TL: Etude

Heavenly Emperor Palace Base.

At this moment, Dao Ancestor Limitless Antiquity, Dao Ancestor Heavenly Brahman, Dao Ancestor Domain Suppressor, and Blackwind Mountain’s Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity and Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins had all arrived to discuss the upcoming offensive with the three Palace Masters of the Heavenly Emperor Palace.

“This operation counts as a failure. Who would have thought that the Forbidden Insect Race would conceal three lord-level forbidden insects?” Palace Master Azure Dragon lamented.

Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity spoke up, “Currently, the Forbidden Insect Race possesses nine lord-level forbidden insects. That’s equivalent to nine half-step Domain Ancestors. And this might not even be the total count—what if more lord-level creatures are guarding the inner depths of the Forbidden Insect Nest?”

If Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity had said this before, the other Dao Ancestors likely wouldn’t have taken it seriously.

They believed that if there truly were more lord-level forbidden insects, they would have appeared when they last attacked the nest of the Forbidden Insect Race.

But now, they felt there was some merit to Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity’s words. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Nine lord-level forbidden insects might not be the full extent. Perhaps there was a tenth, or even an eleventh.

Suddenly, Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins interjected, “We must prepare ourselves. A number of Dao Ancestor corpses were seized by the Forbidden Insect Race during this battle. They might use these bodies to cultivate more lord-level forbidden insects. Furthermore, we must brace ourselves mentally for the possibility of the birth of an Insect King!”

“The birth of an Insect King? That’s equivalent to a Domain Ancestor! How could it be so easily born?” Dao Ancestor Limitless Antiquity quickly refuted.

Palace Master Azure Dragon gazed deeply at Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins and Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity. “Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity, Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins, do you know something we don’t?”

Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity hesitated before replying, “We do know a little, but I’m afraid you won’t believe it if we tell you.”

“Speak. I’ll believe you!” said Palace Master Azure Dragon.

“Then I’ll say it.” Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity began, “According to certain secrets from Blackwind Mountain, within the Forbidden Insect Nest lies a Forbidden Insect Tree. This tree produces countless insect cocoons, and as long as there’s sufficient energy, these cocoons can give birth to new forbidden insects.

Given the current scale of the Forbidden Insect Race, the Forbidden Insect Tree likely holds several lord-level forbidden insect cocoons, and at least one cocoon of an Insect King-level forbidden insect. As for when that Insect King cocoon might hatch, I cannot say.”

“If this intelligence is true, can’t we enter the Forbidden Insect Nest and destroy both the tree and the Insect King cocoon?” Dao Ancestor Heavenly Brahman suggested.

“No!” Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity shook his head. “Even if we manage to destroy the tree, the inner depths of the Forbidden Insect Nest suppress us greatly. We wouldn’t even be able to wield a fraction of our full strength. And since it’s the heart of their lair, if the lord-level forbidden insects engage us there, we would likely fall without any chance of escape. If anyone wishes to go, I won’t stop them.”

Dao Ancestor Heavenly Brahman fell silent, unwilling to court death by venturing into the nest.

“What should we do next?” Palace Master Azure Dragon frowned. “The forces we’ve deployed in the Dark Forbidden Domain aren’t sufficient to exterminate the Forbidden Insect Race. If we allow them to continue growing unchecked, they’ll one day destroy our base. Besides, we can’t stay here guarding it forever. The Dao Ancestors need to return and cultivate, improving their strength!”

“I have a suggestion,” Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins said.

The other half-step Domain Ancestors turned their attention to him.

Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins continued, “The reason Dao Ancestors frequently return to the Profound Void Archaic Realm is to offer sacrifices to the forbidden insects, earning rewards from the realm’s origin as well as cultivation boosts. But if we openly collect forbidden insect corpses and provide cultivation resources and rewards equivalent to their value, the Dao Ancestors wouldn’t need to leave the base. They could cultivate here while remaining ready to fight the forbidden insects at any moment. There would be no need to return to the Profound Void Archaic Realm!”

“This is indeed a solution!” several Half-Step Domain Ancestors agreed.

However, this method only ensured that the Profound Void Archaic Realm would have sufficient Dao Ancestor-level combat power; it did not guarantee the extermination of the Forbidden Insect Race.

The eight Half-Step Domain Ancestors deliberated for a long time on how to annihilate the Forbidden Insect Race, but no decisive plan was reached.

In the end, they concluded the meeting and continued with the current battle strategies.

…

After the meeting.

Dao Ancestor Limitless Antiquity, Dao Ancestor Heavenly Brahman, and Dao Ancestor Domain Suppressor left the Heavenly Emperor Palace base. However, they did not part ways but instead began chatting idly in the void of the Dark Forbidden Domain.

Dao Ancestor Domain Suppressor was the first to express dissatisfaction: “The Heavenly Emperor Palace and Blackwind Mountain must be hiding other Half-Step Domain Ancestors. If they deployed all of their Half-Step Domain Ancestors, we could easily win this battle!”

“Convincing the Heavenly Emperor Palace and Blackwind Mountain to go all out—how is that even possible?” Dao Ancestor Limitless Antiquity sneered coldly.

“The Heavenly Emperor Palace is not necessarily in a rush to deal with the Forbidden Insect Race. They might even be planning to use the Forbidden Insect Race as a catalyst to accelerate the birth of the Forbidden Realm. As long as waves upon waves of forbidden insects are sacrificed, the Profound Void Archaic Realm can grow rapidly. If they exterminated the Forbidden Insect Race all at once, it might not lead to the Forbidden Realm’s emergence. But farming them bit by bit like this is undoubtedly the best approach.

Blackwind Mountain’s goals are not virtuous either. They also wish for the Forbidden Realm to be born, while using the Forbidden Insect Race to temper Blackwind Mountain’s Dao Ancestors. Although many Dao Ancestors may die, they can cultivate a number of powerful warriors in the process.”

“In short, neither of these forces truly wants to eliminate the Forbidden Insect Race! But our strength is too weak; we cannot handle the Forbidden Insect Race on our own. Otherwise, we would spare no cost to destroy them!” Dao Ancestor Heavenly Brahman sighed deeply.

The three of them conversed for a while longer before parting ways.

Dao Ancestor Limitless Antiquity watched as Dao Ancestor Heavenly Brahman and Dao Ancestor Domain Suppressor left, smirking to himself. “Two old foxes, indeed!”

…

Due to the heavy losses suffered by the Forbidden Insect Race this time and the large number of Dao Ancestor corpses they had plundered, the insects required time to recover and cultivate more forbidden insects. As a result, they refrained from attacking the major bases in the Dao Mountain Domain during this period.

Meanwhile, the major bases announced that forbidden insect corpses could now be exchanged for cultivation resources. Many Dao Ancestors, having slain few forbidden insects, were reluctant to return to the Profound Void Archaic Realm. Instead, they opted to exchange the corpses for cultivation resources.

Moreover, the major bases refined the Dark Forbidden Power of the Dark Forbidden Domain into a milder form and infused it into the bases, transforming each base into an optimal holy land for cultivation. This encouraged many Dao Ancestors to stay and cultivate there.

Ye Tian returned to the Profound Void Archaic Realm. After all, he had obtained a considerable number of forbidden insect corpses this time. If he sacrificed them all, he might be able to elevate himself to the true peak level of a Seventh Heaven Dao Ancestor.

Additionally.

He had gained profound insights into the Forbidden Dao Technique and hoped to comprehend a genuine Forbidden Dao Technique during this opportunity.