Chapter 279: Blue Ant Valley

Marcus rode Blackie through the open sky, cloak fluttering behind him like the banner of a wandering knight. For a time he allowed himself to enjoy the sensation of flight, the wind rushing past his face and the endless horizon stretching before him. It was exhilarating in a way that never quite grew old. Still, a faint trace of regret lingered in his thoughts. Such a magnificent sight deserved an audience, yet there was no companion nearby to witness his heroic display.

With a quiet chuckle at his own vanity, Marcus abandoned the idea of showing off and turned his attention back to business. Blackie’s steady gallop through the air carried them forward as Marcus leaned slightly over the saddle, carefully surveying the terrain below.

Blue Ant Valley revealed itself beneath him like an ancient scar carved into the world.

Its origins were lost to history, a place so old that even scholars could only speculate about its creation. The valley stretched endlessly across jagged mountains and deep ravines, an immense wilderness that seemed to run beyond the limits of sight. Countless species of ant-like monsters inhabited the region, forming a bizarre yet rigid ecosystem divided by strength and territory.

The outer regions housed lower-level creatures such as Black Ants, Blue Ants, and Red Ants. Deeper within lived mid-tier species like Three-Eyed Ants, Cleaver Ants, Acid Ants, and Flame Ants. Farther still lurked truly terrifying beings: Mantis King Ants, Three-Headed Dragon Ants, and Six-Winged Elemental Ants. From Level 40 all the way to Level 100, nearly every imaginable evolution of ant monster existed somewhere within the valley, each species fiercely guarding its own domain.

At the deepest and most dangerous layers ruled two Divine-tier overlords: the Wyvern Ant King and the Five-Element Ant Queen. Their mere presence ensured that Blue Ant Valley remained a place even veteran adventurers approached with fear and caution.

And beyond even those horrors, there were legends.

Rumors spoke of an ultimate ruler hidden somewhere within the valley, an Ant Empress possessing the power of a Super Divine Beast. Each year, she was said to give birth to a Mythic-tier offspring. Yet her cruelty was equally legendary. The moment she beheld the newborn creature she had created, she would devour it without hesitation, treating her own child as nothing more than a delicacy.

Blue Ant Valley was, without question, a deathtrap.

Yet danger had never discouraged adventurers. If anything, it attracted them.

Silas the Wanderer’s map described the valley in remarkable detail, and according to his records, the entire region sat atop a massive deposit of Celestial Sapphires. These gems were unimaginably rare. Some explorers had even managed to extract a Millennium Celestial Sapphire from the depths, a treasure capable of changing a person’s fate overnight.

Millennium Celestial Sapphire: a Divine-grade jade, soft in temperament and exquisite in color. When crafted into a pendant, it could pacify ordinary monsters below Level 50, preventing them from attacking the wearer.

Even more valuable was the condensed essence formed by these sapphires. Over countless years, the energy crystallized into Celestial Dragonstones, materials capable of increasing a weapon’s Attack or an armor’s Defense by fifty percent. For warriors, they were treasures worth risking one’s life for.

The sapphire-rich soil also nourished strange and rare plants. Aetherblue Grass, Blue Jade Orbs, Blue Oak trees, and Blue Peak Flowers flourished throughout the valley. These plants served as food for the ant colonies, and ants above Level 80 would eventually produce a precious substance known as Ant Nectar.

Ant Nectar: a Divine-grade elixir renowned across the Dreamland Continent. Not only was it extraordinarily delicious, but depending on which ant species produced it, the nectar granted various powerful effects. It ranked among the most expensive medicinal substances known to civilization.

And according to whispered tales, countless other unknown treasures still lay hidden somewhere within the valley’s depths.

Because of this, Blue Ant Valley existed in a strange contradiction. It was both a slaughterhouse and a paradise. Every year, waves of adventurers entered seeking fortune, and every year many of them became nothing more than nourishment for the ants.

Silas the Wanderer himself had once explored this forbidden land. His map recorded that he reached a region filled with towering blue crystal formations guarded by swarms of Level 95 ants. He suspected the legendary Ant Empress resided there, yet overwhelming attacks and the appearance of two powerful guardians forced even him to retreat unwillingly.

“Haha…”

Marcus laughed softly to himself.

With Silas’s detailed map in hand, he possessed a clear route forward. A part of him was genuinely curious. If the opportunity arose, he wanted to see those Level 95 monsters with his own eyes, even if only from a safe distance.

Guided by the map Alana had drawn, Marcus adjusted his course toward the territory of the Blue Crystal Tripod Ants and the fields of Blue Crystal Flowers.

Blue Ant Valley’s terrain was so vast and labyrinthine that without proper guidance, one could wander for days without locating a specific species. Worse still, a careless traveler might accidentally enter the domain of Level 80 monsters, an almost certain death sentence.

Fortunately, Alana had once accompanied her grandfather here to harvest Blue Crystal Flowers. Her photographic memory made her map astonishingly precise, every landmark faithfully recorded.

After roughly ten minutes of flight, Marcus reached the designated territory. He gently urged Blackie downward, descending at a controlled pace. When they hovered about twenty meters above the ground, Marcus finally spotted the Blue Crystal Tripod Ants along with the Crystal-Tear Berries he had come to collect.

The Tripod Ants were enormous, each roughly the size of a tiger. Despite their name, they possessed six limbs rather than three. The rear three legs functioned as powerful locomotion limbs, allowing them to sprint with explosive speed capable of closing distance almost instantly.

Once an enemy came within range, the rear legs would lock into position, lifting the creature upright. The front three limbs then moved with frightening dexterity, slashing like enormous blades wielded by a humanoid warrior. Their movements were swift, violent, and carried the strength of an ox.

Even at twenty meters in the air, the ants had already noticed Marcus. Several rose upright, their bodies tense as they stared at the intruder with cold, predatory focus.

Unfortunately, they were Level 60 monsters, far beyond the detection range of Marcus’s Insight skill. Their attributes remained hidden to him.

Nearby grew the Blue Crystal Flowers, breathtakingly beautiful plants that looked as though they had been sculpted from translucent blue ice. Each flower towered taller than a person. A single stalk bore over a hundred blossoms, each bowl-sized and layered like a blooming peony. The Tripod Ants survived primarily by feeding on their nectar.

The flowers released a unique fragrance. When the ants consumed the nectar, the scent stimulated them, causing heavy crystalline tears to fall continuously from their eyes. Once those tears landed upon the petals, they hardened within ten minutes, forming pearl-like fruits known as Crystal-Tear Berries.

Marcus quickly assessed the situation.

He already struggled against Level 50 Golden-Petal Snow Eagles. Facing an entire swarm of Level 60 Tripod Ants head-on would be suicidal. Without hesitation, he activated Wanderlust and set a teleportation anchor high in the air before immediately using Mistform Illusion.

“I am a cloud,” he murmured.

His body dissolved instantly, transforming into a drifting wisp of white vapor.

He had obtained two Mistform Illusion items inside the Mist Veil Palace. They were extraordinarily useful, though each lasted only ten hours. The one he had used previously at Five-Leaf Peak had barely twenty minutes remaining. Judging by the amount of harvesting required below, this second item would likely be nearly depleted by the time he finished. The thought made him wonder whether there existed any method to restore an item’s duration.

In cloud form, Marcus drifted silently toward the Blue Crystal Flowers and began harvesting.

—

Crystal-Tear Berries: an intermediate alchemical ingredient formed through the interaction between Blue Crystal Tripod Ants and Blue Crystal Flowers. Commonly used in potion refinement.

—

Working quickly, Marcus swept the berries into his inventory.

Like the Five-Leaf Goldgrass, their true value lay in quantity. Each stalk produced at least a hundred berries, making collection extremely efficient. Since no one had harvested this area for a very long time, Marcus estimated there were at least fifty thousand berries available. It was more than enough to support his needs for quite some time.

To his surprise, the process went smoothly. Even as berries vanished directly in front of the Tripod Ants, the creatures showed no reaction. They remained calm, seemingly uninterested. However, whenever Marcus accidentally brushed against a flower petal, nearby ants immediately became alert. Clearly, the berries themselves held no value to the ants, which greatly simplified his task.

’Perfect’, Marcus thought, satisfaction warming his chest.

Once he finished, it would be time to return and check on Alana’s progress with the Super Health Potions. He had already transferred a large portion of berries to storage, and she had likely begun brewing hours ago.

Before leaving, Marcus allowed his gaze to linger on the Blue Crystal Ant King standing at the center of the swarm.

The creature was enormous, its body resembling living blue crystal that shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight. Ice-blue flames wrapped around its three forward limbs, lending it an almost regal presence. There was no doubt it was a high-tier boss monster.

Unfortunately, the gap between them was insurmountable. Even if the Level 60-plus boss stood still and allowed Marcus to attack freely, his current damage output would barely scratch its defenses. Any confrontation would have to wait for another day.

Activating a Town Portal Scroll, Marcus returned directly to his mansion.

He walked into the courtyard where Alana was busy brewing potions. The area was immaculate. Under the influence of her Body of a Hundred Flowers, blooming plants filled the courtyard with vibrant colors and gentle fragrance, transforming the space into something resembling a secluded garden sanctuary.

Alana had constructed a shaded pergola from intertwining green vines, and beneath the leafy canopy she worked diligently over rows of potion equipment.

“Alana, how are the Super Health Potions coming along?”

Hearing his voice, she turned immediately, a gentle smile appearing on her face. Dressed in white alchemist robes, her peerless features seemed almost luminous among the surrounding greenery. She looked like a flawless blossom standing amid living vines, radiating a quiet, ethereal grace.

“Master, I’ve already finished one hundred and eighteen bottles,” she said softly.

Marcus felt his heart skip slightly at her pure smile.

“One hundred and eighteen already? That fast?”

He was genuinely stunned. Brewing a single batch required three Large Health Potions, one Five-Leaf Goldgrass, and one Crystal-Tear Berry. Each batch took five to ten minutes and produced only two or three bottles. Yet in less than five hours, Alana had completed one hundred and eighteen.

How in the world was she working at such an astonishing speed?

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