Chapter 48: King of the Ant Beasts

Although Qiu Han was unaware of the classification system for the ant beasts’ ranks and strengths, he could easily surmise that the fewer there were of a particular color, the higher the level and power. Directly before him towered an ant beast over ten feet tall, its entire body blazing a fiery red. Judging from the expressions and movements of the other ant beasts around, it seemed this colossal, crimson creature was their king.

Behind the Ant King stretched a series of caverns, each one erupting with thick flames from its depths. Among these caverns, one was significantly larger than the others. In the center of this vast cavern stood a desert red crystal, nearly thirty feet high and ten feet wide, upright and imposing.

Qiu Han’s pupils contracted, and his expression grew increasingly grave. Never before had he seen—nor even heard of—a desert red crystal of such size. Judging by recent events and what had just transpired, these ant beasts appeared to be carrying out some astonishing plan, a plan that was perhaps on the verge of completion.

At that moment, the ant beasts surrounding him grew restless and excited, their demeanor charged with anticipation. Qiu Han could not begin to fathom their emotions. Suddenly, the gigantic Ant King before him stretched out its massive arms and seized him. With a single touch, three layers of Qiu Han’s defensive barriers were instantly shattered.

He had, however, prepared for this. Before entering, Qiu Han had layered six defenses upon himself—the utmost his current cultivation allowed. In addition to activating his own spiritual energy shield, he had also summoned a lower-grade spiritual artifact shield for further protection.

This arrangement was not without reason. First, given his current strength, maintaining a superior-grade artifact shield for long periods would drain his spiritual energy too quickly—something unsustainable in a drawn-out confrontation. Secondly, he believed that with so many layers of defense, plus the artifact shield, he could withstand the attacks of these relatively weak ant beasts for a short time.

But after this recent ordeal, Qiu Han felt a tinge of regret. He had not anticipated the sheer number of ant beasts here, nor the presence of their king—the latter’s strength far exceeding his expectations.

After shattering three layers of his defense, even the Ant King seemed somewhat spent, unable to break through the remaining barriers. Yet, with a sudden, forceful motion, it clamped its arms together, hoisted Qiu Han, and dragged him into the central cavern where the desert red crystal stood.

Though this sequence appeared slow, from the moment the Ant King struck to the instant it pulled Qiu Han into the cavern, only a few breaths had passed. The clearing where Qiu Han had just stood was now surrounded by ant beasts, their excitement growing, surging forward until the cavern entrance was completely engulfed…

Inside the cavern, as Qiu Han was dragged in, the searing magma immediately shattered another of his defensive layers. The Ant King, by contrast, seemed largely unaffected—the magma unable to inflict much harm, though it did hinder its movements somewhat.

“How could there be so many ant beast colonies deep beneath the desert? And so many caverns… What secret lies hidden here?”

Qiu Han’s heart raced with alarm, but there was no time to dwell on it. Of the three remaining layers of defense, another was soon lost to the relentless assault of the scorching magma. Now, only his lower-grade artifact shield and spiritual energy shield stood between him and the molten onslaught, and he had to be ever vigilant against the Ant King’s attacks.

Fortunately, after dragging Qiu Han into the cavern, the Ant King did not attack further. Upon closer inspection, behind it in the heart of the massive desert red crystal, there was a palm-sized, crimson flame crystal. The surrounding magma was slowly, steadily drawn into this flame crystal.

“What is that?”

Qiu Han was taken aback. He had never heard of a desert red crystal producing such a flame crystal. The Ant King, its body entirely ablaze, reached out and clawed into the desert red crystal, gouging out a cavity. It then crawled inside and lay down beneath the suspended flame crystal.

“What is it planning?”

Qiu Han was bewildered by the Ant King’s actions, but he had no time to ponder. He concentrated all efforts on maintaining his artifact shield, for after this prolonged ordeal, the outermost defense was showing signs of imminent collapse.

“Damn it!”

Qiu Han was deeply frustrated, yet escape seemed impossible for now. Inside the weakening barriers, he felt as though he were being roasted alive. Sweat poured down his body in torrents under the searing heat, and, worse still, his spiritual energy was nearly depleted. If the final artifact shield failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

One incense stick, two sticks, three sticks of time passed.

Qiu Han was drenched as if caught in a downpour, his clothes plastered to his skin.

Half an hour, an hour, an hour and a half went by.

Veins bulged on Qiu Han’s forehead as his spiritual energy waned to nothing. The Ant King remained crouched inside, its unblinking eyes fixed on Qiu Han with the gaze of a predator watching its dying prey.

At last, with a furious roar, Qiu Han’s artifact shield shattered, and the molten magma surged in like a tidal wave, threatening to consume and incinerate him entirely.

But in that instant, the Ant King abruptly reached out, seizing Qiu Han—along with his remaining spiritual energy shield—and dragged him before itself. The flame crystal floated out, enveloped in layers of magma, and struck Qiu Han’s last shield as if seeking to absorb him as nourishment.

In this life-or-death crisis, Qiu Han’s heart surged with unwillingness, but he had no choice. With a sizzle, his final spiritual energy shield was destroyed.

As the magma poured in, Qiu Han’s face twisted in agony, as though pierced by excruciating pain. Then, from the depths of his consciousness, the mysterious disk he had kept hidden abruptly flew out of its own accord, expanding into a ring of light ten feet across, enveloping both Qiu Han and the flame crystal shrouded in magma.

Stunned by this sudden turn, Qiu Han had no time to think. He immediately sat cross-legged within the circle of light to recover. The mysterious disk spun rapidly above his head, emitting a powerful purple glow that covered the flame crystal. In the next moment, the crystal was drawn in as if by an invisible force, vanishing into the disk.

Having devoured the flame crystal, the mysterious disk drifted back before Qiu Han, then slipped once more into his sea of consciousness. Instinctively, Qiu Han sent his awareness to examine the disk’s state. The instant his spirit touched it, a terrifying suction drew him inside.