Chapter 6: What? You’re Leaving?

Her gaze fell upon the fallen companions, and in her eyes flickered a trace of resolve and reluctance. “Cloudy, this is my home.”

Cloudy’s heart stirred with a mixture of emotions. From her expression, he could read attachment and lingering sorrow, and he assumed she would choose to remain upon this land steeped in memory.

Yet just as he was about to speak and urge her that if they did not leave now, they might never get the chance, her decision gave him an unexpected turn.

“Cloudy, let’s go!” Her words came suddenly, like a meteor streaking across the night sky: bright, and urgent.

He froze, staring in disbelief. “What did you say?”

“We have to leave at once. If we delay any longer, once the clan leader of the Devouring Heaven Daoist learns that his kind has been nearly wiped out by you, he will surely fly into a rage and come after us himself.” Her voice carried a note of haste as she looked up at him, her eyes flashing with complicated feeling.

It turned out she did not wish to abandon the home that had sheltered her; rather, she knew that home no longer existed.

The threat of the Devouring Heaven Daoist lingered like a shadow. As the sole survivor of the cloud-diving mountain mosquito clan, she bore not only the blood feud of her people, but also the hope of their inheritance.

She could not allow Cloudy, the companion who had fought beside her, to be buried as well in the disaster drawing near.

“All right, let’s go.” Though Cloudy was still uncertain and did not know where the road ahead would lead, he understood that fleeing now and preserving their strength was the wisest course.

In the next moment, two mosquitoes, one large and one small, of different kinds yet bound together in that instant, beat their wings in unison and took to the sky, gradually leaving behind that land soaked in sorrow.

Elsewhere, within the splendid lair of the Devouring Heaven Daoist’s giant mosquito clan, the clan leader, larger even than the most magnificent of the mosquitoes around him, sat with eyes closed in concentration. Suddenly his brow furrowed, and a foreboding chill rose in his heart.

“What? All the clan members sent to cloud-diving mountain were annihilated?”

The news struck like thunder from a clear sky, sending the entire lair into an uproar.

“How is that possible? Devourer was a second-layer demon-energy expert. How could anyone in a place like cloud-diving mountain defeat it?” a mosquito cried in confusion.

“Exactly. The clans living in cloud-diving mountain are just little creatures with a bit of spiritual awareness. How could they possibly have the power to kill Devourer?” another chimed in.

“Could it be... that cloud-diving mountain is hiding some hidden master?”

The words passed through the chamber like a winter wind, tightening the hearts of all the mosquitoes. They looked at one another, and in the end silently accepted that unsettling possibility.

At this, the clan leader’s lips curved into a cold smile, his eyes gleaming with profound light. “It seems cloud-diving mountain truly does conceal a secret unknown to us.”

“Clan leader, what should we do? Should we gather the army at once and strike?” one mosquito asked anxiously.

The clan leader shook his head lightly, a sly expression appearing at the corners of his mouth. “If that mysterious place really is home to some hidden master, do you think they would be foolish enough to stay put and wait obediently for us to attack?”

“But clan leader, this blood feud—how can we leave it unavenged?”

“That’s right, clan leader. We can never let this rest!”

The mosquitoes were inflamed with outrage, all voicing agreement.

“All right, enough. Quiet down.” The clan leader’s stern voice rang out. “I have my own plans for this matter. For now, withdraw.”

“This...” Though the mosquitoes still doubted his decision, the clan leader’s unquestionable authority left them no choice. In the end, they fell silent and dispersed unwillingly.

After they left, the clan leader on the high seat grew solemn, determination flashing in his eyes.

“It seems I can only borrow that child Devourer’s unique bloodline power and try to track them, to see whether I can lock onto their location.”

He considered that Devourer, the only mosquito in the clan to have stepped into the threshold of cultivation, possessed blood that held immeasurable value and allure to demon cultivators. Perhaps it could be used as bait to draw out those hidden enemies, though the clan leader had no certainty at all. Whether the other side would take the hook and consume Devourer’s blood remained unknown.

To test whether this plan was feasible, the clan leader slowly extended his slender front antennae, letting the tip lightly touch the empty space before him, as though conversing with an invisible power.

The next instant, the place touched by the antennae rippled with subtle disturbances in space, like a calm lake brushed by a breeze.

Within those ripples, an ancient and mysterious pearl quietly appeared. A faint radiance flowed across its surface, as if it contained some old and formidable power.

The clan leader fixed his sharp gaze upon the pearl, then silently recited an ancient incantation. Each syllable was clear and forceful, as though it could pierce the barrier of time and awaken a sleeping force.

With the echo of the spell, the pearl’s glow grew ever more brilliant, and within it there gradually formed a mirror-like surface, smooth as glass and crystal clear.

At that moment, two figures slowly emerged within the mirror: none other than Cloudy and Little Li, flying toward some unknown destination.

Their forms appeared with startling clarity in the mirror, as though they were right before his eyes.

The clan leader’s gaze turned instantly sharp. He stared intently at the image, a barely perceptible smile curving his mouth.

“At last, I have found your trail.” His voice was low and forceful, each word like a hammer blow striking the surrounding air, revealing an authority beyond dispute.

Before the words had even faded, his broad wings flared open with irresistible force. He beat them once and shot upward, instantly bursting out of the dark, deep lair.

Outside, a few same-clan mosquitoes were hurrying back in when they saw this and stopped in their tracks, looking at one another in bewilderment.

“Where is the clan leader going? So hurriedly?” one asked in confusion.

“Yes, indeed. For so many years it has never taken a single step beyond the nest. What’s happened today?” another echoed, its eyes full of curiosity and uncertainty.

“All right, enough of that.” An older-looking mosquito cut them off. “You know perfectly well what kind of temper the clan leader has. If you anger it, in a fit of rage it will strike once with its palm, and neither of you nor I will survive.”

As it spoke, it unconsciously shrank its neck, clearly still shaken by the clan leader’s power.

“Mm, you’re right.” The surrounding mosquitoes nodded at once, all showing lingering fear.

After all, the clan leader was a demon cultivator at the third layer of demon energy, immensely powerful. Ordinary mosquitoes like them could not hope to contend with it.

Yet despite their fear and confusion, they could not help watching the direction in which the clan leader had departed, secretly speculating among themselves.

Some guessed the clan leader had gone out to seek food; others believed it might have discovered some crucial intelligence.

But in truth, none of them knew that this time, the clan leader had gone out to hunt down Cloudy.