The moment the viper queen's incessant and violent struggles stopped, all of the insects cheered, in their own way at least. After all, she was the apex predator that had threatened the lives of many creatures present. Even Lu Peng in his new Hornet Form buzzed with joy after avenging his dear companion, Galan.

The two golden dragonflies were equally joyous as they were smug. Out of the hundreds they were the only ones who dared to perch on top of her with their slender legs, and their action only emboldened the others.

Lei Yan had no issues with that, he just looked at everything transpiring before him with a profound sense of joy, but most importantly, relief. It was tough for him. The uncertainty of survival made life a very complicated affair that was riddled with endless worries. Now for the first time, his mind could be put to rest, and he could finally enjoy his peace with his new family.

Grinning widely in his mind as his antennas hung low in satisfaction, he sat down at the very center of them all, his eyes beaming with a hopeful light.

Suddenly-

"How have I not been invited to the feast?" A cool, soft, and mocking voice thundered through the underground space, scaring most out of their wits.

Lei Yan stood up with a jolt, and at the very entrance tunnel, he saw a golden monkey that was even smaller than he was. However, he who understood exactly who that monkey was shuddered.

Both of their gazes met, and the golden monkey's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my," He said, eyes shining with greed. "Aren't you delicious-looking?"

"You're sure about that?" Lei Yan said with a smile. After getting over the initial shock, he was in fact happy. The problem of the golden monkey had been weighing heavily on his mind, and he knew that sooner or later they would clash. But after the reward he received from killing the golden viper, his intrusion now was a godsend.

Witnessing the way such a small weaker ant was talking to him, the golden monkey became wary. His previously joyfully moving tail came to a scratching halt as his face turned serious, and his upper lips rose in a growl revealing his yellow long vicious fangs.

A golden pearly pill magically appeared inside Lei Yan's mouth, and it swiftly dissolved into a vast amount of pure energy that flowed through every corner of his body.

His two-meter-tall body began to increase in size, reaching a giant four meters tall and several meters in length.

The Fire Spirit that was tapped into its holder's mental state had already rid itself of its previous cheerful disposition and turned into a giant black of fiery wrath.

Without wasting any more time, Lei Yan unfurled his wide wings and raced in the golden monkey's direction.

Sensing an alarming amount of danger from what he previously deemed a weak ant, the golden monkey began a transformation of his own. His bones grew taller, muscles expanded, and even his face changed to a more fearsome appearance. Two golden horns appeared at the side of his face, and his thin playful tail turned into a giant Morningstar awaiting to crush its opponents into tiny shards.

Lei Yan's objective was to get him out of the underground world as fighting there could prove dangerous for all of his subordinates, and so in their first collision, he ignited his fire domain that singed the monkey's lustrous coat into a coarse black rug.

Roaring in pain and anger, the golden monkey retreated a few steps. Yet, before his giant sturdy feet could even touch the ground, the now big fire spirit engulfed him in walls of fire that he had no other option but to keep retreating back.

In but a few attacks, he quickly managed to get him out of there. Under the heavy canopy of the tall trees, they exchanged one blow after the other.

Lei Yan was biding his time as he figured this would be a good opportunity to ensure his long-term survival even more.

The nearby trees were uprooted just from the shockwave generated by their fight.

The underground entrance of the colony was crowded with his subordinates as they watched the fight unfold with bated breath. A fight of this caliber wasn't something most of them had ever witnessed, and the world of fire that surrounded Lei Yan was something that none of them dreamed.

"Stop," The golden monkey suddenly yelled.

However, all he got in response was another fiery charge that he had to do his best to block. Though Lei Yan only rose to the low stage of the Core Formation, the differences between the two were like heaven and earth. One was a normal awakened beast whereas the other had the bloodline of a godly species of ant.

A circle of giant flames had already surrounded the golden monkey, and he knew that he had no place to turn to. If he wanted to win, he would have to crush the exoskeleton of the ant before him, a feat easier said than done.

After a few minutes of back and forth, the golden monkey began to regain a bit of his lost confidence. Because try as he might, the ant seemed unable to beat him as well, and that gave him a slight reassurance.

Lei Yan's antennas perked in surprise, 'They were quick to arrive.' He mused.

All around them, six Core Formation monsters appeared, exactly what Lei Ya had been anticipating all of this time.

To make a statement, Lei Yan's booming voice thundered through the area, "I know you're there," He said. Witnessing their uncomfortable movement in his spiritual sense, he continued, "But fear not, I was waiting for you."

Hearing the words even the golden monkey stopped still with a startled expression. The fact that the ant could pay that much attention to his surroundings amidst such a dangerous fight proved that he had even more capabilities.

Suddenly, out of several places around them, several monsters revealed themselves.

A tiny black pat that hung itself upside down from a nearby tree. A Fiery lion. A giant white crane coolly hovered beside those two, and some other ones.

The moment all of them made an appearance, Lei Yan acted. Swiftly turning around his body, he aimed his rear end in the golden monkey's direction.

Just as the monkey's face formed a confused frown, the deed was already done.

A fiery stinger with lightning-fast speed cruised through the air in a split second before penetrating his thick throat. The monkey reflexively grabbed his throat with both hands as he weakly fell backward. Yet, the moment his back touched the grassy ground beneath him, all of the fire energy stored within the stinger burst out within him like a dam.

An explosion occurred before a giant fire rose with him at the center, and once all of the smoke disappeared his head was nothing but a bloody spot.

All of the nearby monsters stiffened. Their previous calm and collected demeanor was not to be found as they alternated between looking at their dead acquaintance and the terrifying ant.

Taking advantage of this situation, Lei Yan flew up above and gazed down at them. "Listen," He said, voice booming with terrifying Qi. "I am the lord of this area, and I will be taking all of the Golden Monkey's territories. Unlike him, I don't like to trouble myself with pointless squabbles too much. If you show me due respect, you'll receive it in kind. If not."

Saying the last word, he gazed at each one of them with a dead look on his unmoving face, and the fury that babbled within his eyes was anything but insincere.

Hovering in mid-air with a world of flames beneath him, a glistening horn, giant wings, formidable mandibles, and a fearsome Fire spirit, his presence was nothing short of mythical and domineering.

All of the monsters that appeared gave him a slight nod before they disappeared into the horizon.

Witnessing their gradual disappearance, Lei Yan heaved a huge sigh of relief. 'That was freaking intense. But this would be my some time before I can truly take care of them on my own.' He pondered.

He landed on the ground under the reverent gaze of all of his subordinates, and he couldn't help but feel smug as he walked toward them.

"What can I say," He sarcastically mumbled when he got close to them. "I am kind of awesome!"

Shooing all of the insects to go inside, he followed after them from behind. He still had another very important matter to attend to, The Ant Queen.

He gave some of his subordinates the order to go retrieve the golden monkey's corpse and left every one in that wide space as he ventured deep into the colony.

Finding the ant queen proved to be an easy task, and overpowering him with his temporary strength even more so.

Once the ant queen was handled and became obedient to him, he returned back.

"My lord," Lu Peng said with a bit of hesitancy. "How about I go back to the outpost to make sure things stay safe there?"

"What do you mean?" Doubtfully asked Lei Yan.

"Well, you see," The blue hornet explained. "A lot of nearby administrators have died, and so their sect will make some investigation and also choose a new one. With me there, I can make them lose the scent of this colony and just focus on the viper's territory. And of course, my false testimony will also help, and at the same time my sect won't send anyone as I would remain as the head."

After understanding his point, Lei Yan immediately agreed, "Yes, yes," He said, eyes lit up. "That is indeed necessary." His gaze landed on the viper and he added, "But not now, tomorrow, Today we will feast on the meat of these two fuckers."

"Fuckers?" Lu Peng mumbled in shock before he quietly chuckled to himself.

"Fuckers indeed, how troublesome were they." Lei Yan said shaking his head in mock anger.

Once the subordinates brought back the golden monkey's corpse, he quickly stored it inside his spatial ring as he had more important things to do with it. Mainly making new Ants just like him.

The legion of ants proved to be perfect subordinates as even the unawakened ones of the bunch were stellar in handling orders. In but a few minutes, the spacious underground was filled with dry wooden sticks.

Red Shadow transformed into her human form, and he gave her the responsibility of handling the fire and cooking the viper.

As tough as the viper's scales were, he had made sure to dissect her body before the strength of the pill ran out.

What followed was an underground feast of epic proportions. All of the insects ate a bit of the viper, and when more meat was needed, he just gave them the other meat stored in his spatial ring. Finally having the time to talk with each one of his subordinates old and new and learn more about them, Lei Yan did just that, which proved to be a ton of fun.

The next day, Lu Peng left leaving his daughter Lu Ning behind, and the rest of the colony sprang into action once again. Using the energy from the golden monkey, he put down three ant eggs and left them for the ants responsible for the brood to take care of them.

With a deeper understanding of the colony, he began relaying orders left and right. His goal was to increase their stability and provide a safe haven for everyone, especially him to cultivate with his mind at ease.

After a few more days, he finally broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and gained the ability, or rather the mission to fulfill and access a new insect species.

His Ant eggs had already hatched, giving birth to ridiculously powerful 10th-stage Qi Condensation Ants that could easily devour most low-rank Foundation Establishment monsters. Satisfied, he put even more, and things flowed in such a smooth manner for quite a while.

Until a particular day arrived when a human barged in, a very skinny, weak, and worn-out old man. Upon witnessing the multitude of ant species in that underground colony, the man wept in joy!

From his mad murmurs, Lei Yan learned that he was the master of ants who previously controlled all of this colony, and he was at the Core Formation.

Already expecting his visit, he wasn't even concerned. The five golden shackles that had already been recharged once again sprouted from the ground and dominated the old man into obedience, though it was something that he didn't want from someone as shrewd as he was, and so he was killed to give birth to even more powerful subordinates.

A tremendous sense of pride and achievement had swelled up within him after emerging victorious, and the calm he had been yearning for all of this time to slowly accumulate his resources was finally at his grasp. The next few days were spent at peace, just lazily enjoying his new life as he joyfully flew with all of his subordinates all over his territories. They ate all manners of delicious meats, fruits, and vegetables. They played games from like Sword-Tennis, and began delegating different roles into different insects depending on their aptitudes. Plenty of children were born too. Mosquitoes, Dragonflies, and most importantly, Fire God Ants with their own little Fire Spirits.

However, with the humans sects getting restless from Lu Peng's reports, and the nearby Awakened Lords fearing his overwhelming power, Lei Yan knew that peace would be short-lived, and so they had to strengthen themselves as much as they could in the meantime.