And without the lightning arcs from the hundred-odd towers to support them, the killing power against the Molding Insects within the city dropped by nearly half in an instant. More and more insects landed upon the black light barrier in layer after layer, causing the restriction to hum and buzz as it began to fade at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"We have to act to save this city!"
Upon hearing this, Silver Moon nodded in understanding.
"Brother Xie, to deal with this nuisance as quickly as possible, I'm afraid I'll need your help as well in a moment." Han Li turned his head and addressed Crab Daoist.
"No problem," Crab Daoist replied calmly.
Han Li smiled at this, then gave his sleeve a shake. Spiritual light immediately swept out from within, and the three miniature Extreme Mountains flickered into existence before him once more.
Then, forming a single-handed seal, golden light erupted from behind him as the three-headed, six-armed Manifestation of the Holy Sage materialized.
Channeling his spell, the manifestation's three heads opened all six eyes at once, and a long, resonant roar like a dragon's cry burst forth from its mouths.
The roar shook the heavens, piercing straight through the nine levels of sky, and the instant it left the mouths, it transformed into invisible, transparent sound waves that rolled outward toward the distant sea of insects.
No one knew what strange divine ability the Manifestation of the Holy Sage had woven into that roar. The demons of Black Gourd City were startled when they heard it, and before they could even figure out where the sound had come from, they suddenly noticed that the Molding Insects which had been frantically attacking the light barrier were either bursting apart in great numbers on their own, or dropping from the sky without the slightest warning.
In the blink of an eye, the insect swarm had been reduced by nearly a quarter.
The remaining Molding Insects buzzed frantically, thrown into complete chaos.
Just then, a wave of spatial fluctuation rippled through the sky high above, and three colossal peaks, each ten thousand zhang tall, flashed into existence above the insect sea.
With a thunderous rumble, the three peaks plummeted downward simultaneously.
The next instant, waves of radiance, streams of sword qi, and halos of light surged through the insect swarm in a devastating onslaught.
Vast swathes of Molding Insects were swept clean without the slightest ability to resist. Only those monstrous insects that were clearly far larger and more powerful than the ordinary ones could put up even a token defense, and they fled in panic toward the edges of the swarm.
But at that very moment, a peal of thunder cracked from high above, and a massive silver arc of lightning suddenly appeared. With a single flash, it streaked past a dozen or more of the giant Molding Insects.
The giant insects let out a single mournful wail before being reduced to ash together with nearly a thousand ordinary Molding Insects nearby.
When the silver lightning arc flickered and dispersed, a young man wearing Daoist robes appeared in the void — none other than Crab Daoist.
Crab Daoist swept his gaze toward the giant Molding Insects further in the distance, and with a flash of lightning across his body, he wordlessly transformed into another arc of lightning and shot outward.
Wherever the thunderclap passed, countless gray aberrant insects were annihilated without a trace.
With a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom, a spectral giant thousands of zhang tall materialized in the void on the other side of the insect sea amid a wave of tremors.
It was the three-headed, six-armed Manifestation of the Holy Sage.
Han Li's true body stood at the center of the manifestation with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the aberrant insects nearby, his face utterly devoid of expression.
However, at this moment, countless purple runes emerged across the giant manifestation's entire body. With a slight wave of its six arms, dense clusters of silver fireballs shot out in all directions.
The silver flames descended and instantly transformed into patches of sea of fire, each roughly an acre in size, engulfing swathes of the devilish insects beneath them.
Whether ordinary devilish insects or those slightly larger aberrant ones, the moment their bodies touched the silver flames, they let out shrieks and struggled desperately, yet within moments they were utterly annihilated.
With Han Li and the Crab Daoist striking one after another, the seemingly endless swarm of devilish insects was being slaughtered at a staggering pace.
Yet those ordinary devilish insects were truly fearless of death. After abandoning their assault on the demon city's restrictions, they charged directly at Han Li and the Crab Daoist in a manner akin to suicide attacks.
Even though Han Li and the Crab Daoist unleashed several rounds of their great divine abilities in succession, it still took the better part of an hour to sweep the surrounding void clean. A few of the larger aberrant insects, sensing danger, had already fled long before.
Han Li naturally had no interest in pursuing them further. After gesturing to the Crab Daoist, he began his slow descent toward Black Gourd City below.
At that moment, Silver Moon flew over from the distance at an unhurried pace. After several flashes, she arrived at Han Li's side, and the two of them descended slowly together.
The countless demon race inhabitants within Black Gourd City had long been struck dumb by the display of power Han Li and the Crab Daoist had put on moments before. When they witnessed the insect swarm being forcibly swept away by the two of them alone, the city erupted in thunderous cheers.