Chapter 1223: Opening Eyes

"Let's go," Yu Yaorao called out. The insect lair in the Elf Tree Realm was destroyed, and all that remained was to finish up. They just needed to hunt down the scattered insectoids within the tree realm, and then both of them would have passed this trial.

Overall, it had gone smoothly. This was to be expected. The trials set by the Cycle Tree Realm for the prodigies of various domains were never excessively difficult; they were generally within the prodigies' capabilities to resolve. As long as they didn't act recklessly, most prodigies could pass their trials. Of course, there were always unlucky ones or those who encountered accidents, but they were ultimately a minority.

Strictly speaking, these trials were actually a form of assistance. When the various clans and tribes in different tree realms encountered difficult situations, they would send requests to the Cycle Tree, which would then arrange for prodigies to intervene. It was a form of help, and naturally, the Cycle Tree would not make unreasonable demands.

Yu Yaorao had already turned and was heading outside, with Lu Ye following close behind. But after only a moment, she suddenly turned her head, astonished. "Junior Brother Lu, what are you doing?"

Lu Ye's voice replied, "Please take care of the cleanup, Senior Sister. I'm going to the other side to broaden my horizons." As he finished speaking, he stepped into the vortex, and his figure quickly vanished.

Yu Yaorao gritted her teeth. "Madman!" She never imagined this soldier cultivator would be so insane, daring to trespass into the Insect Tree Realm! Even though she had witnessed his recklessness before, she never expected him to make such a choice.

The soldier cultivator was gone, leaving her with two paths: either follow him across and cooperate in killing the insectoids, or ignore his fate and continue her cleanup work. Yu Yaorao was confident in her strength, but not to the point of arrogance; this was the caution expected of a spell cultivator, unrelated to her personality. The adults had been making swift progress on this side of the realm because they knew themselves and their enemies, but as for the Insect Tree Realm, no one knew what the situation was like there.

It was certain that the Insect Tree Realm had never been attacked. After so many years of accumulation and development, the insectoids there undoubtedly possessed a power incomparable to those here. Moreover, if one couldn't win here, they could escape back to the elf's sanctuary. In the Insect Tree Realm, however, a lost battle meant certain death. Yu Yaorao didn't believe the soldier cultivator hadn't considered this, yet even so, he still wanted to "broaden his horizons." How dare he?

She instinctively wanted to follow the soldier cultivator's lead, but her own caution told her this was not a wise choice. Just as she had told Lu Ye earlier, their trial was only within the Elf Tree Realm; interfering with the Insect Tree Realm was not their concern! For a moment, she was undecided, but finally, she sighed and turned to head outside. She and the soldier cultivator had only met by chance and had become temporary allies under the Cycle Tree's arrangement. Within the Elf Tree Realm, they could help each other, and she didn't mind contributing when she could. But if the soldier cultivator insisted on risking his life, she couldn't offer any further assistance. Their relationship wasn't that close.

On Yu Yaorao's shoulder, Huang Tongtong turned to look at the spot where Lu Ye had vanished, her expression unreadable. Over the years, many guests had visited the Elf Tree Realm. Although they came from different races, each of them was powerful, and almost all could secure a period of peace for the Elf Tree Realm. However, it was ultimately a temporary solution, not a permanent cure. As long as the passage between the Insect Tree Realm and the Elf Tree Realm remained, the insectoids would return within fifteen to twenty years.

No one had ever dared to step into the tree realm passage like that human, to fight their way into the Insect Race domain on the other side! Because this was not part of the trials for the guests who came here. That human soldier cultivator was the first! Huang Tongtong didn't know what his ultimate fate would be, but she knew that Lüyīngyīng was surely terrified.

At this moment, Lu Ye had arrived in the Insect Tree Realm. The teleportation through the tree realm passage was instantaneous; when Lu Ye stepped into the vortex, it felt like breaking through a thin membrane. Lüyīngyīng wasn't terrified; she was merely stunned. She turned her head, staring blankly at Lu Ye, stammering, "You, you, you..." She stammered for a long time, unable to complete a sentence.

"Shut up, and focus on blessing me with your incantations!" Lu Ye gripped his blade, uttering a low growl.

In the end, he couldn't just stand by. If he truly lacked the ability, then so be it; the Elf Tree Realm had endured for so many years, and he wouldn't need to risk his life. But if he had the capability, seeing it and doing nothing would leave him feeling uneasy, especially when the target was the insectoids! Lu Ye had not encountered many star-spanning races so far, as his world and horizons were limited. However, if asked which he detested the most, it would undoubtedly be the insectoids. This was something that likely wouldn't change, even if he encountered more star-spanning races in the future. So, even though he knew Yu Yaorao was right, he ultimately turned and charged in. As for whether he truly had the ability to solve the problem here... he'd only know after fighting!

His appearance point was the core space of the insect lair, which was expected. Lu Ye suspected that the passage between the two tree realms was opened using the powerful life energy from the insect lair's core. How it truly operated or how it began was beyond his ability to investigate. This was the insectoids' scheme; they had clearly employed some unknown methods. In his perception, this insect lair's core space was more than ten times larger than the one in the Elf Tree Realm. In other words, the scale of the insect lair here was undoubtedly enormous. This was understandable, as it was the Insect Tree Realm, the insectoids' main stronghold.

Immediately, rustling sounds echoed, and countless large insectoids from all directions began surging towards Lu Ye. If Lu Ye were merely an ordinary human soldier cultivator, he would never have acted so rashly. While his personal strength was indeed formidable, human power had its limits. Such an abrupt intrusion into an enemy stronghold could easily lead to being overwhelmed, and even the strongest might not end well. His daring to charge in naturally meant he had something to rely on.

When a few drops of vital blood burst open, the sound of surging water echoed. A crimson expanse suddenly spread outwards from his position, turning everything blood red! The boundless crimson waves surged fiercely. The large insectoids at the forefront immediately lost their footing and were swept head over heels. The bloody light spread and diffused, filling the entire core space in just a few breaths.

Lüyīngyīng stared at this scene in astonishment, momentarily unable to tell if Lu Ye was human or of the Blood Race! The Elf Race, with their long lifespans and ancient heritage, were all well-informed. Lüyīngyīng naturally recognized at a glance that Lu Ye was performing the Blood River Art of the Blood Race! But... did the Blood River Art truly possess such a magnificent scale? In her understanding, the Blood River Art was merely a single, contained stream. Yet, what lay before her eyes was no mere blood river; it was a vast sea of blood. And this was still limited by the insect lair's space; if there were no restrictions, who knew how vast it would become. However, it was said that some humans also cultivated blood arts, and when they unleashed the power of these arts, it seemed not much different. But this was only hearsay; Lüyīngyīng had never witnessed it herself. Today, she had truly broadened her horizons!

The Blood River Art was Lu Ye's greatest reliance for forcibly entering this place. When breaking into someone else's territory, one couldn't gain any topographical advantage, but the Blood River Art could create its own. With the cover of the Blood River, he would be difficult to encircle. What followed would be simple: eradicate all the insectoid guards trapped within the Blood River and completely destroy this insect lair! There was no need to extend his divine sense; within the Blood River, every drop of blood was an extension of Lu Ye, allowing him to clearly sense the insectoids' movements. He hadn't used the Blood River Art in the Elf Tree Realm's insect lair because it wasn't necessary, and with Yu Yaorao by his side, it could easily cause misunderstandings. But here, it was different; alone, he could act without restraint!

"Crunch, crunch!" Lüyīngyīng was still astonished by the immense scale of the Blood River Art Lu Ye had unleashed when a crisp crunching sound suddenly reached her ears. She quickly turned her head to see the human soldier cultivator holding a supreme-grade spirit stone in his hand, biting into it with loud crunching sounds. Crucially, that supreme-grade spirit stone was clearly already half-eaten!

"You..." Lüyīngyīng was dumbfounded again, feeling that what she witnessed today was as unreal as a dream. Humans... can eat spirit stones? What kind of Holy Fetus is this? For Lu Ye, blood crystals and demonic cores could be eaten, so what made spirit stones any different? He popped the remaining half of the spirit stone into his mouth, quickly replenishing his depleted spiritual power. Then, he brandished his long blade. "Let's go!"

Lüyīngyīng snapped out of her daze and quickly began blessing Lu Ye with her incantations. He darted through the Blood River, instantly appearing before a large insectoid. The insectoid struggled, as the surrounding blood, under Lu Ye's control, exerted incredibly powerful binding force. While it wasn't completely immobilized, its movements were significantly hindered. The surging, bloody water also greatly restricted its perception, so it only became aware of Lu Ye's attack when his blade was already striking. It was too late to dodge or defend. The Pan Mountain Blade viciously struck its back. The hard, bony carapace couldn't withstand the blade's sharpness and was directly cut open with a foot-deep gash.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. Because the power of this strike was somewhat unexpected. The Pan Mountain Blade... seemed to have become even sharper. When the second strike fell, the large insectoid split apart, its body cleaved into two halves, spilling insectoid blood! Lu Ye's figure didn't pause, darting straight towards the next large insectoid. Again, two strikes.

A moment later, Lu Ye discovered the reason: the incantation Lüyīngyīng had blessed him with seemed to have become even more powerful! In the Elf Tree Realm's insect lair, it often took him three strikes to kill these insectoid guards, but here, he could resolve them in just two, with no need for a third!