"Those are Devouring Devilish Ants!" Han Li immediately drew a sharp breath at the sight of the chopstick-shaped devilish insects, and a rare hint of fear appeared on his face.
"We have to get back to the city!" Han Li yelled as spiritual light flashed from his body, and he flew directly toward Blood Crow City as a streak of azure light.
After just a few flashes, he had already covered a distance of over 1,000 feet.
The little girl hurriedly reverted back into its beast form and quickly caught up to Han Li before vanishing into his body.
The oncoming insect tide was traveling very quickly, but Han Li was able to instantly leave it behind as he flew as quickly as he could.
Strangely enough, after the purple cloud completely devoured the green mist, it retreated like the receding tide and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Han Li wasn't around to see this, and he continued to fly back toward the city in an urgent manner. At the same time, he assessed the information that he had read about Devouring Devilish Ants, and his expression darkened further and further.
"What is going on in this place? First, it's a Butterflytail Beast Tide, and now, there's even a Devouring Devilish Ant Tide! Devouring Devilish Ant Tides are one of the most devastating disasters of the Elder Devil Realm; it's an unstoppable force of nature!" Han Li murmured to himself in a perplexed manner as he flew rapidly through the air.
Just a single Devouring Devilish Ant was only about as powerful as a Qi Condensation cultivator, but once they formed an ant tide, they were completely unstoppable due to their sheer numbers and innate ability to devour spiritual power and devilish Qi.
It was said that nothing could survive in the wake of such an ant tide, and everywhere they went, death and destruction would surely follow.
The Butterflytail Beast Tide was already extremely fearsome, but it couldn't even begin to compare with a Devouring Devilish Ant Tide.
It was said that there were even precedents of Sacred Ancestors being trapped in such ant tides before exhausting all of their magic power and being devoured in the end.
Han Li was very confident in his own abilities, but this was something that he definitely wanted to avoid at all costs.
Right at this moment, the giant city wall of Blood Crow City entered his field of view in the distance, but his heart immediately sank.
At this moment, Blood Crow City had been surrounded by hordes of beasts of different sizes, and there were millions of them.
These devilish beasts possessed auras of differing levels of power, but the most powerful ones among them were releasing spiritual pressure that was no less potent than that of devilish lords.
What was very peculiar was that instead of attacking Blood Crow City, all of the devilish beasts were clumped together in hordes while frantically inspecting their surroundings and letting loose the occasional uneasy snarl.
Many devilish beings had already gathered atop the city wall, among which were guards of the city, but most of them were common devilish residents.
They paid no heed at all to the devilish beasts outside the restrictions, but they were also staring intently into the distance with horrified expressions, as if something extremely fearsome were about to appear.
"Could it be that the devilish beings in the city are already aware of the Devouring Devilish Ant Tide?" A thought immediately occurred to Han Li upon seeing this.
With Han Li's incredible speed, it only took him a few moments to fly over the hordes of devilish beasts before plowing through the restrictions without any attempt to disguise himself.
The restrictions were completely unable to prevent his entry, and the devilish beings on the city wall were rather alarmed to see this, but in this current situation, no one bothered to try and stop him.
Thus, Han Li flew toward the center of the city as a streak of azure light.
At this point, Blood Crow City had been plunged into complete turmoil, and countless streaks of light were flying through the air, clearly indicating that the flight restriction had been lifted. Many devilish beings had gathered in groups within the city, and they were all holding discussions with grim expressions.
Right at this moment, spatial fluctuations erupted nearby, and a streak of yellow light shot forth in a flash.
Han Li faltered slightly before catching the streak of yellow light, and it immediately exploded into a burst of flames while the Long Family patriarch's voice was transmitted into his ears.
It was only a brief message, but Han Li's expression stirred upon hearing it, and he immediately flew toward a certain corner of the city.
A short while later, Han Li landed in a mundane-looking courtyard, and the Long Family patriarch, the woman from the Ye Family, the man from the Lin Family, and Elder Hui were already waiting there, but the Spirit beings were nowhere to be seen.
"Thank heavens you're here, Fellow Daoist Han. If you had arrived any later, we would've most likely had to leave without you," the Long Family patriarch said in an elated voice.
"What happened? Is it because of those Devouring Devilish Ants? If so, there's no need to panic; at our speeds, we should be able to get away with no issues," Han Li said.
"The problem is that Devouring Devilish Ant have appeared around Blood Crow City on all sides, and everyone in the city knows that the devilish beasts outside have been cornered here by the ant tide. The entire area in a radius of tens of thousands kilometers has already been surrounded by the ant tide, so even with our powers, we'd have to take a substantial risk if we want to escape," the Long Family patriarch sighed.
"So this nearby area has already been completely surrounded by the ant tide? No wonder those devilish beings and devilish beasts are able to coexist in harmony. In that case, we have to escape right away. Once the ant queen emerges, Blood Crow City will be completely overrun, and it'd be next to impossible to escape then," Han Li said in a grim manner.
"I'm aware of that, but before we go, I have some things to say. In order to prevent the ant tide from focusing on and overwhelming our group, we have no choice but to split up and escape toward different directions. With how fearsome these devilish ants are, we'll most likely only reach true safety once we flee into the plains. The plains are extremely massive, so it'll be very difficult for us to meet up again. As such, the next place we gather at will be at Ilusion Night City, which lies just in front of the Illusion Howl Desert. If we can make it out of the ant tide, travel toward the city right away. Once we get there, we can discuss the matters regarding the Eight-footed Devilish Lizards and Illusion Howl Desert further," the Long Family patriarch said.
"What if we get delayed or trapped somewhere and are unable to reach Illusion Night City? We can't just expect those who get there early to just keep waiting indefinitely," the man from the Lin Family asked with furrowed brows.
"Rest assured, I've considered that as well, and I've decided that we'll gather at Illusion Night City on this same day two years later. Regardless of how many people get there by then, we'll set off right away. As for the exact meeting spot, we'll make it the largest inn in Illusion Night City," the Long Family patriarch replied.
"Two years should be enough as long as we don't encounter excessive difficulties along the way; I have no objections," Han Li agreed with a nod after a brief moment of contemplation.
"By the way, where are Fellow Daoist Thousand Autumns and the others? Did something happen to them?" Han Li asked.
Peculiar looks appeared on everyone else's faces upon hearing this.
"Our fellow daoists from the Spirit Race had already left two days ago. This is a jade slip left behind by Fellow Daoist Thousand Autumns; take a look for yourself," the woman from the Ye Family explained as she tossed a white jade slip toward Han Li.
A wry smile appeared on the Long Family patriarch's face upon hearing this.
"Is that so? Let me take a look," Han Li said as he caught the jade slip before injecting his spiritual sense into it.
After the span of just a few breaths, Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he withdrew his spiritual sense. "So Fellow Daoist Thousand Autumns and the others suddenly had to leave to take care of an urgent matter. They've also arranged to reunite with us at Illusion Night City, so there are no issues there."
"Indeed. I don't know what this urgent matter is, but it must truly be quite an important matter for them to leave in such a hurry and separate from us. The Spirit beings are no less powerful than we are, so we don't have to worry about them. Now then, let's not delay any further; many devilish beings have already begun to flee Blood Crow City," the Long Family patriarch said in a grim voice as he cast his gaze into the distance.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he immediately released his spiritual sense in all directions.
Sure enough, thousands of high-grade devilish beings had already split up into around a dozen groups and departed from Blood Crow City, traveling quickly toward the plains in the distance.
As a result, the devilish beings left in the city became even more uneasy, and countless low-grade devilish beings were flying out of the city in all directions.
