Chapter 1554: The Joy of Plundering

For a long time, whenever Lu Ye upgraded the Pan Mountain Saber, he always requested it to be sufficiently heavy and sturdy, which made it easier for him to slash. He paid no attention to its sharpness, as he could enhance it with spirit patterns.

In an environment like Kyushu, the Pan Mountain Saber, after numerous upgrades, consistently kept pace with his cultivation progress and met his combat demands.

However, things changed upon entering the starry sky. Especially after encountering some powerful enemies, Lu Ye realized the Pan Mountain Saber wasn't sharp enough to inflict effective damage, particularly against those with formidable physiques. Even when he applied the "Divine Edge" enchantment to the saber, its performance was unsatisfactory.

His battle with Xue Hao of the Blood Clan served as the best example.

It wasn't that Lu Ye's demands were excessive, but rather that cultivators cannot always face enemies at the same cultivation level. Traveling through the starry sky inevitably means encountering stronger opponents. With Lu Ye's current foundational strength, the previous Pan Mountain Saber combined with Divine Edge was entirely sufficient for combating adversaries within the same realm.

However, Lu Ye's focus was not on the Star Constellation realm, but on the Moon Glimmer realm.

The Pan Mountain Saber had already reached the pinnacle of spiritual treasure quality, with no further room for improvement unless it ascended to the level of a magic treasure. However, if it were to become a magic treasure, Lu Ye wouldn't be able to unleash its full power with just spirit energy, creating an inescapable dilemma.

The submission of Luan was perfectly timed.

Compared to its previous form, the new Pan Mountain Saber appeared outwardly unchanged. However, its crucial difference lay in its extreme sharpness.

Even when Lu Ye had previously applied the Divine Edge spirit pattern, it was not as sharp as the current Pan Mountain Saber.

Now, with the addition of Divine Edge, its sharpness was elevated to an even higher level.

This was evident from his previous slaying of the insectoid Star Constellations. While the insectoids might not match the Blood Clan in physical prowess, their bodily defense was superior due to the extremely hard carapaces covering their bodies. Even after transforming into humanoid forms as Star Constellations, these carapaces remained, providing natural protection.

Yet, even such hard carapaces proved utterly vulnerable under the new Pan Mountain Saber's strikes, crumbling like paper. This was particularly true for the late-stage insectoid Star Constellation he killed with his very first strike. Lu Ye felt that if he had used the old Pan Mountain Saber with Divine Edge, even five consecutive slashes might not have broken through its formidable carapace. Now, it took only a single strike.

The new Pan Mountain Saber, transformed from Luan, exhibited a world of difference in sharpness compared to its predecessor.

This was Lu Ye's first battle since subduing Luan, and he was undoubtedly very pleased with the new Pan Mountain Saber's demonstrated power.

Had he wielded this Pan Mountain Saber during his battle with Xue Hao that day, he might not have needed Li Shang to initiate a soul battle to defeat him.

Li Shang believed that the root of Lu Ye's significant increase in strength lay precisely here. With the same single strike, the damage Lu Ye could now inflict was far greater than before.

The starship continued forward, encountering no more insectoids.

However, both Li Shang and Lu Ye sensed that the insectoids had not given up. This was merely the calm before the storm; perhaps some unknown danger awaited them ahead.

Alternatively, powerful insectoid cultivators from the Moon Glimmer or even Sun Glimmer realms might be pursuing them.

After ten days of such tranquility, the starship, which had been rapidly flying forward, suddenly seemed to collide with an invisible wall, encountering immense resistance instantly.

The starship vibrated violently, as if trapped in a mire. Although it continued to lurch forward, its speed was rapidly diminishing.

Under the force of immense inertia, Lu Ye was uncontrollably flung forward, as were Ya Ya and Li Shang beside him.

Lu Ye, with swift reflexes, scooped Ya Ya into his embrace. Li Shang, even more decisively, threw himself at Lu Ye, instantly employing a soul-attachment secret art.

In that instant, Lu Ye felt a significant surge in his strength. His five senses became exceptionally acute, his thoughts grew swifter, and even the flow of his spirit energy accelerated.

The starship's speed continued to decrease, going from full acceleration to a complete halt in less than three breaths. The very next moment, overwhelming attacks rained down from all directions.

Lu Ye swiftly leaped out of the starship, evading the barrage of attacks. Once he had steadied himself, he finally got a clear view of the situation before him.

Numerous asteroids of various sizes were scattered nearby. Such asteroids are incredibly common and countless in the starry sky.

However, at this very moment, many insectoid Star Constellations emerged from behind these asteroids. They had been lying in ambush, waiting for Lu Ye to pass before launching a sudden attack.

On one massive asteroid stood a colossal, furry spider, comparable in size to a city. It was perched on the asteroid, almost completely occupying it.

However, the spider's aura wasn't particularly strong, reaching at most the late-stage Star Constellation level. Lu Ye was slightly surprised because, although the spider resembled an insectoid, it was actually a star beast, not an insectoid by origin.

This was likely a star beast tamed by the insectoids.

From the location of this spider star beast, numerous strands of spider silk, invisible to the naked eye, crisscrossed.

Lu Ye then looked back at his starship and finally understood what had halted it. It was a massive spiderweb, woven in the starry sky with the surrounding asteroids serving as anchor points.

This construct was truly difficult to discern without careful observation. As the starship sped through space, neither Lu Ye nor Li Shang had any inkling of its presence, and they were caught in the web the moment they collided with it.

There was a Moon Glimmer aura present.

Lu Ye coldly surveyed the area, discerning that it was likely only an early-stage Moon Glimmer cultivator.

At this very moment, the Moon Glimmer insectoid was also staring at Lu Ye, its eyes filled with cold indifference. To the insectoids, nothing in the starry sky was beyond killing; apart from their allies in the Blood Clan, every other race was an enemy.

Not to mention, Lu Ye had killed numerous insectoid clansmen throughout his journey.

He knew that Lu Ye was merely a late-stage Star Constellation cultivator, capable of reaching this location solely due to his starship. Now that the starship was intercepted, Lu Ye naturally wouldn't be able to cause any more trouble.

Staring at Lu Ye, he merely waved his hand dismissively and ordered, "Kill him!"

As for Lu Ye's origins or what he was doing, the insectoid leader couldn't be bothered to ask.

At his command, numerous insectoid Star Constellations immediately charged towards Lu Ye.

In Lu Ye's embrace, Ya Ya's expression turned angry, seemingly about to act. However, before she could make a move, Lu Ye lightly patted her head and calmly instructed, "Don't be agitated!"

An early-stage Moon Glimmer cultivator wasn't worth exposing Ya Ya.

Furthermore, Lu Ye wanted to use this opportunity, being surrounded, to test the results of his recent cultivation.

With a raise of his hand, a dozen or so controlled artifacts shot out in all directions, each displaying considerable power.

However, these dozen or so artifacts did not achieve significant results. Apart from a few that managed to injure some insectoid Star Constellations, the rest were dodged.

Lu Ye held Ya Ya in one arm and his saber in the other. Under the enhancement of Li Shang's soul attachment, a faint blood-red glow appeared on his body, then suddenly pulsed like a flash of blood light.

The blood light streaked across an extremely irregular trajectory, breaking out of the insectoid Star Constellations' encirclement almost instantly. The group of insectoid Star Constellations didn't even register what had happened when one suddenly shrieked, followed by a torrent of blood as its body was severed in two.

The Moon Glimmer insectoid observing coldly from the side narrowed its eyes, staring at Lu Ye's figure with extreme astonishment. In that brief moment, even he hadn't been able to grasp Lu Ye's trajectory.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Ye's figure began to move rapidly again. The scene that unfolded next made the insectoid Moon Glimmer cultivator utterly disbelieve its own eyes.

The human Star Constellation cultivator darted and weaved across the vast expanse of the starry sky, his figure flickering in and out of sight, elusive as a phantom. Each time he reappeared, an insectoid Star Constellation was destined to suffer, either decapitated or cleaved in two at the waist, howling in agony.

Regardless of whether they were early, mid, or late-stage Star Constellations, none of those targeted by him could withstand a single strike. Even the insectoids' proud carapace defenses were no match for his lethal power.

The encirclement that the insectoids had prepared for days seemed non-existent to him. He could effortlessly find a weakness, break out of the encirclement, and before the insectoid Star Constellations could react, he would cut back in, carving a path straight through their formation.

The Moon Glimmer insectoid watched, filled with inner shock. To him, this wasn't mere bloody slaughter; it resembled the blossoming of an art form. Even as an adversary, the Moon Glimmer insectoid had to admit that the human Star Constellation's methods of killing enemies were remarkably pleasing to behold.

Yet, beneath this aesthetically pleasing display, lay the wilting of life essences, sending a chill down his spine.

While the Moon Glimmer cultivator was in shock, Lu Ye's heart was filled with satisfaction.

From Luan's inheritance, he had so far only fully comprehended "Qing Li's Fangs Revealed." He hadn't yet grasped the essence of Yan Xi's "Darting and Weaving Technique," and thus hadn't passed Yan Xi's test.

Nevertheless, he had already sensed the power of this Darting and Weaving Technique during combat.

It was incredibly effective, simply too effective!

In the past, facing such an encirclement, he would have had no better option than to forcibly carve out a bloody path. But now, relying on his still-developing Darting and Weaving Technique, he slaughtered the insectoid Star Constellations, leaving them no chance to retaliate. It was just like when he first battled Yan Xi; the insectoids couldn't even pinpoint his movements.

Although he hadn't fully mastered the essence of the Darting and Weaving Technique, Lu Ye could utilize the controlled artifacts he had launched earlier to activate void spirit patterns, thereby executing his agile movements.

Therefore, while Yan Xi's darting was fluid like flowing water, Lu Ye's movements had an added touch of phantom-like elusiveness.

When he first witnessed Yan Xi's Darting and Weaving Technique, Lu Ye had speculated that it was specifically designed to counter encirclements. Now, upon testing it, it indeed proved to be excellent.

"Destroy those controlled artifacts!" The Moon Glimmer insectoid finally noticed a crucial detail. Initially, when Lu Ye first launched the artifacts, he hadn't paid them much mind, thinking that in the vast starry sky, no one would bother with such things. Now he realized that those artifacts were a hidden tactic.

With a command, he simultaneously acted, striking away or destroying the controlled artifacts. Then, he surged into the battlefield, pouncing towards Lu Ye.

He had originally thought that his personal intervention wouldn't be necessary this time. However, it became clear that he had no choice but to act. Although their numbers were considerable, they couldn't withstand such a relentless slaughter; if it continued, they would likely face complete annihilation.