No matter where Niluan was hiding, Maya Mu could not control this matter. As the Insect Horde surged wave after wave, she could only continue leading everyone to fight off the insects.
Joe Di realized he had been too flashy before. With his formidable combat power on display, it was inevitable that people would become suspicious. So, he refrained from using the Rule Cycle Grand Array techniques and relied solely on the Azure Veil Blade to battle the insects.
Even so, after eleven days, Joe Di had collected a pile of insects.
After eleven days guarding the Wormhole Gate, Joe Di had gained a general understanding of it. Not every insect was worth just one merit point; some were worth more. For example, the Sawtooth Insect he killed before was worth three points, while the rarely seen Twin-Horned Dragon Beast Insect could fetch as much as a hundred.
A very small number of insects carried Insect Eggs. If one could break open an insect's abdomen and obtain an egg, it would be a huge windfall.
After just eleven days, every surviving cultivator looked utterly exhausted. Some even had a faint green tinge to their faces—a sign of serious poisoning.
According to Evan Kan, their losses this time were quite severe. Over a hundred people died in this round alone.
The protective array was opened again, just as when Joe Di and his group first arrived. Over a thousand people stood outside the array—here to relieve them and take over the defense of the Wormhole Gate.
Maya Mu briefly handed over to the arriving cultivators, then led the group—who had longed to leave—out from the Wormhole Gate’s defense line.
Once they burst out of the protective array and it closed behind them, everyone finally let out a long sigh of relief. The grueling eleven days were finally over.
Many cultivators went to the merit point exchange to redeem the insect corpses they'd collected, and Joe Di planned to do the same.
"Simon Di, don't trade in all your insects. Keep some—they'll be useful," Evan Kan said, seeing Joe Di heading over to exchange insect materials.
"Thank you, I know," Joe Di nodded.
Maya Mu, however, wasn't in the mood to redeem merit points. Her first priority was to inform Shane Rivers about Niluan's situation.
When Shane Rivers heard that Niluan had been swept into the Wormhole Gate during his North District watch, he was stunned and rushed to the Wormhole Gate.
By the time Shane Rivers arrived, Joe Di had already exchanged all his insect materials, ignoring Evan Kan’s advice to keep some. These materials weren’t worth much to Joe Di—he had plenty for refining and didn’t need these.
"Maya Mu, Simon Di, you two come with me," Shane Rivers said after confirming Niluan’s situation. His expression was grim, but Joe Di’s daring rescue—saving more than a dozen cultivators who’d fallen into the Wormhole Gate—was at least a good outcome.
"Simon Di, I'll visit you when you return," Evan Kan said, having finished his own exchange. He didn't know how many insect corpses Joe Di had traded, but it was clearly a lot.
Zane Wu already knew Niluan was probably taken out by Joe Di. He simply nodded to Joe Di before leaving with Evan Kan.
With such strength and tact, Joe Di shouldn't run into any trouble.
[Scene Break]
Shane Rivers’ residence was at the very center of the North District. Outside his cave dwelling was a large courtyard, planted with spirit herbs. Though not of high grade, they filled the area with a rich spiritual aura, making it a pleasant place to enter.
"Maya Mu, you've caused a huge disaster," Shane Rivers said as soon as he sat down.
Maya Mu sighed and didn’t answer. She knew she’d caused trouble—she just had bad luck. Niluan insisted on coming for a trial right when she was on duty at the Wormhole Gate. It was just rotten luck.
Joe Di frowned and said, "Captain Shane, Alliance Leader Mu was always protecting Niluan. There were just too many insects, and when Niluan was swept into the Wormhole Gate, Alliance Leader Mu was doing everything she could to save him. It was because she told us to protect Niluan at all costs that I risked my life entering the Wormhole Gate to rescue him, but unfortunately, I still failed."
Hearing Joe Di’s words, Maya Mu gave him a grateful look. She was now certain that Joe Di had entered the Wormhole Gate to save Niluan for her sake.
Shane Rivers sighed. "I'm no longer in charge here. I've reported this to the steward responsible for guarding the Wormhole Gate, so the Qian Yuan Trading Guild probably knows by now. If I'm not mistaken, their Guildmaster will soon be here in person."
[Scene Break]
At that moment, under the merit point array display screen at the Wormhole Gate, a large group of cultivators were discussing in surprise—two newcomers had broken into the top thousand.
That guy named Simon Di had 3,621 merit points, ranking 530th at the Wormhole Gate. Another, Zane Wu, had 1,140 merit points, ranking 936th.
This was an incredible achievement—normally, it took cultivators many years to break into the top thousand. At the end of each year, the scores at the top were halved and carried over to the next.
Evan Wang’s face darkened as he looked at the rankings. He’d arranged for seven people to deal with Joe Di and Zane Wu, but all seven said the two were too formidable; they never got the chance. He’d doubted their words before, but seeing the merit point rankings now, he realized Simon Di was truly impressive. Zane Wu wasn’t simple either—no one ordinary could make the top thousand, especially after only one trip to the Wormhole Gate.
Still, there was some good news: Niluan had gone missing during the Wormhole Gate defense. He was sure Richard Ni wouldn’t let this go.
[Scene Break]
Evan Wang was right—Richard Ni definitely wouldn’t let this slide. By now, he’d already arrived at Shane Rivers’ cave dwelling, led by the steward Chang Xin.
Shane Rivers had already led Maya Mu and Joe Di outside to greet them, bowing deeply from afar. "Captain Shane Rivers of the North District Wormhole Team greets Steward Chang and Guildmaster Ni."
Maya Mu bowed deeply as well, while Joe Di feigned ignorance and offered a somewhat bewildered salute.
He recognized Richard Ni, though he couldn’t gauge his true strength. Yet standing here, Richard Ni felt like a vast, boundless world. Joe Di was certain that no matter how many tricks he had, if Richard Ni wanted to kill him, it would take just a wave of his hand.
Richard Ni looked quite handsome, with slightly narrow eyes and an apparently harmless demeanor. Yet Joe Di sensed a terrifying, ruthless aura—the kind that spelled doom for anyone who defied him.
Compared to Richard Ni, Steward Chang Xin’s cultivation was also far above his own, but still within his perception.
Richard Ni fixed his gaze on Maya Mu and said blandly, "Describe what happened."
"Yes," Maya Mu replied, face pale, and recounted the events exactly as they happened, without embellishment.
When Richard Ni heard about Joe Di risking his life to save Niluan, his gaze shifted to Joe Di. Joe Di already knew Richard Ni’s spiritual sense had pierced his ring; though furious, he dared not move. Fortunately, his cultivation of the Dao of Rules allowed him to merge with space itself, hiding his anger.
"Show me the array disc," Richard Ni said calmly.
Joe Di didn’t hesitate and took out the array disc.
Richard Ni examined Joe Di’s array disc for a long while, then put it away instead of returning it. He took out a pill and handed it to Joe Di, saying, "You did well, risking your life to save another. I’ll reward you with a Dao Ascension Pill. Take it now."
With that, a milky-white pill floated before Joe Di.
When Maya Mu saw the pill, her face turned pale. She’d never seen a Dao Ascension Pill, but she’d heard of it. Once swallowed, a cultivator’s Dao would gradually be stripped away and merged into the pill. Her bad feeling was right—Richard Ni wouldn’t spare Joe Di, so why would he spare her? The only reason Joe Di wasn’t killed outright was likely because of the array disc.
"Thank you for your generosity, Guildmaster," Joe Di said excitedly, grabbing the pill and swallowing it without hesitation.
Richard Ni nodded in satisfaction, while a hint of mockery flickered in Steward Chang Xin’s eyes.
Richard Ni’s gaze fell on Maya Mu once again, his tone cold. "My son was swept into the Wormhole Gate, and yet you survived..."
(End of today's update. Good night, friends!)