Chapter 3967: Continue

Lu Yin said, “The bugs can increase their numbers indefinitely, to the point where they are practically infinite, but their overall strength is nothing impressive.

“For truly powerful insects to arise, the Nests first need to come into contact with the creatures of the megaverse so that the powers of the indigenous species can be gathered. Not only does this allow insects with powerful abilities to appear, but it also accelerates how quickly they can gain power. This is especially true of Verdant Sages, and they might even produce another one like Luo Chan.

“Still, there is a prerequisite for a Nest to first come into contact with a megaverse’s creatures.”

Lu Yin looked past Dan Jin, glancing at the nearby Gu Duanke, as well as E Xiu and Ku Ji, who had returned from the Spirit Nidus. None of them wanted to continue to wait until they were swept away by the Nest civilization’s bugs.

“If their Nests can’t make contact with the local creatures, then only the basic nine types of insects can be spawned. From weakest to strongest, they are: Jade Wardens, Sentinel Waltzes, Thousand Shards, Lithic Drakes, Septastar Blades, Sky Orchids, Ghost Orchids, Scrollbane Centipedes, and Verdant Sages.

“That is all of them, as no variants can appear.

“Also, the strongest of those nine, the Verdant Sage, is the type of insect that needs its Nest to make contact with local creatures the most. Without that, their growth takes just as long as the other bugs, and their natural abilities will be quite limited.

“If the insects stay in one place to reproduce, even if their numbers increase tenfold, they will still remain the same bugs. Give them a hundred years, and they might be able to pose a threat to us, and their overall combat strength might rise. However, within just a few years, or even a decade or two, they can’t pose too great a threat to us.

“There might be countless of them, but we also have a great number of spirit treasure formations. The Yu family’s Heaven and Earth as One can sweep across the cosmos, erasing an entire battlefield.”

Yu said, “Are you saying that we should continue to wait, Mr. Lu?”

Lu Yin replied, “These bugs have their own plans, but so do we. They are increasing their numbers in order to lure us onto their battlefield, while we are tempting them to enter ours.

“You may be anxious, but those bugs are likely just as anxious as us.”

Most people were ignorant as to the source of Lu Yin’s confidence, though those who knew that he had comprehended karma and had captured Shan Lie were reassured.

Lu Yin’s confidence came from Shan Lie.

As soon as the bugs had retreated and started increasing their numbers, Lu Yin had used karma to investigate Shan Lie, targeting how the insects spawned. What he had learned had served as the basis for their current strategy.

At the moment, the fact that the insects were maintaining their position gave rise to another suspicion. This was because their location was close enough for an Immortal like Master Qing Cao to quickly observe and report the insects’ numbers to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse at any time.

Doing so was basically tempting the Nine Odysseys into going after the insects, which would expand the battlefield greatly. That aligned with the insects’ original strategy of attacking from four directions that were extremely far apart, but then holding their positions.

...

Far away, the four Insect Lords held a meeting.

“How can the humans endure so much? They still haven’t come after us. What’s going on?”

“Something is wrong. Normally, humans can’t hold back for so long.”

“Heh, I might know the reason.”

“What reason?”

“The humans of this megaverse use a unique cultivation method, and it allows them to fight while separating their cultivation from their bodies. Death only kills their cultivation, and their true body remains unharmed. However, there’s a limited range to this. It’s restricted to their own megaverse.”

“No wonder. Are they refusing to come out simply because they don’t want to die?”

“They must come out. If they don’t, there’s no room to use my ability. The battlefield needs to be expanded—the bigger, the better. The more that things spread out, the greater the advantage my ability offers us.”

“It seems that these humans have seen through us and are aware that we’re trying to lure them out. What will we do if they refuse to ever come out?”

“Keep spawning.”

“Heh, Chang is right. We just need to keep spawning more. I understand humans better than any of you. While one man may be able to endure, it’s impossible for ten to do the same. Their numbers mean that someone will eventually crack, which will result in internal instability. There’s no need for us to rush. Just trust me.”

“However, there is one other thing: these humans don’t seem surprised by our existence.”

“That doesn’t matter. Even if they know about us, what of it? At most, they are aware of our civilization, but they don’t know about us, the four Insect Lords. Humans rely on their Immortals, believing that they can control the balance of war. We will show them that even Immortals can fall. This isn’t our first time facing such beings.”

“There used to be seven Insect Lords, but three of us were killed by Immortals. If we are forced to fight against Immortals again, there’s no telling how many of us will die.”

“What are you afraid of? Even Immortals would struggle to kill you.”

“That’s right, you’re too quick.”

“And what about Unbroken Time? Even Immortals struggle to kill it. Its mastery of time is terrifying.”

“Hm? Unbroken Time, why haven’t you said anything?”

There was a pause, and then a deep, dry-sounding voice replied, “I encountered trouble.”

“Even you can run into trouble?”

“I was defeated.”

The entire region fell silent. A long time later, someone finally asked, “You... were defeated?”

“Impossible! Didn’t you lose on purpose? To lure the humans out?”

“You are Unbroken Time, one of the most extraordinary creatures in existence.”

“While I only used up to the ninth mark, I still lost. I have a feeling that the human I faced also did not go all out. I think that I’ve run into some real trouble this time.”

“Was the human that difficult for you? Has he also mastered the power of time?”

“Correct.”

“Then leave him to me.”

“His physical strength is also exceptional. You are not suited to deal with him either.”

“Hm? Are you saying that he is stronger than me?”

“I do not know about that, but given his physical strength and his mastery of the power of time, you may not be capable of killing him.”

“Heh, interesting. Leave him to me.”

“No. I want to face him again. I will erase him with my twelfth mark.”

“I believe you. Unless they are an Immortal, no being can escape your control.”

“If he manages to survive your twelfth mark, then leave him to me. I’ll wear him down with speed.”

“Trust Unbroken Time. Any creature that has not become an Immortal can only die to it.”

...

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

The insects had spawned to the point where their population was nearly tenfold more than when they had first attacked. It was such an outrageous number that countless people were no longer able to sit still. More and more submitted requests to the Greater Sancti, and many even pointed fingers at Lu Yin, claiming that this was his conspiracy.

They claimed that Lu Yin wanted the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Nest civilization to destroy each other so that the Tianyuan could replace the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Many agreed with this claim, which caused Lu Yin to become a target of great hostility.

He stood at the edge of Frightened Sparrow Terrace, looking down.

He had anticipated this moment and had been watching all along. He was trying to uncover who was making trouble for him.

Humanity was following a strategy that had been decided upon after Lu Yin’s discussions with Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Master Qing Cao. No one else knew what Lu Yin had said at that time, but he had somehow been singled out as the point of contention. Clearly, he was being targeted.

Having anticipated exactly this, Lu Yin kept watch. It was highly likely that whoever had targeted him was connected to Yong Heng. That man’s signature was all over this.

Unfortunately, the other party had hidden themselves too deeply.

The slander against Lu Yin had appeared almost instantly, and it was so widespread that there was no way to find the ringleader.

Before long, accusations were also leveled against Master Qing Cao.

Some voices claimed that Master Qing Cao was helping Lu Yin scheme against the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and that the Spirit Nidus had allied with the Tianyuan to replace the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. The fact that the Spirit Nidus had sent people to help the Tianyuan was cited as evidence that the two megaverses were plotting something.

Master Qing Cao was branded as Lu Yin’s accomplice, and likewise, Lu Yin was labeled as Master Qing Cao’s accomplice.

Arguments grew fiercer and fiercer.

Every day, more petitions were sent to the Frightened Sparrow Terrace.

Qing Yun was also facing a great deal of trouble, as people were constantly asking her to take charge.

Things reached the point where Qing Yun had no choice but to retreat to the Frightened Sparrow Terrace.

“Are we really going to just watch as the insects multiply?” Qing Yun asked.

Beside her, Lu Yin asked, “What do you think?”

Qing Yun said nothing.

Lu Yin looked over and smiled. “Those people’s analysis of the situation isn’t wrong. No matter how you look at things, if the Nest civilization and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse both suffer, the ones who benefit will be me and the Spirit Nidus.”

Qing Yun met Lu Yin’s gaze. “Then, what do you think?”

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back and let out a long breath. “Right now, my hands are tied.”

Qing Yun blinked. “What do you mean?”

Lu Yin said, “The one plotting against me knows that I won’t allow things to slip. I’ll continue to do whatever is necessary, regardless of the pressure that I face from outside. That person also knows that Greater Sancte Awe Gate can bear the situation. Things will still follow what we agreed upon, which is why they continue to act without restraint. They aren’t trying to disrupt the war between Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Nest civilization, but rather to disgrace me.”

“You know who’s targeting you?”

“An old friend.”

“But that’s pointless. As long as we win this war, you’ll be proven right, and you won’t be disgraced.”

Lu Yin smiled. “But there’s a chance that I’ll be disappointed in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. A thousand-mile long dam can collapse from a mere ant hole. All this person needs is one ant hole. That’s not even close to being too greedy.”

Qing Yun stared at Lu Yin. “Will you?”

Lu Yin shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Qing Yun did not know what to say. The fact that she had asked that question served to show that she did not completely trust Lu Yin.

Did even those who were familiar with Lu Yin truly and completely trust him? After all, he was from the Tianyuan, and he also had his own plans. That was not even considering Master Qing Cao.

Not even Lu Yin knew for sure if Yong Heng was the only one scheming against him, or if it was Yong Heng and Master Qing Cao working together.

Trust was a very fragile thing.

The person that Lu Yin cared about most at this time was Greater Sancte Awe Gate. If she stopped trusting him, then what should his position regarding the Nine Odysseys Megaverse become?

Luo Chan, spirit seeds, Awe Gates: these were just some of the many other factors that necessitated that the battlefield be confined within range of the Night Pillars. Still, the insects were reproducing too quickly. Their speed surpassed even Lu Yin’s expectations, and their numbers were only continuing to increase. Once the threat grew large enough, all strategies and trust would simply shatter.

Everything hinged on just how much Greater Sancte Awe Gate could endure.

Fortunately, humanity had been making preparations. The human race was anxious, but so were the insects. The faster they reproduced, the more desperate they became. That was because they had sensed a greater threat.

...

“Are the humans still just sitting there? Should we attack them? Multiplying as we have been doesn’t accomplish very much, while the humans have managed to raise more and more experts. Their cultivation method seems able to increase their strength rather easily.”

“That’s true. I’ve seen several of the weak humans that I fought before suddenly change and become strong, their power seemingly approaching our own. Something’s not right.”

“We must endure. If humans can do that much, we can do even more.”

“How can we continue to endure? Without making contact with a megaverse’s creatures, the insects that we spawn are simply too weak, and they gain strength much too slowly. Not even a single Verdant Sage has appeared in the last two years! We are unable to produce any strong Verdant Sages.”

“Wait a bit longer. Shan Xiao, what do you think?”

“We wait. The humans won’t be able to sit still much longer. We wait for them to collapse from within.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.