"If you've got any blame for what happened earlier, it's maybe twenty percent. Mao Wu pushed us first. What, were we supposed to just sit back and let the women in our squad be humiliated?"
Bei Ze had a knack for comforting people. He admitted Lady Di shared some responsibility, but not the main part, and reminded her that her decision wasn't just because her temperament was influenced.
"Fairy Lu must've noticed the problem in herself first, that's why she warned us all."
Hearing that, Lady Di's expression softened. She closed her eyes briefly, then called the others back. She told them the environment here could affect their state of mind, so they needed to stay alert. She also reminded everyone again that their squad had strength, and as long as no one treated them like cannon fodder, they'd follow orders.
The group sighed, each reflecting on what they'd done since stepping into this place. They quietly warned themselves to be cautious.
Hou San and Yu Linhai hadn't joined the talk, so they didn't know what was said. If they did, Yu Linhai would probably be the most shocked.
When they'd first sent out squads to gather resources, plenty of them had shown signs of being affected by fallen immortals, becoming combative, pessimistic, and irritable. That was why their strategy shifted later, to squeezing foreign cultivators who came into this realm and forcing them to search for resources in their stead.
Two hours later, everyone moved out again. Hou San still led the way. This time, no other cultivators appeared, and before the sky turned completely dark, they crossed the mountain range where the ancient forest grew.
On the other side was a rolling grassland. It wasn't uniform, though, patchy like a balding head. Some spots were bare dirt, others had grass taller than a person. Every now and then, faint blue sparks lifted from the grass and drifted to another patch.
"What the… how's this possible?"
Hou San froze, dumbfounded. Lady Di leapt to the peak behind him and frowned.
Jian Mao's sharp gaze cut toward Hou San, who quickly explained, "Originally this place only had tall grass. I didn't expect blue fireflies to migrate here. Now it's tricky."
Jian Dan had already scanned the area with her divine sense. The little insects were thumb-sized, glowing faintly blue from their bellies.
'They're just fireflies, right? So what's different about adding the word "blue"?' she muttered in her heart.
"How dangerous are they?" Jian Xu asked.
"They can slip into a person's body and burn them alive from the inside. Even an immortal body can't resist them," Lady Di explained.
"Can we avoid them, maybe take another route?"
"It's possible, but the detour would be three times longer, and who knows what dangers we'd run into along the way," Hou San admitted honestly. He was familiar with this area, but not with everything beyond.
Lady Di nodded in agreement.
"So what are these blue fireflies afraid of?"
"Their natural predator is a red-crowned insect-eater bird. But around here, good luck finding one," Hou San said bitterly. He'd wanted to finally contribute something useful, maybe earn some credit, but these damned fireflies had ruined his chance.
"They're fire-aspected, right? Can we drown them with water techniques?"
"No. These fireflies were bred in the Immortal Realm specifically to guard spirit plants. They're immune to water and fire," Yu Linhai spoke up.
"So they can be killed?"
"Yes, one strike can kill them. But they're unpredictable and move in swarms. Once they surround you, there's almost no escaping, even with defensive shields. Unless you're a Daluo Jinxian, you can't ignore them."
"You got a way to lure them away?" Jian Dan asked. She figured Yu Linhai had as much interest in the immortal formation as anyone.
"I've got a stalk of Fragrant Grass. It'll draw them."
"Good. First we'll scout the area and set up a trapping formation. Then you place the grass. We'll need to calculate the distance so they don't break through the formation before we're gone," Jian Chun said, glancing at Yu Linhai politely.
He nodded. Then Jian Xu, Jian Chun, Wu Siyuan, and Kuang Dao darted off in four directions.
The others retreated into the ancient forest, watching from cover so they wouldn't alert the swarm.
Xiao Yue sneezed softly, his blue eyes fixed on the glowing insects as he bared his teeth.
Jian Dan reached out to stroke his head with a small smile, though she knew he wasn't amused. He clearly hated the bugs, and the danger they carried had made him unusually obedient and low to the ground.
Half an hour later, the four returned, having mapped the terrain. They chose the farthest spot, right at the forest's edge.
This time Jian Mao and Yu Linhai handled the bait.
First they placed a Maze Array disk. At the center, Yu Linhai set down the Fragrant Grass, a lush green stalk about twenty centimeters tall that looked like a clivia. He activated a small isolating formation with a single low-grade spirit stone.
When the stone ran out of power, the isolating barrier would vanish, leaving the grass exposed inside the Maze Array. That should lure the fireflies.
Once everything was ready, the two hurried back to regroup.
Then came the waiting. Everyone stared at the field below without blinking.
An hour passed before there was any movement. A few fireflies, each the size of a quail egg, rose into the air. They hovered, wings buzzing as if they were orienting themselves, then flew off in a line.
"Get ready."
Jian Mao's low command snapped everyone to full alert.
With the first batch came a second, then another twenty followed. Soon, fireflies burst out of the tall grass in droves, swarming into clusters that lit up the gloomy sky with eerie blue-green light.
Faces paled. They'd thought there might be a few hundred at most, but this was clearly a nest. Only Jian Dan and Yu Linhai knew just how many were truly hidden in the grassland.
Nearly half an hour later, the swarm thinned, but stray fireflies still drifted out.
"Fairy Lu, that Fragrant Grass won't last long. Once they eat it, they'll return. That Maze Array won't hold forever," Yu Linhai whispered.
Jian Dan lay low beside Xiao Yue, fully aware of his worry. If they waited too long, the swarm would come back, and then they'd be doomed.
After about five more minutes, she swung onto Xiao Yue's back and waved her hand. "Move out with me!"
She leapt forward.
Xiao Yue bounded ahead, carefully avoiding patches still crawling with fireflies. The occasional insect that crossed their path was sliced apart by Jian Dan's sword.
The Heavenly Sword Sect squad, Hou San, and Yu Linhai followed close behind, matching her tracks.
Lady Di's squad saw Fairy Lu clearing the path and realized they weren't needed as scouts. She immediately led her people after them. Together, the long line of cultivators began cutting across the grassland.
Meanwhile, the Fragrant Grass inside the Maze Array was already being devoured by a writhing mass of blue fireflies.