"In the mortal world, there's a saying: before a major battle, the supplies must go first. We're diligently defending against the Insect Plague here, so ensuring the supply of resources is naturally not a problem." Lu Ye stepped forward and took the two storage sacks containing the fire spirit stones and materials for crafting the array disc. He thought for a moment, then spoke again: "Has the list of the deceased from the previous battle been compiled?" "It has been compiled; their bodies have already been transported back to Haotian City," Yooi Huang replied. "Find a way to check whether they have any surviving relatives. If they do, provide compensation from the mountain pass here." Yooi Huang was amazed: "Compensation? There has never been such a rule before." Although the soldiers are under orders to fight on this frontline and face many dangers, cultivators in cultivation inherently face risks. As cultivators fight here, they also earn cultivation resources for themselves. If they die in battle, it's due to insufficient power or bad luck. "From now on, add this rule. Anyway, these resources will not be entirely used at the mountain pass; you handle this personally." "Understood!" Yooi Huang responded with a deep bow: "I, on behalf of all the brothers at the mountain pass, thank you for your generosity, Mountain Pass Chief!" Lu Ye waved his hand, put away the two storage sacks, first went to Heaven's Augury treasure vault and exchanged for a batch of gold-hued spirit fortune sticks from the Hall of Battle Merits. Then he returned to his sleeping quarters, where he cultivated using the spirit fortune sticks and crafted the Explosive Fire Spirit Stones and As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc. With the doppelganger helping craft them over at Dark Moon Forest Pass, efficiency was greatly enhanced. At the mountain pass, many tedious matters were handled by Yooi Huang and several other True Lake Level 9 cultivators. They typically didn't trouble Lu Ye, except in situations where the soldiers encountered Divine Sea Realm insect races that they couldn't handle, they would contact him for support. The days passed uneventfully, and three months quickly went by . Three full months of nearly uninterrupted cultivation finally allowed Lu Ye's cultivation to progress another level, reaching Divine Sea Level 3. He immediately recalled his doppelganger and condensed a new one. Then, he had the doppelganger put in an appearance in front of Lin Yue, and upon seeing Li Taibai's cultivation improved again, Lin Yue couldn't contain his delight and relied even more heavily on him. With the thorn of the Blood Refinement World stuck in his heart, Lu Ye knew he had to expedite the advancement of his cultivation. Last time, the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury sent him to the Blood Refinement World, allowing him to witness its various facets firsthand, and after the blood race's failure to conquer Righteous Blood Sacred Land, returned him here, clearly intending for him to elevate his cultivation quickly. Although Heaven's Augury never says anything, basically leaving Lu Ye to figure things out himself, many matters have patterns to follow. For instance, why was Lu Ye sent to the Blood Refinement World at that particular time? During the blood race's assault on Righteous Blood Sacred Land, without Lu Ye's contribution of the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc, the sacred land would have been in peril. From this, one can see, the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury desires to protect the human race, both in the Nine Provinces and in the Blood Refinement World. Therefore, before the next blood race assault on Righteous Blood Sacred Land, he must return, not only by himself but also with a group of allies, only then will there be a chance to preserve the Righteous Blood Sacred Land, the only Pure Land for the human race in the Blood Refinement World. As for how to get back, he needn't worry about that. Heaven's Augury has its own plans; he merely needs to wait. But the current situation in the Nine Provinces is tumultuous and unstable; with the Insect Plague unchecked, there is constant chaos, and manpower is scarce everywhere. Where would he find extra allies to take to the Blood Refinement World? The best scenario would be to resolve the Nine Provinces' Insect Plague before heading to the Blood Refinement World, but is such a feat truly achievable? In all his dealings, Lu Ye adheres to a principle: do everything possible and leave the rest to fate. No matter what, he strives to exert his utmost effort. Currently, his main self is the Mountain Pass Chief of Jinglan Lake Pass, and his doppelganger is the Minor Mountain Pass Chief of Dark Moon Forest Pass. It can be said, he essentially controls this area spanning about a thousand miles. Not to mention solving the Nine Provinces' Insect Plague, first addressing the insect plague problem within this thousand-mile radius is the sensible approach. Three months later, Lu Ye emerged from his sleeping quarters without bringing Amber or Yiyi. Both the spirit lion and spirit tiger have been continuously cultivating in seclusion during this time, with an unending supply of gold-hued spirit fortune sticks, their cultivation has advanced rapidly. He swept his Mental Consciousness around, located Yooi Huang, gave him a few instructions, telling him to stay and hold the fort at the mountain pass, while he soared into the sky, streaking towards the north. Over the past three months, while cultivating, he had many considerations and was ready to try a few things. If successful, it won't mean solving the insect plague here but stabilizing the situation, which will allow him more time to attend to his affairs. He sped along the way, imposing and magnificent, quickly arriving before the Dark Moon Forest Pass. Without intending to hide himself, Lin Yue noticed and immediately flashed to the top of the mountain pass wall, with Li Taibai's doppelganger following closely behind. Hovering in the air a hundred feet away from Dark Moon Forest Pass, Lu Ye's gaze swept over, feeling awkward inside, but he still cupped his fists in salute to the doppelganger: "Brother Taibai!" The doppelganger returned the gesture: "Brother Yiye!" In the eyes of outsiders, these two had a history of joining forces against enemies, and now the name of the Twin Heroes of Bingzhou had spread, so addressing each other this way was natural. Were others to do this publicly, they might immediately be accused of collusion with the enemy. Lu Ye then looked at Lin Yue: "Lu Ye from Jinglan Lake Pass, greetings to Fellow Daoist Lin." Lin Yue smiled slightly, bowing gracefully: "To what do we owe the pleasure of Fellow Daoist Lu's visit?" "There is something I wish to discuss with Fellow Daoist Lin and Brother Taibai. May I come in for a chat?" Lin Yue was momentarily stunned, then immediately nodded: "Please, Fellow Daoist Lu, come inside." First seen on *. Without hesitation, Lu Ye flashed into Dark Moon Forest Pass under the watchful eyes of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators. This might well be the first time since the two camps started opposing each other that a cultivator openly walked into the enemy's mountain pass . Lin Yue reflected that young people indeed have boldness in their actions. Replacing him with any older Divine Sea Realm Haotian Alliance member, it would be impossible to walk in . But speaking of it, due to the insect disaster, the relationship between the two camps has slightly eased, and with the coexistence of mutual threats, she had no ill intentions towards Lu Ye. Soon, in the visitors hall, host and guest took their seats as a female cultivator served tea, getting up close to admire the legendary demeanor of Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer. Lu Ye took a sip of tea. Having his doppelganger serve under Lin Yue for half a year, he was familiar with her, and didn't beat around the bush: "Fellow Daoist Lin, our mountain passes are divided into the northern and southern ends, guarding the frontline. Past conflicts are driven by circumstances and beyond our control. Currently, we face a common enemy, so why not join forces to defend against them?" Lin Yue asked, "How do we join forces?" "The Insect Race in this thousand-mile radius basically crawls out from the ground fissure at the centerline between us. That's the source. So if we can seal the source, the insect disaster in this area will naturally be contained. Doing so spares our soldiers from running around killing insects, and there would be no need for you, me, and Brother Taibai to spread our efforts over various support operations, saving time and effort." Lin Yue reflected thoughtfully: "Fellow Daoist Lu means to deploy forces at the ground fissure?" "Exactly." Lu Ye nodded. "It's indeed a method." Lin Yue smiled, "To be honest, the higher-ups in Ten Thousand Demons City have considered this, but there are many obstacles to implementation, so they ultimately gave up." "Obstacles? I must ask Fellow Daoist Lin to enlighten me." "Firstly, we've been in opposition for many years with individual grievances on both sides. Although the greater situation under the insect disaster has slightly alleviated tensions and no one openly declares hostility, most cultivators, when encountering each other in the wild, merely pass by without conflict. But this is limited to chance encounters. If we truly deploy forces at the ground fissure, both sides will involve all their cultivators together, spending time daily, and discord is unavoidable." Lu Ye nodded: "It's not hard to solve; we each issue orders, and I trust our cultivators are mature enough to discern the bigger picture." Lin Yue smiled: "This point is indeed more easily resolved. But if we proceed, how should the forces be divided? Our Jinglan Lake Pass presently has about three hundred soldiers, and we cannot send them all to the ground fissure; some must stay to guard the pass. The distance between the ground fissure and the pass is several hundred miles, and the forces are already insufficient; dividing them is a strategic taboo. If a crisis occurs at either the fissure or the pass, it will be hard to support in time." Lu Ye nodded lightly: "That's a fair concern, Fellow Daoist Lin, is there more?" Lin Yue urgently replied: "If a giant insect appears at the ground fissure that the soldiers cannot handle, what should we do? At least leave defenders at the pass, they can use the geographical advantage to hold off attackers. The ground fissure, however, lacks such advantages. Considering all these factors, the current defense, although imperfect, guarantees the soldiers' safety better than hastily massing troops at the fissure." Lu Ye responded: "The current method indeed has its merits, but also its shortcomings. Without surveillance at the ground fissure, we can't know when a giant insect emerges. Over recent months, our soldiers often encounter Divine Sea Realm insects in the wild. Although they can signal me for support, it still requires time, and sometimes I'm late, endangering their lives. I don't know how the situation is at your pass, but at ours at Jinglan Lake Pass, more than a dozen people have been lost over three months." The situation at Dark Moon Forest Pass was similar. Cultivators hunted the insects in groups, but if unlucky, handling tough ones was dangerous. Even if Lin Yue responded immediately upon receiving news, she sometimes arrived late. Just think of when Ying Wuji's team almost faced annihilation. If Lu Ye hadn't arrived in time, Lin Yue could only have handled their aftermath. "So stationing troops at the ground fissure is the best response. As for Fellow Daoist Lin's concerns... I can arrange a teleportation array directly to the fissure here at Dark Moon Forest Pass. This way, if there's a crisis, neither you nor Brother Taibai would take long to get there. Additionally, with a teleportation array, forces at the pass and the fissure can support each other, ensuring mutual aid if either faces danger."