By this point in the battle, Lu Ye didn't have much left to do. Even if he withdrew, the Nine Provinces cultivators, with their numbers and strength, could still slay the Insect Matriarch. But he didn't remain idle. The severed limbs and flesh of the Insect Matriarch contained an enormous amount of vitality. If left unchecked, it would inevitably be absorbed by the flesh wall and re-transform into energy to be injected back into the Insect Matriarch's body. Thus, Lu Ye controlled the Blood River's surge, wrapping every chunk of severed flesh and limb, allowing the roots of the Talent Tree to penetrate them, absorbing and devouring freely. In this way, the Insect Matriarch's vitality continued to deteriorate significantly. The relentless warfare caused the Insect Matriarch's originally bloated form to become more slender, with its self-healing speed slowing down progressively. At one moment, when attacks from all directions simultaneously erupted, the Insect Matriarch's body was blown apart, the Blood River's undertow swept its pieces toward different directions. Under the frenzied impetus of the Talent Tree's power, the remaining vitality within the fragments was extracted and injected into the blood-red force. Yet the Insect Matriarch remained alive, its remaining head with two scarlet eyes emanating a venomous and cruel light, a fierce will sweeping across the surroundings, echoing a sharp voice in nearly everyone's mind. "Damn humans, one day you will pay the price!" The voice gradually faded away, along with the dimming of the Insect Matriarch's eyes. Within the Blood River, silhouettes stood resolute. The long battle kept their spirit force unable to calm, but more unsettling was the current state of mind. No one expected that the Insect Matriarch could communicate. Although everyone knew previously it had high spiritual intelligence, high intelligence didn't necessarily mean it could communicate. Until its dying Mental Consciousness transmission, everyone realized this was a truly wise creature. Yet, it had no intention of communicating with the human race from the beginning to end, only casting a malicious curse before death, clearly knowing the situation at this juncture left no room for reconciliation, and any communication would be meaningless. "Is the battle over now?" After a long pause, someone finally asked, this fight was too grueling, although the losses were minor, no one had experienced such a battle, the Insect Matriarch's resilient vitality nearly caused their total defeat. "That we must ask Lu Yiye." Someone replied. Lu Ye's voice arose: "The Insect Matriarch has fallen, seniors, we've won this battle!" Sounds of exhaling echoed, yet there were no cheers or excitement. All were Divine Sea Realm cultivators, and fighting until the end, they had already sensed the impending victory, naturally wouldn't display emotions like the young ones. Instead, those other Divine Sea Realm cultivators who finally made it here, upon hearing this dialogue, couldn't help but cheer joyously. Before, they traveled through passages to this location, blocked by a thick flesh wall, unable to advance. With the death of the Insect Matriarch, the hindering flesh wall naturally withered away and disappeared, yet glancing around, a huge Blood Orb filled the entire battlefield, looking extremely eerie, leaving them hesitant to venture deeper, and still puzzled by what this Blood Orb actually was. Deafening cheers erupted, victory's joy continuously spread to the back ranks, and then transmitted outside through countless messages. The Nine Provinces cultivator army waiting outside the insect hive erupted completely. Soon after, the entire Nine Provinces began to boil. The insect disaster, lasting several years, was finally completely resolved today, marking a day destined to be recorded in history. This revelry will last for an unknown duration before subsiding. Deep underground, the supporting Divine Sea Realm began their orderly retreat, the Level 9 cultivators also prepared to withdraw from this battlefield. The great battle was over, yet much follow-up remained to be handled, requiring their appearance. The sect master keenly detected some abnormalities: "Yiye, has your secret technique... gone out of control?" In theory, with the Insect Matriarch dead, Lu Ye's Blood River Technique should dissipate or retract, but the pervasive blood-red aura still enveloped the entire battlefield, causing the sect master some unease. Upon hearing this, everyone frowned. There's no doubt, Lu Ye was the greatest hero of this battle, be it the Haotian Alliance or even Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, none wanted anything unpleasant occurring at this moment. Previously unnoticed due to engrossment in the victory, once the sect master pointed it out, they quickly sensed the discrepancy. A secret technique's loss of control could pose varying degrees of problems, but the scale of Lu Ye's technique was too large, if truly out of control, the consequences wouldn't be favorable. Though the war was won, the greatest hero might not end well, spreading news wouldn't sound good. "A slight issue, but it's not major." Lu Ye responded. Indeed, no major issues, mainly too much vitality had accumulated within the Blood River, making it temporarily impossible for him to retract the Blood River into his body. Of course, directly giving up is also an option, but in this case, the loss would be huge. Lu Ye wants to refine all the vitality in the Blood River; this enormous vitality is a rare treasure for him. If he truly refines it, his physique will significantly improve. Moreover, the Blood Techniques of the Blood Race are mostly performed based on vitality. Accumulating more vitality within oneself will make it more convenient to perform Blood Techniques in the future. He is currently engaged in such a task, but it requires some time. "Is there anything we can assist with?" Long Bai has become somewhat familiar with Lu Ye and has high regards for this young man, thus representing Ten Thousand Demons Ridge to make a gesture of support. This is the proper attitude towards a hero of merit. One can't attack the greatest hero just because the battle has ended and the alliance between the two major camps is crumbling. Everyone values their dignity; such actions are intolerable. "Let us know if there's anything we can help with." "City Lord Long's goodwill is appreciated, but this matter requires personal effort; others can't intervene," Lu Ye said while wrapping Amber with the Blood River, sending it to the sect master. Amber understood the situation and sensibly perched on the sect master's shoulder. Long Bai nodded, saying no more since he knew that Lu Ye wouldn't let anyone from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge intervene even if help was genuinely needed. At this moment, he would only seek assistance from the Haotian Alliance. But now, it seems outsiders really can't intervene in this situation. "Respected seniors, please proceed. The battle has been won, and the countless beings of the Nine Provinces await your good news. No need to linger here." He intends to fully focus on refining the vitality in the Blood River and doesn't wish to be disturbed by others. Long Bai nodded, "In that case, take care of yourself!" He said nothing more as the over two hundred Level 9 cultivators swiftly departed through the passage they found under Lu Ye's guidance. Yet one person's presence did not go far; Lu Ye briefly explored and knew it was Nian Yuexian. She was evidently waiting for him, staying on guard here just in case. Soon, the expansive underground space became devoid of outsiders' presence, and Lu Ye immediately exerted the power of the Talent Tree to refine the forces within the Blood River. After refining that drop of Sacred Blood in the Blood Refinement World, Lu Ye obtained the inheritance of the Blood Race, making him more aware of the peculiarities of the inheritance than anyone else. In fact, the ordinary Blood Race members' accomplishments in Blood Techniques were inferior compared to his, only some Sacred Seeds who also obtained Sacred Blood could stand shoulder to shoulder with him. The information in the inheritance shows that if one can cultivate Blood Techniques to the extreme, they could achieve the degree of Drop of Blood Rebirth. At that point, they would become immortal, resurrection possible even from a single drop of blood. Previously, Lu Ye was skeptical of this statement because the idea of rebirth from a drop of blood seemed too fanciful. But after the battle with the Insect Matriarch, he was suddenly enlightened, realizing this might indeed be true. Even if achieving Drop of Blood Rebirth is impossible, it certainly isn't far off. Take the Insect Matriarch, for instance; with a substantial essence of vitality supporting it, it can instantly recover from any injury, leaving the finest two hundred men of the Nine Provinces helpless. This ability to instantly regenerate wounds is nothing but a rebirth of flesh and blood. Taking it a step further, it's true rebirth. Of course, this may be an innate ability of the Insect Race, having nothing to do with the Blood Race. But since the Blood Race's inheritance has such records, they're not baseless. Lu Ye felt that if he found the time later, he should delve into the Blood Race's inheritance. He dare not imagine achieving Drop of Blood Rebirth, nor covet instant wound recovery. At the very least, if he gets injured in the future, he hopes to recover quicker by utilizing Blood Race secret techniques. Another point puzzles Lu Ye. The Insect Matriarch... what realm is it exactly! If it's said to be Divine Sea Realm, its mental consciousness is stronger than all present Level 9 cultivators, causing significant losses with its Divine Soul Shock. Moreover, its spiritual intelligence clearly gives a feeling of surpassing the Divine Sea. Its realm is highly likely to not be Divine Sea but beyond Divine Sea Realm. Otherwise, despite the aid of numerous Insect Race bodyguards, it couldn't possibly possess such immense power, making over two hundred Level 9 cultivators hang their heads in despair. Even Senior Brother Feng Wujiang doesn't possess such skill. If the Insect Matriarch were really Divine Sea Realm, it shouldn't be stronger than Senior Brother. But if it's not Divine Sea Realm, what realm is it? Lu Ye never considered these things before, but now that he's already at Divine Sea, and given his cultivation efficiency, reaching Divine Sea Level 9 is surely not far off; what road will there be for cultivation then? He must consider this in advance. In the Nine Provinces, many Divine Sea Level 9 cultivators, upon cultivating to their limits, start to retreat and seek the mysteries beyond the Divine Sea. But over the years, no one has achieved any breakthrough. The Divine Sea seems to be an ultimate limit. Yet those who reach the end of the Divine Sea clearly feel that there is indeed a path ahead, but they are unable to enter it. For cultivators who pursue higher cultivation and stronger power, such a feeling is extremely tormenting and uncomfortable.