Chapter 2023: Confused Purple Xuan Demon Lord

In Square Inch Mountain, many Sun Blooms were both shocked and bewildered. They were shocked by the sheer scale of Lu Ye's move and bewildered by what kind of technique it was, and what the deal was with those nine Sun Blooms. Lu Ye had never mentioned any of this to them before.

"It's our turn," Chen Xuanhai's voice broke through everyone's thoughts.

According to the plan, after Lu Ye took the lead, it was their turn to appear. So, even though the previous scene was shocking, they didn't have time to ponder it further.

"Are you ready?" Chen Xuanhai turned to look at the Sun Blooms beside him.

Xuyuan smiled and lunged towards him, instantly merging into his body and disappearing. This was undoubtedly the Soul Tribe's unique soul-attachment technique. One by one, the other Soul Tribe Sun Blooms rushed towards their pre-selected targets. The Miniature Human Race had dispatched eleven Sun Blooms for this operation, and coincidentally, there were also eleven from the Soul Tribe. Over the past few days, they had already discussed and chosen their respective partners for cooperation.

Twenty-two Sun Blooms instantly became eleven, but every single one of them experienced a sudden surge in their aura. After concentrating and sensing their new states, they all showed expressions of excitement. The Miniature Human Race had heard about the Soul Tribe's mysterious abilities, but this was their first time personally experiencing the immense power boost from soul attachment. In an instant, their auras surged like dragons, and their killing intent became palpable.

"Go!" Chen Xuanhai bellowed, and was the first to fly outwards, with the others following closely behind.

Meanwhile, at the gathering point of the allied forces from various races, many Soul Tribe members of Constellation and Moon Bloom levels also simultaneously performed the soul-attachment technique, pouncing on their chosen targets and merging with them. In the blink of an eye, not a single Soul Tribe member remained visible within Square Inch Mountain, and the number of allied forces consequently sharply decreased by nearly half. Although their numbers had decreased, their overall strength had paradoxically increased.

Outside Square Inch Mountain, the dazzling blood light had receded. The attacking Zi Xuan demon cultivators were all shaken, especially the three Demon Venerables, including Deer Demon Venerable, who had just narrowly escaped. They could sense that the nine Blood Tribe Sun Blooms' Blood Burst technique seemed uncoordinated; otherwise, the three of them might not have survived. Having fortunately survived, they were all still deeply unnerved.

"Demon Venerable, a large number of Sun Bloom auras have appeared!" A voice suddenly exclaimed urgently; evidently, the warship's detection array had monitored changes outside. Demon Venerable Bichen, still absorbed in the recent events, quickly turned his head to look in one direction. In the reflection of a mirror-like surface in that direction, over a dozen figures suddenly appeared, rushing straight towards them to attack. Even from inside the warship, he clearly perceived the powerful auras of these individuals, especially the leader, who even posed a slight sense of threat to him, a Great Demon Venerable renowned for ten millennia.

Their auras were formidable, and their momentum was magnificent...

"Where did so many Sun Blooms come from?" Deer Demon Venerable, who had just escaped and hadn't even had time to catch his breath, was dumbfounded. He knew that the intelligence Black Cloud had provided them earlier stated that the Jade Snail Star System didn't even have a single Sun Bloom. Of course, Black Cloud's clone had been lost here, so that intelligence must have been wrong. That's why ten Demon Venerables had come together, assuming they could easily handle any hidden power in the Jade Snail Star System. Yet, upon arrival, they were first met by a self-detonation attack from nine Blood Tribe Sun Blooms, and then, from who knew where, over a dozen more Sun Blooms emerged, attacking aggressively.

This was definitely not the Jade Snail Star System; they must have inadvertently stumbled into some major star system.

Without time to think, seeing the group of Sun Blooms drawing closer, Bichen immediately made a decision: "Engage the enemy!" They couldn't let the enemies approach their warships. The aftershocks of a Sun Bloom battle were too fierce; if enemies got close and a conflict erupted, their own demon cultivators would surely suffer heavy losses. Therefore, the approaching enemies had to be intercepted and kept at bay.

With a command, he was the first to sweep outwards, followed closely by the other Demon Venerables. On the other three warships, Demon Venerables also appeared and quickly converged. All ten Demon Venerables gathered, their demon energy surging. From a distance, it looked as though a massive cloud had formed in the starry sky.

"Fellow Daoists, we are from the Zi Xuan Demon Star. I am Bichen, merely passing through this place unintentionally. Is there some misunderstanding?" In Bichen's mind, this had to be a major star system unknown to them, and with such a formidable opposing lineup, he was unwilling to casually start a war. It would be best if any misunderstanding could be cleared. As he spoke, he even announced the name of the Zi Xuan Demon Star and his own. He had expected this to have some effect, as the Zi Xuan Demon Star was a power not to be trifled with anywhere. However, to his surprise, the attacking Sun Blooms not only ignored his words but also seemed to grow even more eager for battle.

Bichen couldn't help but feel annoyed, but at this point, there was no possibility of de-escalation, especially after the opponent had already lost nine Sun Blooms. A few breaths later, the two groups of Sun Blooms clashed. Instantly, surging magical power rippled in all directions, and pure soul power bombarded the four cardinal points. That vast expanse of starry sky actually twisted abruptly at that moment.

"Impossible!" Bichen's pupils constricted. The magical power protecting him showed signs of crumbling in that instant. He was a Great Demon Venerable, having cultivated for over ten thousand years. Throughout the entire star-sea, even if someone was stronger than him, their strength would be limited, and the number of such powerful individuals would certainly not exceed five. This was also his confidence in leading the Demon Venerables to face the enemy, because he had sufficient belief in his own strength. But in that momentary clash just now, his confidence, maintained for tens of thousands of years, was nearly shattered.

Facing him was a middle-aged man wielding an ethereal, phantom-like longsword. In that instant of contact, Bichen had a long-lost feeling that he was no match; the opponent's magical power was surprisingly much more profound than his own! He was already at the peak of Sun Bloom, having cultivated his magical power to the very extreme of this star-sea. How could anyone be even stronger than him? Yet, this incredible event had bizarrely occurred. Not only him, but every other Demon Venerable had encountered the same situation. This led to an immediate differentiation in strength between the two originally aggressive, clashing groups of Sun Blooms the moment they made contact.

After a brief stalemate, all the demon race Demon Venerables retreated in disarray, withdrawing as quickly as they had arrived. A storm raged in Bichen's heart. They were Zi Xuan Demon Venerables, each immensely powerful, capable of fighting above their rank during their growth. Against cultivators not from top-tier realms, at the same cultivation level, they were always the ones to suppress others. They had truly never experienced such an outrageous encounter as today. For the first time in their lives, they were suppressed by enemies of the same cultivation level!

Furthermore, these enemies' fighting style was extremely unique. Spiritual talismans were deployed endlessly, each possessing immense power, transforming into spells, enhancing themselves, or weakening enemies. Their tactics were ceaseless. Bichen was utterly shocked, finally realizing the origin of these Sun Blooms: "You are the Miniature Human Race?" Throughout the entire universe, only cultivators of the Miniature Human Race fought by continuously deploying spiritual talismans, as this was fundamental to their cultivation.

But... why the Miniature Human Race? Zi Xuan had never had any enmity with the Miniature Human Race, so he couldn't understand why this group of Miniature Human Sun Blooms would intercept the Zi Xuan army in this location.

"We cannot retreat!" Mo Xuan's voice suddenly entered his ears. Bichen was startled and suddenly realized. Their main purpose in leaving the fleet to engage the enemy was to prevent the aftershocks of the Sun Bloom battle from affecting other demon cultivators. If they retreated further, their initial proactive engagement would become meaningless, as they would soon fall back into the area where the four warships were located. They couldn't retreat, but the opponent's strength was formidable and couldn't be suppressed. Thus, they could only draw them away!

With a thought, Bichen sent out a mental message in all directions, and the various Demon Venerables immediately understood and cooperated. The next moment, both sides, as if in unspoken agreement, arced away diagonally upwards, avoiding the Zi Xuan warships behind them. Bichen frowned, realizing that the Miniature Human Sun Blooms didn't seem to resist their attempts to draw them away; in fact, they seemed to go along with it somewhat. Why was this?

He soon found out why. From the direction where the Miniature Human Sun Blooms had initially appeared, a large army of cultivators had inexplicably emerged. At first glance, there were about six to seven thousand of them, with a fleet of Tiger Shark warships leading the way. Behind the Tiger Shark warships, numerous cultivators moved forward in groups of several individuals. Behind this army of cultivators, a central warship lay across the starry sky. On its deck, many figures were busily moving about, though it was unclear what they were doing.

So that's it! Bichen immediately understood. Regardless of why the Miniature Human Race intended to make trouble for them, the current formation alone showed that the enemy was prepared, aiming for a battle of soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals. This was why the Miniature Human Sun Blooms didn't resist being drawn away. In other words, separating the Sun Bloom battleground was a mutual desire.

The enemy numbered six to seven thousand, while their side, even after losing one warship, still had at least eight thousand demon cultivators, giving them a numerical advantage. Furthermore, they still had four warships available. Bichen withdrew his gaze, no longer focusing on that side, because in his opinion, the Zi Xuan forces could not possibly lose any conflict beneath the Sun Bloom level. Their current problem was how to deal with these Miniature Human Sun Blooms.

The initial chaos had passed. Now, the Sun Blooms on both sides were engaged in one-on-one combat. Although the Miniature Human Race had one more Sun Bloom and held an advantage in various skirmishes, it would still take some time for this advantage to turn into a decisive victory.

On a distant asteroid, Lu Ye rose to his feet, a faint smile on his face: "It's our turn!" The battle was unfolding as expected: soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. However, the Zi Xuan side had four warships to rely on, which was undoubtedly unfair to the Jade Snail Allied Army. His mission was simple: to eliminate this unfairness and ensure a fair fight between his allied army and the Zi Xuan demon cultivators.