Just as the King-rank demons were being utterly slaughtered by the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects, the insects themselves seized the opportunity to complete a mutation. In doing so, they managed to break free from most of the control exerted by Sister Nan's Supreme Spirit Insect King Physique.
Currently, Sister Nan's True Spirit was being suppressed by the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects. It would only take a few more moments for them to complete the final step of their evolution, becoming true, full-fledged Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects!
Once that happened, the entire battlefield would become their playground for expansion. Every human and every demon general would be nothing more than food to them!
A terrifying pressure spread across the field, accompanied by a series of insectoid chirps that were profoundly unsettling, making all who heard them tremble. It felt as though a slumbering, horrific entity was about to awaken.
However, at that exact moment, a massive pillar of sword qi—a blend of blood-red and pure white radiance—descended from the heavens!
Heavenly Heart Asura!
Severing Thought, Exorcising Demons!
In an instant, the endless sword qi of the Heavenly Heart erupted, carrying with it the ferocious intent of the Asura!
An incredibly terrifying yet impossibly pure power instantly permeated every corner of the area centered on Sister Nan, enveloping all of the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects within its reach.
The mere leakage of power from this sword qi caused countless demons to come crashing down from the sky. Even demons standing far in the distance could not help but shake. Some even faltered in their movements, allowing the cultivators of the Star-Sea world to seize the opening and slay them.
The power of a single strike was truly that staggering.
Yet, strangely, whether it was Sister Nan at the center of the strike, the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects being covered, or the demons falling from the sky, not a single one of them bore a physical wound.
"What is happening?"
"That should not be possible, right?"
Doubt rose in the hearts of everyone who witnessed this.
Wang He's soul-shaking strike had been so imposing that even distant demons were affected. How could it have caused no visible damage? Even the demons' souls appeared unharmed, suggesting it was not a spiritual soul attack.
"Could this move be from the Mystical Side?"
A shocking realization surfaced in the minds of the onlookers.
The Mystical Side! This meant the attack involved the layers of consciousness and the True Spirit. It was one of the most enigmatic methods of attack, capable of slaying an opponent while completely ignoring their physical body, soul, or spiritual energy defenses.
Earlier, several human cultivators had fallen to a King-rank demon using such methods. One of them was a powerful body-tempering cultivator capable of rivaling a Peak Nascent Soul expert, yet he had been unable to block a single move.
Such enemies were the embodiment of despair and terror. When facing them, one could only wait for death regardless of how many spells were cast. Who wouldn't be afraid?
Fortunately, Wang He had appeared in time to slay that horrific demon with a single strike, preventing the casualties from mounting further. Judging by this, it seemed Wang He, the Hall Master, truly did possess power from the Mystical Side.
As expected, shortly after Wang He's sword technique erupted, wave after wave of shrill, agonizing insect chirps burst forth. They were still as grating and unpleasant as before, but the sense of horrific dread and suppression they emitted had lessened significantly.
"It really worked!"
Seeing the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects screaming in agony, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
It had been too terrifying!
The scene of those insects slaughtering all the King-rank demons just now was far too intimidating. Dozens of King-rank demons had been wiped out in an instant! After experiencing this battle, no one understood the exaggerated strength of those King-rank demons better than they did.
It was truly hard to imagine how horrific it would be if this swarm of insects lost control. The entire battlefield would likely have become their feeding ground.
Now that the dreaded King-rank demons were buried, as long as the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects could be subdued, the situation on the battlefield would become much clearer.
However, while everyone else was relaxing, Wang He's brow furrowed tightly.
Through the perception of his Heavenly Heart Asura Sword-Heart, he could feel that the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects—who should have been dying or on the verge of death—were actually beginning to recover rapidly!
"These insects..."
An unprecedented sense of difficulty rose in Wang He's heart. Only he knew how much power that single strike had consumed. The source of his Heavenly Heart Asura Sword Intent and his True Spirit power were nearly exhausted.
He had intended to kill the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects. In that fleeting moment, he had seen Sister Nan cast a pleading gaze toward him, asking him to kill her along with those horrific, taboo insects.
But Wang He had not done so. Instead, he had chosen the Mystical Side sword technique he had comprehended: Severing Thought, Exorcising Demons.
This move could directly transform the intent of the Heavenly Heart Asura into endless sword qi to extinguish all evil thoughts and True Spirits. His own Heavenly Heart Sword Intent could also precisely distinguish between the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects and Sister Nan's True Spirit.
At the same time, this was the most effective solution his Heavenly Heart perception had identified. His Heavenly Heart perception had proven itself infallible in countless previous battles.
And yet, such a strike—one specifically targeting the insects' weaknesses and nearly draining his entire reservoir of power—had failed to kill them?
A sense of powerlessness rose within Wang He. These insects were simply too frightening! If they recovered now, it would be difficult for him to muster enough power to execute that strike again. As for other types of attacks, he didn't believe there was anything left on this battlefield more terrifying than the combined assault of dozens of King-rank demons.
"Is it really going to end like this?"
Wang He felt a deep sense of unwilling. To have finally crippled the demon race to this extent, only to be wiped out by a swarm of insects cultivated by their own side—that would be a tragedy worse than dying at the hands of the enemy. If this war had been hopeless from the start, it would be one thing, but they were currently standing at the dawn of victory.
Furthermore, what worried him even more was that if these taboo insects followed the passage back to the Mountain-River World while Qi Ping was still in his deep slumber, who could stop these monsters? If they were allowed to go into hiding and vanish into the Star-Sea world, it wouldn't be long before the entire world was turned into a scorched wasteland by the maws of the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects.
The terror of these forbidden insects was far beyond anyone's imagination.
"I have to try!"
Just as Wang He was preparing to forcibly burn his essence to swing his sword again, the beautiful figure at the center of the swarm stood up.
The faded spiritual light in her eyes began to recover at a visible speed. The eerie crimson hue quickly receded, replaced by a healthier color as her pallor vanished.
When he saw that familiar gaze return, Wang He's Sword-Heart immediately sensed it, and he let out a heavy breath of relief.
Indeed, the beautiful figure's eyes flashed as an unprecedentedly powerful will erupted from her. Following this, several white silken threads—completely different from before—shot out from her body, precisely binding every single Forbidden Blood-Yu Insect.
Under the restraint of these white threads, the rapidly recovering insects suddenly grew weak and fell into a deep, heavy slumber.
However, during this process, the white silken threads slowly began to take on a faint tinge of blood-red as time passed. Faint crimson mystic patterns also began to surface in her eyes.
At the same time, a trace of agony rose once more in her gaze.
"Hall Master Wang, I thank you for your help. I will surely remember this great debt of gratitude!"
Sister Nan suppressed the painful thoughts within her and cupped her fists toward Wang He.
The scene just now had been far too perilous.
The Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects had taken advantage of her lack of knowledge regarding their talents and abilities. They had used the combined attack of the King-rank demons and their own near-immortality to stage a "life through death" scenario, breaking free from her suppression and seizing the chance to invade her True Spirit and consciousness.
If Wang He had been even a step later, she would have completely become a slave and a vessel for the insects, only to be devoured once her usefulness was exhausted.
Fortunately, Wang He's Heavenly Heart Asura Sword had arrived at that critical moment. That powerful sword qi had taken advantage of the insects' vulnerability during their mutation to instantly extinguish their consciousness and True Spirit, while simultaneously avoiding all the parts of her True Spirit that were entangled with them.
That single strike could truly be described as divine. Aside from Wang He, there was likely no one else in the entire Star-Sea world who could have executed such a move.
Sister Nan also seized that moment to break free from the insects' grasp. In the instant their True Spirits were reborn, she had taken total control. Otherwise, if the previous situation had been allowed to continue, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Her own death was a small matter, but leaving such an uncontrollable catastrophe for the Star-Sea world would have made her a sinner for all of eternity.
"Also... before the Star-Emperor awakens, I may need to trouble you to help me with the suppression," Sister Nan added.
"Hall Master Nan, you are too modest. If not for you, we wouldn't have even made it past the Nascent Soul demons! You do not need to fight further. For now, focus entirely on recovery and suppression. Leave the rest of the battlefield to us!"
"Very well."
Sister Nan said no more, immediately seizing this precious time to adjust her state.
Previously, under the entanglement of the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects, even maintaining semi-consciousness was a luxury. Now that she finally had an opportunity, she had to consolidate and develop the power of the Supreme Spirit Insect King Physique to prevent another backlash. Although a future backlash was inevitable, she could at least buy more time until Qi Ping awakened.
Earlier, Qi Ping had told her that if they successfully survived the demon crisis, the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects might have a even greater purpose. Although doing so was extremely dangerous, it was a necessary risk.
She could tell from Qi Ping's expression that the matters requiring the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects were likely much more difficult than imagined. It was just that the current strength of the insects had far exceeded expectations, and the records regarding them had clearly been intentionally underestimated. Ultimately, she would need Qi Ping to make the final decision.
As long as Qi Ping took action, the Forbidden Blood-Yu Insects at this stage shouldn't be able to cause too much trouble. Whatever decision Qi Ping made, she would support it fully.
On the other side, once Wang He confirmed through his Heavenly Heart perception that Sister Nan was out of immediate danger, he charged back into the fray.
At this moment, the Nascent Soul battlefield was still a scene of horrific carnage. The humans, organized into offensive and defensive alliances through arrays, were locked in a fierce struggle against the swarming demons. Almost every moment saw the fall of a Nascent Soul-level existence.
However, the vast majority of those falling were demons.
This was because the most threatening part of the Nascent Soul demon army—the King-rank demons—had been wiped out by the insects. Although the remaining elite Nascent Soul demons were strong and no weaker than many human Nascent Soul cultivators, the humans gained a massive boost in power through the support of their arrays. In particular, their survival and recovery capabilities were greatly enhanced.
At this time, the advantage of the human arrays was displayed to its fullest. These demons, who had lost most of their self-will, had no way to identify the weaknesses of the arrays beyond brute force. They simply crashed themselves against the strongest points of the formations.
Meanwhile, the human arrays were constantly shifting under the command of the formation masters, avoiding the brunt of the demons' strength while steadily picking off the demon army.
However, due to the demons' sheer numbers and ferocious attacks, many human Nascent Soul cultivators still perished in unexpected accidents. It was only the mortality rate of the top-tier Nascent Soul cultivators that had significantly decreased.
At this rate, while the losses for the Star-Sea world would not be small, securing a final victory would be no problem. Without the threat of a large number of King-rank demons, the top-tier human Nascent Soul cultivators finally revealed their terrifying side.
With close coordination and the boost of the arrays, these powerful Nascent Soul cultivators, wielding formidable spells, were able to fight enemies several times their own number without falling into a disadvantage. From a macro perspective, they were simply slaying their way through wherever they chose to go.
The performance of individuals like Han Li and the Thunder Tribulation Immortal Bamboo was particularly brilliant. Whether it was the sword array that swept through everything in its path or the terrifying tribulation lightning that carried the might of heaven and earth, they were slaughtering demons in every direction.
And with Wang He's return, the tide turned into a complete one-sided slaughter.
Although Wang He's consumption was massive, dealing with these non-King-rank demons required very little effort. With sword qi crisscrossing the field, Wang He easily broke through the most difficult points on the battlefield.
As long as the King-rank demons did not reappear, Wang He was a nearly invincible existence on this battlefield. Unless he was ground down to death through pure exhaustion, who could stop him? And he was not fighting alone; every one of the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators was a formidable fighter in their own right.
The subsequent battle held no more suspense. Under the combined hunt of the humans, the remaining elite demons were soon completely annihilated. Their corpses piled up layer by layer on the ground below.
By the time the war ended, the human side had lost more than thirty percent of its forces. Although the duration of the war had not been long, the number of fallen was staggering. More than half of those casualties, including nearly all the top-tier Nascent Soul deaths, had been caused by those King-rank demons.
This was the danger of large-scale warfare; even top Nascent Soul cultivators were nothing more than slightly larger ants in a war of this scale.
Fortunately, those dozens of King-rank demons had been wiped out by the insects all at once. Otherwise, under their combined assault, who knows how many more would have fallen?
Thinking of this, everyone turned their gazes once more toward the beautiful figure and the blood-colored insects beside her. A chill rose in their hearts.
How could such terrifying insects exist in this world?