After several preparations, Dong Rui lifted the lid of the crystal box, exposing the Cicada Mother to the open air.
At first, the surroundings were completely silent.
Everyone waited in the woods for a quarter of an hour, then another.
Even He Lingchuan asked if it was going to work, but Dong Rui was utterly confident. "Patience, be patient!"
No sooner had he spoken than three or four strange cicadas hopped into the clearing from all directions, heading straight for the Cicada Mother.
Qiu Hu raised the bronze rod in his hand, but Dong Rui cautioned him, "Leave them alone. The more bait, the better."
Cicadas drawn by the scent loved partying just like humans; the more of their kind gathered, the more excited they became.
Having never seen such a plump, voluptuous female before, the males were instantly infatuated, paying no heed to their strange surroundings. The scent they released while mating grew even more pungent, quickly attracting even more cicadas.
In this clearing, Mount Rong Sect had set up an "Earth Cage Formation," operating on a principle similar to a crab pot—bugs could enter, but could not leave.
Over the past two months, they had devised quite a few methods for catching the insects, and the Earth Cage Formation was one of them. The only difference was that before they had baited it with food, whereas now they used the Cicada Mother.
Within two hours, several hundred cicadas had arrived.
After four hours, that number had swelled to seven hundred!
A dense, writhing mass of three-foot bugs hopping everywhere made even the Mount Rong cultivators blanch. Elder Dao could not help sighing, "Our sect has stood for over two hundred years and weathered every kind of storm, yet today we were nearly brought down by tiny cicadas!"
They spent all day exterminating bugs, yet their foes kept coming in an endless stream.
Human effort alone could not keep up.
If things continued like this, either Mount Rong Sect or the bugs had to die, and without a reliable solution, guess which one it would be?
These adversaries weren't even monsters! For the past two months, Mount Rong Sect had been suffocated with frustration.
He Lingchuan pointed ahead and smiled. "Isn't the solution right here?"
They were hidden inside a prearranged concealment formation; to these strange bugs, humans were completely invisible, without even a whiff of scent escaping.
After eight hours, a thousand bugs.
Seeing that no new insects had appeared for quite some time and the Earth Cage Formation could hold no more, Dong Rui said with satisfaction, "That will do."
Everyone struck at once. Divine techniques, array formations, poisons, and all manner of magic artifacts and tools were deployed in turns to eradicate the cicadas.
With their minds consumed by mating, the cicadas had no desire to fight back or save themselves, virtually waiting around for slaughter. The occasional few that took flight to attack were swiftly eliminated.
Thanks to their thorough preparations, the extermination was wrapped up in just an hour.
Mount Rong Sect had never exterminated cicadas so easily, safely, and painlessly. Everyone was overjoyed, their gazes toward Dong Rui and He Lingchuan brimming with gratitude.
Fire was actually the fastest method, but cicadas feared the smell of smoke and char, actively avoiding burnt land and refusing to approach it for at least two months.
Dong Rui carefully packed away the Cicada Mother. "Shall we move to another spot and keep going?"
Now that there was hope, everyone was beaming. "Keep going it is!"
News of this successful test was quickly relayed to Sect Leader Xue. After hearing Elder Dao's report, he decided to aggressively roll out Dong Rui's proven method.
Of course, Dong Rui currently went by an alias, calling himself Wei Yishan.
Over the next three days, Dong Rui bred several more Cicada Mothers in succession, letting the Mount Rong disciples carry them off to hunt strange cicadas in various areas.
The strange cicadas' advantage was rapid growth, but their disadvantage was a drive to mate and reproduce that far exceeded ordinary cicadas.
After seven or eight days of relentless work, the adult population plummeted, and newly hatched ones were snuffed out just as quickly. The number of strange cicadas in Mount Rong territory dropped drastically, with good news pouring in from the eastern and southern sectors.
After another seven or eight days, multiple areas were cleared entirely to zero.
The overall situation was settled; Mount Rong Sect's total defeat of the invading cicadas was only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, they also set fire to the scorched forest in the northeast. After all, those trees had already been sucked dry by the invading cicadas, so burning them was no real loss, and the smoky, charred ground could hold back the strange cicadas for several months.
Only by severing the route of the cicadas' southward push could Mount Rong Sect enjoy a few months of peace.
Elder Dao also asked Dong Rui, "What will we do three months from now?"
Three months later, spring would blossom, and the scorched mountain forests would sprout new greenery. When that time came, the cicadas would head south once again.
Dong Rui's answer was straightforward: "Ju Kingdom is the source. Unless the cicada plague is eliminated there, Mount Rong will never know peace."
After all, Ju Kingdom was an immovable neighbor. No matter how well Mount Rong managed its own plot of land, it would still be dragged down by the failing student next door.
Elder Dao let out a long sigh, then asked, "In that case, could we ask Mister Wei to make a trip to Ju Kingdom?"
Exterminate pests for Ju Kingdom? Dong Rui shook his head. "Not going."
"Actually, hearing that Mount Rong had found an effective way to eradicate the pests, Ju Kingdom sent an envoy to plead for our help," Elder Dao said with an even warmer smile. "The strange cicadas have devoured countless people in Ju Kingdom, wreaking terrible havoc. The entire nation is now tormented beyond endurance, with no means to save themselves."
Wherever the strange cicadas passed, not a blade of grass was left standing; neither man nor beast survived, and agriculture and forestry were wiped out. If the scourge continued to escalate, no country could withstand it.
The Heavenly Palace had already sent emissaries to Wange Marsh, and under no circumstances was Dong Rui willing to go there. Having barely escaped Beijia, he would never entangle himself with its people or affairs again.
He Lingchuan probed, "Has Ju Kingdom not sought outside help?"
"How could they not? Ju Kingdom offered massive bounties and invited talents from far and wide." Elder Dao cleared his throat. "The scouts I sent to Ju Kingdom also brought back news that even the Heavenly Palace was stirred into action, dispatching a Duyun Emissary."
He Lingchuan was slightly surprised. "The Heavenly Palace sent a Duyun Emissary? Which one?"
He naturally knew that the Heavenly Palace emissaries going to Wange Marsh had nothing to do with investigating the cicada plague, but rather to look for clues regarding the Dafang Pot—that was the very purpose behind asking Li Qingge to deliver the Dragon-Torture Pillar to Wange Marsh.
Yet he had not expected the Heavenly Palace to dispatch a Duyun Emissary.
That was an exceptionally high rank, speaking volumes about how seriously they took the matter.
"Surname He. It was He Jing, one of the Four Duyun Emissaries," Elder Dao said. "However, after leading his people around Wange Marsh for several sweeps, Emissary He seemingly discovered nothing and subsequently departed."
"Oh!" He Lingchuan nodded solemnly. After all, it was a diversion of his own making; if Emissary He had managed to find any clues about the Dafang Pot in Wange Marsh, that truly would have been a miracle.
As for Ju Kingdom's cicada plague, Emissary He surely didn't give a damn—it wasn't Beijia that was being ravaged, after all.
Elder Dao looked at He Lingchuan and gave a light cough. "Mister Wei also said that Ju Kingdom is the source. If the affliction isn't cured over there, the pestilence in Mount Rong's territory can never be eradicated."
He put particular emphasis on the word "eradicated."
He Lingchuan knew this was directed at him. If Mount Rong's insect plague could not be eradicated, Qiu Hu would have to remain at Mount Rong to fulfill his vow.
Shrewd and experienced, Elder Dao had long noticed that this group took their cues entirely from He Lingchuan. As long as He Lingchuan nodded, this "Mister Wei" would hardly refuse.
He Lingchuan pondered for a moment, then said soberly, "It's not that I'm trying to kick a man when he's down, but there truly is a favor I'd like to ask of your esteemed sect."
Instead of worrying, Elder Dao beamed with delight. "Speak, please speak!"
Chapter 759