Chapter 2275: Doubt

A crystalline gleam flashed between Han Li's brows, and a cluster of crystal threads shot forth, about to vanish into the giant insect's body in a flash.

But at that very instant, with a "bang," the giant insect's corpse burst open like foam, dissipating into specks of white light and vanishing.

The crystalline gleam flashed again!

The crystal threads coiled back into Han Li's brows, but a look of realization, quickly followed by a hint of grimness, appeared on his face.

In the void on the other side, countless pink floral shadows covered the sky, while innumerable silver arcs flashed wildly within them.

Bao Hua had arrived beside Daoist Crab at some unknown point, unfurling her Spirit Domain and jointly trapping another strange insect within it.

That strange insect's abilities clearly revolved around its peculiar divine sense. Unfortunately, Daoist Crab was completely unaffected by it, and Bao Hua, being within her Spirit Domain, seemed entirely impervious. As for its innate Evil Lightning ability, though formidable and even containing a hint of the power of destruction, capable of breaking even Heavenly Treasures, Daoist Crab and Bao Hua were both exceptionally cunning. Initially, they completely avoided direct confrontation, leaving the insect furious but unable to exert its power. When Bao Hua, without hesitation, released her Heavenly Spirit Domain again, unexpectedly trapping the strange insect within it, the situation naturally turned around.

Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, the strange insect desperately activated its grayish-white Evil Lightning within the Spirit Domain, attempting to break free and escape. However, the Heavenly Spirit Domain was renowned as an immortal ability that only true Immortals could truly master, making escape exceedingly difficult for this strange insect. Layer after layer of pink petals, urged by Bao Hua, tightly confined the strange insect in the center of the Spirit Domain, appearing endless.

Although the strange insect struggled to resist the Spirit Domain's power, all its movements imperceptibly slowed down. At this moment, it had transformed its divine sense into a layer of white crystalline light shielding its entire body, with arcs of gray electricity continuously bursting around it. However, under the combined attacks of Daoist Crab and Bao Hua, it was already covered in wounds and on the verge of collapse.

Seeing this, a strange expression flickered across Han Li's face. He suddenly flicked his sleeve, and the emerald longsword reappeared in a flash. With another flick, twelve green lines slashed forth.

The next moment, a continuous screeching sound erupted from Bao Hua's Heavenly Spirit Domain. The twelve green lines appeared simultaneously beside the strange insect, sweeping across its body in a flash. The strange insect, along with its protective crystalline shield and the nearby electrical arcs, was instantly sliced apart and disintegrated into clusters of white light, scattering into nothingness as if it had never existed there.

Bao Hua was startled by this sight, but after carefully probing the Spirit Domain with her divine sense and confirming the strange insect was truly gone, she frowned, raised a hand, and withdrew her Heavenly Spirit Domain.

At this moment, a ripple appeared nearby, and Han Li blurred into a short-distance teleportation, arriving close by. Immediately after, a clap of thunder. Daoist Crab also retracted his Golden Giant Crab Dharma form, transforming into an arc of electricity and appearing behind Han Li.

Han Li's gaze swept over him, and seeing only a few scorched marks but no serious injuries, he felt relieved.

"Brother Han, what remarkable skill! That last strike, if I had faced it, I doubt I could have withstood it even with my Spirit Domain protecting me," Bao Hua said slowly, her gaze at Han Li holding a hint of surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Bao Hua overestimates me! That strike was primarily due to the power of the treasure, and the insect was already at its limit after both of your attacks. Otherwise, I wouldn't have succeeded so easily," Han Li said with a slight, understated smile.

"It's not that simple!" Bao Hua shook her head, but said no more. Instead, she looked towards where the strange insect had disappeared, a hint of confusion on her face.

"It seems you've also noticed something amiss, Fellow Daoist. Clearly, our previous battle didn't truly destroy them. Not to mention the Mother of Mandara Insects' spiritual avatar, these two strange insects don't seem to be true physical bodies and can't be easily killed," Han Li said, his expression somewhat grave as his gaze swept over the spot.

"Indeed, these two strange insects gave me a peculiar feeling from the start. It's not that their abilities weren't powerful, but they seemed somewhat extreme. One possessed incredibly strong divine sense, forcing us to keep our distance. The other had unparalleled physical strength, capable of forcing us to temporarily retreat with just a single claw strike. However, their other methods were too limited, which revealed their weaknesses and allowed us to defeat them easily," Han Li affirmed with a nod.

"If these strange insects were cultivated by the Mother of Mandara Insects, then that would be rather odd. Given the cunning of that Insect Mother, why would she do something so unwise?" Bao Hua said thoughtfully.

"However, have you noticed, Fellow Daoist? Although we could defeat them individually with some effort, if they were to cooperate, or rather, if a single creature possessed all the abilities of these two strange insects simultaneously, then..." Han Li suddenly chuckled.

"That's true. If one creature possessed all those abilities, then you and I would truly have to flee for our lives," Bao Hua said, her face paling as she drew a sharp breath.

"And Fellow Daoist Bao Hua, have you noticed that not only did the Mother of Mandara Insects' spiritual avatar and these two strange insects not seem to be on the same side from the beginning, but there was also a subtle animosity between these two strange insects themselves? Otherwise, if they had shown even the slightest intention of cooperating from the start, we wouldn't have been able to exploit their weaknesses and defeat them separately," a thoughtful expression appeared on Han Li's face.

"That is rather strange. If they were cultivated by the Mother of Mandara Insects, why would they not obey her spiritual commands, and even show animosity?" Bao Hua's delicate brows furrowed; she truly found it difficult to understand.

"I can't figure this out either, but the way those two strange insects' bodies disappeared just now somewhat resembled forms condensed from projection power," Han Li said casually.

"Projection power... Brother Han, do you mean... someone from another realm is directly interfering with the Mother of Mandara Insects' affairs! And a mere projection can fight us for so long? Could it be a True Immortal from the Immortal Realm?" Bao Hua's expression drastically changed, her face turning exceedingly grim.

"It's hard to say. I'm just a bit suspicious, and perhaps my guess isn't correct. But if it truly is the case, then things here are far more complicated. How about you try to communicate with the Seal Spirit again and see if it has any clues?" Han Li stroked his chin, sighing.

"Due to the loss of power, the Seal Spirit is now very weak. Even I can't make it appear now, unless you wish for the ancient seal to completely fail right now," Bao Hua replied with a wry smile.

"In that case, the trouble will be significant," Han Li's expression subtly changed.

"Regardless, we've come this far; there's no turning back. Those two fellow Daoists haven't sent any news yet, so it seems something serious has truly happened. You and I must go down and investigate personally," Bao Hua said, her expression fluctuating between light and shadow, before biting her lip.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Bao Hua intends to take some risks. According to our agreement, I will naturally accompany you down. But let me state this upfront: if we encounter extraordinary dangers that I cannot handle, I won't truly fight to the death," Han Li nodded, speaking calmly.

"Naturally. If a situation truly becomes insurmountable, I too would not sacrifice my life. And I don't believe that without the Phoenix Spirit Disc, Fellow Daoist truly has no way to leave this void," Bao Hua smiled charmingly.

"It's best if you understand that, Fellow Daoist. Let's go down," Han Li nodded expressionlessly. Immediately, a light of escape enveloped him, and he, along with Daoist Crab, plunged into the water first. After Bao Hua's gaze swept around and found no abnormalities, she also transformed into a phantom and dove downwards.

Just a moment after they entered the water... in the murky sky, a slight ripple appeared, and wisps of five-colored light subtly emerged, quickly intertwining and converging at one point. From a distance, a gigantic, closed five-colored eye vaguely formed slowly in the high sky.

At the same time, in the abyss of the seabed, the giant insect's skeleton floated motionless in the water. However, in its originally empty eye sockets, two dazzling demonic flames burned fiercely, growing increasingly intense. Beside the skeleton, several broken artifacts quietly hovered, emitting only faint glows. One of them was a half-missing, incomplete jade tablet. The other was a dark short spear with cracks covering its surface. These two items were precisely the treasured artifacts that the ancient elder and the black-robed woman cherished as their lives. Now, they were discarded here like trash, indicating that the two Grand Ascension Stage powerhouses, once renowned in this realm, were most likely no longer in this world.

Two ripples appeared simultaneously above the skeleton's head, and two blurry white lights flickered into existence. After the rolling white light condensed, one mass instantly transformed into a plump giant insect, while the other solidified into a strange insect that was almost entirely transparent. These two entities were precisely the strange insects that Han Li and Bao Hua had just "killed" earlier. However, at this moment, their bodies were noticeably more indistinct than before, and their aura had diminished by more than half, turning them into mere shadowy existences.

Suddenly, from one of the skeleton's massive eye sockets, the demonic flames surged. A woman, entirely draped in silver gauze, floated out from within the flames. This woman had a graceful figure and an expressionless face. Her features were strikingly similar to the girl who had been devoured, about seventy to eighty percent alike, but she appeared much more mature. It was as if the girl had instantly grown into the appearance of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old.

Upon seeing the silver-gowned woman, the two blurry strange insect shadows simultaneously prostrated themselves, offering a profound bow to her. The silver-gowned woman's gaze coldly swept over the two shadowy figures, then her face darkened, and she let out a cold snort: "Useless creatures, you couldn't even deal with a few mere Grand Ascension cultivators from the lower realms. But it's fortunate they wounded the Mother of Mandara Insects' spiritual essence; otherwise, I might not have been able to completely devour her right now. Now that a portion of my spiritual essence has recovered, you two are useless. Return your power to me."

After saying these words without any emotion, the silver-gowned woman immediately raised a finger and pointed it at each of the two shadowy figures.