The sect master sent a message this time, mainly to inquire what reward Lu Ye wants. After achieving such great merits, the Haotian Alliance must express appreciation in some way. If there's no display of gratitude, it could chill the hearts of people. "Reward?" Lu Ye pondered, is there anything he's still lacking? For ordinary cultivators, they lack battle merit and merit points, but he truly doesn't lack these two. His accumulation of battle merit has already reached millions and is steadily heading toward tens of millions. If he were to mention this, no one would probably believe it. With his current accumulation of battle merit, if he were to go to the Department of Appointments for a military rank promotion, not just a Brigadier General, even a Major General position might be possible. However, Lu Ye currently doesn't have high demands for military rank, so he is lazy to bother. With military rank promotion, only his monthly salary slightly increases. "Then Spirit Stones it is, and the demonic pills of demon beasts, especially poison pills." Lu Ye listed his demands. Even though he can obtain them in a certain proportion by refining Explosive Fire Spirit Stones, the Talent Tree is a bottomless pit that can devour as many Spirit Stones as possible. It's always good to stock up more. Moreover, he feels that his Talent Tree is showing signs of undergoing metamorphosis again, because during this period, the Talent Tree has devoured many Spirit Stones, yet shows no signs of unlocking new spirit runes. As for the demonic pills, they are mainly for Amber. The poison pills are for Hua Ci, who, after leaving the Cloud River battlefield, lacks a suitable cultivation environment. Having more poison pills could help her grow faster. Having just finished communicating with the sect master, the guard token reacted again. Lu Ye investigated and found that the command came from the Sky Gate Checkpoint. They are instructed to collect insect blood from True Lake Realm and above as much as possible. This is evidently to prepare raw materials for refining insect blood, which is not a troublesome task. Over at the ground fissure, the cultivators at the two mountain passes have been continuously killing insects, and collecting some Insect Race blood is feasible. Moreover, this command isn't solely communicated to them; presumably, all major mountain passes at the frontline received the command. However, the collection of insect blood has requirements. Ordinary insect blood is not very useful due to low quality and cannot be refined into anything valuable. Only insect blood from True Lake Realm and above can serve as raw material for refinement, and insect blood of Divine Sea Realm Insect Race is naturally more effective. Lu Ye conveyed the command to the ground fissure side and did not intervene further. He continued cultivating. The entire Nine Provinces have entered a state of intense preparation. All cultivators are waiting for the arrival of that critical moment. Under such circumstances, a distinctive demeanor appears within the Nine Provinces, even common people unfamiliar with cultivation sense some subtle changes. The insect plague has swept across the Nine Provinces for over three years, leaving the land in distress. Though cultivators protect common people, avoiding significant casualties, throughout these over three years, no one sees hope, and no one knows when such days will end. But now things are different. The cultivators understand that the counter-offensive against the Insect Race's Great Secret Realm has been scheduled. It won't be long before this suffering ends, and the Nine Provinces will return to its previous state. The night breeze gently blows as Lu Ye walks outside his cultivation spot. Tonight is moonless, with a sky full of stars. He is not someone who can sit in prolonged closed-door cultivation, still too young, unable to bear such temperament. Hence, after a period of seclusion, he would casually go out to stroll and relax his mind. Cultivation is about maintaining a rhythm of relaxation and tension. His cultivation improvement rate is already fast; having a more pleasant and comfortable mindset can also enhance cultivation. Not far away, a conversation can be heard. It's the cultivators responsible for guarding the mountain pass city wall, seemingly debating something. Normally, there are only over fifty cultivators stationed here. However, because Lu Ye leads a mostly secluded life and travels via the Teleportation Array, he doesn't interact much with his subordinates. Those he is familiar with, there are only a few like Yooi Huang. With a flicker, he flew over to the two individuals beside him. The two cultivators were startled and quickly saluted after seeing Lu Ye's figure: "Sir." Lu Ye responded with hands behind his back and curiously asked, "What are you debating?" One of them answered: "Sir, it's . Lowe said there's an extra star in the sky. I claimed that with so many stars in the sky, how can he be certain there's an extra one or a missing one? So, he started arguing with me." "An extra star?" Lu Ye looked up to the sky. The younger cultivator, Lowe, blushed and said, "There is indeed one more star, sir. I often guard here at night, and when I have nothing to do, I watch the stars. I might not know how many stars there are exactly in the sky, but I can tell when there's an extra or missing one." "Where?" Lu Ye asked curiously. Lowe pointed them in a direction: "Sir, look over here. There should originally be seventeen stars here, but now, there's an extra one. I noticed it faintly a few days ago but wasn't too sure at the time. Observing today, the additional star appears brighter." Lu Ye looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw eighteen stars there. However, he wasn't certain which one was extra. Such matters are tricky for him to comment on, and the number of stars can also link to observational environment factors. Perhaps Lowe hadn't noticed before, or maybe the star was obscured by clouds earlier; both are possible. The guards were simply bored and looking for something to do. Without much hesitation, he spoke, "Argue all you want, just don't harm the camaraderie." "Rest assured, sir. We are like brothers, used to bickering, so please forgive us," said the elder cultivator. Lu Ye nodded slightly and moved towards Heaven's Augury Hall to use the Teleportation Array to investigate the ground fissure. He returned after more than two hours, stretched his muscles within the ground fissure, killed some Insect Race creatures, and resumed cultivation. The preparatory work for the Nine Provinces took a full three months. There was no other choice because collecting a sufficient amount of insect blood couldn't be done in a short time. Once the insect blood reserves met the requirements, the counterattack on the Insect Race Great Secret Realm was immediately put on the agenda. Lu Ye received the summons and hurried from Jinglan Lake Pass to Haotian City. Upon arriving at the sect master's courtyard, the sect master was waiting. Lu Ye was puzzled, "With my cultivation level, why am I being asked to attend the Grand Council?" On the way, he had asked the sect master and learned that it was Pang Zhen who wanted him to attend the Grand Council. It must be known that the Grand Council had always been a meeting for the top echelons of the Haotian Alliance in Bingzhou, attended only by members like the sect master who were part of the Elder Council, or by Qian Wudang, a head of a department. Ordinary Divine Sea Realm Level 8-9 cultivators did not have the right to attend, yet Lu Ye, a Divine Sea Level 4 cultivator, had been specifically named, which made him feel a bit flattered. While leading him towards Harmony Light Hall, the sect master explained, "Because you've previously ventured into the Insect Race Great Secret Realm and are most familiar with the situation inside. Although you brought back images from inside, it's ultimately not as clear as seeing it firsthand, so you're needed to provide explanations. Additionally, you might need to act as a vanguard. Of course, no one will force you; you can consider whether to accept." "A vanguard?" Lu Ye frowned. It's never easy to be the vanguard, especially in a large-scale operation . "What do you think, sect master?" The sect master hesitated for a moment, "If you can ensure your safety, you can accept it, but if not, simply refuse. There's no reason to let a young person like you bear too much." Lu Ye nodded slightly. Following the sect master to Harmony Light Hall, they stepped inside, and all eyes turned to them. It was known that those seated here were all top figures of the Haotian Alliance in Bingzhou, each in the Divine Sea Level 9. There were only about ten of them altogether. They were the leaders of the Haotian Alliance in Bingzhou, and their words and actions determined the overall direction of the alliance. Some observed him, some showed interest, and others clearly held him in esteem... Lu Ye followed behind the sect master step by step to the side of the table. The sect master sat down and motioned, "You sit too." Lu Ye obediently sat beside him. The battlefield marking suddenly stirred, and Lu Ye discreetly checked to find a message from Qian Wudang, "Don't be so tense. One day you'll enter here on your own; just get familiar for now." Looking up, he saw Qian Wudang smiling at him from across the table. Lu Ye pretended not to see and didn't reply. At the head of the table, Pang Zhen tapped it, "Everyone is here, so I'll make an announcement. After discussions among the high-levels of the two major camps, in three days, we will launch a full-scale counterattack on the Insect Race Great Secret Realm!" The group evidently had already received this news from various sources, so there wasn't much reaction. The gathering was to discuss the concrete action plan. This was an enormous operation involving the joint efforts of the entire Nine Provinces. Deciding who qualified to participate, how many people each side would deploy, and how to distribute the personnel all required meticulous consideration. A simple command to charge in would only result in chaos and disorder. "Due to the limited scale of the Insect Path, this counterattack will only allow True Lake Realm and above cultivators to participate. Those below True Lake Realm should not get involved." This was not only due to the scale limitation of the Insect Path but also a consideration of strength. The Insect Race Great Secret Realm was fraught with danger; weaker cultivators would only add to the confusion and casualties. In such an environment, only those at or above the True Lake Realm could play a role. With only this one requirement, ninety percent of the Nine Provinces cultivators would be excluded, yet the sheer number of Nine Provinces cultivators was vast. Even limiting participation to True Lake Realm and above would still gather an enormously large number, enough to deal with the Insect Race Great Secret Realm. Though the timing was set, maintaining unified action was also a concern. Thus, cultivators from the Nine Provincial States would need to enter through different ground fissures, maintain contact at all times, advance in sync, and continuously converge until reaching the entrance at the end of the Insect Path. They would then wait for reinforcement outside the nine entrances, launching a combined assault into the Insect Race Great Secret Realm, sweeping it clean in one go.