After several months of crafting, the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs have become widespread in the Haotian Alliance camp across Bingzhou. Not only Bingzhou, but other provincial states are also gradually benefiting, though because the number is still insufficient, the spread in other provincial states is not as high as in Bingzhou. After all, these are crafted by Lu Ye, so naturally Bingzhou's needs are prioritized before providing to other provincial states. It is believed that in a few more months, the situation will improve, as both Lu Ye's real self and doppelganger are working together, doubling the number of As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs crafted each time. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge is not blind, and they naturally noticed the changes in the Haotian Alliance camp. Besides, both camps have long since planted insiders in each other's camps. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge has actually been aware of the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc's existence for a while, and even tried various ways to obtain a few discs for research, intending to imitate them. However, this is not something that can be imitated easily. Back in the Blood Refinement World, even an Artifact Crafting Master like Ouyang Zi couldn't do much about it. Truly, if he were to craft it, he could only bet on a pitifully low success rate amidst repeated failures. Thus, even if the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge obtained the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs, they couldn't mass-produce them, leaving them envious. Lin Yue's status in the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge camp is not very high, but at least she's a Mountain Pass Chief and has heard of the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs before. She has also mentioned this matter to doppelganger Li Taibai. Now, by bringing it up, the deeper meaning is self-evident. Lu Ye was prepared and casually threw a storage sack to Lin Yue. Lin Yue took it, suppressed her inner doubts, opened it for inspection, and soon showed astonishment. Inside were exactly one hundred As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs. Lu Ye spoke, "Since we want cooperation between the two sides, I think we should be open and straightforward, and not keep things hidden or overly calculative against each other, wouldn't you agree, Fellow Daoist Lin?" Lin Yue was silent for a moment, then sighed slightly, "Fellow Daoist Lu, your actions are straightforward, I am ashamed." She initially intended to use this cooperation between the two sides to ask Lu Ye for some benefits, specifically these As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought up such a topic at this time, but who would have thought no further word was necessary, as the other party was already prepared. A moment later, Lu Ye watched Lin Yue leave, and continued working on setting up the defensive structures. The As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc is a strategic resource, generally not to be given away freely, but since it was crafted by him, giving away one hundred is no big deal; it also enhances the overall strength of the Dark Moon Forest Pass and aids in defending the ground fissure. Lin Yue acted swiftly, and in just half a day, she led more than two hundred Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators to the ground fissure, joining the ranks against the Insect Race and fortifying the front lines. With the addition of these manpower, the situation at the ground fissure stabilized quickly. Several days passed, and once everything was arranged, whenever any Insect Race crawled out from the ground fissure, they'd be immediately exterminated by the cultivators from both mountain passes, even if Divine Sea Realm insect races emerged. No large insects were seen; the lineup of over ten large insects in the previous Insect Plague is a rare encounter. Lin Yue approached Lu Ye, "Fellow Daoist Lu, we need your assistance to travel to the Dark Moon Forest Pass and set up a Teleportation Array." "It should be done," Lu Ye nodded; it was part of their prior agreement, of course he wouldn't refuse. Without delay, he set off flying towards the Dark Moon Forest Pass. Simultaneously, Lin Yue communicated with doppelganger Li Taibai about this matter, instructing him to find a suitable spot for the Teleportation Array, while also being wary of any tricks Lu Yiye might pull. Just because the two sides temporarily cooperate doesn't mean they should drop their guard—after all, they belong to two major camps. If the insect disaster is solved, the situation will revert to its prior state. Lin Yue wanted to trust Lu Ye, but human nature is unpredictable, and it's always best to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. From this perspective, Lin Yue is quite a competent Mountain Pass Chief. Arriving at the Dark Moon Forest Pass, he united with the doppelganger, chose a location, and set up a Teleportation Array connected to the ground fissure. Through the array, Lu Ye directly returned to the ground fissure; the entire process took more than two hours, swift as the wind. With the source of the Insect Race, the ground fissure, contained, no new insects emerged within a thousand-mile radius. Perhaps a few stray insects from other ground fissures wandered here, but those were few. At this time, the defense at the two mountain passes truly reached an impregnable level. The soldiers no longer needed to go out in groups to hunt insects; they could just remain at the ground fissure and wait for insects to fall into their trap, saving much time and effort. A month later, once the situation here was completely stabilized and no major errors surfaced, Lu Ye found Lin Yue. "You want to venture deep into the ground fissure?" Lin Yue looked at Lu Ye in surprise. "Indeed, I want to go in and have a look, so I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Lin to take care of things here." "The depths of the ground fissure are unsafe. Not to mention that they are swarming with Insect Races, but also the deeper you go, the more intense the origin magnetic field becomes, very unfriendly to us cultivators. Over the past few years, many strong cultivators from both Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge ventured into the ground fissure to investigate, with minimal gains and often injuries and casualties." "I have to see it for myself; maybe there will be some discovery." "Fellow Daoist Lu trusts me that much?" Lin Yue asked perplexedly, "If you leave, your Jinglan Lake Pass will be leaderless on this side." Lu Ye glanced at her, "What could Fellow Daoist Lin do? Kill them all? What benefit would that bring you or Dark Moon Forest Pass? It would only create unnecessary blood feuds and increase the pressure of defending against the Insect Race. I believe that since our two sides have had a good start, we can also end well." Lin Yue paused for a moment and slightly nodded, "I am just a woman and do not dare as much as you do, so I can only wish you to turn calamities into blessings and may your path be smooth. As for the ground fissure here, please be assured, Fellow Daoist, I dare not promise absolute safety, but should danger arise, I shall treat all equally." Having reached an agreement, Lu Ye called Yooi Huang and informed him of his decision. Yooi Huang hurriedly tried to dissuade him, "Master, venturing deep into the ground fissure is no joke, its inner origin magnetic field is everywhere, the deeper you go, the more your cultivation gets suppressed, why take this risk." Lu Ye summoned him merely to relay a few instructions, asking him to follow Lin Yue's arrangements after he left, not to hear his attempts at dissuasion, naturally pretending not to hear, he continued to give his instructions. Yooi Huang was secretly anxious, but knew it was futile to dissuade him. After a little while, under the gaze of both groups of cultivators, Lu Ye leapt into the ground fissure, quickly disappearing from sight. As he delved deeper, Insect Race creatures would occasionally sense his presence and attack, but Lu Ye dispatched them. With his current cultivation, dealing with these ordinary Insect Race creatures was effortless; even those of the Divine Sea Realm could be easily slain by him, only the larger insects posed any real disturbance. It was merely a disturbance; as long as their numbers weren't overwhelming, he could handle them. The deeper he went, the darker it became, until no light was visible. Thanksforreading—broughttoyouby*. Fortunately, now that he had reached the Divine Sea, as long as his Mental Consciousness remained, it didn't matter even if he closed his eyes. Regarding the situation beneath the ground fissure, he had previously asked the sect master, as the sect master had once explored deeply into it before, so he wasn't entirely in the dark. He simply wanted to see for himself because he had some unique methods that others didn't, which might have unforeseen effects. At a depth of a thousand zhang, he moved without hindrance. Once he reached a thousand zhang depth, Lu Ye sensed a slight obstruction in the flow of spirit force within him, but it was so minor that it was almost unnoticeable without careful detection. Such situations typically occur due to pill poison accumulated in the body, which can be resolved by finding a way to cleanse the pill poison. However, Lu Ye naturally had no pill poison in his body, the cause of this was the mild origin magnetic field already enveloping this depth. The origin magnetic field, an invisible and intangible existence, could almost be considered a cultivator's nemesis. When Lu Ye hadn't yet opened his spiritual orifice, he used it to cunningly kill a manager from Evil Moon Valley, thus embarking on his cultivation journey. It was due to the effect of the origin magnetic field that this person's entire spirit force became obstructed, leading to their demise. Of course, that manager was not strong enough, or if his cultivation had been higher, the outcome might have been very different. As he continued downward, the origin magnetic field grew denser, and the obstruction within Lu Ye's body gradually deepened. He could sense it clearly, like an invisible force hindering the circulation of his spirit force. This reduced the strength he could exert, but it wasn't too severe yet. At about a depth of three thousand zhang, Lu Ye's entire cultivation was suppressed to merely the level of an initial Divine Sea Realm. If he continued further, he would inevitably fall below the Divine Sea Realm level, which would undoubtedly be very dangerous for him. It was at this depth that Lu Ye finally discovered a massive tunnel. According to the sect master, this was an Insect Path where the Insect Race emerged from unknown depths underground, crawling along the Insect Path, then breaking into the Nine Provinces through the ground fissure to wreak havoc. Virtually every ground fissure has an Insect Path below it, although their depths vary, most are around three thousand zhang. Logically, by following the Insect Path deep enough, one would inevitably find the insect hive location, and by eliminating the insect hive, the Insect Plague could be resolved at its source. Unfortunately, to date, none of the two major camps' numerous strong cultivators in the Divine Sea Realm in the Nine Provinces have managed to penetrate to a sufficient depth. This is a deadlock because the deeper one goes, the less strength a cultivator can exert. Even a strong cultivator like the sect master, upon reaching the location of the insect hive, could hardly exercise much power. This is the fundamental reason why the Insect Plague has plagued the Nine Provinces for several years without resolution. If the insect hive were in an easily accessible location, it would have been eradicated by the Nine Provinces cultivators long ago. Lu Ye did not rashly plunge into the Insect Path. At this point, the Insect Race's numbers were already considerable, including many Divine Sea Realm insects. He had fought his way to this place, and while his spirit force could recover quickly, his physical exertion was very real. So he needed to ensure that he had means to protect himself when danger arose.