Chapter 1111: Second Phase

At the portal, Lu Ye tucked Amber into his spirit beast pouch, then agilely moved to the back of a sacred scarab, lifting its wings to conceal himself underneath. He swiftly activated his concealment and breath-concealing spirit patterns, completing the process in one smooth motion. Immediately, he issued a command in his mind. The enslaved insectoids, linked head to tail, passed through the portal, their figures vanishing. The sacred scarab carrying Lu Ye was unremarkable, blending in with the rest of the procession.

Amidst the shifting light and shadow, the oppressive sensation of the geomagnetic field vanished. Lu Ye knew then that he had crossed the portal and entered the Great Insectoid Secret Realm. His ears were filled with the rustling of insectoids crawling and flying, and the buzzing of their moving parts. Lu Ye immediately directed his sacred scarab to fly upwards. Reaching a certain altitude, he quietly peeked out and looked down. The area in front of the portal was teeming with insectoids of various forms, a truly magnificent sight.

In such a situation, for the vanguard battalion to establish a firm foothold, they would first have to endure a massacre. But once spiritual energy fluctuations began, they would inevitably attract an endless stream of more insectoids. Bingzhou had him as a vanguard to draw the insectoids' attention using other insectoids and explosive fire spirit stones. However, the other eight provinces lacked such means. Their challenge in establishing a defensive line here would be far greater and more difficult than Bingzhou's. It would all depend on the capabilities of those powerful cultivators in the vanguard battalion.

Lu Ye mentally sensed the positions of the insectoids under his command and precisely issued different instructions to each. The insectoids then dispersed, moving in various directions deeper into the Great Insectoid Secret Realm. In just one hour, over two hundred Divine Sea Realm insectoids were spread out within a range of twenty to fifty li from the portal. Too close would be meaningless, and too far would also be ineffective. The optimal distance was between twenty and fifty li. Only then did Lu Ye send a message to the Sect Master: "Your disciple is in position!" All that remained was to wait.

The Nine Provinces Army's assembly did not take long. After all, those participating in this operation were all cultivators above the True Lake Realm, and each team had a Divine Sea Realm cultivator leading it, so efficiency was naturally high. Along the way, they only encountered scattered insectoids in the branching tunnels they traversed. Once they reached the insectoid path cleared by the vanguard battalion, they could proceed without hindrance. Within two days, the Nine Provinces Army progressively took their positions, with each provincial army now arrayed in a long line. The head of the army had already converged with the vanguard battalion in front of a certain portal, but the tail of the 'dragon' might only have advanced a few thousand zhang into the insectoid path. It wasn't that they didn't want to move further, but they were limited by the terrain; unless those at the front charged into the Great Insectoid Secret Realm, those behind could not advance.

While in hiding, Lu Ye received a message from the Sect Master. It was time to act! He immediately issued commands to the two hundred insectoids under his control. Among the swarm, a Divine Sea Realm mantis insectoid suddenly swung its mantis scythes, launching a surprise attack on a nearby companion. Under its sharp and swift strikes, many insectoids were dismembered on the spot before they could even react. However, some stronger insectoids, though struck, still survived and instinctively retaliated against the mantis insectoid. As early as his last visit to the Great Insectoid Secret Realm, Lu Ye had discovered something: the insectoids here did not coexist peacefully. Instead, conflicts were frequent, with stronger insectoids treating weaker ones as food and a means to advance. Weaker insectoids also instinctively resisted when attacked. Conversely, within the Nine Provinces, such infighting among insectoids was rarely seen, perhaps because there was something more appealing to them outside.

Elsewhere, a dog-like insectoid also began tearing at its companions. After a brief bout of killing, the scene grew intense. At the same moment, an insectoid resembling a centipede, over ten zhang long, coiled around a companion. Its mouthparts writhed, and with one bite, it tore off the companion's carapace, exposing the flesh beneath. Chaos descended unexpectedly, and in more than one location.

The internecine fighting among the insectoids inevitably triggered the explosive fire spirit stones they carried. A sudden roar erupted, accompanied by violent and chaotic spiritual energy fluctuations. To create spiritual energy fluctuations powerful enough to attract the insectoids, each of the Divine Sea Realm insectoids under Lu Ye's command carried at least one hundred explosive fire spirit stones. Larger insectoids carried even more; for instance, the centipede-like insectoid carried as many as a thousand. As soon as the power of one stone was activated, all remaining fire spirit stones would detonate in quick succession.

As pillars of flame shot skyward, it was like throwing salt into hot oil; the insectoids within a hundred-li radius instantly became agitated. Almost all insectoids that sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations became agitated in that instant, driven by instinct to converge towards the source of the fluctuations. Boom, boom, boom... Explosions echoed continuously, and pillars of fire shot into the sky. The locations of the more than two hundred Divine Sea Realm insectoids became the focal points for the gathering insectoid army. Not only were ground insectoids attracted, but those flying in the sky were drawn as well.

Some insectoids had originally been flying around Lu Ye, but now the area was completely clear. Looking up, he saw that his surroundings were empty, with only the sacred scarab he rode remaining. Even the sacred scarab, which he had imprinted with a soul-controlling divine soul, seemed somewhat attracted by the spiritual energy fluctuations. Had he not ordered it to suppress the urge, it would likely have carried him towards the nearest source of spiritual energy fluctuations. If that had happened, the consequences would have been dire. Looking down again, the previously bustling area in front of the portal was now utterly empty, devoid of a single insectoid.

The plan was executed far more smoothly than anticipated. The explosions continued. The more than two hundred Divine Sea Realm insectoids, dispersed in different locations, could not all detonate at the exact same moment. There was naturally a sequence to it, which further helped to buy time.

The void within the portal rippled slightly, and several figures burst forth almost simultaneously. Leading them were still Pang Zhen and Long Bai. Unsure of the situation on this side, they had all prepared for combat. However, upon rushing in, they saw not a single insectoid around them. The closest ones were several li away and rapidly moving further. This sudden sight left them somewhat astonished, but they immediately understood it was Lu Ye's doing. Pang Zhen couldn't help but exclaim, "Well done!" Although Lu Ye's proposal had been approved during the grand council, no one knew how effective it would truly be or to what extent. Only now did they realize that Lu Ye's proposal had an even greater impact than imagined. Among other things, with no insectoids present at the portal, the vanguard battalion could now act freely. More figures passed through the portal and entered the Great Insectoid Secret Realm. In just a few breaths, all several hundred strong cultivators of the vanguard battalion had passed through.

"Proceed according to the plan!" Long Bai commanded, and the hundreds of cultivators immediately dispersed, slowly advancing outwards in a fan formation. The ripples in the portal's void had not ceased since they began. After the vanguard battalion, the cultivators responsible for constructing the defensive line were the first to arrive in the Great Insectoid Secret Realm. Their cultivation levels varied, ranging from Divine Sea Realm to True Lake Realm. They were formation masters, and their task was to set up various grand formations in front of the portal. In this situation, the faster they completed enough formations, the more pressure they could alleviate for the vanguard battalion. This was undoubtedly a test of their proficiency in formation arts. As soon as the formation masters began setting up their arrays, spiritual energy fluctuations became chaotic. Some insectoids had already sensed these spiritual energy fluctuations and were now changing direction to rush towards them. It was foreseeable that, as time passed, more and more insectoids would arrive, eventually forming a massive insectoid tide to assault the human defense line.

Lu Ye, riding his sacred scarab, descended from the sky and joined the vanguard battalion's ranks. With the Sect Master on his left and Nian Yuexian on his right, he felt very secure. He took Amber out of his spirit beast pouch and placed him on his shoulder. Yiyi also flashed out, appearing beside the Sect Master and saying, "Master." The Sect Master glanced at Yiyi, sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations on her, and nodded with satisfaction: "Excellent!" Having not seen her for a long time, Yiyi had undoubtedly grown significantly, which pleased the Sect Master greatly. "Just stay by my side and watch me rampage!" the Sect Master declared with high spirits. Yiyi clapped her hands: "Your disciple will provide support for Master!" On the other side, Nian Yuexian also sent a message to Lu Ye: "Don't stray too far from me." Lu Ye chuckled: "Senior Sister, I'm not a child anymore, and I'm a combat cultivator!" As a combat cultivator, one should naturally wield a blade and enter battle; there's no reason to always be protected. Nian Yuexian merely curved her lips into a smile and said no more.

Although the vanguard battalion's advance was not swift, it wasn't slow either. They soon pushed forward to a position five li from the portal. This was essentially claiming territory; the area enclosed behind them would be the Bingzhou Army's defensive line. Until the defensive line was fully established, these powerful cultivators from the vanguard battalion would have to withstand the insectoid attacks, buying enough time for the main army to construct their defenses. Several hundred individuals, spread out along the edge of a five-li semicircle, were not particularly close to each other. This placed high demands on individual capability, which was why the vanguard battalion only selected cultivators at the seventh stage or higher. Any lower in cultivation, and it would be difficult to handle such a crucial task. If the defensive line were breached by insectoids, it could severely impact the forces behind.

Bingzhou's territory claiming proceeded exceptionally smoothly, without any hindrance. All of this was thanks to Lu Ye's proposal; the explosions of explosive fire spirit stones carried by the more than two hundred scattered Divine Sea Realm insectoids had drawn too much attention from other insectoids, giving Bingzhou ample time to prepare. However, the other eight provinces lacked this capability. To claim their territory, they had no choice but to slaughter all the insectoids in front of them. It could be said that at the other eight portals, the war had already begun the moment their vanguard battalions charged into the Great Insectoid Secret Realm. Their vanguard battalions had to advance while fighting, killing and claiming territory, until they had pushed out enough distance to secure their positions and create sufficient space for the arrival of the main army.