It turned out to be a creature of deep, ink-black hue, with a beard growing from its head. Its size was not much smaller than that of the blood-red automaton, covered in stiff, steel-like bristles. Its two eyes were exceedingly long and shimmered with a cold, eerie red light, while four dark wings fluttered behind it. It was also a colossal, monstrous insect. Despite being so close to the shadow of the purple-blooded automaton, this creature could withstand the piercing cries without a tremor, moving with a ghostly grace—red light beams seemed to pierce through both of them, yet in reality, they only struck the lingering, ethereal shadows of the two. As the purple-blooded automaton dodged, it suddenly raised a massive axe, unleashing a continuous barrage of crescent-shaped axe-blades. The black giant's attacks were even more astonishing: while its six limbs blurred and shifted, sharp, cone-shaped beams of black light burst forth in dense, relentless waves. Most of the attacks were swept away by the crimson light column. Those that penetrated the great net were immediately halted upon touching the insect-like shadows extending tens of zhangs in length, bursting into fragments due to an invisible force. "What is this? Is it a true Tian Fu-level being?" the beautiful woman gasped upon clearly seeing the shadows. "Compared to this, I'm more concerned about my friend Lu's original body," Wood Qing murmured, his eyes narrowing. "Wood friend, now is not the time to debate this matter. A Tian Fu-level being is the second-highest rank among the Fu Shou clan, only below the True Spirit. If one truly appears here, not a single one of us will escape the pursuit of such a being." The woman regained her composure and immediately said, her expression turning grave. "Blue sister, don't worry. Didn't you notice? The one appearing here is merely a projection or embodiment of a Tian Fu-level being. It seems that the puppet being pursued by Lu and his companions has summoned this form through some secret technique. Once this phantom exhausts its power, it will vanish instantly." The six-legged creature and the earth-blood should clearly understand this point—otherwise, they would never keep delaying! Mu Qing spoke calmly. "Projection!" The white-haired woman paused, then carefully observed the distant, giant, fly-like silhouette. After a while, she exhaled deeply and said with relief, "Indeed, it's merely a projection—only about two or three parts of the true power of a Heavenly Fungus. Moreover, the projection carries only the power, not the consciousness of the original body. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to sustain this duration. Yet even so, the attacks are rather formidable. The puppets and the six-legged creature still dare not be struck at all." "This is natural. Even a simple projection of power, a Heavenly Fungus ranks as the second only to the True Spirit among the Fungus Clan. How could we possibly handle it!" Mu Qing smiled slightly. Now that the two women understood the origin and nature of the insect-like shadow, they no longer felt compelled to advance. They remained at a distance, quietly observing the distant clash, waiting patiently for the shadow's power to dwindle away. Han Li listened quietly by the side, his face briefly revealing several expressions of surprise. What was unfolding now was beyond his ability to intervene, so he remained silent. At that moment, the beautiful woman glanced at the high-ranking spirit beast still rolling on the ground, furrowed her brows, and then flicked her sleeve downward. A wave of black light surged forth, instantly enveloping all the beasts. Immediately, the beasts regained clarity of consciousness and ceased their rolling, though they remained utterly weak, unable to lift themselves at all. Yet, seeing this, the woman showed no further intention to act, merely turned her gaze back toward the massive insect-shaped shadow in the distance. Indeed, as Wood Qing had predicted! Though the shadow appeared immensely powerful, after a brief period, a brilliant red light burst forth from its surface. Then, accompanied by a series of thunderous sounds, it suddenly began to crack and fragment, ultimately dissolving into a radiant red light that vanished completely. The dense rows of crimson light pillars also instantly disappeared. The black monster insect and the purple-blooded puppet, having continuously darted at high speed within the beam of light, both exhaled deeply, their forms stabilizing as they remained motionless in place. Yet the purple glow and black luminescence on their bodies flickered and shifted irregularly, and as soon as they recovered a bit of their vital energy, they surged forward with swift flight toward Mu Qing and the others. Han Li glanced at the figure and suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. He saw that the lower half of the six-limbed being was no different from an ordinary man—his skin gleamed with smooth elasticity, looking remarkably youthful. Yet at the upper half, where the eyes should have been, there were two vivid green compound eyes. As these green eyes moved, a cold sensation immediately spread through the observer. "Indeed, you are the true Six-Limbed Daoist!" the beautiful woman exhaled in relief. "Is there anything, Blue Daoist, that you have doubts about?" the six-limbed being said, standing high up, arms behind his back, with a calm and unconcerned demeanor. "I had thought you were a spirit creature. But I wonder—what is the connection between your family and the Fúyóu clan?" Wood Qing's eyes flashed with surprise, and suddenly interjected. "The Fúyóu clan? I was born into this very clan. I hope this answer satisfies both of you!" the six-limbed being smiled lightly, speaking with a composed and matter-of-fact tone. Upon hearing this, both Wood Qing and the woman with silver hair exchanged several sharp changes in expression "So you mean Master Liu had known of this place all along, and deliberately brought us here. As for the puppets from the Fu Shi clan, I wonder if any of you has any connection with them." The beautiful woman's voice grew cold. "That is quite mistaken on the part of the two of you! Though I am aware of the existence of our clan's sacred site, at the time I was still at a relatively low level of cultivation within the clan, and thus never knew its precise location. I have resided in the Deep Earth for so many years, and have been stagnant in my current stage of cultivation for countless years. If I had known earlier that there was a passage connecting the Deep Earth to this place, how could I have delayed so long in bringing these few of us here? Indeed, it was only recently, by chance, that I discovered the connection between the Deep Earth and the land of the Under River. As for the appearance of the puppets from the Fu Shi clan here, I am genuinely unaware of this. According to my knowledge, this sacred site is typically opened only once every several thousand years by the clan. We have only been here for a few hundred years since the last visit. It is truly remarkable that we have encountered If I were connected to the Ephyra clan in any way, how could I have only allowed these puppets to enter here? I still know a good deal about the divine abilities of my esteemed friends... "Six-foot replied calmly. Upon hearing Six-foot's words, the beautiful woman and Mu Qing exchanged a glance. Though neither of them could immediately identify any flaw in his statement, both being beings who had cultivated for countless years naturally sensed that there was something untruthful in what he said—just that they could not at the moment think of any suitable counterarguments. "Ground-blood friend, what do you think?" Mu Qing turned suddenly and addressed the two clad in red robes. Since their appearance, the two red-robed figures had stood silently on the shoulders of the puppets. Now, upon hearing Mu Qing's question, their eyes flashed with a glint of crimson, exchanged glances, and one of them finally spoke softly: "In my opinion, Brother Six-foot does not appear to be lying. Though his tenure in the Deep Earth is not the longest, it is certainly not the shortest either. Indeed, there's no need to perform these minor gestures. Do the two of you really intend to return now? We have already offended the Ephemeral Clan and can no longer obtain the Spirit Milk of the Underworld River Deity—would you be content with that? The blood-robed guest spoke, completely appearing to stand firmly on the side of the Six-Legged One. Seeing this, Mu Qing and the beautiful woman exchanged glances once again. After a while, the white-haired woman's expression softened, and she smiled gently, saying, "Since the Earth-Blood Guest has expressed such confidence, we naturally trust the Six-Legged One as well. Yet, since the Ephemeral Clan has noticed something amiss within the Sacred Site, why haven't they sent more personnel, or even dispatched higher-ranking Golden-Ephemeral beings to personally arrive here? In that case, wouldn't we be utterly helpless, even with wings spread?" "This is quite understandable. Though the Ephemeral Clan has detected our traces from our previous incursion, they are still uncertain about the exact timing of our next visit. Therefore, they are compelled to send these permanent garrisons to remain stationed here." Yet though this is the sacred sanctuary of the Gossamer Clan, ordinary Gossamer clan members cannot stay here for long—otherwise, they would see their cultivation steadily decline, and in severe cases, even perish. If the great army of insects truly arrives—ah, then, we may well be left with not even a single bone fragment! Six-legs suddenly displayed a curious expression and remarked. Upon hearing the words "insect sea," the beautiful woman shivered, then chuckled lightly, offering a composed smile: "Six-legs, why must you be so playful with us? Though the Gossamer Clan may not be widely renowned beyond the spiritual realm, nor even well-known to many, its influence and authority among neighboring clans are no less than that of the great families of the realm. How could they truly dispatch an entire army of insects merely for our small group?" "Indeed," she added, "as far as I know, when the Gossamer Clan deploys its insect sea, even true spiritual beings must retreat, and the clan itself suffers a significant loss of vital energy—so profound that it would only be summoned in life-or-death circumstances. They would never act so hastily." Wooden Qing's expression of concern flickered briefly before he regained composure and calmly analyzed, "Hehe, I didn't expect the two of you to know so much about our Eel-Flower Clan. Indeed, only one Tian-Eel is needed to deal with us—there's no need for anything more elaborate. Then, let's move quickly and make good time. Even if the Eel-Flower Clan decides to send another delegation, opening this location won't be easy—it will likely take several months. In that time, we'll have ample opportunity to find the Divine Milk and return along our original route. Though we were briefly ambushed by the ghost creatures this time, quite a number of high-ranking ghost beings from the Yin River region have already been eliminated. The journey ahead will be much smoother. By the way, how many Yin soldiers and puppets do you still have at your disposal?" Six-foot scanned the surroundings with a serious tone and asked.