Chapter 65: Holding the Line

Over the following days, Jiuyou led the frontier-guarding cultivators to eliminate the remnants of the demon beasts from the last Beast Tide that had invaded. His strikes were ruthless, never dragging things out. Every demon beast he set his sights on, regardless of cultivation level, was killed with a single blow.

The lower-tier cultivators following behind him barely had to act—they only needed to clean up the aftermath. Some secretly breathed sighs of relief, while others felt a chill run down their spines. This Ancestor of Soul Wraith's methods were even more terrifying than the rumors claimed.

During this time, the remaining three Nascent Soul cultivators from the previous guard shift also departed one after another, while a new trio of Early Nascent Soul cultivators arrived soon after. To prevent unnecessary friction among the Nascent Soul cultivators guarding the same shift, the Three Alliance Council had long established a rule: The four Nascent Soul cultivators guarding every five-thousand-li stretch of the frontline all came from the same alliance. Thus, aside from Jiuyou, the other three Early Nascent Soul cultivators were all members of the Demonic Path Alliance.

Though Jiuyou wasn't intimately familiar with these three, he had heard of them to some extent. First, there was Du Wanhai of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect. This man's poison arts were unparalleled, and he had once participated in the scramble for thousand-year longevity fruits at Heavenly Abyss Mountain. However, judging by his complexion—gaunt, sallow, with signs of qi and blood decline—he had likely failed to snatch a thousand-year fruit and had only managed to consume a few-hundred-year-old one, barely clinging to life.

Second, there was the Bai surname cultivator from White Vine Mountain. This man had once come to Soul Wraith Island alongside Elder Wan of Endless Island to demand accountability, only to be driven back by the momentum of Jiuyou's breakthrough to Mid-Nascent Soul. Now meeting again, that Bai surname cultivator's attitude had grown much more respectful, as if that conflict had never happened.

Third, there was a Tiger-surname Nascent Soul elder from Endless Island, said to possess strength far exceeding his peers and to be quite renowned within the Demonic Path Alliance.

After the four exchanged greetings, Jiuyou wasted no time and directly gave out assignments. “Fellow Daoist Du, you take the coral reef cluster to the east. Fellow Daoist Bai, the shoal to the west is yours. Fellow Daoist Tiger, the Thousand Spirit Island to the south is your post. Each holds their position, no crossing boundaries.”

His tone was calm but carried an undeniable pressure. The three exchanged glances but had no objections. Though Jiuyou was a newly advanced Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator in the Demonic Path Alliance, his strength was plain to see. The methods he had displayed while clearing the remnants of the demon beasts had not escaped their notice.

“Fellow Daoist Jiuyou, rest assured, we will do our utmost.”

The three clasped their hands in salute, then transformed into streaks of light and flew off toward their respective posts on the frontline.

Jiuyou watched them depart, then turned and flew deeper into the defensive line. On a seaside cliff, he used his magical power to carve out another new temporary cave dwelling. The cave wasn’t large, but he layered several sets of defensive and concealing formations inside and out—concealment arrays, trapping and killing arrays, early-warning arrays—each layer overlapping with spiritual light intertwining.

With his current Divine Sense strength, even if a Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator attempted to spy on him, he could detect it in an instant. But caution was paramount; he couldn’t skimp on any necessary concealment measures.

Deep within the cave dwelling, he carved out another Insect-Breeding Chamber.

Jiuyou took out several Spirit Insect Pouches from his robes and gently patted them. Purple light flickered at the pouch openings as hundreds of thousands of Soul-Eating Insects surged out like a violet flood, densely packed and filling the chamber with an unceasing drone. These ancient exotic insects had grown somewhat larger since hatching, and the purple light on their carapaces was even denser. The Insect Queen landed on Jiuyou’s shoulder, gently swaying her antennae, appearing quite docile.

Jiuyou raised his hand and waved it. The Nether Capital Gate manifested behind him. The gate opened, and dozens of demon beast souls drifted out—spoils from the beasts he had slain these past few days, suppressed within the Nether Capital Gate.

As soon as those souls appeared, the swarm of Soul-Eating Insects stirred, their droning suddenly rising in pitch. The Insect Queen let out a sharp screech, and hundreds of thousands of spirit insects, like wolves pouncing on prey, swarmed forward, tearing those souls apart and devouring them in an instant.

The process of devouring lasted about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Jiuyou stood with his hands behind his back, observing coldly. He could clearly sense that the aura of the Soul-Eating Insects was gradually rising—not by much, but it was growing stronger.

“At this rate, by the time these Soul-Eating Insects grow into their youth stage, they’ll be able to hold their own against ordinary Golden Core Cultivators without losing ground.”

Jiuyou’s gaze flickered as he nodded slightly. “If I nurture them for a few more decades until they all reach adulthood, even in Nascent Soul disputes, they’ll add a few extra points of combat power for this old man. The fame of ancient exotic insects is well-deserved indeed.”

He paused, then shook his head. “But these insects are still in their infancy stage, so there’s no rush. To fully develop their potential, they still need to devour more souls.”

Muttering to himself, Jiuyou took a section of Soul-Nourishing Wood from his Storage Pouch. Five hundred years old, pitch-black, exuding a faint fragrance that seeped into the soul. He planted the Soul-Nourishing Wood in a corner of the Insect-Breeding Chamber, then carefully took out the Little Green Bottle and drew a drop of emerald-green spiritual liquid, letting it fall onto the root of the wood.

The moment the green liquid entered the soil, the Soul-Nourishing Wood trembled slightly and visibly grew taller, branching out, its leaves spreading. Faint spirit patterns appeared on the black wood, and the fragrance grew even more intense.

Jiuyou nodded in satisfaction and tucked the Little Green Bottle back into his robes. Nurturing Soul-Nourishing Wood couldn’t be rushed, but with the Little Green Bottle in hand, it wouldn’t be long before he could accelerate it to over a thousand years. By then, the food supply for the Soul-Eating Insects would be secure.

Jiuyou didn’t remain idle himself. After settling the spirit insects, he returned to the main chamber of the cave dwelling, sat cross-legged, and took out the three Eighth-Rank Demon Beast soul essences from his Storage Pouch: an Ice Serpent, a Fire Lizard, and a Thunder Eagle.

The soul essences were suppressed in specially crafted jade bottles, their spiritual light dim, emitting a faint aura. Jiuyou probed with his Divine Sense and frowned slightly. After these demon beasts had been infected by the blood mist, though their souls were not as weak as those Exotic Beasts on the Frozen Path, they had become extremely depleted. It was as if the bloody mist was constantly eroding and consuming them, the very essence of their souls severely damaged, barely clinging to existence.

“So that’s it...” Jiuyou narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. “That blood mist, after infecting the demon beasts, slowly damages their souls and devours their soul essences. These beasts becoming mad and bloodthirsty probably isn’t by choice—they’re being controlled by the blood mist, turned into walking corpses of puppets.”

He let out a cold snort. “Interesting. I wonder what exactly is behind this blood mist, stirring up trouble.”

Jiuyou stopped pondering, formed hand seals, and began refining these three soul essences. Though the essences were weak, they were still from Eighth-Rank Demon Beasts, and the power within them was not to be underestimated. Strand after strand of pure soul force was drawn out and merged into his own Nascent Soul. The Nascent Soul trembled slightly, its spiritual light growing increasingly solid.

The refining process lasted several days.

When he had absorbed the last shred of soul essence power, Jiuyou opened his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air. Though his cultivation hadn’t visibly improved, his soul power had grown somewhat more refined.

He stood up, intending to check on the Insect-Breeding Chamber.

Suddenly—

The communication jade token from the Three Alliance Council at his waist began to vibrate violently. The vibrations were more urgent than any time before, as if indicating some emergency military situation.

Jiuyou’s brows knitted together. He took out the jade token and probed it with his Divine Sense.

After a moment, his expression abruptly darkened.

The message on the jade token was simple, but it made his heart jolt sharply.

A new Beast Tide had arrived.

Not scattered remnants, not small-scale harassment.

It was a true, massive tide.

...

The message stated that three thousand li east of the frontline, a large number of high-rank demon beasts had appeared. Preliminary investigations revealed no fewer than ten Eighth-Rank Demon Beasts, and at least three Ninth-Tier Demon Beasts. Even more terrifyingly, behind that group of beasts lurked an even more powerful aura, suspected to be a Tier 10 Demon Beast!

A Tier 10 Demon Beast, comparable to a Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator!

Moreover, this Beast Tide was entirely different from before. Those demon beasts were no longer chaotic and disorganized, fighting individually. They were arranged in an orderly fashion, advancing and retreating with discipline, as if commanded by a unified will.

On the sea surface, the demon beast army spread out in a black mass, extending beyond the horizon.

The blood mist was several times denser than usual, dyeing half the sky a dark red.

Jiuyou’s hand holding the jade token tightened slightly, a ghostly light flickering in his eyes.

“What’s coming has finally come...” he murmured, his voice cold and low.

On this five-thousand-li frontline, he was the highest combat power.

If that Tier 10 Demon Beast came charging in his direction—

Jiuyou didn’t continue the thought. He turned and strode out of the cave dwelling, his robes rustling, his steps steady.

The Insect Queen, sensing its master’s mood, let out a sharp drone from the Insect-Breeding Chamber.

Outside the cave, the sea wind howled.

On the distant horizon, blood and darkness intertwined, like an apocalypse descending.

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