Sage of Humanity

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Time passed, and hundreds of cultivators from the Righteous Blood Sect constantly pushed inwards from all directions, just as they had dealt with the Insect Race in Insect Valley before.

Lu Ye wandered around the edge of the battlefield, occasionally taking action to slay those Level 7 Insect Race creatures in order to prevent possible casualties on his side.

Half a day later, the Insect Hive's residents were almost entirely wiped out. Although on the flesh walls surrounding the hive, new sacs continuously burst open, giving rise to new insects. But most of those newborns hardly had the chance to look around before they were robbed of their brief stay in this beautiful world.

At this moment, Lu Ye was examining a giant flesh sac in the very center of the Insect Hive. The sac, almost as tall as a person, had blood vessel-like structures extending in all directions, connecting to every corner of the hive's flesh walls.

The flesh sac itself was not the focus, but rather the three Level 8 Insect Race guardians by its side were.

These three creatures differed clearly from the other Level 8 insects Lu Ye had slain before; their serrated limbs were sharper, their dark carapaces were thicker, and their bodies were noticeably larger than those of the average Level 8 insects.

They were not yet at the Level 9 stage of the Insect Race, but they were undoubtedly stronger than the ordinary Level 8 insects.

This was the intelligence revealed by Li Baxian in his message, indicating that these few special creatures served as guardians.

After hatching, other members of their species would instinctively leave the hive and explore outward, consuming all life and energy they stumbled upon.

But these guardians would not; from the very day of their birth, they stayed in the nest, steadfast beside that flesh sac, never straying an inch.

Even when Lu Ye conjured a sun in his hand or when the Righteous Blood Sect's side fought the insects until heaven and earth seemed to darken, the guardians paid no heed.

Their sole mission upon birth was to guard that person-tall flesh sac; as long as no one approached within a certain range of it, even if all other insects perished, they would remain indifferent.

The best method to confront such powerful insects, of course, was to swarm them, and beat them down together!

At this moment, around twenty yards away from the flesh sac, many cultivators who were selected formed a circle. These cultivators either possessed magic and spells or had Spirit Talismans to use.

The number was not large, only about a hundred people.

At this moment, all of them were quietly channeling their spirit force.

Lu Ye held his hiltless dagger, and with a thought, the hiltless dagger buzzed and turned into a red streak of light, hurtling towards one of the Insect Race guardians; simultaneously, Chen Yu also activated his own weapon control power from another direction.

Moreover, the might of over a hundred Dao techniques and Spirit Talismans smashed towards those three guardians.

Thunderous rumbles echoed out, and the fluctuation of spirit force was in extreme turmoil at that instant.

Accompanied by the distinct shrieks of the Insect Race and the spatter of verdant blood, the provoked three guardians immediately struck back.

Indeed, they would not stray too far from that flesh sac, but if attacked, they would surely counterstrike, which was why Lu Ye had especially cautioned everyone beforehand not to hit those three creatures, or else it would be troublesome.

The red streak of light wove back and forth. Almost instantly, the guardian rushing towards Lu Ye suffered one penetrating wound after another. Before running a few steps, it collapsed on the ground, and a multitude of Dao techniques and Spirit Talismans enveloped it. It tried to rise, but carapace flew everywhere, revealing the verdant flesh beneath.

The other two guardians met a similar fate, collapsing to the ground only a few yards out and never getting up again.

Only one made it to the crowd, where it was blocked by physique cultivators led by He Xiying, and was immediately hacked at wildly.

In the midst of the chaos, it was unclear who dealt the killing blow to that guardian.

With the correct method in hand, the process of killing those three guardians became straightforward. This was also the experience the Nine Provinces cultivators had paid for with their lives.

Cheers went up from all directions, every person was overjoyed.

Although this Insect Plague had cost the Righteous Blood Sect over a dozen lives, the victory in their first encounter still brought delight.

When word of the Insect Plague first spread, many lower-cultivation cultivators felt anxious because each Insect Plague would usually result in many deaths. But now, it seemed to be just a minor issue.

Wasn't every survivor reaping great rewards?

The Insect Plague was not entirely over yet, since the hive had not withered. It would only be considered truly over once the hive completely dried up. Before that happened, more insects would continue to hatch.

Lu Ye stepped forward and walked up to the most central flesh sac, the core of the entire Insect Hive.

The Boulder Mountain Saber cut slightly, slicing open the sac. A pungent stench filled the air, along with a frightful vitality.

He extended his hand and reached into the sac, rummaging around inside.

The squelching sounds immediately turned several female cultivators with weaker constitutions pale, forcing them to cover their mouths and run to the side.

Quickly, Lu Ye withdrew his hand, now holding a fist-sized flesh core. The core was irregularly shaped, pitted and rough, unappealing to behold, but it seemed alive, pulsating in Lu Ye's palm.

Pure and rich vitality radiated from this flesh core.

"It really does exist."

He muttered softly, the insects that ran out of the hive consuming all the life and energy, with most of these resources converging here, forming the source for hatching more of their kind. The specific storage location was this flesh sac, hence it being the hive's core and why there were special guardians.

The flesh core in Lu Ye's hand embodied the accumulation of life and energy, which the Nine Provinces cultivation world called the vitality core. This item was useless for cultivators, and even though it was a conglomeration of vast life and pure energy, was suitable only for the reproduction of the Insect Race.

There wasn't just one vitality core within the sac; Lu Ye had felt several when he reached in. To know exactly how many there were, one would have to break open the sac to find out.

By opening the sac and taking all the vitality cores, the hive here, lacking the supply of life and energy, would wither in a short time, and the Insect Plague would be completely over.

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However, Lu Ye did not plan to do so, as the means for cultivators of the Righteous Blood Sect to earn merit were really too scarce at the moment. Everything within the insect hive was under control, with seven hundred cultivators gathered; any newly hatched insect from the race would be decimated as soon as it appeared. This place was clearly a good location for farming merits.

So after merely observing the vitality core for a moment, Lu Ye placed it back where he found it.

The flesh pouch, where he had broken an opening, actually healed back to its original state in a very short amount of time, showing the powerful regenerative ability of the insect hive.

The following events were simple, the seven hundred cultivators of the Righteous Blood Sect just needed to stay here, continuously slaying the newly hatched members of the Insect Race, until the insect hive exhausted all its vitality cores.

There was nothing left for him to do; squads were distributed throughout the hive, each keeping watch over a flesh pouch, the Insect Race would meet its end one by one as they emerged...

Lu Ye went over to see Hua Ci, and finding that she was much better, he felt relieved.

However, thinking back on her fragile appearance just now made him want to chuckle.

She was a woman, after all, and thus had her vulnerable side.

"Lu Ye, Lu Ye!" Yiyi suddenly ran over excitedly.
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"Hmm?"

"There's a passage over there; I don't know where it leads."

"What do you mean?"

"Just that there's a passage. You'll know once you come and see," Yiyi said, pulling Lu Ye towards the direction of the passage.

As everyone was currently waiting for the Insect Race to hatch and then slay them, Yiyi, having nothing better to do, wandered around and happened upon an unexplored entrance.

Soon, under Yiyi's guidance, Lu Ye arrived at the entrance. He thought carefully and realized that this passage was not one of the nine explored by the Righteous Blood Sect. The entrance was dark and gloomy, and it was unclear where it led.

After inspecting the area for a moment, Lu Ye suddenly squatted down and wiped the ground, finding some wet, sticky slime.

This kind of slime was present on the Insect Race upon their initial hatching.

In other words, some members of the Insect Race had passed through this passage and left, not too long ago—no more than a day before.

Lu Ye suddenly remembered a scenario that Li Baxian had mentioned... His heart stirred, and he vaguely understood.

"Shall we go and check it out?" Yiyi asked.

"I'll go have a look."

"I'll come with you," Yiyi quickly added.

"Alright."

"Let's take Amber with us."

"Okay."

Yiyi cheered and ran off to find Amber.

Lu Ye called over Chen Yu, instructing him to keep watch over the area and to send a message immediately if there were any emergencies.

Before long, Lu Ye had mounted Amber and delved deeper into the passage, moving forward all the way.

On Amber's broad back, Lu Ye held his Boulder Mountain Saber aloft; the Sun Blaze Spirit Runes on its sheath continued to function, lighting up the area around them. Yiyi sat in front of him while Amber galloped ahead.

It was as if they had returned to the past, with one man, one spirit, and one tiger, traveling together, carefree. Yiyi really loved this feeling and even started to hum a tune along the way.

Lu Ye rested his chin on her head, feeling strands of her hair blowing in the wind and tickling his face.

"Your head is so heavy!" Yiyi protested.

Lu Ye applied more weight.

Yiyi yelled out in protest, "I'm going to tell Sister Hua Ci when we get back, let her deal with you!"

"Hua Ci... Heh!" Lu Ye scoffed with disdain. In the past, he might have had no recourse against women, but now, he had a mechanical creature from Loo Yushan in his storage sack: fluffy, with eight legs—just ask if you're scared!

"Lu Ye, you're getting bolder, even Sister Hua Ci doesn't scare you anymore."

"Have you forgotten what your surname is, hmm?" Lu Ye lifted his right hand, clenched a fist, and pressed it to Yiyi's forehead, drilling away.

"I'm a Lu... Ow..." Yiyi held her head in her hands, "My name is Lu Yiyi... Wuuu wuuu..."

Bickering and romping, they continued on their way.

It wasn't until two hours later that some commotion and fluctuations of spirit force suddenly came from ahead.

Both Lu Ye and Yiyi quieted down simultaneously, the light from the Sun Blaze Spirit Runes dissipated, and even Amber, while still in motion, became utterly silent all at once.

After patting Amber to stop, Lu Ye and Yiyi dismounted and quietly moved forward. Soon enough, flickering lights came into view.