The swarm raged, dense swarms of insects, amidst which a tall, crimson figure charged, the Dragon Spine Saber swinging relentlessly, slashing out one blood-red saber light after another. Insects were continuously cleared out next to him, yet more filled the gaps, the cycle repeating endlessly. The Insect Race showed no fear of death; many, even at the brink of death, would desperately bite or unleash their unique abilities. These abilities were varied: some insect races spewed web-like spiders, and others, like ants, sprayed highly corrosive mucus. In an instant, the scene was boiling, endless sounds emanating from the Dragon Throne. After mere moments of combat, the crimson cover armor turned colorful. Inside the Dragon Throne, Lu Ye spread out his Mental Consciousness, probing for the presence of Divine Sea Realm insects within the vast swarm. Upon detection, he furiously slaughtered forward. Though the swarm was huge, what truly posed a significant threat to the mountain pass defensive line were these Divine Sea Realm insects. Lu Ye, despite his efforts, couldn't entirely eliminate them by himself, even with the cover armor. Therefore, he had to eliminate as much high-end combat power of the swarms as possible to relieve the pressure on the mountain pass. Especially the dozen or so hound insects he encountered on his way. If he couldn't take the chance to resolve them, no matter how many insects he killed otherwise, it would be futile. In such a confrontation, defense was rendered meaningless because, at every moment, the Dragon Throne was withstanding attacks from all directions. Even if he wanted to defend, he couldn't hold it. He could only attack, attacking continuously, firmly holding the initiative in his hands, and attacking as many insects as possible before he was exhausted. His own reserves were rapidly depleted during the battle, and Lu Ye only felt like he had become a dilapidated house, leaking everywhere. Of all his trump cards, the Bloodstain Spirit Runes undoubtedly consumed the least of himself. Next was the Beast Transformation Secret Technique, and the greatest drain was wearing the Dragon Throne. Because once he donned the Dragon Throne, it was as if countless, invisible needles pierced his body, voraciously consuming his strength, including spirit force, blood Qi energy, Divine Soul Power... This consumption was all-encompassing and unavoidable, a cost required for wearing the Dragon Throne. The only solace for Lu Ye was that he was now at Divine Sea Level 2, much stronger than before, allowing him to last longer. The violent fluctuations of power were like a beacon in the dark, drawing swarms of insects to him like moths to a flame. In the heat of the battle, Lu Ye suddenly turned to look in one direction, his view filled with bizarrely shaped insects, but from that direction, a few unusually powerful auras emerged. It was those hound insects! Ever since charging into the swarm, he had been searching for traces of these hound insects. Now, having finally discovered them, he hesitated no more. With the swing of his Dragon Spine Saber, he forcefully carved out a path. In just three breaths, several hound insects mingled among the various insects came into view. They were not large but moved extremely agilely in this chaotic battlefield, using other insects as cover to try to approach Lu Ye. But Lu Ye had been watching for their traces, so how could he let them succeed easily? At the moment of encounter, the hound insects seemed to realize their exposure and collectively roared, pouncing from different directions toward Lu Ye. Lu Ye fixed his gaze on the nearest hound insect and swung his saber down. The Dragon Spine Saber, shrouded in red, seemed like a burning iron brand, its sharp arc formidable and unparalleled, splitting anything in its path into two. However, more vicious auras suddenly appeared behind and beside him. Amidst the cover of numerous insects, other hound insects revealed their presence, forming a pincer attack. Lu Ye was slightly awe-struck; these hound insects... seemed different from typical insects, they actually knew how to cooperate, and even hid themselves before striking. Momentarily, Lu Ye felt like he had encountered a wolf pack's ambush. These were no hound insects; calling them wolf insects would be more fitting. A dozen or so hound insects above Divine Sea Level 7 attacked simultaneously. Despite wearing the Dragon Throne, Lu Ye dared not ignore them. The Dragon Throne, forged from dragon scale, was indeed impressive; after countless insect attacks using various methods, it remained unsullied, merely mottled on the surface, but at the cost of Lu Ye's own reserves. In other words, every attack absorbed by the Dragon Throne consumed Lu Ye's strength. Wearing the Dragon Throne also continuously consumed his strength, and under this double strain, Lu Ye, even now at the Divine Sea, couldn't last much longer. He absolutely couldn't let so many hound insects attack him simultaneously, or defense would be impossible. With a single thought, Lu Ye dashed like lightning toward the three hound insects directly ahead. In an instant, they clashed at close quarters. He punched one hound insect lunging at him, sending it flying, then kicked a second one away. The Dragon Spine Saber came down, meeting the third hound insect. The massive saber transformed into a blood-red arc, slashing fiercely onto the hound insect's back, splitting the white bone carapace with a crack, the saber embedding itself within. For other insectoids, such a stroke would have dismembered them long ago, but the defense of these hounds is clearly stronger than typical insectoids; even the Dragon Spine Saber couldn't fully execute its power in one slash. Spirit force surged around Lu Ye, imbuing the saber as he let out a furious shout, simultaneously dragging the saber down heavily. A piercing friction sound echoed, the hound shrieked in pain, its mouthparts squirming relentlessly, emerald green blood sprayed forth, and the tough bone carapace finally split open, its small body cleaved into two halves. The breath extinguished. Lu Ye felt no joy from the success, for numerous fierce auras were already pressing close from his side and behind. The bodies of the hounds collided against the Dragon Throne, making sounds as they climbed like leeches, their heavily fanged mouths opened, viciously biting various parts of the Dragon Throne. Lu Ye only felt his own essence draining away like floodwaters through a sluice, even the Dragon Throne itself emitted a strained sound. He raised his hand, grabbing a hound biting his right arm, the Dragon Spine Saber pointed towards the constantly widening mouthparts, stabbing straight over. The hound clearly sensed the danger, struggling to resist, but under Lu Ye's firm grasp, how could it escape? The giant saber stabbed into the hound's mouthparts, out through its tail, a fierce slash, cutting off most of its body. Lu Ye reached for another hound, but unexpectedly, upon witnessing their comrade's tragic fate, the hounds all retreated together, leaving Lu Ye grasping at thin air. They seemed to realize they couldn't be captured by Lu Ye, or it would mean disaster. Lu Ye's expression turned solemn, finally grasping one thing—the intelligence of these hounds... is much higher than ordinary insectoids! Whether all large insects are thus, or only these hounds possess such capacity, he wasn't sure, but their behavior indeed differed from typical insectoids. After the fierce battle, expending much essence, only two hounds had been slain, which naturally dissatisfies Lu Ye; he instantly targeted the closest hound to him, planning to go and slay it, when suddenly, frenzied forces from below approached swiftly. Amidst the chaos, Lu Ye glanced down, seeing a massive, grotesque mouthpart leap towards the sky, rapidly drawing near. The mouthparts as large as a house, filled with interlocking fangs, grotesque and terrifying. He wished to dodge, but with insectoids blocking him from all sides, evading was impossible at that moment. The next second, the world plunged into darkness, and no sight of surroundings could be seen anymore. Lu Ye was angered, never imagining he would one day be swallowed by insectoids; the mouthparts should belong to a kind of worm, gigantic in size, he had seen before. Although this worm was hideous and terrifying, it had an obvious disadvantage—it couldn't fly, only moving on the ground, so Lu Ye hadn't bothered with them. But this didn't mean they had no counter against airborne enemies, due to their enormous size, instantly straightening their bodies to open their mouths and devour foes in the air. Lu Ye was caught , swallowed not only with himself but many insectoids around him. A sense of compression came from all sides, along with corrosive energy enveloping the Dragon Throne; confined space made wielding a saber difficult, and if a regular combat cultivator were swallowed , escaping might be truly challenging—long-term entrapment leading either to death by compression or erosion. But Lu Ye's expertise wasn't confined to merely combat cultivator's methods. As spirit force surged, intricate Yin-Yang Dual Origins swiftly outlined and melded, in the blink of an eye, a fiery red spirit force egg formed, its shell shattered, accompanied by the sonorous sound of phoenix cries, the Fire Phoenix broke from its shell. Incandescent power scorched all around, ceaseless sizzling from the surroundings, soon burning a large hole in the worm's abdomen, liberating him from the constraint, blazing wings spread wide, a colossal entity spanning tens of yards emerged grandly. If outsiders witnessed such, they would see the tall Dragon Throne seemingly sprout a pair of wings. Lu Ye moved with dragging the saber, cutting a massive slit in the worm's stomach, rushing upwards, from the wound, the worm's innards poured outward. Once he rose again into the sky, slaughtering freely, on the ground, a worm with a split belly thrashed frantically, writhing in dying struggle. Within the mountain pass, formations hummed, and numerous soldiers at the pass united their efforts, repelling one wave after another of insect plagues, everyone contributing their strength, especially those array cultivators and artifact refiners, rushing around the walls, repairing formations overburdened and damaged, replacing and arranging spiritual artifacts and treasures at the array eyes. The soldiers sharply noticed the decreasing intensity of the insectoids' attack on the mountain pass, lacking previous madness. Moreover, the size of insect plagues was evidently smaller than before. They naturally wouldn't presume this was some grand mercy from the insectoids; the reason for such change must be one: someone, single-handedly plunged into the swarm, occupied much of the insectoids' focus, slaughtered many insectoids.