Sage of Humanity

In just a few dozen miles, they arrived swiftly.

There were no signs of a major battle; after all, the two Divine Sea Realm cultivators had clashed in the air, leaving no trace.

They searched all around but found no sign of Xiang Dongliu.

Judging by the noise of the battle and the final, brief scream, it was likely that Xiang Dongliu met some misfortune. His fate was uncertain, and he was nowhere to be seen. There was only one possibility.

Lu Ye stood at the edge of Mist Cliff, looked down, and without much hesitation said, "I'll go down to take a look."

The environment of Mist Cliff was treacherous; the thick fog not only blocked mental consciousness exploration but was also mixed with numerous origin magnetic ore particles. The further down one went, the more the spirit force within a cultivator was suppressed.

Going deep into the bottom of Mist Cliff meant a cultivator's power would be hard to exert, making it troublesome to even climb back up.

However, it's not that one couldn't get back up; climbing was still possible.

"I'll go with you," Xiao Xinghe spoke up.

Lu Ye nodded and was just about to step out when his movement suddenly halted. He concentrated, frowned, and listened closely.

"What's that sound?" Lin Yinxiu also noticed the anomaly. Among those present, her cultivation was the highest, but since she hadn't developed mental consciousness, her perception wasn't as strong as Lu Ye's, so she discovered it a step later.

Soon, the others also sensed the commotion.

An eerie buzzing and a rustling sound came from below the Mist Cliff, growing closer and closer.

"Something's coming up!" Lu Ye shouted in a low voice. Judging by the noise, whatever was coming was in great numbers!

"Retreat!" Lu Ye barked, leading everyone back. They retreated for a hundred yards before stopping to look back.

The noise from below Mist Cliff grew louder, and the dense fog enveloping the abyss began to churn violently. Something as large as a human figure emerged flapping from the mist.

Under the bright moonlight, the figure's unusual shape clearly appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Insect Race!" Li Baxian exclaimed.

This creature that burst from the mist at Mist Cliff was a Mantis Insect Race.

All Nine Provinces cultivators were familiar with such things; after all, Insect Plagues frequently erupted on the Spirit Stream battlefield, and most cultivators had witnessed the devastation caused by the Insect Race.

But this Insect Race was significantly larger than the ones Li Baxian had seen on the Spirit Stream battlefield, and it exuded a much more ferocious aura.

This Insect Race was at least comparable to a Cloud River Realm insect!

Everyone felt their scalps tingle.

A single Cloud River Realm Insect Race wouldn't have alarmed them so much, but everyone knew that the Insect Race never acted alone.

They often moved in groups, forming huge Insect Race armies, and if there were Insect Races, then there had to be an insect hive.

Thinking back on the sounds they heard earlier, everyone felt a chill down their spines.

The mist continued to churn as Insect Races surged out from below Mist Cliff. In the blink of an eye, the view was filled with swarming Insect Race figures.

The Insect Races varied in form, with some flying like mantises and others posed like hyenas crouched on all fours. They were clad in what seemed like thick layers of bone armor, with sharp spikes protruding from their shoulders, glinting coldly in the moonlight. There were even centipede-like Insect Races, their hundred feet moving swiftly as they danced.

The first Mantis Insect Race that had burst from the mist had already spotted Lu Ye and the others. With a flap of its wings, it flew towards them.

A myriad of other strangely shaped Insect Races followed closely behind.

Li Baxian slashed with his flying sword, cleaving the Mantis Insect Race in half. As the sword light wreaked havoc, more Insect Races fell midway.

Feng Yuechan continuously unleashed magic and spells, coordinating with Li Baxian to kill enemies.

Even Yiyi, who had been hiding within Amber, dashed out, wielding the power of magic and spells.

Yet, despite their excellent techniques, the enormous flood of incoming Insect Races presented an overwhelming challenge.

In no time, many Insect Races charged forward fiercely.

Giant Armor stood forward, shielding everyone. Lu Ye, Xiao Xinghe, and Lin Yinxiu spread out at the sides, their blades and sword lights flickering, as Insect Races fell one after another.

Lu Ye's expression was grave.

He had experienced an Insect Plague once on the Spirit Stream battlefield, but the Insect Races he encountered then were much easier to deal with than these, given the limitations of the battlefield. Their strength couldn't be fully realized.

But these Insect Races now were each equivalent to the Cloud River Realm. If their numbers were small, they wouldn't pose much of a problem, but as their numbers increased, it became a disaster.

Lu Ye couldn't understand why there were so many Insect Races beneath Mist Cliff.

Why hadn't these Insect Races been discovered before? With their low spiritual intelligence, they couldn't have just been hiding beneath the Mist Cliff without appearing.

Lu Ye recalled his mission for this trip; it was reported by Nightingale that there might be a ferocious beast here. After arriving, they did slay a harmful green-scaled python and thought it was the ferocious beast Nightingale discovered.

But what if it wasn't? What if what Nightingale noticed wasn't the commotion caused by the green-scaled python, but the sign of the Insect Race surging within Mist Cliff?

Without time to think further, the squad of six plus one spirit engaged in battle with the invading Insect Race for a moment, and Lu Ye shouted, "Go!"

If they stayed any longer, they would likely be surrounded by the Insect Race. Although many Insect Race members were slain in that brief moment, the view was still filled with an overwhelming insect army.

Moreover, Lu Ye clearly sensed that the Insect Race emerging from below Mist Cliff were not just Cloud River Realm, but those comparable to True Lake Realm...

No Insect Race comparable to the Divine Sea Realm was noticed, but they could not let their guard down!

With his command, everyone immediately soared into the sky, carving a bloody path through the surrounding insects and fleeing in a particular direction, with numerous insects in pursuit, only to be picked off by Li Baxian's flying sword.

"Lin Yinxiu, send a message to the Justice Department, informing Lord Department Chief that an insect plague has broken out here. Also, inform him that Justice Department Manager Xiang Dongliu was attacked by a female cultivator of unknown identity, his life or death unknown!"

"Yes!" Lin Yinxiu acknowledged and quickly responded.

"Senior Sister Feng, inform the Loyal Heart Sect and ask them to send people to exterminate the Insect Race!"

Within a thousand-mile radius, the most powerful is the Loyal Heart Sect. With the sudden outbreak of an insect plague, ordinary sects and families cannot handle it at all, just like the 6th grade Chen family being no match against such a plague, it would be difficult for them to survive even if Team D-9 hadn't exterminated them today.

Only the Loyal Heart Sect could be relied upon. If they could send people quickly, there might be a chance to curb the plague's spread.

Feng Yuechan hurriedly sent the message.

While speaking, Lu Ye descended to a certain place below.

This was the front courtyard of the Chen family, where Chen Lie had guided Lu Ye and the others through when they first arrived. According to Chen Lie, this was the place where those without cultivation aptitude in the Chen family resided, numbering two to three thousand.

Those in the Chen family with any cultivation were mostly dead.

Only these ordinary people who never cultivated were left. With the sudden outbreak of the insect plague now, these people had no chance of survival if nobody cared for them.

Though Lu Ye had just fought a deadly battle with the Chen family, nearly exterminating them, it was Chen family who instigated the conflict, and even now, he did not know why they acted that way.

But when it came to these ordinary people, Lu Ye couldn't bring himself to ignore them.

Flying to the front courtyard, Lu Ye loudly shouted, "An insect plague has erupted! If you want to survive, quickly find a place to hide, the deeper the better, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

In the Chen family's front courtyard, many ordinary people who hadn't cultivated were already having a sleepless night due to the sudden outbreak of fighting from the main house earlier. Not knowing what happened, many woke up startled from their sleep, gathering to discuss sending someone to check the main house.

Before they could decide, Lu Ye's voice echoed from above.

Even though these ordinary people hadn't cultivated, being from the Chen family, they were aware of some matters of the cultivation world and had heard of insect plagues.

Lu Ye's urgent tone made the gathered Chen family members panic instantly, but fortunately, there were still a few highly respected elders to take charge. With their orders, everyone quickly dispersed, each finding a place to hide.

Lu Ye turned and looked back, seeing the moonlit sky covered by a dark cloud rising from Mist Cliff, spreading over here. Within that cloud, were countless massive silhouettes of the Insect Race, too many to count.

He did not linger there; after reminding the people of the Chen family, he immediately turned and flew away, simultaneously retrieving some Explosive Fire Spirit Stones from his storage sack, firing them as he went.

Loud booms rang out, accompanied by intense spirit force fluctuations.

A large number of insects were attracted and chased after.

The Insect Race had low intelligence but were highly sensitive to spirit force fluctuations, something Lu Ye had noticed during the Spirit Stream battlefield. Lu Ye could not let the Insect Race linger in the Chen family's front courtyard, so he employed this method to draw their attention and lead them away.

As for how effective this method would be, or how many of the Chen family's ordinary people would survive in the end, that was beyond his control.

He had done his best, let fate decide.

"Captain, Lord Department Chief instructed us to self-preserve first," Lin Yinxiu suddenly said.

Lu Ye knew self-preservation was necessary, but under the current situation, he had to first draw the Insect Race's attention.

"What is Loyal Heart Sect's response?" Lu Ye asked again.

Feng Yuechan quickly replied, "The Loyal Heart Sect has already sent people out."

"Good!" Lu Ye growled lowly, constantly launching Explosive Fire Spirit Stones, each explosion accompanied by surges of intense spirit force fluctuations, pursued relentlessly by the swarm of insects behind.

Amidst the massive insect swarm, Lu Ye sensed many powerful auras, but couldn't tell if those insects were comparable to the Divine Sea Realm.

"Scatter!" Lu Ye said, grabbing Amber off his shoulder, tossing it to Giant Armor, and turning to fly in another direction, his fiery red wings unfolding, suddenly boosting his speed.

"Lu Ye!" Yiyi exclaimed.

"Go!" Xiao Xinghe shouted sternly, taking the lead in veering off in another direction.

The rumble of explosions grew fainter, and moments later, when they turned back, they saw that there weren't many insects chasing them. However, the swarm around Lu Ye seemed to stretch endlessly, causing their hearts to tighten.