Chapter 1516: With Yueyao's Soul Battle

Winds of Kyushu

Under the suppression of the Sacred nature, Xue Hao could indeed only exert the strength of an early Moonstone cultivator. However, this didn't mean he was truly only at the early Moonstone stage.

After all, he had the foundation of a late Moonstone cultivator, especially his powerful physique!

The Blood Clan members, due to their practice of blood arts, generally possessed stronger physiques than other races, let alone someone like Xue Hao.

It was evident from earlier, when Xue Hao was caught off guard and struck with a full-force blow by Lu Ye, that his injuries were not severe. If his physique wasn't strong enough, that strike would have crippled one of Xue Hao's hands. It was precisely because of his strong physique that he could withstand that fierce blow.

The situation Lu Ye was currently facing was precisely this: Xue Hao was prepared. Even with the full power he exerted under Li Shang's soul attachment, he could, at most, break through the blood-light protection on Xue Hao's body and leave only shallow scratches, unable to inflict significant injury.

Xue Hao had not retaliated, trying his best to evade Lu Ye's attacks. He only withstood them directly when he couldn't dodge. But those shallow scratches were no different from a tickle to a powerful cultivator like him. Moreover, his blood and qi were abundant, and his physical essence had long been refined to its peak, so in almost the blink of an eye, those injuries had healed.

Lu Ye struck over a hundred times, to no avail.

Xue Hao suddenly grinned at him. "My turn!"

He was intent on capturing Lu Ye alive to uncover the secret of refining Sacred Blood. Otherwise, how could he tolerate a mere Constellation-level cultivator being so audacious in front of him?

Since he wanted to capture Lu Ye alive, he naturally needed to wear down his opponent's strength and fighting spirit. This was why he allowed Lu Ye to attack with full force. He wanted Lu Ye to witness the vast disparity in their strengths firsthand. By now, it was almost time.

As he spoke, Xue Hao unleashed a punch.

Lu Ye's expression turned serious. The punch appeared unremarkable, yet he felt an immense threat. He swiftly brought his saber across his body.

When the immense force struck, he felt as if a star had collided with him. His body flew backward uncontrollably. Xue Hao, however, pressed his advantage relentlessly, following closely like a maggot on a bone. His two fists rained down blows.

Although Lu Ye resisted with all his might, how could he withstand such an onslaught? He was quickly disoriented. He immediately put all his effort into switching to a defensive stance, and Sacred Defense spiritual runes were constructed one after another.

But even the Sacred Defense could not withstand Xue Hao's attacks; almost as soon as one layer appeared, it shattered.

In just a short moment, Lu Ye didn't know how many punches he had taken. His chest heaved with surging blood and qi, a metallic taste filled his throat, and several bones in his body were broken.

Xue Hao stopped his assault and stood still. He looked at Lu Ye indifferently. "Surrender now. I don't want to kill you!"

A human who could refine large quantities of Sacred Blood was simply too precious. He had to uncover the secret behind Lu Ye by any means necessary. Before that, how could Xue Hao bear to let Lu Ye die?

Lu Ye remained silent. He merely raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. His left hand slowly rose and pressed against his right wrist, stopping the slight tremor in his right hand. His eyes were resolute and firm.

He needed to find an opportunity to deploy the Red Talisman. Otherwise, relying solely on his own strength, he was no match for this Blood Clan Moonstone cultivator. But activating the Red Talisman required some time to build up power. Before that, he couldn't let Xue Hao detect anything amiss.

Taking a step forward, he was already in front of Xue Hao, and a continuous stream of saber light slashed out.

Xue Hao slowly shook his head. "Stubborn!"

He raised his fists to attack again!

Saber light flashed, fists struck. The two figures fiercely exchanged blows. But Lu Ye's attacks were simply ineffective against Xue Hao. A late Moonstone physique was simply not something the current Lu Ye could easily shake. On the contrary, every punch from Xue Hao made Lu Ye's body tremble.

Lu Ye was at a disadvantage from the start, and the situation was getting worse. This was a vast difference in their fundamental strengths, not something external forces could easily compensate for.

The Mountain-Crushing Saber, enhanced with the Divine Edge spiritual rune, was already sharp enough. Few of his peers could withstand the Mountain-Crushing Saber's strikes. Yet, Xue Hao, relying solely on simple blood-qi protection and his powerful physique, was enough to render Lu Ye's slashes ineffective.

It was also fortunate that the suppression of the Sacred nature had drastically reduced Xue Hao's strength; otherwise, this battle would have been unwinnable.

Amidst the fierce confrontation, Lu Ye was discreetly channeling spiritual power into the Red Talisman hidden within him. But he dared not make any overt movements, lest Xue Hao notice. Thus, activating the Red Talisman's power still required a little more time.

Lu Ye didn't even know if he could hold on until then, because his situation was deteriorating. His vision had blurred, and blood flowing from his forehead had stained his eyes red, making everything he saw a bloody red.

His left arm hung limply, and a large section of his chest was caved in.

Suddenly, Lu Ye's movements froze. The Mountain-Crushing Saber stopped above Xue Hao's head.

Xue Hao stood just a foot in front of him. One hand extended and plunged into his chest. That large hand gripped Lu Ye's heart, spiritual power pulsing within his palm, with the clear intention of crushing Lu Ye's heart if he made any further move.

"Still won't submit!" Xue Hao's expression was stern.

A good opportunity. Although the Red Talisman's power wasn't fully activated, it was too late to worry about it now. Just as Lu Ye was about to recklessly unleash the Red Talisman's power, Li Shang's voice suddenly rang in his mind: "Open your divine sea!"

Lu Ye's mind stirred, and he quickly opened his divine sea.

The next instant, a strange thing happened. His vision suddenly became peculiar. He felt completely relaxed, as if all his injuries had vanished. Then, he lunged straight towards Xue Hao.

Although he had clearly collided with Xue Hao, he felt no impact. When Lu Ye regained his senses, he was standing upon a vast and magnificent sea.

Slightly startled, Lu Ye suddenly realized: "The divine sea!"

This was clearly not his own divine sea, because Lu Ye didn't see the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda. And the aura here felt very unfamiliar to him. The entire sea appeared blood-red, like a sea of blood.

Lu Ye immediately realized where he was.

This was clearly Xue Hao's divine sea!

Li Shang had brought him and initiated a soul battle, just as Li Shang had done to him on the way back from the Myriad Manifestation Island auction.

Invading someone else's divine sea to wage a soul battle was not simple for ordinary people. After all, everyone's divine sea had defenses. Without breaking through these defenses, one simply couldn't enter the divine sea. Thus, it required the aid of special means or treasures.

But the Soul Clan naturally possessed this ability, and they excelled in soul power. Such battles gave them a huge advantage.

Sure enough, above the blood sea, a figure abruptly materialized. It was Xue Hao's soul-spirit body.

He frowned, looking at Lu Ye. He couldn't understand how Lu Ye had invaded his divine sea. But when he clearly saw the figure beside Lu Ye, he suddenly realized: "A Soul Clan member!"

He thought, how could Lu Ye possess such an ability? Even if he had been negligent, he wouldn't have been so easily invaded by a mere Constellation cultivator. So, a Soul Clan member was helping.

Xue Hao was overjoyed. This was truly an unstoppable stroke of luck. The value of a Soul Clan member was not low. If he could subdue Lu Ye and then tame this Soul Clan member, he would make a huge profit this time.

He sneered, looking at Lu Ye. "Soul battles are indeed the Soul Clan's forte. But this is my divine sea. Do you two really think you can stir up trouble here?"

Although he saw that Lu Ye had a Soul Clan member helping him, Xue Hao wasn't afraid at all; in fact, he was quite pleased. Because simply suppressing Lu Ye physically might not be enough to subdue him, but if he tampered with his soul, the success rate would be even higher.

As he spoke, his aura spread out. It was still the aura of an early Moonstone cultivator.

The suppression of the Sacred nature wasn't just a suppression of physical strength; it also suppressed soul power. This was something no Blood Clan member could resist.

The blood sea began to churn, transforming into enormous waves. Like a dormant beast awakening, it seemed intent on devouring the two intruders.

Lu Ye's expression turned peculiar. He merely gazed calmly at the terrifying wave sweeping towards him, showing no intention of dodging.

The huge wave swept over, swallowing his figure.

Xue Hao, however, frowned, because he suddenly realized something was amiss.

When the blood sea calmed and the waves subsided, Xue Hao's eyes suddenly widened.

Above the blood sea, a dilapidated warship had inexplicably appeared. Lu Ye stood on its deck, staring at him with an indifferent expression.

The fierce wave that had just swept over him had no effect on him whatsoever.

"What was this?" Even with Xue Hao's extensive knowledge, he couldn't discern what this strange warship was.

If one were to call it a soul artifact, did such a soul artifact even exist in this world?

However, soon after, his expression turned to horror. Because as Lu Ye's soul power surged, the dilapidated warship suddenly became brand new. And then, numerous blurry figures appeared within the warship, scattered throughout.

The tattered warship suddenly seemed to come alive, like an ancient ferocious beast that had intruded, terrifying and menacing.

A huge and fierce sense of crisis arose in Xue Hao's heart. Before he could make any further move, the warship vibrated powerfully. A massive and powerful beam of light shot towards him. Its ferocious power made his heart pound.

Fortunately, this was Xue Hao's divine sea. He somewhat held the advantage of home ground, and it was extremely convenient for him to maneuver. Facing such an attack, he quickly dodged, easily avoiding it.

But the next moment, Xue Hao felt his soul trembling uneasily. That blow indeed hadn't hit his soul-spirit body, but this place was his divine sea, and any strike here was a form of damage to him.

Before Xue Hao could stabilize himself, another bright beam of light struck. He dodged again, but just like before, the light beam slammed into the blood sea, causing it to surge and making him extremely uncomfortable.

When the third beam of light arrived, Xue Hao roared, "Enough!"

As he raised his hand, the blood sea churned. An object rose from within it. The object looked like a mirror, clearly a soul artifact.