Chapter Fourteen: The Fire-Devouring Ants and the Violet Cloud Bees

Li Ruoyu pressed onward through the boundless desert, forging ahead with unwavering resolve despite the endless expanse that stretched before him. He used the desolation as a grindstone, tempering his will with each step. The desert was strangely tranquil, its silence almost eerie, broken only by the whisper of the wind in his ears. Growing more vigilant with every passing moment, Li Ruoyu moved with careful deliberation.

He halted his steps, gazing into the distance. Far ahead, a mountain loomed, its bulk shrouded in black, veiled by swirling sand and dust so that its true form was hard to discern.

Li Ruoyu crouched low, scanning his surroundings. The stillness remained unbroken. He prowled forward on his stomach, and though he moved close to the ground, the power of a cultivator lent him remarkable speed. Along his path, he spotted what looked like a black pebble. As he crept closer, its true nature was revealed.

A swarm of black ants was devouring a blazing red rock. The ants covered the entire surface, so densely packed that the stone appeared black except for fleeting glimpses of red that emerged whenever the ants shifted and revealed a gap.

"Fire-Devouring Ants."

These were creatures of legend, communal insects from the ancient past. They feasted on fire-attuned minerals and metals, and in great numbers, even the mightiest cultivators would shun them. A single Fire-Devouring Ant was hardly formidable, but united, their collective strength was overwhelming. Thus, any wise cultivator would give them a wide berth.

Li Ruoyu watched the Fire-Devouring Ants, then glanced at the towering black mountain in the distance. A chill pricked his heart, and he began to retreat quietly the way he had come.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, swirling sand into blinding sheets. Li Ruoyu stopped in his tracks, intending to skirt the danger.

Looking up, he saw a vast purple cloud racing across the sky, blotting out the heavens. The cloud moved with astonishing speed. Li Ruoyu focused on it, recognizing the threat.

"Purple Cloud Wasps."

Another terrifying communal creature, these wasps preyed exclusively on other monstrous insects. Their exoskeletons were harder than steel. In the primordial ages, there were cultivators who practiced the Dao of Insects, nurturing holy, divine, and bizarre insects with dreadful power. Among these was the Purple Cloud Wasp, once reared by a notorious cultivator.

They called him the "Insect Demon," a figure both demonic and sinister. He reared a legion of Purple Cloud Wasps that struck terror wherever their name was heard. By feeding them divine-metal insects, he raised the wasps to peak power, until they were capable of slaying gods and immortals, their savagery echoing throughout the ancient wilderness.

The Purple Cloud Wasps vanished at the end of the archaic era, their legend fading into myth. To find them here, preserved against all odds, was astonishing.

Li Ruoyu dared not move. He burrowed beneath the sand, suppressing his aura, covering himself with yellow dust until only his eyes remained, watching the battle between the Fire-Devouring Ants massed around the mountain and the Purple Cloud Wasps gathering in the sky.

He saw the swarm of Purple Cloud Wasps surge toward the anthill-mountain. The Fire-Devouring Ants refused to yield, their formation shifting—what had looked like a mountain transformed into a vast black alchemical cauldron, clamping down upon the purple cloud.

Li Ruoyu was stunned by the might of these ancient insects, watching as the ants assumed the form of a cauldron, exposing the mountain’s true body.

"Flaming Phoenix Stone."

It was a mountain-sized Flaming Phoenix Stone—bathed in the blood of ancient phoenixes, forged atop molten rock, refined through countless ages. A sacred treasure for fire cultivators, invaluable for both cultivation and forging. Finding such a colossal stone here was a marvel, and explained why the Fire-Devouring Ants had made it their home.

Not to be outdone, the cloud of Purple Cloud Wasps gathered, transforming into a colossal purple holy spear that thrust itself at the cauldron.

There came a booming crash, as if titans clashed. The spearhead pierced the cauldron, but part of its shaft remained embedded within. Then, the cauldron shifted, rolling into a perfect sphere, encircling the wasp swarm.

A cacophony of gnashing and tearing echoed from within as the sphere swelled and contracted, the wasps desperate to break free but being relentlessly suppressed by the ants.

Suddenly, another squadron of Purple Cloud Wasps soared down from the sky. As they neared the sphere, they formed a massive purple lance and drove it straight through, joining forces with their besieged kin to gnaw at the ants within. Meanwhile, at the base of the Flaming Phoenix Mountain, countless more Fire-Devouring Ants began to emerge and surge into the fray. Li Ruoyu realized that there were even more ants lurking beneath the mountain.

Watching the mass of ants joining the battle, Li Ruoyu recognized his chance.

"Now’s the opportunity," he thought.

At once, he summoned the divine Chain of Order, tunneling through the sand toward the base of the Flaming Phoenix Mountain.

As he drew near, his pace slowed. The air grew hotter, searing heat radiating from below. Soon, a barrier of stone blocked his path. Li Ruoyu shaped the Chain of Order into a man-sized drill and began to bore through the rock.

With a hissing screech, the drill pierced the barrier. The heart of the mountain was a volcano, its crater churning with molten magma, waves of heat surging upward, bubbles of lava bursting with fierce intensity.

"Flaming Phoenix Marrow."

Li Ruoyu was astonished. Flaming Phoenix Marrow required the true blood of a phoenix to soak into stone, then centuries of fiery refinement and countless ages to take shape. It was exceedingly rare, usually only the size of a fist, yet its brilliance was blinding—pure white radiance that outshone the sun, dazzling the eyes. Li Ruoyu’s vision blurred from the sudden brightness.

He spied just a few Fire-Devouring Ants at the hollow's center. Nearby, clusters of white eggs were arrayed on a massive, uneven stone dais. At the center of the eggs was a giant Fire-Devouring Ant, many times larger than the rest, beneath the looming mass of the Flaming Phoenix Stone above.

Those white eggs must surely be Fire-Devouring Ant eggs, and the enormous ant was doubtless their queen.

"Take them or flee? Such a golden opportunity…" Li Ruoyu’s thoughts raced.

"Take them," he decided, and acted at once.

He composed himself, placing a treasured pill in his mouth. Like a flash of light, he darted toward the Flaming Phoenix Marrow. The instant he grasped it, searing agony shot through his arm, as if plunging his hand into molten lava. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to store the marrow in his spatial ring. In only a few breaths, his right hand was scorched black from the contact.

There was no time to hesitate. Li Ruoyu rushed toward the Fire-Devouring Ant eggs. The ants had already begun to cluster protectively around their queen. With swift movements, Li Ruoyu gathered up about three-quarters of the eggs. At that moment, the queen ant let out a piercing shriek that echoed through the chamber—and reached the ants above, locked in fierce combat with the Purple Cloud Wasps.