Chapter 1337: Insect Tide Protects Its Master

"Have you found out which two of the Eight Reincarnates did it?" Han Jie asked, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

"It was Yan Zhuo and Xuan Yu. They didn't hide their identities, and even dismantled the ancestral hall of Tongqiu True Person's sect openly, seemingly unafraid of the Heavenly Court's pursuit and retaliation," the man replied.

"Find their traces. Those two must die, and I want their souls to make puppets." Han Jie released his hand, clasped it behind his back, and gave the order.

The people below were about to respond when they saw Han Jie's expression suddenly change, and their hearts leaped into their throats.

"Good, good, good... I never thought that after so many years, you could actually reach this step again. This time, let's see if you still have a chance to escape!" Han Jie said three 'good's in a row, then burst into loud laughter.

Those few didn't understand and dared not speak, so they stood there silently.

"Lu Qingshan, Zhao Yao, I leave the matter of tracking Yan Zhuo and Xuan Yu to you two. The rest of you, follow me..." Han Jie suddenly shouted.

"As you command," they replied immediately.

...

Longyuan Immortal Domain, Qingyuan Continent.

A clear sky without a single cloud stretched far above, facing the vast, boundless blue waters below, reflecting each other.

Between sea and sky, two streaks of light flew side by side, leaving a long golden trail in the void, stirring up strong spatial fluctuations.

Within the streaks of light were a young man and woman. The man was tall, with narrow eyes and thick brows, a not-too-high nose bridge, and a face full of stubble. The woman wore a blue palace dress and looked gentle and charming.

"Wan'er, remember, once we reach the Qingyuan Continent, you go back to Huazhi Grotto-Heaven first, and I'll enter the Tongtian Tower alone to go to the Middle Earth Immortal Domain," the bearded man said to the woman beside him.

This woman was none other than Nangong Wan, and the bearded man was naturally Han Li.

"I know. I'm just worried—if you openly use the Heavenly Court's teleportation array to go to the Middle Earth Immortal Domain, won't you be discovered and cause chaos?" Nangong Wan frowned slightly and asked.

"No problem. I have the Bodhi Token in hand, so they'll treat me as a distinguished guest of the Heavenly Court and won't investigate further. Besides, they probably never imagined I'd dare to do this," Han Li shook his head and said.

"Since you say so, I feel relieved," Nangong Wan nodded.

As they spoke, they could already see the black coastline of the Qingyuan Continent thousands of miles ahead.

Just then, an unusual fluctuation came from ahead.

Han Li's mind stirred, and he stopped, pulling Nangong Wan behind him, and stared ahead intently.

Above the coastline, a dark mass of black light flickered, accompanied by chaotic chirping sounds of insects.

Han Li frowned, and a strange feeling rose in his heart.

In a moment, the dark mass flew several hundred miles closer, becoming clearer, and a single glance sent chills down one's spine.

Within a radius of several hundred miles, it was densely packed with all kinds of spirit insects. The largest were hundreds of feet long, shaped like rhinoceros beetles, while the smallest were only two or three inches, looking like worms.

If it were just a swarm of a single type, it wouldn't be strange, but this dense mass of millions of spirit insects, mixed together, flying across the sky, was very problematic.

"Something's off..." Han Li frowned as he watched the approaching insect tide.

"It's an insect tide. There are such things in the Spirit Realm too, but not on this scale... What do you find wrong?" Nangong Wan asked.

"Insect tides usually consist of the same type of spirit insects gathering for large-scale devouring and destruction. But this swarm has a very mixed variety, including some that are natural enemies. For example, the Star-Striped Rhinoceros Beetle and the Flame-Less Borer Moth are mortal enemies that would fight to the death on sight, but here they travel side by side without conflict. That's very unusual," Han Li mused.

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed slightly. From within the swarm, the insects parted left and right, and a golden beetle a hundred feet in size rushed out, radiating powerful auras.

This beetle was none other than a Gold Devouring Immortal whose cultivation had nearly reached the peak of Taiyi.

"Wan'er, stay here and wait for me," Han Li said to Nangong Wan with a frown.

Before Nangong Wan could agree, Han Li's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared directly in front of the insect tide, about to be engulfed by the endless swarm.

But golden light flashed around him, and a golden domain expanded instantly, covering a range of hundreds of thousands of miles. A golden wheel rose high into the sky, casting down myriad beams of golden light.

The sea of insects, caught in the time domain, froze in midair. Some still had spiritual light around them, others remained in the motion of fluttering wings, but all were as if dead, motionless.

Even the water below froze instantly, the ripples on the surface solidifying in place.

Han Li walked into the insect tide, flickering through the dense insects until he reached the Gold Devouring Immortal.

He pointed a single finger at his brow, and a crystal light shot out, piercing into the Gold Devouring Immortal's head, then vanished.

After a moment of closed-eye investigation, Han Li raised his eyebrows and opened his eyes, saying, "Such a big event, and she didn't tell me. What nonsense..."

With that, he flickered back to Nangong Wan's side.

"What happened?" Nangong Wan asked with concern.

"From the looks of it, Gold童 is about to break through and advance. All these insects are coming to protect and serve her," Han Li frowned.

"Advance... Is she already at late Daluo?" Nangong Wan asked in surprise.

Han Li shook his head, "Not late Daluo. She is about to re-merge with the Dao and become a Dao Ancestor."

"What..." Nangong Wan's expression changed, incredulous.

"Gold童's Devouring Law is a natural talent, and her cultivation path differs from ordinary people. Besides, she was originally a split from a Dao Ancestor's true body. Now, after generations of devouring, she is merely recombining. So she doesn't need to sever the Three Corpses, and her speed can't be judged by normal standards," Han Li explained, looking at the frozen insect tide.

"Isn't that a good thing? Why do you look so worried?" Nangong Wan asked.

"Look at this massive insect tide. It's probably not unique to the Longyuan Immortal Domain. Scenes like this might be happening in many places across the immortal domains. Such a commotion will surely attract the attention of the Heavenly Court," Han Li said thoughtfully.

"If that's the case, it's indeed risky. What do you plan to do?" Nangong Wan understood.

"I need to go help her, to protect her for a while," Han Li said with a firm gaze.

"You should go. But now, you probably don't even know where she is, do you?" Nangong Wan nodded and asked.

"That's simple. Just follow the insect tide," Han Li said, looking again at the dense swarm in the distance.

"You're quick-witted. Speaking of which, such a grand insect tide protecting its master must mean her advancement will be even more spectacular," Nangong Wan said, covering her mouth with a light laugh, somewhat expectantly.

"No time to waste. Let's go now," Han Li said, taking Nangong Wan's hand. His figure flickered, and they landed on the back of the Gold Devouring Immortal.

Then, he waved his hand to withdraw the time domain. The flow of time in the surrounding void immediately resumed, and the insect tide roared past, rushing toward the other end of the sea.

...

Somewhere in the outer void.

In a deep, pure void, spatial storms swept through everywhere, occasionally colliding with each other, emitting brilliant aurora-like lights.

At the edge of a massive spatial storm, an even larger black cloud floated, expanding and contracting like a living thing. Inside, clouds churned, and beams of light like lighthouses shone out in all directions.

This huge black cloud was a mass of outer realm demons, but it clung tightly to the spatial storm, unwilling to move forward.

Hundreds of thousands of miles away in the endless void, a golden beetle tens of thousands of feet in size floated, radiating flames of golden light that surged powerfully, emitting immense auras.

Any outer realm meteorite that came even slightly close, still tens of thousands of miles away, would be affected by this aura and instantly reduced to ashes.

At the same time, around the golden beetle, the void was filled with spatial rifts of various sizes, like windows opened in a dark room.

The smallest were tens of feet, the largest tens of thousands of feet, corresponding to countless regions of the immortal domains.

Through most of these spatial rifts, countless spirit insects were pouring into this outer void.

But the outer void was unlike other places; the spatial pressure was extraordinary. Most insects exploded upon passing through the rifts, turning to ash.

Yet, despite this, countless dense insects, fearless of death, surged forward.

Among these insects, some with exceptional talents could withstand the spatial pressure and reach the giant golden beetle, where they were protected by its golden light and survived.

And many Gold Devouring Beetles mixed in, upon entering the golden light, were dissolved by it, their power absorbed into the giant golden beetle's body.

As more and more insects entered the outer void, the swarm preserved within the golden light around the beetle grew larger, now like a belt encircling it.