?"Follow me!" I said as I rushed forward.
The soldiers had worry in their eyes from the number of ants behind us. Yet they had full confidence in my ability to get us out of this mess. After all, not only was I the only one with the majority of my cultivation base intact, I was also the one propping and guiding them throughout our ordeal in this venture of the Dark Garden.
The map in my hand indicates a safe location further up north, however to get there we'll need to cross close to the ant colony.
"Up ahead!" old Fu said.
Two gigantic ants were coming at us. They had their mandibles clamping and opening fast creating a loud metallic clang of sounds, enough to inform other ants to come over and to send fear into the heart of its prey.
"Stay close!" I shouted to the group as the two ants were rus.h.i.+ng at us. I noticed a boulder in our path to which I rushed to and pulled up with one arm and sent flying using the same motion.
The first ant intercepted the projectile biting at it and splitting it in half while the other ant reared up, raising its bottom like a scorpion's tail.
A torrent of transparent liquid was shot out of her rear end at us. I didn't want to risk touching that, because it will be one of their three things. Either acid, poison, or a paralyzing substance. All of them will be problematic to us. Mainly to the rest of my group.
I pulled out creeping demise.
I have learned from my former failure. All of my weapons, tools, trinkets, puppets and guns that I have made are completely useless and irrelevant here. Since they inherently use basic Qi and Saint Qi, they're empowered with natural heavenly Qi and functioned based on the Qi stones to power them up.
Yet in a region where the heavenly Qi is heavily interfered with, they are nothing but sc.r.a.ps of useless metal. N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
However, Creeping Demise was a weapon made form a meteorite forged in time. And was a natural heavenly metal that the former me used and imbued with Poison Qi.
"Grow!" I said.
Creeping Demise's tip enlarged manifesting a ma.s.sive metallic serpent that twirled forward like a cyclone. Its mouth open agape eating up the incoming liquid and in the same move, tearing the frontal ant in half.
I pulled my hand back dragging the entire snake head to me, then I sent it once again forward. Tearing into the second ant in a single swing.
"That's an interesting weapon," said Old Fu.
I smiled at the old man, "It's the only weapon I own that I didn't technically make myself."
"How is it working in a place where heavenly Qi is restricted," Old Fu asked.
"It functions like I do, it doesn't need heavenly Qi," I replied as I swung the weapon a couple times again, culling the ants that had crept behind our backs.
"Hurry forward!" I said and our group continued moving ahead.
The further we got to the north, the more resistance we were met with. From a couple ants, to dozens, to hundreds of ma.s.sive sized ones.
"We're getting deeper and deeper into enemy territory," said Old Fu.
I replied gasping for breath, "I know, that's our only way out though," I added, "The map indicates a safe area a bit further ahead, look over there," I said as I pointed to our right.
Far between the tree lines and a bit up above them was a ma.s.sive mountain like structure that reminded me of the Ant Cave where we first came to meet humans in the Beyond.
It was a natural ant hill, with holes and pathways leading hundreds upon hundreds of giant ants outward and toward us.
"That's the colony," I said as I pulled a bunch of pills from my holding bag and chugged them down.
I then pointed the jaws of the snake toward the ant colony and made it spit out using my own Qi a potent poison, and one of my favorite ones.
The grizzly spider's poison.
A ma.s.sive blob of purple poison surged out of the mouth of the serpent and shot against the ant colony's base.
The poison then took flames and rose up in level igniting in the process. This event caused every ant that was following us, or trying to intercept us to halt and stop. Then retreat rapidly as their home began to burn.
"No…run!" I said.
My exhaustion was an obvious result to the exertion of Qi I was funneling. The Qi suppression was affecting me although not the same as everyone else it was still debilitating. And using Creeping Demise to protect everyone and scour our way forward was exhausting not to mention using high level poison.
So I hurried forward with the rest of the group until we found ourselves in front of a powerful river.
Normally this won't be a problem to cross, as it would take nothing but a powerful jump forward to move across it. However, the rest of the people with me can't do it.
I once again used Creeping Demise, extending the serpent all across the river.
I didn't need to explain anything, as Old Fu instantly jumped atop the metallic snake and ran ahead.
The rest of the soldiers did the same and all I needed to do was to rapidly shrink the sword. The jaws of the serpent had been dug deep into the opposite river side and the force pulled me all the way to where everyone else was.
Looking behind us, no more ants were following us, and the river was a good protection. But that didn't mean we were safe.
"This marks the beginning of the safe area in the map, but don't let your guard down even if," I said.
***
"I didn't miss anything important, did I?" said the Lord of Lords as he opened his eyes.
He was now back with the Red Sun and Wisest Sun.
"No, they just moved past the Dark Ants area and are proceeding north," said the Wisest Sun.
"Good good," replied the Lord of Lords.
"You've been away for a bit though, anything interesting happening back home?" asked the Wisest Sun.
"Oh, yes, the new kid, Shen Bao's friend. He had some interesting things to say," the Lord of Lords smiled.
"Like what?" the Red Sun asked.
"Like the fact that he said he does not wors.h.i.+p the Lording Sun even though he bows to it," the Lord of Lords smiled.
"I bet his end was gruesome," said the Red Sun.
"End? No, not at all, I'm not that vicious Laughing Slaughterer, I actually found it interesting and humorous," said the Lord of Lords.
"You truly grew senile, to allow someone to speak of you like that when they are far below you," the Red Sun shrugged.
"But it is only temporary, that man's temperament is that of a pious scholar that wors.h.i.+ps nothing but knowledge itself," said the Lord of Lords.
"Then why did you take him, I would have wanted that man to come under my teachings," said the Wisest Sun.
"You already got the kid with the most destructive and most vicious past, you should be glad," said the Lord of Lords.
"Wait, wait, what are you guys talking about?" said the Red Sun.
"The new recruits that came to the Beyond." Said the Lord of Lords.
"You guys personally went and recruited them, that's unfair," he said.
"Finders keepers, not to mention we're the ones who took them in," said the Lord of Lords.
"Then what about these kids that interested you so? Why would a man that seeks power and domination like you take a scholar, and why would one that seeks knowledge and wisdom and the secrets of the world take a destroyer, shouldn't it be the other way around," asked the Red Sun. "At least you should have given me the kid that you said was vicious and enough to pique your interest… Suns,"
"It wouldn't have benefited either of us or the children. The scholar is at a point in time where his thoughts are his and his alone, any powerful influence will lead him astray of his own path. If he had went under the Wisest Sun he would probably lose his way. As for Dao Shen, he is born in might and was raised in might, grew up to destroy and conquer, then soon found his path of devouring and domination, if he were to come under me, he would be influence too and lose his path. We took these kids to supplement their lack, not to enforce their already blooming power."
"I feel like I have been left out," said the Red Sun.
"There is a child, that will soon come to the Beyond. You can take him," said the Lord of Lords.
"Is he better then Shen Bao? Because I'm being greedy," said the Red Sun.
"Hmm, I wouldn't say better. But I will definitely not say worse, it is a child that has a path that is driven by fate. And his fate will eventually lead him here," said the Lord of Lords.
"We have many of those here, they soon come to achieve their fate or die trying, it is nothing new," the Red Sun shrugged.
"Indeed, but this child was with Shen Bao throughout their journey, they met in the same sect, grew to help each other, and then were able to succeed in defeating the tyrant of the Vast Expanse together, even Shen Bao gave him a nickname," said the Lord of Lords.
"And what is this nickname that Shen Bao had given to this child?"
"He called him the Main Character, the Main Character Meng Hao."