Chapter 223: Misfortune Diverted Eastward

The strength of insectoids can generally be gauged by their size. Fist-sized insectoids pose no threat to cultivators, while those the size of a washbasin are roughly equivalent to cultivators of the second or third cultivation layer. Human-sized ones, however, require careful handling, as they are likely sixth or seventh-layer insectoids.

Half a day after Lu Ye ordered his disciples to retreat, the valley below was swarming with insectoids, including many human-sized ones. The cultivators were secretly alarmed and all felt fortunate they hadn't ventured deeper into the wormhole earlier. The average strength of the insectoids here was significantly higher than those near the Crimson Blood Sect. If they had rashly delved into the wormhole before, there would undoubtedly have been heavy casualties.

This was merely the situation in the insect valley; the conditions within the insect nest would certainly be more severe. There would undoubtedly be numerous eighth-layer insectoids, and possibly even ninth-layer insectoids emerging.

Lu Ye gave Hua Ci a few instructions, summoned Amber, and mounted the tiger's back. Under the gaze of the many cultivators, he rode Amber, thundering towards the valley. When the distance was sufficient, he raised his hand and unleashed a Fire Phoenix Art, which blasted into the insectoid swarm. Spiritual energy exploded, causing several insectoids to tumble from the impact.

Insectoids are highly sensitive to spiritual energy fluctuations. So after Lu Ye cast a spell, a large number of insectoids immediately swarmed towards him. The dense, rustling sounds of their crawling were enough to make one's scalp tingle. Amber roared, carrying Lu Ye in circles around the insect valley. As Lu Ye cast spell after spell, the number of insectoids following him grew. Some spider-like insectoids even spat webs at them.

Overlooking from the peak, the cultivators of the Crimson Blood Sect were all worried for Lu Ye. From their perspective, Lu Ye, riding Amber, had single-handedly charged down, provoking countless insectoids, leading to a massive pursuit. No one knew why Lu Ye was doing this.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Lu Ye had circled the valley, and most of the insectoids in the valley had been alerted. They chased him relentlessly, while those who hadn't joined the pursuit were also stirring. Insectoids share a peculiar sense of connection. This allows them to communicate in a unique way within a certain range, intelligible only to other insectoids. Therefore, generally, provoking one insectoid is akin to provoking a whole group. If one provokes a group, it essentially means provoking all the insectoids.

Countless insectoids crawled in pursuit, led by Lu Ye northward. Yet the valley did not become empty despite the swarm's departure, as insectoids continuously emerged from the wormhole, joining the pursuing ranks. From high above, a long, serpentine line of insectoids stretched behind Lu Ye, directly connected to the wormhole's location.

"It really works," Hua Ci murmured, momentarily stunned. When Lu Ye had told her about his plan earlier, Hua Ci had felt it was unreliable. Insectoids lacked reason and only acted on instinct. But now it seemed that their very lack of reason made them easier to control.

She composed herself, and, following Lu Ye's prior instructions, led hundreds of Crimson Blood Sect cultivators northward as well. Ten li from this location lay the Heavenly Fiend Hall's encampment!

Inside the encampment, Deputy Guardian Cheng Bo and the Heavenly Fiend Hall cultivators who remained behind were still immersed in an atmosphere of grief and rage. No one knew that a disaster was thundering closer to them, and this disaster was precisely the "grand gift" sent by Lu Yiye, whom Cheng Bo had been obsessing over. At this very moment, Cheng Bo was using his sect's communication token to report the situation at the encampment to its high-ranking members. Upon learning that the losses here were so heavy, an elder immediately vomited blood and collapsed.

The losses were too great. Nearly five hundred cultivators had been annihilated in the wormhole, something that had never happened before. Just as the more than one hundred Heavenly Fiend Hall cultivators who remained were consumed by grief, a loud boom suddenly echoed, followed by the commotion of spiritual energy disruptions.

Cheng Bo abruptly looked up. He was startled for a moment, then quickly reacted, bursting into furious rage: "How dare you!" Someone was attacking the encampment's protective formation. Filled with grief and indignation, although the Heavenly Fiend Hall was only a Rank 8 sect, it had been established for decades. For all these years, it had never suffered such great humiliation. Now, just after hundreds of cultivators in their encampment had died, someone was coming to attack their grand formation. Did they truly think the Heavenly Fiend Hall was a soft persimmon to be easily squeezed?

He flashed out, followed by a large group of cultivators with sorrowful and indignant expressions. Looking up, they immediately saw a figure flying in the sky, a pair of fiery red spiritual energy wings flapping behind its back.

"Who goes there?" Cheng Bo roared. His shout seemed to startle the approaching figure. The fiery red wings flapped once, and it swiftly moved away, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"This is too much!" Cheng Bo was beside himself with rage, not quite understanding what the person's intention was.

"S-Senior Brother!" a cultivator behind him suddenly stammered, his voice trembling, and with a terrified expression, pointed forward: "Insectoids! An insect tide!"

Cheng Bo also noticed something was wrong then. Within his vision, a massive number of insectoids were swarming towards them. These insectoids were densely packed, forming a long, serpentine line, winding their way from the direction of the insect valley, stretching as far as the eye could see. Cheng Bo's face instantly turned pale, finally realizing what had truly happened.

Insectoids couldn't possibly reach the encampment this quickly. Normally, an insect tide would radiate outward from the insect valley, spreading in all directions. For insectoids without intelligence, their actions had no specific purpose. They would simply devour all life and energy encountered along the way. But what if someone had deliberately led them here?

"Those scoundrels from the Crimson Blood Sect!" Cheng Bo's chest burned with unventable fury. The feeling was utterly terrible. Even if cultivators from the Crimson Blood Sect had genuinely come to attack their encampment, Cheng Bo would not have been this enraged. As members of opposing factions, it was natural and proper for them to fight each other. But what had those Crimson Blood Sect scoundrels done? They first ambushed the wormhole entrance, causing hundreds of disciples, led by Guardian He Meng, to be completely annihilated. Then, to top it off, they actually led an insect tide to their encampment! Was this something a human being would do?

In all his years of cultivation, Cheng Bo had never encountered anyone with such malicious intent. Such people probably had black hearts and livers.

"Senior Brother, what do we do?" The Heavenly Fiend Hall cultivators were panicked. The person who had just attacked the grand formation had left, but the insectoids had not. They were now swarming outside the formation, gnawing at its flowing spiritual energy. For the insectoids, the protective formation's surging spiritual energy was extremely attractive. For now, they were safe, as not too many insectoids had arrived. But just by looking at the endlessly stretching serpentine line, they knew that with time, more and more insectoids would arrive.

"Guardians of the formation, fully activate the protective formation's power! Everyone else, follow me to kill the enemy!" Cheng Bo immediately issued the command.

Protective formations were kept active continuously. Because spiritual energy was abundant in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, formations typically deployed at encampments could draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth to sustain their operation, requiring no additional consumption. Better protective formations could even store excess spiritual energy for later use. Under normal conditions, protective formations maintained minimal energy consumption. Only when under attack would they be fully activated, at which point they would consume some spirit stones.

Many sect encampments had more than one set of protective formations. Wealthier sects would deploy several, linked in a chain, so if one formation was breached, the next would take effect. However, sects in the outer ring typically only had one such formation. This was because formations capable of enveloping an entire encampment were very costly, and outer ring sects lacked the financial resources for more. Furthermore, deploying too many would be pointless. Cultivators in the outer ring generally had lower cultivation levels, so it was rare for a sect encampment to be breached. The reason the Mystical Sect's attack on the Nine Star Sect's encampment caused such a sensation and spread for thousands of li last time was precisely because such incidents were uncommon.

At this very moment, the Heavenly Fiend Hall encampment faced an unprecedented crisis. What was attacking the encampment was not cultivators, but an insect tide, something that had never occurred before. Even if only about one hundred cultivators remained in the sect, Cheng Bo could not abandon the encampment. This was his responsibility as a Deputy Guardian: life could be lost, but the encampment must not be!

Clear and precise orders were given. The power of the protective formation was activated. Just as Cheng Bo prepared to lead the remaining disciples to fight the enemy, disordered spiritual energy fluctuations suddenly emanated from the rear of the encampment. Cheng Bo was startled. He hastily ordered the disciples to continue fighting here, while he took a few others to investigate.

Soon after, several Heavenly Fiend Hall cultivators, led by Cheng Bo, stared ahead with faces full of dread. Outside the protective formation, there was a dense swarm of figures. No one knew where they had come from. These individuals were frantically attacking the protective formation with spells and spiritual artifacts, causing ripples to spread across the formation's light barrier.

With an insect tide attacking from the front, and hundreds of cultivators assaulting from the rear, Cheng Bo felt utter darkness before his eyes and nearly fainted on the spot. His body swayed, and he was steadied by a junior disciple beside him. He abruptly waved his hand and roared, "Lu Yiye, get out here!"

Although he didn't recognize any of the cultivators on this side, he could still conclude that these people must be from the Crimson Blood Sect! The insect tide had just been led here, and immediately hundreds of cultivators began their attack. If one claimed this wasn't premeditated, who would believe it? Only now did he understand that he had underestimated the ruthlessness of the Crimson Blood Sect. The annihilation of their hundreds of cultivators, trapped in the wormhole, had not satisfied the Crimson Blood Sect. They intended to seize the encampment, as capturing an encampment was an irresistible temptation for any sect.

The encampment would likely not be held. Cheng Bo clearly realized this. If he were to face the insect tide or the Crimson Blood Sect's attack individually, he might still find a way. But being caught in a pincer attack like this was unbearable for anyone. Darkness before his eyes, darkness stretching into the future...

"Crimson Blood Sect, aren't you afraid of divine retribution for kicking someone when they're down like this?" a Heavenly Fiend Hall cultivator roared in grief and indignation.

Immediately, a Crimson Blood Sect cultivator retorted, "Why didn't you talk about divine retribution when you were bullying us before? You, the one who just spoke, stand still right there. Once the formation breaks, I'll give you a quick end!"