Qian Duoduo took out five Cold Flame Pure Snow Spears and handed them to Azure Phoenix.
Upon reaching the first target point, Azure Phoenix waved her Spiritual Qi, and with a "bang," a spear shot out, deeply embedding itself into the Ant Mound.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang!" Azure Phoenix darted through the downpour like lightning, all five Senior Dan Artifacts striking their designated points.
"Explode!" Qian Duoduo silently roared in his heart, simultaneously detonating the five Cold Flame Pure Snow Spears.
"Boom!" With a tremendous roar, the Ant Mound shook violently, its upper half swaying precariously before tilting backward, revealing a large hole within.
Below the large hole was precisely the location of the Ant Queen's palace they had chosen. Of the upper, middle, and lower positions, Qian Duoduo and his companions had chosen the middle.
The floodwaters, carrying mud and sand, surged into this large hole.
Following them was the Nine-Section Poison Whip.
Qian Duoduo and Azure Phoenix were currently hovering above this large hole. Qian Duoduo had given the Nine-Section Poison Whip to Azure Phoenix, and she was manipulating it to delve into the hole.
If their choice was correct, the Ant Queen would be in a semi-comatose state after the shock. The Nine-Section Poison Whip would effortlessly tear her to shreds. Simultaneously, the golden honey would also be flushed out of the Ant Mound with the floodwaters.
Qian Duoduo nervously watched Azure Phoenix, trying to read the result from the expression on her face.
Azure Phoenix's Phoenix mouth was half-open, her wings slightly fanning, and her Phoenix eyes stared unblinkingly downwards. She was equally filled with anticipation and tension.
In the large hole below, the floodwaters swirled, pouring fiercely into the Devouring Gold Ants' nest. In the center of the vortex was the dark whip's shadow.
Suddenly, Azure Phoenix flapped her wings, letting out a low cry, "Go." The Nine-Section Poison Whip was immediately withdrawn.
As the poison whip exited the hole, countless Devouring Gold Ants leaped out, fearlessly pouncing towards Azure Phoenix in the air.
However, Azure Phoenix had already taken Qian Duoduo and flown away from the Ant Mound, disappearing into the mountain forest.
Yu Yixiang saw Qian Duoduo and her return empty-handed, knowing they had chosen incorrectly and the Ant Queen's palace was not in the middle position.
Without time to speak, she packed up the tent and jumped onto Azure Phoenix's back; they fled back together.
The first battle was a failure.
After shaking off the rainwater outside, Azure Phoenix entered the tent, and the majestic figure of Luan Phoenix appeared again on the tent's screen.
Qian Duoduo quickly set up the cauldron and began roasting Spirit Chicken legs. Cang Jie was in a bad mood, so today's sauce needed double the Spiritual Bee honey.
"We still did very well, just a little bit shy of success. Right, Senior Sister?" Qian Duoduo chatted idly while roasting.
"Indeed." Yu Yixiang nodded repeatedly, "Just a tiny bit of luck was missing. However, next time we'll have a fifty percent chance."
"Mm. The middle position has been completely messed up by us, so the Ant Queen can't possibly change her position. Therefore, she's either above or below." Qian Duoduo let out the aroma of the roasted Spirit Chicken legs, adding a bit more chili. Today, Cang Jie got wet from the rain, so he wanted her to feel warm from the spice.
Cang Jie, listening nearby, chuckled, "You two young friends don't need to try to cheer me up. I've waited three hundred years; am I afraid of waiting a few more days?"
The heavy rain came and went quickly. Early the next morning, the Jinlun Mountains were already bathed in bright sunshine.
They quietly approached the Ant Mound, and the sight before them greatly lifted Azure Phoenix's spirits.
A large section of the Ant Mound had completely collapsed, and hundreds of tunnels were entirely blocked by mud and sand. Tens of thousands of worker ants were busy moving out damaged and rotting food. The Devouring Gold Ants that had been killed by explosions, shock, or drowning were likely buried in the refuse pile.
In yesterday's disaster, at least ten thousand Devouring Gold Ants died.
Upon returning, Azure Phoenix's first words were, "Prepare for the second attempt. I refuse to believe our luck will be so bad again?"
Azure Phoenix caught some Spirit Beasts and Spirit Birds from the surrounding mountains, asking Qian Duoduo to roast them for her, varying the flavors.
The only constant was the Luan Phoenix on the screen. She gazed at the Luan Phoenix with the look of a lovesick woman watching her beloved husband.
She never tired of looking, growing to love it more with each glance.
By the third day, the weather changed again. As the south wind picked up and the clouds thickened, the three of them tacitly set off, flying towards the Ant Mound.
The tunnels of the Ant Mound had already been repaired. The large hole blasted open last time had been sealed with a large rock.
A moment later, the heavy rain began to fall.
Rainwater flowed down the mountain, winding left and right, gradually converging into a river.
According to their plan, they again selected five points this time. After a simultaneous explosion, they would use the long whip to strike deep into the old nest. This time, they chose the upper section.
Amidst a clap of thunder, Azure Phoenix continuously threw out Cold Flame Pure Snow Spears, each spear reaching its designated position and deeply embedding itself into the mountain rock.
However, just as Qian Duoduo detonated the five Dan artifacts, a powerful Qi rose from within the Ant Mound.
"Not good, the Ant Queen has incited the Devouring Gold Ants to riot!" Azure Phoenix communicated to Qian Duoduo with her Spiritual Awareness.
"Devouring Gold Ants can riot?" Qian Duoduo was a bit startled.
"This is an instinct for ants; when they encounter a major disaster, as long as the Ant Queen activates them with her Spiritual Awareness, they can enter a riot state. However, after rioting, they will enter a period of weakness."
Azure Phoenix explained, her hands not stopping for a moment. The Nine-Section Poison Whip drilled into the newly blasted large hole.
As soon as the poison whip entered the hole, the inside immediately became a chaotic mess. Countless soldier ants, disregarding the impact of the flood and the lashing of the poison whip, rushed out of the large hole, trying to block the entrance with their bodies.
"The Ant Queen is right below!" Azure Phoenix happily exclaimed. With a "clang," she let out a long cry, and the sound wave precisely surged towards the large hole.
The floodwaters, propelled by the sound wave, accelerated their rush into the large hole.
"Buzz," an invisible fluctuation appeared again in the hole.
In an instant, the flood's vortex actually disappeared, and there was even a phenomenon of water flowing backward into the large hole, while the Nine-Section Poison Whip in Azure Phoenix's hand hung limply, like a snake whose vital point had been pinched.
"Damn it!" Azure Phoenix forcefully pulled up the poison whip, withdrew it from the large hole, and turned around, "Let's go."
Raindrops as large as beans, forming continuous lines, continued to pound down from the sky.
What a pity! Such good rainwater, but they couldn't use it.
Qian Duoduo and Azure Phoenix were unwilling but helpless as they retreated into the mountain forest in front of the Ant Mound.
"Guessed the wrong spot again?" In the tent at their hiding place, Yu Yixiang saw Qian Duoduo and Azure Phoenix return exasperated and quickly went to greet them.
Azure Phoenix said furiously, "We guessed correctly. But they had sentries. After we threw out the Magic Treasures, the sentries transmitted a signal to the Ant Queen. The Ant Queen made the entire ant colony riot, and they were prepared. They had soil and rocks ready in various tunnels. As soon as the water entered, they didn't fight us; they directly sealed it off, almost burying the Nine-Section Poison Whip inside."
Yu Yixiang looked out the window, "The Devouring Gold Ants also have their tactics. Hey, come look! Why are so many Devouring Gold Ants rushing out?"
Qian Duoduo and Azure Phoenix's expressions changed—did they just kill the Ant Queen?
Outside the window, rain poured down, making it only vaguely possible to see the scene on the Ant Mound. Around the large hole that had just been blasted open, tens of thousands of Devouring Gold Ants were desperately pulling a dark yellow object into the hole.
That dark yellow object floated on the water, swirling, and looked as if it was about to be washed down the mountain by the flood.
Azure Phoenix's eyes suddenly widened, "golden honey!"
She let out a shriek, suddenly rushed out of the tent, and flew into the downpour.