"The Magmire Ants—oh, it's the entire sea of Magmire Ants! As soon as Han Li clearly saw the purple, chopstick-like magic insects, he involuntarily drew in a deep breath, his face displaying a rare touch of fear. 'Come on, hurry back to the city!' Han Li roared without hesitation. A shimmer of luminous light rippled across his body, and he surged upward, transforming into a streak of jade-green light, racing toward Xueya City. In just a few flashes, the jade-green glow had already reached over a hundred paces away. The young girl scrambled to the ground, transforming into a small beast and swiftly chasing after him, eventually vanishing into Han Li's form as she merged with him. Though the tide of insects wasn't slow, under Han Li's full-speed flight, they were swiftly left behind. Then, something strange occurred again: after the final green mist was completely swallowed by the purple clouds, the vast expanse of light clouds gently trembled and then, like a tide retreating, flowed back and vanished entirely within moments. Although Han Li had not witnessed this scene firsthand, as he sped forward without pause, his mind remained intensely focused. In fact, the more he thought about the data on the maggot ants, the darker his expression grew. "What on earth has happened here? First, the toxic creatures like the butterfly-tailed beasts surge in overwhelming numbers, and now even the maggot ants—these magical insects—have emerged! The ant seas they form are one of the great calamities of the Magic Realm, utterly beyond human capacity to resist." Han Li murmured these thoughts to himself, speeding through the air with unwavering momentum, deeply puzzled. The surge of beast-tailed creatures was already formidable, yet this anthill sea truly stood as a mere child's play compared to it—its danger utterly insignificant. Indeed, according to legend, there had even been instances where a being of the Saint-Ancestor rank had been completely drained of all magical power and ultimately trapped and suffocated by this very anthill sea. Thus, no matter how proficient in his own powers, Han Li absolutely refused to enter such a situation. Yet, when Han Li saw the distant, blurred silhouette of Xueya City, his heart suddenly sank. At that moment, Xueya City was completely encircled by countless beasts—numbering in the hundreds of thousands—layer upon layer, forming an unbroken barrier. While these beasts varied in strength, several of them radiated a particularly powerful spiritual pressure, comparable even to that of the Magi Lords. What was even more strange, however, was that these beasts did not launch any offensive attacks. Instead, certain groups gathered in clusters, constantly gazing out toward the surrounding wilderness, emitting uneasy, low growls from time to time. At the summit of Xueya City, a large number of magical beings had gathered. Among them were the city's own guards, but the majority were ordinary magical beings residing there. They paid no attention to the great beasts outside the wards, their faces filled with fear as they fixed their gaze steadily toward the wild expanse beyond, as if something terrifying were about to emerge any moment. "Perhaps the magical beings within the city have already learned of the approaching Maggot Ants," thought Han Li, his mind swiftly turning over the scene and instantly forming a clear impression. With his swift speed, Han Li flashed past the groups of beasts in mere moments, moving with no hesitation or concealment directly onto the city's summit. The already-activated layers of wards only trembled slightly, unable to impede him at all. Though the numerous magical beings on the city's summit were momentarily startled by this sight, none of them came forward to stop or inquire further. With a single flash, Han Li shot toward the center of the city. At this moment, the Blood Crow City was in chaos throughout—clearly, the aerial seal had been lifted. Various forms of floating light danced through the sky, and some magi were directly riding powerful gusts of magical wind, gathering in clusters within the city, their expressions serious and murmuring to one another. The scene was that of impending disaster. Suddenly, a ripple of disturbance rippled through the nearby void, and a flash of yellow light streaked past, vanishing almost instantly. Han Li paused slightly, then with a simple hand motion, caught the light in his hand. Immediately, a surge of flame erupted in his palm, and the deep voice of Long Family's elder reached his ears. Though the words were few, Han Li's expression changed, and adjusting his flight path slightly, he sped directly toward a corner of the city. A short while later, Han Li settled his flight, and suddenly materialized in an unremarkable courtyard. There, the old master of Long family, the young lady in feathered robe, the male from Lin family, and Senior Hui had been waiting for quite some time, yet they did not see the trace of the immortal clan members, including the Saint Maiden Qianqiu. "Frater Han, you've finally arrived. If you had come any later, I fear we would have had to break through and flee on our own." The old master of Long family beamed upon seeing Han. "Something has happened—perhaps due to those maggot ants? In that case, there's no need to be overly alarmed. With our current speed of travel, we should be able to escape without much difficulty." Han nodded to them, his expression growing serious as he asked. "It seems Frater Han is unaware that recently, maggot ants have been spotted all around the four sides of Blood Crow City. Now, everyone within the city knows that the wild beasts outside have been driven by the ant tide and have fled to the nearby areas. The entire region spanning tens of thousands of miles has now been encircled by the ant tide. Even with our strength, breaking through would surely entail considerable risks." "Heavenly Elder Long sighed and replied, 'So it seems the surrounding region has now been completely encircled by the ant sea. That explains why the wild beasts and the people of the city have been able to coexist thus far. Yet the more pressing the situation, the more urgent our breakout must be. With such a vast target area, once the queen ant appears, Blood-Raven City will surely be at the very heart of the ant sea, making escape an exceedingly difficult task.'" Han Li's face grew serious, yet he spoke without hesitation. "I fully understand this point. However, before we break through, there are still a few matters I need to address. Given the uncertain fate of our companions during this breakout, in order to alleviate pressure on the ant sea, we must act separately—never gather together. Otherwise, with the queen ant's keen instincts, she would surely identify us as primary targets, and we might all meet our end here. With the formidable strength of the magic-absorbing ant sea, we would likely only survive if we manage to reach the wild frontier, where we could finally secure our safety." The wild frontier is vast and boundless—we may find it difficult to gather again so easily. Therefore, our next meeting will be held directly in Xuanye City, located just before the Xuanxiao Desert. Once we break free from the ant sea, we won’t need to stop or wait for anyone; we’ll simply head straight for this city. Upon arrival in Xuanye City, after we’ve all reunited, we can then discuss matters concerning the eight-legged magic iguana and the Xuanxiao Desert,” said Long family’s elder in one breath. "The陇 family's elder ancestor had long considered this matter and replied without hesitation. "With two years, as long as there aren't major setbacks, that should be sufficient. As for the gathering location, I have no objections—let's follow Lóng brother's suggestion. By the way, where have the Qianqi Daoists and their fellow spiritual race companions gone? Why haven't we seen them appear yet?" After a brief pause, Han Li nodded. The others also showed no dissent. "By the way, why haven't we seen the Qianqi Daoists and the other spiritual race companions? Have they encountered any difficulties?" Han Li glanced around, then asked again. Upon hearing this, the elder ancestors of the Lóng family exchanged puzzled expressions. "Han brother may not be aware, but the spiritual race companions departed two days ago, ahead of schedule. I have a message scroll from Qianqi Daoist here—Han brother may take a look. Lóng brother just received it, and the content has already been read by the other companions." "This time, it was the young lady in the feathered robe who gently explained, lifting her jade wrist and tossing a white jade scroll toward Han Li. Upon hearing this, the elder of the Long family adopted a look of gentle sorrow. "I see," Han Li said, slightly taken aback. He raised one hand to catch the scroll in his grasp, then scanned it with his divine awareness. Within just a few breaths, Han Li furrowed his brows, withdrawing his awareness, and after a moment's thought, replied indifferently: "It seems that Qianqiu's companions suddenly encountered a very significant matter, compelling them to leave earlier, and they have arranged to meet us in the City of Phantom Night. Under these circumstances, our earlier agreement is even more sound." "Indeed, though we don't know exactly what has happened on the Ling clan's side, the fact that they have had to act so urgently, even separating from our group, suggests they must have faced something truly momentous." The Lin clan's strength is no less than ours—we needn't worry much. But now is the time to act swiftly. Let us begin our breakout immediately. It seems many of the magical clan members share our sentiments; already several have started leaving Xueya City." The Llong family elder nodded, his gaze sweeping toward the distance, then spoke with evident significance. Han Li's expression shifted slightly as his spiritual awareness extended outward, scanning the surroundings of Xueya City.