching these iron-backed army ants constantly traversing various insect tunnels, moving forward and backward, and continuously venturing deeper into the ground.

Elvia finally couldn't hold back anymore.

She grabbed Lillian and moved her to the back.

He then squeezed behind Lin Gui, pressed against his back, and lowered his voice.

How confident are you?

"Can it take us across the red desert?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Gui turned his head away, his tone relaxed.

"certainly."

"They're only high-level cultivators, yet they came all the way here alive from a hundred kilometers away—isn't that proof enough?"

Elvia pointed out the problem sharply, her fingers gripping the hem of Lin Gui's clothes, her voice even lower.

"They rely on sheer numbers, on ant colonies, on the sacrifice of tens of thousands of ants, on probabilities built up with lives."

"You're just going to rely on this kind of luck?"

Lin Gui smiled faintly and patted the ant carapace beneath him.

"Therefore, we need to choose a veteran who has survived for a long time."

Elvia frowned and repeated the word.

"Choose?"

Lin Gui did not answer.

He simply looked down at the ironback army ants beneath him, his eyes filled with unwavering trust.

The ant continued its steady progress, its antennae swaying gently in the air, its steps unwavering.