Chapter 1156: Opportunity

Winds of Kyushu

Winds of Kyushu

Furthermore, suppressed by the bloodline, the merging of their Blood Rivers was only a matter of time. Grand Elder Mohai could only try his best to delay this process. At the very least, he still held some geographical advantage, but once Lu Ye's Blood River merged in, that advantage would vanish completely.

However, some things cannot be stopped just by wishing them to be. In the clash of blood arts, the Blood Rivers continued their steady convergence until, at a certain moment, the merger was complete.

To the many Blood Race members watching from afar, the Blood River now stretching across the sky had undoubtedly expanded significantly in volume. This was because the current Blood River was a fusion of three individuals' Blood Rivers, spreading out like a vast sea of blood, its intimidating power palpable. The terrifying holiness emanating from the sea of blood deterred all Blood Race members from daring to approach.

Within the Blood River, Grand Elder Mohai gritted his teeth, his face contorted in rage, and he activated numerous blood arts with increasing frenzy. Lu Ye, however, no longer countered with blood arts. He was at a disadvantage in that regard, and relying on blood arts to kill Grand Elder Mohai was unrealistic. Now that the Blood Rivers had merged, in a battlefield like this, neither he, Grand Elder Mohai, nor Lan Qiyue could easily escape. The disadvantage on the battlefield had been leveled. What remained was a direct confrontation!

His figure flickered as he rapidly charged towards Grand Elder Mohai. The Mountain Breaker Blade danced, deflecting one blood art attack after another, his own power rising steadily. The distance between them quickly closed.

A drop of essence blood burst open. Hidden by Lu Ye's clothes, a Blood-Stained Spirit Pattern abruptly formed on his chest. In an instant, his already fierce aura became even more ferocious and violent. The Dragon Throne couldn't be used, but the Blood-Stained Spirit Pattern was unaffected. Although the boost provided by the Blood-Stained Spirit Pattern became less significant as Lu Ye's strength increased, in a life-or-death battle like this, any small improvement could be the key to victory.

As Lu Ye approached, Grand Elder Mohai wasn't standing idly by. His body was constantly retreating, but the sea of blood was only so vast; where could he retreat to? In an instant, the two figures collided.

As the Mountain Breaker Blade struck down, Grand Elder Mohai met it with his fist. However, having been wary of the blade's power before, he naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to directly clash with its edge. Even though he wasn't sure what the consequences would be if struck by this long blade, his target was the flat side of the Mountain Breaker Blade.

A clang of metal erupted, and Lu Ye's long blade was knocked aside. He took the opportunity to powerfully kick towards Grand Elder Mohai's waist and abdomen. Unexpectedly, his opponent had the same idea. After the equally powerful clash, both figures paused momentarily, then simultaneously shot backward.

A violent force exploded, clearing the Blood River within a hundred-zhang radius. The surrounding blood, obstructed by an invisible force, formed a hollow circle spanning a hundred zhang. Forcibly regaining their footing, they each lunged fiercely at the other again. In all battles, such close-quarters combat is the most dangerous and visually spectacular. The clash between weapon masters and body cultivators often ignites the most intense sparks.

Each time Lu Ye's long blade descended, it was blocked by Grand Elder Mohai's fist. Grand Elder Mohai's sharp attacks were also completely neutralized by Lu Ye. Both unleashed ferocious moves, fighting with intense passion, creating a surprisingly evenly matched situation for a time!

Lu Ye's last trace of unease dissipated. Although his holiness was stronger than Grand Elder Mohai's, capable of suppressing his strength to some extent, the exact degree of this suppression was unclear without a direct confrontation. This exchange confirmed one thing for Lu Ye: Grand Elder Mohai's current strength surpassed that of a typical Ninth-Level Divine Sea realm cultivator, and Lu Ye's assessment of his own strength was roughly at that same level. In other words, Grand Elder Mohai's current strength was slightly greater than his, but only marginally so!

Thanks to the various peculiarities of the Blood Race, and to the female Saint Seed who died earlier, if Lu Ye hadn't refined the sacred blood she left behind after her death, he would have had no means to contend with Grand Elder Mohai now. Encountering an opponent who was precisely a notch stronger than himself was naturally an opportunity, and also a form of tempering. Life-or-death battles don't solely depend on a comparison of strength; on-the-spot performance also plays a role. Therefore, even if Grand Elder Mohai's current strength was slightly superior, Lu Ye was confident he could kill him here, provided he found an opening. As for whether he could find that opportunity, it depended on his own real-time adaptability and reactions.

In contrast, Grand Elder Mohai was in an utterly terrible mood. It was bad enough that the first human to suddenly appear possessed powerful holiness and suppressed him, but then this human also displayed such terrifying strength. The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from his opponent were clearly only at the fifth level, yet the strength he displayed was far beyond that. How could a lowly human possess such abnormal strength?

As a Saint Seed, he had naturally heard rumors from the Southern Realm, knowing there was a human sanctuary there filled with powerful individuals. However, due to the great distance, he had never interacted with the humans from that region. In his ingrained perception, the human race was a lowly existence, livestock raised by the Blood Race. Only now, in true combat, did he finally understand that he had consistently underestimated the power of humans. This human, whom Lan Qiyue called 'Senior Brother,' undoubtedly hailed from the Southern Realm. Although Grand Elder Mohai didn't know why he possessed the characteristics of a Saint Seed, his very existence was simply unfathomable.

Having fought to this point, neither he nor Lu Ye could easily disengage. This battle was destined to be a fight to the death. Besides engaging in physical combat, he also launched spiritual attacks, hoping to find an opening. He thought that with such a significant difference in cultivation realms, even if Lu Ye possessed strength beyond his own realm, his soul's intensity might not be as formidable. His strategy wasn't wrong, but several spiritual attacks returned without effect, causing no impact on the enemy. Instead, his own soul power was somewhat consumed. Thus, Grand Elder Mohai realized that this human's soul was equally powerful!

This was where he misunderstood Lu Ye. While Lu Ye's soul wasn't weak, allowing him to remain undisturbed by Grand Elder Mohai's spiritual attacks, a large part of it was due to the efficacy of the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda. This soul artifact, which Lu Ye had exchanged for a vast amount of merit points from the Merit Pavilion, had provided him with significant assistance only after he advanced to the Divine Sea realm. At the very least, when fighting Divine Sea realm cultivators stronger than himself, he didn't have to worry about soul-related issues. All he needed to do was exert his full strength to kill the enemy.

Inside the Blood River, roars constantly echoed as the two figures entangled each other, moving and surging within the vast river. Lan Qiyue hid within the Blood River, continuously activating its power to restrain Grand Elder Mohai. This situation was like a small rabbit slyly interfering while tigers and wolves fought; its effect wasn't obvious, but it was somewhat useful. This greatly annoyed Grand Elder Mohai, but at this moment, he couldn't spare a hand to deal with Lan Qiyue. The pressure from Lu Ye forced him to go all out.

This was undoubtedly the strongest opponent he had ever encountered in his life. Saint Seeds rarely engaged in conflicts unless there was deep-seated animosity, so even though Grand Elder Mohai had lived for many years, he actually had little experience fighting other Saint Seeds. This was also a common flaw among all Saint Seeds in the Blood Refinement Realm: their experience in life-or-death combat against enemies was not very extensive due to a lack of fighting conditions. Of course, the Saint Seeds in the Southern Realm had grown in this regard because they frequently clashed with human elders. However, Grand Elder Mohai did not have this advantage. This meant that even though his current displayed strength was slightly superior to Lu Ye's, it was difficult for him to convert this advantage into a decisive victory. This situation would definitely not occur with cultivators from the Kyushu cultivation world. For powerful cultivators who often teetered on the brink of life and death and had extensive combat experience, any slight advantage could be snowballed and amplified, eventually transforming into a killing blow.

Lu Ye keenly perceived this, which gave him greater confidence in his plan to eliminate the enemy. All he lacked now was an opportunity. The opportunity finally arrived!

The prolonged struggle caused Grand Elder Mohai to lose his usual patience and caution. During an exchange of blows, he took a risk. As Lu Ye's long blade descended towards him, he didn't choose to parry it this time. Instead, he formed his hand into a claw and thrust it directly towards Lu Ye's chest. From his five fingers, blood-red fingernails suddenly grew like sharp spikes, carrying an aura of chilling coldness and death.

He had always felt that the long blade in Lu Ye's hand was peculiar, an instinctive perception of danger. So, despite fighting for such a long time, he hadn't allowed the blade to strike him even once. But the cost of doing so was that all his attacks were also neutralized by Lu Ye. Continuing the fight like this, he didn't know when it would end. Grand Elder Mohai was getting impatient, so he sought a change. He was willing to risk being struck by Lu Ye's blade to pierce this human's heart! If he succeeded, whatever peculiarities the long blade had would be irrelevant. Even if he didn't succeed, merely getting struck once shouldn't be a major issue, especially since he wasn't without defensive capabilities.

He thought this, and he acted on it. As he thrust his clawed hand forward, a bloody light surged rapidly around his body, forming a sturdy barrier. Coincidentally, Lu Ye was doing the same thing. Spiritual energy gathered at his chest, and with a flash of light, layers of Defense Spirit Patterns appeared. The sharp nails pierced through the first layer of defense, then the second, and the third... In the blink of an eye, several Defense Spirit Patterns activated by Lu Ye were all broken through, revealing the terrifying power of this strike. The Mountain Breaker Blade sliced down fiercely, its sharp edge cutting through the protective barrier on Grand Elder Mohai's body and landing a brutal blow on him.