Chapter 2069: Human Greed Leads to Death

On the giant crimson star, a towering fire giant roared. In comparison, Lu Ye’s figure was as tiny as an ant.

An inconspicuous sword light suddenly flashed forth.

Simultaneously, the fire giant raised its fist and slammed it down fiercely towards Lu Ye’s position. The power of this punch was terrifying; as its fist moved, even the nearby magma surged upwards, swirling like dragons.

Against such a fire giant, the streaking sword light seemed no more than an embroidery needle.

Yet, this very "embroidery needle" effortlessly pierced through the fire giant’s fist, ran through its entire arm, struck its glabella, then penetrated its body, and finally hit the formation barrier that separated inside from outside!

This formation was personally set up by Ji Boyun. Although he was not originally a formation cultivator, his lifespan as a Sun Gazer was long. Once cultivators reached this level, their strength improved slowly, so many Sun Gazers would also cultivate other minor arts to pass the time. Ji Boyun had good talent in formation arts, and the formation he set up was naturally formidable.

Furthermore, he utilized the special environment of the place, directly increasing the formation’s power by thirty percent. This was enough to ensure that enemies like the Blazing Sun Beast King could not escape from within it.

However, even such a resilient formation failed to stop the sword light in the slightest.

Almost the instant the sword light touched the formation barrier, it pierced straight through it.

A sound like shattering glass seemed to echo in everyone’s minds. Both Jiu Se and Lie Huo, who had already moved away, looked terrified.

The fire giant’s furious assault inexplicably halted. Immediately after, its colossal body rapidly shrank, like a deflating balloon. In just three breaths, all the fire light dissipated, revealing the withered figure of Ji Boyun within.

At this moment, Ji Boyun was like a broken piece of porcelain, his body covered in cracks with blood seeping out, barely holding on to his last breath to avoid instant death.

This was the drawback of integrating one's body with a formation; if the formation was broken, the cultivator would surely die.

He looked in Lu Ye’s direction with a face full of horror, roaring, "Artifact! An artifact… Who are you? Who exactly are you?"

He never imagined that he would one day die by the attack of an artifact.

With his level of cultivation, he was indeed considered a top-tier existence in the starry sky. Few could threaten his life, but this certainly did not include offensive artifacts!

Only an artifact could so easily break through his fire giant form and shatter his formation’s assault!

But… while there were not a small number of artifacts in the world, their count was limited. They were mostly used as realm-guarding treasures by major realms, rarely deployed, let alone carried around by a single cultivator.

And the cultivator carrying an artifact was merely an early-stage Sun Gazer!

Which realm’s cultivator would be so reckless? To allow such a precious treasure to be carried around by an early-stage Sun Gazer, parading it openly—such an outrageous thing had never been heard of.

He received no answer. After shouting these words, he could no longer hold on, and his body shattered just like the formation.

The much-dimmed sword light was retracted by Lu Ye.

He turned to look at Jiu Se and Lie Huo beside him. Even though both were late-stage Sun Gazers and highly experienced, they were utterly bewildered at this moment.

From the moment Ji Boyun made his move until now, only about ten breaths had passed, and a late-stage Sun Gazer had died so inexplicably.

Ji Boyun’s final shouts made them even more incredulous. Just like Ji Boyun, they wondered which realm this Li Taibai belonged to and why he was wandering around with an artifact. Wasn’t he afraid of being coveted?

Suddenly feeling Lu Ye’s gaze, Jiu Se’s heart tightened. But then she reconsidered: although artifacts were powerful, they consumed a great deal of energy. Many artifacts required nurturing after a single use. She had observed the changes in the sword light just now, so she naturally knew that Lu Ye could not unleash the same kind of attack again.

This was an opportunity…

An artifact!

If she missed this chance, she might never get another one.

So, after a brief moment of panic, Jiu Se’s eyes immediately lit up. Her divine sense surged as she secretly transmitted a message to Lie Huo.

Lu Ye observed the change in her expression and naturally understood what the woman was planning.

Lu Ye didn’t care about Jiu Se’s life or death, but Lie Huo…

After a slight pause, he spoke, "Do the two of you have any further advice?"

Jiu Se stepped forward, staring intently at Lu Ye. "I wouldn't presume to offer advice. I merely wish to borrow something from you, fellow Daoist!"

"Oh?" Lu Ye glanced at her. "What do you wish to borrow, fellow Daoist?"

Jiu Se smiled. "Why ask the obvious, fellow Daoist? You should know what I want to borrow."

Lu Ye calmly said, "Ji Boyun is already dead. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you too, fellow Daoist?"

Jiu Se stated gravely, "I naturally cannot resist the power of an artifact, but can you still unleash an attack like the one just now? Fellow Daoist, we met by chance, with no past grievances, but as the saying goes, wealth stirs human hearts. It would be a great pity to miss such a good opportunity."

Lu Ye nodded. "Indeed, I cannot unleash an attack like that again." He then looked at Lie Huo. "And this fellow Daoist, do you also want to borrow that item?"

Lie Huo shook his head. "No, I don’t. As a Barbarian cultivator, my physical body is everything. What need do I have for external objects?"

Lu Ye felt reassured. To be honest, if possible, he was reluctant to get into a conflict with Lie Huo. From the moment he first saw him, Lu Ye had recognized him as a Barbarian.

He had some connection with Abulo, and this Lie Huo was likely one of Abulo’s elders. If he killed Lie Huo, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself to Abulo later.

Of course, if Lie Huo insisted on opposing him, he wouldn’t hold back either.

Fortunately, such a situation did not arise, saving him some trouble.

Jiu Se was not surprised by Lie Huo’s answer; it was clear that Lie Huo had already given his response when she transmitted her message earlier. This suited her perfectly. There was only one artifact, and if Lie Huo had truly been interested in it, the two of them would have had to fight to determine its ownership.

"Alright, enough talk. Fellow Daoist, please hand over the treasure." Jiu Se’s gaze remained fixed on Lu Ye.

Lu Ye flipped his palm, revealing a treasure gourd. He looked at Jiu Se calmly and said, "Want it? Come and get it!"

Jiu Se stared at Lu Ye, seeing no hint of panic in him. Instead, he appeared composed, as if he didn’t even consider her a threat. She immediately snorted, "Playing mind games!"

The calmer Lu Ye was, the more she felt he was merely putting on an act.

As she spoke, she flashed forward, lunging.

However, the next moment, she frowned. She suddenly noticed that this treasure gourd seemed subtly different from the one she had seen earlier.

While its shape and size were identical, and both were covered with extremely intricate patterns, upon closer inspection, those patterns seemed to differ slightly from what she had observed before.

"How foolish people are; truly, men die for wealth, just as birds die for food." Lu Ye sighed, then turned the gourd’s opening towards Jiu Se, who was lunging at him. A ball of fire suddenly flew out, engulfing Jiu Se.

In that instant, Jiu Se finally experienced the same feeling as Ji Boyun had earlier: boundless terror and horror suddenly engulfed her, making her soul tremble as if she had encountered the greatest calamity in the world.

She furiously channeled her magic power, attempting to evade, but the mystical fire was incredibly fast. Jiu Se had no room to dodge and was hit squarely.

The next instant, a scream erupted as the mystical fire flared up, completely enveloping Jiu Se.

Lie Huo, standing by, instantly widened his eyes, scarcely believing the scene unfolding before him.

Jiu Se’s screams were utterly piercing, as if she were enduring the most heinous torture. She frantically channeled her magic power, conjuring magical artifacts as if they were worthless, but no matter what methods she employed, she could not extinguish the mystical fire on her body. Instead, the more she resisted, the fiercer the fire burned.

"Fellow Daoist, spare my life! Please let me go!" Jiu Se could no longer endure, struggling and begging for mercy.

Lu Ye ignored her, simply watching her silently.

Originally, there was nothing to trouble them; only fools bothered themselves. Killing Ji Boyun was an unavoidable counterattack for him; in that situation, all he could do was eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible.

He actually had no intention of killing Jiu Se and Lie Huo.

However, since they sought death themselves, and things had come to this, Lu Ye naturally couldn’t show mercy. He could only annihilate them completely.

"Lie Huo… save me!"

Her pleas to Lu Ye had no effect, so Jiu Se could only turn to Lie Huo. In this brief period, most of her life force had been consumed. This was largely due to her being a fire-attribute cultivator with high cultivation, allowing her a certain degree of resistance to the Mystical Fire of the Fire Gourd; otherwise, she would have long since perished.

Lie Huo glanced at Lu Ye, saw his indifferent expression, and couldn't help but sigh. He raised a fist, magic power surging, and then powerfully struck in Jiu Se’s direction.

With that punch, Jiu Se, who was still struggling, instantly went silent.

He did not plead with Lu Ye. His relationship with Jiu Se hadn't reached that level. Although he had always flirted and said he would eventually get Jiu Se into bed, that was just entertainment when he was bored. Now that life and death were at stake, he was clear-headed, knowing that his pleas would be useless, so he simply gave Jiu Se a swift end.

"Fellow Daoist Lie Huo certainly has a good heart." Lu Ye glanced at Lie Huo, then activated the Fire Gourd, retrieving the unconsumed mystical fire. Only a charred corpse remained on the spot.

Of the three late-stage Sun Gazers, two had died in a short span of time, leaving only Lie Huo.

Lie Huo slowly shook his head, showing no intention of further interaction with Lu Ye. He was somewhat flustered because he had realized that Lu Ye possessed not just one artifact, but at least two!

The gourd that killed Ji Boyun earlier was clearly not the same one that had just killed Jiu Se.

It was already exaggerated enough for an early-stage Sun Gazer to carry one artifact; carrying two was simply terrifying.

If he had two, perhaps he had a third…

Facing Lu Ye, Lie Huo felt no sense of security at all. This was a dangerous place, and he dared not stay long. In any case, the giant crimson star would remain here, and Lu Ye couldn't possibly cultivate here indefinitely. It wouldn't be too late for him to return in a few years.