Sage of Humanity

Ten miles away from the campsite, there lies a flat valley in the wilderness. At the center of the valley is a giant hole, its mouth measuring ten zhang in diameter, plunging straight down into the unknown depths. Anyone standing at the edge of the hole would also hear the howling of the wind.

The Spirit Stream battlefield is indeed a curious place, filled with many unknown adventures and opportunities for those who come across them, as well as dangers that are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

At this moment, Lu Ye was riding Amber, standing on an elevated point next to the valley, looking down. In his view, centered around that hole, the valley was swarming with various kinds of insects—spiders, mantises, grasshoppers—identical to those he had encountered within the Mirage Realm, only much smaller in size.

These peculiar insects were covered with a layer of black, giving off an extremely solid impression. They also exuded an extremely uncomfortable aura that wasn't purely demonic Qi, but rather seemed like an aura of destruction that would devour everything.

Right now, the dense sounds of chewing could be heard emanating from the valley. The once lush and vibrant valley now lay withered, a desolate place where no grass grew wherever the insects had passed, even the ground was scraped bare. Conservatively estimated, there were no fewer than tens of thousands of these insects gathered here, and more were continuously crawling out of the hole.

As time went on, their numbers would only increase.

"So it is indeed an Insect Plague!"

By Lu Ye's side, Chen Yu was also riding his beast pet, a creature resembling a leopard. However, standing next to Amber, the demon beast had lost its usual majestic presence, now appearing dejected and subdued.

Last night, the thunder pillar that had descended from the sky was clearly visible even from ten miles away at the Righteous Blood Sect camp, prompting Chen Yu to report the situation promptly, surmising that it might be the sign of an Insect Plague.

At that time, Lu Ye had just finished inquiring about the Insect Plague from Li Baxian.

The Insect Plague is a great disaster of the Spirit Stream battlefield, occurring sporadically. The interval between plagues is not fixed—it could be a few months, a year or two, or even longer.

The thunder pillar from the sky is a sign of the Insect Plague's arrival.

Along with the appearance of those thunder pillars are the holes that emerge in the valleys. The Nine Provinces cultivation world calls these the insect caves, and the insects that crawl out are known as the Insect Race.

The Insect Race and the Demon Race are not the same concept. Although there are insect demons within the Demon Race, they do not have the destructive aura that the Insect Race possesses.

Overall, the Demon Race is considered a normal race within the Nine Provinces cultivation world. Many demons have taken human form, joined human race sects, and have even become sworn brothers with human race cultivators.

This is entirely different from the mindless, destructive Insect Race.

The reason the Insect Plague is termed a natural disaster is that each time it occurs, the entire Spirit Stream battlefield is affected. Outside of the sect residences within the battlefield, more insect caves will appear.

If not dealt with in time, and the Insect Race is allowed to grow, flattening a sect's camp would not be difficult.

Whenever an Insect Plague occurs, many sects suffer misfortune. This time, it's unknown which sects will become victims.

The Insect Race is dangerous largely because they devour all life in their path. The greatest trouble with an Insect Plague is their incredibly fast growth and reproduction rates.

One member of the Insect Race can achieve in just a few days the growth progress that would take a cultivator several months, so once an Insect Plague arises, it must be dealt with immediately, or disaster will ensue.

However, with danger comes opportunity.

When cultivators slay these insects, they can also earn merit! Moreover, the corpses of these insects can be sold to Heaven's Augury treasure vault, albeit for a low price. But with accumulation, the rewards can be substantial.

Hence, for many cultivators, an Insect Plague, while bringing crisis, is also a feast.

There have been Insect Plagues outside the Righteous Blood Sect camp before, but since the camp was unmanned, no one attended to them, resulting in the Plague developing to the point where nearby sects were helpless, even affecting several big sects nearby. In the end, it was the powerhouses from the Core Circle who stepped in to deal with it.

After every Insect Plague, the outskirts of the Righteous Blood Sect camp would be barren and desolate. Fortunately, with the rich spiritual energy of the Spirit Stream battlefield, it wouldn't take long for vitality to be restored.

"You stay here. If there are any abnormalities, contact me immediately," Lu Ye instructed.

"Yes!" Chen Yu responded.

Amber turned around and swiftly swept towards the camp.

On the way, Lu Ye sent a message to Hua Ci.

After exchanging words with the Fourth Senior Brother the night before and now having seen the Insect Plague for himself, he had gained some understanding of the Plague. If it had occurred two months earlier, there really would have been no way to handle it—the Righteous Blood Sect had no people.

But now, things are different.

Sect disciples always practicing in isolation isn't ideal, and this Insect Plague offers a good opportunity for the Righteous Blood Sect to train its disciples.

As the fourth brother mentioned, in the Spirit Stream battlefield, all sects with garrisons must face their own Insect Plagues, though the severity varies. Perhaps this is orchestrated by Heaven's Augury; the outskirts sects won't face a severe Insect Plague initially, and as long as they manage it in time, they can cope.

Unlike the Core Circle, where cultivators are already fighting against the Insect Race with heaven-shaking, earth-shattering intensity.

Hurrying back to the station, outside Heaven's Augury Hall, Hua Ci had gathered everyone here after receiving Lu Ye's message, waiting solemnly.

Currently, apart from Hua Ci's few official disciples, there are only a hundred named disciples previously taken in by the sect. However, the number of independent cultivators affiliated with the Righteous Blood Sect has risen to more than six hundred, an increase of more than a hundred from the beginning.

This is the benefit of having independent cultivators affiliated with the sect; if anything happens at the station, Lu Ye has a large group of people at his disposal. Otherwise, relying solely on a hundred named disciples would probably not be enough to cope with this Insect Plague.

Lu Ye dismounted from the tiger's back, and pairs of eyes turned towards him. Over seven hundred people had gathered here, yet there were no sounds of idle chatter; the atmosphere was solemn.

Standing before them all, Lu Ye said in a deep voice, "I'm sure everyone has heard by now, the Insect Plague has arrived! This is something every sect on the entire battlefield must face; no one can avoid it. Previously, our sect was in decline and powerless to face the Insect Plague, but now we have the capital to resist."

"During this time, everyone has been making an effort in their cultivation, which I have seen. Many people have improved their cultivation, which is great. As a cultivator, cultivation is the foundation of one's self. But cultivation alone is not enough; you also need experience in life-and-death battles with enemies. This Insect Plague is an opportunity.

I just went to Insect Valley with your Brother Chen Yu to take a look; there are already a lot of insects there. But rest assured, they have numbers but not strength. Even a Level 2 cultivator can take on ten of them alone!"
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"This is an opportunity, not just to temper your enemy-killing skills but also to earn merit by killing those insects. The function of merit needs no explanation from me; the insects in Insect Valley are merit waiting to be claimed. Do you want it?"

"We do!" The crowd shouted in unison, their voices resonating to the skies.

"If you want it, then go and take it! Our Righteous Blood Sect is different from the other sects; other sects have protective arrays. Even if they struggle to hold off the Insect Plague, they can retreat to their stations and rely on the big array to ensure temporary safety. But what about us? We don't have any big array, nothing at all.

So, if we cannot hold back this Insect Plague, the station will be flattened by the Insect Race, and the spirit fields you have painstakingly cultivated, as well as the Spirit Plants you've carefully planted, will all become food for the Insect Race. Thus, we have no way out. If we want to win in this Insect Plague, our only option is to take the initiative to strike!"

"There's no need to defend the station— all named disciples and affiliated independent cultivators, listen! You have half a Shichen to form squads of five to ten people, select a squad leader for each team. The squad leader will be responsible for counting the merits of the team members.

After the Insect Plague, the top ten squads in terms of merit earned, regardless of whether you are a named disciple or an independent cultivator, will each receive varying amounts of Spirit Stones as a reward. The top three will each receive a Restriction Level 9 spirit artifact as a reward!"

The crowd buzzed; rewards of Spirit Stones were one thing, although the quantity was unknown. This was the first time the Righteous Blood Sect had taken such an action since taking in disciples, so the rewards would certainly not be meager.

The top three receiving a Restriction Level 9 spirit artifact was incredible; these were spirit artifacts with 9 spirit prohibitions, the best among low-grade spirit artifacts. Any one from Heaven's Augury treasure vault was worth more than a hundred merits.

"Furthermore, if any squad performs exceptionally well, there will be special rewards. Every member of that squad can make one request of me, and as long as it's within my power, I will not refuse."

In the crowd, a little white hand suddenly shot up, followed by a voice asking, "Fifth Brother, I have a question!"

Lu Ye turned his head to look and saw that it was the girl called He Xiying who had raised her hand.

"Speak up!"

"I have a friend who wants to ask if that special reward can be used on Sixth Sister?"

"Your friend sure loves to meddle!" Lu Ye glared at her. This girl seemed to have an inexplicable admiration for Hua Ci, but she was one of the few powerful individuals the Righteous Blood Sect currently had to flaunt, as she was a Level 6 cultivator.

Currently, within the Righteous Blood Sect, Lu Ye and Chen Yu were Level 7 while aside from Hua Ci and He Xiying, there were only three other Level 6 cultivators.

Lu Ye turned his head to glance at Hua Ci, who nodded gently with a gracious smile.

"Yes," Lu Ye declared with a loud voice, adding, "but only for you."

He Xiying's expression immediately brightened, her little fists clenched tightly, suddenly filled with determination and vigor.

"Let's get moving! You have half a Shichen; in half a Shichen, we set out for Insect Valley!"

As Lu Ye's words fell, the square instantly became bustling. The cultivators familiar with each other gathered to form squads and elected their leaders.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye began to take out blank jade slips one by one, activating his spirit force to inscribe information into them. He had received plenty of useful intelligence from the fourth brother, things like the characteristics and weaknesses of different types of insects, and having killed so many insects in the Mirage Realm, he naturally had his own experiences to share.

This information was extremely valuable to cultivators facing the Insect Plague for the first time; it might come in handy at any moment. He intended to disseminate this information before the battle began.