Chapter 654: Crisis

"Look at them, how happy they are." Yu Qing's soft, delicate body leaned close, her voice whispering in his ear. Although she was very weak and her form was not as solid, there was no denying that in this state, Yu Qing possessed a delicate, almost ethereal beauty.

Lu Ye, however, didn't perceive her as a fragile woman because of this. Though their time together was short, he had already experienced her fiery personality firsthand.

"Aren't you curious why they're so optimistic?" Yu Qing breathed into Lu Ye's ear.

Lu Ye nodded, voicing his confusion: "Senior, are you truly not afraid of death at all?"

Yu Qing rolled her eyes and playfully chided, "Why 'Senior'? You're calling me old for no reason."

A nearby Immortal Guard, who had been eavesdropping, burst out laughing. "You're a several-thousand-year-old granny! Is it wrong for young Lu Ye to call you 'Senior'?"

Yu Qing was furious. "Liu Datong! Say another word, and I'll rip your mouth off!"

Liu Datong, the Immortal Guard, remained unfazed. He winked at Lu Ye. "Young Lu Ye, you need to stay pure. Don't let this old hag trick you into any positions! I'm telling you..."

Before he could finish, Yu Qing grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at him. Liu Datong raised a hand to block it. Seeing Yu Qing's enraged posture, he instinctively recoiled, conceding, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything..."

As he spoke, he even pulled his fingers across his lips, miming zipping his mouth shut.

Yu Qing glared at him fiercely one last time before relenting. She turned back to Lu Ye, her eyes soft and alluring, and her tone grew gentle again. "Call me 'Sister'!"

Lu Ye sighed. "Senior, please stop teasing."

Yu Qing pouted. "You're such a boring boy. It's no wonder you're still a virgin; no girl out there would ever like you."

Lu Ye was speechless.

Yu Qing chuckled, pursing her lips. "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. But don't worry too much; death truly isn't a big deal for us. It's not that we don't fear it, but we've long grown accustomed to it. And sometimes, death might even be a release."

Lu Ye wondered what kind of experiences could lead Yu Qing to say such a thing. It seemed she wasn't alone in her thinking; the other Immortal Guards shared her sentiment, otherwise, they wouldn't be so nonchalant in this situation.

"So," Yu Qing said, raising a hand to pat Lu Ye's head as if he were a child, "if any of us truly die in front of you, please don't take it too hard. You are different from us. Living well in the present is the greatest respect you can show to the future."

Lu Ye fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Can't Senior Butcher take you back to the City Lord's Mansion? There's a Soul Pool there; it should allow you to recover."

"The battlefield there is even more dangerous!" Yu Qing shook her head. "The insectoids we're currently facing aren't too strong, but the closer you get to the City Lord's Mansion, the more numerous and powerful they become. In our current state, it would be very difficult to break through their defenses and get back."

Lu Ye asked, suspicious, "The insectoids are targeting the City Lord's Mansion?"

Yu Qing nodded, her expression grim. "That's where Immortal Yuan City's foundation lies. If the insectoids conquer the City Lord's Mansion, then the entire Immortal Yuan City will have truly fallen." Changing her tone, she chuckled lightly. "But don't worry too much. With the City Lord and Lady Hong Yue present, the City Lord's Mansion will be fine. For thousands of years, the insectoids haven't been able to do much against us."

Thousands of years... This wasn't the first time Lu Ye had heard this from an Immortal Guard. He frowned. "You've been fighting this war for thousands of years?"

"It's always been this way."

Lu Ye vaguely felt something was amiss. If Immortal Yuan City had been resisting insectoid attacks for thousands of years, how could it have possibly held out? For one thing, where would Immortal Yuan City find so many Immortal Guards?

War always claims lives, and spiritual bodies are no exception.

If the insectoids couldn't conquer it once or twice, it made no sense that they couldn't conquer it in thousands of years, even with the City Lord and Hong Yue, as Yu Qing mentioned, defending it.

Hong Yue was likely the woman in red that Lu Ye had encountered on his previous visit.

However, before he could ask, Butcher descended from the second floor and stated plainly, "Time to go."

Instantly, all the Immortal Guards stood up.

Yu Qing raised a hand and patted Lu Ye's shoulder. "Continue to do as you've done before. Prioritize your own safety. No matter how great the danger others face, do not rashly intervene to save them."

Lu Ye nodded subconsciously.

Leaving their hiding place, the group of Immortal Guards, led by Butcher, continued their mission to clear out the insectoids.

Progress was relatively smooth. Although the Immortal Guards were constantly weakening due to the depletion of their power, the further they moved towards the outskirts, the generally weaker the insectoids became.

As Yu Qing had mentioned earlier, the insectoids' target was the City Lord's Mansion. Therefore, the closer one got to the mansion, the greater the number and strength of the insectoids. Especially around the mansion's outer perimeter, that was essentially the battlefield for cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm.

Insectoids comparable to those in the Divine Sea Realm were mostly active there.

This was also why Lu Ye hadn't encountered any Divine Sea Realm insectoids before. With his current strength, if he truly encountered one, he would have very little power to retaliate, and even his stealth and concealment spirit runes might not be effective.

The sounds of battle spread, continuously drawing in more wandering insectoids from nearby. Led by Butcher, the entire Immortal Guard squad found themselves encircled.

In their prime, dealing with such a situation would have been trivial. However, now all the Immortal Guards, including Butcher, were extremely weak, making the scene tense and precarious.

Fortunately, Lu Ye was still there.

He remained on the periphery of the battlefield, controlling his insectoid squad to kill enemies amidst the chaos, slowly alleviating the pressure on the Immortal Guards.

If there were no surprises, this battle would eventually end with the Immortal Guards' victory.

However, an unexpected event occurred with startling suddenness.

As a blade gleaming with cold light flashed, the bodies of two Immortal Guards suddenly shattered into pieces. Their already dim forms rapidly became transparent in that instant, and their faces were filled with astonishment, clearly not having anticipated such a turn of events.

In the blink of an eye, the two Immortal Guards vanished into thin air.

Beside them, a seemingly inconspicuous, heavily scarred mantis insectoid suddenly erupted with a powerful aura!

It was, unexpectedly, a Divine Sea Realm insectoid.

Logically, a Divine Sea Realm insectoid shouldn't have appeared in this location, and it was covered in wounds, clearly having endured a fierce battle.

This insectoid must have fled from the direction of the City Lord's Mansion. It was wounded in the major battle there and needed to consume the corpses of other insectoids to recover. Somehow, it ended up here and coincidentally encountered the Immortal Guard squad led by Butcher.

No one had paid it any mind before it attacked, but its thunderous strike instantly reduced the Immortal Guard squad by two members.

The razor-sharp blade then slashed towards Yu Qing, who was nearby. Yu Qing was utterly incapable of blocking such an attack.

Seeing this, Lu Ye didn't hesitate. With the Wind Walk ability empowering his legs, he instantly revealed himself from stealth and charged into the battle.

"Audacious!" Butcher roared, his boning knife sweeping backhand to block the razor-sharp blade's fatal blow.

The two Divine Sea Realm cultivators instantly clashed, fighting fiercely. One was severely injured and not yet recovered, while the other was at the end of its strength. For a time, they fought with intense fervor, evenly matched. The aftermath of their battle swept away numerous insectoids, leaving no intact bodies.

At that moment, the Immortal Guard squad collectively reacted, working together to carve out a bloody path and steer clear of the Divine Sea Realm battlefield.

The leader, Liu Datong, looked up and saw Lu Ye charging towards them. He cursed under his breath and led his team in Lu Ye's direction.

Seven more insectoid squads were creating chaos nearby, making the situation utterly chaotic.

Soon, the Immortal Guard squad reached Lu Ye, but the situation remained unfavorable for everyone.

Originally, with Butcher, a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, present, the Immortal Guard squad could have handled overwhelming numbers of insectoids. However, with Butcher now entangled with the Divine Sea Realm mantis, the pressure on Yu Qing, Liu Datong, and the others was immense.

If it were just them, dying in battle wouldn't be a big deal.

But there was also Lu Ye on the battlefield...

Before they set out, Yu Qing had specifically warned Lu Ye not to rashly intervene to save others, no matter what danger they faced, but only to ensure his own safety.

Lu Ye had certainly kept this in mind, but seeing two Immortal Guards tragically die, how could he remain indifferent? In that instant, his body acted before his mind.

"Break through! Head back to the stronghold!" Yu Qing cried out.

The nearest stronghold was only a street away. Normally, this distance wouldn't be far, but breaking through the dense insectoid encirclement offered little hope.

At this moment, however, they had no choice. Staying here would only mean waiting for death.

No one had anticipated that a Divine Sea Realm insectoid would be hidden in such a place, making this mission so perilous.

Lu Ye's insectoid squad, as always, proved remarkably effective. Under his control, they formed a barrier behind the group, blocking the pursuit of many insectoids.

However, this was merely a temporary solution, unable to fundamentally alter the situation.

The group fought their way forward, with Immortal Guards continuously falling and dying. More than half of the dozen-strong Immortal Guard squad had been lost in a short time.

Furthermore, due to the immense expenditure of power, the spiritual bodies of the remaining Immortal Guards became increasingly ethereal. Yu Qing's body had turned semi-transparent, yet both she and Liu Datong fiercely protected Lu Ye.

Behind them, the intense sounds of Butcher clashing with the mantis insectoid reverberated. The Immortal Guards surrounded Lu Ye, desperately fleeing.

As he watched the Immortal Guards fall one by one, a ripple of sorrow spread through Lu Ye's heart, continuously expanding within his mind.

"Get him inside, quickly!" Liu Datong roared, turning to confront the pursuing insectoids.

When Lu Ye looked back, he saw the figure of the always outspoken Immortal Guard engulfed by the tide of insectoids.