Dozens of cultivation families and individual cultivator strongholds belonging to Glory Country were obliterated by the insect swarm, and the number of cultivators who died under the insect plague amounted to thousands.
This situation also caused many of the cultivators participating in exterminating the demon insects to feel a deep shock, filling their hearts with worry.
One must know that this was the result despite their continuous, day-and-night efforts to clear the insects.
But in the end, they were only cultivators, not iron dolls, unaware of fatigue and hunger.
Now, just half a year later, they had already grown weary of this task. In the long run, how many more people could be found willing to continue sweeping through Glory Country’s territory to clear these insect swarms?
And once there were not enough cultivators to keep sweeping day and night, given the rate of reproduction and expansion of the insect swarms, it was feared that in less than three months, the entirety of Glory Country would follow in the footsteps of Yang Kingdom, turning into scorched earth!
Just as many cultivators were beginning to feel pessimistic about the future, the emergence of a piece of news greatly uplifted their spirits and gave them a glimmer of hope.
The news came directly from the mouth of "Ziyan True Person," who had joined forces to slay the Insect King, and there was not a single hint of falsehood.
According to this great cultivator in the late Nascent Soul Stage, a poison that could massively exterminate the insect swarms had been developed, and a large stockpile had already been produced.
The next step would be to pinpoint the approximate locations of the various insect nest, and then arrange teams to go there with poison for targeted eradication!
The appearance of this news was undoubtedly a powerful stimulant for all the cultivators at the frontlines, reinvigorating their tiring minds almost instantly.
Not much time passed before many cultivators from major forces were divided into teams, each carrying a set amount of poison to the vicinity of the insect nests for the extermination of the swarms.
They would first use food to lure out the insect swarms, and if that did not work, the Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators in the team would cast earth-shattering spells to attack the nests and enrage the insects to come and attack them.
Once the insect swarms came out, the cultivators would use spells to catalyze the diluted poison water into a mist that enveloped and covered the insects.
This mist was not infused with any mana and had no attacking capability; the insect swarms did not regard it as a spell and so did not defend against it.
However, as soon as the mist touched the body of the demon insect, the poison would act swiftly, causing great damage to the insects.
At this moment, even with an Insect King leading the swarm, it was difficult for them to exhibit the formidable combat power they used to have.
What previously required several Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators and dozens of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators to eliminate could now be destroyed with a third of the previous effort.
Then, for the larvae and eggs within the nests, it was only necessary to create a passage to the insect nest and send the poisonous mist transformed from the poisoned water inside to exterminate the entire nest.
There might still be a few insects that slip through, but if some people were arranged to monitor the nests closely and promptly exterminate these missed insects, there would not be any problem.
In this way, with the aid of the poison, in less than a month’s time, the insect plague that had afflicted two countries was extinguished by more than half.
The reason it was not completely eradicated was that the prepared quantity of the poison was somewhat insufficient.
But at this point, it did not matter. The remaining swarms were no longer capable of posing a threat as severe as before to the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.
The Nascent Soul Stage and Golden Core Stage cultivators personally took action, using various methods to scour land and sky, and soon they uncovered every one of the hidden insect nests and destroyed them with their own hands.
Once all the demon insect nests that could be found on the surface had been destroyed, the insect plague was essentially considered eliminated.
Going forward, all that was needed was to continue producing poison, arrange for more patrols and monitoring, and exterminate the demon insects as soon as any were discovered, making it difficult for any new troubles to arise.
After all, the reason why these demon insects were able to cause such havoc was because they were not taken seriously at the beginning, leading to the birth of a king of their species.
Now that the Human Clan Cultivators had slain the Insect King and extinguished the main force of the insect plague, and they remained highly vigilant against the remaining demon insects, it was highly unlikely for the plague to occur again.
It was only at this point that the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, after some discussion, finally assigned a name to the demon insects that caused this calamity.
Considering the origin of the poison formula used to kill the demon insects, the name of the insects was eventually fixed as "Thousand Extinct Ant," and this disaster was henceforth known as the "Thousand Extinct Ant Plague."
After the insect plague was quelled, the inventor of the curious poison formula was also revealed.
According to the final announcement, the inventor of the poison formula was a Nascent Soul Stage True Person from Yang Kingdom, "True Person Fufeng."
Indeed, following deliberations by various Nascent Soul stage cultivators, "True Person Fufeng" became recognized as the poison formula’s inventor.
The reasons for this were, firstly, "True Person Fufeng" himself had a big enough reputation, with cultivation at the mid-Nascent Soul stage and proficiency in alchemy, enjoying tremendous fame in Yang Kingdom and surrounding nations—making it more convincing and comforting for him to be named the creator of the poison formula.
Secondly, the insect plague had erupted from Yang Kingdom and brought about the nation’s downfall, as well as caused significant destruction to half of Glory Country, resulting in a profoundly negative perception of Yang Kingdom’s cultivation world by cultivators from neighboring nations.
Many cultivators felt that the cultivators of Yang Kingdom were too foolish and short-sighted, which led to the growth and power of the "Thousand Extinct Ant," thereby leading to the insect plague.
So, naming "True Person Fufeng" from Yang Kingdom as the inventor of the poison formula that quelled the insect plague undoubtedly served to redeem the situation in the eyes of those cultivators, diminishing their malice toward the cultivators of Yang Kingdom.
Thirdly, "True Person Fufeng" himself was willing to take this honor and was ready to pay a sufficient price for it!
Zhou Mingde inexplicably felt a sense of schadenfreude when he heard that "True Person Fufeng" was named the poison formula’s inventor.
He had long been aware that such significant credit as ending the insect plague wouldn’t be given to a minor character like himself, even if the poison formula was indeed offered by him.
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However, he had originally thought Master Shanyang might have a chance to win this honor and have his name preserved in history.
But now, Master Shanyang no longer had that opportunity either, which made Zhou Mingde feel a lot more balanced internally.
Of course, he certainly wouldn’t show these feelings, instead, he appeared shocked as he approached Master Shanyang to inquire about the situation.
Master Shanyang was naturally feeling extremely frustrated and complicated at this moment.
Despite giving up fame, which allowed him to gain more benefits, clearly, this wasn’t his original intention.
Therefore, in response to Zhou Mingde’s probing, he said gruffly, "Why does Taoist Friend Zhou inquire so much? Since it’s a decision made by the seniors, we juniors can only choose to comply!"
The undertone of reluctance was audible to anyone.
Seeing this, Zhou Mingde couldn’t help but feel secretly elated.
On the surface, however, he showed concern as he whispered, "What about the promised reward then..."
"Rest easy, since I promised you before, I certainly won’t go back on my word. It’s just that the seniors are still discussing the specifics with our sect’s elder ancestor, so Taoist Friend Zhou, you just need to be patient and wait," came the reply as Master Shanyang gave him a glance and a dismissive wave of his hand.
His impatient demeanor prevented Zhou Mingde from saying any more.
He could only immediately say, "Then, senior, when do you plan to return to Jingguo Country? To be frank, since I’ve been away from home for so long, I’ve been quite worried about the younger members of the Zhou Family. Now, all I want is to return home as soon as possible to reassure them!"
Upon hearing his words, Master Shanyang’s eyes narrowed. He scrutinized Zhou Mingde thoroughly.
After a moment, he said indifferently, "If you wish to return on your own, then do as you please. Now that the insect plague has been extinguished, I won’t stop you anymore!"
"Thank you for your understanding, senior. Then, I wish you success in all your endeavors and may everything go smoothly for you!"
After saying this, Zhou Mingde bowed deeply and then left.
Several days later, Zhou Mingde, back in Dayun Nation, set off with Zhou Jiapeng and several others on the journey back to Jingguo Country.
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Meanwhile, Zhou Chun also departed on a different route, hastening to the agreed rendezvous point to meet with them.