Chapter 562: Forced Into Retreat

An alarmed look appeared in the golden beetle's eyes, and the golden light around its body was fading at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye before vanishing altogether.

Immediately thereafter, its enormous aura also completely faded, and it began to plummet out of the sky like a dead weight.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The white archway and the giant mountain had already been severely damaged by the golden beetle's resistance, and finally, both of them exploded in the face of the shockwaves resulting from the clash between the two High Zenith Stage Jade Immortals.

The golden beetle was extremely alarmed to discover that its nascent soul had somehow been sealed, rendering it completely unable to draw upon any of its immortal spiritual power.

Yohu could also sense what was happening within the golden beetle's body, and he took a surprised glance at Han Li while sweeping his front paws through the air.

Several black and azure arrow projections instantly emerged before striking the golden beetle in a flash, and upon being struck by the arrows, the golden beetle's fall was drastically accelerated, sending it crashing into the ground to create an enormous crater.

Yohu was just about to give chase when he grimaced in pain, and the azure light emanating from his body quickly faded, immediately followed by his azure spirit domain.

"Father!"

Suliu hurriedly flew over to Yohu to support him while also releasing two bursts of azure light out of the palms of his paws into Yohu's body.

Only then was Yohu's aura somewhat stabilized.

Right at this moment a streak of golden light suddenly erupted out of the giant crater down below, and the golden beetle was flying rapidly into the distance.

The exoskeleton on its back had split open and was functioning as a pair of wings.

Even though its immortal spiritual power had been sealed, it still possessed its physical prowess, and even with just its wings alone, it was still able to fly at an astonishing speed.

"You're not getting away!" Suliu roared as he prepared to set off in pursuit.

"Let it go," Yohu said. "Even though the insect spirit's immortal spiritual power has been sealed, its physical prowess is still tremendous. With your powers, even if you manage to catch up to it, you won't be able to kill it anyway."

Suliu stopped sheepishly in his tracks upon hearing this.

Yohu then turned to look at Han Li, who had also refrained from setting off in pursuit of the golden beetle.

At this point, he had already reverted back to his human form, and his face was quite pale, while blood was trickling down from the corner of his lips.

Even though he had only fought briefly in the battle, he had unleashed virtually all of his trump cards, and he only less than 10% of his immortal spiritual power left.

Even with pills and Immortal Origin Stones to replenish himself, he most likely wouldn't have been able to hold on had the Gold Devouring Immortal just lasted a few more seconds.

"Thank you for your assistance, Fellow Daoist," Yohu said to Han Li.

"You're far too kind. If that insect spirit had come out on top, I would've been in quite a terrible situation," Han Li replied as he wiped the blood from his lips.

Yohu looked at Han Li for a moment longer, then began to fly toward the Dark Star Canyon.

Suliu was just about to follow along when Yohu instructed, "You stay here."

A displeased look appeared on Suliu's face upon hearing this, but he still obliged in the end, and he turned to take a glance at Han Li as he said, "You've got some tricks up your sleeve, kid. Let's have a fight once you're recovered from your injuries."

After that, he flew down toward the battlefield below without waiting for a response.

A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face as he promptly swallowed a pill.

In the wake of the golden beetle fleeing the battlefield, the Insect Race army's morale was instantly completely crushed, and Suliu was able to tear through their ranks without equal.

Before long, the Insect Race army had been comprehensively defeated and began to retreat.

......

Deep within the Dark Star Canyon, there was a massive waterfall crashing down between two mountains, producing a vast cloud of water vapor that reflected a dazzling rainbow under the light of the sun.

The waterfall was gushing into an enormous pool, and waves were rippling incessantly over the surface of the water in the pool.

Right at the center of the pool stood a tall and majestic black stone palace, and at this moment, there was a huge lit brazier at the center of the palace, illuminating the entire space.

Around the brazier were a series of large chairs, upon which were seated the chiefs of all of the Beast Race tribes.

The chair that was directly opposite the gate of the stone palace was occupied by none other than Nuo Qinglin, and to his left were Ulu and the others, while the chairs on his right were vacant for now.

Several other Calm Dawn beings were standing behind Nuo Qinglin, one of whom was his daughter, Nuo Yifan.

"Has there been any news from the Azure Boar, Menace Lion, and Night Owl Tribes? When will they be able to get here?" Nuo Qinglin asked with a solemn expression.

One of the older Calm Dawn beings stepped forward and reported, "The Azure Boar Tribe sent word two days ago, stating that they'll be here in three months, while the Menace Lion and Night Owl Tribes will arrive a little later, but they should be here within half a year."

"Send out some Azure Jade Pigeons right away to inform them of what happened today and urge them to get here faster," Nuo Qinglin instructed.

"Yes, Chief," the Calm Dawn being replied, then immediately departed to carry out the order.

Following his departure, the palace fell silent again, and the atmosphere was a little tense.

During the prior battle, the insect spirit had put on an extremely formidable display, and the Beast Race army had also been clearly at a disadvantage against the Insect Race army, so even though they had won the battle, morale was still very low.

"This attack from the Insect Race was very strange in quite a few ways, and it's already quite commendable that we were able to ward them off on such short notice, so don't be too hard on yourselves. Right now, we need to be on our guard in case they suddenly turn around for a second attack. Once all of our tribes are united, it'll be time for us to retaliate!" Nuo Qinglin declared.

It wasn't clear if everyone in the palace had actually been encouraged by his words, but they still all gave affirmative responses.

Following the departure of the other tribal leaders, the chiefs of the Violent Bear Tribe and the Monohorn Tribe remained seated with Nuo Qinglin.

"Where is that human right now?" Ulu asked with a hesitant expression.

"According to the people that I have keeping an eye on him, he's already returned to the cave abode I've arranged for him," Nuo Qinglin replied.

"His performance during the battle was extraordinary! Even our king wasn't able to force back the insect spirit, yet he was able to do it on his own, and I don't think he's even shown us his full power. How about we give him a more detailed map and get him to leave as soon as possible?" the chief of the Monohorn Tribe proposed.

"I'm just worried that it won't be so easy to get him to leave," Ulu mused with a concerned expression.

"I think your concerns are unnecessary. If he truly harbored sinister intentions against our Beast Race, then he wouldn't have faced off against the insect spirit. Instead, he would've taken the opportunity to turn on us. On top of that, I've already instructed my people to keep a close eye on him, and I'll immediately be informed as soon as he does anything," Nuo Qinglin said.

"I certainly hope you're right... I just can't shake the feeling that there's something strange about the attack from the Insect Race. No matter how I look at it, it just doesn't make sense for the Insect Race to launch such a large-scale attack at a time like this," Ulu said.

"If I recall correctly, it sounded like the insect spirit was searching for something..." the chief of the Monohorn Tribe mused.

"I also recall hearing it demanding that we hand something over," Ulu chimed in with furrowed brows.

"This is the territory of our Calm Dawn Tribe! Regardless of what it's looking for, we won't let it get its way!" Nuo Qinglin declared.

"Chief Nuo is right. The honor of our Beast Race is not to be violated! Once all of our tribes are assembled, we must exact vengeance upon the Insect Race!" Ulu declared.

The chief of the Monohorn Tribe didn't say anything, but he also nodded in agreement.

Following the departure of the two chiefs, Nuo Qinglin and Nuo Yifan were the only ones left in the palace.

"Father..."

As soon as Nuo Yifan opened her mouth to speak, Nuo Qinglin immediately raised a hand to stop her.

"I know what you want to say. You feel guilty because we're being so wary of someone who's just saved our Beast Race, right?" Nuo Qinglin asked.

Nuo Yifan nodded in response.

"Humans are even more cunning and vicious than the Insect Race, so I have no choice but to be on my guard," Nuo Qinglin sighed.

"Wasn't Mother also a human? Clearly, there are good people in all races and tribes," Nuo Qinglin argued.

A reminiscent look appeared on Nuo Qinglin's face upon hearing this, and he replied, "Your mother was indeed an exception. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken her as my wife despite the objections of the entire tribe. However, it was exactly because she was too kind and pure and that she was killed by her own race."

Back when Nuo Yifan was still a child, her mother had been killed by human cultivators. Even though Nuo Qinglin had gone on to avenge her, his hatred for humans had become very deep-rooted in the wake of that incident.

"Don't worry, as long as he doesn't harm the interests of our Beast Race, I won't do anything to him. Instead, once he decides to leave, not only will I give him the maps that I promised, I'll also present him with other gifts to thank him for what he did for us," Nuo Qinglin said in a gentle voice as he gently stroked his daughter's hair, and only then did a faint smile appear on Nuo Yifan's face.

Meanwhile, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed on the stone bed in the inner room of his cave abode, and he was resting with his eyes closed, while his entire body enshrouded within a layer of azure light.

Jin Tong was laying on the bed beside him, looking up at him with her eyes wide open.

Some time later, Han Li exhaled as he slowly opened his eyes, and Jin Tong immediately asked, "How are you feeling, Uncle?"

"I'm alright. I just need to take some pills, then rest for a while longer, and I'll be perfectly fine," Han Li replied.

"That's good to hear," Jin Tong said with a relieved expression.

"How are you feeling? Are you afraid to have such a powerful Gold Devouring Immortal coming after you?" Han Li jibed with a faint smile.