Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang didn't hesitate either, immediately stepping on their Flying Swords and rushing out.
The golden honey had been washed out, so they had to snatch it quickly!
The turbid floodwaters, carrying astonishing potential energy, surged down from the mountain, impacting and engulfing everything in their path.
However, in these extremely dangerous floodwaters, tens of thousands of Devouring Gold Ants were desperately pulling at a dark yellow object.
The closer he flew, the more clearly Qian Duoduo smelled the fragrance. It was a rich, lingering scent that, once smelled, was unforgettable.
Although Qian Duoduo had never seen golden honey, he knew this must be it—golden honey that was insoluble in water but melted in fire.
In front of Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang, Azure Phoenix was already close to madness. She rapidly flapped her wings, charging forward at full speed, her claws reaching for the dark yellow golden honey.
Just then, the large hole suddenly emptied, and the floodwaters poured back in. The Devouring Gold Ants, along with the golden honey, were quickly swept into the hole by the flood.
"No!" Azure Phoenix cried out, taking the Nine-Section Poison Whip Qian Duoduo handed her, and quickly lashed it into the large hole.
However, the large hole was quickly blocked again. The Nine-Section Poison Whip returned without success.
The three of them waited for a long time in front of the large hole, until the rain stopped, still unwilling to leave.
There was once a piece of golden honey, so close to them. But they missed it.
When the sky cleared, the holes on the Ant Mound slowly opened one by one. Azure Phoenix shook the rainwater from her head and flew away with Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang.
Their bodies were cold, and their hearts were cold too.
Azure Phoenix stayed in her large tree for three days straight, not coming down, not even bothering to look at the Luan Phoenix in the tent.
Although Yu Yixiang wasn't as dejected, her spirits weren't high either.
Only Qian Duoduo continued to refine strange things, furnace after furnace. He had almost finished studying the Qi Artifact Scroll and planned to take the examination after returning to the sect.
In the evening, Qian Duoduo decided to try something different: roast some Spiritual Corn, adding plenty of Spiritual Bee honey, to tempt Azure Phoenix down to eat something and recover from her disappointment sooner.
Qian Duoduo placed his alchemy cauldron outside the tent, allowing the aroma to drift towards Azure Phoenix.
When the Spiritual Corn was about seventy to eighty percent cooked, Qian Duoduo looked towards Azure Phoenix. Azure Phoenix's eyes were narrowed, looking as if she might or might not come.
Just as Qian Duoduo was about to ask Yu Yixiang to call her Cang Jie, he suddenly heard a "buzzing" sound. He turned his head and saw several Spiritual Bees flying towards him.
Before Qian Duoduo could react, Azure Phoenix had already flown over. With a single inhale, the Spiritual Bees were gone, swallowed into her mouth.
After eating the Spiritual Bees, Azure Phoenix naturally came before Qian Duoduo. "You put too much Spiritual Bee honey in this, it attracted the Spiritual Bees."
Despite saying that, she still took the perfectly roasted Spiritual Corn and began to munch on it with relish.
Yu Yixiang leaned in, "They even dared to enter Cang Jie's territory; they're too bold."
Azure Phoenix froze, swallowed the Spiritual Corn in one bite, and flew out. A moment later, she flew back, carrying several Spiritual Bees in her mouth.
"Something's not right. There are too many Spiritual Bees nearby. Normally, they wouldn't dare to approach here," Azure Phoenix said, spitting out the Spiritual Bees from her mouth.
"I'll go take a look," Yu Yixiang volunteered.
Half an hour later, Qian Duoduo was starting to get anxious when Yu Yixiang returned, her face beaming with joy.
"Our helpers have arrived!" she exclaimed the moment she entered the tent.
Azure Phoenix, who was watching a Luan Phoenix video, turned her head to look at her.
Qian Duoduo asked, "Where did the helpers come from?"
"Spiritual Bees, and a large force of them," Yu Yixiang said, taking a roasted Spiritual Corn and biting into it.
"How could they come?" Qian Duoduo remembered the huge mountain hill, which was the Spiritual Bees' nest. How could they travel such a long distance?
"Like us, they were lured by the golden honey." Yu Yixiang drew a simple map on the floor. "The Ant Mound is here. The Spiritual Bees' nest is here. And we are here, right on the Spiritual Bees' essential path to the Ant Mound. Because Cang Jie is here, they took a small detour, but still, many reckless ones—no, reckless bees—ventured into the mountain forest."
Azure Phoenix listened carefully, her eyes once again sparkling.
"They've come for the golden honey, so what else could they be but our helpers?" Yu Yixiang was in high spirits, finishing the Spiritual Corn in one go.
She looked up, meeting Azure Phoenix's gaze.
"Little girl, you haven't told us how they're going to help us yet," Azure Phoenix said gently.
Yu Yixiang smiled slightly, "Last time, we only succeeded halfway. We washed out the golden honey, but couldn't take it. However, the golden honey's scent did come out and was smelled by the Spiritual Bees. We can't resist golden honey, and they can resist it even less. As long as they insist on fighting the Devouring Gold Ants and eating the golden honey, we can sit back and watch the tigers fight, reaping the benefits."
Azure Phoenix's eyes flickered. "What should we do now?"
"Conserve our strength. When the Devouring Gold Ants and Spiritual Bees start fighting, we'll make our move last and get the golden honey," Yu Yixiang said with full confidence.
Things unfolded as Yu Yixiang expected. The main force of the Spiritual Bees advanced little by little towards the Ant Mound.
Azure Phoenix led Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang to choose the best vantage point. It was a cave on a mountain opposite the Ant Mound. The cave entrance was covered by Spiritual Vines, and hiding inside the tent made it very concealed. In the air, the scent of golden honey still lingered, a fragrance that drove all people and Spirit Beasts mad.
Three days later, the weather was clear, a good day for flying. The Spiritual Bees launched their attack.
The Spiritual Bees' attack began with moving their nest to the front of the Ant Mound. The Spiritual Bees broke their nest into smaller parts, moved them into the mountain forest in front of the Ant Mound, and then reassembled them.
When the buzzing sound of the Spiritual Bees flying reached the Ant Mound, it was as if hot oil had been poured into it, and the Devouring Gold Ant swarm began to churn. From hundreds of holes, one would emerge for a moment, then another would burrow back in.
"Why are Spiritual Bees and Devouring Gold Ants mortal enemies?" Qian Duoduo asked Azure Phoenix curiously. "One has wings, and the other doesn't. Logically, there shouldn't be any conflict."
"In April and May, some Devouring Gold Ants will grow wings. The males are Ant Kings, and the females are Ant Queens. They fly into the sky at night, in pairs. At this time, Spiritual Bees do the same. Not only are they easily confused, but once they discover the other is not of their kind, they bite to the death. Over the years, this feud has deepened."
Qian Duoduo imagined it: if Devouring Gold Ants had two wings, they really would look similar to Spiritual Bees.
After talking for half a day about love, to discover they weren't of the same kind—anyone would be furious. If something more substantial happened, it would be even more infuriating.
"Furthermore, whoever eliminates the other will be the sole ground overlord of this mountain range—they're about to start fighting. The Spiritual Bees moving their nest to the front of the Ant Mound means they've burned their bridges. They might have used their own methods to learn about the significant reduction in the Devouring Gold Ants' numbers," Azure Phoenix said happily using her Spiritual Awareness.
"What if the Spiritual Bees win a great victory over the Devouring Gold Ants?" Qian Duoduo asked Yu Yixiang.
"Whoever is stronger, we'll fight them. We won't allow a great victory to occur," Yu Yixiang said with a smile.
Azure Phoenix nodded. "The little girl is right. We'll outsmart them."
At this moment, dust flew in front of the Ant Mound, and teams of Devouring Gold Ants emerged from the holes. These were soldier ants with mandibles thicker than worker ants. And the Spiritual Bee forces were also flying in groups in the air. In each group, there was a large leader.
A southern wind blew, driving groups of Spiritual Bees towards the Devouring Gold Ant swarm.
The battle began!