The insect swarm obscured the view, and the soldiers within the mountain pass couldn't see the battle inside. Naturally, they had no idea what was happening, only feeling intense energy fluctuations emanating from within, accompanied by sudden Phoenix Cry sounds and faintly visible crimson light blooming amidst the swarm. Yooi Huang moved around different parts of the mountain pass, taking the initiative to coordinate the defense at each location, tirelessly engaged. In this moment of crisis, the entire Jinglan Lake Pass was more united than ever, giving their all, because everyone knew that if they couldn't overcome this calamity today, a terribly tragic fate awaited them. Turning his head to look at the still-dense insect swarm, Yooi Huang secretly hoped that Lu Yiye from the Righteous Blood Sect could hold on. What Lu had done gave the soldiers at Jinglan Lake Pass a glimpse of hope, but ultimately, he was just a Divine Sea Level 2 cultivator, and no one knew how long he could endure. While secretly worried, he was also a bit puzzled. Could a Divine Sea Level 2 cultivator really possess such great skill? He had interacted with many cultivators in the Divine Sea Realm. Not to mention others, even the former Mountain Pass Chief Liew Yuemei was a Divine Sea Level 7 cultivator, yet even if Liew Yuemei were still alive, delving so deep into enemy formations would have been tough for her. In such an environment, surrounded by enemies on all sides, a single misstep could lead to irreversible consequences. Ultimately, Yooi Huang could only attribute Lu Ye's abilities to the magical cover armor. As time passed, the scale of the insect swarm diminished, much to the relief of the soldiers at the mountain pass. Notably absent among the invading insect race were Divine Sea Realm insect race members. Though they were still numerous, the defensive fortifications at the mountain pass could barely cope. Hold on, and victory is ours! However, Lu Ye felt it increasingly difficult to persevere. By now, more than half an hour had passed since the battle began. The insect race creatures killed by him alone were innumerable, reducing the swarm size by about twenty percent, and combined with the efforts at the mountain pass, the swarm was now only half its original size. He had almost eliminated all the Divine Sea Realm insect race members, except for those hound-like insects. These creatures were too cunning, and due to their small size, they moved extremely nimbly. After Lu Ye slew two hound-like insects consecutively, they realized he was not to be trifled with and never confronted him head-on. They often sneaked in, attacked suddenly, and swiftly fled, having the cunning of a ghost cultivator, disappearing a thousand miles if a strike missed. Concealed by the swarm, Lu Ye could do little against them. Besides the two hound-like insects he killed at first, Lu Ye had killed two more, though by sheer luck. But at least eight hound-like insects remained! Such a nimble and powerful force posed a tremendous threat, whether to him or to Jinglan Lake Pass. Inside the Dragon Throne, Lu Ye was panting heavily, his arm numb from wielding the saber. The prolonged use of the Dragon Throne had drained him significantly. Continuing , he wouldn't have the strength to maintain the Dragon Throne, let alone keep fighting. A strategy must be conceived! Returning to Jinglan Lake Pass for rest was the best option. His recovery was simplistic, and in no time, he would be full of vigor. Yet, during his recovery period, without someone to restrain these hound-like insects, the defensive fortifications at Jinglan Lake Pass might not withstand the swarm's assault. The swarm's scale had indeed shrunk, but so had the defenses at the pass. This was due to many compounded factors: cultivators' energy being depleted, formations operating under excessive load getting damaged, and primarily, a shortage of manpower at the pass, hampering their ability to exploit defensive advantages fully. Consequently, even though the insect swarm had substantially decreased in size, the pass's defenses were not as strong as before. Therefore, the eight hound-like insects coupled with the remaining swarm still posed a monumental challenge to the pass's defense. If the defense were breached, the soldiers at the pass would be in danger. So retreating to the pass was not an option. If returning to the pass was not feasible, the only solution was to lure those hound-like insects away. Although their spiritual intelligence was higher than ordinary insect races, they were still insect races. Lu Ye sensed their vengefulness, especially since he had killed four of their companions. During this time, they had been plotting to take his life, and without the Dragon Throne, he might indeed have fallen here. With a plan in mind, Lu Ye turned around, charging toward the outside, spreading his Mental Consciousness to monitor the hound-like insects' movements. As expected, these hound-like insects kept their eyes locked on him, hidden among the numerous insect races, ready to strike at any moment. This was precisely what Lu Ye wanted. The Dragon Spine Saber swung, cutting through waves, carrying the aura of death. During this, the hound-like insects dashed in and out, lunging to bite Lu Ye and swiftly retreating, never giving him a chance to counterattack. Lu Ye didn't bother with them, as long as they followed him. Before leaving, he intended to kill as many ordinary insect races as possible. Dozens of breaths later, the space ahead cleared abruptly, and light entered his view. With a large group of insect races behind him, Lu Ye turned back, swinging his saber. A massive blood-red saber light swept out, annihilating numerous insect races. But his figure wobbled violently, followed by explosive sounds. The Dragon Throne that cloaked his body shattered, breaking into countless tiny Scale Armor fragments, converging and gathering, reforming into that baby-head-sized orb. Lu Ye grabbed it and stuffed it into his storage space, staggeringly flying into the distance. Yet, a worry lingered in his heart. If the eight hound-like insects didn't pursue him, he'd have to kill his way back, and if so, he'd have to retreat to the pass to rest and recover. Luckily, his worry was unfounded. It seemed that when they saw him stow away the Dragon Throne, they realized this human was now at the end of his rope, no longer possessing the fierce and unparalleled aura he had earlier. The eight hounds that had been eyeing him hesitated no longer and chased after him swiftly. Lu Ye felt a great resolve in his heart, and while fleeing with all his might, he pulled out a handful of elixir pills and stuffed them into his mouth, then swallowed a drop of Soul Cleansing Water, rapidly refining it to replenish his own consumption. The speed of the hounds was very fast; Lu Ye's normal speed was surprisingly inferior to theirs, forcing him to activate the Move-Like-The-Wind Spirit Runes to bolster himself, barely keeping pace with the hounds. In the chase, one man and eight insects streaked through the sky, leaving the other chasing insect races far behind. On the city wall at the mountain pass, Yooi Huang keenly noticed changes in the swarm as no more battle ripples came from there—did Lu Yiye... die? Such a talented young man, if he were to die here, would be too great a pity. But he quickly dismissed his suspicions because although the insect tide's offensive force had increased significantly, there was no sign of any Divine Sea Realm insect races, let alone large insects. His heart understood; Lu Yiye wasn't dead but definitely wasn't in a good situation and had chosen to lure away those large insects. Lu Yiye was in trouble, and the mountain pass wasn't doing well either. Without Lu Yiye's restraint, the insect plague had thrown all its energy into the offensive on the pass, and for a moment, the pass's defensive line was precariously close to breaking. Yooi Huang roared and bellowed, encouraging the soldiers, desperately pouring his own spirit force into a formation, unleashing its might. However, on the battlefield, while morale and determination are important, victory ultimately depends on strength. With the gathering of the insect tide, a section of the pass's defense line finally collapsed. A large number of insect races burst through it, and the cultivators around the defense line fought desperately to block them, but still could not prevent the widening of the breach. Yooi Huang rushed forward and fought for just a moment before becoming covered in scale armor wounds. Watching cultivators beside him fall one by one, fury surged in his heart, anger rising from his courage, he blocked the breach bodily, roaring and slaying foes. Numerous ferocious and terrifying insect races swarmed toward him, yet Yooi Huang stood firm, even if it meant dying, he would use his body to block this breach! Just as he resolved to die, sparkling starlight suddenly spread out of nowhere, instantly filling his view. Immediately, violent energy fluctuations surged out of that starlight. Yooi Huang's pupils contracted instantly, realizing something was wrong, and hurriedly activated spirit force to shield himself. The next moment, a dense and deafening explosion sounded, within his vision, massive flames fiercely erupted, and the powerful shockwave sent Yooi Huang flying, landing in disarray, coughing violently a few times. Has Lu Yiye come back? This thought arose in Yooi Huang's mind, but he quickly realized it was wrong; Lu Yiye was a combat cultivator, but the technique just now was a magic cultivator's doing. Reinforcements have arrived! Yooi Huang reacted. Looking up, he saw a figure not particularly tall standing where he had just stood, blocking the breach in the defense line. One after another, large-scale spells were cast, with power so immense, holding off a large number of insect races' attacks by himself! Yooi Huang recognized him, it was a Divine Sea Level 8 expert from Sky Gate Checkpoint, seemed to be named Wan something, he truly wasn't sure of his full name. He wiped the blood off his face and quickly rushed to the newcomer: "Veteran Wan!" Veteran Wan was casting techniques to hold off the insect tide while speaking: "The scale of this insect tide isn't large, how did it get , didn't Chen Xiao say there were large insects?" He had fought his way through the insect swarm from outside, seeing no sign of the large insects, nor any Divine Sea Realm insect races. This kind of insect tide theoretically shouldn't pose a great threat to a mountain pass. But here at Jinglan Lake Pass, the defense was extraordinarily tough, and looking at the situation, there appeared to be a number of casualties. "Large insects were lured away by Lu Yiye, and many Divine Sea Realm insect races were probably killed by him." Yooi Huang hastily explained. "Lu Yiye?" Veteran Wan raised an eyebrow, "That Lu Yiye from the Righteous Blood Sect?" "Not sure, we haven't felt his presence since earlier, but he should still be alive." Veteran Wan frowned and said no more, ordering: "Solidify the defense line first!" Yooi Huang received the order and hurriedly called the cultivators at the pass to gather. Once the defense line here was somewhat solidified, Veteran Wan waved his sleeve and boldly charged out. For Divine Sea Realm cultivators, in such a situation, they must take the initiative to attack to leverage their advantage, rather than merely holding the line with many soldiers. Offense is the best defense, the more enemies slain, the less pressure on the defense line. Both Lu Ye and Veteran Wan did this, Li Taibai and Lin Yue did this too.