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Translator: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The bottom of the pit was an empty clearing where even the ground was roasted by Lu Ye using the Fire Dragon technique when he first came in.
Ropes came dangling down and those who were not strong enough to jump down just rappelled their way down. The ropes were also there to facilitate quick exfiltration if need be.
As soon as a squad regrouped at the bottom, they would set alight their torches and begin their exploration of the underground passages.
With this being the first Crimson Blood Sect operation against the insectoid threat, they had two objectives to complete. The first was finding out the location of the main insectoid nest. That would go a long way in helping to contain this time’s threat.
The next would be to map out the whole subterranean network of tunnels for posterity.
Insectoid attacks would come again, and the site of the insectoid nest would not be the same as it was now. Therefore, going the extra mile to map out the whole labyrinth would make future incursions against the insectoids easier and more convenient.
Lu Ye had discovered that the tunnels were interconnected with countless forks everywhere. How did this labyrinth come to be, he did not know, but it did remind him of the mines at Evil Moon Valley.
And to explore such a discombobulating network of tunnels, he would need manpower. Lots of it.
In this regard, he was comforted that the Crimson Blood Sect had managed to attract a number of acolytes, initiates, and associates recently, especially after the Battle Royal of the Legates. Or else, he would not even know what to do in this situation.
Then he remembered that it was Shui Yuan who had advised him to attract more initiates and associates, saying that since the Sect had once again begun taking in fresh acolytes, having more people would be useful for the future of the outpost.
She must have expected this insectoid attack, Lu Ye realized. That was why she had given him the instruction back then.
Now, Lu Ye channeled his power. He constructed a large Glyph: Gathering Spirits where the wounded and weary would rest and recuperate.
Hua Ci and her apprentices could also set up a temporary staging area here to tend to the wounded.
There was no need to hurry. Lu Ye first rested and regained his power. He swallowed a few Spirit Pills and made sure that he was fully replenished before he ventured deeper into the tunnels.
Splotches and puddles of greenish hemolymph were scattered everywhere he passed by. There were no carcasses in sight; the squads must have been collecting them while they fought.
He reached a second fork and he chose the one he liked best.
The deeper he explored, the more forks he encountered.
Finally, he arrived at a tunnel where the fighting had not reached. He drew Inviolable and slew any insectoids that he came upon, pressing forward to explore and to see if the insectoid nest could be nearby.
In the meantime, in different parts around the labyrinth that honeycombed deep underground, squads of acolytes, initiates, and associated independents were busy exterminating the insectoids.
The deeper they ventured, the bigger and more dangerous the insectoids became. Naturally, that would also mean casualties. The wounded would immediately withdraw to prevent further injuries, retreating the same way they got in while bringing along with them a sketch of their explored routes to be handed to Hua Ci.
While she attended to their wounds, the others would compile all the sketches into one complete map of the whole subterranean network.
The extermination was progressing well enough, even though no one had yet reported any sightings of the insectoid nest. Everyone was raking in a rich bounty so far, but as the difficulty gradually ramped up with bigger and more powerful insectoid monsters, more people were getting wounded.
But as Cultivators, they expected no less. Theirs was a life of untold perils where every night of merrymaking and glorious singing could very well be their last.
It took one full day before reports came to Lu Ye, who was, at that time, dispensing death and carnage to a bunch of insectoid monsters, that the insectoid nest had finally been sighted. “That’s the advantage of having numbers!” Lu Ye mused.
He immediately wheeled around and backtracked in the direction he came from.
Lu Ye returned to the temporary staging area at the bottom of the pit an hour later, fully swaddled in clothes slick with hemolymph.
Hua Ci helped to wash away the green slimy muck, next he channeled his power to heat himself up, radiating enough heat to dry his clothes. Then he found himself a flaming torch as Hua Ci led him to one of the tables set up there.
On the table was a map. The one compiled by the collective efforts of all seven hundred members of this battle in the last twenty-four hours.
One look at the map and Lu Ye saw too many forks and bends that could confuse even the most experienced pathfinder. The disorderly tangle of subterranean tunnels and caverns actually connects to one another.
But the map was not yet perfect. There were still parts that needed surveying.
Hua Ci pointed at a particular spot. “The insectoid nest’s here. But it’s kinda dangerous there. Chen Yu and his squad’s heading that way already. So are Amber and Yi Yi.”
Lu Ye studied the map intently and planned his route.
He looked at the other parts of the map. “According to Brother Baxian, the nest usually occupies a large underground space. Look at this site where the nest is sighted; there are so many tunnels leading away from it and if Brother Baxian is right, they would all converge at the exit, which is this hole where it leads to outside. That means, I could take any route and I’d still end up where the nest is!”
He was certain that by the time the underground network was fully mapped out, the whole thing would look like a spindle apparatus with the nest cavern being at one end while the exit here would be at the other.
Now that much of this spindle apparatus shape was almost complete, it showed that the squads were making good progress, although one had managed to reach the destination: the cavern where the insectoid nest was housed.
That the other routes were making varying headway was only due to the different overall strengths of the squads. But a few, Lu Ye noticed, were very close to catching up. A little more time and they would reach the nest cavern as well.
“I’m heading to the nest now.”
With that, Lu Ye spun on his heels and headed back inside the tunnels.
The tunnels were illuminated with flaming torches hanging off the walls at regular intervals, which was hardly a marvel since Cultivators often carried items such as torches in their Storage Bags just in case.
After almost an hour of traveling, he heard the din of battle coming from ahead, plus the unmistakable roar of a tiger—Amber.
He focused his sight and looked ahead. Spells of myriad colors screamed through the air. Then he heard a girlish voice snarling ferociously.
“A Seventh-Order insectoid! That’s you, He Xiyin!” Chen Yu’s voice resounded.
Apparently, someone must have come up with the way to classify the insectoid based on their strength and power in comparison to the human Cultivator fashion. A Seventh-Order insectoid would be the insectoid equivalent of a human Seventh-Order.
“But I’m a girl, Brother Chen Yu! How could you leave such a job to a girl!?” Even so, she screamed, “HERE I COME, YOU MONSTER!”
Lu Ye rounded a bend just in time to see He Xiyin, her face and complexion flushed red as she lifted a shield almost as tall as her, using it to shield the blows of a gigantic mantis very much taller than her. The blows the giant bug rained down on her shield elicited metallic clangors akin to the tolls of a bell with such force that with every blow, He Xiyin could only brace as her entire self trembled at the impact.
He Xiyin might look like the average young lass normally, but she was in truth a Body-tempering Cultivator.
When Lu Ye found out about this, he was so astounded that he looked as if he had been hit by a sledgehammer. He did not think that the small and petite frame of hers could contain such rich and powerful endurance and vitality.
With He Xiyin soaking up the damage and abuse from the gigantic bug, Chen Yu and Yi Yi were free to fire all the spells they could and deploy whatever Spirit Artifacts they needed, allowing them to make short work of the oversized insect.
But if anyone thought that this was the end of the battle; they would be sorely mistaken for another gigantic insectoid the size of a mammoth appeared.
“Pull back! There are too many of these monsters!” Chen Yu roared. The fight must have alerted the rest of the nest to their presence and more Seventh-Order insectoids, accompanied by scores of Fifth- and Sixth-Orders stampeded this way.
They had to retreat without Lu Ye, losing a lot of precious ground.
“I’m a Body-tempering Cultivator! I’d rather die fighting than turn around and run with my tail between my legs!” He Xiyin growled through gritted teeth. But she only just finished when all of a sudden, a strange force dragged her from behind and she felt as light as a feather as she glided backward.
Someone had seized her by the back of her collar and tossed her into the air.
By the time she landed safely, she saw a stranger standing at where she originally was and scores of insectoids were collapsing at every swing of the stranger’s fiery-red weapon, its flaring glow lighting up the entire passageway.
A Seventh-Order insectoid lunged through the air and the weapon shot up, slicing the monster into two grotesque slabs of insectoid flesh and viscera in one fell stroke…
“Lu Ye!” Yi Yi exclaimed with joy and surprise.
“Brother Lu Ye!”
Hearing the cries of his name, Lu Ye swung his weapon, flicking away the slimy green muck from his weapon as he acknowledged everyone with a curt nod. “Enough of that. We fight!”
His sudden appearance was like the much-needed jab of adrenaline to rejuvenate the offense, turning the tables back once again in their favor. A silvery bolt of light zigzagged through the insectoid mass, tearing through them as effortlessly as a needle through bolts of cloth. Scores of insectoids fell in that exchange alone and that was what was needed to rally the men for a renewed charge.
That was enough for Lu Ye; maintaining his Telekinesis was enough to ensure their advantage. He strode over to Yi Yi and Amber.
The brawny white tiger had grown much since the last time Lu Ye saw him. Since he started living at the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold, he had had all the food and Spirit Pills he needed, notwithstanding the amounts of times he came to Lu Ye to ask for his usual mysterious-red-substance fix from the latter’s dragon scale.
It would not be easy to gauge Amber’s power levels, after all, it wasn’t a human Cultivator. But the radiation of its beastly aura could parallel even a Sixth-Order, especially with that ethereal aureole of gold that cloaked him. Amber could easily bite through the insectoid defenses and one maul with its claws could easily dent any insectoid armor-like shell.
On the other hand, Yi Yi’s initial vocation was first to learn the ways of healing magic from Shui Yuan. She had lost count of the number of times that she had been stricken by worry and anxiety at Lu Ye’s injuries. That prompted her desire to become a Medical Cultivator so that she could be of some use to him.
But her hopes were dashed when she discovered that she lacked the aptitude for the talent-demanding discipline and for that, she had been wallowing in disappointment for quite a few days.
Feeling sorry for her, Shui Yuan then recommended that she learn how to be a Spell Cultivator from their teacher and Grand Master Tang Yifeng. With her emotional wounds still raw from the setback, little did she realize that this would turn out to be a revelation.
Lu Ye had not been aware of how Yi Yi had been doing in her tutelage with Tang Yifeng. All he knew was that she did spend a lot of time with him.
Yet right now, as he saw how deftly Yi Yi was firing one spell after another with great skill…
Tang Yifeng had been singing praises about how Yi Yi was gifted in spell casting. In fact, he had even posited that Yi Yi must have been a Spell Cultivator before she died and her soul got attached to Amber. Just a couple or maybe a third demonstration and that would be enough for Yi Yi to master any spell.
As a ghost attached to Amber, her strength and power all came from Amber and that would mean that she wielded the power of a Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator.
And because of her spectral physical properties, Yi Yi was not confined only to a certain element. She could use ANY element she liked with little to no difficulty. ．
But she has her weakness as well. As ghostly entities are not able to consume Spirit Pills, the only way she could recover her power was to retreat into Amber and feed on his vitality.
That would mean that Amber would be shouldering the taxing strain from her as well since all her power was derived from him.