"Greetings, Lords. We owe the great senior our lives for saving us." The demon woman was the first to fly close to Han Li, but not daring to approach too closely, she stopped some twenty meters away and hurriedly bowed.
After sweeping her spiritual sense toward them and discovering that the auras of all three were unfathomably deep, her bearing naturally grew even more respectful.
"Who are you people, and where is the nearest city?" Han Li asked curtly, his expression blank.
"We are crystal gatherers from Luanyun Mountain. The nearest city is Black Gourd City to the north. If the senior wishes to go there, this junior would be happy to lead the way personally," the demon woman answered without hesitation.
"Black Gourd City... I haven't heard of it before. There's no need for an escort, but I'll take a map of this area," Han Li ordered bluntly.
"This junior so happens to have the most detailed map of the surrounding region. It would be this junior's honor if the senior would accept it." The demon woman immediately produced a dark stone tablet from her person and offered it up with both hands.
Han Li nodded, beckoned with one hand, and with a whoosh the tablet flew into his grasp. After sweeping his spiritual sense through it, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
By this time, the other demons had flown to the woman's side as well, all standing meekly with their hands at their sides, not daring to breathe too loudly.
"Good. Now, who can tell me about these Devouring Insects you speak of? As I recall, I've never encountered such insect swarms in the Holy World before, and their auras seem different from ordinary demon insects."
"Ah... the senior doesn't know about the Devouring Insects?" The demon woman was taken aback, a hint of hesitation crossing her face. The other demons also stirred uneasily, exchanging glances, none daring to speak up.
"I've truly been in seclusion for several hundred years. Is it so strange that I wouldn't recognize these Devouring Insects?"
"So the senior has been in secluded cultivation — no wonder you wouldn't know about the Devouring Insect swarms. These vile creatures only appeared within the last century or so. Apparently, they were originally ordinary demon insects of the Holy World, but somehow they all underwent sudden mutations, transforming into these ferocious forms. Now the entire Holy World is overrun with them, and I've heard that in areas where the swarms are particularly dense, cities have been besieged and even massacred by the insects. The whole Holy World has been thrown into chaos, and people live in constant fear."
"City massacres! Heh... With such turmoil in the Holy World, have the Three Great Progenitors and the other Holy Ancestors not stepped in to exterminate these Devouring Insects? Insect swarms may be far more dangerous than ordinary demon insects, but they should be utterly no match for Holy Ancestor-level existences."
"This junior's cultivation is far too low to know anything about the Progenitors and Holy Ancestors. All this junior knows is that since the Devouring Insects appeared, apart from occasional reports of a few Holy Ancestors appearing in the worst-affected areas to destroy some swarms, the Holy Ancestors in most other regions, along with all three Progenitors, seem to have vanished simultaneously."
"All the Holy Ancestor-level figures have vanished?! When did this happen?"
"This junior can't say exactly when, but it seems to have happened around the same time the Devouring Insects first appeared."
"Very good. I'm satisfied with your answers. You may leave."
By this point, all of Han Li's doubts had been laid to rest, and he gave the order in a calm, indifferent tone.
"Yes. Then this junior will take her leave." The demon woman breathed a sigh of relief, responded respectfully, took several steps back, then turned and flew away.
The other demons hurriedly bowed and scurried after her.
In the blink of an eye, only Han Li and his two companions remained in the empty sky.
"Brother Han, it seems the Mahayana cultivators of the Demon Realm and our Spirit World have truly run into trouble. Otherwise, the Demon Realm wouldn't have fallen into such dire straits." Yinyue said with a sigh once the demons were out of earshot.
"Mm. The situation in the Demon Realm is clearly far from good. But we need to gather more details before we can understand what's really going on. Black Gourd City should have a Sovereign-level demon in residence. With their status, they ought to know something about the Holy Ancestors and the Mahayana cultivators of our Spirit World." Han Li said, his expression growing somewhat grave.
"Brother Han makes a good point. Then let's make our way to Black Gourd City." Yinyue smiled brightly at his words.
"Heh, before we head to the city, there's one more thing I need to take care of." Han Li chuckled softly, then suddenly flicked his sleeve. A swath of hazy gray light unfurled outward.
When the light receded before him, a massive gray insect roughly three meters long suddenly appeared on the ground below.
It was the two-headed Devouring Insect he had captured earlier!
The insect's aura was not weak — it radiated pressure roughly equivalent to the late Spirit Transformation stage, clearly indicating a rather high rank among the swarm.
The moment it appeared, it began flapping its wings frantically, desperately trying to take to the air and escape.
But in the next instant, a terrifying aura erupted from Han Li's body, shooting skyward.
The two-headed giant insect felt the surrounding air constrict around it, and its entire body was forced back down to the ground by an invisible, crushing force.
Both of the insect's heads thrashed wildly, but its body couldn't move an inch, able to do nothing but emit piteous whimpering sounds.
Only when Yinyue saw the insect did a look of realization dawn on her face.