Chapter 1736: Defeated Like a Collapsing Mountain

Slaying an enemy Moon-Gatherer was a significant achievement, and Su Yuming, who was overseeing the situation here, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

It was in that brief moment of stunned inaction that an unexpected turn of events occurred.

A dazzling crimson light erupted, then rapidly expanded, spreading outwards in all directions.

Su Yuming's eyes narrowed. As he swiftly retreated, he shouted urgently, “Blood Art! Get clear!”

He finally understood that the Moon-Gatherer had not died, as there was no sign of a Moon-Gatherer's demise after their body exploded. Instead, the opponent had seized the opportunity to unleash a Blood Art.

And judging by the speed at which this crimson energy spread, the opponent's mastery of Blood Arts was clearly exceptional.

His reaction was swift, allowing him to evade the enveloping blood sea. However, his Star-Dweller subordinates lacked the same responsiveness. Of Baiyue Island's two thousand cultivators, half had been drawn away to maintain the island's protective formation and counterattack He Baichuan's invading forces. The remaining thousand were besieging the three formation base halls, leaving three to four hundred Star-Dweller cultivators in this location.

When Ma Shangsi's blood sea spread out, these three to four hundred Star-Dwellers were immediately engulfed, not a single one spared. This sight made Su Yuming's eyes nearly burst with fury.

The next instant, he sensed that the aura of Star-Dwellers within the blood sea was beginning to vanish, and at an incredibly fast pace, one after another. It was as if an ancient beast had awakened within the blood sea, devouring the lives of his cultivators.

He immediately realized that Lu Ye was making his move, because only a Moon-Gatherer's intervention could cause Star-Dwellers to perish so quickly. He was instantly filled with grief and indignation.

Fortunately, the cultivators of Baiyue Island were not fools. Suddenly encountering this turn of events and finding themselves trapped in the blood sea, though most showed panic, they quickly activated their powers and churned the blood sea.

Ma Shangsi's strength was indeed formidable, and the power of his blood sea was extraordinary. However, it was impossible for him to trap three to four hundred Star-Dwellers with his own power alone. The Star-Dwellers churning the blood sea would destabilize it and drain his power. In just a moment, they would be able to break free from this blood sea.

Over a hundred cultivators from the Three Realms, who had been inside the hall, surged out together. Many of them formed battle formations in groups of three to five, using the 'Same Spirit, Connected Branches' formation plates. Under Ma Shangsi's guidance and assistance, they hunted down the enemies within the blood sea.

Not to mention Lu Ye, who had charged out of the hall with Ma Shangsi, was also acting unrestrainedly within the blood sea. With his current Moon-Gatherer strength, how could Baiyue's Star-Dwellers possibly stop him?

With every breath, cultivators fell.

Su Yuming, who had managed to escape the blood sea's embrace one step earlier, had veins throbbing on his forehead. He frantically unleashed his power, striking the blood sea, hoping to cooperate with his Star-Dwellers to quickly break through it and rescue them.

But after only three breaths, he revealed a look of despair.

Because in that brief span of three breaths, the number of Star-Dwellers who had perished within the blood sea had already reached fifty! Although the vast blood sea was turbulent from the impacts, it could still hold out for another seven or eight breaths.

Fifty people in three breaths; with another seven or eight breaths, wouldn't another hundred or more perish? There were only three to four hundred Star-Dwellers here in total.

Such immense casualties were utterly unacceptable to Su Yuming. Thus, after only a slight hesitation, he threw himself into the blood sea.

He had clearly reacted quickly just now, avoiding the blood sea's embrace. Yet now, to break through it as quickly as possible, he had no choice but to voluntarily plunge into it. How ironic and helpless.

Only by venturing deep inside the blood sea could he be confident in breaking through it in a shorter time and rescuing his cultivators.

Su Yuming was indeed a late-stage Moon-Gatherer cultivator. As his formidable magical power surged within the blood sea, it made the entire blood sea seem to boil.

Lu Ye, who was freely slaughtering enemies in the blood sea, heard Ma Shangsi's voice beside his ear: “Revered One, I can't hold on much longer!”

It wasn't that he wasn't strong enough, but rather that there were simply too many cultivators fighting within the blood sea at that moment. Excluding Lu Ye and Su Yuming, the two Moon-Gatherers, there were hundreds of Star-Dwellers alone. The impacts of all these clashes were being borne by the blood sea itself. His ability to hold on for several breaths was already a testament to his profound power.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ye immediately steadied himself. The next instant, he unleashed a Blood Art, and a much denser crimson energy surged from his body, spreading outwards in all directions.

Not only that, another figure within the blood sea, guided by Lu Ye's spiritual message, activated a Blood Clan secret art.

Lan Qiyue!

Although she only possessed an early-stage Star-Dweller cultivation, the unique properties of Blood Clan Blood Arts were enough to ensure she could play her part on such a battlefield.

Su Yuming's judgment was actually not wrong. If this were merely an ordinary Blood Art, his voluntary plunge into it would indeed allow him to break it faster and rescue his Star-Dwellers.

But how could he know that this wasn't just an ordinary Blood Art? This was a Blood Clan secret art unleashed by a peak Moon-Gatherer Blood Clan member!

On the surface, there wasn't much difference between the two, and outsiders couldn't even distinguish them. However, the biggest difference was that Blood Clan blood seas could merge and grow stronger.

This mistaken judgment would prove fatal!

Thus, his expression quickly turned to shock, because the blood sea, which had clearly been turbulent and on the verge of breaking, had somehow suddenly become much more stable.

And immediately after, with the eruption of a massive burst of energy from deep within the blood sea, this stability became even more pronounced!

Lu Ye had burst open a drop of his own precious blood!

He had to; there was no other way. To completely annihilate the enemies trapped in the blood sea, the blood sea had to be maintained for a sufficiently long time. But even with his and Lan Qiyue's secret assistance, with so many people battling inside, the blood sea wouldn't hold out much longer.

One drop of precious blood might only allow the blood sea to endure for a few more breaths, but that should be enough.

Outside, He Baichuan's forces were employing powerful offensive tactics. Inside, to quickly open a breach, a breakthrough could only come from this direction. If any enemies managed to escape, their own forces would not hold the advantage, and casualties would be significant.

It could be said that from the very beginning, Lu Ye intended to wipe out Su Yuming's forces completely.

He and Ma Shangsi had to achieve the greatest results in the shortest possible time!

With the blessing of the precious blood, the blood sea indeed became more stable.

Lu Ye turned his head and instructed Ma Shangsi: “Pin down that Moon-Gatherer for me. Since he's come back, don't let him leave!”

Initially, when Su Yuming escaped, Lu Ye felt a slight pity, as killing a Star-Dweller had a different impact than killing a Moon-Gatherer. On a battlefield like this, if the opponent lost a Moon-Gatherer, the blow to their morale would undoubtedly be immense.

He had originally thought to first deal with the Star-Dweller enemies in the blood sea, and then find a way to team up with Ma Shangsi to eliminate this Moon-Gatherer.

Who knew that the opponent would actually turn back on his own accord?

Lu Ye was perfectly clear about Su Yuming's intentions. It had to be said that this willingness to endanger himself for his Star-Dweller subordinates was admirable. However, admiration aside, since they were enemies, there was no reason to show mercy.

Ma Shangsi received the order and immediately charged towards Su Yuming.

Originally, he had to maintain the stability of the blood sea and assist the Three Realms Island Star-Dwellers in killing enemies, so he couldn't move at all. But now, the situation was different. Lu Ye and Lan Qiyue's blood seas had merged with his, so Lu Ye was helping to bear the pressure of maintaining the blood sea. The task of assisting in enemy slaughter could be left to Lan Qiyue, which allowed him to draw out some power to target Su Yuming and entangle the opponent!

Outside Baiyue Island, the eyes of numerous observing cultivators were now all fixed on this expanse of blood sea. While those involved might be confused, onlookers often see clearly. Yu Huan and others involved in the current battle might not have clearly perceived the changes here, as they were fiercely contending on their own battlefields. However, the observing cultivators saw everything clearly.

No one knew the exact situation within the blood sea. With the island's protective formation providing separation, their senses weren't clear enough. They only vaguely perceived that life auras within the blood sea were continuously fading.

Everyone's expression changed. All observing cultivators realized that the battle within this blood sea would undoubtedly be a decisive point in this spirit island contention. Whoever achieved victory in this sub-battlefield would gain an absolute advantage.

Would it be the well-prepared Three Realms Island, or the profoundly resourceful Baiyue Island?

No one knew, and everyone waited with bated breath.

Within the blood sea, Su Yuming was entangled by Ma Shangsi. Even with all his strength, he couldn't break free. Feeling the familiar auras around him disappear, his heart was filled with terror.

He suddenly realized that rashly entering this blood sea had been a mistake, but it was too late for regret.

Rage burned like a flame in his heart. As Su Yuming's magical power surged, he actually forced Ma Shangsi to continuously retreat.

This wasn't to say that Ma Shangsi's strength was inferior to his, but rather that the latter had already expended a great deal of energy activating the blood sea. Furthermore, Lu Ye's order to him was to entangle Su Yuming. With the opponent now looking like he was fighting for his life, Ma Shangsi naturally had to avoid his direct assault.

It wouldn't be worth it if he accidentally got dragged down with the enemy.

Within the blood sea battlefield, Baiyue Island's forces initially held an absolute numerical advantage. However, as time passed, this advantage was gradually narrowed, then erased, and eventually turned into a disadvantage.

Defeat cascaded like a crumbling mountain!

With a Moon-Gatherer like Lu Ye mixed into a confrontation primarily among Star-Dweller cultivators, how could Baiyue cultivators expect a good outcome? The environment within the blood sea was already disadvantageous to Baiyue cultivators. Those targeted by Lu Ye generally didn't survive a single strike.

The Baiyue cultivators had been entrenched here for eight hundred years. It couldn't be said they hadn't experienced conflicts, but they had truly never experienced a battle of this scale.

In contrast, on the Three Realms cultivators' side, cultivators from Jade Snail and Azure Dawn Dao Realm might have lacked experience in such large-scale warfare, but the cultivators from Kyushu had forged their experience through countless major battles.

A confrontation of this scale, compared to Kyushu's grand army counterattacking the Bug Race's Great Secret Realm or their expedition to the Blood Refinement Realm, was simply a small-scale event.

Moreover, every Kyushu cultivator was fearless in the face of death, with a brutal fighting style. Under their influence, even cultivators from Jade Snail and Azure Dawn Dao Realm, despite their lack of experience, were galvanized into action.

Therefore, although significantly outnumbered by their opponents, when Ma Shangsi charged out of the formation base hall and unleashed the blood sea, the demise of the Baiyue cultivators was already sealed.

A few breaths later, within the blood sea, Baiyue's Star-Dwellers were completely wiped out.

Su Yuming was in an even more precarious situation.

Initially, when he fought Ma Shangsi one-on-one, he had seemed fiercely imposing, as Ma Shangsi temporarily avoided his full power. But when Lu Ye freed up his hands, and master and servant attacked together, Su Yuming completely lost the power to resist.