Lin Yue wouldn't appear here for no reason; since she can call out Li Taibai's name, she clearly received some news. It's not surprising. When Lu Ye initially clashed with Liew Yuemei in the ground fissure, there was quite a commotion; otherwise, it wouldn't have attracted the underground Insect Race. If any cultivators were passing nearby, they might have noticed. Probably some Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators noticed the disturbance of the fight here and passed the news to Lin Yue, who became concerned about his safety and came to investigate. But this situation is awkward for Lu Ye. He doesn't know how to face Lin Yue since they belong to different factions. If they meet, should they fight or not? If it were a usual time, he could just hide and wait for Lin Yue to leave, allowing him to escape safely. But now, surrounded by the Insect Race on all sides, he simply can't hide. The only option is to activate Thousand Faces, transforming into Li Taibai's appearance. Amidst the fierce battle, he donned the Crimson Dragon Battle Suit, hung the sword gourd at his waist, sheathed the Boulder Mountain Saber, and stored Amber into the spirit beast sack. After these consecutive actions, the Insect Race densely surrounded him from all directions, with several Divine Sea Realm insects watching aggressively nearby. The sword light trembled, with Sword Qi radiating, clearing a vast vacuum area instantly; insect blood and severed limbs scattered as Lu Ye rushed upward, blasting out of the ground fissure within a few breaths. Not far from there, a figure was being besieged by the Insect Race; surprisingly, it was Lin Yue. Although she has Divine Sea Level 7 cultivation, equal to Liew Yuemei, the Insect Race appearing this time far exceeds in both quantity and quality than before. This is also why she finds it difficult to delve into the fissure to search for Li Taibai. Fortunately, relying on her own cultivation, she can still hold her ground. Hearing the swords singing, she turned her head and saw the familiar figure immediately, exclaiming joyfully, "Li Taibai." Lu Ye headed towards her and soon joined her. "Let's go!" Lu Ye urged; he was too depleted and didn't want to continue fighting fiercely with the Insect Race here. He should focus on quickly recovering and regulating his breath. Lin Yue accepted readily, and the two immediately turned to run towards the direction of the Dark Moon Forest Pass, breaking through the encirclement in no time. The swarm of insects followed behind, but they quickly shook them off. The path ahead still had insect blockades, but they posed no significant threat. Flying through mid-air, Lu Ye glanced downwards, frowning as he saw densely packed Insect Race of various shapes emerging in his vision. It's already a considerable-scale Insect Plague, and from the fissure he escaped, more insects continuously swarm out, expanding the plague's magnitude. In the Nine Provinces over the past couple of years, small and large insect plagues have crawled out from various ground fissures, and the Insect Race is extremely sensitive to spirit force fluctuations, hence once they gather into a plague, they inevitably swarm toward human race gathering spots. The current location is roughly between the Dark Moon Forest Pass and the Jinglan Lake Pass, slightly closer to the Dark Moon Forest Pass. It's predictable that this Insect Plague will pose a certain degree of impact on both mountain passes. The cultivators at the two mountain passes must fend off the Insect Plague and annihilate these insects. Lin Yue is already arranging for the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators outside to return. With such a large-scale insect plague, individual power is utterly inadequate to withstand, not even the Divine Sea Realm; they can only steadfastly defend the pass and repel enemies using the pass's fortifications. Dark Moon Forest Pass has experienced this many times already, so they know well how to handle it. Messages were sent out one after another, after which Lin Yue finally had the time to speak with Lu Ye, "Junior Brother Taibai, were you battling with that Liew Yuemei earlier?" Lu Ye knew she would ask this, and having already thought it over, he replied plainly, "Yes." It's unavoidable to acknowledge. Within a thousand-mile radius, only the three of them are Divine Sea Realm, and some Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators detected the turmoil among the Divine Sea Realm and reported it to Lin Yue. Lin Yue isn't foolish; naturally, she had her suspicions, otherwise, she wouldn't have specially come to find him. Moreover, the death of Liew Yuemei ultimately needs to have a reason. Lin Yue couldn't help but be startled, "Where is she?" Earlier, she saw Lu Ye emerge from the fissure and didn't notice any trace of Liew Yuemei. "Dead!" Lu Ye replied concisely. Lin Yue was even more shocked; her expression changed, "How did she die?" It's not that she had any ties with Liew Yuemei; it's just that both were Divine Sea Level 7, and her strength was slightly inferior to Liew Yuemei. If any danger could kill Liew Yuemei, it could also end her life; she must remain vigilant. Naturally, Lu Ye wouldn't admit to killing her, and regardless of whether Lin Yue would believe it, even if she did, many things couldn't be explained. He simply pushed it off saying, "She was ambushed by the Insect Race during the fight and died." After all, Liew Yuemei indeed perished in the fissure, with so many insects present; attributing her death to the Insect Race is quite fitting. Over the past two years, Divine Sea Realm cultivators have indeed fallen into the hands of the Insect Race, and the number is not small; even Divine Sea Level 8-9 cultivators have not been spared. Within the Insect Race, there indeed exist powerful beings! Lin Yue couldn't help feeling a bit absent-minded. She had been stationed at the Dark Moon Forest Pass for over a decade, and Liew Yuemei's tenure at Jinglan Lake Pass wasn't short either. Both were female cultivators, similar in age and strength. It's fair to say they had crossed paths overtly and covertly many times, each viewing the other as a rival. This was one reason why the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge left Lin Yue at the Dark Moon Forest Pass while the Haotian Alliance stationed Liew Yuemei at Jinglan Lake Pass. Through years of rivalry, they came to know each other well, and with each guarding one side, both factions felt assured, minimizing the chance of significant errors. Yet unexpectedly, her longstanding opponent had died just like that. Lin Yue suddenly felt a sense of lament, wondering what the point of their years of rivalry had been. On her way back, she didn't encounter a single soul; those from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, guided by Lin Yue's transmission, had already returned to the Dark Moon Forest Pass early, making preparations for its defense. On the pass's walls, numerous defensive fortifications were fully prepared, awaiting the Insect Race attack to unleash a slaughter. "Junior Brother Taibai, you should rest first. I estimate that within a day, the insect plague won't spread this far," Lin Yue spoke, primarily because she could sense that Lu Ye was greatly depleted. With an imminent battle, they must take good care of their sole Divine Sea Realm subordinate. Lu Ye said no more and headed toward his residence. Once inside, he sat cross-legged and swallowed an elixir pill to restore himself. Though forced to return to the Dark Moon Forest Pass once more, with previous experience, it wouldn't be difficult to escape again when an opportunity arises. However, he had another concern: whether Jinglan Lake Pass could withstand this insect plague. After he killed Liew Yuemei, Jinglan Lake Pass was now leaderless. What's crucial is that they probably didn't even know yet that their Mountain Pass Chief was dead! Currently, only some Cloud River Realm and True Lake Realm cultivators were left to guard Jinglan Lake Pass. If the scale of the insect plague was too immense, without a Divine Sea Realm powerhouse to hold the fort, Jinglan Lake Pass might not hold. Additionally, while at Dark Moon Forest Pass, Lin Yue had transmitted a message to recall all the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators who were outside, preparing for defense. But no one had reminded those at Jinglan Lake Pass. He was aware of the approaching insect plague, yet he couldn't rush over to warn them. He could only hope they would sense it soon and respond promptly. These were cultivators with achievements, not children. Many things couldn't solely rely on superiors; each must bear some responsibility. Time flowed on, and Lu Ye gradually recovered. Suddenly, intense spirit force fluctuations accompanied by a humming sound came from outside, causing the entire pass to tremble. Lu Ye urgently opened the door and stepped out, his figure swaying as he swiftly reached the pass's walls. Looking out, his heart sank. His field of vision was filled to the brim with the silhouettes of the Insect Race, both crawling on the ground and flying in the air, densely packed. The scale of this insect plague was even larger than he had imagined. The nearest insects were only about three miles from the pass. At this moment, numerous defensive fortifications at the pass were unleashing their might, firing attacks activated by formations into the insect swarm. Each time, it cleared a vacuum path, but it was soon filled again by new insects. "Little Mountain Pass Chief!" Nearby, a few cultivators saw him appear and saluted in unison. Lu Ye glanced over. Among them, Ying Wuji forced a smile, inexplicably nervous. Although the Little Mountain Pass Chief had been at Dark Moon Forest Pass for over three months and they had frequent contact, for some reason, every time Ying Wuji saw the Little Mountain Pass Chief, he felt somewhat anxious and uneasy. Even though the Little Mountain Pass Chief had never made things difficult for him, and they were about the same age, with Ying Wuji even being slightly older... he couldn't understand where that invisible pressure came from, attributing it to the unique aura of a Divine Sea Realm. "Carry on with your work," Lu Ye said. They felt as if pardoned and hurriedly collaborated to activate the formation, unleashing the spirit treasure's power in the array eye. Lin Yue appeared quickly, smiling, "Haven't yet congratulated you, Junior Brother, on advancing to Level 2." She had sensed Lu Ye's advancement when they returned yesterday, but with her mind on the pass's defense, she hadn't the opportunity to mention it. "It's just Level 2; there's still a big gap compared to you, Senior Sister." Lu Ye nodded slightly in acknowledgment. Lin Yue chuckled, "You've not been cultivating for long, yet you're already at Divine Sea Level 2. I fear it won't be long before your cultivation surpasses mine. When that time comes, don't hold it against your senior sister for being slow-witted." "Oh, don't say that, Senior Sister." Ying Wuji and the others focused intently on their tasks, the conversation between the two Divine Sea Realm entering one ear and leaving the other. "What do you think of this insect plague, Senior Sister?" Lu Ye shifted the topic. "The scale is immense, the largest we've encountered in the past two years," Lin Yue's expression turned serious. "If the pass were at its peak, resisting such an insect plague wouldn't be difficult. But as you know, many have been redeployed elsewhere, not just at Dark Moon Forest Pass; all major passes in both factions are the same. So, to withstand this plague, you and I need to work together." At the very least, we should find a way to eliminate a batch of Divine Sea Realm insects to reduce the pressure on the pass. "I understand," Lu Ye nodded. Lin Yue hesitated, "Actually, I'm not too worried about our side; my concern is more with Jinglan Lake Pass."