The onslaught of the Insect Race guards had noticeably become wilder, swarming from all directions but were blocked by the various Level 9 cultivators' methods, being cut down one by one. For each fallen Insect Race guard, a new one hatched, quickly joining the combat sequence with an unending and relentless assault. In just a brief moment, several were injured. The situation suddenly became a bit grim. Initially, these Level 9 cultivators, although mostly fighting independently, were agile and flexible; they fought when they could and retreated when they couldn't, so dealing with the varied numbers of Insect Race guards wasn't too hard. Most of the pressure they endured came from the Insect Matriarch's Divine Soul Shock. But now the situation was different. Lu Ye was about to use a method that even the Insect Matriarch feared, which required them to protect Lu Ye. This essentially turned a mobile battle into a defensive one. The Insect Race guards, however, were all fearless of death, which unavoidably made the Level 9 cultivators feel the pressure. Fortunately, each of them was an experienced cultivator and quickly formed comprehensive coordination, but this state was clearly unsustainable. Lu Ye keenly noticed this and immediately retrieved something from his storage space, raised his hand and shattered it instantly. A large mist spread and enveloped the surrounding Level 9 cultivators with the surge of spirit force. Someone took a deep breath and immediately felt invigorated, the fatigue in their psyche from repeated strikes by the Insect Matriarch had completely disappeared, their face beaming with vitality. "Soul Cleansing Water!" Those who recognized it quickly realized what the mist inhaled into their lungs was. That was indeed what the Soul Cleansing Water transformed into. "Good lad, to bring out such a treasure, I'll wager my life to keep you alive today!" Long Bai shouted, and his attacks suddenly became fiercer. Not just him, but the other Level 9 cultivators also became increasingly fierce in their tactics. The fatigue of the psyche would affect the performance of their strength, but the supplement of Soul Cleansing Water in mist form was undoubtedly timely. They were silently amazed; the bottle of Soul Cleansing Water Lu Ye took out contained at least dozens of drops, an invaluable treasure, yet Lu Ye used it without any hesitation or regret. This action alone greatly increased the affection of many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators for Lu Ye, making them more vigorous in ensuring his safety. With protection from the surrounding Level 9 cultivators, Lu Ye focused his mind and fully activated the power of the Talent Tree. Numerous roots plunged into the flesh wall, madly devouring the vast vitality within. The Insect Matriarch's reaction became increasingly frantic, obviously feeling threatened. It attempted several times to charge over but was blocked by the joint efforts of more than ten Level 9 cultivators, continuously screeching, and launching Divine Soul Shocks. But even for it, maintaining such Divine Soul Shocks for an extended period was impossible. After several fruitless attempts, it could only resist stubbornly. The scales of victory seemed to be tipping in favor of the human race cultivators, but everyone knew that the real fight for survival had only just begun. What could be confirmed now was that Lu Ye's method posed a significant threat to the Insect Matriarch. Although no one yet understood what mysterious technique he was using, it seemed he was just standing there... If this could be maintained, the human race would surely win! But the key was how long the human race side could hold on? The consumption of psyche was replenished by Lu Ye's earlier action, but the spent spirit force and stamina couldn't be so easily restored. In such an intense battle, even Level 9 cultivators couldn't conserve their strength because every moment, they faced relentless charges from numerous Insect Race guards. During the lulls in battle, the cultivators quickly swallowed elixir pills for replenishment, but it was still a drop in the bucket. If Lu Ye couldn't draw out the Insect Matriarch's essence before their line was breached by the Insect Race guards, an extremely grim fate awaited everyone! Lu Ye also keenly sensed this. He had to come up with a plan, at least give the Level 9 cultivators some time to catch their breath... At this moment, Long Bai suddenly frowned, turned his head, and looked at Lu Ye: "Kid, be careful, you look like you're about to explode, don't push yourself too hard!" No wonder, Lu Ye's vitality was fluctuating intensely, becoming extremely overwhelming and unstable... This was inevitable, the Talent Tree absorbed too much of the Insect Matriarch's vitality, although it was combusted and refined to bolster Lu Ye's own essence, correspondingly, it also increased his vitality intensity. Making him like a balloon about to burst. Lu Ye was the key to breaking through the current situation; Long Bai couldn't help but worry about his condition. By now, he had discerned a bit of truth; although he didn't know what mysterious method Lu Yiye had used, it clearly had the effect of stealing the enemy's vitality. Otherwise, there was no reason for a Level 4 cultivator like Lu Yiye to have his vitality swell to such an extent. "Then let it explode!" Lu Ye replied casually. With a loud bang, a thick blood mist suddenly enveloped the surface of his body, as if blood was spurting out from inside him, spreading out in the blink of an eye, transforming into a continuously flowing Blood River. A group of Level 9s felt their hearts turn cold... It was hard to see a glimmer of hope, and now that very hope has exploded. What should they do now? But quickly, everyone realized that Lu Ye wasn't dead. The blood river condensed from the exploding blood mist was just a secret technique being deployed. At this moment, everyone was enveloped in this Blood River. They couldn't see their hands in front of them, and their vision was filled with a flowing blood-red color. The sensation around them was extremely sticky. Their Divine Sense was also obstructed when extended. This secret technique... is quite mysterious! "Lu Yiye, are you okay?" someone asked worriedly, shouting out. "I'm fine. Please go ahead and kill the enemy, seniors," Lu Ye's voice echoed from all directions of the Blood River. For a moment, no one could determine his true position, increasing their awe at this secret technique's eerie nature. The Blood River Technique of the Blood Race was inherently both offensive and defensive—a Mysterious Secret Skill that achieves the Final Achievement of Blood Techniques. Within this Blood River, Lu Ye held absolute home ground advantage. His intention was to invoke the Blood River Technique to create a favorable environment for his side to fight and to relieve the pressure of his expanding life force. However, after deploying the Blood River Technique, he discovered an unexpected benefit. That is, it became more convenient to harness the power of the Talent Tree. Originally, when he activated the Talent Tree's power, he could only absorb the life force within the area where he stood. But after the Blood River Technique spread out, wherever the Blood River covered, the roots of the Talent Tree could extend to. This meant that the range the Talent Tree could draw from became much wider, and the change wasn't slight! If the previous absorption was like a small stream flowing continuously, now it was like a mighty river surging endlessly. The Insect Matriarch keenly sensed this change, as the life force being absorbed originated from it. Before, Lu Ye was just like a mosquito, sucking its blood. Although there was loss, causing substantial harm would require much accumulation of time. But now it was different. Lu Ye, like a mosquito, cut a big gash on it, causing the blood to gush out. It was from this moment that the Insect Matriarch first showed a panicked emotion. The ten-plus Level 9s entangled with it swiftly noticed this change, and their attacks became even more fierce and violent. Meanwhile, the many insect race bodyguards, under the order of the Insect Matriarch, also became ferocious in their attacks. But at this moment, they were all within the Blood River, blind and obstructed, making it exceedingly difficult to find the enemy. Conversely, the Level 9s, under Lu Ye's secret guidance, could easily locate them, erupt in a surprise attack, kill with a single blow, immediately disappear, and move on to the next target. The Blood River Technique Lu Ye activated bizarrely became the most advantageous battleground for the human race cultivators and insect race bodyguards. Even though the Level 9s were also affected within the Blood River, Lu Ye was their eyes, their Divine Sense. Within the battlefield, Lu Ye orchestrated everything. Previously, when the Level 9s killed the insect race bodyguards, they had to find a way to destroy the bodies thoroughly because if the bodies fell onto the flesh wall, they would be swiftly covered and absorbed by it, which was contrary to the cultivators' original intent to drain the Insect Matriarch's life force. Only by completely destroying the bodies of the insect race bodyguards could it count as consuming the power the Insect Matriarch used to hatch them. Cultivators with fire attribute spirit force found this most convenient; they could roast them thoroughly with a single flame. Other element sign cultivators didn't have such convenient methods. They generally stored the bodies in a storage sack, but in fierce battles, they often didn't have the chance to do so and could only let the bodies fall onto the flesh wall. Now, there's no need for such trouble, as the dead insect race bodyguards falling into the Blood River would quickly dissolve completely. As early as when the Talent Tree completed its first metamorphosis, Lu Ye realized he could strengthen himself by absorbing the power within cultivators' bodies. But such practice would be akin to cannibalism, which Lu Ye couldn't mentally accept. Moreover, he mainly used the gold-hued spirit fortune stick for cultivation, so he didn't need to absorb the spirit force within cultivators' bodies… Yet inevitably, he couldn't completely avoid such matters. Consuming humans was unthinkable, but consuming insects was somewhat reluctantly acceptable. To be honest, some insect races tasted quite good, especially given the current food shortage in the Nine Provinces. Many cultivators would take the edible parts of insects after killing them to nibble as snacks. When Lu Ye was guarding Jinglan Lake Pass, he had done such things alongside the soldiers. On the battlefield, the Insect Matriarch's screeching became more urgent. It already sensed something was amiss. Only until now did it realize how erroneous it was to lead Lu Ye to this battleground. Its original intent was to use the insect race bodyguards to deal with Lu Ye, which was a rational starting point because it couldn't block Lu Ye's intrusion. However, it severely underestimated Lu Ye's strength and failed to slay him in the first instance. This triggered everything that followed. Ultimately, it was still Lu Ye's cultivation at Level 4 that proved too deceptive. Even the human race cultivators of Nine Provinces would suffer without knowing Lu Ye's background, let alone an insect race.