"Hiss, hiss."
Within Jietian, in a deeply hidden underground nest, a jet-black Yao insect no larger than a grain of rice lay prone on the ground and let out a hiss.
"Mother. Have we lost?"
"Why?"
The Qi-Eating Insect King's spiritual awareness churned violently as it communed with the Heavenly Fate bestowed upon it, seeming to sense the despair emanating from this heaven and earth.
Yet it could not understand.
True, that Tribulation Fire had been powerful—terrifyingly powerful—but the Qi-Eating Insect King believed its opponent could never unleash an attack of that magnitude repeatedly.
There was no need to fear at all. So long as this world, its mother, continued to support and nourish it, allowing it to keep growing, then given enough time, even if it faced that dreadful Tribulation Fire again, it was confident it could devour it completely. That was right—it had not lost by a long shot.
"Hiss, hiss!"
The next second, urged on by the Insect King's will, the Qi-Eating Insect swarm, which had fallen into deathly silence, began moving again and flew toward the Sacred Sect Disciples.
It would continue its attack!
Yet through the eyes of its kin, the Insect King discovered that those people were no longer resisting. Instead, they stared at it with mocking gazes.
Why?
Before this doubt could fade from the Qi-Eating Insect King's heart, it discovered that it had lost contact with itself and its swarm—with every single Qi-Eating Insect offspring.
It took only an instant.
As though some heavenly punishment had descended—without reason, without warning—the Qi-Eating Insects had still been shrieking one moment, then lost their lives and collapsed the next.
Only then did the Qi-Eating Insect King truly understand what the despair sent by its mother was. Through the "Heavenly Fate" bestowed upon it, its consciousness