If we get caught in a pincer attack from both sides, our stable position will collapse, and this whole group could easily be devoured by the countless, seemingly weak beetles—leaving nothing but bones behind.
Ian Song’s mind raced, searching for a way to break the crisis.
"Is exposing my real cultivation the only way out? No way—I can't let that slip, or my background will be questioned. But if I don't reveal it, what can I do?"
Just as Ian wrestled with himself, hundreds of meters away, the Flying Beetles burst from the jungle and veered straight toward the group. The massive, dark swarm cast a shadow over Ian’s heart.
The situation was already at a critical point.
"What now?"
Ian’s mind spun even faster.
"Bzzzz!"
The Flying Beetles were closing in fast:
Five hundred meters!
Three hundred meters!
Two hundred meters!
In the nick of time, Ian’s mind exploded with inspiration—a solution finally surfaced.
"Everyone, retreat to the left side of the beach! Move!" Ian shouted.
Obviously, the others had also spotted the Flying Beetles charging from the right. They immediately dashed left across the sand, unleashing their movement techniques.
The Flying Beetles were fast, but not as fast as the group running at full speed.
In just a moment, everyone had pulled hundreds of meters ahead of the swarm.
"Senior Brother Huang, what do we do next?" Rose Changsun asked, panic creeping into her voice.
For a moment, all eyes turned to Ian, waiting for him to come up with a plan.
Ian glanced at the group, then said firmly, "Into the jungle!"
"Into the jungle?"
Instinctively, everyone felt that this order was off.
Ian Tian immediately objected, "Isn't that just asking for death? In the jungle, our speed will be heavily affected, but those Flying Beetles are small and won't be slowed down. We'll be wiped out!"
"Just trust me and follow—there's no time to explain!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian spun around and charged straight into the jungle.
Seeing this, Yoon Zhengyang and Harriet Gu quickly turned and followed right behind Ian.
The Changsun cousins exchanged a glance and hurried after them.
"I trust Senior Brother Huang! Kurt, Gavin, let's go too!" Yvette Xue called out.
"Got it!"
Recalling Ian’s calm leadership before, Kurt Kou and Gavin Guan were willing to trust him again.
That left only Eric Zhou and Ian Tian from Limitless Pavilion, still hesitating.
"Tian, are you going in or not?" Eric Zhou asked.
"Bzzzz!"
Because of the delay, the massive, sky-darkening swarm of Flying Beetles had already closed to just three hundred meters.
"Let's trust him one more time—let's go!" Ian Tian gritted his teeth, spun around, and dashed into the jungle, catching a whiff of something acrid in the air.
Ian, having rushed into the jungle, didn’t leave right away—he stood there, sword in hand.
As soon as Eric Zhou and Ian Tian made it inside, Ian called out urgently, "Anyone with fire-attribute techniques, go all out—set this jungle ablaze!"
Everyone’s eyes lit up—so that was his plan: burn the Flying Beetles with fire.
With time running out, Ian spoke as he frantically drove his Undying True Qi, then swept out with both swords in a blazing attack.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Huge waves of fire burst from Ian’s twin swords, instantly igniting the trees all around.
The other five cultivators with fire-attribute techniques quickly joined in.
Soon, the whole forest was ablaze. Strangely, these trees seemed to catch fire almost too easily.
Just then, the buzzing sound returned—the Flying Beetles had reached the edge of the jungle.
The jungle trees weren’t dry, so as they burned, thick clouds of smoke billowed out. The Flying Beetles rushed in and were instantly swallowed by the smoke.
"Retreat!"
Ian called out, leading the group deeper into the jungle, setting fires as they went.
The flames and smoke severely hampered the beetles’ pursuit. Many Flying Beetles, overcome by the smoke, fell into the fire and were burned alive.
As Ian and the others kept setting fires, the blaze grew bigger and spread in all directions...
Half an hour later, the entire jungle on the island was ablaze, the roaring flames an awe-inspiring sight.
As for the Flying Beetles chasing them, they were likely all wiped out by the fire.
Meanwhile, Ian and the group had already crossed the whole island and reached the far side.
"Let’s circle back!"
The island wasn’t large, and with everyone’s cultivation, circling around wouldn’t take much time at all.
"Senior Brother Huang, how did you come up with this plan?" Rose Changsun gazed at Ian, eyes full of admiration. If he hadn’t thought of burning the jungle, everyone would’ve died to the Flying Beetles.
"Yeah, Junior Brother Huang, your fire plan was brilliant!" Howard Changsun nodded in agreement.
Ian chuckled modestly, "Honestly, I don’t know. It just popped into my head in the heat of the moment—maybe it was a flash of inspiration!"
"Junior Brother Huang, I doubted you before—please accept my apology!"
Suddenly, Ian Tian bowed to Ian, face full of guilt.
Seeing this, Ian quickly helped him up, saying, "You’re too serious, Senior Brother Tian. Honestly, I wasn’t sure this would work either—we just got lucky!"
Seeing Ian let bygones be bygones, Ian Tian couldn’t help but feel a new respect for him.
A little while later, everyone made it back to the beach.
The fire still raged in the jungle, black blood stained the ground, and the Flying Beetles were nowhere to be seen—either burned or escaped.
The battle had drained everyone’s energy.
Now that the fight was over, everyone relaxed, feeling utterly worn out.
"I’ll stand guard for everyone—rest and recover your strength and true qi," Ian said.
"Alright!"
No one refused. After what had happened, everyone knew Ian’s vigilance was unmatched—if he stood guard, they could truly relax.
Time passed slowly, and soon it was the appointed hour with Old Third Gu.
But Old Third Gu hadn’t come back by boat.
Everyone stopped meditating. Not seeing Old Third Gu, their faces grew dark.
"Did Old Third Gu run off?" Rose Changsun asked, worried.
"Hmph, that guy’s so slippery, he definitely ran!" Yvette Xue spat.
"Don’t worry, let’s wait a bit longer."
Ian remained calm. Even if Old Third Gu really did run, Ian wouldn’t be trapped on the island. Back in the Great Qin Empire, he’d once been stranded on a deserted isle, so he’d prepared: his storage ring was packed with water, food, a small speedboat, and plenty of gasoline.
During the fire, he’d secretly poured gasoline from his storage ring. That was why the flames spread so quickly and burned so fiercely.