The Soul Beast in the sky had the appearance of an insect, yet also possessed some features of a legendary dragon. This left Han Ning quite puzzled—was it an insect, or a dragon?

’I’ll call it an Insect Dragon for now.’

Its condition was not good. A large hole, nearly five meters long, had been blasted into its cyan-scaled abdomen by some unknown Soul Technique.

Blackish-purple Energy swirled around the wound, and dark blood flowed down from the large hole. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Moreover, its body was being continuously corroded by strange purple spots.

Opposite the Insect Dragon was a stretch of barren emptiness.

But every time the cyan light swept past, a flash of silvery-white blade light would appear.

’Invisibility. Another invisibility-type Soul Technique.’ Han Ning’s eyes widened as he channeled his Spiritual Power to them.

Even with his Spiritual Power, he could only faintly make out a massive, translucent silhouette flickering rapidly in the air.

With each flicker, a sharp hiss erupted from the air, and streaks of sharp, silvery-white blade light swiftly swept across the sky.

Higher in the sky was a pair of giant pupils. Concentric ripples spread rapidly across their surface as they stared fixedly down at the Insect Dragon below, their gaze filled with venomous malice.

Just by glancing at them for a moment, Han Ning felt as if his brain had been struck by a heavy blow, and two streams of crimson blood trickled from his nostrils.

He turned to look at the others, only to find them staring blankly at the massive figures fighting in the sky, completely unaffected.

’Could it be... the stronger one’s Spiritual Power, the more susceptible they are to the interference?’

Han Ning quickly averted his gaze. He stopped scanning the sky and instead looked straight ahead.

Amidst the endless sea of insects stood two figures, one large and one small.

The larger figure was nearly two meters tall, with bronze skin. He was at least seventy percent similar to a human in appearance, but the ends of his limbs were still five sharp, black, hook-like insect claws. He had no wings.

His face was almost indistinguishable from a human’s, except for a coin-sized scale on the cheek facing Han Ning.

He was half-crouched on the ground, staring straight ahead and panting heavily.

Behind this person stood a relatively petite figure, just over 1.5 meters tall. Her skin was snow-white, and two antennae, like those of an ant, grew from her forehead. She also had a crystal-clear scale on one cheek and a pair of translucent, dragonfly-like wings on her back. Her legs were fair and white, but her feet still had the appearance of an insect’s.

Opposite them stood two blackish-purple Insect-men. Their chests and cheeks were covered in dense purple scales, and a segmented, insect-like tail several dozen centimeters long grew from their rears, tipped with a sharp barb.

"Is that them? Should we go over?" Han Ning turned to look at Teacher Zheng.

"That’s them. I remember that tall Insect Master was already severely injured. I can’t believe he’s still alive," Teacher Zheng said, his gaze fixed on the imposing figure ahead.

Han Ning nodded to Yin Yi and led the group cautiously toward the tall Insect Master.

The Insect Master seemed to have already sensed their approach. When Egg Pancake came within two meters, he abruptly turned his head and sized up Han Ning and the others.

When he saw Han Ning, a trace of surprise appeared on his weak face, and his lips moved slightly.

At the same time, a strange message suddenly appeared in Han Ning’s mind: "Stable Spiritual Power... Are you from the Purple Crystal Race?"

As the message came, he scrutinized Han Ning more closely, then frowned and muttered to himself, the thought still perceptible to Han Ning, "Different eye color, a fragile Body... Not Purple Crystal. What race are you?"

Han Ning was even more astonished. This was the first time he had encountered a creature that could communicate using Spiritual Power.

The Insect Master before him had no obvious wounds, yet Han Ning could inexplicably sense that the man was extremely weak.

He opened his mouth and said, "You’re an Insect Master?"

"I cannot understand your language. Use your Spiritual Power, project it toward me, and attach the content you wish to express."

Hearing the Insect Master’s words, Han Ning tried to channel his Spiritual Power, enveloping the Insect Master with it. He conveyed his message just as he did when communicating with Yin Yi and the others: "You’re an Insect Master? We are not the Purple Crystal Race you mentioned. We are human."

"Insect Master? I am of the Yinsaike Race. Human... I have never heard of them." The Insect Master frowned, then suddenly grunted and spat out a large mouthful of purple blood.

"I can sense that you have no hostile intent. Please leave this place as soon as possible."

The exchange between them happened in a flash; not even a second had passed in the real world.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"If you can, please take Nia and leave this place. I will hold them off for you."

’Nia... is that her?’

Han Ning tilted his head, looking at the female Insect-man behind the Insect Master.

When the enemy Insect-men on the other side saw Teacher Zheng and the others, they had likely already memorized their appearances.

At this point, it was meaningless to worry about whether the enemy would retaliate.

Since they had helped Teacher Zheng’s group, and with the Insect Master holding the line, taking one woman with them shouldn’t be a major problem.

Han Ning nodded and replied telepathically, "Alright!"

"Ssk~sssk!" The Insect Master spat out a mouthful of bloody fluid and spoke to the female Insect-man behind him in a language Han Ning couldn’t understand.

"Sssk..." The female Insect-man called Nia had tears in her eyes as she stared blankly at the Insect Master before her.

But... without another word, he grabbed Nia’s shoulder and tossed her onto Egg Pancake’s back.

Immediately after, the Insect Master’s message appeared in Han Ning’s mind: "Go. I will hold them off. Don’t worry."

"Good luck."

Without any hesitation, Han Ning called to Yin Yi and Egg Pancake, and they bolted in the direction of the swamp.

The two purple Insect-men on the other side saw this and were about to make a move.

In the next instant, a grim expression appeared on both their faces simultaneously.

The tall Insect-man forced himself to stand up straight. His sturdy, bronze-colored Body actually began to show signs of melting.

With a furious roar, the last shred of sanity in his eyes vanished, replaced by two quietly burning, cyan flames.

The cyan Flame quickly ignited his Body, converting everything except his brain into a dense stream of flame particles.

At the same time, the cyan Insect Dragon above suddenly erupted in a cyan blaze, its body instantly doubling in size.

"ROAR!!"

It let out a shrill cry that could shatter stone and pierce the clouds. A dense, innumerable torrent of particles glowing with scorching cyan light erupted from its body, blanketing the entire cyan grassland—except for Han Ning and his group—in a terrifying Cyan Flame.

In an instant, the entire world seemed to transform into a Hell of cyan Flame. The surrounding blades of grass burned and twisted madly.

Sharp, ear-piercing wails of agony filled the air.

The earth trembled, and the sky was completely consumed by the color cyan.

Han Ning’s mind reeled. He forced himself to calm down and directed Yin Yi and Egg Pancake to race back the way they came.