What Lu Ye couldn't understand was, why has the situation in Xianyuan City persisted , and where did the insect race in the Great Secret Realm come from? It couldn't possibly be remnants from the era before Nine Provinces, could it? In his observation, those invading alien armies had always been repelled by the cultivators from the era before Nine Provinces, leaving them no chance to penetrate Nine Provinces itself. A ethereal voice sounded: "When the ancient Nine Provinces' cultivators were creating me, they entrusted me with two tasks: protect the Nine Provinces, protect the human race! Although I have the ability to conceal the world's aura, preventing Nine Provinces from being discovered by formidable foes to some extent, if the distance is too close, there's still a possibility of being discovered." This is fairly understandable; just as when a cultivator seeks enemies, the use of Divine Sense doesn't necessarily detect them, but perhaps with the naked eye, some situations can be observed. The Heaven's Augury Compass merely conceals the existence of the world, not causing Nine Provinces to vanish completely in stellar space. So if the distance is close enough, the existence of the Nine Provinces World can still be seen. "More than five thousand years ago, a relatively small insect hive passed near Nine Provinces, detected its presence, and initiated an invasion, leading to a great battle. Although the Nine Provinces cultivation world at the time eradicated that insect hive, they suffered significant losses, and also, the vital energy of Nine Provinces had not recovered much at the time, causing my ability to conceal the world's aura to have some flaws. To mend these flaws, the dozen major powers led by Xianyuan City made a strategic decision to sacrifice themselves for greater integrity." It's akin to a balloon having several holes, and the world aura of Nine Provinces leaking out, with a possibility of being discovered by formidable foes. To plug these leaking holes, significant sacrifice is required. The dozen major powers, led by Xianyuan City, made this sacrifice, allowing the Heaven's Augury Compass's ability to conceal the world's aura to be perfected. "And to ensure they uphold this task for a prolonged period, the cultivators of these dozen major powers all transformed into soul bodies, which is why Xianyuan City has persisted till today." "With the existence of a dozen major powers, what about the forces besides Xianyuan City?" If memory serves, Xianyuan City is only one of the secret realms within the Boundless Mirage Realm, and the Boundless Mirage Realm comprises several secret realms, but only Xianyuan City contains soul bodies, while the others do not. Within the Spirit Stream battlefield, the secret realm entrance of the Boundless Mirage Realm periodically opens in various locations, allowing cultivators to enter for training and exploration, with many people gaining benefits from it. "With my repairs to the concealment flaws, those forces gradually disappeared, because they are all soul bodies. Their existence inherently consumes the power of the soul pool, which is ultimately limited. The time during which all soul bodies can be supplied, compared to supplying a portion, naturally differs greatly." No one forced them to disappear; it was their own choice. As soul bodies without flesh, unable to reach the upper realm, they mostly remained dormant, only awakening during insect race invasions, fighting for a period, and sustaining this pattern for thousands of years, day in and day out, may not have been the true wish of those soul bodies' hearts. Complete disappearance might have been true liberation. The reason why the soul bodies in Xianyuan City continue to exist is to act as a reserve force, preventing any further flaw in the Heaven's Augury Compass's ability to conceal aura. Occasional invasions of Xianyuan City by insect races occur because the soul bodies cannot remain dormant for too long to avoid complete silencing, requiring periodic awakening to stretch their limbs. What Lu Ye heard was a simple exposition, but the underlying truth was so heavy it suffocated him, hard to fathom what kind of enlightenment led those dozen top major forces to make such a choice back then. The valiant sacrifices of the human race's strong from the era before Nine Provinces, coupled with the selfless devotion of the dozen major forces of Xianyuan City, passed the torch from generation to generation, with successive waves of dedication, creating the current situation. "So not all insect races back then were completely eradicated, but a portion remained?" Lu Ye keenly sensed something. The ethereal voice sounded: "Indeed, born from worry and perishing in comfort, the existence of the insect race, to some extent, ensures the Nine Provinces human race never forgets the crisis they once faced. Therefore, I utilized the power of the human cultivation world at the time to exile a portion of the insect race into a miniature world, which you refer to as the Insect Race Great Secret Realm, allowing them to persist, occasionally opening passages, granting human cultivators a certain degree of training." The insect plague in the Spirit Stream battlefield originates this way; however, because the cultivators' strength in Spirit Stream battlefield is not high, the insect race that leaves the Great Secret Realm remains within the limits of the Spirit Stream Realm. Heaven's Augury couldn't possibly place overly powerful insect races into the Spirit Stream battlefield, as that would no longer serve as training but become slaughter. Lu Ye's voice gradually chilled: "And this time, to promote cooperation between the two factions, you initiated an insect disaster sweeping across Nine Provinces!" "It was the fastest, most effective method." "One of my tasks is to protect the human race. Trust me, I'm the last who wishes to see human deaths, but your human race has the intrinsic nature of mutual strife, never ceasing in any era, and there are always disputes and friction. The two factions have opposed each other for so many years. Without this insect disaster, they couldn't easily ally. As the Blood Refinement World approaches, if they can't smoothly unite, the number of deaths would only increase." Lu Ye naturally understood this reasoning, and upon hearing it, found it difficult to argue further. After all, it's only an Artifact Spirit born from the fusion of Heaven and Earth's Will, not a genuine human, thus lacking comprehensive considerations. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "Creating the faction requires a token, that's not your true form, is it?" The Heaven's Augury Compass in Mount Tai's hand, although the same as what Lu Ye had seen, couldn't possibly be the actual Heaven's Augury Compass. This entity was currently hidden above the Nine Provinces planet, concealing the aura of the Nine Provinces. Mount Tai certainly has no way to retrieve the real Heaven's Augury Compass. "Of course not, that's merely something similar in form to my true essence." "So, in this sense, was the confrontation between the two major camps orchestrated entirely by you?" "It is the result of natural evolution," replied the ethereal voice. "As I've mentioned before, humans can never escape their inherent nature of mutual conflict. Before the division of factions, they organized into sects and families, opposing one another. Later, they formed cliques, resulting in one alliance after another. Through historical evolution, these alliances united and divided, eventually forming two opposing camps." By this point, the confrontation between the two camps had become a normal state for the Nine Provinces, making it impossible to trace back the grudges of their ancestors. Lu Ye contemplated for a moment; it was really not fair to attribute this to the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury. If there were truly no two major camps in the Nine Provinces, could cultivators co-exist peacefully? Naturally, that's impossible. Everything cultivators do is based on contention, on grabbing; where there is contention and grabbing, there is combat. Moreover, to put it another way, if the world were truly harmonious and cultivators friendly, what would be the use of cultivating? They would merely be a group of individuals who understand cultivation but are inept at combat. If the Nine Provinces faced another crisis, could they rely on them to protect the Nine Provinces? Appropriate conflict is not a bad thing; it makes cultivators grow stronger. As for casualties in these conflicts, they are inevitable. "So, why did you arrange for me to meet you this time?" Lu Ye asked. It was certainly not a coincidence that he came from the Insect Race Great Secret Realm to Xianyuan City to see the true form of Heaven's Augury. It was an intentional act by Heaven's Augury, even demonstrating to him the development and changes of the Nine Provinces, allowing him to understand the entire history of the Nine Provinces. "Naturally, it's because of the Blood Refinement World." "I have a general understanding of what's happening in the Blood Refinement World, and I will try to mobilize the seniors. I believe they won't sit idly by." Lu Ye furrowed his brows and said, "Since you can communicate with humans, why not appear in person? You don't need to do anything special, just give the Nine Provinces cultivators some guidance or inspiration at the right time." "I am ultimately just an artifact. Nine Provinces cultivators view me as Heaven's Augury, mysterious and profound. I must maintain my enigma. If the mystery is absent, then there is no awe. Human nature is complex; if my existence were exposed, I can't guarantee someone wouldn't have ulterior motives. Besides, this is inherently your human race's matter. The role I play is merely supportive." Hearing this, Lu Ye found it made a lot of sense. If a treasure like the Heaven's Augury Compass were exposed, who wouldn't be tempted? It's conceivable that someone might indeed have ulterior motives. If they could refine the Heaven's Augury Compass for their own use, then in the Nine Provinces, it would be supremacy! Thus, the existence of the Heaven's Augury Compass is not quite suited for exposure, and the Nine Provinces cultivators should indeed maintain a certain level of reverence for Heaven's Augury. "I am human too!" Lu Ye cast a leisurely glance at it. "Your legacy is far more precious than mine, so I don't find it inappropriate to reveal myself before you. Should there come a day when someone can truly refine me, it would likely be only you." "My legacy?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, "Where does my legacy come from? Not the Nine Provinces?" "No! I don't know exactly where it comes from. Many years ago, a powerful human suffered severe injury and strayed into the Nine Provinces. He later died here, leaving behind the legacy you obtained after his death. You're not the first to receive this legacy; two people before you had received it but died prematurely." "What is the name of the person who left the legacy?" "Unknown, never asked. He was stronger than anyone I've ever seen. If there had been such a powerhouse in the Nine Provinces back then, perhaps not so many would have died, nor been forced away from their original positions." Lu Ye shook his head, "That's not necessarily true. Such a powerful person suffering fatal injuries obviously implies there were others even stronger." Heaven's Augury paused for a moment, "What you say makes sense."