Chapter 1052: Insect Disaster

The distant insect cloud circled in the air for a while, lost track of Lu Ye, and then settled back into dormancy.

Lu Ye's expression was grave.

Having just returned to Kyushu, he had been immersed in the joy of coming home and hadn't paid much attention. But now, he finally noticed some unusual things. The most striking change was in Liyuan.

Liyuan was a vast plain, considered a strategic buffer zone for the Myriad Devil Ridge faction in Bingzhou. It was uninhabited, but being a plain, it was naturally teeming with life. At least, the last time Lu Ye came with Nian Yuexian, Liyuan appeared as a vast expanse of lush green from high above. But now, Liyuan was devoid of any green, appearing desolate and lifeless.

Combined with the insect cloud he had just witnessed, Lu Ye understood the source of it all. Where the insect race passed, no blade of grass grew; all life was extinguished.

The battlefield imprint contained a lot of information, all recently sent by Yiyi. Lu Ye continued to examine it, growing more alarmed with every detail. He hadn't imagined such a major event would occur during his two-year absence from Kyushu.

An insect tide was sweeping across the land of Kyushu! This particular insect tide was the fiercest and most terrifying in Kyushu's recorded history, both in scale and intensity. Every piece of land, every corner of Kyushu, had been invaded by the insect race. The last time the Misty Sea insect tide erupted, many sects within a ten-thousand-li radius expended considerable effort to quell it, but that tide was limited in scale and its impact wasn't significant. This time, however, the situation was entirely different. This was no longer just an insect tide; it was an insect disaster. Not only were their numbers vast, but among the diverse types of insects, many comparable to cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm had appeared.

The insect disaster had erupted two years ago, almost precisely when Lu Ye had left Kyushu. It originated from a massive earthquake that swept across Kyushu. The entire world was in turmoil. Deep, bottomless fissures appeared across Kyushu, and then, overnight, Kyushu became a paradise for the insect race.

Affected by the insect disaster, conflicts between the two major factions, the Haotian Alliance and Myriad Devil Ridge, had largely subsided. Now, almost all cultivators were focused on fighting the insects. Cultivators understood clearly: whether Haotian Alliance or Myriad Devil Ridge, they were ultimately human. The insects, however, were an alien race. In such a crisis, internal feuds could be set aside; eliminating the alien threat was the top priority.

According to Yiyi, these insects originated from deep underground. They had been hidden and unknown before, as cultivators wouldn't venture too deep due to the interference of geomantic magnetic fields, which suppressed spiritual power more severely the deeper one went. Thus, the deep underground had always been a forbidden zone for cultivators. But after the great earthquake that swept across Kyushu, fissures appeared, and the underground insects emerged.

These insects had likely reproduced for countless years, boasting an incredibly diverse range of species and vast numbers. Despite the valiant efforts of Kyushu's cultivators over the past year, they remained inexhaustible. There was no way to eradicate the insect nests. The insect nests were hidden deep underground, extremely difficult to find. Even powerful cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm had ventured in teams, only to return defeated. The deeper they went, the greater the number of insects, and the more their cultivation was suppressed. Moreover, in such an environment, any battle would be endless; success was impossible unless they achieved victory in a single strike.

This was a catastrophe. But for Kyushu's cultivators, it was also a veritable feast. Because killing insects earned war merits. Lu Ye checked his war merits and found that he indeed had several hundred more points.

For Kyushu's cultivators, contribution points and war merits were paramount throughout their cultivation lives, especially the latter, which could be exchanged for spiritual talismans to aid their practice. Normally, there weren't many ways to acquire war merits. For provincial guards in various states, war merits were mostly distributed via monthly stipends, with fixed amounts, unless they undertook specific missions. But now, killing insects could earn war merits, which was incredibly convenient.

This led to a phenomenon: the number of cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield significantly decreased! Essentially, any Cloud River Realm cultivator with ambition and some foundation would leave the Cloud River Battlefield and return to Kyushu to kill insects. Nowadays, cultivators above the fifth layer of the Cloud River Realm were rarely seen in the Cloud River Battlefield. They had all rushed back to Kyushu. They couldn't handle the most powerful insects, but the greatest advantage of insects was their sheer numbers. While formidable insects certainly existed, they were negligible compared to the total population. So, as long as one's luck wasn't too bad, they could gain something just by looking around anywhere.

As for True Lake Realm cultivators, there's no need to mention them. Over the past two years, many cultivators in Kyushu had fallen, but those who survived had reaped immense rewards. Previously, they had to meticulously calculate their war merits to exchange for spiritual talismans for cultivation, but now that was unnecessary. If they lacked war merits, they simply went to kill insects, and after a while, they'd have plenty. Not to mention others, just take the members of the Ding Jiu Squad: over the past two years, the team's overall cultivation had significantly improved.

Two years... The timing was quite coincidental, prompting Lu Ye to make a connection. What concerned him more was that on his way back to Kyushu, he had faintly seen many insects on a certain floating landmass. However, it was just a fleeting glimpse at the time, and he couldn't be entirely sure what he saw were insects. But if they truly were insects gathered on a floating landmass, were they connected to this insect disaster?

He couldn't confirm.

The Ding Jiu Squad was indeed led by Third Senior Brother Xiao Xinghe, and they were currently stationed in a city, safeguarding its security alongside other cultivators. This was unavoidable. As the insect disaster swept across Kyushu, all sects, large and small, regardless of their strength, possessed some means of self-preservation. However, the numerous cities where mortals lived were different; they required nearby sects to dispatch personnel for defense. Some sects had good foundations and could send enough people, but others were weak and lacked available personnel, thus having to seek help from Haotian City. It was under these circumstances that the Ding Jiu Squad was dispatched. Over two years, the squad had traveled across most of Bingzhou, and their current location was the seventh city they were tasked with defending.

From the extensive information sent by Yiyi, Lu Ye generally understood the current situation in Kyushu.

"Take care of yourselves. I'll head back to Haotian City first, then come find you," Lu Ye sent a message.

"Okay, you be careful too," Yiyi replied.

On the city wall of Red River City, Yiyi ended the communication, a relieved smile gracing her face. Lu Ye is back, that's great. Around her, the members of the Ding Jiu Squad gathered, listening as Yiyi relayed Lu Ye's words. Xiao Xinghe burst into hearty laughter. "Our junior brother has returned! We should celebrate with insect blood! Everyone, come with me, let's go kill some insects!"

"Senior Brother commands, and your junior brother shall naturally follow!" Li Baxian rose to his feet.

A moment later, led by Xiao Xinghe, the squad swept out of the city, going forth to kill.

Above Liyuan, Lu Ye activated the Thousand Faces Spiritual Rune to change his appearance, altered the color of his Scarlet Dragon Battle Armor to white, put away his Pan Mountain Blade, and hung his sword gourd at his waist. In an instant, a graceful and elegant swordsman appeared. After all, this was Myriad Devil Ridge territory, and acting in his true form would be troublesome. Although he had now advanced to the Divine Sea Realm, there were many in the vast Kyushu whose strength surpassed his. He wouldn't be arrogant enough to believe he was invincible. To avoid trouble, it was naturally best to keep a low profile.

He conjured a sword light and flew forward. Along the way, he occasionally encountered scattered insects. Many of them were quite strong, and Lu Ye began to realize just how severe the insect disaster in Kyushu was. If the uninhabited Liyuan was like this, one could only imagine what populated areas would be like. After an hour of travel, he had gained several hundred war merits. This made him reflect that while the current environment in Kyushu was harsh, cultivators could acquire war merits much more easily than before. Of course, the risks were also greater. But that's how cultivation was: to gain, one had to put in effort and take risks. Many of the insects he had killed along the way were of the True Lake Realm. He hadn't encountered any Divine Sea Realm insects yet, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Just like the mosquito-like insects he first encountered: a single insect was nothing, but once they formed an insect cloud, even he had to retreat.

Suddenly, a spiritual energy fluctuation came from one direction. Lu Ye turned to look, seeing several cultivators fleeing for their lives, with a praying mantis insect hot on their heels. Cultivators encountered in such a place were naturally from Myriad Devil Ridge. In the past, Lu Ye probably wouldn't have bothered with their fates; the opposition between factions dictated that he and the Myriad Devil Ridge people would only be enemies. But his journey to the Blood Refining Realm had deeply affected him. The biggest realization was that cultivators from the two major factions could coexist peacefully and unite for a common goal.

In the Blood Refining Realm, he had received favors from many senior cultivators, half of whom were from Myriad Devil Ridge. Of course, this was related to the unique circumstances of the Blood Refining Realm and the mindsets of those senior cultivators. At their level, many old grievances from their youth could be dismissed with a laugh. Before his departure, many senior cultivators had given him their respective tokens. They ostensibly said that if any of their disciples or grand-disciples tried to bully him, he should show them the token. But from another perspective, those seniors were subtly implying that Lu Ye should lend a hand if their own disciples or grand-disciples encountered danger. Some things simply couldn't be said directly. They had witnessed Lu Ye's capabilities and knew that given enough time, he would undoubtedly reach their level, or even surpass it. When that time truly came, who in Kyushu would be his match? Each of those distinct tokens represented trust, and also an unspoken entrustment.

The journey to the Blood Refining Realm had brought about a subtle change in Lu Ye's mindset. Previously, upon seeing cultivators from Myriad Devil Ridge, his first thought would be how to kill them. Now, that was no longer the case. Who knew if any of those Myriad Devil Ridge cultivators were descendants of those senior cultivators, even if the chances were small.