Heading East

"They flew?" Green Giant roared in surprise.

The big mantis watched as the pair of human cultivators took to the sky to escape the encirclement of ants. The flying ants weren't strong enough and they had not expected their opponent to fly so they had been unprepared. The humans moved fast and quickly disappeared over the anthills.

"Interesting… Mama never told us human mortals could have such spiritual treasures. So strange. I should catch them and present that flying wing to Mama. She will surely reward me!"

Several mantises buzzed around his head in disagreement. After several rounds of chiding, Green Giant sat back down in disappointment.

"Fine, I know. I know. We are not supposed to leave the border until Mama awakes. You can recall ants. I don't think those humans will come back anytime soon. However, I will stay here and keep watch just in case. Send word to Mama, I will return in three days if everything is quiet!"

A large void bee nodded in understanding and flew off toward the south.

--

"My king! My king! I have news!"

A giant toad with multicolored skin zoomed across a sky covered with thick, dark smoke. It was a land of endless volcanos that spewed fire and ash. That same ash fell down like rain, even forming into storms with the hot winds.

The only things that were alive in this place were creatures adapted to this hellish environment. There were strange red mosses that grew on rocks like a thick carpet. Strange slime-like creatures hid between the crevasses and only came out to ensnare passing creatures. Fire sparrows, inferno lizards, flame infants; all kinds of beasts and demons that loved fire thrived in this place.

The toad, named Huo Ping, was one of the few creatures that dared to enter the forbidden lands in the center of the Great Smoky Mountains on its own. One wrong move meant a hot and painful death. Even so, Huo Ping still suffered burns all over its body simply flying through the smoke clouds.

When it finally landed beside a pool of fiery lava, it looked almost cooked.

"My king…"

King Huo Tu appeared and hopped onto the edge, "Huo Ping… you look ill."

"…"

Another creature appeared beside the magma toad. It was a frog about half the king's size but its color was a brilliant red compared to the orange of King Huo Tu.

"Fattie, did you lose weight?" It asked.

Its voice was clearly female. Although it was hard to tell from its appearance, it was a female toad.

"Huo Yan! What are you doing here?" Huo Ping asked in surprise.

Huo Yan was its name. It was the other Spirit Lord toad beast beside Huo Ping under King Huo Tu's command. Ever since the death of the two wolf siblings and the green goblin, they were also the only Spirit Lords.

"Fattie, what else would I be doing? Making babies, of course!" Huo Yan giggled.

As Huo Yan said that, King Huo Tu climbed atop the smaller toad and started making crude movements with its hips. They had probably been doing the same thing beneath the lava right before.

Huo Ping stared in shock for a moment. It always had a soft spot for Huo Yan but it should have never expected anything. Huo Yan was a powerful flame frog and also a female. This was bound to happen.

"Gah… hurry up… Guh… make your report… Huh…" Huo Tu muttered between grunts, clearly paying more attention to his own affairs.

Huo Ping bowed its head to avoid looking at the scene anymore, "My king, the southern scouts have reported that the Glittering Forest has activated its defensive formation along the northern border. They must be facing a serious attack to have activated that. We do not know yet what kind of enemy they are dealing with."

"Is that it?" Huo Tu asked, annoyed at being forced to stop its pleasurable activities.

It glared at Huo Ping for a moment before spitting out a crimson fireball that slammed into the rainbow frog's face.

"Ahhhh!" Huo Ping cried out miserably, trying to pat out the flames consuming the skin of its face.

"Idiot! You came to bother me for this crap?"

Huo Ping felt aggrieved beyond measure but still bowed and said, "My king, with your permission, I will head south to monitor the situation!"

This was answered by another fireball which landed on his back, causing him even more agony.

"I don't care. Go away!"

"Y… yes, my king…" Huo Ping croaked out and hopped away as if its life depended on it.

---

Chen Wentian and Jasmine continued to fly through the air. They were largely unaware of the movements to the north of them. But it didn't matter as he had made a sharp turn and was currently heading east.

The plan had always been to draw Green Giant out of its lair. That place was too close to Queen Sundew. In fact, all four mantis lords resided close to the central tree. If the queen was attacked, all of them could respond in an instant.

Although Chen Wentian and Jasmine could deal with four Spirit Lords, there was no guarantee that they could kill them all quickly. If one of them escaped and sent for help, their plan would be ruined. They weren't trying to kill Queen Sundew but subdue it. Chen Wentian wasn't confident that they could do it in the time that the toad king or the monkey king would take to arrive.

"This is a fancy flying kite. Where did you get it?" Jasmine asked.

She was still wrapped around his chest. Her legs were locked around his waist and she was holding onto his neck. Her face was nestled against his chest and her ears would occasionally tickle his chin.

"Actually, Fei'er sent it to me." Chen Wentian said, "She has been keeping an eye out for goodies over there. She has the funds to buy things that meet my requirements. I think this kite is quite useful for the other disciples so I had her order more to be made."

Jasmine fell silent after his explanation.

"What's up?" He asked.

She looked up at him and pouted, "So do you miss her? Do you think about her every day?"

"Jasmine…"

She was being jealous for no reason again. He wanted to chide her and express his exasperation. But that would probably not be wise.

"Jasmine… if you were in her place, then I would think about you every day."

"Really?"

"I would even dream about you every night." He said with a straight face.

"What kind of dreams?"

The way she asked that question, he couldn't help but tease her.

"Dreams of you lying beside me… holding onto your body… feeling your bare skin against mine…" He paused and looked into her eyes. His voice became low and husky, "Dreams of your nipples rubbing against my chest… of you moaning in your sleep as I shove my cock inside you."

"Pervert…" Her eyes shined, "I also dreamed about those scenes. Tell me, how many times did you fuck me when I was asleep?"

Chen Wentian shook his head, refusing to answer.

"Not willing to say it?" Jasmine grinned and grabbed his crotch over his pants, "I'll make you talk!"

---

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