Yu Yixiang’s hand was still next to Qian Duoduo, who tapped her palm with his fingertip.
Yu Yixiang woke up, looked at Qian Duoduo, then at the surroundings, remembering where she was and what she was doing.
“Senior Azure Phoenix is waiting for us,” Qian Duoduo whispered.
Yu Yixiang quickly got up, turned her back to Qian Duoduo, and tidied her hair.
“Good morning, Senior!” Qian Duoduo emerged from the tent and respectfully saluted Azure Phoenix.
“Don’t call me Senior anymore; it makes me feel old. Call me Cang Jie,” Azure Phoenix said, in a good mood, her feathers neat and shiny.
“Cang Jie is so beautiful today,” Yu Yixiang offered a sweet compliment as soon as she came out.
“Really?” Azure Phoenix looked herself over and was quite pleased. “Let’s go. It’s not a short distance.”
Just as Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang were about to take out their Winged Vehicle, Azure Phoenix pointed to her back, “Get on. Quickly.”
With that, she spread her wings and appeared before them.
“Thank you for your trouble, Cang Jie.” Yu Yixiang bent her knees and stepped onto Azure Phoenix’s back. Qian Duoduo followed suit.
As Azure Phoenix moved her wings, they immediately soared into the sky.
The Jinlun Mountains were an endless succession of peaks, with few flat areas. Azure Phoenix seemed to be asserting her territory, not flying too high. Wherever she went, the mountains and forests fell silent; no Spirit Beast dared to challenge her authority.
After flying for about half an hour, a bare, rocky mountain appeared ahead. There wasn't a single tree on the mountain, and even the grass was sparse, scattered in clumps here and there.
Yu Yixiang took out a mask and handed it to Qian Duoduo, “Put this on.”
“What’s this for? Will the Devouring Gold Ants not bite if I wear it?” Qian Duoduo asked, taking the mask.
“It mainly protects your face. Devouring Gold Ants tend to pounce on people’s faces and won’t let go once they bite. Wearing a mask provides multiple layers of protection,” Yu Yixiang replied.
She took out another mask and put it on herself. When the mask settled on her face, it was like a drop of water falling into a river. Her face transformed into a different appearance, like an ordinary girl.
“Was this mask bought at a shop?” The mask felt soft and thin in his hand, exquisitely made.
Yu Yixiang nodded.
“Girls’ minds are strange. To protect her face, she went to all this trouble, even making a special detour to Kongfang City,” Qian Duoduo muttered to himself.
But how could he know that sometimes, girls value their faces more than their lives?
Qian Duoduo also smeared the mask onto his face. His skin felt cool, then he lost all sensation.
“Amazing!” After exclaiming, Qian Duoduo took out a mirror and looked at himself; he had a new face. This face was a bit fairer and softer than before, resembling a pampered Family scion.
“This mask won’t grow onto my face, will it?” Qian Duoduo still preferred his original face. Regardless of whether it was beautiful or not, it was his natural face, his own appearance.
“No, it won’t. As long as you wish it, this mask can be taken off,” Yu Yixiang replied with a soft smile. “This mask also has some other functions; you can slowly explore them when you have time.”
At this moment, Azure Phoenix descended and landed on a large tree in the forest outside the bare mountain. Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang jumped off Phoenix’s back and stood on the branch. This spot was lush with vegetation, making it quite concealed.
Pointing to the bare mountain, Azure Phoenix said, “This mountain is the lair of the Devouring Gold Ants. I call it the Ant Mound. The golden honey and the Ant Queen are at the very back of this mountain.”
Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang looked up at the towering Ant Mound.
This Ant Mound was similar to Mengyuan Mountain, tall and large enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of Devouring Gold Ants. Numerous large and small holes dotted the Ant Mound. These holes were staggered, interconnected, serving as paths for the Devouring Gold Ants to enter and exit, and also as ventilation passages. The holes varied in size; the large ones could fit a person, while the small ones were only as thick as a finger.
As Qian Duoduo observed closely, he noticed that these holes also formed a Formation, providing effects such as sound insulation, wind resistance, heat dissipation, and rain protection.
Standing before this Ant Mound, Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang finally realized how difficult it would be to obtain the golden honey from the Ant Queen.
“Little girl, let’s see how we can outsmart them,” Azure Phoenix turned and winked at Yu Yixiang, asking with her Spiritual Awareness.
Yu Yixiang also felt a headache coming on. “Let’s observe first.”
Qian Duoduo took out the tent. All three of them hid inside. The tent slowly blended with its surroundings, so even if a Devouring Gold Ant bumped into it, they wouldn’t be discovered.
One by one, Devouring Gold Ants crawled out of the Ant Mound. These strong-jawed creatures were worker ants. They were responsible for finding and transporting food, and also served as soldiers guarding the lair.
During his observation, Qian Duoduo recognized the grass growing on the Ant Mound as a type of extremely bitter Spiritual Coptis. Only this type of grass grew on the Ant Mound; anything even slightly sweet would be devoured by the Devouring Gold Ants.
However, according to the Spiritual Beast Scroll, what Devouring Gold Ants loved to eat most wasn't grass roots, but insects. The reason they preferred insects was because insects were easy to preserve and there was nothing to discard. Their second favorite food was the nectar of spiritual plant flowers. The nectar collected by Devouring Gold Ants, it was said, would be submitted upon returning to the lair if its quality was good, then thrown into a pool. After fermentation, it became the Ant Queen’s exclusive food, golden honey. Their third favorite was the meat of Spirit Beasts, and only fourth were the sweet roots and stems of spiritual plants.
Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang observed without blinking, as the sun gradually set in the west. Inside the tent, Azure Phoenix closed her eyes to rest, emitting a low snore. She had probably been watching this Ant Mound for decades, even centuries, and was quite fed up with it.
Listening to her snores, Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang wanted to laugh, but neither dared to.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, the tree branches outside swayed, and the tree trunks tilted slightly.
—Is it getting windy? Is it going to snow or rain?
Qian Duoduo looked up at the sky. The sky was gloomy, and the clouds were getting thicker.
“This spring rain won’t be small.” At some point, Azure Phoenix woke up and asked Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang, “Should we go back?”
On the ground, teams of Devouring Gold Ants hurried back. Many Devouring Gold Ants were carrying food on their shoulders: some were Spiritual Locusts, some Spiritual Crickets, some Spiritual Bees, and a few were strenuously lifting a gecko. The gecko was still struggling, its tail sweeping back and forth, but one Devouring Gold Ant was biting its throat tightly. After struggling for a while, the gecko gave up resistance and was dragged into the hole.
“Wait a little longer,” Yu Yixiang said, pressing against the window, without turning her head.
“Boom!” A spring thunderclap exploded in the sky. The clouds in the sky dropped even lower.
When the thunder sounded, there were only a few Devouring Gold Ants left outside. The last Devouring Gold Ant poked its antennae out of a hole, then disappeared.
Subsequently, they heard a rustling sound; the weather had warmed, and it was rain, not snow, that was falling.
The rainwater fell on the Ant Mound, initially unseen, but as the rain continued, the water on the Ant Mound began to converge into streams, flowing downwards. By the middle of the mountain, the small streams merged into rivers, and by the time they reached the base of the mountain, the river water was already muddy and turbulent, overflowing everywhere.
On the river surface, there was residual snow, withered grass, and a few corpses of Devouring Gold Ants that had been washed down from who knows where.
“I’ve got it!” Yu Yixiang suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
“Got what?” Azure Phoenix asked, puzzled.
“I’ve found a way to outsmart the Devouring Gold Ants!” Yu Yixiang grabbed Qian Duoduo’s hand.