Soon, the flying Insect Horde closed in on the grand array.
Ian Song cast a spell formula, and the grand array shifted so that only physical beings could enter—no gases could flow in. This was mainly because even the Demon Race cultivators couldn't withstand the toxins in Insect territory.
If he hadn't used the array to force out the toxins in this space, he really wouldn't have dared to let these Demon Race cultivators out.
"Bzzzz! Bzz!"
Accompanied by a deafening flurry of wings, countless flying insects passed through the array wall and entered the grand array.
After about ten million insects had been let in, Ian cast another spell formula, instantly changing the array wall so that all the following flying insects crashed into it.
"Kill!"
Before Ian could even give the order, over two million Demon Race cultivators surged forward, blasting the flying insects apart. Instantly, the space was filled with a pungent stench and the reek of blood.
"Absorb!"
But the Demon Race cultivators didn't mind at all—they eagerly absorbed the blood energy from the exploded insects and showed utterly blissful expressions.
In less than ten breaths, the ten million insects let in were slaughtered to the last.
"Send in more!"
Ian opened the array wall again, letting another twenty million insects inside.
The Demon Race cultivators swarmed forward, enjoying the thrill of slaughter while absorbing the blood energy from the exploded insects.
The Demon Race cultivators Ian had stored in the Divine Temple were at least at the Golden Core Realm, comparable to Core Formation Stage martial artists. As for these insects, their strength was pitiful—most were only at the ninth layer of Qi-Refining, with only a handful at the Innate or Foundation Establishment Realm.
So after two rounds of slaughter, aside from a tiny number suffering minor injuries, not a single one of the over two million Demon Race cultivators died.
"Keep going!"
Ian cast another spell formula, letting thirty million more insects in for the Demon Race cultivators to slaughter.
Finally, after the sixth wave—fifty million insects—casualties began to appear. At the same time, some Demon Race cultivators absorbed enough blood energy to begin breaking through.
At Ian's command, those ready to break through gathered at the center of the formation. He then collected them into the Divine Temple, placed them on a planet, and adjusted the time flow to a thousandfold—so they could break through at the fastest possible speed.
On the seventh round, Ian let in only thirty million insects.
Repeating this process, more and more Demon Race cultivators reached the verge of breaking through. Meanwhile, under the thousandfold time acceleration, those who had entered the Divine Temple first had already broken through, and Ian sent them back out to rejoin the battle.
Time passed slowly.
After a day, most of the two-million-strong Demon Race army had broken through, and even the weakest were now at late Golden Core Realm.
Though over a thousand Demon Race cultivators were lost, the army's overall strength rose dramatically.
On the Insect side, the death toll was even more staggering—at least thirty billion flying insects and over twenty billion land insects had perished after they joined the battle.
But for the Insect Horde as a whole, that was only a tenth.
"Kill!"
Within the formation space, the cries of battle shook the heavens.
This time, Ian sent in eighty million flying insects and fifty million land insects.
This put pressure on the two-million-strong Demon Race army.
Seeing this, Ian formed a spell with both hands. Instantly, the space within the array distorted, and at least twenty million insects exploded out of nowhere, turning into blood energy for the Demon Race to absorb!
Next, Ian made the array attack several more times, wiping out all 130 million insects. The entire formation space became an ocean of blood energy, and the Demon Race cultivators inside felt as if they'd entered paradise, madly and greedily absorbing it.
Immediately, many late Golden Core Realm Demon Race cultivators reached the verge of breakthrough.
Ian quickly collected them into the Divine Temple.
Another day passed. When Ian collected the last batch of over two thousand Demon Race cultivators on the verge of breakthrough into the Divine Temple, every Demon Race cultivator remaining in the formation space had reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
The Demon Race army's combat power had increased at least tenfold.
"Boom!"
This time, Ian sent three hundred million insects into the formation space. The Demon Race cultivators, already prepared, surged forward to enjoy the feast.
Unbeknownst to all, ten days had passed.