Chapter 570: Bloodbath

Upon hearing the High Priest's words, Yin Tong could hardly believe his ears, frozen in place, but then he abruptly turned his head and shouted:

"Quick! Yin Liang, go inform the clan chief; Yin Feng, take charge of evacuating the women and children; the rest of you, follow me out of the valley to face the enemy!"

"Yes."

On the altar, seven or eight elders of the Lion-Tribe, ranging from late True Immortal to early Golden Immortal, all looked solemn and responded in unison.

Beneath the river boulder, Han Li could clearly sense the powerful aura of another Metal Devouring Beetle rapidly approaching, and he could even feel its intense fury through that aura.

"Jin Tong, how did you provoke it? Even I can sense its unstable aura, as if it's carrying an uncontrollable, towering rage," Han Li asked through their mental link, puzzled.

"I didn't provoke it much. I just asked how it felt to see something it couldn't eat," Jin Tong replied with a laugh.

"You can speak directly with it?" Han Li asked in surprise.

"From too far away, I can only sense it, but at this close distance, through... something like a mental link, we can talk. I can't really explain how it works, but you know, it's like there's an invisible thread binding us together, and neither of us can shake the other off," Jin Tong said helplessly.

Han Li was about to say more when a deafening "boom" echoed from afar, followed by a violent shockwave that swept through, churning the entire river into turbid waves and stirring powerful undercurrents on the riverbed.

At the same time, the massive three-arched stone bridge at the mouth of the Red Snail Valley had exploded from the center, completely broken in two. On both ends of the breach, Lion-Tribe members crowded, their faces filled with indignation.

These were all the forces the Lion-Tribe could muster, aside from the old, weak, women, and children who avoided battle, and the army that had gone to the Dark Star Canyon. They numbered no more than four or five thousand.

"You, the sovereign of all insect races, why dare not face our beast clan coalition in open battle, instead sneaking an attack on my Lion-Tribe?" Yin Tong led the crowd, hovering above the broken bridge, and demanded sternly.

Thousands of feet away from him, a giant Metal Devouring Beetle, shimmering with golden light, flapped its wings, producing a loud noise.

It completely ignored the Lion-Tribe elder's question, its cold eyes sweeping back and forth into the depths of the valley several times before suddenly shouting, "Come out..."

Its voice was like rolling thunder, echoing back and forth through the valley, causing the cracks on the broken bridge to rapidly expand, sending countless stones falling, and the roaring river below lost its splendor.

"Who are you looking for?" Yin Tong barely steadied himself, a hint of confusion flashing across his face, and shouted back.

But the Tai Yi stage Metal Devouring Beetle seemed not to hear, flapping its wings, its massive body charging like a golden mountain toward the valley mouth.

"You mere insect, you bully us too much!"

"We Lion-Tribe would rather die than be humiliated!"

Yin Tong and the others' expressions changed instantly, and they shouted in unison.

However, the Metal Devouring Beetle seemed to have no regard for these Lion-Tribe members at all. With a flash of golden light, it shot like lightning toward the valley mouth.

On the broken stone bridge, the Lion-Tribe members flew backward, retreating into the valley.

At the same time, thousands of feet inside the valley, a series of whistling sounds came. Hundreds of huge lion-bodied, eagle-headed beasts hovered in three rows—upper, middle, and lower—opening their sharp beaks toward the valley mouth, emitting strange sounds like a baby's cry.

From these sounds, strange sonic waves spread out, amplified layer by layer along the trumpet-shaped valley, merging into a powerful wave of sound that surged toward the valley mouth.

Although Han Li and Jin Tong were not within the range of the sonic attack, the sudden sound still caused a sharp pain in their heads, followed by a prolonged feeling of dizziness and nausea.

Startled, Han Li quickly waved his hand, forming a spherical light barrier that enveloped himself and Jin Tong, isolating them from the river water and the surrounding void, slowly recovering from that sensation.

The winding Red Snail Valley was wide and open inside, but at the mouth it suddenly narrowed, the terrain becoming constricted.

After the rolling sound waves were amplified layer by layer inside the valley, then violently compressed at the mouth, their power increased more than a hundredfold, slamming head-on into the Metal Devouring Beetle that had just reached the valley entrance.

"Boom!" A loud crash!

The invisible sound waves suddenly exploded, shattering like tangible objects into countless fragments, surging in front of the valley mouth, producing sounds like wailing ghosts and howling wolves.

The Metal Devouring Beetle's forward momentum was forcibly halted. Its originally cold and clear eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of white mist, as if its divine sense had collapsed under the impact of the sound waves.

"Uncle, the Lion-Tribe really has some tricks. I can sense that its soul has been severely damaged; it will likely be in a dazed state for a while. Should we take this chance to kill it?" Jin Tong's eyes flashed with surprise as she said to Han Li.

Han Li was silent for a long time before finally speaking.

"Such a powerful sonic blast can indeed injure the divine soul, but it should cause more damage to the physical body. With my strong divine soul, I might also be affected, but as for losing consciousness, it would never exceed three breaths. Yet it appears completely devoid of awareness—is it real or fake?"

"Uncle, do you mean it's pretending to lure us out?" the Golden Boy asked in surprise.

"Whether it's pretending or not, we'll soon have someone test it for us," Han Li said slowly.

Outside the river valley, Yin Tong looked at the Devouring Gold Beetle's appearance, hesitated only briefly, then gritted his teeth and ordered, "Take this opportunity to kill this fiend."

Above the valley mouth, the Great Priest immediately cut his palm, letting blood flow freely and soak the staff in his hand, while chanting prayers and summoning incantations in the language of true spirits.

As this sound arose, an extremely strange aura began to emanate throughout the river valley. A faint layer of blood-colored mist spread out, enveloping the entire valley.

Within the blood-colored mist, the eyes of Yin Tong and the other Hu Shi tribesmen turned blood-red, and a dark red light lit up on their cheeks, from which emerged a totem of a strange beast resembling a barbarian lion.

As this totem mark lit up, the bodies of the Hu Shi tribesmen underwent earth-shattering changes. Their figures grew taller, each transforming into giants dozens of feet tall. The lion heads around their heads all disappeared, and their originally human-like faces became exactly like those of lions.

"Kill..."

With a burst of wild shouts and howls, these Hu Shi tribesmen surged forward, surrounding the Devouring Gold Beetle and charging to attack.

Although their bodies had greatly enlarged, they were still far smaller compared to the Devouring Gold Beetle. Each swung sharp claws, tearing at the beetle's body.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

A series of chaotic and sharp sounds rang out continuously. Golden light trembled all over the Devouring Gold Beetle's body, but it suffered almost no damage.

"Aim for its vital points!"

Yin Tong shouted loudly, taking the lead and charging toward the beetle's eyes, which were covered in a white mist.

The other Hu Shi tribesmen, led by elders above the True Immortal level, also attacked the beetle's weak points, such as limb joints and the roots of its wings.

As he neared the Devouring Gold Beetle's right eye, the blood-colored totem on Yin Tong's face shone brighter. Layers of powerful spiritual energy fluctuations surged like tidal waves from various acupoints throughout his body, pouring into the sharp claws on his right hand.

His arm glowed with intense red light, directly swelling a full circle, looking somewhat disproportionate to his body, yet the explosive power contained within was not to be underestimated.

"Ha, with this strike coming, let's see if you can still pretend?" Han Li, though far away at the bottom of the river inside the valley and unable to see the battle outside, could still guess the situation at the valley mouth through the fluctuations of heaven and earth's primordial energy.

No sooner had he spoken than Yin Tong's terrifying strike, which had mobilized nearly all his strength, was already before the Devouring Gold Beetle's eyes. The beetle's misty white eyes even reflected Yin Tong's giant claw.

But at that moment, its eyes suddenly shifted. The layer of white mist instantly dissipated, replaced by the original cold and indifferent icy gaze.

Yin Tong, just from being looked at, felt as if he had fallen into an ice cavern, with cold air surging all over his body.

However, the arrow was already on the string and had to be released.

He only had time to shout "Fall back!" before thrusting his claw at the beetle's eye.

A sharp, loud "Clang!" rang out.

A series of sparks and electric light scattered in all directions. The beetle's closed eyelid was torn open by his sharp claw, creating a gash over a hundred feet long, from which a translucent liquid resembling blood flowed down, winding like a stream.

The Devouring Gold Beetle's eyelid trembled slightly. When it opened its eyes again, its lower limbs simultaneously trembled, then danced in crisscrossing motions in all directions.

A soft "Pfft" sound came.

A nearly arc-shaped crystalline light swept out from beneath its body, like several soul-reaping sickles, slashing in all directions. Wherever it passed, everything was mowed down.

Of the thousands of Hu Shi tribesmen, except for the few hundred who had heeded Yin Tong's warning and retreated early, everyone, including Yin Tong himself, had their bodies severed and cut in half.

The Devouring Gold Beetle was clearly enraged and did not stop there. It turned its body again, its wings flapping rapidly, and its massive body spun violently on the spot, quickly forming a huge golden storm that swept outward in all directions.

Those Hu Shi tribesmen with broken limbs and severed bodies could not even escape with their souls or Nascent Souls before being swept into the storm and ground to dust. Even their blood was churned into fine pink dust, scattering across the sky above the valley.

The remaining Hu Shi tribesmen fled back into the valley and stood on an altar in the center with the Great Priest, looking at the pink sky at the valley mouth, their expressions bitter and despairing.

"There are still children and women of the tribe inside the valley. If we do not die, we will have no face to see Lord Yin Shen. With my blood, burn my body, offer prayers to the spirits, and may Lord Jiuling descend," the Great Priest said with a long sigh, then shouted hoarsely.

With that, he closed his eyes, raised his staff, and thrust it straight into his own heart.