Lu Yin recounted the battle at Cragpeak. Jie Zun had already possessed formidable strength before he joined the Netherfiends as he had accepted a Seed Transfusion to become a peak Dukkhan. The energy that he had used was different from Yong Heng’s divine energy, and it had allowed the man to erupt with unmatched power. Later, he had revealed two cultivated spirit seeds and exploded with such overwhelming power that he had left Li Guo and Cheng Hongyuan gasping for breath.
Two cultivated spirit seeds... How was that even possible? Greater Sancte Awe Gate had warned him that it might be possible to encounter a Netherfiend with more than two spirit seeds. If two was not the limit, then such a person would possess unimaginable strength.
Neither man spoke. They both calmly stared ahead as the green lotus leaf continued on towards the Consciousness Megaverse.
...
There was still half a year’s journey ahead of the green lotus leaf. Past that was the boundary of the Consciousness Megaverse. Just outside the boundary was an endless swarm of insects that filled outer space. Most of the creatures there were the basic lifeforms spawned from the Nests, though there were many variants that had never appeared in the Tianyuan Megaverse before.
Some insects flickered as they shuttled through the void. Each flash left behind a burning mark in the starry sky. The points linked together, forming a plane that spread across a region and incinerated every cultivator within it.
Some insects carried massive arrows on their backs, and they could unleash barrages of incredibly sharp projectiles.
There were other insects which could open their mouths and spit out beams of light that destroyed the void itself.
Still others combined to form towering giants that could grab stars and planets with their hands.
Farther away, countless insects merged into what looked like battleships. These weapons then fired volleys of attacks that covered vast areas.
As for the other side of the battlefield, human cultivators released countless counterattacks as they engaged the insect horde in brutal clashes. Entire swaths of insects were exterminated, but doing so came at the cost of countless cultivators’ lives.
The Sentinel Waltz were the lowest type of insects present, and yet each one possessed the strength of a Hunter. 100,000 of them could combine to form a weapon that was powerful enough to slay cultivators with the strength of peak Envoys.
The Thousand Shards caused many cultivators to wail in agony, some of whom took their own lives once they were unwilling to endure the torture any longer. The Thousand Shards quickly became the most terrifying insect on the battlefield.
The Lithic Drakes possessed tremendous strength, and 10,000 of them could combine to form a living calamity that swept across the stars.
The Septastar Blades practically moved at the speed of time, and they struck with unmatched force. They were constantly cutting down cultivators.
The Sky Orchids were constantly transferring energy that they had consumed to the Ghost Orchids, which bred wildly within the Hollow. Endless numbers of Ghost Orchids absorbed the Sky Orchids' power, growing ever stronger. Even peak powerhouses were at risk of being consumed, flesh and all.
The Scrollbane Centipedes appeared everywhere, each one with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. They were nightmares on the battlefield, and they shredded cultivators without mercy.
Blood rained down on the stars.
This war could only be described as a nightmare for humanity. The diverse species of insects that they faced continuously forced the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s cultivators to retreat. Without the support of spirit treasure formations, the human forces would have been completely wiped out long ago.
At the rear of the insect swarm floated a massive stone cube. On one face of the cube was a single eye. It was quite lively, yet it also radiated powerful killing intent. It was the Longevity Stele, and it was actually a living creature that had been spawned from a Nest. It was a variant of a Verdant Sage.
The Verdant Sages were the most terrifying creatures that could be produced by the Nests. They combined the traits of the most powerful creatures in whatever universe they were spawned in with their own outstanding innate abilities. They possessed terrifying cultivation speed and exceptional intelligence. Each one was the equivalent of a top human genius.
Longevity Stele had been born in a megaverse that had been populated entirely by stone creatures. When it was first born, it had already been the most talented creature in that megaverse, and it had personally annihilated all opposition. That same creature was currently overwhelming the present battlefield.
Sitting atop Longevity Stele was a smiling young man. He looked completely human, but he was also a Verdant Sage. His name was Shan Lie, and he was from the Third Rampart.
Behind Longevity Stele was yet another Verdant Sage. This one looked like a massive, purplish sphere the size of a planet. There were bulging nodules across its surface. It slowly spun in outer space, comparable in size to an actual planet.
“Tu, go have some fun. I can’t wait any longer. We’ve finally found more humans, and I can’t help but wonder if they’re the ones that escaped from us last time.” The man sitting on Longevity Stele grinned as he spoke.
The purple planetary creature behind the stone cube started to spin faster. It then circled around Longevity Stele and entered the battlefield.
Across the battlefield, one Awe Gate after another opened. Blood constantly rained down, and cries of agony never ceased.
The Thousand Shards struck fear into all the cultivators. The pain that the creatures could inflict was unbearable, to the point where many preferred death to the agony.
Jue Rou’s face grew pale as she looked across the battlefield. Was this what war against foreign civilizations looked like? The cosmos was not as beautiful as she had imagined it would be. She saw one familiar person after another dying before her eyes, their corpses drifting through outer space, only to be smashed or devoured by insects. Each time she saw such a thing, her spirit trembled. Was this her ultimate fate as well?
“Second Miss, watch out!” someone shouted as they shoved Jue Rou aside. Just as that happened, a Scrollbane Centipede appeared where she had just been standing. The jade-colored centipede had a beautiful appearance, but it was a deadly adversary. It was completely unaffected by the cultivator’s sword, and the man who had saved Jue Rou was instantly torn to pieces.
She retaliated, gritting her teeth. She silently endured. That was the responsibility that she had to carry.
The Scrollbane Centipede was quickly slain. Jue Rou was not weak. If she were, she would never have been named as the next matriarch of the Jue family. She was also a peak powerhouse, even if she did lack battle experience.
The battlefield extended in every direction, and the wails of the cultivators only served to leave Jue Rou silent for even longer. All she could do was strike quietly, unleashing waves of attacks in order to eliminate as many of the bugs as possible.
Unfortunately, there were simply too many insects, and they continued to approach from all directions.
A short distance away, Jue Ling averted her gaze and let out a breath. That girl has finally grown up.
"Jue Ling, this can’t continue! Eventually, we'll be torn apart. Look over there—that thing is coming again," Yu Jing shouted.
Jue Ling looked past the far side of the battlefield to where a purple, planet-like sphere was moving. That was the Verdant Sage known as Tu.
Seeing Tu enter the battlefield caused Jue Ling’s expression to fall. That creature spewed poison, and contact with it meant certain death, even for sequence powerhouses. Tu was a Dukkhan, and its poison was terrifyingly potent. On top of that, it was also constantly mutating, which meant that there was no way to neutralize the poison.
“All units, fall back!” Jue Ling shouted sharply.
All across the battlefield, cultivators stood back to back as they steadily retreated. Those who had learned the Awe Gate Soul legacy skill stood on the outer edge. Without them, the humans would have suffered far greater casualties.
Surrounding the human cultivators were the otherborn. Various species stood guard at the edges, and far more otherborn had died than humans.
“Yu Jing, how many Script Arrays does your Yu family have left?” Jue Ling asked.
Yu Jing looked grim. “Not many of us are still able to use Script Arrays.”
Jue Ling’s voice grew heavy, “How much longer will you keep things hidden? If things continue like this, we’ll all die! Have you even seen an end to this insect swarm? There are still bugs that haven’t even joined the battlefield, and I even saw a human.”
Her last comment caused Yu Jing’s expression to fall completely. “I saw him as well. A human with these bugs? Where is that person from?”
“This isn’t the time to look into that. Your Yu family has spent centuries building your foundation. Now is the time to use it,” Jue Ling demanded.
Yu Jing stared at the woman. “And what about your Jue family? Aren’t you also keeping something hidden?”
Jue Ling’s eyes narrowed. “I brought the Immovable Skyveil Formation, but it isn’t time yet. I promise, if the most critical moment arrives, I’ll unleash it.”
Yu Jing exhaled. “So you really do have the Immovable Skyveil Formation... You’ve hidden that well.”
“What about your Yu family?”