Chapter 1123: Leading Everything

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

The attacks of the Insectoid Royal Guards became noticeably more ferocious, swarming from all directions towards this area, yet they were all blocked and slaughtered by the various ninth-level cultivators who unleashed their techniques. Each time an Insectoid Royal Guard fell, a new one was hatched, swiftly joining the battle, creating an incessant and unending offensive.

In just a short moment, several people were injured, and the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse. Originally, these ninth-level cultivators, though mostly fighting independently, were highly mobile and flexible. They would engage if they could win, and retreat if they couldn't, so dealing with varying numbers of Insectoid Royal Guards wasn't too difficult. Their primary pressure stemmed from the Insect Mother's soul attacks.

Now, however, the situation was different. Lu Ye was about to unleash a technique that even the Insect Mother feared, compelling them to protect his safety. This effectively transformed their mobile warfare into a positional battle. Furthermore, the Insectoid Royal Guards were utterly fearless, which inevitably put pressure on the ninth-level cultivators. Fortunately, these were all seasoned cultivators who quickly formed intricate cooperative strategies, though such a state clearly couldn't last.

Lu Ye keenly noticed this and swiftly retrieved an item from his storage space. With a flick of his hand, it instantly shattered. A vast mist, surging with spiritual energy, spread out, enveloping all the surrounding ninth-level cultivators. Someone took a deep breath and immediately felt invigorated, as the fatigue from the Insect Mother's repeated soul attacks vanished, leaving their faces glowing with renewed vitality.

"Soul Cleansing Water!" They were all discerning, and someone quickly realized what the mist inhaled into their lungs truly was. It was, in fact, transformed Soul Cleansing Water.

"Good lad, you're willing to bring out such a treasure! This old man will risk his life today to ensure your survival!" Long Bai roared, and his attacks suddenly intensified. Not only his, but the techniques of the other ninth-level cultivators also became increasingly sharp. Soul fatigue could indeed impact the exertion of strength, making the timely replenishment from the Soul Cleansing Water mist invaluable. They were secretly astonished: the bottle Lu Ye had just produced contained at least dozens of drops of this priceless treasure, yet he had used it without the slightest hesitation or reluctance. This single act alone significantly increased the goodwill of many Myriad Devil Ridge cultivators towards Lu Ye, and they protected his safety with even greater dedication.

With the protection of the surrounding ninth-level cultivators, Lu Ye steadfastly guarded his mind and fully activated the power of his Talent Tree. Numerous roots plunged into the flesh wall, frantically devouring the immense vitality within it. The Insect Mother's reaction grew increasingly frenzied; it clearly felt threatened. Several times it tried to charge over, but it was blocked by the combined efforts of over a dozen ninth-level cultivators. It shrieked incessantly, unleashing soul attacks one after another. Yet, even the Insect Mother could not maintain such soul attacks for long. After repeated failures, it could only put up a desperate struggle.

The scales of victory seemed to be tipping towards the human cultivators, but everyone knew that the true life-and-death struggle had only just begun. What was certain now was that Lu Ye's method posed a significant threat to the Insect Mother. Yet, to this point, no one understood what mysterious technique he was employing; he simply seemed to be standing there... If this situation could be maintained, humanity would surely win! But the critical question was how long the human side could endure.

While the consumption of soul power had been replenished by Lu Ye's recent action, the expended spiritual energy and physical strength could not be easily restored. In such an intense battle, even the ninth-level cultivators found themselves unable to conserve their strength, as they continuously faced reckless charges from countless Insectoid Royal Guards. If Lu Ye failed to drain the Insect Mother's foundation before their defensive line was breached by the Insectoid Royal Guards, an utterly tragic fate would surely await everyone!

Lu Ye keenly noticed this as well. He needed to find a way, at least to give the ninth-level cultivators a moment to breathe. Just then, Long Bai suddenly frowned, turning to Lu Ye: "Lad, be careful. You look like you're about to burst. Don't push yourself!"

His vitality, at this moment, was fluctuating wildly, becoming extremely surging and unstable... There was nothing he could do about it; the Talent Tree had absorbed too much of the Insect Mother's vitality. Though it was refined by the Talent Tree's burning and tempering into Lu Ye's own foundation, it was also, correspondingly, increasing his vitality strength, making him feel like a balloon about to burst. Lu Ye was the key to breaking the stalemate, and Long Bai couldn't help but worry about his situation. By this point, he had discerned a bit of the truth: though he still didn't know the precise mysterious technique Lu Ye was using, it clearly had the effect of stealing the enemy's vitality. Otherwise, it made no sense for Lu Ye, a mere fourth-level cultivator, to have his vitality swell to such an extent.

"Then let it burst!" Lu Ye casually replied.

As soon as he spoke of bursting, a thick blood mist abruptly permeated from his body's surface, as if blood was gushing out from within. In a blink, it spread out, transforming into a continuously flowing river of blood. The group of ninth-level cultivators felt their hearts turn cold... They had finally seen a glimmer of hope, only for its source to suddenly burst open. What were they to do?

But soon, everyone realized that Lu Ye was not dead; the river of blood formed from the bursting mist was merely the manifestation of a secret technique. At this moment, everyone was enveloped within this river of blood. They couldn't see their own hands; their vision was a flowing expanse of crimson, and the sensation around them was extremely viscous. When they extended their divine sense, it seemed to be obstructed. This secret technique... how truly profound!

"Lu Ye, are you alright?" someone called out, uneasy.

"I'm fine, seniors, continue to slay the enemy with confidence," Lu Ye's voice echoed from all directions within the blood river. For a moment, no one could pinpoint his true location, increasing their astonishment at the enigmatic nature of this secret technique. The Blood River Art of the Blood Race was inherently both offensive and defensive, a profound secret technique that represented the culmination of blood arts. Within this Blood River, Lu Ye could gain an absolute home-ground advantage.

His original intention was to activate the Blood River Art to create a suitable combat environment for his allies and simultaneously alleviate the pressure from his expanding vitality. However, after activating it, he discovered an unexpected benefit: it made it even more convenient to unleash the power of the Talent Tree. Originally, when he activated the Talent Tree's power, he could only draw vitality from the immediate area where he stood. But after the Blood River Art spread out, the Talent Tree's roots could extend to any location enveloped by the blood river. This meant the range from which the Talent Tree could draw vitality became much wider, and the change was far from insignificant! If the previous absorption was like a continuous stream, then the current absorption was like a mighty river, surging boundlessly.

The Insect Mother keenly sensed the change on this side. After all, all the absorbed vitality originated from it. Previously, Lu Ye was like a mere mosquito biting and drawing blood; while there were losses, inflicting fundamental damage would have required a vast accumulation of time. Now, however, it was different. Lu Ye, that mosquito, had cut a large gash into its body, and blood was gushing out rapidly. It was precisely from this moment that the Insect Mother displayed panic for the first time.

The dozen or so ninth-level cultivators battling it quickly noticed this change, and their attacks became even more ferocious and violent. Under the Insect Mother's command, numerous Insectoid Royal Guards also intensified their attacks. But at this moment, they were all within the Blood River, where it was difficult for them to maneuver and locate the enemy. In contrast, the ninth-level cultivators, guided by Lu Ye's secret guidance, could precisely pinpoint their next target. They would launch an assault, kill in one strike, and immediately withdraw to find the next target. Lu Ye's activated Blood River Art effectively became the most advantageous battleground for the human cultivators against the Insectoid Royal Guards. Although the Royal Guards' vision, and even their divine sense, were similarly affected, Lu Ye served as their eyes and their divine sense.

Within the battlefield, Lu Ye dominated everything. Previously, when ninth-level cultivators killed Insectoid Royal Guards, they also had to find ways to destroy the corpses. If the Royal Guards' bodies fell onto the flesh wall, they would be swiftly enveloped and absorbed, which ran contrary to the cultivators' original intention of depleting the Insect Mother's vitality. Only by completely destroying the corpses of the slain Insectoid Royal Guards could the Insect Mother's power to hatch them be considered truly consumed. Cultivators with fire-attribute spiritual energy found this task easiest; a single blaze would incinerate them thoroughly. Cultivators of other attributes lacked such convenient methods and generally had to store the Insectoid Royal Guards' corpses in their storage bags. However, in the heat of battle, they often didn't have the opportunity to do so, leaving the corpses to fall onto the flesh wall. Now, however, such trouble was unnecessary, as any deceased Insectoid Royal Guards falling into the Blood River would quickly dissolve completely.

As early as the Talent Tree's first transformation, Lu Ye had discovered he could strengthen himself by absorbing power from other cultivators. However, this method felt tantamount to cannibalism, which Lu Ye found psychologically unacceptable. Furthermore, he primarily cultivated using golden spiritual talismans, negating any need to absorb spiritual energy from other cultivators... He didn't expect to be unable to avoid such a situation after all. While cannibalism was out of the question, consuming insects was barely acceptable. Truth be told, some insectoids actually tasted quite good, especially given the current food shortages in Kyushu. Many cultivators, after slaying insectoids, would often take the edible parts for a meal. When Lu Ye was stationed at Jinglan Lake Pass, he had indeed done such things with his soldiers.

Within the battlefield, the Insect Mother's shrieks grew increasingly urgent; it had already sensed something was amiss. Only now did it realize what a grave mistake it had been to lure Lu Ye to this battlefield. Its original intention was to use the Insectoid Royal Guards to eliminate Lu Ye, which was a sound strategy given its inability to directly stop his intrusion. However, it severely underestimated Lu Ye's own strength and failed to kill him immediately. This, in turn, led to all the subsequent developments. Ultimately, Lu Ye's fourth-level cultivation proved too deceptive. Even human cultivators in Kyushu would suffer losses without knowing Lu Ye's true capabilities, let alone an insectoid.