```

Two powerhouses at least at the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation were set to visit the tribe, and leader Li dared not disobey, his heart filled with bitter complaints and terror.

Their tribe was weak, and if they offended these two powerhouses, they feared a mere wave of their hand could annihilate the tribe.

In the Insect Race, any group that formed a tribe numbered at least in the millions. Though the tribe might be destroyed, exterminating them entirely was an even greater challenge. It was precisely due to their numbers and potent reproductive capabilities that the Insect Race had survived from ancient times until now.

Countless ancient races had been wiped out, but the Insect Race still existed, spread across the Demon Territory, which was a testament to their ability to survive.

"I’ve eaten all kinds of Demon Race, but I still find it hard to stomach the Insect Race, never having touched them before," Fairy Eternity made a face of disgust, trying to keep her distance from the Insect Race. After all, even an Immortal Cook like herself had ingredients she preferred not to work with.

"However, I also don’t need to eat Insect Race members since they’ve never troubled me."

"Fairy, are all the members of the Demon Race you’ve eaten ones who’ve troubled you?"

"Of course. You have no idea how vicious the Demon Race can be. They especially love to devour cultivators, as the flesh and blood of cultivators is greatly nourishing to them. Before I became an immortal, I was constantly chased by demons."

"Those days were not easy. If you didn’t kill them, they would kill you, so I had to fight back and killed quite a few from the Demon Race."

"I’m not like the Yingtian Immortal or the Qilin Immortal, who have destiny on their side and are ridiculously lucky, with one opportunity after another. Immortal Jiuchong is backed by the Lianshan Clan, so he has no worries about cultivation, and not to mention the Time Immortal; even when I was just at the Qi Cultivation Stage, he was already at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage."

"I started from scratch, too poor to find cultivation materials. Without cultivation materials to become stronger, you would just end up being killed, so I ate the Demon Race members I killed."

Fairy Eternity sighed, those days had really not been easy. She couldn’t even count the number of dangerous predicaments and situations of certain death she’d faced. Fortunately, she was capable of fighting, her strength increased rapidly enough to allow her to survive time and again.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou followed leader Li to the Insect Race tribe.

According to leader Li’s introduction, their tribe was named "Hydroxy" and called the Hydroxy Insect Tribe. The tribe wanting to marry Song Xiaomi was the Stiff Insect Tribe.

"We’ve arrived, it’s right there!"

Leader Li pointed ahead and announced.

Looking in the direction of leader Li’s pointing, Lu Yang saw twinkling stars deep within the forest, bewitchingly beautiful.

Only when they drew close did they realize the glowing came from the backends of fireflies.

The Clan Leader paced anxiously at the entrance of the tribal gates, waiting for leader Li’s news. Before he saw Li, he spotted two enormous creatures lurking in the dark, like man-eating beasts with glowing eyes, eying the tribe.

As a powerful insect at the third level of Qi Cultivation, he felt a lethal pressure in the presence of these two huge creatures.

These monsters were at least at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation!

A calamity of tribe extinction!

"All hands on deck!"

At the Clan Leader’s command, the tribal warriors sprang into action, aiming their tiny toothpicks and pebbles at the two monstrous creatures.

"Clan Leader, don’t attack, don’t attack," leader Li, upon seeing this, hurried over in fright to explain, for upsetting these two powerhouses would turn a non-issue into a serious one.

"These two are Meng Yang and Lu Jingzhou from the Five Elements Sect. It’s their first visit to the Demon Territory, and they wish to tour our tribe."

The Clan Leader breathed a sigh of relief; a fight, even with a victorious outcome, would still be a costly victory.

"I’ve brought back miss and Chi Shui,"

Song Xiaomi and Chi Shui, securely tied up, staggered to the Clan Leader.

"Dad, I don’t want to marry him!"

"Clan Leader, please believe me, give me time, and I am certain to advance to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation!"

The Clan Leader glared furiously at Song Xiaomi and Chi Shui, his third-level Qi Cultivation pressure terrifyingly immense: "Stop this nonsense. Is this about what you want? I’m going to receive our honored guests, and I’ll deal with you later!"

"Take them away!"

Turning back, the Clan Leader put on a forced smile: "Esteemed guests, this way, please."

"Wait a minute, don’t take them away just yet," Meng Jingzhou said.

```

"Sir, do you have any instructions?" the clan leader asked reverently.

Meng Jingzhou stood with his hands behind his back, his tone calm, "Instructions? Hardly necessary. Although I’m not fond of the notion that lovers eventually become spouses, I have even less patience for those who abuse their power to force marriages!"

"If the two of you are genuinely in love, I’ve got your tribe’s back!"

Finally, a chance to show off, could I really let it pass without acting?

Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou disdainfully, easily guessing his thoughts.

Pathetic, showing off in front of a bunch of insects with at most three levels of Qi Refinement. Why not have someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage to play along?

Song Xiaomi and Chi Shui were overjoyed, never expecting such a powerful being to offer them protection willingly.

The clan leader was equally pleased. His daughter wouldn’t have to marry off, and their tribe could gain the protection of a mighty figure—a stroke of incredible fortune.

Learning that their tribe would be under the protection of two great powers, the entire tribe erupted in cheers, warmly hosting the pair.

The two discovered that there were very few insect-shaped beings in the tribe, the majority were untransformed insects possessing intelligence but unable to speak.

The transformed insects in the tribe took up important roles, such as protecting and managing the village, and going out hunting. The insects that had captured Song Xiaomi and Chi Shui were responsible for protecting the village.

The Hydroxy Insect tribe went out of their way to entertain the two guests; they must not have been the first humans they hosted, as they appeared quite experienced in doing so.

Both guests sat cross-legged as ants worked together to carry huge bowls and chopsticks, fruits, and decorative flowers for them to enjoy.

Lu Yang took a bite of an unnameable fruit, crisp and refreshing. He sipped the juice in the bowl, the iciness soothing his throat—it was all rare delicacies unavailable in the Central Continent, specialties of the Demon Territory.

Fireflies acted as bonfires, clustering together like a river of stars, quite a beautiful sight. From above, the two looked as though they were seated within the Milky Way.

The only imperfection was the dance performance, with swarms of mosquitoes flying in front of them.

Fortunately, Meng Jingzhou’s willpower was extraordinary, and he refrained from slapping the mosquitoes away.

The night buzzed with excitement.

The next morning, uninvited guests intruded into the Hydroxy Insect tribe.

A large group of insects from the Rigor Insect tribe arrived, one of the transformed insects arrogantly seated on a leaf, treating the Hydroxy Insect clan leader with contempt and not even bothering to step off the leaf.

He was the son of the Rigor Insect clan leader, Qing Dong.

He noticed two mounds not far from the Hydroxy Insect tribe and was puzzled; they hadn’t been there during his last visit.

Whatever, no need to think too much about it.

"I heard my fiancée almost ran away yesterday, is there any truth to this?"

"Nephew Qing Dong is joking, there’s absolutely no such thing!" the Hydroxy Insect clan leader denied vehemently.

Qing Dong’s eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you saying I’m wrong?"

He exuded the aura of someone at the fourth level of Qi Refinement!

The Hydroxy Insect clan leader was shocked, not expecting someone so young to have reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement—a prodigy unheard of in their tribe’s history!

In the midst of this standoff, a sound as heavy as thunder rumbled, shaking the earth. Insects fell to the ground in fright, and Qing Dong also tumbled from the leaf.

In Qing Dong’s terrified gaze, the mounds awakened. They slowly rose like mountains from flat ground, their presence blocking out the sun and casting shadows over everyone.

It wasn’t a mountain at all, but a person!

The man’s eyes shone like two miniature suns, and the pressure he emitted caused Qing Dong to shiver uncontrollably.

"Just a Qi Cultivation Stage ant, and you dare to spout nonsense in front of me?"