Chapter 1120: No Retreat, Only Advance

As Lu Ye made his move, he immediately drew the attention of many Divine Travel Realm cultivators. Soon, several silently followed him.

More and more people joined.

Those Divine Travel Realm cultivators who preferred to wait and observe did not stop them. While they could express their opinions and stick to their own judgments, they would not rashly interfere with others' actions – this was a principle of their conduct.

Lu Ye paid no attention to those following him; for him, it made no difference even if he were truly alone.

After rushing into the insect nest, he immediately found a passage and swept downwards.

As soon as he entered the nest, he noticed some unsettling differences. This insect nest was fundamentally unlike any he had encountered before.

Previous insect nests he had seen contained simple tunnels, pathways carved by insects underground for easy access.

However, the tunnels here were encased in a layer of flesh walls. Such walls were typically found only in the deepest core of an insect nest, not in the tunnels themselves. The presence of flesh walls throughout the tunnels of this particular nest seemed unusual.

As he surged forward, he drew his Panshan Saber, dragging it along. Its sharp blade cut through the flesh wall, immediately releasing a foul, pungent smell.

Lu Ye checked his Talent Tree, finding no abnormalities, which indicated the smell was merely unpleasant and not toxic.

Nothing else flowed out from the flesh walls; they appeared to be no different from the flesh walls Lu Ye had previously encountered in the cores of other insect nests.

He continued to delve deeper, followed by a large number of cultivators.

Along the way, there were no traces of battle, nor did they encounter any insects.

This was another distinction from other insect nests. In others, one had to fight their way through to delve deeper, but here, the path was unobstructed.

Yet, an uneasy feeling settled in Lu Ye's heart.

After all, if things were truly this smooth, the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators would have resolved the issue long ago.

Lu Ye still didn't know what kind of enemy they had truly encountered.

After only a few dozen breaths of travel, a sudden change occurred.

The surrounding flesh walls suddenly began to writhe rapidly, then swelled and proliferated, filling the entire tunnel completely in the blink of an eye.

Lu Ye felt as though he was instantly enveloped within a mass of putrid flesh. The foul smell filled his nostrils, and a soft, viscous sensation pressed in from all sides.

Cries of alarm erupted.

Not only was he encased by the flesh walls, but the cultivators who had been steadily following him deeper into the nest experienced the same fate.

Instantly, chaotic spiritual energy surged erratically as everyone scrambled to use their abilities to break free from the flesh walls' confinement.

Lu Ye struggled to draw his saber. As spiritual energy surged, he unleashed the third form of the Overlord Saber, "Lotus Sun."

Dazzling light bloomed, and an incomparably sharp saber aura burst forth like a blossoming lotus, cutting through the void with Lu Ye at its center.

The sensation of being bound vanished instantly as a huge hole was cleared in the flesh walls that had enveloped him.

However, no sooner had he broken free than the cleared hole was immediately refilled by the writhing flesh walls, and the sensation of being squeezed and confined returned.

The binding force was immense, feeling as though he was gripped in a giant fist, making even breathing difficult.

Such a powerful binding would likely cause cultivators below the Divine Travel Realm to explode instantly. Even Divine Travel Realm cultivators with weaker cultivation or insufficient physical strength would be in trouble.

Lu Ye felt several life forces wither behind him, accompanied by a few short, desperate screams.

Some had already met unfortunate ends.

This was truly a failure before even embarking; they had intended to assist the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators who were engaged in fierce battle, yet losses had already occurred right after entering the insect nest.

Lu Ye was temporarily safe, but he could clearly sense the binding force around him growing stronger. If he didn't find a way to escape the flesh walls' grasp, he would eventually be unable to withstand it.

In fact, summoning his Dragon Seat would be the best response to such a crisis, but at that moment, he was entirely encased by the flesh walls, leaving no space to summon it. Moreover, the tunnels beneath the insect nest were not wide, making it difficult to fully utilize the Dragon Seat even if summoned.

"Retreat! Get out quickly!" someone shouted from behind.

After only a brief encounter, everyone realized the seriousness of the situation. While destroying the flesh walls surrounding them wasn't too difficult—after all, they were all Divine Travel Realm cultivators with potent abilities—the crucial issue was its incredibly rapid regeneration. Even if destroyed, it would instantly regrow and re-encase them. In such a situation, let alone delving deeper into the nest for reinforcement, even self-preservation would become problematic over time.

Therefore, to survive, their only option was to retreat quickly.

Lu Ye did not retreat; instead, he pushed forward. However, even the power of the Overlord Saber's third form only bought him a single breath of time. After that, he would be enveloped by the flesh walls once more.

At this moment, a question formed in his mind: had the Sect Master and the others encountered this when they delved deeper?

Probably not, otherwise they would have sent a message to those outside. The fact that the Sect Master and his group hadn't faced such an attack when they arrived, yet Lu Ye and his companions did, suggested that this differential treatment wasn't merely the nest's instinct but rather an awareness controlling it.

This awareness clearly didn't want anyone else to interfere, hence its attempt to make the newcomers retreat in the face of difficulty.

This was also why Lu Ye pushed forward instead of retreating. Regardless of what that awareness was, if it wanted him to retreat, he would deliberately advance. Only by acting contrary to its will at this moment would there be a chance of success.

However, one thing was fortunate: the flesh walls reacted before the supporting cultivators had delved too far.

If they had been allowed to penetrate to a certain depth, there might not have been any room to retreat, leading to severe casualties.

Was that awareness benevolent? Clearly not. There was only one explanation for this situation.

The awareness didn't dare to bind too many cultivators with the flesh walls, which was why it launched the attack not long after the supporting cultivators had entered.

Why would that be?

Lu Ye believed that understanding this question would greatly aid their subsequent actions.

He spread out his divine sense, observing his surroundings, while continuously swinging his saber, struggling forward.

In this continuous struggle against the flesh walls, Lu Ye discovered something: the flow of vitality.

Cultivators are generally quite sensitive to vitality, but Lu Ye's perception was far more acute than that of ordinary cultivators, especially after refining a drop of Saint Blood in the Blood Refinement World's Blood River and inheriting the Blood Clan's legacy. This was because many of the Blood Clan's blood arts, particularly Blood Refinement Art, were primarily based on one's own vitality.

The flesh walls, once destroyed, could rapidly regenerate, clearly indicating a replenishment of vitality. In other words, his continuous destruction of the flesh walls was depleting the vitality stored within the insect nest.

A realization dawned on him. No wonder that awareness didn't want too many cultivators to delve deeper: every instance of a cultivator destroying the flesh walls consumed vitality.

The Sect Master and his group were fighting an unknown enemy deep within the insect nest, and they were certainly causing significant damage to the flesh walls, which also required vitality for replenishment.

The awareness that had trapped the most elite group in Kyushu likely relied on an immense and inexhaustible supply of vitality. Therefore, it was unwilling to waste vitality on other cultivators, leading it to make them retreat in the face of difficulty.

Lu Ye vaguely felt he had grasped a crucial point. Vitality, perhaps, was the deciding factor in this battle! As he struggled forward through the insect nest's tunnels, outside the nest, many cultivators gathered, several with lingering fear on their faces.

In all their years of cultivation, none had ever encountered such a bizarre situation. Just moments ago, had they not retreated quickly, they might have been completely annihilated.

Even so, several individuals had perished in the tunnel. "Is everyone out?" someone asked.

"Someone is still inside." The situation was clear, as fluctuations of spiritual energy emanated from within.

Everyone glanced around and immediately understood who was still in the tunnel.

Lu Yiye of the Jadeblood Sect! The quick conclusion was naturally because Lu Ye had been the one leading the charge, leaving a strong impression. All who were still alive had retreated, but he was nowhere to be seen.

His location was now obvious.

"He... doesn't want to come out." From their perceptions, they sensed no intention of retreat from Lu Ye; instead, he was slowly pushing forward.

His bold and skillful actions inevitably inspired awe.

However, such reckless behavior clearly wouldn't end well. Furthermore, even if he truly succeeded, how much assistance could he provide to the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators by himself?

For a time, everyone was filled with worry and frustration. They had originally intended to delve deeper into the insect nest to provide support, but now it was impossible, which was truly embarrassing.

Inside the insect nest tunnel, Lu Ye stopped his actions. This approach wouldn't work. He didn't know how deep the Sect Master and his group were, and at his current speed, he wouldn't reach them anytime soon. Moreover, this constant exertion was consuming a vast amount of his spiritual energy; he might collapse from exhaustion before even arriving.

He needed to find another way.

The moment he stopped, the surrounding flesh walls quickly enveloped him, seemingly poised to swallow him whole.

Lu Ye's resolve hardened. "Let's see who can devour whom," he thought. If his previous deduction was correct, then even if he didn't rush to the battle where the Sect Master and others were, he could still play a vital role.

Allowing the flesh walls to enclose and bind him, he activated the power of his Talent Tree.

Instantly, countless invisible root-like tendrils spread from his body, burrowing into the flesh walls.

At that moment, Lu Ye's eyes snapped open. He clearly sensed the incredibly vast and surging vitality contained within the flesh walls.

Looking at Kyushu today, the most vigorously potent individuals in terms of vitality were undoubtedly the Ninth-Layer Realm body cultivators, such as the Sect Master.

Yet, even the vitality within the Sect Master could not compare to what Lu Ye was sensing now; there was absolutely no comparison between them.

Not only was it vast, but this vitality also gave off an unusual sensation, seeming to be a presence beyond Lu Ye's comprehension, a being superior to the Divine Travel Realm!