Chapter 1551: The Might of the Gold-Swallowing Ant

A vast, boundless yellow desert stretched out. A golden sun hung high in the sky, with not a single cloud. The scorching heat caused the air to shimmer and distort, as if it could no longer bear the intense temperature and was on the verge of shattering.

A green lotus platform rapidly glided through the sky. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan stood at the very front, their expressions serene. Jin Lisheng stood behind them, holding a glowing yellow disk in her hand. Wang Xin stood silently beside Jin Lisheng.

The surface of the yellow disk had numerous markings and some rice-grain sized characters, which seemed to represent various things, along with a yellow pointer about a foot long.

“Young friend Jin, at our current speed, how much longer until we reach Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?” Wang Changsheng asked casually. Vegetation in the desert was extremely sparse, and mirages occasionally appeared. There were no signs of human activity for hundreds of thousands of miles around. Without a local cultivator to guide them, finding the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple would be incredibly difficult.

“We should arrive within five days!” Jin Lisheng replied with some uncertainty. As merely a Core Formation cultivator, the Green Lotus Platform's flying speed was too fast, and there were no landmarks to guide her. She wasn't sure how much farther it was to the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.

No sooner had she spoken than the yellow jade disk in Jin Lisheng’s hand suddenly erupted with dazzling yellow light, and its pointer began to spin rapidly.

“Oh no, Senior Wang, the Wind Sensing Disk is reacting. A sandstorm is heading our way.” Jin Lisheng's face changed, and she said with a frown.

Sandstorms frequently occurred in the Western Desert. Large sandstorms were even more formidable than fourth-tier Azure-Eyed Sand Jackals, capable of leveling an entire oasis. However, sandstorms of this magnitude were rarely seen, perhaps once in a millennium.

“It’s just a sandstorm. What harm can it do to us?” Wang Changsheng said dismissively. There were celestial winds in the South Sea, but if a cultivator's cultivation was high enough, even those winds couldn't harm them.

“The sandstorm itself isn’t terrifying, but there are some Golden Bridge Worms mixed within it,” Jin Lisheng explained cautiously. “Individually, they are not strong, but they are numerous, impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire, and highly adaptable. Ordinary magic spells cannot harm them, making them quite difficult to deal with.”

No sooner had she spoken than a vast expanse of yellow mist appeared on the distant horizon. Fierce winds raged, blowing countless yellow grains of sand into the air.

The massive yellow mist met the clear blue sky, resembling an ink wash painting.

The enormous yellow mist moved quickly, heading directly towards Wang Changsheng and the other three.

Wang Changsheng scoffed softly, knowing a sandstorm of this magnitude couldn't trouble Nascent Soul cultivators.

He took out his Grand Expanse Spirit-Slaying Blade. With a slight flick, countless blue light specks appeared around him, rapidly transforming into a turbulent river a hundred zhang long and thirty zhang wide, which surged towards the yellow mist.

Rumble! With a deafening roar, the yellow mist was shattered by the turbulent river. However, the yellow mist seemed endless and quickly engulfed the river.

A rapid burst of zither music suddenly sounded, and a wave of blue sound swept out, directly engulfing the yellow mist.

A series of booming explosions rang out, and the yellow mist was torn apart as if it were thin paper.

Five breaths later, the dust settled, the yellow mist vanished, and the sky returned to its clear state.

Just then, countless four-winged golden beetles, hundreds of thousands strong, flew out from the desert. They transformed into various weapon shapes—swords, blades, staves, and clubs—and surged directly towards Wang Changsheng and the other three.

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly. With a flick of his wrist, tens of thousands of golden lights flew out from his Spirit Beast Pearl—they were Gold-Devouring Ants.

There were over a hundred thousand Gold-Devouring Ants, fewer in number than the golden beetles. However, the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen was a fourth-tier low-grade spirit insect, whose sharp teeth could even chew through ordinary magical treasures.

After the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen advanced to the fourth tier, she mastered the Metal Escape Art, a relatively difficult Five-Element Escape Art to learn, suitable for escape and sneak attacks. Truth be told, this divine ability wasn't particularly powerful, but given that Gold-Devouring Ants weren't exceptionally strong spirit insects, mastering the Metal Escape Art was already quite remarkable.

The Gold-Devouring Ant Queen charged into the swarm of golden beetles. The blades, spears, and staves formed by the golden beetles struck her body, emitting dull 'clinking' sounds. The Gold-Devouring Ant Queen opened her massive maw, revealing a row of pale golden fangs, and bit down on a golden beetle, splitting it in half and devouring it.

Though numerous, these golden beetles were clearly no match for the Gold-Devouring Ants and steadily retreated.

Jin Lisheng watched, dumbfounded and filled with envy. She had not expected Wang Changsheng to cultivate a fourth-tier spirit insect.

In less than ten breaths, the Gold-Devouring Ants had devoured tens of thousands of golden beetles.

Leveraging their numerical superiority, three golden beetles ganged up on one Gold-Devouring Ant. Lower-tier Gold-Devouring Ants were naturally no match, but the higher-tier Gold-Devouring Ants were simply too tough for the golden beetles to bite through.

As time passed, the number of golden beetles steadily dwindled. Knowing they were defeated, they scattered and fled in all directions.

A light blue water curtain appeared at some point, enveloping an area of a hundred miles. The golden beetles crashed against the blue water curtain and were blocked. Their sharp teeth were useless against it.

Half an hour later, the last golden beetle found its way into a Gold-Devouring Ant's stomach. The tens of thousands of Gold-Devouring Ants flew back and disappeared into the Spirit Beast Pearl on Wang Changsheng's hand.

“Let’s go! We’ll continue…” Wang Changsheng hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly gazed towards the distant horizon.

A massive mound of earth suddenly bulged up in the desert, moving rapidly towards them.

Wang Changsheng frowned. The blade of his Grand Expanse Spirit-Slaying Blade in his hand glowed with golden light, turning a pale golden hue, and he swung it towards the mound.

With a flash of golden light, a golden blade of light, over a hundred zhang long, shot out and instantly cleaved the mound.

With a colossal roar, countless yellow sand particles scattered, and dust flew everywhere.

A yellow lizard, ten zhang long, appeared before Wang Changsheng’s eyes. The lizard was emaciated and gaunt, with wrinkled skin and some red patterns on its body. Its eyes were red, and a row of crimson sharp spines ran along its back. This was a fourth-tier low-grade demonic beast, equivalent to an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

“Earth-Covering Fire Lizard!” Jin Lisheng exclaimed in surprise, identifying the yellow lizard.

Such demonic beasts were not common, and Earth-Covering Fire Lizards that could grow to the fourth tier were even rarer.

Wang Changsheng frowned slightly. Had something happened at Myriad Spirits Lake? According to Jin Lisheng, most high-tier demonic beasts were kept in Myriad Spirits Lake, and they were rarely found in the wild.

The Earth-Covering Fire Lizard rapidly moved towards them, its escape speed incredibly swift.

Wang Ruyan picked up the Spirit-Cleansing Flute from her waist, brought it to her lips, and a melodious flute tune suddenly rang out.

The Spirit-Cleansing Flute was refined from six Pure Bamboo stalks. With Wang Ruyan's mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, the fourth-tier low-grade Earth-Covering Fire Lizard stood no chance of resisting it.

Soon, the Earth-Covering Fire Lizard abruptly stopped, completely still.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes as he intended to dispatch the demon with a single strike. Just then, a deep male voice suddenly rang out: “Two benefactors, please cease! Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life; please spare its life.”

A golden light appeared on the distant horizon, swiftly flying towards them.

Before long, the golden light landed on the Earth-Covering Fire Lizard, revealing a benevolent-looking monk in golden robes – it was Master Jingkong.