Chapter 2067: Demon Realm Wasteland

However, Han Li's magic power was draining faster than before. Although it was only an insignificant fraction compared to his total magic power, over a prolonged period, the accumulated loss would still be considerable. Yet, given his true essence cultivation, which far surpassed that of others at his level, as long as he maintained the consumption at a minimal level, it should be enough for him to escape safely.

As Han Li flew, he pondered these thoughts. The hazy green sword light emanating from his body suddenly retracted, shrinking from its original size of over a dozen yards to merely a yard. Then, with a few flashes, his escape light plunged deep into the sea of ants, where he was completely engulfed by the dense swarm of demon ants.

At the same time, in other parts of the ant sea, various demon cultivators were also heavily besieged by the demon ants. All sorts of demonic artifacts were summoned, and diverse divine abilities formed from demonic arts raged and whistled through the swarm. Large swathes of Soul-Devouring Ants were swept away.

However, for ordinary demon cultivators with lower cultivation levels, this situation was like drinking poison to quench thirst; their magic power would soon be completely depleted. When that happened, these low-level demons would face the fate of being completely devoured by the demon ants. Yet, faced with the overwhelming surge of Soul-Devouring Ants, these demon cultivators, terrified, could only frantically expend their internal magic power without ceasing.

Those demon cultivators who had reached the Nascent Soul stage and condensed a Demonic Nascent Soul could significantly extend their endurance, lasting for half a day or even a full day. As for demon cultivators of higher stages, such as Body Integration and Void Refinement, they could endure the continuous attacks of the demon ants for several days, or even half a month.

The combined number of Blood Raven City demon cultivators and the previously driven-out demonic beasts trapped in the ant sea was also astonishing. Naturally, the ant sea could not fully besiege every individual, so there was still hope of escaping.

Time passed little by little. Several hours later, the low-level demon cultivators eventually exhausted their magic power one by one, no longer able to activate their demonic arts for protection. The power emanating from their demonic artifacts also grew weaker and weaker until, one after another, they began to emit shrill screams.

After half a day, only those demon cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage remained, struggling to endure within the ant sea. As the demon cultivators and beasts scattered in all directions, the vast ant sea, which had originally enveloped the area impenetrably, inevitably split into dozens of parts, slowly spreading outwards in pursuit of its prey.

In a sizable section of the ant sea, tens of thousands of miles away from Blood Raven City, six demon cultivators — five men and one woman — silently and fiercely flew in the same direction. Among them, two younger demon men radiated a soaring fiery light from their bodies, while the other emanated wisps of white mist. Any demon ants that approached them either turned into piles of ash or instantly froze into blocks of ice. As for the demon woman, dressed like a matron, a pitch-black ancient mirror floated above her head. From it, bursts of green light, faintly accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, erupted, blasting apart all approaching demon ants. These three demons were none other than the three Hai family demon cultivators who had once intercepted Han Li in Blood Raven City.

The remaining three demon men appeared to be around forty years old, and their faces bore a subtle resemblance, making it clear at a glance that they shared a blood relation. These three demons did not use any demonic artifacts. Instead, they formed hand seals with one hand and jointly unleashed a dense, ink-black aura that wildly danced around them, sweeping away the multitude of demon ants.

All six of these demon cultivators were at the Void Refinement stage. Their combined might was truly astonishing, and they easily carved a path, breaking through the ant sea and traveling several hundred miles in the blink of an eye. The demon ants ahead gradually thinned out, suggesting they had reached the edge of the swarm. The six demons were naturally overjoyed at this sight.

But just then, an unexpected change occurred! The ant sea on one side suddenly parted, and over a hundred giant ants, each about a yard long, surged forth. Each of these demon ants was entirely greenish-blue, with a pair of crystalline wings on its back and exposed fangs, making them appear exceptionally ferocious. The moment the giant ants appeared, they immediately charged aggressively towards the three demon men with similar faces.

"Fellow Daoists Nangong, be careful! These are mutated demon ants, not comparable to ordinary Soul-Devouring Ants!" exclaimed the demon woman, her face paling drastically as she hastily warned them.

The three demon men were startled but immediately joined forces to activate their demonic arts. The demonic energy, originally as thick as a bowl, instantly swelled to roughly twice its size and transformed into a black flood dragon, soaring towards the giant ants. Loud hissing sounds tore through the air! The giant ants opened their mouths and, one after another, spat out purple liquid spheres that accurately struck the body of the black flood dragon.

A low rumbling sound instantly erupted! Where the black flood dragon was struck by the liquid, wisps of yellow smoke billowed out. Its body surprisingly vanished by more than half. The giant ants, however, showed no mercy, spewing out even more purple liquid. This time, most of these liquid spheres targeted the three demon men.

The expressions of all three demon men subtly changed. The leading man let out a low cry and spat out a mini-shield, several inches in size, while simultaneously channeling a furious torrent of magic power into it. The shield instantly expanded a hundredfold, transforming into a white giant shield several yards tall. Its surface was uneven, and faint wailing sounds could be heard, indicating it was a bone shield forged from countless white bones. Under the activation of demonic arts, black demonic patterns surged forth from the bone shield's surface, transforming into a hazy black light barrier that simultaneously protected the leading man and the two men beside him.

The purple liquid spheres struck the black barrier like a sudden downpour, causing yellow smoke to billow upwards. The surface of the black light barrier immediately trembled violently and rapidly shrank and thinned at a visible rate.

"Oh no! You two, quickly lend me a hand! I can't stop them alone!" the leading man cried out in terror upon seeing this.

The two demon men beside him, startled, flashed behind the leading man and quickly placed a hand on each of his shoulders. Instantly, streams of black energy, seemingly alive, surged from their arms into the leading man's body. The trembling light barrier immediately thickened once again, but the magic power within the three men's bodies was draining away at an alarming rate, making it impossible for them to launch any further effective counterattacks.

"Fellow Daoist Hai, quickly help us!" the leading man urgently turned and shouted for help to the demon woman.

"There's no need to fear, fellow Daoists; I'll destroy them at once," the demon woman replied without hesitation, pointing a finger at the ancient mirror floating in the air. Immediately, the demonic artifact spun, and its mirror surface turned towards the giant demon ants. A blue light condensed on its surface, as if it was about to unleash some divine ability.

Piercing screeches erupted once more. From a surge of demon ants on the other side, even more greenish giant ants flew out, densely packed, numbering five or six hundred. The demon woman, who was about to act, immediately looked alarmed. Without a word, she changed her hand seals, and the ancient mirror instantly transformed into a ball of blue light that descended, enveloping her figure.

A buzzing sound emanated! A flash of blue light emanated from the demon woman's body, and she instantly transformed into a streak of spiritual light, tearing through the air and escaping. At this moment, she not only abandoned the three trapped demon men but also seemed to disregard her two subordinates. Witnessing this, the two Hai family men became panicked. They too transformed into a red and a white streak of startling light and fled rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, only the three Nangong family men remained, raging and cursing as they watched them disappear.

Similar scenes were frequently erupting in other parts of the ant sea. The appearance of mutated high-level demon ants caused the immediate demise of most of the demon cultivators who were still struggling to hold on. High-level demon cultivators who managed to escape this calamity either possessed protective exotic treasures or cultivated special divine abilities, or they were simply lucky, allowing a companion to become a scapegoat while they themselves escaped.

As for Han Li and the other human cultivators, along with the few Demon Venerable-level demon cultivators and demonic beasts, they forcefully carved a bloody path through the giant ants with their cultivation. Despite this, the Soul-Devouring Ants showed no intention of letting go of the remaining individuals, clinging to them like maggots to bone, pursuing them relentlessly in swarms. The moment they relaxed even slightly, the remaining individuals would once again find themselves besieged by the ant sea, forced to grit their teeth and endure another bitter struggle.

In this manner, days turned into weeks, and the insect tide formed by the Soul-Devouring Ants lasted for a full half-year before gradually disappearing and dissipating. Even so, seven or eight cities around the grasslands were annihilated, and billions of demon cultivators were devoured by the demon ants. Afterwards, many demon cultivators were horrified whenever this "ant tide" was mentioned. The fearsome reputation of the Soul-Devouring Ants made people blanch at the mere mention of them in this region.

A year later, above a black forest filled with towering trees hundreds of yards tall, a faint streak of green light rapidly streaked through the air. About ten miles behind the green light, a flock of strange, dove-faced birds with crimson feathers were hot on its heels, emitting peculiar cries. Suddenly, the green light ahead paused slightly, and dozens of gleaming sword lights instantly shot forth from it. In a flash, they sliced the foremost dozen strange birds in half. With another flash, the green light then shot through the air once more. The crimson strange birds, shocked and enraged, circled the corpses of their fallen comrades below, letting out a few unpleasant "caw-caw" cries, but ultimately, they grudgingly gave up the chase.

After the green light had flown for over ten thousand miles in one breath, its escape speed finally slowed down.

"Not bad, to find such a large piece of Wind Flame Crystal here. I imagine it will be very useful in the future." Within the green light, a young man, holding a head-sized crimson crystal in one hand, murmured to himself with a faint smile playing on his lips.

This person was Han Li.

A year ago, relying on his formidable divine abilities, he continuously pressed forward, charging into the desolate lands of the demonic tribulation before finally shaking off the Soul-Devouring Ants. Afterwards, following the plan he had discussed with others, he did not seek out Old Ancestor Long and the others, but instead headed directly towards the Whispering Mirage Desert.

For ordinary demon cultivators, this desolate land was naturally an an extremely dangerous place, but with Han Li's divine abilities, he didn't pay it much mind. On the contrary, he had continuous gains along the way, discovering more than a dozen rare materials and spirit herbs that were seldom seen in the Spirit Realm. This filled him with immense joy.