The three of them, Ye Qiu, arrived in front of the stone tablet and looked up. Several lines of text were carved into the tablet.
Master Longmei studied it for a moment before reading aloud:
“This place is fraught with extreme danger. To prevent outsiders from stumbling into it, I, a humble Taoist, have deliberately set up three trials.”
“The first trial is a poisonous miasma.”
“As for the second and third trials, they shall remain undisclosed for now.”
“If any disciples of Mount Longhu seek this place, they must pass the three trials relying solely on their own strength, without any external assistance. Otherwise, all efforts will surely come to naught. Take heed.”
“May future generations proceed with caution, with caution!”
On the back of the tablet, the signature still bore the name of the Heavenly Master.
“Mount Longhu, Zhang Daoling!”
After finishing, Master Longmei burst into laughter. “Little rascal, I wasn’t wrong, was I? The poisonous miasma was indeed set by the Grandmaster.”
“Hmph, lucky guess,” Ye Qiu snorted coldly.
“Uncle Master, the Grandmaster set up three trials in total. We still have two more to face,” Shuisheng said.
Master Longmei chuckled. “The Grandmaster was an enlightened sage, full of compassion. He created these trials merely to keep outsiders from blundering in. As disciples of Mount Longhu, he won’t make things too difficult for us.”
Shuisheng nodded. “Hmm, Uncle Master makes sense.”
“No time to waste—let’s press on and strive to pass the next two trials in one go. Off we go!”
Master Longmei, brimming with excitement, strode forward boldly.
Ye Qiu and Shuisheng followed closely behind.
The three entered the canyon.
The scenery was once again different from before.
The canyon was flanked by bare, rocky walls, not a blade of grass in sight.
“Uncle Master, what do you think the Grandmaster’s second trial might be?” Shuisheng asked curiously.
Master Longmei replied, “The Grandmaster’s methods are beyond comprehension. How could I possibly guess his intentions?”
The trio walked about two hundred metres into the canyon.
“Look ahead,” Ye Qiu said suddenly.
Master Longmei and Shuisheng looked up simultaneously. Ahead, three leopards were approaching them.
Each leopard stood taller than a person, majestic and ferocious.
“Could this be the Grandmaster’s second trial?” Shuisheng asked nervously, quickly hiding behind Master Longmei.
“Little rascal, what do you think?” Master Longmei asked Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu responded, “As you said, Heavenly Master Zhang’s methods are profound. I reckon these three leopards weren’t arranged by him.”
“I think so too,” Master Longmei said. “The Grandmaster was a legendary figure from a thousand years ago, but judging by the size of these leopards, they’re only about a dozen years old.”
“Then how did they end up here?” Shuisheng asked.
Ye Qiu and Master Longmei exchanged a glance, both arriving at the same possibility.
They must have wandered in by mistake!
Just then, the three leopards halted, their sharp gazes sweeping the surroundings, their bodies leaning forward slightly, poised to attack.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp—”
A strange sound echoed through the canyon, somewhat like the call of insects, yet also resembling the cries of young birds.
About three minutes passed.
Suddenly, a hole broke open in the ground, and a fist-sized, red creature crawled out of it.
At first, Ye Qiu thought it was a rat, but after observing it closely for a moment, he realised it wasn’t a rat—it was an ant.
“Bloody hell, how can there be an ant this big?”
Ye Qiu was dumbfounded.
Shuisheng piped up, “A fist-sized ant must have a lot of meat. I bet it’d taste great barbecued, Uncle Master…”
“Shut it!”
Master Longmei’s eyes were fixed on the ant, his expression deadly serious.
“Old man, have you figured something out?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longmei replied, “This ant looks a bit like the legendary Soul-Devouring Ant.”
“Soul-Devouring Ant?” Ye Qiu was taken aback.
Master Longmei explained, “I once read about Soul-Devouring Ants in ancient texts. They’re described as blood-red, the size of a fist, with sharp teeth. They’re carnivorous, live in colonies, and can devour anything.”
Ye Qiu was sceptical. “It’s just an ant. How could it devour everything? That’s a bit exaggerated, isn’t it?”
“Whether it’s exaggerated or not, I can’t say. That’s just what the ancient texts claim.”
As Master Longmei spoke, more Soul-Devouring Ants began crawling out of the hole.
In no time, hundreds of them were on the ground, and the earlier “chirp, chirp, chirp” sounds were coming from their mouths.
After emerging, they swiftly surrounded the three leopards.
“Roar—”
The leopards let out uneasy growls.
But the Soul-Devouring Ants paid no heed. In the blink of an eye, they climbed onto the leopards’ bodies.
Instantly, the leopards let out piercing, agonised screams.
In less than five minutes, the three leopards were completely devoured, leaving only three skeletons on the ground.
“This…”
Ye Qiu sucked in a cold breath.
Having finished off the leopards, the Soul-Devouring Ants turned and began crawling towards Ye Qiu and the others.
“Retreat, quick!”
No sooner had Ye Qiu spoken than the “chirp, chirp, chirp” sounds erupted from all directions.
Looking around, Ye Qiu realised that Soul-Devouring Ants were emerging from both sides of the canyon—thousands upon thousands of them, densely packed, like an army closing in rapidly.
They were surrounded once again.
“Uncle Master, what do we do?” Shuisheng trembled in fear as the ants drew closer.
“If I’m not mistaken, this must be the Grandmaster’s second trial. Don’t worry, the Grandmaster won’t harm us.”
Though Master Longmei said this, his heart was pounding with unease.
The Soul-Devouring Ants kept advancing, showing no sign of stopping.
Moments later, the encirclement shrank to less than two metres.
They were in dire straits.
“Old man, do you have any more life-saving talismans? Can they deal with these ants?” Ye Qiu asked urgently.
Master Longmei’s face fell. “There was only one life-saving talisman in all of Mount Longhu, and I’ve already used it.”
“In that case, we’ll have to fight them head-on.”
Clang!
Ye Qiu drew the Emperor’s Sword, Chixiao, and shouted at the approaching ants, “Get lost!”
“Chirp, chirp, chirp—”
The hundreds of Soul-Devouring Ants nearing Ye Qiu immediately parted to either side, clearing a path—just like the miasma had done earlier.
Hmm?
Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow. Could these creatures actually understand human speech?
“Move, now!”
Ye Qiu took a step forward.
Master Longmei and Shuisheng were about to follow when hundreds of Soul-Devouring Ants darted in from the side, cutting them off.
“Uncle Master, what do we do?” Shuisheng was on the verge of tears.
“How should I know?” Master Longmei was inwardly frantic.
As the ants drew closer—so close they could see their antennae and razor-sharp teeth—Shuisheng, in a panic, bellowed, “Get out of the way!”
Whoosh!
The Soul-Devouring Ants seemed startled and quickly parted.
Master Longmei froze. That worked?
