131: Chapter 131 Bloodthirsty Locusts

After the three reunited, over the next few days, they barely encountered any Spirit Medicine, and even if they did, it had long been snatched away by others.

This was quite normal. After all, there were over two hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had entered, and Foundation Establishment Cultivators could be teleported anywhere. By the time they left for other places, the Spirit Medicine there was already long gone.

What Spirit Medicine remained was either in the territory of Tier-3 Yao Beasts, located in extremely perilous danger zones, or situated too far away in remote corners with no time to travel there.

In any case, apart from the core area of the Secret Realm, obtaining any more Spirit Medicine in other areas was no longer a simple matter.

Thus, many Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already headed toward the core area, and the three of them were currently making their way there as well.

There was still half a month left before the Secret Realm closed.

...

"It's Bloodthirsty Locusts! Run!" someone shouted.

Upon hearing this, the others quickly moved away.

In the distance, a dense swarm of insects flew toward them, blotting out the entire sky.

Chen Changqing and his two companions also hurriedly departed, fearing they would be caught up in it.

They hadn't expected the core area of the Secret Realm to have so many Bloodthirsty Locusts. Although each Bloodthirsty Locust might only be at Tier-1 level, with such a vast quantity, even a Purple Mansion Master would likely feel their scalp go numb facing this scene.

"Every time the Zifu Secret Realm opens, these Bloodthirsty Locusts are one of the main culprits blocking all Foundation Establishment Cultivators from entering the core area," Fang Yunchen explained to the two.

"Why hasn't the Yuxu Sect cleared out these Bloodthirsty Locusts instead of letting them exist continuously?" Chen Changqing asked in confusion.

"Because the Bloodthirsty Locusts here have Tier-3 Bloodthirsty Locust Queens, and more than one at that. Combined with the Bloodthirsty Locust swarms, if Purple Mansion Masters step in with too few numbers, they would instead fall into grave danger; but if too many step in, it would trigger a siege from all the Tier-3 Yao Beasts in the Secret Realm.

Furthermore, these Bloodthirsty Locusts only survive inside the Secret Realm while simultaneously keeping the expansion of the Secret Realm's Yao Beasts in check, so the Yuxu Sect has no desire to exterminate them," Fang Yunchen continued to explain.

Chen Changqing nodded; so that was why.

Meanwhile, Li Taixuan didn't say much from the side. Although he had been here once before, he had actually only swept through a couple of areas on the outer periphery and wasn't very familiar with the rest.

Fifty years ago, he was only at the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment. At that time, he was marginalized by the Foundation Establishment Families of Taihe Prefecture, leaving him with no choice but to team up with Foundation Establishment Families from other counties to brave the Secret Realm. However, back then, none of their cultivation bases were high, nor was their strength particularly formidable. Facing those Foundation Establishment Cultivators hailing from Foundation Establishment Families of the prefecture city and state city, they had constantly avoided conflict, not daring to compete with others.

Now, were it not for the fact that both companions beside him possessed the combat power of Ninth Layer Foundation Establishment Perfection, he would probably have just gathered a few Spiritual Plants to exchange outside with the Yuxu Sect for some treasures to leave for his Family.

"So what do we do next?" Li Taixuan asked.

"Wait. Wait until more Foundation Establishment Cultivators arrive, and everyone joins forces to kill these Bloodthirsty Locusts," Fang Yunchen glanced at Li Taixuan and spoke slowly.

The two came to a realization. Indeed, they had to wait. The reason was simple: no one would make a move right now, as doing so would waste spiritual energy, benefit others, and put their own lives at risk.

No one would want to engage in such a risky endeavor.

But if they waited, more Foundation Establishment Cultivators would inevitably arrive, and more of them would grow impatient. That would be the time for everyone to strike together and work in unison.

As time ticked away, another three days passed. During this period, even more Foundation Establishment Cultivators arrived, many of whom clearly came from Purple Mansion forces. In particular, there was a group that Chen Changqing and Fang Yunchen recognized—the strongest team of six among the three groups of Cultivators they had faced when snatching the Jade Spirit Flowers that day.

Those six also noticed Chen Changqing and Fang Yunchen. One of them glared, but said nothing.

Because their Senior Brother stopped them.

"No need to worry. The Secret Realm isn't over yet. They snatched those four Jade Spirit Flowers earlier, so we can simply demand them back when it's time to leave the Secret Realm," that Senior Brother, who was also an elderly Cultivator, said with a shake of his head.

Just then, someone stepped forward—a middle-aged man with a cultivation base at Ninth Layer Foundation Establishment Perfection. He swept his gaze over everyone present and said loudly, "Fellow Daoists, as you can see, Bloodthirsty Locusts are blocking the path ahead. Everyone came here for the core area's Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine. Why don't we set aside our prejudices and grudges for now and clear out these Bloodthirsty Locusts together? Once inside the core area, everyone can attend to their business or settle their grudges as they see fit. What do you say?"

Most people did not reply, but some grew agitated and spoke in an unkind tone, "There are lone wolves here, and there are teams of five or six. Why should we drop our prejudices and face the enemy together, only for the danger of the main force to be shared among larger teams, while those Foundation Establishment Cultivators with only one or two people share barely any danger yet get to enter?"

Hearing this, those small teams of only one, two, or three people showed displeasure on their faces. Once inside the core area, you can rely on your larger numbers to snatch more resources! Why don't you mention that? How utterly shameless.

However, no one directly refuted it, as nobody wanted to be the bird that sticks its head out.

After all, there were quite a few multi-person teams here, and which team that could reach this place without significant casualties would be weak?

In truth, this issue existed every single session, because everyone wanted to claim more of the Secret Realm's resources—one more person sharing the resources meant one less share for themselves.

That middle-aged man also stopped speaking. He alone could not persuade everyone, and he didn't want to be targeted by the crowd upon entering the core area, which would outweigh any gain.

Seeing that everyone remained at a stalemate with no one backing down, several more Ninth Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivators stepped forward. Without exception, they all came from various Purple Mansion forces.

With them taking charge, the larger teams made a few concessions.

To balance the strength of each side, those few leaders dictated that teams of five or six send out three members, teams of three or four send out two, and the remaining teams of only one or two people must send out everyone.

Most people present approved of this decision, though a small minority still refused to accept it.

Of course, they didn't force the issue either, except to state that if anyone tried to shirk duties without contributing and then sneak into the core area to steal everyone's fruits, these leaders along with all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators under them would relentlessly hunt them down to the death.

Under this threat, those Cultivators who had originally disagreed had no choice but to acquiesce; indeed, some of them had held that exact intention.

It was simply that the threat from those leaders squashed their ideas. After all, nobody was a fool; having struggled and survived in the cultivation world for so many years, who didn't know what the cultivation world was like?

Now that a decision had been reached, everyone systematically began selecting their designated Cultivators. No one could shirk on this point, as sending someone whose strength was too weak would only result in them being killed by the Bloodthirsty Locusts.

Among Chen Changqing's trio, Li Taixuan volunteered himself, and Chen Changqing joined him.

Fang Yunchen would not take part this time, because Chen Changqing couldn't stay behind, fearing others might suspect something.

Fang Yunchen took out two bottles of Medicinal Pills and handed them to Chen Changqing and Li Taixuan, while he remained in the rear to look out for them.