Chapter 1095, Coincidence

Translator: Jon

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

The truth behind the insectoid plague was worth some deliberation. Some things might not be as straightforward as they seemed.

 

At the very least, it required a staggering amount of energy and resources for such a shocking number of insectoids to be hatched. Where did the energy and resources come from?

 

This world had little to no vitality. As far as Lu Ye could see, there was nothing useful to the insectoids.

 

As a thought flashed in his mind, he drove the scarab to fly along the edge of this world.

 

Since it was a Hidden Realm, there must be a boundary. It was unlike a gigantic Star like Jiu Zhou. Whichever direction one went, he would eventually return to the starting point.

 

Just like the many Small Hidden Realms that Lu Ye had visited before, the edge of this Great Hidden Realm was nihilistic and gave off a dangerous feeling. Even the insectoids wouldn’t go near it.

 

He had scanned the surroundings and discovered that the portal was near the borderline.

 

The scarab could fly quickly. It was a fairly powerful insectoid, after all. Lu Ye stuck close to its back and would lift his head to look around from time to time.

 

Soon enough, he was attracted to the mound on his left.

 

He already saw the mound when he entered this place, but it wasn’t until now that he realised it wasn’t a mound. Instead, it was a massive insectoid nest.

 

He had never observed an insectoid nest from this angle before. Although he had entered an insectoid nest on the Spirit Creek Battlefield before, he was deep inside it. He didn’t know what the insectoid nest looked like on the outside.

 

The insectoid nest was like a sarcoma in the form of a mound. There were countless holes in the sarcoma which made it look like a honeycomb.

 

Many insectoids kept crawling out of the honeycomb-like sarcoma.

 

As far as Lu Ye could see, there wasn’t only one sarcoma. He lifted his head and saw many mounds in the distance. They were the insectoid nests that stood in this land.

 

These insectoid nests were what gave birth to the hideous insectoids in large quantities. They were also the source of the insectoid plague.

 

If cultivators of Jiu Zhou could enter this Great Hidden Realm, they could solve the insectoid plague. The problem was that it was extremely difficult to come to this place.

 

Lu Ye had entered this place, but he had made use of Soul Control to enslave the scarab. Also, he was adept at concealing himself.

 

However, it wasn’t easy for him to bring more people to this place.

 

Moreover, a small number of people wouldn’t be useful, considering the environment here. A large army was required to deal with the insectoids in this place.

 

Lu Ye had never seen insectoids fighting each other in Jiu Zhou. They would gnaw at the carcasses of their companions at most. Nonetheless, it wasn’t so peaceful among them in this Great Hidden Realm. They were always fighting, and the carcasses would be devoured by the survivors, making them stronger.

 

This was the reason many insectoids were powerful. They gradually strengthened their powers by eating their companions. Or, they would become the food of stronger insectoids.

 

Such fighting wasn’t seen in Jiu Zhou because there were better things that attracted their attention. It suppressed their instincts to destroy each other.

 

Those better things included the fluctuations of Spiritual Powers and the vitalities of Humans.

 

All of a sudden, the scarab was targeted by a savage insectoid. There was no doubt it was a great insectoid as it was larger and more powerful than the scarab.

 

A flustered Lu Ye quickly blessed the scarab with Windwalk, which allowed it to get rid of the great insectoid.

 

He was so anxious that he was drenched in sweat. If he didn’t have the scarab as a cover-up, he would be doomed once he was exposed in this place. It wouldn’t be helpful even if he summoned the Dragon Throne.

 

They continued to fly along the borderline. Lu Ye wouldn’t dare to go near the centre because there were lots of insectoids. Due to their wariness of nihility, those insectoids wouldn’t dare to go near the borderline. This allowed Lu Ye to stay safe.

 

During this period, he also saw more than ten colossal insectoid nests and several hideous and massive insectoids. Every one of them could easily destroy a city. Even the top Divine Ocean Realm Masters in Jiu Zhou might not be a match for them.

 

Many people would have to collaborate if they wanted to defeat these massive insectoids.

 

Several hours later, Lu Ye’s attention was drawn to a faint light beneath him.

 

When he looked intently, he was startled for a moment. That was because the source of the light was another portal.

 

Although Lu Ye wasn’t familiar with this Great Hidden Realm, he had a good sense of direction. Therefore, he was certain that this portal wasn’t the one through which he had entered this place. It was another one.

 

It was understandable that he was shocked, but after giving it some thought, he realised it wasn’t surprising.

 

Jiu Zhou was expansive. Presently, there were countless chasms and insectoid passageways in Jiu Zhou. The deeper beneath the ground, the more likely that the insectoid passageways would converge. However, it was impossible that they were all connected to one place. This meant that there was more than one portal that connected this Great Hidden Realm to Jiu Zhou.

 

As for how many portals there were, he had no idea.

 

He wanted to know where this second portal would lead.

 

After giving it some thought, he instructed the scarab to descend. A moment later, they hid among the insectoids and passed through the portal.

 

He was engulfed in the familiar suppression of Yuan Metal Force Field again. This made the flow of Spiritual Power within Lu Ye’s body sluggish.

 

Fortunately, he was well-prepared. Otherwise, his aura would’ve been exposed.

 

He quickly fished out a ten-point map to find out his current location. Soon, he was certain that he was somewhere in Lei Zhou.

 

Since he was too deep beneath the ground, the mark on the ten-point map was unclear. As such, he had no idea exactly where he was in Lei Zhou.

 

He hurriedly kept the ten-point map and instructed the scarab to return to the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm. It took him some effort to go back there in the opposite direction.

 

Just like what he had done before, he immediately made the scarab fly into the air and move along the borderline to continue his journey. Just as he had expected, he saw the third portal several hours later.

 

In the following days, he kept driving the scarab to explore this world.

 

Such a Great Hidden Realm didn’t look gigantic when he saw it from afar while returning to Jiu Zhou from Blood Refinement Boundary. It was just a larger one among the floating continents. Only when he was in this Hidden Realm did he realise how vast it was.

 

It was as big as a Zhou. In other words, the scale of this Great Hidden Realm was comparable to that of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

 

The number of portals was interesting as well. There were exactly nine portals.

 

Every time he found a portal, he would enter it to find out his current location. These nine portals corresponded to the nine major continents of Jiu Zhou.

 

It was too coincidental. Lu Ye felt he had a glimpse of some abstruse and profound work. However, he couldn’t figure out why it was for now.

 

Several days after he arrived at the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm, he returned to the first portal through which he had entered this place.

 

He had surveyed most of the Great Hidden Realm, and it could be said that he had gathered some useful information. He had no intention of destroying the insectoid nests on his own to solve the predicament facing Jiu Zhou, for that would be unrealistic. His power as an individual was limited. This was an insectoid plague that had affected the entire Jiu Zhou. All the cultivators had to work together to solve this crisis.

 

There was no doubt it was a calamity, but in a way, it was also a chance to change the status quo between the two sides that had been ongoing for thousands of years.

 

At the very least, the two sides had stopped fighting each other.

 

At the thought of this, Lu Ye seemed to have realised something.

 

He drove the scarab to pass through the portal and leave the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm. Only then was he relieved.

 

His life had been at risk the entire time he was inside the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm. Once he was exposed, he would be doomed. Only when he was outside did he feel he had regained control of his fate.

 

Nevertheless, he still couldn’t reveal himself for now. He had to continue hiding beneath the scarab’s wings and let it crawl out of the insectoid passageway.

 

He had intended to take the initial route, but he couldn’t do that as there were too many paths. Anyway, whichever way he went, he would eventually return to the surface. As such, he decided to let nature take its course.

 

He had to be careful not to show up in Thousand Demon Ridge’s territory, though. It was true that the two sides had stopped fighting, but they were not united. If he showed up in Thousand Demon Ridge’s territory at this point, it would cause some misunderstanding.

 

Therefore, he had to keep fishing out the ten-point map from time to time to find out his current location.

 

It was another long and arduous journey. It wasn’t until more than ten days later that around 70 per cent of his cultivation had recovered. Only then did Lu Ye move away from the scarab’s wings.

 

As a thought flashed in his mind, the scarab suddenly fell silent and crouched down. He cast a Fire Phoenix and set the scarab aflame. The insectoid was soon burned to ashes.

 

Then, he unsheathed his saber and charged forward in the insectoid passageway. Whenever some insectoids turned around to harass him upon detecting the fluctuations of Spiritual Power, they would be killed instantly.

 

He dashed forward and destroyed the insectoids. When he left the insectoid passageway and returned to the chasm, he finally felt that he was no longer influenced by Yuan Metal Force Field.

 

He leapt into the air and cast Saber Lights in quick succession as it became increasingly brighter above him. There came a moment when he finally got rid of darkness and saw light.

 

He let out a long breath.

 

Although he didn’t fall into danger during his trip to the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm, he had never been at ease ever since he reached the depths beneath the ground, especially after he entered the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm. The entire trip lasted for a month. Even someone like him was drained of all his energy.

 

This was mainly because the scarab couldn’t crawl quickly enough in the passageway, especially when it was moving in the opposite direction. Some stronger insectoids would crash into the scarab and cause it to move backwards. That was why it took the scarab so long to reach the destinations.

 

Anyway, Lu Ye had gathered a lot of useful information this time. At the very least, he had a clear picture of the environment in the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm.

 

Now, they just had to come up with a way to fend off the influence of Yuan Metal Force Field, which would weaken their powers. By then, the soldiers of Jiu Zhou could storm into the Insectoid Great Hidden Realm. Considering the powerful heritage of the Cultivation World in Jiu Zhou, it wouldn’t be hard for them to solve the insectoid plague.