Chapter 1683: Success belongs to the victor

Unstoppable! This was the most genuine feeling in the white-haired elder's heart at that moment.

Before today, he could never have imagined that a newly promoted Moon-Tier cultivator could possess such terrifying power. Logically, even with his strength significantly suppressed by the environment, he shouldn't have been so utterly outmatched by a freshly advanced Moon-Tier. Yet, in the recent exchange, he had been almost completely overwhelmed, with three of his artifacts—one offensive and two defensive—shattered in an instant.

The offensive one was naturally the Five-Sun Pearl, a six-star artifact.

While the shattered pendant artifact was only four-star quality, it was defensive and possessed extremely strong protective power.

And... his close-fitting Dharma Robe! It was a five-star quality Dharma Robe, incredibly resilient, and it too provided him with considerable defensive power. Yet, it was still cleaved open by the opponent's blade. If not for the protection of this robe, his own body would likely have been cut in half by that single strike!

Blood flowed from the large gash across the elder's chest and abdomen. The sting of pain slightly cleared his muddled thoughts. Suddenly, he realized that even with immense foundational strength, a newly promoted Moon-Tier couldn't possibly render him utterly defenseless. It was the blade in his opponent's hand! That blade was truly too sharp; a long blade capable of effortlessly severing four-star and five-star defensive artifacts must be of outrageously high quality! It was at least a seven-star artifact.

Which realm did this young man come from to possess such formidable wealth? The destruction of three artifacts was undoubtedly a significant blow to him as a magic cultivator. However, he still had other replaceable artifacts, so as long as he wasn't dead, his combat strength wouldn't be greatly diminished.

Now, he only wanted to escape this place quickly. If he could fly a suitable distance away and recover enough to use his mid-Moon-Tier strength, he would naturally have the means to contend with his opponent. He absolutely could not give up the World King Flower!

A long blade artifact of at least seven-star quality was also immensely valuable. If he could just kill that young man this time, all his losses could be recouped, and a bright future awaited him.

On the other side, Lu Ye did not immediately pursue the elder in his direction of escape. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the Mountain-Crushing Blade in his hand. He had just discovered another characteristic of the Mountain-Crushing Blade, now that it had advanced in artifact quality.

It seemed especially potent at destroying defensive artifacts! Although the five-orb artifact, which erupted like a great sun, was of high quality, it was an offensive artifact and not primarily focused on durability. The elder, activating it with his early-Moon-Tier strength, naturally found it difficult to withstand Lu Ye's strikes. However, logically, even a defensive artifact of slightly lower quality should not have been so easy to breach with the same strike. Yet, in reality, both defensive artifacts on the elder were effortlessly cut open by him. While this was partly due to the opponent's defensive artifacts not being exceptionally high quality, the greater reason was clearly the inherent characteristic of the Mountain-Crushing Blade itself. This was more than just the benefit of sharpness.

This was interesting. In conflicts between cultivators, the most vexing aspect was often their respective defensive measures. But if the Mountain-Crushing Blade possessed a characteristic that countered such methods, his future battles would undoubtedly be much easier.

Without further thought, he looked up and gazed forward. In that instant, the elder, having activated his Blood Escape Art, was already tens of thousands of miles away. In this environment, such an escape speed indicated that the elder was holding nothing back. Amidst the spatial distortion, Lu Ye could no longer even clearly see his opponent. However...

His hand trembled, and the Mountain-Crushing Blade hummed faintly. Tens of thousands of miles away, the fleeing elder suddenly cried out in alarm. At that instant, he felt some mysterious power wriggling within the gash on his chest and abdomen, tearing at his wound. In an instant, his injury worsened, and the sharp pain caused him to stumble.

Only then did he realize with horror that his injury showed no signs of recovery whatsoever. This was clearly abnormal. With his late-Moon-Tier foundation, such a flesh wound should have healed easily, requiring only a bit of vitality and blood essence. But he had been so focused on escaping that he hadn't noticed this until now. Not only was the wound not healing, but under the influence of that strange power, it continued to worsen. Even though he desperately tried to suppress it, he could only slow its progression slightly.

What was this? The elder was utterly terrified. He naturally didn't know that this was a characteristic the Mountain-Crushing Blade, formed from the Tusk, possessed from the very beginning. The eerie power of the Tusk was like invisible insects, clinging to the wound. It not only inhibited the enemy's recovery but Lu Ye could even use the Mountain-Crushing Blade to control it, continuously tearing at the wounds inflicted by the blade. Given that the power gap between them wasn't vast, such control proved extremely lethal, further exacerbating the elder's already dire condition.

Though the elder didn't fully understand what was happening, he knew at that moment that he needed to get as far away from Lu Ye as possible. He pushed himself even harder to accelerate his escape! However, fast as he was, Lu Ye's speed was even greater.

In just a few moments, the elder sensed an aura approaching from behind him. His eyes full of ferocity, he couldn't comprehend how his meticulously planned situation had devolved to this point. A late-Stage Star-Tier advancing to Moon-Tier within the Yin-Yang Great Mill was already utterly bizarre, but now he, a late-Moon-Tier, was completely outmatched.

"I'll fight you to the death!" Realizing the difference in their speeds and knowing he couldn't escape, the elder's expression hardened with resolve. He immediately turned to face Lu Ye, preparing for a desperate struggle. However, in the very next instant, his expression suddenly froze.

Because what met his eyes was not Lu Ye's figure at all, but a vast expanse of blood-red light. The blood-light suddenly expanded, transforming into a sea of blood.

What was wrong with that young man? A weapon cultivator, how could he unleash such exquisite blood arts? The elder didn't understand. Just as the thought finished, the vast sea of blood had already enveloped his form, simultaneously covering a large area of space.

Activating the sea of blood was also a precautionary measure for Lu Ye. He was unsure if the white-haired elder had any hidden trump cards. After all, this was his first time facing a late-Moon-Tier cultivator alone. Even though he held a clear advantage, what if the opponent possessed some strange or unusual abilities? In conflicts between cultivators, unexpected defeats were not uncommon. Lu Ye certainly didn't want such a thing to happen to him. With the sea of blood covering all directions, even if the enemy truly possessed some unrevealed strange abilities, as long as he was careful enough, the opponent would have no choice but to await death.

However, this time, Lu Ye distinctly noticed that the power of the sea of blood was far greater than before. This change was undoubtedly a result of his advancement to the Moon-Tier. Furthermore, Lu Ye had a feeling that if he injected his precious blood into the sea of blood, its power would experience a substantial increase. This was something he hadn't discovered before; he hadn't activated the Blood Sea Art since he condensed his own precious blood.

Within the sea of blood, Lu Ye moved forward, blade in hand. Although the surrounding area was filled with blood-light, rendering everything else invisible, Lu Ye could still clearly perceive everything within the sea of blood. The white-haired elder, enveloped within, lacked this ability. Already heavily wounded and now trapped in the sea of blood, he knew he was beyond help. He couldn't help but roar skyward, filled with resentment. He did not beg for mercy, knowing it would be useless, just as he himself would never have spared Lu Ye if he had gained the upper hand. Such was the fate of victor and vanquished!

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye activating his Blood Sea Art, tens of thousands of miles away, a figure meditating and tempering his physique suddenly opened his eyes. He glanced in Lu Ye's direction, a look of surprise and doubt on his face. After a brief moment of thought, he moved, streaking towards Lu Ye's location.

Judging by the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from this figure, he possessed a mid-Moon-Tier cultivation. However, considering the suppression of cultivator strength in this location, the newcomer's true cultivation was clearly not merely mid-Moon-Tier; he was undoubtedly a late-Moon-Tier cultivator! The reason he wasn't suppressed to the early-Moon-Tier level like the white-haired elder was clearly due to his more profound foundational strength; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to such a location to temper his physique.

Tens of thousands of miles was nothing for a Moon-Tier cultivator. In just a few moments, he arrived at the battlefield. The closer he got, the graver his expression became, for from ahead, he sensed an aura that made his heart pound... The intensity of this aura was something he had never even felt when facing certain Sun-Tier cultivators.

At that very moment, within the sea of blood, Lu Ye had already slain the white-haired elder. Trapped in the sea of blood and plagued by the invasive power of the Tusk, with both at early-Moon-Tier strength, how could the elder be his opponent? Lu Ye's worry about the opponent unleashing some strange or unusual abilities did not come to pass. The process of slaying the elder was as simple as killing a chick.

Collecting the several storage rings worn by the elder, Lu Ye turned his head and looked in a certain direction. Through the sea of blood, his gaze seemed to penetrate, discerning a figure not far away! A mid-Moon-Tier... no, a cultivator suppressed to mid-Moon-Tier, who appeared significantly stronger than the white-haired elder he had just killed. Was he drawn by the commotion of the battle here?

It made no sense. At the Moon-Tier cultivation level, everyone understood the wisdom of staying out of others' affairs. Not every spectacle in this world was safe to observe; one might just watch their own life fade away while enjoying the show. So why did this person come here?

Lu Ye was not afraid of a cultivator suppressed to only mid-Moon-Tier. If the other party truly intended to cause trouble, it would be a good opportunity for him to test his current strength. Without hesitation, he asked impolitely, "What are you staring at?"

Keep staring, and I'll gouge out your eyeballs!

Unexpectedly, the observing cultivator respectfully clasped his fist and transmitted his voice, saying, "Ma Shangsi from the Blood Demon Continent greets the Saint Lord!"