Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

For the rest of the journey, Lin Gui and his two companions almost never left the ant's back.

They sleep and rest on the backs of the iron-backed army ants.

The Ironback Army Ants never stop moving, whether it's day or night.

Ants are living organisms and they also need rest.

But their way of resting is quite unique.

Restore your energy by taking short naps.

During their journey, the ironback army ants may fall asleep hundreds of times in just one hour.

However, each time it was so brief that it was almost imperceptible.

Its body paused slightly, its whiskers drooped for half a second, then quickly recovered, and it continued to move forward with its limbs.

You can't even pinpoint when it's sleeping or when it's awake.

They continued their journey day and night.

Even though the Ironback Army Ants are not particularly fast, they still covered an astonishing distance in a single day.

And none of the dangers that Elvia feared from the desperate situation occurred.

...No, to be precise, Elvia didn't see it.

A week has passed, and the ant has never gone to the ground.

It constantly travels through the worm tunnels.

Every so often, it slows down at a fork in the road.

Then, out of nowhere, another ant appeared and approached.

The antennae of two ants touched, their tips slightly overlapping, like a silent kiss.

After a brief exchange, it picked up speed again and continued forward.

Moreover, the route does not simply head east.

Sometimes it will suddenly turn south and travel all day along a new insect trail.

Sometimes it will change direction and make a huge arc to the northwest.

On one occasion, Elvia watched helplessly as it walked for half a day only to turn back the way it came.

The directions were so complicated that she couldn't figure out the pattern at all.

Lin Gui, meanwhile, began reading leisurely again.

He leaned against the front of the ant's carapace.

He was flipping through a magic textbook he had purchased from Thousand Towers.

He would occasionally glance up at the route, then look down again and continue turning the pages.

Lillian sat in the middle, chattering away with questions.

I'll try to guess what that clashing of the tentacles meant.

After a while, we can estimate that they are probably below some forbidden area.

Only Elvia sat at the very back with a solemn expression.

She never let go of the sun-chasing device in her hand.

The hilt of the sword was warm from her palm, and her fingertips repeatedly caressed the patterns on the scabbard.

Her gaze constantly scanned both sides of the insect tunnel, and her ears caught every unusual sound.

Like a taut bowstring.

Time seemed to lose its meaning in the pitch-black passage.

There is no sunrise, no sunset, no alternation of day and night.

Only the unchanging walls, the ever-present smell of folic acid, and the ceaseless sound of limbs striking the ground.

I don't know how much time has passed.

Maybe it will take one day, maybe it will take five days.

Even Lillian, who had been excited all along, had her enthusiasm dampened by the endless, pitch-black road ahead.

She gradually spoke less and less.

What started as curiosity turned into occasional mutterings.

Finally, he simply leaned against Elvia.

By the dim light, she began to look at the scroll that Lin Gui had given her.

The insect tunnels all around seemed to always look the same.

The same rough walls, the same grooves, and the same forks appear in the same locations.

This is an even more boring journey than the Forbidden City corridor.

Elvia and Lillian almost forgot about the time.

I don't know how much time passed, but a strange pressure surged in from all directions, pressing heavily on my skin.

Lillian and Elvia, who were in a deep sleep, groggily awoke.

The surroundings were still pitch black, terrifyingly dark.

I couldn't see anything, not even the grooves and patterns of the worm tunnels.

Elvia blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness that was thicker than before.

A sense of doubt arose.

I remember that when I fell asleep, Lin Gui was on night watch.

He usually uses a dim light spell to read the scroll, so why is it pitch black now?

Moreover, the ant beneath him, which was usually so steady, seemed to be trembling slightly.

A very slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

It was as if something had triggered its instinctive fear.

Elvia opened her mouth in surprise, about to speak, when Lin Gui's voice echoed in her mind.

Is it... telepathy?

【woke up?】

Let's eat something.

Do not make a sound or leave your seat.

Something was shoved into Elvia's hands.

She felt around with her fingertips and recognized what it was.

It's a cake.

The cake was made by Lin Gui himself.

Compared to those made by the imperial chefs, it was incredibly ugly, with an uneven surface.

But it's exceptionally soft and sweet.

It was the best food Elvia had ever eaten.

When it comes to food, she believes Lin Gui is absolutely a top-tier expert.

She happily took it, took a bite, and the joyful taste melted on her tongue.

She didn't forget the little girl behind her.

He tore off a piece and groped his way into Lillian's mouth.

When Elvia's fingers touched Lillian's lips.

But they found that her body seemed somewhat stiff.

The last time I fed her this delicious food, she cried out and her eyes lit up.

Like a small animal being fed, it brings Elvia a sense of satisfaction, like feeding a cute creature.

But this time...

Lillian quietly put the cake in her mouth without making a sound.

There was no wheezing, no excitement, and even breathing was so light it seemed to have disappeared.

A strange feeling rose in my heart.

But looking around, there was nothing particularly special about it, except that it seemed even darker than before.

She looked up again in Lin Gui's direction, but all she saw was an intense, impenetrable darkness.

A sense of tension quietly rose within me.

Elvia asked the Forest Ghost via telepathy:

What happened?

Lin Gui's voice echoed in her mind, brief and calm:

It's nothing.

Just keep quiet.

Also, do not turn on the magic lamp.

Elvia found it even stranger.

There's nothing wrong, yet you won't turn on the lights and are using telepathy? And you tell me to keep quiet?

Her heart skipped a beat.

But she didn't ask any further questions; she simply gripped the Sun Chaser tightly in her hand.

He silently pushed the blade out of its sheath, his eyes scanning the surrounding darkness with alertness.

The iron-backed army ants under my feet are moving much slower than before.

Moreover, it seems to be Elvia's imagination...

As a knight and a physical class, her perception of power far surpasses that of a mage like Lin Gui.

Therefore, she could sense it...

The trembling beneath me did not seem to originate from the ironback army ants.

Or is it beneath its feet?

Elvia's eyelids twitched.

Her gaze pierced through the iron-backed army ants, fixed intently on the ground beneath her feet.

But the darkness was so intense that she couldn't even see the limbs of the ironback army ants, let alone the ground.

Only a vague outline could be discerned; it seemed...

It's an arched shape, like... a tubular passageway like an underground sewer?

Even if you squint carefully, you can still only see these things.

Left with no other choice, she could only suppress her unease and remain on high alert.

The iron-backed army ants continued their advance.

The surrounding darkness remained intense.

Elvia didn't know how much time had passed; it could have been a few minutes, or it could have been longer.

Suddenly, the ironback army ant's body sank abruptly...

Its six segments landed simultaneously with a soft thud.

The trembling disappeared.

The ironback army ants then picked up speed again and continued moving forward at their original pace and rhythm.

The familiar, steady crawling sensation returned beneath me.

As its speed recovered, the pressure suddenly disappeared after it had traveled only a short distance.

About an hour later, the worm tunnel began to slope upwards.

The grooves on the wall gradually become shallower, and the folic acid smell slowly fades.

Instead, there was a dry smell with a hint of fine dust.

The air began to move, and a faint breeze seemed to be blowing from the front.

The ironback army ants quickened their pace, their antennae swaying frequently in the air.

Elvia could feel the ants beneath her starting to climb uphill.

The slope wasn't steep, but it lasted for a long time.

The walls of the worm tunnel changed from rough soil to hard rock.

Small cracks began to appear on both sides, and faint light seeped in through them.

Then... a light appeared at the end of the worm tunnel.

The iron-backed army ants led them out.

Elvia squinted, taking a while to adjust to the sudden brightness.

Before us lay a massive underground rift valley.

Above us was a sky covered with thick clouds.

Dark red light shone down from the edge of the clouds, dyeing the entire space a somber crimson.

Beneath our feet lay an uneven rocky ground, covered with fine gravel and pebbles.

On both sides are towering stone walls, covered with wind-eroded dents and cracks.

In the distance, massive stone pillars rose from the ground, piercing the sky like the ribs of ancient beasts.

The air was filled with the dry smell of dust, mixed with the scent of some minerals.

The wind blew from the depths of the rift valley, carrying a low, mournful sound.

Elvia looked around and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was kept underground so she couldn't see it, thus preventing danger.

Now that she was finally on the ground, the expansive view dispelled the oppression in her heart.

I recalled the strange thing that had just happened.

She turned to look at Lin Gui and asked what had just happened.

Lin Gui paused for a moment, then said calmly:

"I don't think you'd want to know."

Elvia looked completely bewildered.

She looked back at the entrance to the insect tunnel she had come from; in the dim light, there was nothing there.

She sighed and didn't press the matter further.

"Alright."

"So where are we?"

"Where am I?"

Lin Gui's tone was somewhat strange:

"The corridor beneath the sand."

Elvia paused for a moment, then frowned:

"The corridor beneath the sand?"

How did we get here?

She remembered Lin Gui mentioning that the location of the Shaxia Corridor was completely opposite to the original destination.

To put it another way, the sea of ​​boiling sand lies to the south of the Sand Corridor...

A sea with red sand floating on it.

If they go a little further south, they will enter the sea.

How did these ants lead them all the way here?

Elvia couldn't help but begin to doubt whether these ants were reliable at all.

In fact, even Lin Gui himself was surprised that the other party would start their detour from the southernmost part of the Red Earth Desert.

This extended the originally planned time travel by almost half a month.

Last time, the other side also went around in circles, but at least their route was eastward.

There's only one possibility that could cause it to make such a big adjustment...

It sensed danger.

There is a danger that makes it prefer to circle half of the red desert rather than cross it.

Ironbacked army ants move through the sand corridor.

It is surrounded by towering stone walls and low rock pillars.

The light was dim, and the wind howled as it swept through the ravine.

In the shadows, another ironback army ant emerged from the yellow sand.

Their whiskers intertwined, briefly touching.

The exchange of information is completed in just a few breaths.

Then the ant that emerged from the yellow sand turned its head to the north.

In those black compound eyes, there was even a hint of human-like fear.

Elvia nudged Lillian with her elbow; Lillian had suddenly fallen silent.

In the past, the other party would always appear at this time.

Their eyes lit up as they tried to decipher the ant's mysterious language with their knowledge.

But this time.

Lillian sat in the back.

Their gazes were fixed on the insect tunnel they had just emerged from, their pupils trembling slightly.

It was as if I was being torn between extreme fear and lingering dread, and a certain excitement and curiosity.

Her lips were slightly parted, but no sound came out.

Immersed in his own world, he completely ignored Elvia's touch.

Elvia sighed helplessly.

Turning his head, he saw a guy who had been a riddle teller ever since he entered the desert.

"So what are they trying to express?"

As Elvia expected, the Forest Ghost started acting as a riddle teller again.

He turned his head and his gaze fell on the ant that had retreated back into the sand.

Looking north from there, it seems to be trying to pass through the canyon corridor and see further north.

"I have bad news and good news. Which do you want to hear?"

Elvia rolled her eyes at him and said emotionlessly:

"Stop fooling around, just tell me."

Lin Gui looked north, his tone carrying an indescribable complexity:

"The bad news is, we may have to go through a detour for a while longer."

"The good news is..."

He paused for a moment.

"Perhaps we can see a rare spectacle before we leave the red desert."

"A spectacular show that you'll never forget."

The iron-backed army ants carried the three people on their backs and continued northward.

We walked through the shadows of the rift valley, around the towering stone pillars, and into the distance in the dim light.

Their figures disappeared into the depths of the sandy corridor.

And a week after they left...

That dark passage they once walked through, that arched path...

They came back to life.

The vaulted ceiling rose and fell slowly, like some giant thing breathing.

The patterns on the stone wall began to twist and writhe.

Fine sand and gravel fell softly from the cracks.

Then, the entire road began to move.

Slow, heavy, with a sense of awe like the migration of mountains.

That nearly kilometer-long "passage," dragging its heavy body, trudged and swayed toward the dark depths of the north.

Like a sleeping dragon, it finally turned over.