Yiyi naturally wouldn't hide anything from Lu Ye, but due to insufficient cultivation and level, the things she came into contact with weren't as comprehensive as Lin Yue's.

In Lin Yue's description, the situation in the Nine Provinces was more severe than Lu Ye imagined.

So severe that the two major factions, the Haotian Alliance and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, tacitly paused their disputes and each began handling their own messes.

This is indeed the first time in history.

Since the beginning of the two big factions, the conflicts and fights between them have never ceased, whether on the Spirit Stream battlefield, the Cloud River battlefield, or in the Nine Provinces itself, the strife was endless. But due to the spread of the insect disaster, the two factions were forced to make some changes.

What is despairing is that the current situation has lasted for two years, and it's unknown how long it will continue.

The Insect Race emerging continuously from the depths underground cannot be exterminated, yet the cultivators now lack the ability to delve deep underground to destroy the insect hives.

If the source of the insect hives is not resolved, the problem of the Insect Race will persist.

It is a deadlock.

The most urgent problem that the experts of the two factions want to solve is how to safely go deep underground. Once this problem is solved, there is hope to eradicate the insect disaster.

Upon arriving at the Dark Moon Forest Pass, Lu Ye keenly noticed that the number of cultivators stationed here had significantly decreased.

Less than a tenth of the total from the last time he was here.

Though some cultivators are now outside killing the Insect Race to earn battle merit, the numbers are not so few.

This situation isn't brought about by battlefield loss but because most cultivators have been redeployed, just like how Zhang Kun was redeployed.

This is, after all, the frontline of the two factions' confrontation, with nothing else but mountain passes. Even if the Insect Race occupies it, there isn't much actual loss.

Unlike the hinterlands of the two factions, where there are many cities and human settlements that need to be defended.

But this is the frontline pass after all, and it cannot be left unattended, so a portion of cultivators ultimately need to stay here.

As for those cultivators who have been redeployed, most have been sent to locations that require cultivator defense.

The number of Nine Provinces cultivators is vast, yet in the face of this insect disaster sweeping across the entire continent, manpower is still tight.

Ying Wuji and others left, taking their severely injured companion to find a healing cultivator for treatment, while Lin Yue led Lu Ye to a grand hall and went inside: "This was originally Senior Brother Zhang Kun's residence. Since he left, this place has been vacant. You will stay here from now on."

Lu Ye had no objections.

"You've just arrived, so take a rest first. I will request your promotion to the small Mountain Pass Chief of Dark Moon Forest Pass at Ten Thousand Demons City. Before the official appointment is issued, you don't need to do anything, but considering that manpower is needed everywhere, this time won't be long, so prepare yourself mentally."

Lin Yue soon left, in a very good mood.

She had been extremely tired recently, and capturing a Divine Sea Realm from their side in the wilderness this time barely counted as being acquainted, even if he was only Divine Sea Level 1, at least he could help share some of the pressure.

After seeing Lin Yue off, Lu Ye went to the nearby sleeping quarters and sat down cross-legged.

Being drafted by Lin Yue didn't affect him much, it only delayed his journey by a few days. Two years had passed, and he wouldn't care about these few days.

Moreover, the identity of Li Taibai was convincingly consistent. When he disguised himself as Li Taibai, he wasn't seen through by the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Now, with such chaotic circumstances in the Nine Provinces, it's even less likely to be exposed.

It's a good opportunity to place a stake on the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side. Last time when Lu Ye disguised as Li Taibai, he considered this, but then he lacked sufficient cultivation and abandoned the thought.

Now he is in the Divine Sea, and with this serendipitous opportunity, Lin Yue needs manpower urgently, so everything fell into place naturally.

It's not like he's going to do anything unspeakable to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. He alone can't shake the foundation of such a large faction, he doesn't have that kind of ability.

It's simply a matter of going along with the flow.

Perhaps this action is meaningless, or maybe it will play a crucial role at some point, who knows? It's just a leisurely strategy within his capability.

The only trouble at Dark Moon Forest Pass is a single person, and that is Tong Shuyao.

Lu Ye remembered that this Senior Sister was extremely attentive to Li Taibai. After the last battle, Tong Shuyao was severely injured and unconscious, and Lin Yue declared to the outside world that Li Taibai had died in battle, also intending to dispel Tong Shuyao's thoughts. Now that he has come back to life, he is yet to know if Tong Shuyao will still come to entangle him.

However, speaking of which, Tong Shuyao may not be here.

A large number of cultivators were redeployed from the Dark Moon Forest Pass, and Tong Shuyao might have been redeployed too, so she is quite possibly not here.

After considering for a moment, Lu Ye stood up, walked out of the sleeping quarters, and directly headed towards where the Heaven's Augury Hall was.

The Heaven's Augury Hall at Dark Moon Forest Pass, he had been there before, so he was familiar with it.

In the hall, there were more than a dozen cultivators, all connecting with the Heaven's Augury Pillar, either buying or selling, and among them, Lu Ye found a familiar figure, it was Ying Wuji.

Beside him was that magic cultivator companion.

This outing had yielded quite a few gains for them. Not to mention, the materials collected from the Insect Race could be sold to the Heaven's Augury treasure vault in exchange for merits.

The cultivation of True Lake Realm cultivators requires a massive amount of merits, so for cultivators, merits and battle achievements are equally important. Of course, in terms of value, battle achievements are undoubtedly more significant.

The area around the Heaven's Augury Pillar was crowded with people, leaving no room to stand. Lu Ye quietly waited in line not far behind Ying Wuji.

Looking at Ying Wuji, Lu Ye suddenly realized a problem.

With his cultivation speed, the gap between him and his peers would only grow wider. Before the metamorphosis of his Talent Tree was complete, although his cultivation speed was quite fast, it wasn't as exaggerated as it is now.

But since the Talent Tree's metamorphosis and the acquisition of the devouring power, his cultivation speed had become somewhat abnormal.

The current Divine Sea Level 1 cultivation stage was the result of his repeated deliberate suppression. If not restrained, his cultivation level would certainly be higher.

This meant that his former companions and even enemies who once could stand shoulder to shoulder with him would soon be left far behind.

Ying Wuji is such an example, as are people like Xiao Xinghe and Li Baxian.

This left Lu Ye with a faint sense of melancholy.

Originally, he wanted to play a little prank on Ying Wuji, but now he lacked the mood.

Ying Wuji quickly finished his transactions with a look of joy. The harvest from this time was enough to sustain his cultivation for a while. As he turned around, he was startled and quickly saluted, "Greetings, my lord."

Lu Ye nodded lightly, displaying the demeanor of someone from the Divine Sea, stepped forward, and placed his hand on the Heaven's Augury Pillar.

Ying Wuji held his breath and swiftly slipped away.

He wasn't sure why, but every time he met this Li Taibai, he felt an inexplicable sense of pressure. He could confirm that he had never seen this person before, nor could there be any conflicts, but that inexplicable pressure was truly present.

Although he didn't understand, Ying Wuji still secretly warned himself to stay as far away from this person as possible in the future. Cultivators follow their instincts, and it must be said, as a Ghost Cultivator, Ying Wuji had a strong sense of potential threats.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Leizhou, a graceful figure flew through the air, and a Divine Sea Realm insect approached head-on, its mouthparts twitching, exuding an aggressive aura.

As the graceful figure brushed past it, the insect suddenly froze, and not until the figure had flown a hundred yards away did it suddenly explode into a mist of blood.

She continued on, idly checking her battlefield marking as she always did.

In the past two years, this was the thing she did most. It wasn't truly out of boredom but to check on a person's life or death through the imprint.

She thought it would be the same as before, with no change in the imprint, but with one glance, the woman was suddenly stunned and immediately stopped.

The imprint that had remained unchanged for two years now showed a state capable of contact, in other words, that person has returned to the Nine Provinces!

This truly was a strange event.

Since the minor realm collapse two years ago, that person disappeared, and the imprint remained in a state that couldn't be contacted. The Venerable Lord deduced he must have gone to another minor realm.

But she couldn't figure out what kind of minor realm could trap someone for two years.

Anyway, this was good news for both her and the Venerable Lord because this person was someone the Venerable Lord valued greatly, an irreplaceable choice for accomplishing a significant task. In the entire Nine Provinces, no one else could do it, not even the all-powerful Venerable Lord.

Quickly she sent a message to the Venerable Lord: "Lu Yiye has returned to the Nine Provinces!"

A few breaths later, a response from the Venerable Lord arrived: "Bring him here!"

Yu Daiwei extended her scarlet little tongue, licked her lips, and softly murmured, "Little thing, this time you won't get away!"

The last time she trapped him in the minor realm, leaving Dao Thirteen to guard, she thought it was foolproof. Yet the Venerable Lord had a particular intuition that he had a way to escape, because he was a person carrying great fortune, capable of doing the impossible.

Yu Daiwei believed that if she were in his situation, she would have no option but to grow old and die in the minor realm.

She often went to check on the brat, just to see what tricks he might pull.

But she never found anything until one day when she tried to investigate, she was shocked to discover that the minor realm where the brat was placed had collapsed!

She simply couldn't believe it.

She knew the collapse of the minor realm must be related to that brat, but she truly couldn't understand how he did it. Although she wasn't constantly at the minor realm, she checked frequently and never found anything suspicious.

As the Venerable Lord said, those carrying such great fortune always have capabilities beyond ordinary means.

The minor realm collapsed, the person disappeared, and the imprint remained incommunicable for two years; today, the brat finally returns. Rather than executing the task given by the Venerable Lord, she was more curious about how he managed to dismantle the minor realm and where he had been these past two years.

A woman's curiosity is extremely strong, but fortunately, these two matters were not conflicting.

To capture someone back, she first needed to determine his position.

Fortunately, in the Nine Provinces, achieving this was not difficult.