Chapter 2279: Chapter 2281: Entry
The people Elder Duan Liang summoned arrived two days later. In addition to True Immortal Jing Quan, the two True Immortals who had been treasure hunting in the void also came, along with Guest Elder Liu Xingyu from Yiyao East City.
Liu Xingyu has already advanced to the Nascent Soul Fourth Layer. The Taixu Sect has not yet decided his next direction, but it is said that there is a high possibility of entering the Inner Sect. The reason he followed this time was to earn more merits for future arrangements.
It is particularly rare that he has had dealings with Yi Jue twice, and so thick-skinnedly requested, he might be brought into the Insect World.
After all, it was because Elder Duan Liang did not think he could enter the Insect World that he called these people, but unexpectedly, he also had the opportunity.
Yi Jue, Cang Jing, and Qing Ji suffered on this point because they felt they could enter the Insect World, so they didn’t gather helpers, and as a result, they have no usable helpers.
Of course, it’s not true that they have no one. For instance, Yi Jue found the True Immortal Huo Liu from the Spirit Plant path, and Cang Jing discovered a True Immortal from Xuanshui Sect, then began to search for Golden Core disciples.
However, it is very unfortunate that the levels involved in this boundary-breaking action are too high. Almost all spectators are True Immortals. Some Golden Core Masters wanted to come but were directly stopped by cultivators from both sects.
Yi Jue and others wanted to dispatch disciples from the sect, but they were refused by both sects, who believed that it is a world that is not too understood, and bringing in a large number of cultivators before obtaining moderate information is irresponsible.
For those like Elder Duan Liang, who have already summoned people, no further actions have been taken, and it’s temporarily unnecessary to operate in this manner.
If anyone insists on summoning their fellow sect members, it is not impossible, but the newcomers will not be able to enter the Insect World in the short term. Only when both sects can make a more accurate assessment of this world, can they participate.
Ultimately, both sects just do not want too many cultivators entering the Insect World, for fear of the guests overtaking the hosts, but the reason they use is "it’s for your own good," which is somewhat amusing.
But what can be said? This is an affair within the jurisdiction of the two sects, and they have paid a huge price to open the passage—besides the disciples who were killed or wounded, a large amount of resources were consumed.
Yi Jue doesn’t mind this requirement because she has always been used to acting on her own. Plus, with Gao Qiang’s deducing ability and a rather keen intuition, she dares to venture into the Insect World alone. Now, with Huo Liu by her side, it’s even more than enough.
Cang Jing and Qing Ji felt a bit of regret, for both of them earnestly wished to bring a group of disciples into the Insect World—not because they had any expectations for treasure hunting, but because this was originally part of an elder’s duties.
Since their request was denied, they could only find an excuse to console themselves, "It’s okay without juniors; it just means we won’t be distracted and can focus on protecting Mountain Master Feng."
"Indeed, getting on good terms with Mountain Master Feng and striving to enter the void several more times is the proper path. Who knows how many opportunities there really are in the Insect World."
The time to enter the Insect World was earlier than everyone expected. On the third day after the battle, the energy pillars stopped erupting, the protective membrane began to self-repair, and by the fourth day, several breaches had automatically repaired themselves.
Of course, some of the repaired breaches are still a bit fragile, but in a few more days, they won’t pose a problem.
By the fifth day, most of the breaches were almost repaired or about to be repaired, and the two sects fixed three breaches to become the channels for the Tianqin Plane to enter the Insect World.
On the sixth day, the two sects began organizing cultivators to enter the Insect World. Although the small world inside was still quite chaotic and the energy was quite violent, the leaders of the two sects stated: It is precisely because the energy is chaotic that it is necessary to send people to occupy the opposite end of the passage first.
If they waited for the energy to calm down before considering the exploration, it might be that the Insect Race would have already reached the passageway on Tianqin’s side.
In essence, it means striking first, for indeed, if the energy has leaked a lot by now, even though some energy remains chaotic, it should not harm high-rank practitioners.
If anyone feels unsafe, they can wait for the next batch to enter, but by then, it might be necessary to draw lots to determine eligibility.
Feng Jun’s group did not back down—if such a group were to hesitate, there really wouldn’t be anyone brave enough to go in.
This batch of cultivators entering the Insect World consisted of over a hundred thousand people, spearheaded by six warships, with over ten Nascent Souls guarding the surroundings and even Nascent Soul True Immortals going out ahead to scout.
Feng Jun’s group was also in one of the six warships. In fact, they were not on a true warship but on a gathering ship of Spirit Plant path that Yi Jue brought along. Its protective abilities were sufficient, but its combat capabilities were somewhat lacking.
However, this was the most robustly protected flying boat they brought along. Cang Jing and Duan Liang did bring warships, but those warships were combat-capable and had slightly weaker defense.
In any case, Feng Jun’s group included ten True Immortals, four of whom were elders from the Seven Gates and Eighteen Paths. Such a combination and strength should make them part of the leading six flying boats.
The impact of the energyization of the small world was still quite serious. Even while sitting inside a warship, one could feel the violent energy, considering this was after the energy had already leaked out a good amount.
Nonetheless, True Immortal Liu Xingyu and True Immortal Huo Liu, who were escorting outside the flying boats, indicated that with the shield fully deployed, it wasn’t too unbearable. Golden Core Masters would find it somewhat strenuous to withstand, but for those at the Nascent Soul Initial Stage, there wasn’t much of a problem.
The area of violent energy wasn’t very large, not even fifty thousand miles. The warship traversed it at a speed of three thousand miles per hour, which didn’t even take a whole day—the reason for the warship’s slow pace was concern over potential issues.
In fact, from start to finish, there were basically no problems at all. Even finding the exit of the Insect World was exceedingly simple—just follow the path of the erupting energy.
However, in the short term, this passage is indeed unsuitable for Lower-Level Cultivators to traverse; choosing to use the warship was a very wise decision.
After exiting the passage, everyone quickly saw the situation of this world. Before anyone could say anything, Feng Jun couldn’t help but gasp, "Wow, this kind of world?"
At first glance, it was remarkably similar to the Milky Way where the Earth Realm was located. It’s not that there was a galaxy here, but rather the sight was filled with twinkling stars, all of which were planets.
Turning around, they saw the passage continuously spewing light, with numerous flying boats emerging like solar eruptions from the energy pillar, not particularly noticeable.
The place where the passage was established was presumably on a small meteorite, because they could still see burning rocks. But roughly estimating, the diameter of this meteorite wouldn’t exceed thousands of miles—or could it be called a small asteroid? However, there weren’t any stars nearby.
It took about half a day for all the flying boats to exit the passage, totaling over seventy vessels and more than twenty thousand cultivators.
The initial plan was for one hundred thousand explorers, and over twenty thousand people was just the vanguard. More than forty flying boats were prepared to return after dropping off cultivators, with the subsequent arrival of the main force.
These more than twenty thousand people didn’t idle about either. Most began setting up formations and constructing defense bases, while others ventured out to stay on alert. Leaders from both sects held a brief meeting, with Feng Jun and others in attendance.
The meeting was very brief, not even ten minutes. In fact, Xuanhuang and Yuangang had already drafted multiple exploration plans. The current situation hadn’t exceeded their expectations.
They dispatched squads to explore the nearest batch of planets. The best outcome would be to occupy them; if that wasn’t possible, they needed to ascertain the situation. The ultimate goal was—to establish robust defensive positions encircling the passage exit.
However, Feng Jun and other outsiders were temporarily stationed near the passage exit by the two sects. These individuals had strong capabilities, hence it was necessary to assist in the defense first; once the rear main force arrived, they could proceed out to explore.
This collaboration among Human Cultivators didn’t involve coercion—the goal of protecting the bridgehead was to secure everyone’s retreat path, so none would refuse this request.
The two sects stated they weren’t asking for assistance for free. Once scouts returned with information, it would be shared—even if limited to nearby planets, it’s still information, isn’t it?
Feng Jun felt he had no reason to object; the purpose of coming to the Insect World was to gather resources. Under such circumstances, a united front was a must, and sincere cooperation was also appropriate.
Three days later, the next seventy thousand people arrived, and the situation of the nearest planet was also clarified. Indeed, Insects existed, but their cultivation levels weren’t very high, at most resembling Golden Core.
Regarding the information on Incense Fire Ascension, it hadn’t been uncovered yet. However, it was confirmed that the Insects existed in a tribal form. Usually, the tribal leader had the highest cultivation level and could bestow certain abilities upon tribal members.
Still, such situations are too common among Insects, even in other planes—it’s a form of natural talent for tribal control.
However, the scouts didn’t think so, as this world’s type of Insects differed from any known Insect World.
After a simple exchange of intelligence, the cultivators from other factions stationed at the passage’s mouth could begin their exploration.
Disciples from both sects even enthusiastically helped them divide regions—the divisions weren’t mandatory, merely suggestions with the goal of exploring as much space as possible, instead of clustering in one direction which would cause significant waste.
However, when facing Feng Jun, the sect’s disciples repeatedly suggested, indirectly, that they hoped he would continue staying at the passage’s mouth and leave the exploration to others.
As a return, they would share all information from the Insect World—in the end, the intention was to prevent Feng Jun from taking risks.
Yet Feng Jun still declined their good intentions: since he came, he naturally wanted to experience the Insect World.
The attitude of those traveling with him was the same, especially Yi Jue, who expressed that rewards were of minor importance; what truly mattered was the sense of participation gained during exploration.
If they waited until the Insect World was mapped out before going to explore, it might seem somewhat dull.
(End of update, during double-month period, summoning monthly votes.)
