Chapter 544: Stay Behind?

Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly at the scene before him, observing quietly.

Neither side of the alien races had many people, only a few dozen each, but their methods of attack were quite peculiar.

Among the long-necked, green-skinned clan, some held short flutes of unknown material, some clutched small drums made of animal bones and hide, and others raised bronze bells, either blowing or striking them, sending out waves of sound.

With these sound waves, hundreds of strange-shaped, large demon beasts, like puppets on strings, charged toward the short, stout, gray-brown toad-men.

Those toad-men simply bared their bellies, which seemed to be pounded from within, emitting a series of "gurgling" sounds.

As this sound spread, dense swarms of various spirit insects surged forth from the ground like a tide or descended from the sky blotting out the sun, all pouncing on the green-skinned long-necked people.

Among the spirit insects were both massive golden mantises as large as oxen or horses and tiny black beetles shining like bees. Individually, their auras were not particularly strong, but driven by these toad-men, their auras linked together as if forming a single entity, matching the opponent's momentum without yielding.

On the demon beast side, though some had thick armor, some were huge, some could spew fire and lightning, and some were extremely fast, in the end, a tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves. Under the relentless assault of the vast insect tide, they were steadily retreating.

Realizing the situation was unfavorable, among the green-skinned long-necked people, a man with the tallest stature, the longest neck, and a necklace of white bone beads hanging on his chest opened his mouth and let out a fierce shout.

All the sounds controlling the strange beasts on both sides stopped, and the fighting between the various demon beasts and spirit insects temporarily halted.

He opened his mouth and spoke a string of gibberish, but it was not the common language of the Immortal Realm; Han Li could not understand a single word.

"Xiao Bai, what are they saying? Can you understand?" Han Li asked the Pixiu at his waist through divine sense.

"This is the common language of the various tribes in the Wildlands. He is questioning a man named Tuliwu from the other side, saying that their Xiangjing tribe has abandoned the forest where they lived for generations and migrated here as a whole tribe, asking why they still refuse to let go and insist on exterminating them," the Pixiu Xiao Bai explained telepathically.

Han Li frowned slightly and looked toward the toad-like aliens.

A fat toad-man with a layer of green leather armor around his waist slowly stepped forward, opened his mouth, and also spoke gibberish in a rather loud voice.

"He says, 'Tanshi, our Huichan tribe and your Xiangjing tribe have been enemies for generations. Now that you've lost power, of course we must uproot you and kill you all,'" Xiao Bai translated proactively before Han Li could urge him.

"Hmph, are you acting so recklessly to provoke a war between the Beast Clan and the Insect Clan? Aren't you afraid of repeating the mistakes of the war millions of years ago? If it happens again, our Beast Clan will surely wipe out your entire race!" the Xiangjing tribe man named Tanshi shouted angrily.

"Heh, don't think we don't know. The tribe you lead is just bait to lure our pursuers. Your father has fled with most of the tribe to the Kongling tribe by the Peacock River. But it's all futile struggle. Not to mention the Kongling tribe, even the Taxiang tribe and the Wutun tribe have been conquered by our Insect Clan..." Tuliwu grinned widely, slapping his belly with his two fan-like hands, and laughed loudly.

"What did you say? That's impossible..." Hearing this, Tanshi's expression changed significantly.

"The true spirits you worship are nothing but grass chickens and earth dogs before our Insect Spirit Lord, utterly worthless... Your Beast Clan, just wait to bear the revenge of our Insect Clan accumulated over millions of years..." Tuliwu continued, his expression growing more frenzied and arrogant.

"It seems this is a conflict among the wild alien races, none of our concern," Han Li said through divine sense after hearing Xiao Bai's translation, and prepared to leave.

At that moment, the golden beetle ring on his finger suddenly glowed with golden light and transformed into a delicate little girl, landing beside him.

"Uncle, don't leave yet. I have a very strange feeling..." she said, her face flushed with nervousness.

"Could it be that those guys' insect-controlling techniques are affecting you? Impossible. The leader among them is only at the True Immortal level; how could he influence you?" Han Li first expressed doubt, then shook his head.

"I... I don't know... I just feel... very strange," Jintong stammered.

As soon as she spoke, a sound of tearing air came from beside them, and two golden mantises leaped from left and right, their four golden scythes crossing to slice at them.

Without a word, Han Li spread his hands apart, and two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords materialized, shooting out two beams of green sword light that swept sideways.

With two soft "puffs," the bodies of the golden mantises snapped in two and fell to the ground.

Immediately after, dense black beetles surrounded them from all directions, trapping Han Li and Jintong in the center.

At the same time, the Gray Toad clan immediately split off some people and moved toward them.

Seeing this, Han Li simply led Jintong out into the open space.

Tuliwu looked Han Li and Jintong up and down, his expression suddenly changing, and he began to shout gibberish again.

Upon hearing this, the Xiangjing tribe people showed anger on their faces.

"What are they saying?" Han Li asked through divine sense, his expression unchanged.

"The toad-man said the Xiangjing tribe has sunk so low as to ally with despicable humans, no wonder the true spirits they worship can't protect them. The long-necked ones are furious and are refuting him," the White Jade Pixiu replied.

"It seems humans are indeed not well-liked in these wildlands..." Han Li smiled and said.

"It's not just you humans. Any outsider from the Immortal Realm, regardless of race, does the same thing—if not robbing, then looting; if not stealing, then plundering..." The White Jade Pixiu stopped mid-sentence.

Wild-hunting cultivators, sounding grand, but isn't that exactly what they do?

"Tell them we are just passing through and have no intention of interfering in their dispute," Han Li said calmly, and with a flick of his hand, the Pixiu pendant at his waist flew out and transformed into a ten-foot-long White Jade Pixiu.

The White Jade Pixiu looked around, glanced at Han Li, then straightened up and spoke in the wildland common language, relaying Han Li's words.

Tuliwu's gaze swept over the White Jade Pixiu, then fell on Jintong. After scrutinizing her for a moment, he turned his gaze to Han Li and spoke in the common language of the Northern Cold Immortal Region:

"Despicable human, this is a grudge between us and the Beast Clan. It's best you don't interfere. Normally, I'd let you leave, but you just killed two of our spirit insects. How do you propose to settle this?"

"Oh? And what do you suggest?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and said.

"Leave the little girl beside you, and I'll let you go safely," Tuliwu pointed at Jintong and said.

Hearing this, Han Li sighed inwardly, knowing this matter could not be resolved peacefully.

Sure enough, before he could say anything, Jintong had already rolled up her sleeves and walked out angrily.

"You mean you want this fairy to stay?" she said coldly, stepping forward as her aura rose steadily.

Tuliwu was greatly alarmed, his expression changing repeatedly.

The black beetles that had surrounded Jintong instinctively felt fear and retreated like a tide.

Tuliwu instinctively stepped back a few paces and quickly started shouting gibberish again.

The other Gray Toad clan members immediately bared their bellies and emitted "gurgling" sounds.

Under their urging, the various spirit insects that had been retreating, except for a few still surrounding the Xiangjing tribe, mostly began to swarm toward Jintong in a sky-blotting manner.

"You go help too." Han Li frowned, remaining still, and ordered the White Jade Pixiu.

With a beastly roar, the White Jade Pixiu suddenly grew in size, turning into a snow-white giant beast that pounced toward the insect tide.

The dense black beetles surged forward, almost instantly engulfing the White Jade Pixiu.

A bright white light shone around its body, blocking the beetles' bites and preventing them from getting close.

At the same time, it opened its mouth wide, and a powerful, invisible suction force roared forth, continuously drawing the surging black beetles into its belly.

Tanshi and the other Xiangjing tribe members had been whispering among themselves without taking action, but now seeing this, their eyes fell on the White Jade Pixiu, flashing with surprise.

On the other side, Jintong also radiated golden light, transforming into a giant golden beetle. Her two front claws waved repeatedly, and with sharp whistling sounds, crystalline sword-shaped beams shot out, slicing through all spirit insects in their path without resistance, scattering broken limbs and remains everywhere.

Seeing this, Tuliwu looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Just one insect and one beast, without the human middle-aged man even needing to act, had already beaten his insect army into a state of utter helplessness, with heavy casualties.

Seeing this, Tanshi's eyes flashed with joy, and he shouted loudly in the wildland common language.

The Xiangjing tribe's morale soared, and they immediately urged their demon beasts to charge at the Gray Toad clan's spirit insects surrounding them.

The Gray Toad clan, which had been full of momentum, was now thrown into chaos by Jintong and the Pixiu, and their formation was quickly broken.

Tuliwu knew things were going badly, so he frantically waved his arms and shouted weirdly, commanding the spirit insects to launch a final assault while signaling his clan to retreat quickly.