Finding the ant nest was not difficult for the two of them.
About three li west of the dilapidated temple, at the foot of a mountain slope, a huge opening appeared on the desert surface, within which the characteristic skull patterns of the Ghost Picture Ant's carapace could still be vaguely seen.
Sand flowed easily, yet this opening managed to maintain its clarity. It was likely that the Ghost Picture Ants had reinforced it in some special way. xxs1
"Early morning" typically referred to the period between five and six-thirty AM. It was already almost 4:50 AM, and further delay was not advisable.
The two exchanged glances, then stealthily approached the opening. After a rough estimation of their position, they jumped down directly.
When the Ghost Picture Ants slept, they were densely packed. However, Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing landed in extremely precise narrow gaps. Their jump from about three meters high made not a sound.
From above, it was not clear, but upon landing, they discovered that the Ghost Picture Ant's cave actually showed clear signs of artificial construction!
The cave was elongated, with bluestone bricks laid on the floor, resembling a road with a clear direction.
The sand layer above and the stone slabs underfoot were irregularly dotted with strange jade protrusions. On each protrusion, a Ghost Picture Ant was perched. It seemed that this creature had a characteristic of living near jade.
The two exchanged glances and quietly proceeded along the stone path.
After walking about ten meters, the path ahead plunged into complete darkness.
Zhang Qiling took out two flashlights. He nudged Hei Yanjing with one, signaling him to take it.
However, he vaguely felt Hei Yanjing chuckle and, in the darkness, accurately grab the flashlight, then shove it back into Zhang Qiling's backpack.
Zhang Qiling turned on the other flashlight he was holding and shone it at Hei Yanjing. The latter raised his sunglasses and mouthed, "I can see."
Knowing this was one of Hei Yanjing's secrets, Zhang Qiling asked no further questions and focused on moving forward.
To prevent overly strong light from waking the Ghost Picture Ants, the flashlight beam was adjusted to its lowest brightness, barely illuminating a small patch of the path ahead.
Zhang Qiling held his breath, advancing dozens of steps.
Just then, an eye suddenly flashed under the light beam!
The eye was vacant and deathly still. The pupil, spread wide on a gray sclera, stared fixedly at the approaching figures, as if recounting the unwillingness to die!
Zhang Qiling instantly became alert. After meeting the eye's gaze for a moment, he slowly relaxed his body.
It was actually an intricately carved statue!
The superb craftsmanship made the statue's eyes lifelike. If an ordinary person saw it inadvertently, they would likely cry out in alarm.
Looking around, Zhang Qiling realized they had reached the end of the path.
It was a semi-circular wall, embedded with human-shaped statues in various poses.
These statues were either lying down, standing, crying, or laughing. But what they had in common was that they all depicted the final moments of people before death.
(Heh, they've made the entrance to this Immortal Palace quite elaborate.) Hei Yanjing observed the surroundings and communicated with lip movements.
Zhang Qiling checked the time. It was exactly 4:58 AM.
In the story of "Ants Digging for Gold," ancient people could only obtain treasures in the early morning. The ancestors of the old guide had also said that the entrance to the Immortal Palace only appeared in the early morning.
This indicated that there must be some special phenomenon visible only in the early morning.
(Wait.)
He turned off the flashlight, leaned quietly against the stone wall, and entered a state of resting his mind.
Hei Yanjing, unable to stay idle, produced a box of crayons from somewhere and began to add color to the statues in their various death poses.
The complete darkness had no effect on him whatsoever. Before long, the faces of these lifeless figures were covered with distorted monkeys.
Time ticked by.
Suddenly, Zhang Qiling's eyes snapped open!
Just then, the sun broke free from the clouds, casting a ray of morning light.
This ray of sunlight entered the cave, shone upon the smooth, oily carapace of the Ghost Picture Ants, and was instantly reflected at a specific angle!
This was...
Zhang Qiling instantly understood the purpose of the strangely distributed jade protrusions inside the ant nest: to fix the positions of some Ghost Picture Ants!
Indeed, the light shone directly towards a jade protrusion in a specific direction, and then was reflected by the Ghost Picture Ant perched on it. A winding beam of light connected all the jade protrusions through the dark cave, shooting directly towards this sealing wall!
Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing dodged aside, only to see the extremely faint beam of light slowly, yet precisely, land on the eye of a statue in the corner.
And on that large eyeball, a monkey with its backside sticking out had been painted in a tender pink color.
Zhang Qiling: ...
(Oops! Forgot the tail!) Hei Yanjing seemed very enthusiastic, even offering a half-used pink crayon.
(You wanna draw, mute?)
Glancing at the crayon, then at Hei Yanjing, Zhang Qiling finally slowly averted his gaze, choosing to look directly at the monkey.
For some reason, although he said nothing, his calm face seemed to clearly display the words "disdain."
He placed his right hand on the stone eyeball, slowly feeling around, the subtle textures appearing in his mind like an imprint.
Hei Yanjing had moved closer, wanting to observe the legendary "Faqiu Finger." However, he saw Zhang Qiling's gaze suddenly sharpen. Two unusually long fingers thrust into the tiny gap between the eyeball and the eye socket with destructive force, directly digging out the eyeball!
And by sheer coincidence, the dug-out eyeball had the plump backside of the monkey painted on it, appearing particularly scandalous.
Zhang Qiling looked down, his expressionless hand clenched. A faint sound was heard as the stone eyeball shattered into pieces.
Hei Yanjing: ...