The ant emerged and stretched its body before surveying the crowd.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Ziyun Zhenren and the others felt a peculiar emotion in the ant's eyes. It was unmistakably a look of contempt…
What? We, dignified cultivators, are being looked down upon by an ant?
However, upon sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the ant, they wisely chose to remain silent. This wasn't cowardice. It was merely adhering to their instincts.
Even though this creature was brought forth by the Second Elder, one of their own, considering the Second Elder's mental state, who knew if this thing might bite?
The crowd's reaction greatly pleased the mutated ant. It triumphantly rubbed its mandibles, looking smug. Suddenly, it sensed a dangerous aura. Following the feeling, its gaze finally fell upon Ziyu. Ziyu was staring intently at the mutated ant, drooling slightly at the corners of her mouth!
"Delicious!" Ziyu licked her lips, her eyes filled with excitement!
The mutated ant felt as if struck by lightning, its body trembling! It then shrunk to the size of a soybean and darted onto the Second Elder's shoulder. Its two antennae repeatedly tapped the Second Elder's body, as if saying something.
"Little Ziyu, this is my little treasure," the Second Elder quickly said. "You can't eat it, okay?"
"Okay then…" Ziyu regretfully wiped her mouth and said no more.
Wang Yang muttered inwardly. His wife's diet seemed to be far more eclectic than he had imagined… Was she perhaps eating other bizarre things as well…?
"Alright, little treasure, it's okay now," the Second Elder said affectionately to the mutated ant. "Go do your work."
The mutated ant then hopped back to the ground, its body returning to its original size.
"Just dig downwards with all your might," the Second Elder instructed.
"Rumble—!"
Everyone felt the ground shake violently again. Several disciples standing close by were almost buried by soil and rocks! A bottomless chasm had now appeared on the ground, and the mutated ant had vanished!
Everyone was stunned!
Good heavens! Was that thing digging too fast?
The rest of the journey proceeded without any further incidents. Ziyun Zhenren and the others' spatial rings were now filled with quite a bit of soil and rock fragments. Storing such items in spatial rings was likely a first in the cultivation world.
"You know, that big guy looks quite cute," one of the female cultivators commented.
Others immediately began to quietly gossip about the mutated ant's appearance. Perhaps still unwilling to give up, Ziyu plopped herself down on its back. Her little hands patted here and there, and she occasionally licked her lips with anticipation… The mutated ant was terrified.
Perhaps realizing that this creature was only for looking at and not for eating, Ziyu simply grabbed a handful of soil from the side to satisfy her craving. As a good child, Ziyu was never a picky eater. Although ordinary soil didn't provide as much energy as from demon beasts or cultivators, she didn't mind. She considered it a snack between meals. To her surprise, the soil tasted remarkably good! Ziyu reached into her clothes and pulled out a small white porcelain plate. After putting the soil on it, she leisurely scooped it up with a small spoon and began to eat. Her expressions of enjoyment made one believe she was eating some exquisite delicacy.
After a few bites, Ziyu suddenly remembered something.
"It tastes quite good, do you guys want some?" Ziyu held out the plate.
Everyone simultaneously took half a step back.
"No, thank you, we're not hungry…" Wang Yang quickly scurried over and began rummaging through his spatial ring for all sorts of delicious food.
"Wife, eat these…" Soil? Could that be eaten? What if her stomach got upset!
"Thank you," Ziyu accepted a plate of roasted chicken. Then, she grabbed a handful of soil and sprinkled it on top…
Wang Yang: … Stop! That's not cumin!
The others looked at the scene with peculiar expressions. Was Wang Yang too stingy? Was he starving his wife to the point where she was eating dirt? Then, everyone suddenly realized. Ziyu's true form was a flower demon. Flowers eating soil didn't seem entirely wrong…?
"Good disciple, Ziyu looks quite happy eating, doesn't she?" Ziyun Zhenren whispered.
Ye Fan gave her a strange look. "Master, that's soil…"
"Nonsense, of course, I know soil can't be eaten," Ziyun Zhenren said with a dark expression. "Your Master isn't senile yet!" "But it really looks delicious…" As she said this, Ziyun Zhenren secretly swallowed. Ye Fan looked at her with great vigilance. Master, you're acting weird!
Then, Ye Fan noticed something even stranger. It wasn't just his Master. It seemed like everyone else had secretly swallowed just now? Ye Fan suspected he was mistaken. When he looked again, their expressions seemed no different than before. He must have been imagining things.
After digging for several thousand meters, a faint light appeared in their sight. They had broken through!
"Whoosh—!" The mutated ant, carrying Wang Yang and Ziyu, dashed out. Ziyun Zhenren quickly looked outside. Below was a vast empty space, as if it had been hollowed out by someone. The entrance of the hole was in the stone wall at the top of the space.
"Wang Yang, how is it down there?" Ziyun Zhenren called out, leaning over the edge of the hole.
After wandering around for a bit, the two and the ant replied, "It seems there's no danger." Ziyun Zhenren then led the others down.
Everyone began to carefully examine their surroundings. The space was indeed quite large, spanning about a thousand zhang. The edges were sheer stone walls. Except for the hole they had dug, there were no other exits in the ceiling. Either this space was carved out of nothing, or after carving it out, someone had filled it with thousands of meters of soil… The former was a bit terrifying to consider. The latter was not just annoying but extremely tedious… The entire space was utterly empty, with no other objects to be found.
Except… for the giant stone platform in the center! This platform, spanning a hundred zhang, was the only unique feature in the area. Several tall pillars stood at the edges of the platform. Iron chains extended from the pillars, connecting to a demon beast in the center of the platform. The demon beast wasn't large, only about a zhang tall. Its appearance was similar to a white-furred ape. At the moment, the demon beast was motionless, its head bowed. If not for the snoring sounds heard, one would have assumed it was dead.
Ziyun Zhenren's eyes widened! "Is that… a White-furred Demon Ape?" The White-furred Demon Ape possessed a strength equivalent to a human cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage! Although Ziyun Zhenren had never seen one in person, she had heard many legends about them. Every recorded appearance of this creature had been catastrophic! Countless cultivators had perished!