With walking as the mode of transit, Zong Shou’s movements became rigid. Yet, he could still travel like the wind, covering dozens of zhang in a single stride, utterly effortless.
He was now clad in an entirely new battlesuit, known in later ages as the 'Thunder-Step Type Four.'
The fortunes gleaned from the Boundary Floating City and the Beast Tombs beneath the Sea of Clouds had left his personal coffers overflowing. His gear, consequently, had vaulted directly from the first generation of Thunder-Step to the fourth.
Every component was fashioned from the dorsal spine section near the heart of a Sixth-Tier Thunder-Wisping Whale.
Not only was it incomparably sturdy, comparable to a spiritual artifact of the same rank, but it was also as light as goose down, capable of shifting between soft and hard states. Worn on the body, it felt much like a simple garment, and it possessed the latent ability to gather electrical power internally.
After crafting it, Zong Shou had tested it personally. Without needing to circulate his True Force, the suit’s inherent power alone could overwhelm a Martial Ancestor expert. And the speed he was currently exhibiting was merely his ordinary pace; activation via electrical energy could boost that speed tenfold! Truly formidable!
In truth, this Thunder-Step battlesuit boasted twelve primary models and seventy-nine sub-variations.
To reach the Fifth Model, materials of the Seventh Tier would be required.
Zong Shou had certainly considered forging the more powerful variants, but regrettably, he couldn't find a suitable artifact refiner among those around him.
The Thunder-Step Type Four battlesuit was excellent in every aspect, save for one detail that left Zong Shou feeling quite helpless.
It was still not flexible enough; when walking, he still resembled a wooden puppet.
He proceeded onward, covering approximately seventy li. From Zong Shou’s mouth issued occasional, soft whistles, sometimes deep and resonant, other times sharp and clear, propagating outward.
Strangely enough, in this region dense with Dragon Veins and teeming with potent spirit beasts, he encountered no danger whatsoever along the way.
This was a technique he had learned in his previous life: mimicking the sounds of dragon roars and phoenix cries to intimidate the spirit beasts.
Even beasts possessing sentience, harboring suspicion, would not attack casually. In fact, the vast majority would give him a wide berth.
However, just as the mountainside began to steepen, Zong Shou heard a continuous, rustling sound near his ears. His figure halted instantly, and in the very next moment, his expression drastically changed.
“Magic Fire Crystal Ants! Damn it all, how could this sort of thing be here?”
Uttering a rare string of harsh curses, Zong Shou immediately pushed the Thunder-Bone suit to its absolute limit, activating its ten-fold speed to violently retreat with Zong Yuan in tow.
Only after retreating sixty li did he spot several massive boulders jutting out nearby. Zong Shou probed them with his spiritual sense, instantly pleased, halting his desperate retreat and leaping onto the tallest boulder.
He tested it first with his foot—sure enough, it was the hard stone known as Snow-Veined Rock. It stood about one hundred and twenty zhang above the ground; the height was adequate. The platform, covering ten zhang in diameter, was neither too large nor too small—just enough space for the two of them to defend.
Next, without pause, with efficiency surpassing anything in either his past or present life, he began inscribing spiritual patterns and deploying beast crystals upon the giant rock.
A quarter of an hour later, once the spiritual array was complete, the Snow-Veined Rock began to visibly harden at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. It grew intensely cold, and a layer of frost coated its outer shell.
Zong Shou remained uneasy and took out thirty-six small, slender flying swords, placing them within the formation.
These were the Bamboo Leaf Swords he had obtained from Mist Leaf during the heaven-sacrificing ritual at the Qiantian Mountain Altar. Some were broken, but Zong Shou did not bother repairing them; instead, he entrusted the remaining pieces to a Sixth-Tier artifact refiner for reconstruction.
Some precious materials were added, causing a metamorphosis: they became a set of incongruous flying swords. Still bamboo leaves in shape, they now possessed frost affinity. Zong Shou dubbed them the Bamboo Leaf Frost Swords.
He had tried commanding the set with his mind, but he could only manage one area while neglecting others; the swords danced wildly, without any coherent pattern.
He assessed that while this set of swords possessed formidable power, the capacity for multitasking required to wield them effectively demanded a freakishly strong mind. Zong Shou felt a touch of envy but lacked the time to train that specific mental faculty just then, so he shelved the idea for the moment. Nevertheless, paired with the spiritual array, their combined might was certainly not weak.
As the spiritual array finished deployment, the thirty-six Bamboo Leaf Frost Swords suddenly vanished from sight.
Zong Shou looked behind him. Seeing that the anticipated swarm of ants had not pursued them, he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, though his inner vigilance remained absolute.
Zong Yuan had watched the entire process, observing Zong Shou setting up the formations on the rock, but he did not interrupt out of curiosity.
Only now did he speak, asking, “My Lord, what exactly are those Magic Fire Crystal Ants that cause you such apprehension?”
Both the desperate escape and the subsequent deployment of the array suggested a panic he had never witnessed from Zong Shou before.
Given his Lord’s strength, even facing a Seventh-Tier spirit beast, surely they both could have retreated safely.
“They are spirit ants of the Fourth-Tier rank.”
Zong Yuan grew more perplexed. Fourth-Tier? Why such fear for a mere Fourth-Tier entity? Then he heard Zong Shou continue: “They favor moving in massive swarms, usually numbering at least three thousand. If soldier ants appear, they are at least Sixth-Tier. They breed near the Demon Abyss and particularly enjoy consuming living beings. They possess natural wings; though they cannot truly fly, a single leap can cover a hundred zhang.” Zong Yuan’s scalp tingled. Imagining a swarm of three thousand innate masters, interspersed with many Sixth-Tier powerhouses, filled his eyes with terror as he looked behind them. If they were encircled by this horde, even with their heaven-defying abilities, they would likely perish fighting.
A new worry surfaced: although Zong Shou had established a spiritual array for defense, being trapped here was hardly a secure situation; they could not escape, and their demise seemed inevitable sooner or later.
Over there, Zong Shou was already employing his Spiritual Master techniques to summon dead branches. He then used his Thunder Wing Sword to cleanly sever over a dozen spirit beasts nearby, absorbing their essence, and then openly started a fire for roasting.
There was no time for careful seasoning; the meat was roughly skinned and cooked half-done. He passed some to Zong Yuan, while he himself devoured large mouthfuls. While eating, he instructed, “Eat more, build up your strength. We might face a bitter fight shortly. The Magic Fire Crystal Ants move extremely fast; the soldier ants move faster than even Seventh-Tier beasts. Once they lock onto your aura, escape is impossible. However, we only need to hold out until dawn to break free. Everything under heaven, no matter how potent, has its flaws and countermeasures. These Magic Fire Crystal Ants fear sunlight the most.”
Zong Yuan was finally relieved of his confusion. Looking at the sky, it was not yet the Zi hour (9 PM). Without hesitation, he began wolfing down his food.
At the Martial Ancestor boundary, practitioners could generally achieve abstinence from food, absorbing external spiritual energy and converting it into vital energy and blood essence for their use.
However, at this level, the consumption required for daily training and combat was far greater. Relying solely on ambient spiritual energy could not balance the expenditure; their actual food intake had increased tenfold.
Shortly after the two settled down, another party was seen approaching from the distance.
It was the group from the Linhai Academy. Apparently, they were intent on reaching the Dragon Gate entrance on the mountainside quickly, having no intention of resting at the foot of the mountain. This realization filled Zong Shou with regret; if he had known, he would have swallowed his pride and lingered below longer.
The approaching contingent showed brief signs of awkwardness upon spotting the pair, pretending not to see them and continuing onward.
Zong Shou frowned, deciding to offer a warning: “There are Magic Fire Crystal Ants ahead. Since you haven’t engaged them, it’s best you turn back early.”
The people from Linhai Academy acted as if they hadn't heard him, their steps unwavering.
He Wei, their leader, even let out a scornful chuckle.
Faint whispers drifted over:
“Magic Fire Crystal Ants? What are those?”
“I’ve seen them before; they are spirit ants that thrive in the fire veins of the Demon Abyss. But I heard they were nearly wiped out during the Cloud Desolation era, with the few remaining ones living beneath the Sea of Clouds.”
“Is he trying to scare us? How ridiculous. Speaking of which, isn’t this Zong Shou heading for the Dragon Gate? Why stop here?”
“This man has no spiritual techniques or martial arts; how could he possibly ascend Julong Mountain? He’s dreaming, utterly overestimating himself!”
Zong Shou’s lips twitched momentarily. He mused that if these people were intent on courting death, he’d let them have their way; he truly couldn't be bothered.
After eating his fill, Zong Shou settled his breathing slightly. He converted the spirit beast meat into elemental energy and absorbed it into his body.
At his current level, one meal could consume an entire Wild-Tusk Boar. Having eaten more now to store energy, he felt somewhat bloated.
After careful consideration, Zong Shou shook his head again. He then hurled over a hundred Fourth-Tier spirit beasts toward the neighboring giant rock. He established another spiritual array on that Snow-Veined Rock.
It wasn't genuine goodwill, forgetting past grievances to provide a safe haven for the Linhai Academy group.
It was simply that one extra person meant one extra source of strength; if someone could draw away some of the ant swarm’s attention, that would be for the best.
This array was a very rudimentary Fourth-Tier standardized spiritual formation he had learned at Linhai Academy; it wouldn’t hold the Magic Fire Crystal Ants for long. But he presumed the Linhai people could strengthen it themselves, so he didn't need to worry.
Smiling faintly, Zong Shou waited quietly. Indeed, within moments, a group of people came fleeing back madly, their faces uniformly pale and filled with terror.
The leader was He Wei. Initially flustered and lost, his eyes suddenly lit up when he spotted the two boulders where Zong Shou’s party was situated. He immediately urged his spiritual artifact onward, soaring toward them.
Seeing this, Zong Shou let out a soft, dismissive laugh. This man was truly shameless, running ahead of the students of his academy. Before Zong Shou could speak, Zong Yuan had already grasped the meaning.
He thrust his spear out; a fierce spear shadow pierced straight down a hundred zhang, accompanied by a cold snort: “Get over there.”
He Wei had no choice but to veer his trajectory, dodging far to the side, his expression momentarily iron-blue, then instantly shifting back to pleased surprise.
He leaped onto the adjacent mountain peak, glanced around, and his joy intensified. He hastily pulled out more beast crystals to refine the spiritual array.
At this time, more people from Linhai Academy fled up, escaping toward the rock. He Wei initially showed a flash of malice, a spiritual seal faintly manifesting within his sleeve. But when his peripheral vision caught sight of Zong Shou standing nearby, his gaze fixed upon him with that half-smile, he immediately stopped, allowing the rest of the students to rush onto that large stone. (To be continued)