Chapter 225: Feng Family

Winds of Kyushu

Once the core flesh sac was ruptured and the vitality core extracted, the insect nest quickly began to wither.

“Injured personnel, clear the battlefield; everyone else, follow me!” Ding Yushu called out. He then led over four hundred cultivators under his command, proceeding out along the insect tunnel.

After exiting the insect tunnel, the cultivators immediately rushed in a specific direction.

Midway, someone noticed something was amiss. This direction was not leading back to their outpost; instead, it seemed to be heading towards the Feng family’s territory.

Immediately, someone excitedly asked, “Senior Brother Ding, are we going to attack the Feng family?”

“Attack the Feng family? That’s great! I’ve been annoyed with those curs for a long time. Last time, Senior Brother Zhang and I even fought a Feng family team and killed one of them.”

“Don’t even get me started, that young lady from the Feng family is quite beautiful. If only we could capture her to warm Senior Brother Ding’s bed… Hehehe.”

“Junior Brother, your laugh is so lewd. Also, don’t tarnish Senior Brother Ding’s reputation. You all know what kind of person that young lady from the Feng family is; how could she possibly be worthy of warming Senior Brother Ding’s bed?”

“Then she can warm my bed, I won’t mind!”

“What are you all blabbering about? Senior Brother Ding, are we really going to attack the Feng family?”

Despite having just fought a major battle against the insect swarm, which had greatly exhausted the cultivators of Wuji Pavilion, upon hearing they were to attack the Feng family, they suddenly became energetic. Clearly, there had been no shortage of skirmishes between Wuji Pavilion and Feng family cultivators on a daily basis.

In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, each sect’s outpost would typically border two to three other outposts. At least one of these neighbors would certainly be from their own faction, because if they were completely surrounded by hostile faction outposts, the cultivators of that outpost would likely not even be able to leave their gates, and would be destined to have no prospects for development.

Lu Ye possessed a detailed map that indicated the locations of various major sects’ outposts. He had observed that if the outposts of the two major factions were connected, they resembled two massive dragons intertwining in a death struggle within the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Among the three forces bordering the Feng family, besides one from Myriad Demon Ridge, the other two were the Bloodbless Sect and Wuji Pavilion.

Given the Bloodbless Sect’s past circumstances, the Feng family essentially didn’t need to pay them any mind. Therefore, they could dedicate all their energy to dealing with Wuji Pavilion.

Wuji Pavilion, however, did not have this advantage. They had to contend not only with the Feng family but also with another Myriad Demon Ridge sect. While small-scale skirmishes were common on regular days, a large-scale conflict with the Feng family would inevitably draw intervention from the other Myriad Demon Ridge force, making things extremely difficult for Wuji Pavilion.

The animosity between the two sides accumulated over time, naturally leading to mutual disdain.

“Silence!” Ding Yushu, at the front, softly barked. He did not reveal the true purpose of this operation, partly for secrecy, as too many mouths could easily lead to leaks, and partly because he wasn’t entirely confident. Although Lu Ye had messaged him, stating the success rate was very high, there were always unforeseen circumstances.

It was clear that Ding Yushu held high prestige within Wuji Pavilion. After he spoke, the cultivators immediately fell silent, quietly popping spirit pills into their mouths to recover.

As long-time neighbors, Wuji Pavilion naturally knew where the Feng family’s insect tunnel was located. Ding Yushu led his forces directly to the location, creating a formidable presence.

The Feng family cultivators stationed there immediately noticed their arrival. They quickly retreated into the insect tunnel while simultaneously sending out a message.

A short while later, over four hundred Wuji Pavilion cultivators blockaded the entrance to the insect tunnel, gazing down menacingly. Feng Lianju, the Feng family’s deputy outpost guardian, who was currently leading his clan’s cultivators in battling the insect swarm within the tunnel, received the news immediately. He merely let out a soft snort and paid it no further attention.

Having their insect tunnel exit blocked seemed dangerous, but in reality, it posed no significant threat. As long as they didn’t show themselves carelessly, Wuji Pavilion couldn’t do anything to them. Wuji Pavilion wouldn’t dare rush down recklessly, unless they sought death.

Furthermore, Wuji Pavilion couldn’t maintain the blockade for long. If they truly did so, Wuji Pavilion’s own outpost would surely be undefended, and the Feng family could easily join forces with the other Myriad Demon Ridge power to attack Wuji Pavilion’s outpost.

Thus, Feng Lianju was not flustered in the slightest.

This news also reached the Feng family’s outpost immediately. The outpost guardian of the Feng family’s outpost was a female cultivator named Feng Yue. Upon hearing that Wuji Pavilion had dispatched four hundred cultivators to block their insect tunnel exit, she was stunned for a long time. Although she was surprised by Wuji Pavilion’s speed in dealing with the insect swarm this time, she truly couldn’t understand the meaning behind their actions.

However, to be safe, she still sent out a message.

A reply soon arrived.

“Is something wrong, Sister Yue?” The address was very affectionate, but Feng Yue could almost picture the other party’s ugly expression.

This filled her with disgust, but she naturally wouldn’t show it easily. She informed the other party about Wuji Pavilion’s actions.

The other side’s tone was arrogant: “How audacious! It’s only been a month since I taught that brat Ding Yushu a lesson, and now this cur thinks he can turn the world upside down! Don’t worry, Sister Yue. Once I’ve dealt with the insect swarm on my end, I’ll lead my people to wipe them out completely.”

Feng Yue quickly replied, “That won’t be necessary. I merely wished to inform Senior Brother of this matter. The Feng family can handle things here ourselves.”

She wouldn’t ask the other party to do anything, otherwise, that repulsive fellow would surely make some impolite demands again. And if there were any casualties in a conflict with Wuji Pavilion, the Feng family might even have to pay spirit stones as compensation.

However, with Wuji Pavilion making such a big move, it was the perfect opportunity to attack Wuji Pavilion’s outpost. Given the other party’s eager and ambitious nature, how could they easily miss this chance?

Throughout the entire process, she had merely provided some intelligence to the other party, which was a normal occurrence in exchanges between cultivators of these two major factions. Therefore, no matter how things developed, it was none of her concern.

“How interesting.” Feng Yue picked up a water cup from beside her and took a small sip.

“Boom…” A loud sound resonated, startling Feng Yue, who then choked on her water. She coughed violently for a good while before recovering.

A Feng family cultivator rushed in anxiously.

“Who was that?” Feng Yue’s expression turned grim. Although she hadn’t seen what had just happened, the commotion clearly indicated that their outpost’s protective grand formation had been attacked. This infuriated her. At a time like this, someone dared to attack the Feng family’s outpost?

The newcomer looked terrified. “Insect swarm!”

“What insect swarm?” Feng Yue frowned. As she spoke, she faintly heard some strange sounds and rustling.

Her expression changed drastically. She rushed out immediately, arriving at the edge of the outpost. She looked up, her face turning pale with shock.

She saw that the light barrier of the protective grand formation ahead was covered with various types of insectoids. None of these insectoids were small; many were human-sized. Crawling on the light barrier, their mouthparts wriggled, gnawing at the flowing spiritual energy. Where the insectoids gnawed, the light barrier visibly weakened significantly.

Some insectoids also sprayed green fluid from their mouths. When this fluid landed on the light barrier, it made sizzling sounds, corroding the spiritual energy.

Looking at the overwhelming tide of insectoids surging towards them, Feng Yue felt a chill run through her body.

Whose insect swarm had erupted to this extent? A swarm of this scale was beyond what outer-circle cultivators could handle. Her first thought was Wuji Pavilion, but then she reconsidered, finding it unlikely. If it truly were Wuji Pavilion’s insect swarm that had erupted, they would undoubtedly be completely overwhelmed. How could hundreds of their cultivators be blocking their own insect tunnel entrance?

If not Wuji Pavilion, then could it be the Bloodbless Sect?

But hadn’t the Bloodbless Sect recruited over a hundred probationary disciples and several hundred rogue cultivators? Even if they incurred losses while dealing with the insect swarm, it shouldn’t have escalated to this magnitude. Moreover, even if an insect swarm erupted at the Bloodbless Sect, it wouldn’t have reached here so quickly. Insectoids first gnaw through the vitality along their path, pushing outwards layer by layer only after everything is barren, so their initial speed is not fast.

“Senior Sister Feng!” someone nearby shouted.

Feng Yue immediately snapped back to reality. At this point, dwelling on where the insect swarm came from was futile. Regardless of its origin, this wave of insectoids had already arrived at their doorstep. If not handled properly, their outpost would be finished this time.

“Quick, fully activate the power of the protective grand formation!” Feng Yue’s clear voice rang out. Soon, Feng family cultivators rushed to the locations of the formation’s foundations. Large quantities of spirit stones were fed into them, and previously accumulated spiritual energy was also released, strengthening the formation’s defensive power.

Three li behind the Feng family’s outpost, at the base of a slope, seven hundred cultivators of the Bloodbless Sect lay quietly in ambush.

Normally, such a large gathering of people would surely be discovered quickly. However, it was currently the time when major sects were dealing with insect swarms, with many cultivators delving deep underground and only a small number remaining in their outposts. The wilderness was largely deserted, which was why the Bloodbless Sect cultivators could remain safely hidden here without being detected.

“Fifth Senior Brother, when do we attack?” someone asked. Having tasted the sweetness of seizing another’s outpost once, everyone was eager to do it again. This was truly a case of ‘tasting the marrow and craving more.’

“No rush,” Lu Ye replied while simultaneously sending a message to Ding Yushu. He learned that they were already in position and that Wuji Pavilion’s deputy outpost guardian had also set off and was on his way.

He then looked up towards the Feng family’s outpost, seeing their protective grand formation was as stable as ever, and he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

The reason he didn’t attack immediately was partly to wait for Wuji Pavilion’s deputy outpost guardian to arrive, and partly because Lu Ye wanted to kill more of the Feng family cultivators.

Simply seizing another’s outpost would cause significant losses for them, but wouldn’t it be even better if they also killed their cultivators?

According to what Fourth Senior Brother said, insectoids have a powerful characteristic: they can break formations. The gnawing of insectoids is extremely destructive to light-barrier-type sect-protecting formations.

If they charged out now, the Feng family’s response would surely be the same as the Heavenly Fiend Hall’s, with the remaining cultivators retreating to Kyushu and abandoning the outpost.

Therefore, Lu Ye wanted to wait until the insectoids had almost completely destroyed their protective grand formation, and then launch a decisive strike. At that point, as long as they blocked the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, then every single Feng family cultivator remaining in the outpost would be trapped, with no one escaping.

It was a significant loss that the Heavenly Fiend Hall’s deputy outpost guardian had escaped earlier, because an outpost yielded many resources, and that deputy outpost guardian’s storage bag surely contained many valuable items.

This time, they couldn’t let the Feng family’s guardian escape as well.

The act of conquering outposts was unfamiliar the first time, familiar the second, and done with ease by the third. Lu Ye was slowly accumulating experience and selecting the most advantageous methods for his side.

Chapter List