Chapter 2285: Chapter 2287: Insect Race Response
Everyone revealed thoughtful expressions upon hearing Feng Jun’s words.
A Golden Core from the Xuanhuang Sect couldn’t help but interject, "Isn’t this unlikely? Aren’t they afraid of disappointing their followers?"
"What’s the harm in disappointment?" Feng Jun responded indifferently. "The Divine Master has so many things to deal with daily, is it possible to respond to each one?"
He’s somewhat familiar with this mindset; in the Earth Realm, some people chant Buddha names all day, and some have similar evaluations — even Lin Heihu, who was once an Earth Deity, found himself bothered by various prayers.
Feng Jun’s reply left the attendees momentarily stunned.
Elder Qing Ji reacted swiftly, nodding after a brief shock, "That’s indeed the case, just like us at Nascent Soul Peak; would anyone at the average Divine Spirit stage dare to burden us with trivial matters?"
True Immortal Cang Jing knew he had a point but couldn’t help countering, "Matters involving battles shouldn’t be considered trivial, right?"
Before Qing Ji could answer, Feng Jun had already replied, "But those following the Incense Fire Ascension have far more followers than the sect’s junior members."
Yi Jue couldn’t help but glance at him, "You seem to know a lot about the Incense Fire Ascension. Have you personally experienced it?"
"I haven’t experienced it," Feng Jun shook his head decisively, "I just happen to read quite a bit."
"Alright, let’s not argue," Elder Cang Jing raised the peace sign, "Let’s discuss the next focus of exploration... exterminating the Insect Race or seeking resources?"
"These two aren’t contradictory, right?" Yi Jue replied dismissively, "We can explore various traits and weaknesses of the Insect Race, analyze the operation of the Incense Fire Ascension in this world, and simultaneously search for resources."
Her words became the short-term consensus among everyone — five True Immortals, three of whom are Nascent Soul High Stage elders, even for the elders’ face, they couldn’t continuously avoid the Insect Race, right?
Afterward, they remained in the star system for over ten days, killing two Nascent Soul Bugs and more than ten Golden Core Insect Tribe — importantly, the exoskeletons of these insects yielded quite a few good materials.
However, just as they planned to ambush the third Nascent Soul Bug, Yi Jue sensed that it might be a trap. Feng Jun extrapolated the future and discovered: the opponent had gathered more than twenty Nascent Souls, planning a heavy strike against these interlopers.
In truth, the combat strength of the Insect Race in this world is rather average; in the same cultivation level, cultivators assuredly possess greater combat strength. Even Tianqin’s Exotic Beasts can fight cultivators equally at the same cultivation level; when they explode in power, they might even counter and kill.
Nevertheless, an ambush by over twenty Nascent Soul Bugs is not something they can withstand.
Especially what made them uneasy was the opponent’s meticulous plotting, which evidently showed they had realized their threat.
After discussing, they decisively retreated from the star system.
Following this, they continued their journey in the starry sky. Feng Jun proposed a hypothesis that his team should be considered one of the deeper exploration squads into this starry region — others shouldn’t have progressed as fast.
This wasn’t arrogance but the cultivators’ repeated emphasis on caution when exploring new dimensions, forming a belief, "Perishing yourself is inconsequential, but getting captured and bringing harm to Tianqin, a hundred deaths wouldn’t suffice"!
Exploration or battle in other dimensions leads to deaths. However, to be fair, the situation of dying due to carelessness during early exploration is uncommon; casualties generally appear frequently only after becoming familiar with the other dimension — like drowning in the river are all experienced swimmers.
In short, Feng Jun considered his group as pioneers — because of his presence, it provided a retreat for everyone.
Now they should continue venturing deeper into this world to ascertain more clues.
He had reasons to believe that the deeper they delve, the more insect society they encounter, and their entry point into the Insect World should be relatively desolate. Otherwise, the energy pillar emissions alone would attract too many insects.
Yi Jue, among others, also supported his hypothesis, so it was decided to press forward.
Twenty days later, they encountered a Broken Stone Zone again. Having previously encountered Nascent Soul Bugs, everyone was more cautious this time, refraining from direct Divine Sense exploration and proceeding with a detailed search.
Feng Jun greeted everyone, expressing his intention to take this opportunity to return to the entry point and assess the latest circumstances.
Everyone strongly supported this, keen on understanding the situation behind the frontline.
A Golden Core Master from the Xuanhuang Sect expressed, hoping to return with him and report the situation from their side.
Three elders were fearless, and Feng Jun wasn’t afraid either, so he decided to accompany this person back.
Upon reaching the passageway through footprints, he was stunned to discover that it had been transformed into an immense base, with no less than five protective formations and plans for over ten more formations underway.
Actually, the so-called plan is just a saying. The main issue is that building another dozen formations would consume too much, and everyone is not very sure about the danger level of this world.
If the danger is not particularly high, then five Mountain Protection Arrays are sufficient, and there’s no need to waste more materials—no danger often means the harvest won’t be large either, which requires controlling expenditures.
If this place is indeed full of dangers, the planned dozen formations can be activated at any time, never exceeding half a day.
Besides the formations, Feng Jun unexpectedly discovered that the two sects sent in more cultivators, not only Nascent Soul and Golden Core but even a significant group at the Dust Cleansing Stage; it’s said the two sects have dispatched another hundred thousand disciples, making the Insect World now have two hundred thousand human cultivators.
The disciples of Xuanhuang Sect went to report their work, and Feng Jun noticed Chen Xi the True Immortal amidst the cultivators, and couldn’t help but ask about the recent situation.
The current situation indeed matches his expectations; all explorers are cautiously advancing, and the majority are passing explored information back to the two sects—even if they don’t, the disciples accompanying them will.
Some are traveling further and are less keen on sending back information, but none are like Feng Jun’s group that left without a backward glance, not even sending a word—after all, it’s a brand new world with potentially endless hidden dangers.
However, the messages that were sent back have confirmed, not only is this world governed by the Insect Race, but it indeed follows the path of Incense Fire Ascension.
Moreover, many explorers have proposed a hypothesis, that this world probably doesn’t have Spirit Stone Mines, since they’ve found a mineral akin to spirit stones.
This mineral can effectively help martial artists enhance their Inner Qi but cannot provide spiritual energy, so some cultivators think it should be called Inner Qi Stone, while others believe it’s more akin to Vitality Stone from other planes, so might as well call it Vitality Stone.
Some even took a few Vitality Stones back to Tianqin for testing, to see the energy depletion rate, and found it depletes rapidly, indicating Vitality Stones couldn’t exist in Tianqin.
Ultimately, different rules between these two worlds lead to the creation of things that may not be compatible.
Just like the Void rules, differing greatly from reality’s, hence unable to accept too many materials from the real world.
Feng Jun also had someone procure a piece of Vitality Stone—though he’s only at the Initial Golden Core Stage, there are too many who witnessed him reward a True Sage, giving him a piece of Vitality Stone to win his favor is quite worthwhile.
Upon examining it, he found his initial encounter with the Insect Race was at the Broken Stone Zone, where there were many similar stones on that big rock, and there are also some on the sixth planet—though the energy contained is a bit less.
Nevertheless, this fact proves timely information exchange among explorers is very important.
Yet he was somewhat puzzled, "Someone even took Vitality Stone back to Tianqin for testing... are they truly that idle?"
"Well, no one wants to be idle, who dares to delve into the Insect World?" Someone sneered in rebuttal, "The farthest travelers are the five True Immortals from Taixu Sect, didn’t they also return? Some say the Insect Race has Divine Spirit Stage beings."
"This is truly possible," Feng Jun candidly responded, then asked, "Who has studied the Insect Race’s temple?"
This question instantly caused a stir among everyone, "What... the Insect Race has temples?"
Your information... is really outdated, huh? Feng Jun chuckled, "I heard it from a True Master Yuangang, not sure if it’s true."
Upon hearing this, everyone went to find the people of Yuangang Sect to learn about the Insect Race temple.
Feng Jun was just saying he’s feeling relaxed when Chen Xi the True Immortal approached him again, looking solemn, "Mountain Master Feng, your progress is too aggressive, though I know you’re accompanied by three Elders, but I suggest, being more cautious... retreat."
This advice was essential, coming to the Insect World less than three months ago, Feng Jun’s group has advanced billions of miles, leaving the main forces far behind, which is absolutely unsafe.
Feng Jun glanced at him, "We fear nothing, what are you worried about?"
Can I not be worried? Chen Xi the True Immortal used his tried and tested persuasion, "I know you’re fearless, but your team is exceptionally high-ranking, won’t you admit that? Thus, if captured by the enemy, it would be a huge loss for Tianqin."
"I think if I’m caught, they won’t extract much information from me," Feng Jun joked, then added, "With my ability to teleport at will, do you think they could catch me?"
Chen Xi the True Immortal thought for a moment, then honestly replied, "I know Mountain Master Feng that your divine skills are vast, but wouldn’t being more cautious be better?"
Feng Jun gave a cold laugh, "If I were cautious, would you know about the temple now?"
Chen Xi the True Immortal wiped his forehead and spoke gloomily, "I really don’t know about the temple, but with steady progress, knowing about the temple is inevitable eventually, why rush?"
"I’m exploring more than just the temple," Feng Jun replied casually, then shifted the topic, "I’m leaving, that Golden Core disciple of yours... is he coming with us?"
"He has many things to report," Chen Xi was still very familiar with his sect’s operations, and that Golden Core did know a lot about Feng Jun’s group, "He can’t leave now, shall I send someone else?"
