"How many swarms have we run into since hitting the road?" Han Li gazed at the insect corpses on the ground and asked slowly.
"That's the seventh swarm! The encounters have been a bit more frequent, but at least we haven't bumped into any super-swarm of ten thousand or more!" Yuan Yao, standing at his side, answered dutifully.
Half a day had passed since the two of them had set out together.
Hearing her words, Han Li furrowed his brow. His expression darkened somewhat, as though something weighed on his mind.
After a moment's thought, he reached out and waved toward the Gold Devouring Beetles swarming over the insect corpses on the ground. The flying insects transformed into a glittering cloud and flew back into the Spirit Beast Bag hovering in midair.
Han Li put the Spirit Beast Bag away unhurriedly.
"What's wrong? You don't look too happy, Fellow Daoist. We've already made it past the most dangerous stretch of the desert. Things should be much safer from here on." Yuan Yao studied Han Li's face, blinking her lovely eyes as she asked in puzzlement.
"Safer — do you really believe that?" Han Li glanced at Yuan Yao, a trace of cold laughter in his voice.
"Is there still danger ahead?" Yuan Yao's brow creased almost unconsciously, and she shot back with some disbelief.
"What dangers might lie ahead, I don't know. But one thing I can be certain of — none of the ant swarms we've encountered so far contained a queen-level existence. Either the entire desert has only a single queen, or we've simply been lucky enough that the few super-swarms harboring queens haven't shown up yet. We'd best stay cautious for the rest of the journey. If we go another half day without incident, only then can we truly say it's safe." Han Li's expression was placid.
"Perhaps you're worrying too much! These flying ants are so powerful that maybe queens don't even exist!" Yuan Yao's face paled for an instant, but she quickly forced a smile and spoke as though nothing were wrong.
"Let's hope so!" Han Li did not argue further. Though in his heart he knew perfectly well that Iron Fire Ants did indeed have queen-level existences. Moreover, while a queen's individual strength was merely average, her intelligence was reportedly terrifying. Running into one would undoubtedly be an extreme headache.
Affected by those words, neither spoke a word during the next two hours of travel.
But then something even more peculiar occurred — not a single ant swarm appeared for the rest of that stretch.
At that point, even Yuan Yao herself realized something was off. A faint trace of unease crept across her features.
However, when the two of them happened to scramble over a towering sand dune and looked ahead, both froze in shock!
"This is…" Yuan Yao's face was filled with horror. Her crimson lips parted several times, but no words came out.
Han Li maintained a more composed expression, though plenty of shock showed on his face as well.
Before the sand dune, standing alone on the sandy ground, rose an enormous crystal pillar some twenty to thirty zhang tall.
The pillar radiated an intense, bone-piercing cold. It not only glimmered with a faint white light, but inside it was encased an equally massive black giant. The giant was grotesquely ugly, eyes wide with fury, and topped with a smooth, bald head — utterly motionless within the crystal pillar. It was a thoroughly eerie sight!
Han Li stared at it for a long moment, then quickly swept his gaze across the surrounding sand.
The ground was pocked and cratered, riddled with holes large and small, as though a fierce battle had been fought here.
A strange gleam flickered in Han Li's eyes, and he turned his attention back to the giant.
This time, when he caught sight of one of the giant's eyeballs, he let out a soft "Oh?"
"Fellow Daoist Han, did you notice something?" Yuan Yao heard the sound and finally snapped out of her daze, unable to help asking.
Han Li offered a faint smile but did not answer her question. Instead, he half-closed his eyes and extended his spiritual sense outward.
After confirming that no one else was truly lurking nearby, he strode directly down the dune and headed toward the crystal pillar with long, confident steps.
"Hmph!" Seeing Han Li act so mysteriously, Yuan Yao brimmed with frustration and a measure of displeasure — but she could only follow after him.
After all, once she stepped outside the range of Han Li's Cold Ice Bead, she would have to expend Magical Power to withstand the searing heat on her own.
"Flying ants!"
When Yuan Yao had walked alongside Han Li to within a dozen zhang of the crystal pillar, her red lips parted and she blurted out the words, her face full of astonishment.
At this distance, she could finally make out the giant's true appearance. It was composed of countless black flying ants, condensed together!
From a distance, it could easily pass for the real thing — utterly inconceivable!
However, these Iron Fire Ants within the crystal pillar were completely motionless. Whether they were alive or dead was impossible to tell.
Han Li had halted in his tracks, gazing at the crystal pillar before him in contemplation.
"Since these flying ants are already dead, let's just go. No sense wasting time here." Yuan Yao studied the pillar for a few more moments before speaking quietly.