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Whats the matter, Xia Qianqian? The fat man asked while withdrawing his gaze. His acting was so good that no one realized he recognized Lu Ye except Lu Ye himself.
Ill tell you about it when everyones here.
The fat man frowned but did not push the matter further. While waiting, he checked his identity pass before grimacing visibly, They deducted five hundred battle points from my score!
As he said, leaving ones post at a critical time like this cost battle points, and five hundred battle points was not a small number. It was enough to purchase two White Amulets.
Another cultivator flew over to the group before withdrawing their sword aura. He was a tall man and a sword cultivator.
The fat man greeted him warmly, Brother Zhou Hai!
Zhou Hai nodded in acknowledgement and descended on the wall. Then, he tossed a Spirit Pill into his mouth and meditated in silence.
More and more people joined them as time passed. It wasnt long before a couple more cultivators joined their group. Obviously, they had all been called to this location by Xia Qianqian. What was concerning was that the fat man seemed to be familiar with all of them. He could always address the newcomers by their name and make small conversation with them.
Xia Qianqian had messaged more people than this, but no one else joined them after that. The fat man said, Well, it looks like everyone who could attend our little meeting has already arrived. Lets jump straight into business, shall we?
The group turned to look at Xia Qianqian, and the Ninth-Order cultivator said calmly, We found the reason the Spirit Beasts went insane!
Her words immediately caused everyone to perk up.
Since they entered the Hidden Realm and figured out what was plaguing the Myriad Beasts Domain, they had made multiple attempts to find out the cause of the madness. Unfortunately, their efforts had ended in total failure. Just like the natives, they were unable to find anything wrong with the crazed Spirit Beasts even after capturing them and investigating them from head to toe. Naturally, they were extremely interested to hear what Xia Qianqian had to say.
The cultivators of Jiu Zhou were aware that the only way they might survive this Hidden Realm was to solve the root of the problem. And to solve the root of the problem, they must first figure out what it was.
If a greenhorn like Lu Ye could see that there was no way they could defend Bilandia until the end, then the others had to have realized their predicament as well. It was suicide to defend doggedly city without considering other avenues of action.
They were all Cloud River Realm cultivators. No one wanted to die here when they had a bright future ahead of them.
Tell us, Xia Qianqian!
Its a parasite. A kind of Insectoid to be exact! Xia Qianqian replied before relaying everything they had discovered earlier.
The sword cultivator named Zhou Hai listened quietly to the end before flying away on his sword. A while later, he returned with a struggling Spirit Beast with gorgeous, fiery red fur. It was probably a Blood Fox.
Three inches behind the neck, right? Zhou Hai asked Xia Qianqian for confirmation.
She nodded affirmatively. That was where we found our parasite, yes.
There was a flash of metal and a mournful cry from the Blood Fox Zhou Hai was holding. Everyone gazed at his sword and found what looked like a struggling cicada at the tip.
The parasite exploded into black liquid just a second later, but since Zhou Hai was forewarned about its ability, he was able to move fast enough to annihilate every drop before it could get anywhere.
There really is a parasite!
Now they knew for certain that what Xia Qianqian said was true.
Someone asked, Unbelievable. If these Spirit Beasts were all controlled by a parasite, then why didnt we find anything when we were studying their carcasses?
They mustve exploded the moment the Spirit Beast was killed. That is why we didnt find anything! The fat man added with a grimace, Insectoids. Why is it always Insectoids?
It was clear from everyones expressions that they shared his sentiment.
Ive never encountered an Insectoid that burrowed into a Spirit Beast and took control of their body, however. Does that mean theres an insectoid nest somewhere in this world?
Most likely. But where could it be? The situation wont change if we do not know where it is.
Since Fellow Cultivator Xia summoned all of us over, I bet she already has a clue where its located. Am I right, Fellow Cultivator Xia?
When the group looked at Xia Qianqian, she answered, Youre right, but I must clarify that Im not the one who discovered the clue. It is my friend, Fellow Cultivator Ye Six who found it. He has an extremely intelligent Tamed Beast that was nearly taken over by a parasite, but was able to hold it off long enough to convey its location and allow Ye Six to remove it. That is why the credit goes wholly to them.
Also, when the Tamed Beast was controlled by the parasite, it felt a strange connection from over there. Everyone followed her finger when she pointed. Assuming that were not mistaken, it should be where the insectoid nest is located!
The fat man gazed at Lu Ye with interest, Your name is Ye Six, is it? What a coincidence. I have a friend whos called that name as well. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pang Dahai.
Fellow Cultivator Pang!
What else can you tell us about the insectoid nest?
I dont know much about the insectoid nest or if there is even an insectoid nest in that location, but I can tell you that my Tamed Beast definitely sensed something in that direction. Moreover, we got clarification that that is where the headquarters of the Black Tortoise Sect used tobe; the very place where the first outbreak occurred before spreading throughout the whole Cultivation World!
Everyones eyes brightened when they heard this. Zhou Hai declared, That has to be it. The insectoid nest must be located at the Black Tortoise Sect!
Theres no time to waste. Let us depart right away. The sooner we take out the insectoid nest, the sooner we can end this crisis!
Not yet. Were still waiting for someone, Xia Qianqian hurriedly stopped them.
It was at this moment a cultivator descended in front of them. It was none other than the Great Elder who offered to speak with the city lord. His ugly expression told Lu Ye that he hadnt brought good news, however.
As expected, the Great Elder swore loudly, That muddle headed-idiot who calls himself a city lord! I cannot believe he would do this when were literally days away from total annihilation! Just how foolish can he be?
He saluted Lu Ye apologetically after the rest, My apologies for failing you, Young Master!
What did the city lod say, Great Elder?
The old man answered in a furious tone, Not only did that old dog ignore my advice, he forbade us from leaving Bilandia. He declared that well be branded as deserters and never be allowed to set foot in Bilandia again if we dare to leave!
The surviving members of the Myriad Beasts Sect were filled with disdain and righteous anger when they heard this.
Lu Ye consoled them by saying, Its okay. We already have enough people to carry out the mission!
It was only now that the Great Elder realized that their group had been joined by eight newcomers. He asked, Who are these people, Young Master?
Lu Ye kept his answer brief. They are fellow cultivators who have decided to join us on our mission after hearing the truth, Great Elder.
Pleasant surprise bloomed across the old mans features. Wonderful! Most wonderful! At the same time, he thought to himself once more that his Young Master had truly grown up, and that he was no longer the hedonistic son who knew nothing about lifes suffering anymore.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, Pang Dahai and the other Jiu Zhou cultivators were staring at him with shocked expressions. Pang Dahai moved closer to Xia Qianqian and asked in a low tone, Hey, this old mans a native, right? Why is he addressing Ye Six as Young Master? Who is Ye Six in this world?
Hes the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect.
The Myriad Beasts Sect? Pang Dahai blanked out for a second before blurting in astonishment, That is some insane luck. Ive entered this type of Hidden Realm many times in the past, but I never heard of anyone who was given such a prestigious identity!
Xia Qianqian replied in a jealous voice, I know,
right? I never encountered someone like him either.
His fate must be through the roof if the Heavens would value him so. Now that I think about it, hes the one who discovered the Insectoids in the first place, isnt he? Damn. By the way, what is your identity?
Thats none of your business! Xia Qianqian retorted. She was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. There was no way she could ever admit that she was Lu Yes attendant.
Pang Dahai chuckled. Xia Qianqian mightve refrained from answering, but that didnt stop him from figuring out the truth anyway. The young woman realized this and kicked him hard in the stomach. It was only then she said, Since were all here, lets move.
No one had anything to say against that.
The gap in front of the Section Jia-Three Wall was still closed, so they could only leave through the gap in front of their neighbors wall. They immediately summoned their flying Spirit Artifact and flew off in the blink of an eye.
For a time, the surviving members of the Inferno Battalion could only stare at their backs in shock. Then, they reported the desertion to the city lords residence.
Although only eight people had answered Xia Qianqians summons, they were quite powerful in their own right. Pang Dahai and Zhou Hai were both Ninth-Order cultivators, which meant that their group had five Ninth-Order cultivators in total. Everyone else was Fifth-Order or higher as well.
Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi were the only two Second-Order cultivators in the group, but they were far stronger than the average Second-Order cultivator because they were the former champion and first-runner up of the Scroll of Supremacy, respectively. They would not be holding the groups back.
Their small group began fighting their way out of Bilandia. Two body-tempering cultivators opened the way while everyone else blasted at the Spirit Beasts with their flying weapons or spells. Wherever they went, powerful attacks swept the Spirit Beasts like thunder, and colorful lights exploded across the sky like fireworks.
Lu Ye did not face too much pressure because he was positioned at the center of the group, and he was flanked by the Great Elder and the surviving members of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Even so, the endless tide of Spirit Beasts slowly, but surely, wore him down. There were just too many of them. He could believe it if someone told him that every Spirit Beast in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain had come to Bilandia. There were enough avian Spirit Beasts in the sky to blot out the sun, not to mention the sea of spirit Beasts on the ground.
Their group was powerful enough to handle most threats, but it still took them an entire hour to finally break through the encirclement. They had inevitably lost some members in the process as well. Two of them were Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators, and one a Jiu Zhou cultivator. Lu Ye remembered that the Jiu Zhou cultivator was a short ghost cultivator.
No one knew if they were still alive. They had been separated on the way out. Even after they had broken through the encirclement, they were still being pursued by a massive number of Spirit Beasts. Unfortunately, where the avian Spirit Beasts lacked in everything else, they made up in speed. Shaking them off wasnt going to be easy.
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