Chapter 1704: The Arrival of the Filthy Race

Across the vast starry expanse, countless races thrive, numbering at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, including those with low or no intelligence. Among these myriad races, two are particularly infamous: the Insectoids and the Blood Race!

This is because the Insectoids are fond of invading realms, devouring their foundational essence to further their own development. Consequently, wherever the Insectoids pass, life is almost entirely obliterated. The Blood Race's actions are no less egregious. In realms they target, the inhabitants typically become their blood slaves, their lives completely at the Blood Race's mercy. As a result, both the Insectoids and the Blood Race face a grim existence in the starry sky, essentially being targets of universal hostility.

The Blood Race's ability to disguise themselves as humans gives them a slight advantage, making their situation somewhat better. The Insectoids, however, are not so fortunate; even when adopting humanoid forms, their distinctive insectoid features remain obvious and easily identifiable.

Beyond these two dominant races, there is actually one more race universally loathed and condemned by all others. That is the Foul Race! Unlike the infamous Insectoids and Blood Race, the Foul Race is not universally known, as they rarely make appearances. However, whenever they do, they bring catastrophic destruction. For instance, the cultivators of Jade Snail have yet to identify the true nature of their invading enemy. The root cause of this uncertainty lies in the Foul Race's extreme stealth.

The Blood Race possesses five top-tier realms, each formed from a portion of the Blood Ancestor's body. While their locations are not fixed, they are generally traceable. The Insectoids are in a similar situation; several of their top-tier hives are constantly monitored by powerful entities across the starry expanse, preventing easy movement. Were it not for the considerable strength of both the Blood Race and the Insectoids, and the difficulty for other powerful races to form a united front, they would likely have been jointly eradicated long ago.

However, the foundation of the Foul Race remains unknown to anyone in this world. They often appear suddenly through wormholes, and after devastating a star system, they vanish without a trace, leaving behind only widespread desolation and cruelty. Legend has it that the Foul Race's true base is a colossal and unparalleled realm known as the Foul Lands, considered one of the top-tier realms in the starry sky. However, this remains merely a legend, unconfirmed by anyone.

Lu Ye and Ma Shangsi exchanged quiet whispers, a conversation that did not escape the notice of several Moon Realm cultivators from Jade Snail. Han Tong turned to them, asking, "Junior Brother Lu, you are well-traveled and knowledgeable. Do you know something about this?"

Currently, Jade Snail's most immediate task is to identify the enemy race and ascertain their objectives. Only then can appropriate countermeasures be devised. Without this basic information, they are bound to suffer heavy losses in any confrontation.

Lu Ye replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but Ma Shangsi informed me that the invaders who came through the wormhole are likely from the Foul Race."

"The Foul Race?" Several of Jade Snail's Moon Realm cultivators, and even Wu Zhuo, looked bewildered, clearly having never encountered the name before.

Lu Ye turned to Ma Shangsi and said, "Please elaborate."

Ma Shangsi then began to share what he knew about the Foul Race. While Han Tong considered Lu Ye knowledgeable from his years in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, he recognized that among all the Moon Realm cultivators present, Ma Shangsi possessed the most extensive experience. This individual was the strongest and had lived the longest, having once spent an unknown number of years disguised as a human in the Myriad Manifestations Sea. In terms of sheer knowledge and experience, he far surpassed Lu Ye.

After hearing about the various characteristics of the Foul Race, Qiu Wu's expression grew serious. "Fellow Daoist Ma," he inquired, "how can you be so certain that this invasion is from the Foul Race?"

Ma Shangsi replied, "It's simple: their method of invasion is virtually identical to what I've heard – they utilize a wormhole connected to a cold domain. It is said that the Foul Race controls a cosmic treasure known as the Skyfrost Mirror. With this artifact, they can randomly project Skyfrost energy to any location in the starry sky, which is likely the cold domain your realm observed earlier. While this Skyfrost energy isn't particularly harmful and can even aid certain cultivators' practice, its most significant function is to freeze and then shatter space, artificially creating a traversable wormhole!"

"A Cosmic Treasure!"

"The Skyfrost Mirror!"

The Jade Snail Moon Realm cultivators all wore expressions of shock. Despite their remote origins, they had certainly heard of cosmic treasures—artifacts forged at the very birth of the starry sky, known to be exceedingly rare across the entire expanse.

Lu Ye, however, focused on a different aspect. While he didn't possess a cosmic treasure himself, he had encountered several, so his reaction was less pronounced than that of Jade Snail's Moon Realm cultivators. "Random?" he queried. "Does that mean the Foul Race cannot precisely determine where the Skyfrost energy will be deployed?"

"That's what is claimed," Ma Shangsi affirmed with a nod.

"Damn it all!" Wu Zhuo couldn't help but exclaim, "Why are we so incredibly unlucky?"

The Jade Snail Moon Realm cultivators similarly felt an overwhelming sense of misfortune. The starry sky is so vast; how could that Skyfrost energy have appeared specifically in the Jade Snail star system? Jade Snail is a remote realm. After all the effort to produce a talent like Lu Yi Ye, who successfully opened a route to the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and just as better days seemed on the horizon, this catastrophe occurred.

Qiu Wu's expression remained grim. "As Fellow Daoist Ma explained," he said, "does that not imply the Foul Race is immensely powerful? Surely, they must possess a considerable number of Sun Realm cultivators, correct?"

Ma Shangsi nodded. "The Foul Race naturally possesses a large number of powerful cultivators, and they certainly have many Sun Realm cultivators. However, Realm Lord, you need not worry about Sun Realm cultivators attacking directly. To my knowledge, the wormhole created by the Skyfrost Mirror differs from a true wormhole; it has a specific capacity limit. Therefore, Sun Realm cultivators cannot directly pass through it to attack."

Han Tong mused, "So the wormhole is like a water pipe, and Sun Realm cultivators are too large to pass through it? If they were to force their way, they might even rupture the pipe?"

"That's roughly the case," Ma Shangsi confirmed with a nod.

Everyone exhaled slowly, feeling a measure of relief. Given Jade Snail's current strength, if a Sun Realm cultivator were to truly attack, resistance would be futile; they might as well simply surrender. Nevertheless, the situation remained far from optimistic. While Sun Realm cultivators couldn't cross, Moon Realm cultivators certainly could. Moreover, considering the sheer scale of the Foul Race, even if they didn't send a vast number of Moon Realm cultivators, just thirty to fifty would be more than enough to overwhelm the Jade Snail star system.

As if discerning their anxieties, Ma Shangsi spoke up. "The situation shouldn't be so grim," he offered. "The Foul Race is a conquering species that wages war across multiple fronts. Therefore, the battlefield they opened with the Skyfrost Mirror is certainly not limited to Jade Snail alone."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ye's eyes brightened. "So," he clarified, "even if they truly are the Foul Race, we only need to contend with a fraction of their overall power?"

"That is correct," Ma Shangsi affirmed. "Now that the wormhole has been opened, there is only one way to protect this star system: eliminate all the invading enemies and force the Foul Race to retreat when faced with insurmountable obstacles."

Despite his words, Ma Shangsi knew that accomplishing this with Jade Snail's current strength would be exceedingly difficult. He secretly resolved that if the situation turned dire, he would have to escort the Saint Venerable away, absolutely unwilling to let the Saint Venerable perish here.

Following this, Ma Shangsi shared additional intelligence he possessed about the Foul Race. The deeper their understanding of the Foul Race became, the more everyone realized the formidable challenges that lay ahead.

Throughout their journey, a continuous stream of reports arrived from the cold domain. The situation was grim. In just a few days, the cold domain was already on the verge of falling. It wasn't for lack of effort from the Jade Snail cultivators. Although they didn't fully comprehend the Foul Race's true nature, the Moon Realm cultivators stationed there clearly understood that if the cold domain couldn't be held, Jade Snail's destruction was imminent. Thus, they fought with almost every ounce of their strength.

However, the invading enemies were utterly fearless of death, and upon their demise, the foul energy within their bodies would dissipate. Now, the cold domain was saturated with this foul energy. Originally, with only a single wormhole providing access for the invaders, the Jade Snail cultivators could have held a significant strategic advantage by defending its exit. But now, the situation had completely reversed. To engage the enemy, Jade Snail cultivators now had to risk being corrupted by the foul energy. The current predicament meant Jade Snail cultivators were caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to kill or refrain from killing the enemy, leaving them severely constrained.

This was the Foul Race's most formidable characteristic: they had no regard for death, as those who perished were typically not their own race's cultivators. Moreover, these initial casualties merely served as a prelude to their ultimate conquest. According to reports from the cold domain, the enemies Jade Snail had been fighting were not the Foul Race themselves, but rather cultivators from various races enslaved by the Foul Race. The Foul Race constantly lurks in the shadows, using the Skyfrost Mirror to initiate wars. Countless star systems have been devastated, and not all inhabitants were killed. Many were instead corrupted by the foul energy, subsequently becoming slaves to the Foul Race, used to fuel their subsequent campaigns.

Therefore, the only course of action for the Jade Snail cultivators now was to pour all their efforts into dispelling or purifying the foul energy within the cold domain. However, their efforts yielded little success, as the power to counteract such energy primarily belonged to medical cultivators, who were the scarcest in number among all factions.

The starship carrying Lu Ye was already traveling at maximum speed towards the cold domain, yet even at this pace, it would still require several days to arrive.

Two days later, fresh reports arrived from the battlefield. After the Foul Race in the cold domain had amassed a significant force, no new enemies emerged. Instead, they began setting up some kind of arrangement. As time passed, Jade Snail's Moon Realm cultivators sensed that the cold domain's wormhole was beginning to stabilize. This wormhole, formed by the Skyfrost Mirror's freezing and shattering of space, differed from a natural wormhole. Initially unstable and of limited capacity, it prevented Sun Realm cultivators from directly entering; forcing passage risked its collapse, which would inevitably spell disaster for any entity attempting to cross.

However, with the Foul Race's various arrangements now in place, the wormhole was actually showing signs of stabilization! This was an ominous development, for if the wormhole became sufficiently stable, it implied that the Foul Race's Sun Realm cultivators could directly cross through it. If that were indeed the case, Jade Snail would be utterly doomed.

Upon receiving the news, everyone turned to Ma Shangsi. He shook his head, stating, "My knowledge of the Foul Race is limited to what I've already shared; I possess no further information. However, based on the previous reports, it is highly probable that all the enemy's actions are indeed aimed at enabling Sun Realm cultivators to cross."

The group of Moon Realm cultivators all felt their blood run cold.

Qiu Wu couldn't help but urge, "Faster! Move even faster!"