Chapter 1124: Blood River Expansion

Time passed, and the Blood River's volume expanded.

The continuous infusion of surging life force was the source of all these changes. Initially, Lu Ye simply activated the power of his Talent Tree, and the absorbed life force could be rapidly converted into his own reserves. However, once the Blood River spread out, the absorption speed sharply increased. Even the Talent Tree couldn't convert this vast energy quickly enough. The excessive life force had nowhere to go, accumulating entirely within the Blood River, allowing its volume to grow and its currents to surge.

As the Blood River's volume grew, its coverage expanded, and the speed of life force absorption accelerated. This created a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop. Even Lu Ye, as the wielder of the Blood River, was astonished by the sheer amount of life force now accumulated within it. But things had come to this point; there was no turning back, only moving forward. The highest priority now was to deal with the Brood Mother. Only by eliminating it could the extermination of the insectoids be considered complete, and only then could they think about the future.

The cultivators from the Nine Provinces finally had a moment to breathe. Thanks to the battlefield environment Lu Ye had created, they no longer had to constantly fend off the frenzied attacks of the insectoid guards. Furthermore, under Lu Ye's comprehensive oversight, everyone could get a certain degree of rest at appropriate times. Although these breaks were brief and they quickly had to rejoin the fight, it was far better than their previous situation. This greatly enhanced the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators' ability to sustain combat.

Outside the Blood River, the Brood Mother wailed and raged. By now, it had a premonition, but the battle had progressed to a point where it was powerless to turn the tide. All its fury was nothing more than the futile barking of a helpless creature.

A day later, the massive Blood River filled a tenth of the underground space, rolling and writhing like a crimson dragon. Two days later, the Blood River occupied three-tenths of the space, and the crimson dragon began to bloat. Now, the Blood River resembled a vast blood lake. After three days, the Blood River had claimed the majority of this underground domain.

The Brood Mother retreated. This was clearly its home ground, yet ironically, as the Blood River continuously expanded, it was forced to keep retreating. It knew that once it fell into that Blood River, nothing good would come of it. By the fourth day, less than twenty percent of the vast underground space remained unconsumed by the crimson tide.

The Blood River's relentless expansion greatly increased the maneuvering space for the Nine Provinces cultivators, making their situation increasingly secure. Indeed, if Lu Ye wished, he could hide any individual in a location where no insectoid guard could find them, thus making it easier for the cultivators to recuperate.

It was precisely at this moment that the Brood Mother suddenly thrashed its limbs and charged directly into the Blood River. It knew it could not delay any longer. Sooner or later, its entire territory would be filled by the Blood River, and that time would not be far off. It intended to make a desperate, all-or-nothing charge into the Blood River. If it could locate Lu Ye's whereabouts within the Blood River and kill him, it could regain the initiative in this battle.

Although the dozen or so Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators who had been locked in combat with it tried desperately to stop it, how could they? The Brood Mother feared no harm, and its immense life force allowed its injuries to heal rapidly. With such reckless abandon, it quickly plunged into the Blood River. The dozen or so cultivators followed closely, but once they entered the Blood River, they could no longer see any trace of the Brood Mother. All they saw was a crimson expanse, and even the spread of their spiritual sense was severely hindered. Fortunately, they soon received a telepathic message from Lu Ye. Their hearts settled, and they each sat down to recover. After several days of continuous arduous battle, they were physically and mentally exhausted. Even if the Brood Mother hadn't charged into the Blood River, they wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer.

Inside the Blood River, guided by Lu Ye, figures converged on the Brood Mother's location. The formidable enemy was now trapped; it was time for the final assault. Everyone felt a sense of relief and admiration. A difficult battle had taken a dramatic turn after Lu Yiye's intervention. By this point, it was clear to everyone that if Lu Yiye hadn't suddenly arrived, their group would likely have been completely annihilated.

They had initially underestimated the Brood Mother's true power, thinking they could exhaust its life force with their various methods and secure victory. But now, it seemed even if they fought to their deaths, they wouldn't have been able to truly harm the Brood Mother. Once they died here, they would likely turn into nourishment for the Brood Mother, just like the fallen insectoid guards. This was the most unbearable prospect. And if they perished, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous blow to the entire Nine Provinces cultivation world.

The crimson tide finally filled the entire underground space. At this point, the Talent Tree was absorbing life force in a comprehensive, three-dimensional manner, with a colossal amount of vitality pouring into it every moment.

During these several days of fierce fighting in the underground space, the Divine Sea Realm cultivators outside in the Nine Provinces were also devising a plan. Earlier, some of them had followed Lu Ye into the underground passage, intending to support the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators. However, they had to retreat shortly after entering due to the proliferation of flesh walls. Therefore, despite their anxiety and concern about the battle below, no one dared to venture deeper before finding a way to deal with the flesh walls. A lesson learned from past mistakes: quite a few Divine Sea Realm cultivators had tragically died due to the proliferating flesh walls earlier.

The situation changed on the fifth day after Lu Ye had delved deeper underground. The Divine Sea Realm cultivators outside discovered that the flesh walls filling the passage were rapidly shrinking and dissipating. No one knew the cause of this change, but it offered a glimmer of hope. In a desperate situation, stagnation signifies the deepest despair; any change, however slight, is a positive sign. Initially, the flesh walls shrank and dissipated slowly, but with the passage of time, their regression accelerated.

Large numbers of Divine Sea Realm cultivators hurried deeper along the underground passage. Until finally, they were blocked by a thick layer of flesh. They could clearly sense that beyond this flesh wall was the battlefield where the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators were fighting, as chaotic spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from within. What startled them even more was the presence of an incredibly vast and horrifying life force within, so potent that merely sensing it sent shivers down their spines. They naturally assumed that this immensely powerful life force belonged to the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators' opponent. Unbeknownst to them, it was the colossal Blood River that filled the entire underground space.

Those currently engaged in the final battle with the insectoids were naturally unaware of the changes in the flesh walls outside the passage. If they had known, they would have deduced that the Brood Mother was at its last gasp. Its life force was too severely depleted to maintain the existence of the flesh walls, allowing them only to enclose the final battlefield. What an ironic turn of events: its originally immense life force, its greatest reliance, had now been transformed into a means for its enemies to turn the tide.

Amidst the fierce battle, the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators noticed other changes. The insectoid guards were noticeably fewer. Previously, no matter how many they killed, new guards would continuously emerge, forcing them to immediately join another fight after finishing one. Even with the Blood River's concealment offering brief respite, the breaks were never long. But now, their rest periods grew longer, and the number of insectoid guards they killed decreased.

Then a voice rang out from within the Blood River: "Lu Yiye, what's the situation now?" It was unclear which province the speaker was from. Immediately after, Lu Ye explained: "The Brood Mother is likely nearing its end. Everyone, please redouble your efforts!" While the battling Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators had a feeling, how could Lu Ye, who was monitoring the entire battlefield, not have noticed? Due to the massive loss of life force, the Brood Mother was struggling to hatch enough insectoid guards. Even its own injuries were not recovering as swiftly as before. Previously, its recovery would instantly erase injuries, rendering it completely whole, but now it required progressively more time.

A hearty laugh echoed from somewhere within the crimson expanse: "This is the best news this old man has heard in his entire life!" After several days of arduous battle, transitioning from utter despair to impending victory, even these Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators couldn't help but feel overjoyed. It hadn't been easy. With their cultivation levels, it could be said that few in the Nine Provinces could stand against them. Yet, despite so many of them acting together, they ultimately had to rely on the miraculous secret art of a young man in his early twenties, coordinating and strategizing, spending days to wear down the Brood Mother to this extent. It was truly a monumental effort.

"Since that's the case, let's finish it in one fell swoop!" someone shouted.

Lu Ye's voice rang out again: "Seniors, please wait half an hour. Try to meditate and recover as much as possible. We've reached this point; there's no need to rush now."

"So young, yet so steady in your actions. We'll listen to you," someone responded.

Throughout the Blood River, figures stood or sat, taking out spirit pills and consuming them to recover. Others, however, couldn't rest, as the Brood Mother still needed to be contained, and though the number of insectoid guards had greatly diminished, they hadn't vanished entirely and still required handling. Nevertheless, under Lu Ye's coordination, almost everyone received a period of rest.

Half an hour quickly passed, and the final battle began. Of the more than two hundred Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators, dozens were assigned to deal with newly hatched insectoid guards, while the rest, guided by Lu Ye, converged on the Brood Mother's location. The pent-up frustration and rage of several days erupted in that instant.

The sight of so many Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators attacking together was magnificent. Dazzling secret arts were unleashed, spiritual energy surged relentlessly, and spear-lights, saber-glows, and sword-shadows swept across, churning the crimson river into turbulent torrents. In just an instant, the Brood Mother's body became tattered, and more than half of its dozen claws were broken. It shrieked and resisted, but to no avail. Flesh at its wounds writhed, attempting to mend under the influence of its remaining life force. However, its recovery speed was no longer what it once was; how could it possibly keep up with the rate at which the Ninth-Layer Realm cultivators inflicted damage?

From the moment the final battle commenced, the Brood Mother's body never remained whole again!