Without the arc support from these hundreds of towering spires, the city's ability to damage the rice borers dropped by nearly half. More and more rice borers settled layer upon layer within the black light curtain, causing it to hum loudly and visibly fade rapidly. "We must intervene and save this city!" Han Li furrowed his brows and suddenly said. Yin Yue nodded in understanding. "Brother Xie, to resolve this matter swiftly, I believe you'll also need to lend a hand shortly." Han Li turned to Xie and said. "No problem," Xie calmly replied. Han Li smiled at this, then waved his sleeve. Instantly, a glow emerged from within his sleeve, and three miniature peaks reappeared before him. Then, he suddenly raised one hand, forming a seal, and released a golden light from behind, revealing a Buddha-like form with six arms and three faces. With his method fully unleashed, the Dharma Form opened three heads, six eyes, and roared a long, dragon-like cry. The roar shook the heavens, surging straight toward the nine celestial realms, instantly transforming into intangible, translucent sound waves that rolled outwards toward the vast sea of insects. It seemed the Dharma Form had employed some mysterious divine power through this cry—when the magical beings of the Black Hú City first heard it, they were startled, still uncertain where the sound originated, before suddenly noticing that the previously frenzied insects attacking the light barrier either burst open in large numbers or fell silently from the sky without warning. Within a moment, the insect army had lost nearly half its strength. The remaining insects now buzzed wildly, becoming disordered and chaotic. At that very instant, a ripple of energy surged from above, and three towering peaks of a hundred thousand feet suddenly emerged above the insect sea. The peaks thundered and then descended simultaneously. Immediately, waves of light, streams of sword energy, and spirals of radiant halos erupted and surged through the insect throng. In vast numbers, the grubs offered no resistance and were swept clean away by the three mountain peaks. Only the colossal, unusually powerful giant grubs managed to put up a slight resistance, fleeing hurriedly toward the edges. At that moment, a thunderclap echoed in the sky, and a thick, luminous silver arc suddenly flashed into being, passing swiftly through several of the giant grubs with a single flick. After a mournful cry, these giant grubs, along with nearly a thousand ordinary grubs nearby, were instantly reduced to ashes. As the silver arc spiraled and then dispersed, a young man in a Taoist robe materialized in the void—none other than the Crab Taoist. Upon glancing toward the remaining giant grubs farther away, the Crab Taoist's body shimmered with electric light and immediately launched himself again in the form of a bright electric arc. Where the thunderclap passed, countless gray grubs were utterly annihilated. A thunderous roar echoed through the heavens, and on the opposite side of the insect sea, a colossal giant silhouette—thousands of feet tall—emerged from the vibrancy of the space. It was the three-armed, six-limbed form of the Buddha Saint. Han Li himself stood at the center of this immense form, hands behind his back, gazing calmly at the strange insects nearby, his expression unchanged. However, now that the giant form had come to life, countless purple runes shimmered across its body. With a mere flick of each of its six arms, dense clusters of silver fire balls shot out in all directions. As the silver flames descended, they instantly spread out into vast patches of fire, each roughly the size of an acre, engulfing entire swaths of insects. Whether ordinary or larger-bodied giant insects, all cried out in agony as they struggled desperately upon contact with the silver flame—only to vanish moments later. With Han Li and the Crab Daoist each delivering their powerful strikes, the once seemingly endless army of insects in the sea was now being slaughtered at an astonishing pace. Yet those common locusts proved truly fearless, charging straight at Han Li and Xie Daoren with a near-suicidal determination after abandoning their attacks on the magical city's defenses. Despite Han Li and Xie Daoren's continuous deployment of several divine techniques, it wasn't until the course of a single meal that they managed to clear the surrounding void, though some colossal insects, sensing the shift, managed to escape in time. Han Li naturally had no further interest in pursuing them, merely gesturing to Xie Daoren and then descending steadily toward the Black Hú City. At that moment, Silver Moon approached from afar, gliding calmly and arriving beside Han Li after a few swift movements, settling down together. The countless magical beings within Black Hú City had been stunned by Han Li and Xie Daoren's initial actions; when they witnessed the vast swarm of locusts being completely swept away by the combined efforts of just the two, the city erupted into thunderous cheers. As soon as the three arrived in the city, without needing Han Li to speak, several high-ranking magical beings hurried over, gave a sharp reprimand to the nearby magical beings, and then promptly opened a crack in the light screen, respectfully welcoming Han Li and the crab immortal inside. "Respectfully bowing to the Holy Ancestor, thank you both for your timely intervention—your salvation has spared the lives of tens of millions in our entire city. May I ask your honorable names? The entire Black Hú City will forever remember your great kindness and never forget your benevolence." A middle-aged man in a black robe, at the early stage of consolidation, deeply bowed to Han Li and the crab immortal before expressing his heartfelt gratitude. As for the ordinary magical beings nearby, they had already formed neat rows, all lying flat on the ground the moment Han Li entered the city, utterly unable to look up at Han Li or the crab immortal. Clearly, in the eyes of the common magical beings, the Holy Ancestors were nearly divine. Now, with two such beings appearing in the city at once, the residents were filled with both astonishment and delight. Our names—you need not know them. "Actually, your city magistrate is here—have him come and see me." Han Li gave a calm, simple command. "Reporting to the elder, the magistrate has expended a great deal of qi in his earlier struggles against Zhonghua, and is currently resting and recuperating at the magistrate's residence. However, I had already dispatched messengers to notify him. I believe he will be able to personally come and pay his respects to you shortly." The middle-aged mage from the demonic realm replied cautiously. "Then I'll just wait here a while. As for the others, they may go about their duties as usual—no need to wait here." Han Li nodded and issued his instructions without further hesitation. "Yes, I'll have them step back now and not disturb the elder." Surprised at this, the middle-aged mage bowed deeply and quickly gave orders to the others. Immediately, the ordinary demons nearby rose to their feet, bowed respectfully to Han Li and his two companions, and then withdrew. In a moment, aside from the few demonic figures remaining, the area was clear of any other bystanders. Han Li and the other two remained in the void, quietly waiting. No more than a cup of tea's time passed before a dark, misty aura surged upward from a tall building within the city, spiraling before darting straight toward Han Li's position. Once the dark light faded, an elderly, thin man dressed in a soot-colored robe appeared ten or so zhang away from Han Li. After briefly scanning Han Li and his two companions with his divine awareness, the elder immediately bowed deeply and respectfully: "Late disciple Huaku pays homage to the two Holy Ancestors. Thanks to your gracious visit to our humble city, we have been blessed with your grace and thus managed to escape this great peril." "Are you the magistrate of Black Hua City?" Han Li glanced at the elder, his expression unchanged. The elder clearly possessed the qualifications of a mid-stage Consolidation stage cultivator, a strength that was no weakling even among the magistrates of the Demon Sovereign. "Disciple Huaku has served as magistrate of Black Hua City for nearly a thousand years. Should the elder have any matters to attend to, please do not hesitate to instruct me." The elder smiled warmly, offering a courteous expression "Um, you all step back a moment—I'd like to speak privately with this Hu friend." Seeing the black Hu city magistrate's thoughtful demeanor, Han Li nodded with a satisfied expression, but immediately issued a cold command to the other several magistrates. "Yes, our young disciples will retreat." The magisterial man felt his heart tremble, instantly agreeing without hesitation. A short while later, only Hu Yan and the others remained. Facing two great multiplicative beings alone, the elder was naturally filled with anxiety, yet he concealed it perfectly, standing still with utmost courtesy and respect. "The ability of those insect pests to form such a vast insect sea must have been developed over a considerable period of time. When did they first begin their assault on your Black Hu city?" Han Li asked calmly. "Reported to the elder, these stem-borer insects have been appearing in the region for several years now. Back then, I personally led teams to eradicate the infestation countless times—over a hundred times—but I was never able to completely eliminate them. Yet, the fact that they now form such a terrifying sea of insects and have launched unexpected attacks on our city just two days ago is entirely beyond my expectations." The thin, elderly man replied with genuine humility and reverence. "Appearing just two days ago. It seems, though these insects lack significant intelligence, their movements are not entirely random—they appear to follow certain patterns." Han Li stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Indeed, the elder! These insects are relentless—they keep killing and being killed—and they actively merge and gather together, causing the swarm to grow larger and larger. Otherwise, the Saint Realm would hardly hear such frequent tales of entire cities being wiped out by these overwhelming insect seas." The elderly man quickly explained. "Let us set this aside for now. I would like to ask you about another matter." Han Li paused, then spoke calmly and deliberately. "Master, may I ask?" the elder bowed in reply. "I and my companion have only recently re-emerged. We never expected the Celestial Realm to become so chaotic due to the insect blight. Allow me to inquire—where are the other Saint Ancestors, such as Yuan Yan and the rest of the Saint Elders? Why have they not stepped forward to eradicate these insects? I heard that when the blight first appeared, most of them mysteriously vanished. What exactly has transpired?" Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly and asked slowly.