Chapter 2065: 吸魔蚁

Soul-Devouring Ants! It's a sea of Soul-Devouring Ants!

As soon as Han Li clearly saw those purple, chopstick-shaped demonic insects, he immediately gasped, and a rare expression of fear appeared on his face.

"Go, quickly return to the city!" Han Li shouted without hesitation. A spiritual light flashed around his body, and he transformed into a streak of green light, shooting into the sky and flying towards Blood Raven City.

In just a few flashes, the green escape light was over a hundred yards away!

The young girl also hurriedly rolled on the ground, transforming into her small beast form and chasing after him. After catching up, she vanished into Han Li's body.

The swarm of insects behind them was not slow, but under Han Li's full-speed escape, they were instantly left far behind, out of sight.

A strange phenomenon occurred again. After the purple cloud completely devoured the green mist, the vast expanse of light clouds trembled slightly, then receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Although Han Li didn't witness this scene, as he sped along, he felt no sense of relief. Instead, information about Soul-Devouring Ants swirled in his mind, making his expression grow increasingly grim.

"What on earth is happening in this place? First, poisonous beasts like the Butterfly-Tailed Beasts formed a beast tide, and now even demonic insects like the Soul-Devouring Ants have appeared! The ant sea formed by these insects is one of the Demon Realm's great natural disasters, something utterly impossible for human power to resist," Han Li muttered to himself. As he flew at lightning speed, he was greatly perplexed.

A single Soul-Devouring Ant is only comparable to a Qi Condensation cultivator. However, once they form a swarm, with their innate ability to absorb spiritual energy and demonic qi, and their terrifying, despair-inducing numbers, they can destroy anything in their path. They are simply impossible to eliminate by human power.

It is said that where an ant sea erupts, not even a blade of grass grows, and everything in its path is completely devoured by the Soul-Devouring Ants.

The beast tide formed by the Butterfly-Tailed Beasts was already extremely terrifying, but compared to the ant sea, it was like a minor sorcerer encountering a great one – its danger level was not worth mentioning.

After all, according to legend, there have even been instances where Ancestral Saint-level beings were completely drained of their magic power by the ant sea and trapped to death.

Therefore, even though Han Li was confident in his abilities, he absolutely did not wish to be caught in it.

However, when Han Li spotted the vague, massive city walls of Blood Raven City in the distance, his heart suddenly sank.

At this moment, Blood Raven City was completely surrounded by layers of beasts of all sizes, numbering in the millions.

These demonic beasts varied in strength, but several exceptionally powerful ones seemed to possess a spiritual pressure no weaker than that of a Demon Realm Venerable.

But stranger still, these demonic beasts did not attack Blood Raven City. Instead, some species huddled together in groups, gazing uneasily at the surrounding wilderness and occasionally emitting anxious growls.

The city walls of Blood Raven City were currently crowded with numerous demons.

Among them were the city's own guards, but more were ordinary demons residing in the city.

They paid no mind to the demonic beasts outside the barrier. Instead, they stared intently at the far end of the wilderness, their faces equally filled with fear, as if something utterly terrifying would appear soon.

"Could it be that the demons in the city already know about the impending arrival of the Soul-Devouring Ants?" Seeing such a bizarre situation, Han Li's mind raced, and he immediately guessed what was happening.

With Han Li's escape speed, in an instant, his escape light flashed over the groups of demonic beasts and, without any attempt to conceal himself, darted onto Blood Raven City's walls.

The layers of already activated restrictions merely rippled slightly, completely unable to obstruct Han Li in the slightest.

Many demons on the city wall were startled to see this, but given the current situation, no one came forward to stop or question him.

With a flash of green light, Han Li shot towards the city center.

At this moment, Blood Raven City was in complete chaos. The aerial restrictions had clearly been lifted, and various escape lights darted about in the sky. Some demons even directly conjured gusts of demonic wind, gathering in clusters throughout the city, their expressions grim as they whispered to each other.

It looked as if a great disaster was about to strike.

Just then, the nearby void rippled, and a flash of yellow light shot towards him, disappearing instantly.

Han Li paused slightly, and with a single hand movement, he snatched the yellow light.

Immediately, a burst of intense flame erupted in his palm, and the deep voice of Old Ancestor Long entered his ears.

Although it was only a few words, Han Li's expression shifted upon hearing them. His escape light subtly changed direction, shooting directly towards a corner of the city.

A short while later, Han Li's escape light faded, and he suddenly appeared in an unassuming courtyard.

There, Old Ancestor Long, the Feathered Maiden, the Lin Family man, and Elder Hui had clearly been waiting for a long time, but there was no sign of Saintess Qianqiu or the other Spirit Race members.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you've finally arrived. If you had been a few steps later, we might have had to break out on our own," Old Ancestor Long said, pleased to see Han Li.

"What happened? Is it because of those demonic ants? If so, there's no need to panic too much. With our escape speed, we should have no problem leaving now," Han Li asked, nodding to the others and his expression serious.

"It seems Brother Han doesn't know. Not long ago, Soul-Devouring Ants appeared on all sides of Blood Raven City. Now, everyone in the city knows about it. The demonic beasts outside were also driven here by the ant sea. At this moment, an area spanning tens of thousands of miles has been encircled by the ant sea. Even with our strength, attempting a breakout would likely involve considerable risk," Old Ancestor Long replied with a light sigh.

"So, the surrounding area has been completely surrounded by the ant sea. That explains why the demonic beasts and the city's inhabitants are coexisting peacefully. However, the more this is the case, the sooner we must break out. This place is such a large target; once the ant queen appears, Blood Raven City will surely be at the center of the ant sea, making escape extremely difficult," Han Li said, his expression slightly changing, but his tone brooked no argument.

"I am aware of that point," Old Ancestor Long said in one breath. "However, before we break out, I have a few things to explain. Since the outcome of this breakout is unpredictable for us fellow Daoists, to disperse the pressure from the ant sea, we must split up. We absolutely cannot act together. Otherwise, with the Soul-Devouring Ant Queen's cunning, she would surely target us specifically, and we might all truly perish here. Given the terrifying nature of the Soul-Devouring Ant Sea, we will most likely only be truly safe once we escape into the Savage Lands. The Savage Lands are vast, so it will probably be difficult for us to easily gather again. Therefore, our next meeting place will be Mirage Night City, before the Mirage Roar Desert. Once we break out of the ant sea, there's no need to stop or wait; just head straight for that city. After we reunite in Mirage Night City, we can then discuss the Eight-Legged Demonic Lizards and the Mirage Roar Desert."

"What if someone is delayed along the way or gets trapped somewhere and can't reach Mirage Night City? We can't expect those who arrive first to wait indefinitely, can we?" the Lin Family man with disheveled hair asked, frowning.

"Rest assured, I have naturally considered that point," Old Ancestor Long replied without hesitation. "From now, our meeting time is set for two years from today. By then, no matter how many arrive, we will not wait past the deadline. As for the exact meeting spot, it will be in the largest inn in Mirage Night City."

"Two years should be enough, as long as we don't encounter too many unexpected difficulties. I have no objections to the meeting place; we'll follow Brother Long's suggestion. By the way, where did Fellow Daoist Qianqiu and the others go? Why haven't they appeared yet?" Han Li mused for a moment, then nodded.

The others, hearing this, also expressed no objection.

"By the way, why haven't I seen Fellow Daoist Qianqiu and the other Spirit Race members? Nothing bad has happened to them, has it?" Han Li asked suddenly, looking around.

Upon hearing this, Old Ancestor Long and the others all showed strange expressions. "Brother Han, you don't know, but the Spirit Race Daoists left two days ago. I have Fellow Daoist Qianqiu's message jade slip right here; Brother Han can take a look. Brother Long also just received it, and the other Daoists have already seen its contents." This time, it was the Feathered Maiden who explained calmly, raising her wrist and tossing a white jade slip towards Han Li.

Hearing her words, Old Ancestor Long also wore a bitter smile.

"Such a thing happened? Let me see," Han Li said, surprised. He raised a hand and took the jade slip, then swept his divine sense through it.

After only a few breaths, Han Li's brows furrowed as he withdrew his divine sense. After some thought, he said noncommittally:

"So, Fellow Daoist Qianqiu and the others unexpectedly encountered a very important and urgent matter, which forced them to leave ahead of time. They also arranged to meet us in Mirage Night City. In that case, our previous discussion remains perfectly valid…"

"Indeed," Old Ancestor Long nodded, sweeping his gaze into the distance and speaking meaningfully. "Although we don't know what happened on the Spirit Race's side, for them to separate from us so hastily, it must truly be a matter of great importance. The Spirit Race's strength is not inferior to ours, so we don't need to worry too much. However, there's no time to lose now; let's begin our breakout immediately. It seems many demons share our thoughts, as quite a few have already started leaving Blood Raven City."

Han Li's expression subtly shifted, and he immediately released his divine sense to sweep around Blood Raven City.

He saw that in the short time they had been discussing, over a dozen teams, comprised of several thousand mid to high-level demons, had already left Blood Raven City and were cautiously speeding towards the distant wilderness.

As a result, with some leading the way, the demons remaining in the city became even more panicked. Countless low-level demons flew out of Blood Raven City without any further hesitation, surging in all directions like a tide.