Chapter 1879: The Death of the Lionheart

As he pondered, Lionheart slowly rose. His tall figure nearly touched the upper deck of the starship, forcing him to bend slightly as he rumbled, "Daoist Yuan Cheng, thank you for escorting me this far. This is where I disembark."

"Hmm?" Yuan Cheng was startled. He looked back and, seeing Lionheart standing, couldn't help but avert his gaze. "Daoist, what do you mean by this?"

Lionheart gazed at him and said calmly, "After all these years I've lived, since the Demon Venerable has made arrangements, I will simply follow them!"

Yuan Cheng mumbled, unable to utter a word, only sighing softly before opening the starship. Lionheart immediately leaped out, standing suspended in the starry sky, his aura beginning to surge. His hair bristled wildly, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, sweeping around like a wolf's. His roar echoed in all directions: "Get out here!"

He saw no one nearby, yet he knew there had to be someone here—the very person he feared most!

As the sound wave swept through the surroundings, Lionheart suddenly turned his head to look in one direction. Sure enough, a figure stood quietly on a meteorite there. It was as if he had been there all along, unnoticed by either Lionheart or Yuan Cheng.

The man was tall and slender, with a youthful appearance, and a long saber at his waist. Who else could it be but Lu Ye?

Their eyes met. Lionheart's gaze burned with fierce fighting spirit. Even knowing he was no match, even knowing he would surely die today, he intended to unleash his final splendor. This was the glory of a renowned demon cultivator of many years!

Lu Ye stepped forward, walking unhurriedly towards Lionheart, while simultaneously extending his divine sense to perceive his surroundings.

Although he had come here to ambush and wait after receiving a message from Black Cloud, he truly couldn't guess Black Cloud's ultimate intentions.

If Black Cloud was using Lionheart as bait and hiding in the shadows, then this would be a trap targeting him!

Therefore, Lu Ye had to be on guard.

Over the past few days, Lu Ye had already set up numerous warning formations nearby, and several Blood Treasure Avatars were hidden to the side, ensuring that even if Black Cloud truly laid a trap, he could escape immediately.

However, the fact that Black Cloud chose this location actually showed some sincerity. If Black Cloud truly intended to set a trap, there were other, better places than this.

This kind of location was more suitable for silencing someone permanently.

As the distance closed, Lu Ye clearly perceived that Lionheart's condition was not right. His aura, seemingly powerful, was in fact extremely unstable.

Although four months had passed since that battle, and Lionheart had recuperated on Myriad Manifestation Island, the backlash he suffered from unleashing his demon core was not so easily recovered from.

At this moment, Lionheart likely couldn't even exert seventy percent of his strength from that day.

His appearance was also extremely disheveled, as he was covered in wounds of all sizes. These injuries were left by the Mountain Breaker Saber from that day, and the strange Fanged Power had not dissipated even after four months, hindering the recovery of his injuries.

Perhaps Black Cloud had the ability to dispel the Fanged Power, but it would surely come at a great cost and require immense effort. Since Lionheart's fate had already been decided, Black Cloud naturally wouldn't waste that energy.

"If I die today, can this realm reclaim Purple Jade Island?" Lionheart suddenly asked.

Lu Ye, who was gradually closing in on him, said calmly, "That is one of the conditions discussed between Three Realms Island and the Demon Venerable!"

Lionheart understood, realizing that things were indeed as he had suspected. He then asked, "What other conditions are there?"

"Ten billion spirit jades!" Lu Ye did not refuse to answer.

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing else!"

Lionheart nodded, "Your Three Realms Island acts quite fairly! It's a pity that after managing Purple Jade Island for so many years, I still ended up as a sinner!"

"If you had known this day would come, why act as you did then?" Lu Ye looked at him coldly.

Lionheart burst into laughter, "Even if time flowed backward and I were given another chance to choose, I would still have devoured Wei Po! How can there be so much hesitation and indecisiveness in this world? Once a choice is made, one must follow that path to the end!"

"Then you deserve to die!"

"Then let's see if you can kill me today!" Lionheart roared, a golden light flashing from his mouth as he directly unleashed his demon core. Unlike that day, this demon core, once manifested, suddenly shattered directly, and a vast golden light immediately enveloped Lionheart, transforming his already massive body into a dazzling golden spectacle.

The Core Fusion Technique!

Unleashing a demon core was a desperate measure for demon cultivators. Although it caused damage and affected their foundation, as long as they could defeat their enemy, they wouldn't lose their life.

The Core Fusion Technique, however, was different. It involved melting the entire demon core, concentrating all its power into oneself. This was a truly suicidal secret technique; with a single strike, regardless of whether the enemy died, the user was certainly doomed!

Not all demon cultivators could perform the Core Fusion Technique, but Lionheart happened to be one who could.

Lionheart couldn't help but recall Black Cloud's instructions before their departure. This, he thought, must be what Black Cloud hoped for.

He was a sinner of Purple Jade, and had no face left to return there to cling to life. Since that was the case, he would unleash his final radiance.

With terrifying power, bolstered by the Core Fusion Technique, Lionheart shed his previous dejection, as if returning to his peak, and his aura became even stronger than before!

He gathered himself and was about to lunge towards Lu Ye.

Just then, however, the long saber at Lu Ye's waist flashed from its sheath. Accompanied by the resonant hum of the blade, Lionheart suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, his massive body uncontrollably trembling.

There was no other reason: all the wounds, large and small, on his body burst open simultaneously at that instant.

It was as if countless invisible tiny hands were tearing at his wounds.

The mere tearing of his flesh was not enough to make him react so strongly. The key was that with the inexplicable bursting of his wounds, an indescribable, piercing pain burrowed into his very soul, and the momentum he had painstakingly accumulated vanished instantly.

Lionheart's eyes widened involuntarily.

He had always felt an inexplicable power lingering in his wounds, a power difficult to dispel, which was why his injuries had never improved. But he never imagined that Lu Ye could manipulate this strange power from a distance.

Blood splattered. The moment Lu Ye's long saber was unsheathed, Lionheart transformed into a man of blood, his entire body virtually intact nowhere.

Amidst the impact of blood, the golden light enveloping Lionheart became extremely unstable.

Lu Ye had already lunged before Lionheart. Within his saber sheath, the accumulated energy of the 'Draw Saber Slash' spirit pattern, gathered over several months, dimmed. As his figure flashed past Lionheart, the long saber cut horizontally!

The powerful physique that had once given Lu Ye such a headache no longer posed any obstacle before this saber strike. The sudden tearing of his flesh had drastically reduced the toughness of his physique, making it utterly impossible to withstand the explosive blow of the 'Draw Saber Slash'.

Lu Ye came to a stop, and the Mountain Breaker Saber slowly returned to its sheath.

A hundred zhang behind him, Lionheart's massive figure stood suspended in the void, his hair still bristling wildly, yet unable to move as if under a paralysis spell.

Suddenly, the mixed golden and bloody light enveloping him shattered.

At his neck, as thick as a water bucket, a clear red line appeared, followed by blood gushing out like a fountain as his massive head flew high into the air.

Lu Ye raised a hand and, with a grab, retrieved the head, holding it in his hand, then calmly glanced to the side.

In that direction, Yuan Cheng, still in his starship, felt his scalp tingle with dread before he could even leave.

When Lionheart activated the Core Fusion Technique, preparing for a fight to the death, Yuan Cheng had still harbored some hope that Lionheart might drag Lu Ye down with him. After all, in that state, Lionheart should have been unmatched among those at the Lunar Gleam level.

But in reality, things were nothing like he had imagined.

From beginning to end, Lu Ye only made one strike. Lionheart, whose formidable presence had made Yuan Cheng almost unable to look directly at him, was simply killed!

This Lu Ye... seemed even stronger than when he had seen him before.

Furthermore... Lu Ye didn't even need to do this. Lionheart, having used the Core Fusion Technique, wouldn't have lived much longer anyway. Lu Ye merely needed to stall him for a while, and Lionheart would have certainly died. Yet, Lu Ye still personally killed him.

This showed how strong Lu Ye's vengeful nature was. The death of Wei Po at the banquet that day not only led to the destruction of Purple Jade but also ultimately resulted in Lionheart's demise at his hands.

Even across the starry void, Yuan Cheng could still feel Lu Ye's gaze on him, making him shiver.

"Go back and tell Yuan Du that Three Realms Island is not the cause of all this. Our cultivators from Three Realms Island have come from afar to strive, and we rarely find a place to establish ourselves. Anyone who attempts to undermine this foundation will not be tolerated by our cultivators. Now, begone!"

Feeling as if he had received a great pardon, Yuan Cheng hastily piloted the starship back the way he came, secretly vowing never to take such a mission again. It was terrifying!

After Yuan Cheng left, Lu Ye turned to look at Lionheart's remains. After a moment's thought, he directly collected them into his storage ring.

Given Lionheart's powerful physique, his demon bones were certainly of high quality, making them excellent material for artifact refining, and thus not to be wasted.

In fact, the demon bones of the demon cultivators at the Lunar Gleam level who died in battle on Purple Jade Island that day had all been collected. However, there was one drawback to using demon bones for artifact refining: if they were discovered by demon races during a fight, it could easily arouse hostility from others.

Since Three Realms Island had already formed a grudge with Purple Jade Demonic Star, there was no need to worry about that.

The battle here was decided in an instant. From beginning to end, Black Cloud never appeared, nor was there any hidden ambush. From this perspective, Black Cloud indeed showed considerable sincerity.

This also indirectly confirmed one thing: Purple Jade Demonic Star was eager to reclaim Purple Jade Island and therefore wanted no further complications.

Lu Ye calmly made his way back towards Three Realms Island.

Upon returning to the main island, he summoned He Baichuan.

He Baichuan, unaware of what had transpired, rushed over only to see Lu Ye directly toss a massive head before him.

He Baichuan was startled. He focused his gaze and exclaimed in utter astonishment, "Lionheart?" Then he looked up at Lu Ye, "Wait, wasn't he hiding on Myriad Manifestation Island? How could you have killed him, Junior Brother?"

It couldn't be that Lu Ye had broken into Myriad Manifestation Island and killed him; that was absolutely impossible.

Lu Ye replied, "Didn't that Demon Venerable Black Cloud visit a few days ago? I made some arrangements with him, and Lionheart's life was one of them."

He Baichuan's face was filled with disbelief. "Demon Venerable Black Cloud actually agreed to something like that?"

"They want to reclaim Purple Jade Island, so they had no choice but to agree!" Lu Ye said, pointing to Lionheart's head, "When you have a moment, send this to Senior Sister Luan. She's attempting to reach the Solar Radiance stage, and Lionheart's death might help resolve a long-standing issue for her, clearing her mind significantly. It might be helpful."