“Senior, you want to find a large number of terror ants?” Adventure King was caught off guard as he had never expected to hear that Qing Chen was targeting terror ants.
Qing Chen spoke grimly. “I believe that you must have heard about the situation on the rear battlefield. At this moment, the commander believes that the enemy has snuck a new type of terror ant into the Perennial World, and there is already a suspect. Once they appear in the Lower Realm, we can simply arrest them, but we cannot do so elsewhere due to their special identity and the fact that we have no evidence yet.”
Adventure King was surprised once again. “Senior, if even you need to provide evidence to arrest this person, then they clearly have an important status.”
He then took out a bit of powder from his cosmic ring and handed it over to Qing Chen. “This powder emits a tempting scent that can lure in terror ants from a great distance. I pray that it serves you well, Senior.”
Lu Yin quickly reached out and took the powder.
“Thank you.” Qing Chen was truly grateful.
Shortly after that, Qing Chen spread some of the powder into the air, letting it drift away with the breeze. After that, the old man brought Lu Yin into the true universe.
Even though terror ants could be found scattered throughout all parts of the Lower Realm, they were not truly everywhere. It was simply that they had no geographical preference.
Also, it was impossible for this powder’s scent to instantly spread across a large region.
Lu Yin and Qing Chen used powder to lure the ants in, but it still took two days for the first wave to arrive.
They were not luring terror ants in order to kill them, but rather to draw out the anteater.
Qing Chen drew in the terror ants with the powder and then led the ants around as live bait, though he mostly “fished” in the sixth region.
As he did this, he managed to draw the attention of other powerful beasts, but all of them were either scared off by the terror ants or Qing Chen himself.
The longer they spent leading the ants around, the more terror ants that they drew out. At first, there had merely been a ball of ants, but they had since taken on the shape of a giant.
Lu Yin had to ask, “Supervisor, can’t a Semi-Progenitor use this method to easily eliminate all of the terror ants?”
“This method can only lure out regular terror ants, not their queens,” Qing Chen explained.
Lu Yin then remembered how, when he had been on the rear battlefield, his squad and several others had been surrounded by terror ants under the control of a queen ant. The methods and control the queen ants were capable of were frightening.
“Every year, Root eliminates countless terror aants, and it is believed that even if this method were used more often, it would not affect the total number of terror ants,” Qing Chen solemnly informed Lu Yin. The old man looked back at the giant formed from the countless terror ants. He could not help but feel the urge to eliminate all of these ants.
“Let’s go on to the fifth district,” Qing Chen said. They had already passed through the entire sixth region, returning back to where they had first found the Qingcang leaf. However, there were no traces of the anteater at all.
Lu Yin nodded.
Suddenly, Qing Chen froze and stared at the ground. It seemed that he had discovered something.
Lu Yin reflexively released his domain and searched in all directions, but he could find nothing at all.
The next moment, the ground beneath Lu Yin’s feet trembled, and Qing Chen grabbed Lu Yin and shot high into the sky, even entering the true universe. The moment the scent of the powder disappeared, the ants quickly started to disperse.
“Supervisor…” Lu Yin was feeling quite anxious.
Qing Chen had become completely serious. “Quiet.”
Lu Yin saw the ground where they had just been standing shift and then erupted. The movement shook the earth and the sky, and it also revealed a massive, circular mouth.
It was the anteater.
Lu Yin’s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks upon seeing the creature again. Yes, this was the same anteater that he had seen before. It had actually always been in the sixth region, but neither Lu Yin nor Qing Chen had noticed anything.
When Qing Chen saw the anteater, he became even more serious and extremely wary.
The anteater’s mouth shifted to aim behind Lu Yin and Qing Chen as it started to violently feed. The suction force was so powerful that it twisted the void, and Lu Yin was nearly yanked away even though he was hiding in the true universe and being protected by Qing Chen. This anteater’s strength was similar to the level of a Semi-Progenitor.
The endless amout of terror ants that had been drawn out by Qing Chen were pulled towards the anteater, and not a single one of them was able to escape.
The beast had tiny eyes for its massive size, though they were still enormous from Qing Chen and Lu Yin’s perspective.
The mouth shifted once more, and this time, it was aimed at the two humans.
The moment the creature shifted, Qing Chen’s eyes changed, and he grabbed Lu Yin. The old man was about to flee with Lu Yin when an indescribable pulling force latched onto the two of them from the anteater’s mouth. The void parted like a curtain, and everything was sucked into the mouth. Massive spatial tears spread out in all directions, and an endless darkness descended upon the area. The true universe had been exposed.
The sky above the entire sixth region changed.
Lu Yin was unable to resist the suction force being exerted upon his body, but Qing Chen kept a tight grip on the youth. The Semi-Progenitor then raised a hand, bringing out a drop of water that he threw towards the anteater.
The clear drop of water did not enter the anteater’s mouth, and it instead swept over the beast’s body. The original calm and clear water grew turbid, and as it did so, the anteater’s devouring force weakened significantly.
Qing Chen raised his hand once more and threw out several more drops of water.
The anteater shifted its body and lifted it up high before smashing down a paw that shattered the void and enveloped the entire sky.
Qing Chen did not know what to do. All that Lu Yin could hear was a deafening roar. Blood seeped out of his ears, and then everything ceased.
He was so close to a battle between Semi-Progenitors, but he was unable to see it, hear it, or even understand what was happening.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Lu Yin slowly opened his eyes to see the Middle Realm high above in the sky. Once he registered stars flickering overhead, he leaped to his feet and looked around.
He was still in the Lower Realm, and there were Qingcang leaves swaying in the breeze nearby. However, the land had been completely transformed.
“Wake up!” Lu Yin heard Qing Chen’s voice from nearby.
Lu Yin turned to look as he rubbed his head. “Supervisor, what happened?”
Qing Chen sounded quite exhausted as he explained, “We found the anteater, but it had the strength of a very powerful Semi-Progenitor.”
“Then where is the anteater?” Lu Yin glanced around.
Qing Chen replied, “It was taken away.”
Lu Yin was shocked. “Supervisor, were you able to capture it?”
Qing Chen shook his head. “That anteater was no easy opponent. At best, I could fight against such a beast, but capturing it would be impossible for me.”
“The commander came? A Progenitor moved?” Lu Yin lost his voice.
Qing Chen nodded and smiled at Lu Yin. “The commander indeed came to capture the anteater. Long Qi, the commander has shown great appreciation for you. Have you ever considered accepting a master?”
Lu Yin blinked; what was all this talk about him becoming a disciple? First, there was Master Deng Guo, then Grandmaster Gu Yan, and now even Humility’s Gate’s Commander. Each one was progressively more impressive than the last, but Lu Yin already had Mister Mu.
Qing Chen thought that Lu Yin’s silence was his answer, so the old man continued, “The commander intends to accept you as his disciple. What do you think about that?”
Lu Yin was completely stunned. “Supervisor, this- this subordinate doesn’t know.”
“Haha! What is there to not know? Do you not want to become the disciple of a powerful Progenitor?” Qing Chen asked with a smile. He had always admired Lu Yin, though the old man’s admiration had originally come from seeing Lu Yin as possible bait to lure out Shaman God at the risk of the youth’s life. However, the more Qing Chen got to know Lu Yin, the more he admired the youth.
Becoming the commander’s disciple would completely change Lu Yin’s status, and he would be in no way inferior to the four ruling powers’ Junior Progenitors. Qing Chen was delighted for Lu Yin, as it naturally seemed impossible for Lu Yin to refuse.
Could Lu Yin refuse? Of course he could not do such a thing overtly, as doing so would invalidate everything that he had built up within Humility’s Gate. Lu Yin’s intention was to leave the Perennial World, but he had no desire to make Long Qi a pariah in the Perennial World either. The best option would be to have Long Qi quietly disappear after accomplishing an impressive achievement, and in that way, fade into legend.
“Master, is this subordinate even qualified?” Lu Yin asked anxiously.
Qing Chen smiled. “The commander already said that you are qualified, so you are. Alright, let’s go. The anteater has already been found, and the merit points that you borrowed to trade for the Root of Intelligence have been paid back with this accomplishment, and you will still have more rewards after returning to Humility’s Gate.”
“Where are we going now?” Lu Yin asked.
“Back to Huaiyuan Gate while you wait for the news from the commander. After all, you are also the son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan’s main family, so in order for anyone to accept you as a disciple, negotiations must be conducted with the White Dragon Clan.”
Lu Yin nodded, hoping that the negotiation would fail.
***
At the same time, on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, Long Laogui met Master Deng Guo shortly after returning to the second array base from his meeting with Grandmaster Gu Yan.
Master Deng Guo looked at Long Laogui and then started eagerly searching for Lu Yin.
Originally, Long Laogui had hoped that Lu Yin could become Master Deng Guo’s apprentice, as Array Masters held a very respected status. In particular, this would allow Long Qi to fill a much-needed vacuum, as the White Dragon Clan had no Lockbreakers. However, as time had passed and Long Qi had improved, Long Laogui had no longer been satisfied with a simple Array Master. Instead, he hoped to find a Realm Array Master to be Long Qi’s teacher. Due to this, Long Laogui had simply replied to Master Deng Guo with, “Long Qi had been targeted by the Twelve Marquises, so he was forced to leave the battlefield. By now, he should have already returned to the Middle Realm with Qing Chen.”
Master Deng Guo politely replied, “I wish to accept Long Qi as my disciple, but what view does the White Dragon Clan have on this matter?”
The muscles on Long Laogui’s cheek twitched. If this offer had been made just a short while ago, he would have been thrilled, and he would even have happily changed his attitude towards Long Qi. However, at this point in time, Long Laogui was hoping that Grandmaster Gu Yan would accept Lu Yin as his apprentice, which made Master Deng Guo somewhat undesirable. However, Long Laogui could not be too blunt, and he could not possibly directly refuse. “Is Master Deng Guo able to leave this battlefield? It is unlikely for Long Qi to return here for the foreseeable future.”
Master Deng Guo answered with a smile, “I have already considered that matter, and I can have Long Qi stay at the Lockbreakers’ Headquarters and teach him there for a period of time. He will therefore be able to remain in the Middle Realm. After all, he is still a Gate Master with Humility’s Gate, and this would also exempt him from being forced to stay on this battlefield like the other Lockbreakers.”
Long Laogui acted very happy. “This is the best option.”
Master Lantern smiled as he nodded.
“However, might I ask why Master Deng Guo is suddenly so anxious to accept Long Qi as an apprentice?” Long Laogui asked in an odd tone.
Master Deng Guo continued to smile. “Despite his young age, he has managed to master two sourcebox arrays. Beyond that, he has also managed to quickly study and repair a new sourcebox array and shown an impressive ability to control the spherical red sourcebox array. He is such a genius that, let alone me, any master Lockbreaker would happily accept such an apprentice.”
This was actually the precise reason why Long Laogui had decided to work to get Long Qi an apprenticeship with an Array Grandmaster. As the old saying went, you only looked for an Array Master if an Array Grandmaster didn’t work out. As for Master Deng Guo, unfortunately, the more anxiously he wanted to accept Long Qi as an apprentice, the more obvious it was to anyone watching that Long Qi’s talent was extremely impressive. Long Laogui could not afford to let the White Dragon Clan’s first genius Lockbreaker in countless years be ruined by an inferior teacher.
“Master Deng Guo, please wait a bit. Long Qi is currently completing a mission with Qing Chen, and even I do not know the details. Once his mission is finished, he will immediately be sent back here to the battlefield to pay his respects toMaster Deng Guo as his teacher,” Long Laogui replied with a smile. He did not refuse the offer, as it was best to have a back-up for unforeseen events.
Master Deng Guo did not notice any difference in Long Laogui’s behavior. “Very well. In that case, I’ll return and wait for now. Don’t worry, I, Deng Guo, will definitely raise an exemplary Lockbreaker for the White Dragon Clan!”
Long Laogui’s smile grew even more dazzling. “Thank you, Master Deng Guo.”
“It’s no problem at all.”
