Chapter 1673: The Direction of Escape

As the Pishan Blade slashed down, the soaring red light enveloping Lu Ye flowed like liquid, gathering entirely into the blade. Immediately, a massive red saber gleam, like a crescent moon, swept forth.

A cracking sound echoed. Lu Ye felt an intense pain in his saber-wielding right arm as his flesh tore open and blood splattered.

Even the Pishan Blade hummed slightly.

It should be noted that this blade was formed from Liao of the Soldier Tribe. Although it currently only exhibited the power of a spirit treasure, that was limited by Lu Ye's cultivation level; its true quality was far beyond a simple spirit treasure.

Normally, no matter how Lu Ye channeled his power, the Pishan Blade would show no unusual reaction. However, with this one slash, the blade vibrated slightly from the feedback of the surging power.

It was fortunate this blade was formed from Liao. If it had been the old Pishan Blade, Lu Ye suspected it might have shattered instantly. The might of this single slash had already exceeded the limits a spirit treasure could withstand.

Not far away, the white-haired elder's pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. Although he felt a sense of unease the moment Lu Ye activated his saber intent, Lu Ye's movements were simply too fast. With deliberate action against unpreparedness, there was no time to react. The elder was still immersed in the excitement and joy of about to claim the Boundary King Flower, but in an instant, the threat of death arrived.

Seeing the red saber gleam erupt, the white-haired elder immediately wanted to flee. However, he was horrified to discover that this saber gleam had completely locked onto his aura. Unless he possessed the ability to instantly teleport a hundred thousand li away, he simply couldn't evade this terrifying strike.

He hastily conjured an item that looked like a piece of beast bone. As spiritual power was frantically poured into it, the beast bone shattered with a roar, then rolled back onto the white-haired elder. In the blink of an eye, a layer of hazy gray light enveloped the elder's body, and within the light, the faint silhouette of a strange beast seemed to swim.

This wasn't all. Simultaneously, he conjured another artifact, a small bell-shaped treasure, and cast it over himself.

With two major protective artifacts covering him, the white-haired elder felt no sense of security whatsoever.

At this point, he had no time for any other actions.

The crescent-shaped red saber gleam reached him. Like cutting tofu, it sliced through the protection of the small bell artifact, then pierced the hazy gray light screen, and seamlessly penetrated the elder's body...

Not far behind the elder, two Tiger Shark warships were watching the spectacle. They had been previously ordered back by the white-haired elder and never expected such a sudden turn of events. The cultivators piloting these two Tiger Shark warships were merely Star Constellation cultivators, and their reactions were not as quick as the white-haired elder's. When the red crescent saber gleam swept over them, they hadn't even fully understood what was happening before they were engulfed.

After breaking through the white-haired elder's two layers of protection, instantly killing him, and then destroying the two Tiger Shark warships, the power of the crescent saber gleam seemed to have slightly diminished. However, its speed and ferocity remained terrifying.

A colossal boom echoed, and the entire void trembled. The crescent saber gleam had struck the grand formation covering this section of the starry sky, directly tearing a massive gap in it.

The numerous cultivators of the Divine Wind Pirate Group wore expressions of shock and terror. This sudden terrifying outburst left them utterly shaken, almost believing that a Sun-Exposure realm cultivator had arrived.

Lu Ye rapidly charged towards the gap!

Although he had killed the strongest Moon-Glimmer late-stage cultivator, the enemy still had two Tiger Shark warships, a Moon-Glimmer early-stage cultivator, and a considerable number of other adversaries. It was not advisable to stay here long.

Now that the grand formation was broken, it was naturally crucial to escape quickly.

Before the Divine Wind Pirate Group's cultivators could even react, Lu Ye had already rushed to the grand formation's gap.

Just as he was congratulating himself that everything was going according to plan, he suddenly frowned and turned to look back.

At the spot where the white-haired elder had died, there was no sign of him. Instead, a tattered, palm-sized puppet lay there.

The puppet's body had a massive wound, penetrating through and through. Judging by the wound's position and proportion, it was identical to the injuries the white-haired elder had just sustained.

A Substitute Puppet!

Lu Ye recognized this item at a glance, having seen it before in the Star Constellation Palace. This artifact was an unparalleled treasure for saving one's life, capable of transferring all fatal injuries to itself, thereby preserving the user's life.

In the starry sky, Substitute Puppets were always priceless and extremely rare.

Lu Ye never imagined that a Moon-Glimmer cultivator from a pirate group would possess something like a Substitute Puppet.

He immediately felt a sense of dread.

As expected, a powerful aura suddenly resurfaced from a nearby battleship. Immediately afterward, the white-haired elder, who should have been dead, abruptly reappeared. His face was grim as he stared at Lu Ye, gritting his teeth and growling, "Brat, I'll make you die!"

A Substitute Puppet! What a precious treasure, wasted on a late-stage Star Constellation cultivator.

Although the saber slash Lu Ye had just unleashed was terrifying and capable of instantly killing him, the elder's discernment was exceptional. He naturally saw that it was the power of a red talisman; otherwise, how could a late-stage Star Constellation cultivator unleash such a terrifying strike?

Substitute Puppets were precious, and red talismans were equally precious.

It was already good for a late-stage Star Constellation cultivator to possess one; how could they possibly have a second?

Despite this, the elder still didn't dare to rashly approach Lu Ye. He merely remotely activated his divine sense.

In an instant, a brutal and powerful divine sense swept towards Lu Ye like a tide. It almost condensed into a visible form, transforming into a long spear that blasted towards him.

With his late-stage Moon-Glimmer foundation, even a mere spiritual attack would be enough to subdue a late-stage Star Constellation cultivator!

That's what he thought...

However, the result greatly surprised him. The spear formed from divine sense, after hitting Lu Ye's body, surprisingly had no effect. Lu Ye merely swayed slightly and was unharmed. Then, without looking back, he charged out of the grand formation's gap.

"What's going on?" The white-haired elder momentarily froze, then roared, "Chase him!"

Only then did the remaining cultivators of the Divine Wind Pirate Group awaken as if from a dream. They hastily employed their various methods, rushing out of the grand formation in pursuit, with the white-haired elder leading the charge himself.

He had lost a precious Substitute Puppet, two protective artifacts, two Tiger Shark warships, and even the grand formation he had painstakingly set up was broken. If he couldn't reclaim the Boundary King Flower now, the losses would be immense.

Therefore, he would not let Lu Ye go, no matter what. Although he couldn't comprehend how a late-stage Star Constellation cultivator could collect the Boundary King Flower, he had witnessed Lu Ye's appearance and genuinely saw that the Boundary King Flower had indeed been taken by him.

As long as he caught the brat and captured him, the Boundary King Flower would still be his.

At this moment, he was filled with intense regret. If he had known this, he would have just killed the boy the moment he found his tracks, avoiding all these subsequent complications. But at the time, he had wanted to use Lu Ye as a laborer, and given the vast difference in their cultivation levels, he hadn't paid much attention.

Lu Ye, for his part, had already activated the Blood Escape Art. His figure transformed into a streak of blood-red light, rapidly streaking forward. The moment he rushed out of the grand formation's gap, three Precious Blood Clones had already condensed, splitting from his main body into four paths, escaping in different directions.

Although he hadn't expected the white-haired elder to possess a rare treasure like a Substitute Puppet, he had already made various contingencies while waiting in the Flower Realm. Thus, any bad situation was within his scope of response.

His greatest concern was that the Divine Wind Pirate Group might have more than just the two Moon-Glimmer cultivators he had seen. What if there were others hidden that he hadn't discovered before?

The current situation was somewhat bad, but not *that* bad.

The Divine Wind Pirate Group only had two Moon-Glimmer cultivators, one late-stage and one early-stage. However, the white-haired elder's resurrection with the help of the Substitute Puppet was completely unexpected, so Lu Ye still had to endure the pursuit of a late-stage Moon-Glimmer cultivator.

Whether he could escape would depend on his capabilities.

It had to be said, the divine sense of a late-stage Moon-Glimmer cultivator was indeed formidable. After all, they were only one step away from the Sun-Exposure realm. Although Lu Ye had once killed a late-stage Moon-Glimmer cultivator, that opponent was of the Blood Tribe and was naturally countered by him. Furthermore, Li Shang's soul possession at the time meant that battle didn't count as a true measure.

Someone like the white-haired elder, clearly an ancient and powerful cultivator who had immersed himself in this realm for countless years, could unleash even a simple divine sense attack that a Star Constellation cultivator couldn't contend with.

Lu Ye's ability to remain unharmed was entirely thanks to the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus.

When the white-haired elder activated his spiritual attack, Lu Ye had already activated Saint's Guard, forming layers of protection in his Divine Sea. Unfortunately, the difference in their cultivation was too vast; the layers of Saint's Guard shattered almost instantly without much effect. Immediately afterward, the spear-like attack surged into his Divine Sea, raising colossal waves.

Under normal circumstances, a Star Constellation cultivator facing such an attack would either have their Divine Sea shattered or their soul gravely wounded. Let alone escaping, whether they could survive would be debatable.

But at this critical moment, seven-colored rays of light unfurled from within the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus. Wherever the light passed, the turbulent Divine Sea rapidly calmed.

Lu Ye truly hadn't expected that the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus, besides nourishing the soul, also had a suppressive effect. If this were the case, he would no longer need to fear similar spiritual attacks in the future.

Although the Ghost Ship in his Divine Sea was also bizarre and powerful, it could only be used when others' spiritual bodies invaded his Divine Sea, and its function was different from that of the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus.

Having exited the grand formation, Lu Ye's main body immediately fled in one direction; this was part of his pre-planned strategy.

In fact, at this point, he could only escape in two directions: one was the Void System!

No star system would welcome pirate groups. The Void System had a Sun-Exposure realm expert guarding it. If Divine Wind dared to pursue him in there and alerted the Sun-Exposure expert, they would certainly not leave alive.

However, fleeing towards the Void System had a drawback—what if the news of the Boundary King Flower leaked? Lu Ye couldn't guarantee that the Sun-Exposure expert of the Void System wouldn't be interested.

It should be noted that the Void Realm was not a top-tier realm. How could they not covet a treasure like the Boundary King Flower?

Once the white-haired elder was targeted by their Sun-Exposure expert, he would very likely offer the Boundary King Flower as bait to save his life.

It would be terrible to escape the tiger's den only to fall into the wolf's lair.

Therefore, Lu Ye didn't even consider the option of fleeing towards the Void System.

Since he couldn't flee towards the Void System, there was only one other direction.

The Yin-Yang Grand Mill!