Chapter 562: Startled Retreat

The golden beetle's eyes showed a flicker of shock. The golden light on its body churned violently, then rapidly diminished at a visible rate, finally vanishing completely.

After the golden light disappeared, the immense aura emanating from the golden beetle also vanished entirely. Its body suddenly plummeted toward the ground like a stone.

The white archway and the mountain formed by the white paperweight had already expended much of their power to imprison the golden beetle earlier, and were severely damaged afterward, nearing the end of their strength. Now, caught in the explosion from the clash of the two Taiyi Jade Immortals, both had been sent flying.

The golden beetle was greatly alarmed. The nascent soul within its body was bound by a strange law force, rendering it unable to mobilize even a trace of immortal spiritual power.

The nine-tailed azure fox also sensed the situation within the golden beetle. It glanced at Han Li with some surprise, while a burst of cyan-black light radiated from its body, and it swung its front claw.

Swish, swish, swish!

Several cyan-black arrow shadows materialized, then shot out like lightning, striking the golden beetle in a flash.

The golden beetle was already falling. Struck by the arrow shadows, it was propelled by a tremendous force, its speed sharply increasing, and it slammed heavily into the ground.

A loud crash rang out. Dust flew up from the ground, creating a large pit.

The nine-tailed azure fox was about to pursue, but suddenly a pained expression appeared on its face. The cyan light on its body flickered violently, then rapidly dimmed, and the cyan spirit domain also vanished.

“Father!”

Su Liu quickly flew over, supporting the nine-tailed azure fox’s body, while sending two beams of cyan light from his palm into its body.

The nine-tailed azure fox’s expression eased slightly, and its aura stabilized a bit.

But at that moment, a golden light suddenly shot out from the dust—it was the golden beetle.

Its golden carapace now opened, revealing a pair of gilded wings, and it flew like a meteor toward the distant horizon.

Although its immortal spiritual power was sealed, the golden beetle still possessed its physical strength. Flying with its wings, it moved extremely fast, reaching the distant sky in an instant, and then vanished with another flicker.

“Don’t flee!” Su Liu roared at the sight and was about to give chase.

“Forget it. Although that bug spirit’s immortal spiritual power is sealed, its physical body is extremely powerful. With your meager cultivation, even if you catch up, you won’t be able to kill it,” the nine-tailed azure fox said slowly.

Hearing this, Su Liu stopped resentfully.

The nine-tailed azure fox turned its head to look not far away, where Han Li stood, having not given chase.

At this moment, Han Li had already reverted to human form, his face pale, with a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Although he had only been in the battle for a short while, his opponent was a genuine late-Taiyi stage Devourer Immortal; every technique he employed was with all his might, consuming a tremendous amount of immortal spiritual power, leaving him with less than ten percent remaining.

If the Devourer King had not left immediately but lingered for a few more breaths, even with elixirs and immortal essence stones to replenish him, he might not have been able to hold out.

"Thank you for your assistance just now," the nine-tailed azure fox said, nodding at Han Li.

"You're too kind. If that insect spirit had won, my fate would likely have been no better," Han Li said, raising a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth.

The nine-tailed azure fox gave Han Li a deep look, then silently flew toward the Dark Star Canyon.

Just as Su Liu was about to follow, the nine-tailed azure fox's voice came from afar:

"You stay."

Upon hearing this, Su Liu showed displeasure, but still stopped as instructed, turned to look at Han Li, and said:

"Kid, I didn't expect you to have some skill. Once you've recovered from your injuries, let's have a good fight."

With that, his figure flickered, and he flew off toward the battlefield below on his own.

Han Li gave a wry smile, took out a pill and swallowed it, not going down to join the fray.

With the sudden defeat of the golden beetle, the insect spirit, the morale of the insect army plummeted.

Su Liu appeared on the battlefield and charged straight into the insect army, like a tiger among sheep, unstoppable.

The insect army soon fell into chaos and retreated like an ebbing tide.

…

Deep within the Dark Star Canyon, two towering peaks faced each other, with a ten-thousand-zhang waterfall cascading down between them, splashing up countless silver pearls and reflecting dazzling rainbow hues.

The water struck below, forming a vast, deep, and secluded pool, rippling with waves under the impact.

In the center of the pool stood a tall and majestic black stone hall.

At this moment, in the center of the hall, a large brazier was lit, with flames rising steadily, illuminating the interior brightly.

Around the fire pit were arranged large chairs covered with beast hides, on which sat the chieftains of the various beast tribes.

On the seat directly facing the stone hall's entrance sat Nuo Qinglin, chieftain of the Youchen tribe. To his left, Wulu and others sat side by side, while several seats on the right remained empty, temporarily unoccupied.

Behind Nuo Qinglin stood several members of his own tribe, including his daughter Nuo Yifan.

"Have there been any messages from the Qingzhi, Hus, or Yexiao tribes? When will they arrive?" Nuo Qinglin asked coldly, his expression stern as his gaze swept over the assembly.

"Reporting to the chieftain, the Qingzhi tribe sent word two days ago, saying they would arrive in three months. The Hus and Yexiao tribes are a bit later, likely within this half-year," said a somewhat older man of the Youchen tribe, stepping forward and speaking respectfully.

"Immediately release a jade falcon to inform them of today's events and urge them to hasten their march." Nuo Qinglin's face darkened as he gave the order.

"Yes." The Youchen man accepted the command and turned to leave the hall.

After he departed, the hall fell silent once more, the atmosphere somewhat stagnant.

The earlier battle, with the insect spirit's overwhelming display of power, had dealt a severe blow to the beast tribes' morale. Coupled with their clear disadvantage in the melee against the insect army, the beasts' spirits were now extremely low.

"This sudden attack by the insect spirit with its army is highly unusual. That we could mount a hasty defense and reach this point is no small feat, so there's no need for you all to dwell on it too much. For now, we must remain vigilant, lest they return. Once all our beast tribes have gathered, we will regroup and strike back." After a long pause, Nuo Qinglin spoke again.

"Yes." The assembly responded in unison, whether truly encouraged or not.

After the other beast tribes dispersed, the chieftains of the Storm Bear and Unicorn tribes remained in the hall.

"That human... where is he now?" Wulu asked hesitantly.

"According to my tribesmen's reports, he is still in the tribe and has returned to the cave dwelling I assigned him, keeping his door closed." Nuo Qinglin replied.

"In the earlier battle, that man's behavior was truly bizarre. He managed to drive back the insect spirit single-handedly—something even our... even our king could not do. I suspect he hasn't yet revealed his true strength. Perhaps we should prepare a more detailed map and give it to him, urging him to leave our beast tribes as soon as possible," said the Unicorn chieftain after a long deliberation.

"I'm afraid it's easier to invite a god than to send one away..." Wulu added with a grim expression.

"You worry too much. If he had ill intentions, he wouldn't have stepped forward to fight the insect spirit; he would have taken the chance to kick us while we're down. Besides, I've already instructed my people to keep a close watch on him, outwardly relaxed but inwardly vigilant. If he makes any move, I'll know immediately." Nuo Qinglin waved his hand dismissively.

"I hope so... I keep feeling that this insect attack has been strange from start to finish. No matter how I look at it, the insects shouldn't have gathered such a large force to attack here at this time." Wulu scratched his head and said.

"By the way... I think I heard the insect spirit seemed to be looking for something?" The Unicorn chieftain suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Right, I heard it too. It seemed to be saying something like 'hand it over.'" Wulu also seemed to recall something.

"Whatever it's looking for, this is our Youchen territory, and we will never compromise." Nuo Qinglin looked at the two of them and said, word by word.

"Chief Nuo is right. The dignity of our beast clan must not be violated. Once all tribes have assembled, the insect clan must pay blood for blood!" Ulu rubbed his hands together vigorously and nodded.

The Unicorn Chief said nothing, merely nodding noncommittally.

After the two chiefs left, the empty hall was left with only Nuo Qinglin and his daughter Nuo Yifan.

"Father..."

As soon as Nuo Yifan spoke, she saw Nuo Qinglin wave his hand at her, signaling that she need not say more.

"I know what you mean. You feel that man has done our Youchen clan a favor, and our wariness toward him makes you feel guilty?" Nuo Qinglin sighed and asked.

Nuo Yifan said nothing, merely nodding slightly.

"The cunning and ferocity of humans surpass even that of the insect clan. I must be on guard." Nuo Qinglin sighed.

"Mother was also human. Doesn't that show that regardless of clan or person, there are both good and evil?" Nuo Yifan said softly.

Hearing this, a trace of reminiscence appeared on Nuo Qinglin's handsome face, and he spoke.

"Your mother was indeed an exception; otherwise, I would not have defied the entire clan to marry her. But it was precisely because she was too kind that she died at the hands of her own kind."

When Nuoyifan was young, her mother was murdered by human cultivators. Although her father later avenged her mother, her wariness toward humans was deeply ingrained.

"Rest assured, as long as he does not harm our beast clan, I will not make things difficult for him. On the contrary, when he leaves, besides the agreed-upon map, I will also give him another gift to repay his help today." Nuo Qinglin raised his hand and gently stroked his daughter's head, his tone gentle.

Only then did Nuoyifan show a hint of a smile and nod.

On the other side, in the cave dwelling on the cliff in the middle of the canyon, Han Li was sitting cross-legged on the stone bed in the inner chamber, his body bathed in a faint green light, his eyes closed as he regulated his breathing.

The Golden Boy was lying on the edge of the bed less than three feet away, staring at Han Li with wide eyes.

After a long while, Han Li exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes.

"Uncle, how are you?" the Golden Boy asked hastily.

"Nothing serious. After taking some elixirs and regulating my breathing for a while, I'll be fine." Han Li waved his hand and said.

"That's good to hear." The Golden Boy patted his chest and said slowly.

"As for you, encountering such a powerful member of your own kind who wanted to devour you, were you afraid?" Han Li showed a slight smile and teased.