As the battle intensified, suddenly, a massive pillar of light swept in from behind the lines, clearing a vacuum passage over ten miles long, turning all the insect race within it to ashes. It took three to four breaths of time before new insect race filled the corridor. More light beams swept in from behind, accompanied by a great buzzing noise and an extremely violent wave of spirit force. The formations behind the frontline were demonstrating their power. Behind the hundreds of strong cultivators from the vanguard camp, the first to cross the portal were a large number of array cultivators. Their sole task was to quickly set up one formation after another. Not defensive arrays, but killing arrays! This was the Great Secret Realm of the insect race; the human race's goal was to exterminate the insect race, what use were defensive arrays? Only killing arrays were the way to go. Attack is the best defense! This time, Bingzhou had put in a lot of resources. Many spirit treasures of great power were brought in by major sects, including some sect treasures of top-tier sects! It's worth noting that these treasures wouldn't be used lightly in ordinary times, like the Destructive Lightning Spear of the Tianyuan Sect... These top-tier spirit treasures were placed within the formations, acting as the Array Eye, using the power of the formation to amplify their capabilities; how terrifying was the power they unleashed? It can be said that such power could not be unleashed by any single cultivator, making it enormously destructive to the insect race. The buzzing continued, and one formation after another ran in overload. With the activation of many spirit treasures and formation powers, the assault of the insect swarm was finally suppressed. Within just one incense stick's time, the insect swarm was pushed back three miles. The physique cultivators, combat cultivators, and ghost cultivators who fought outside the formation returned to the line, each sitting cross-legged to recuperate. Many were injured in the area where Lu Ye was, not to mention others, even the physique cultivator who had joined him in killing the giant insect looked quite miserable, with his hands and arms in a bloody mess. However, for physique cultivators, such wounds were actually not a big deal because they had strong bodies and abundant blood Qi, so their recovery was fast. Those truly seriously injured had already retreated near the portal. There, healing cultivators were on standby, ready to heal the seriously injured at any time. After one battle, the frustration of physique, combat, and ghost cultivators was finally relieved, and Lu Ye keenly noticed a subtle change in the way these people looked at him. Lu Yiye of the Righteous Blood Sect, renowned far and wide, was once called Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer and one of the Three Calamities of Spirit Stream in his early years. Now, he is one of the Twin Heroes of Bingzhou. But to some old-school Divine Sea Realm cultivators, Lu Ye's age was evident, and he was ultimately a newcomer. A rising star might have a bright future, but not necessarily now. But in the recent battle, everyone witnessed his skills with their own eyes. Although he borrowed power from external forces, that was also a part of his strength. It can be said that the strength Lu Ye displayed was not in the least inferior to those old Divine Sea Realm masters and even stronger than most Divine Sea Realm cultivators, with a ferocious and fierce momentum and brilliant saber skills, which would be hard to believe, unless seen with their own eyes, that it came from someone in their early twenties. Cultivators ultimately gauge status by strength, and Lu Ye gets the treatment according to the level of strength he displays. Many Divine Sea Realm cultivators realized that this young man not only had a grand future but even at present, he was dazzlingly brilliant. No one would see him as a junior anymore, as he now firmly held his position on the expansive stage of the Nine Provinces. Rest, battle, rest again, battle again... Magic cultivators also began to take turns taking action. No one knew how long this war would last, so they needed to use their power more efficiently to ensure a sustained offensive. Human strength has its limits; no magic cultivator can maintain high-intensity magic and spells without the need for recovery. The spirit treasures placed in the Array Eye could unleash great power at critical moments. They were a guarantee for the stability of the Bingzhou frontline and could not be used lightly. Pang Zhen, Long Bai, Sect Master Muk Suifeng, and Su Xiu, five strong cultivators at Divine Sea Level 9, pulled out of the frontline to form a mobile unit. Among them, Pang Zhen was the Vice Alliance Hierarch of the Haotian Alliance of Bingzhou, Long Bai was the City Lord of Ten Thousand Demons City, Muk Suifeng was the current sword master of Beixuan Sword Sect, and Su Xiu was the Palace Master of Jade Cloud Palace. Both in strength and position, these individuals represented the pinnacle of Bingzhou. The weight of the team they formed was self-evident. Their task was first to coordinate the overall situation, and second to provide support all around to ensure the defense line was not breached. With such five powerful figures coordinating, as long as Bingzhou played steady and did not mess up, there would basically be no major problems. At this moment, the five stood in midair, overlooking the entire battlefield, exchanging words through mental consciousness transmission. "Our side has basically stabilized, what about the situation in the other provincial states? Have you asked?" Long Bai looked at Pang Zhen. Pang Zhen said, "They've all gained a foothold, though in the early stages, nearly every provincial state experienced varying degrees of casualties." This was unavoidable, as Bingzhou had Lu Ye's skills, which could attract the attention of the insect race, buying enough time for the vanguard camp; the other provincial states did not have such means. Basically, the vanguard camp takes the lead in charging in, followed by a large number of cultivators, pushing the battlefront outward while a great war is ongoing, during which some casualties are inevitably incurred. From this perspective, the credit Lu Ye has earned is not insignificant. "In war, deaths are inevitable; dying is only due to one's inadequate cultivation," Long Bai remarked calmly. "However, if things continue at this pace, the cost of solving the issues here won't be too great. Could things be progressing too smoothly?" Pang Zhen said, "The only hindrance to our actions before was resolving the suppression of spirit force by the origin magnetic field. With that problem resolved, the rest are naturally not troublesome matters. The Insect Race, after all, has limited spiritual intelligence. Driven only by sheer numbers and instinct, killing some insects doesn't require much ado. If their behavior persists , they are bound for extinction sooner or later!" Muk Suifeng said, "Don't forget there are also the giant insects." In the images provided by Lu Ye, there were some extremely large insects. How powerful these Insect Race beings could be, no one knew, as no one had encountered them yet. And even now, these giant insects showed no signs of mobilizing, only their enormous figures faintly discernible at the edge of the field of vision. Su Xiu seemed eager to try: "How about testing those giant insects?" The men gave her a sidelong glance, despite her dainty and delicate appearance, like a modest jade, she was actually a physique cultivator, with unimaginable terrifying power contained within her small frame. In their youth, they had more or less dealt with her, naturally aware of the madness hidden beneath her delicate and gentle surface. She probably longed to provoke the giant insects; she was just hesitant to venture deeply alone and wanted to persuade others to join. "Forget it," Long Bai promptly refused, "I'd like to live a few more years." Su Xiu pouted: "Coward!" Long Bai's forehead vein twitched. The sect master spoke timely: "Compared to this war itself, what I'm more concerned about is another matter." Everyone's attention gathered on him. "In this Great Secret Realm of the Insect Race, there are no resources at all. How could such a large number of insects be nurtured? How were these Insects born?" This was actually a question everyone was puzzled by. They had some ideas in mind but were reluctant to voice them without concrete evidence. "The Nine Great Portals correspond to the Nine Provincial States, which is too coincidental. Furthermore, the outbreak of the insect plague was too sudden; there wasn't a single sign beforehand, as if an invisible massive hand was propelling this event." In fact, the sect master had previously discussed this coincidence with Lu Ye, but neither had delved deeper. Not only he and Lu Ye, any Divine Sea Realm cultivator in the Nine Provinces with a bit of insight would have suspicions in their heart. Some things are just hard to speak of. "If so, then what is the purpose?" Long Bai asked. The sect master sighed: "If I knew, I wouldn't have these myriad doubts, but considering the situation now, the appearance of the insect plague has led to one result." Pang Zhen's eyes gleamed: "The first large-scale cooperative effort of the two camps in thousands of years!" "What does this imply?" Long Bai frowned, "Do they want to use this war to ease the relations between the two camps?" "Who knows." The sect master responded meaningfully, "In our cultivation journey, we must eventually follow Heaven's will. If an unseen hand is truly pushing behind this war, we might not have to wait long to understand its deeper meaning. For now... the time isn't ripe." Several people fell into contemplation, vaguely feeling that after resolving this insect plague sweeping the Nine Provinces, something startling might occur. At the battlefront, many magic cultivators continued to cast spells, exterminating the oncoming Insect Race. Lu Ye lay sprawled on the ground, chewing on elixir pills to restore his spirit force and stamina. Amber lay beside him, tongue lolling out long. As the war proceeded, the frequency of physique cultivators, combat cultivators, and ghost cultivators being deployed was increasing. No longer could they afford to idle, so the various factions' cultivators had to seize the time to restore their strength. Night deepened, with myriad stars blanketing the sky. Lu Ye observed the starry sky within the Great Secret Realm of the Insect Race; it wasn't too different from what's seen in the Nine Provinces, given that the Insect Race's Great Secret Realm was under the canopy of the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury after all. Then he discovered something that surprised him somewhat. In a certain patch of starry sky, one star seemed to shine brighter than before. This was his third observation of this starry sky, not intentional, just random glimpses. The first time, he hadn't paid much attention; the second time, he noticed the change in the star's brightness, and this time it was even more evident. He didn't know what the origin of this change was.