Chapter 466: Iron Fire Ant

## Volume Four: Winds Rise in the Outer Seas

The hurricane instantly ceased, revealing the yellow-faced man within.

He stood motionlessly in place; his ice shield and green protective barrier were completely gone. In the center of his chest, where his heart should be, there was a fist-sized, transparent hole. The area around the wound was blackened and charred, as if it had been scorched by something.

The man looked down at his chest and involuntarily reached out to touch it, a look of disbelief and astonishment on his face, as if he still couldn't believe it.

But then, the black spear, with a rustling sound, transformed back into a dense swarm of flying ants. They surged relentlessly towards the man, knocking him to the ground and instantly covering his entire body.

After only a few screams on the ground, the man fell silent.

A moment later, the swarm of flying ants suddenly took flight, returned to their original position, and once again looked no different from ordinary sand grains.

Where the man had fallen, there was nothing. He had been completely devoured by the ant swarm.

From his vantage point high on the mountain, Han Li had witnessed this entire scene clearly from beginning to end.

Despite his shock, Han Li's expression became somewhat peculiar.

"Ironflame Ants! It must be them. I never thought I'd encounter these spiritual insects here," Han Li murmured to himself, his voice barely audible.

When these flying ants first appeared, Han Li hadn't yet recognized the origin of these black insects.

But when they showed no fear of the yellow-faced cultivator's flying dagger magical artifact attacks, and finally coalesced into a spear, he recognized them as "Ironflame Ants."

After all, flying ant-type spiritual insects are not uncommon in the cultivation world, and their appearances are quite similar. Unless one specializes in insect manipulation techniques, most cultivators cannot distinguish between them.

However, in reality, the abilities and terrifying nature of different flying ant-type spiritual insects vary tremendously.

Weaker ant swarms can be easily swept away even by Qi Condensation cultivators using ordinary magical artifacts.

More powerful ants would cause even Core Formation cultivators to frown and retreat.

And these spiritual insects, ranked thirty-seventh on the List of Marvelous Insects, are among the most formidable types of flying ants.

Aside from the legendary "Skycrystal Ants," ranked ninth, these Ironflame Ants are perhaps the most terrifying.

Because these flying ants are not only impervious to blades and spears but also immune to most magical attacks.

Only mid-tier or higher water and ice-attribute spells, or certain individual spells of other attributes, can cause them damage. They possess a freakish defensive capability almost identical to that of Gold Devouring Beetles. Furthermore, in resisting direct attacks from magical artifacts, they are superior to Gold Devouring Beetles.

Of course, they lack the Gold Devouring Beetles' abnormal ability to consume spiritual power, but they possess the terrifying abilities of spitting black fiery flames and forming combined transformations as a swarm.

With these abilities, Ironflame Ant swarms, to some extent, are fire-attribute magical artifacts that can freely change shape. Given their terrifying aggressive nature, ordinary defensive magical artifacts and spells simply cannot withstand their full attack. The yellow-faced man's miserable death was certainly no injustice!

Although Ironflame Ants are not classified as extinct spiritual insects like Gold Devouring Beetles, they are still extremely rare in the cultivation world.

Even when occasionally sighted, their swarms rarely exceed a few hundred or a thousand.

This is because Ironflame Ants require extremely harsh living environments.

They not only need scorching lava regions but also a large amount of copper and iron ores nearby to survive. If they leave such environments, Ironflame Ants rapidly weaken. Before long, their special abilities completely degenerate, making them little different from ordinary flying ants.

If this were the only condition, there would still be many cultivators eager to control these flying ants. Creating similar environments or directly seeking them out for rearing and training insects would be insignificant compared to the Ironflame Ants' enticing abilities.

However, a fatal limitation of these flying ants causes cultivators who covet them to return disappointed.

Neither wild nor artificially bred Ironflame Ants can be bound to a master.

Whenever someone attempts to control them through various master-binding rituals, the Ironflame Ants will, without exception, self-destruct one by one.

This dashes the hopes of many cultivators!

As for the specific reasons, explanations vary. Some say it's because these flying ants have a fierce nature and refuse to be controlled. Others claim it's related to their physical constitution, among other theories.

Naturally, information about Ironflame Ants is rarely known, whether in the Tiannan Region or the Disordered Star Seas.

Because in the past millennium, few have encountered Ironflame Ants, and their swarm sizes have progressively dwindled. They can almost be considered an extinct type of spiritual insect!

At this moment, Han Li gazed at the black desert, his mind filled with information about Ironflame Ants, and he stood lost in thought.

It seemed the Ironflame Ants were the black desert's natural trap.

While he didn't know how many such ant swarms were hidden in the desert, the fact that the yellow-faced cultivator had encountered a swarm just a few hundred zhang into the desert suggested that the entire black desert was riddled with them.

Perhaps even super-large swarms numbering in the tens of thousands could exist.

The thought sent a chill down Han Li's spine.

He quickly scanned his storage pouches with his divine sense.

He had over a dozen mid-tier ice and water-attribute talismans, which should be enough to deal with two or three Ironflame Ant swarms of the size he just witnessed.

However, relying solely on these talismans to traverse the entire desert would be pure fantasy!

Nevertheless, when Han Li's gaze fell upon the spirit beast pouches containing his Gold Devouring Beetles, a thought sparked within him.

He wondered if using Gold Devouring Beetles against the Ironflame Ants would have an unexpected effect.

After all, Gold Devouring Beetles were ranked higher than Ironflame Ants, and he possessed a large number of them.

Judging by the color of these Ironflame Ants' shells, they hadn't evolved to the legendary "black gold" stage. They should be in a semi-mature phase, similar to his Gold Devouring Beetles.

In that case, he could certainly give his Gold Devouring Beetles a try.

Once this idea took root in Han Li's mind, it surged with uncontrollable momentum.

He reluctantly suppressed his excitement and deliberated for a moment. Finding no issues, he decided to test it on the Ironflame Ant swarm he had just witnessed.

Even if the Gold Devouring Beetles couldn't handle them, he still had his mid-tier talismans. He could ensure his safety and retreat from the desert without harm.

With a resolute expression, Han Li swiftly descended the mountain and headed straight for the black desert.

A short while later, Han Li reached the edge of the desert and stopped.

He gazed at the black sand grains on the ground, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Suddenly, he bent down, grabbed a handful of black sand, and carefully examined it beneath his eyelids.

A moment later, Han Li snorted coldly. With a flash of yellow light, he clenched his five fingers tightly, then slowly released them.

The sand grains in his palm were mostly flattened, with hardly any crushed.

"Black desert? It's just black iron ore grains," Han Li muttered slowly, a hint of self-mockery in his voice.

"Still, to lay out iron ore grains into such a vast, desert-like terrain... The master of the Extinguished Heaven Hall back then truly possessed an amazing touch." Han Li mused, a touch of awe in his tone.

As he discarded the sand and straightened up, his brow furrowed instantly. He then lightly patted the Psychic Jade on his waist, and a white light shield appeared around him.

Earlier, to avoid the yellow-faced cultivator, he had been forced to deactivate the jade pendant's fire-repelling effect, relying solely on his cultivation to endure the heat.

Now, merely approaching the black desert, the searing heat waves that assaulted him quickly made his head spin and his mind fuzzy. Alarmed, Han Li hastily reactivated the Psychic Jade.

This was no time to conserve spiritual power.

Han Li no longer hesitated. He carefully walked towards the location of the Ironflame Ant swarm.

Walking in this black desert was an extremely unpleasant ordeal. The sand underfoot was intensely hot, and the air around him felt like it was burning. Even with the Psychic Jade and the Fire-Repelling Robe activated simultaneously, Han Li still felt as if he was suffocating. It felt even three parts hotter than the lava path he had traversed yesterday.

After walking just over thirty zhang, Han Li sighed, reached into his storage pouch, and a smooth, cool bead appeared in his hand.

Without hesitation, he infused it with some spiritual power. With a flash of white light, a wave of cold air emanated from the bead.

Han Li immediately felt a significant drop in temperature around him, and his spirits lifted. He promptly quickened his pace.

Using both the Psychic Jade and the Icepearl simultaneously caused his spiritual power consumption to soar. He needed to cross this desert as quickly as possible.

When Han Li was still fifty to sixty zhang away from the location of the Ironflame Ant swarm, he stopped and carefully observed the area.

After a long moment, Han Li gently shook his head.

The dormant Ironflame Ant swarm was extremely difficult to distinguish from the surrounding black sand grains. Even when he extended his divine sense, it was still hard to pinpoint their presence. The spiritual energy fluctuations from the swarm were faint, almost imperceptible, as if they were naturally endowed with an exceptionally advanced concealment technique.

It seemed that using his divine sense extensively to keep a wide berth from the ant swarms wouldn't work. He could only try his Gold Devouring Beetles.