Chapter 2074: Strange and Powerful Bull Demon

The Wind Rises Across the Nine Provinces

The moment their attacks clashed, Jiuyan clearly sensed that her opponent's cultivation was weaker than her own, yet she was the one who lost the upper hand.

This was incredibly astonishing.

Just as she regained her footing, she saw Lu Ye uncontrollably hurtling towards her. He had rushed to assist Jiuyan, who was being overwhelmed by the Ox Demon, and had been sent flying by a single blow from its club.

Jiuyan quickly steadied herself and extended her hand forward, bracing Lu Ye’s back. Her spiritual power flowed in layers, helping him neutralize the momentum of his fall.

His sword-wielding right hand trembling slightly, Lu Ye suppressed the churning blood in his chest and said in a deep voice, “Be careful, Senior Sister, this fellow is not right!”

The Ox Demon, which had suddenly emerged from the crimson vortex, was unlike any Sunseeker he had ever encountered. In terms of cultivation, this Ox Demon was actually similar to the captured Insectoid Sunseeker, but its true strength was vastly superior.

The opponent’s spiritual power seemed to contain an extremely peculiar force. It was the presence of this power that made its spiritual power more resilient and destructive. Otherwise, with his current foundation, a one-on-one fight against a late-stage Sunseeker wouldn't have been so difficult.

But that brief clash just now made him realize one thing clearly: he was not this Ox Demon’s opponent.

Jiuyan undoubtedly had the same feeling. Her divine sense surged, transmitting a message: “I’ll hold him off, you kill him!”

Jiuyan initially had many doubts, but this inexplicably appearing Ox Demon was clearly not someone with whom they could communicate. Given its immense strength, the only option was to kill it first.

Lu Ye nodded and simultaneously placed his hand on Jiuyan’s shoulder, subtly activating his spiritual power.

Jiuyan intuitively understood Lu Ye’s intention. She reached out and grabbed something in the void, and a silver spear appeared in her hand. The spear lightly swung, its aura flowing, making her look incredibly valiant.

The Ox Demon merely stood there, at ease, beckoning Jiuyan with a finger, an expression of disdain on its face, clearly not taking her seriously.

Jiuyan was enraged. She charged forward with her spear, and in an instant, engaged the Ox Demon in battle.

Having unleashed her magic weapon, Jiuyan was clearly giving her all. In this state, few opponents in the entire starry sky could match her.

Spear shadows filled the sky, and her secret techniques were exquisite. In contrast, the Ox Demon’s movements appeared exceedingly clumsy and not very fast. Yet, despite this, the Ox Demon managed to block all of Jiuyan’s full-power attacks, seemingly with extreme ease.

Jiuyan’s eyes trembled, partly from shock at the Ox Demon’s displayed power, and partly from excitement in her heart, because she suddenly saw her future path in this Ox Demon!

Although she only caught a glimpse of a tiny clue, it was hope.

Hope that countless Sunseeker peaks throughout history had sought but never found!

What exactly was the Star Abyss? She had never heard of it before.

Outside the fierce battle, Lu Ye had already summoned his Sword Gourd. This Ox Demon was definitely the strongest opponent he had encountered so far. Even a fully committed Jiuyan was being suppressed, not to mention him, an early-stage Sunseeker. To defeat the opponent, he could only rely on the power of the Sword Gourd.

Jiuyan knew he possessed such a treasure, which was why she made the earlier suggestion.

The gourd's mouth inverted, sword light flashed, and Lu Ye uttered a low cry: "Senior Sister!"

As his voice sounded, a spirit pattern appeared out of thin air on Jiuyan’s shoulder, quickly forming a halo of light that enveloped her.

This was precisely the Void Spirit Pattern Lu Ye had left on her earlier.

At the same time, a Void Spirit Pattern also appeared beside Lu Ye.

A bolt of sword light, like a streak of silk, pierced through Jiuyan's illusionary form, striking directly at the Ox Demon's massive, strong body!

This sudden turn of events was clearly unexpected by the Ox Demon. The moment it sensed danger, its body shuddered, and it roared fiercely, "Coiling Dragon!"

A faint dragon roar echoed, and a dragon shadow suddenly appeared on its body, coiling around its waist. The dragon's head rose and bit at the incoming sword light!

The all-powerful sword light from the Sword Gourd was indeed bitten by this dragon head. The sound of metal grinding echoed, piercingly sharp. The brilliant sword light grew even brighter, but it still could not break free from the dragon's hold.

Lu Ye was greatly astonished!

Since advancing to Sunseeker and truly understanding the power of his treasure, he had repeatedly used it to easily slay powerful enemies. Even formidable beings like Grand Demon Venerable Zixuan could not withstand the terrifying might of his treasure, yet this Ox Demon had managed to do so!

What kind of secret technique was that? What sort of ability was this?

Lu Ye had no time to ponder deeply. He gritted his teeth and desperately urged the sword light forward.

He was the master of the Sword Gourd, so the sword light was naturally under his command.

The effect was minimal. Visibly, the brilliant sword light was slowly piercing forward, but it was held firmly by the dragon's mouth. Without breaking free from this dragon's restraint, it was impossible to harm the Ox Demon's physical body.

Lu Ye could feel that, under this stalemate, the sword light's power was rapidly depleting!

The Sword Gourd’s power was strongest only when it was first unleashed. Afterwards, when killing enemies or encountering obstacles, it would consume energy and then need to be withdrawn for replenishment.

But there was no opportunity for Lu Ye to withdraw and replenish it now!

The Ox Demon used a secret technique that Lu Ye completely did not understand, blocking the initial burst of the Sword Gourd’s light. As time passed, the brilliant sword light quickly dimmed.

In just a few breaths, with a crisp crack, the sword light shattered.

The sword light, cultivated with magic artifacts worth hundreds of millions of spiritual jades, was completely gone. To restore the Sword Gourd’s power, it would need to be re-cultivated.

And the dragon shadow coiling around the Ox Demon was clearly not as solid as before.

The Ox Demon lowered its head to look at the dragon shadow on its body, then flew into a rage, its crimson eyes glaring at Lu Ye: "You dare to harm my Dao power? You'll make up for it with your treasure!"

Was it easy for him to condense this much Dao power? This was his very foundation for standing in the Star Abyss, yet he had suffered damage in a slaughterhouse!

As the last word fell, it wrapped itself in a gust of demonic wind and charged towards Lu Ye.

“Fellow Daoist Lu, I’ll come to your aid!” a robust voice called out, as someone lunged at the Ox Demon from an angle.

Lu Ye recognized the voice immediately; it was Suilin from Five-Color Island. Three-Realm Island and Five-Color Island had always been on good terms, and Lu Ye had exchanged words with Suilin several times over the years, so he wasn’t a stranger.

Suilin’s presence here clearly indicated he had sensed the commotion and come to investigate.

He wasn't the only one; other Sunseekers stationed at top-tier spirit islands were also rushing over. Some had already arrived nearby, while others were still en route.

“Be careful!” Lu Ye urgently shouted a warning. Suilin clearly didn’t know how powerful this Ox Demon was; charging in so rashly would definitely not end well.

“Scram!” The Ox Demon was in a state of fury. Facing Suilin’s attack, it casually swung its club.

“Such arrogance… Ugh…” Suilin arrived quickly and departed just as fast, his sturdy body falling diagonally into the Myriad Manifestation Sea under the impact of immense force.

Just as he was about to fall into the sea, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

Suilin looked relieved, then looked up, filled with gratitude: “So it’s Fellow Daoist Gutai! Thank you for your help!”

Gutai nodded: “You’re welcome, Fellow Daoist Suilin. What’s the situation with this demon race?”

He had just arrived and hadn't yet understood the situation when he saw Suilin in danger and casually lent a hand. Otherwise, if Suilin had truly fallen into the Myriad Manifestation Sea, he would surely have been corroded by the seawater. While his cultivation wouldn't put his life at risk, being corroded would make his spiritual power impure, which would be a significant problem.

"I'm not sure, his strength is peculiar!" Suilin recalled the instant he made contact with the opponent; he was knocked away with no power to retaliate. It was fortunate he was a sturdy stone race member; otherwise, anyone with a less robust physique would probably have been injured.

"Is this an Insectoid path?" Gutai also noticed the red vortex at the center of Jade Sword Island, vaguely feeling it resembled an Insectoid path, yet it was different from normal ones. Even with his extensive knowledge, he couldn't immediately determine its nature.

And almost as he was observing this red vortex, ripples appeared within it, and a figure became indistinctly visible!

"Someone is coming through!" Gutai said in a deep voice.

At the same time, Lu Ye, who was fighting the Ox Demon alongside Jiuyan, also noticed the change in the red vortex, and his expression immediately sank.

This suddenly appearing Ox Demon was already so powerful; if another one arrived, who on the Myriad Manifestation Sea could stand against them?

From the previous struggle, it was clear that only a treasured artifact could pose a threat to such a powerful being as the Ox Demon. But the two treasured artifacts in his possession had already exhausted their power. What could he use to fight the enemy now?

As thoughts raced through his mind, Lu Ye’s divine sense surged, transmitting a message in all directions: "Fellow Daoists, the changes on Jade Sword Island today are related to the Insectoids. The approaching enemies are powerful and possess strange abilities. Please, all fellow Daoists, unite to resist the enemy, and do not underestimate them!"

"Related to the Insectoids!" All the Sunseekers looked serious.

Several years ago, Three-Realm Island had revealed information about the Insectoid conspiracy and the impending arrival of a great force. For years, major factions had been investigating this matter, but found no clues, only knowing that it was a disaster about to sweep through the entire starry sky.

Unexpectedly, today's events were also related to the Insectoids, which surely meant they were inextricably linked to the arrival of the great force.

If so, they could not remain uninvolved. Regardless, they had to deal with today's trouble first. Perhaps through today's events, they could uncover some clues.

With this thought, Gutai and Suilin exchanged glances and simultaneously rushed towards the red vortex. Before they could get close, a figure squeezed out of the vortex.

"It really is related to the Insectoids!" Gutai's expression turned cold, because the one who appeared was indeed an Insectoid.

As soon as this Insectoid appeared, it sniffed its nose, then looked in the direction of Mermaid Island: "There's an aura of our kin, alive!"

The first captured Insectoid Sunseeker had been escorted back to Mermaid Island by Luan Xiao'e; it could actually detect traces of it.

Gutai and Suilin had already teamed up and charged forward. Against the Insectoids, these two would not hold back. Suilin, having learned from his previous mistake, was much more cautious this time. But after only a brief exchange, he was repeatedly shocked.

Because in terms of cultivation, this suddenly appearing Insectoid's cultivation was similar to his and Gutai's, but fighting two against one, it utterly routed them, leaving them with injuries of varying severity in just a moment. Fortunately, Sunseekers from other spirit islands arrived in time to join, barely stabilizing the situation.