Chapter 2167: Conflict Over the Dao Artifact

Wind Rises in Kyushu

A moment later, several Zerg were killed. Lu Ye collected their Dao bones, then vanished, leaving the area. However, he returned shortly after and hid nearby.

If he were in the Star Abyss, he would never have provoked the Zerg in this manner. Just like before, after killing those Zerg, he would have escaped immediately. But this place, after all, was not the Star Abyss.

At the previous banquet, Lu Ye had specifically inquired with Kang Xing about matters concerning Dao Harmonization. He naturally knew that on this battlefield, the number of Dao Harmonizers from the three factions was limited. Roughly 80-90% served as guardians of the battle stars. Therefore, even if a nearby Zerg mother detected that Zerg warriors had died here, it wouldn't dispatch a Dao Harmonizer.

Furthermore, if the Zerg mother truly did so, the Human and Giant factions would certainly have corresponding countermeasures. Thus, on this vast battlefield, unless a large-scale battle erupted, small-scale skirmishes primarily involved those in the Dao Enlightenment realm.

Lu Ye hid in this manner, waiting for Zerg reinforcements, ready to ambush another wave. But after waiting for most of the day with no activity, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

From this, it seemed that due to the different environment, the Zerg mother's behavior had changed somewhat. In the outside world, if Zerg were killed, the Zerg mother would absolutely not let it go.

Since there were no Zerg reinforcements, he could only refine the Dao bones he had already collected. This was still considered a gain.

On such a battlefield, both enemy and friendly forces typically operated in small teams, ranging from three to five members. Once they encountered each other, unless the power gap was small, it would inevitably be a fight to the death.

In such circumstances, many teams acted with extreme caution. Most preferred to lie in wait, quietly waiting for prey to come to them. Although this method was not highly efficient, it prioritized safety.

However, the roles of hunter and hunted often shifted in an instant.

Compared to his previous wandering in the Star Abyss, desperately searching for enemies to kill—often with no gains for days—this battlefield was nothing short of a blessed land for Lu Ye. While others needed to act cautiously, he simply exposed himself openly, luring enemies to attack. Below Dao Harmonization, who could stand against him?

Any team with some strength, upon seeing him alone, would surely be tempted.

The efficiency of acquiring Dao power significantly increased. Previously, it took him over a month on average to advance one Dao power, but after a month on the battlefield, his own strength had increased by two Dao powers, reaching the level of twenty-three Dao powers.

Although transforming all his bones into Dao bones was still a distant prospect, the increased efficiency would significantly shorten the time required.

After another exhilarating battle, Lu Ye had just finished collecting the Dao bones when he suddenly felt something, and turned his head to look in a certain direction.

In that direction, a strange sight appeared in his vision: a flash of white light seemed to vanish. The white light looked very familiar. Lu Ye's heart stirred. "Star Abyss Blessing!"

Although the Varied Starry Sky isolated the inside from the outside, it should not have completely severed ties with the Star Abyss, as the Star Abyss's aura was still present throughout the Varied Starry Sky itself. But what Lu Ye hadn't expected was that he would actually encounter a Star Abyss Blessing here.

There had indeed been signs of battle erupting over there just now. He had originally intended to investigate. But now, it seemed the battle there had already concluded with a victor and a loser, and the one who survived had even received a Star Abyss Blessing. This immediately piqued Lu Ye's interest. It was his first time seeing someone else receive such a blessing.

He moved swiftly, heading directly towards that direction. The distance wasn't great. Fearing that the blessed individual might leave, Lu Ye even employed the Blood Escape technique.

A moment later, Lu Ye arrived at the location. To his relief, there was indeed a figure there. But to his mild annoyance, this blessed individual was a Blood Race member!

Like himself, the figure was alone, with no companions in sight. Only scattered corpses lay strewn about. In the past month, this was the first time he had encountered an enemy acting alone. Combined with the recent Star Abyss Blessing, Lu Ye immediately realized that this individual must be very strong and had killed many enemies, which was why they had the opportunity to receive such a blessing.

Lu Ye had originally come here intending to ask what kind of benefits the individual had received from this blessing. But since it was a Blood Race member, communication would likely be impossible.

When he arrived, the Blood Race member still had a joyful expression on its face, clearly indicating a good harvest.

Its gaze shifted, glanced at Lu Ye, and then, with some surprise, looked him up and down. It slowly spoke: "You're quite bold, daring to come here at a time like this?"

The phenomenon of the Star Abyss Blessing was very obvious. Anyone who saw it would know there was an extraordinary expert here. Lu Ye daring to approach meant he was either ignorant or fearless.

As the Blood Race member spoke, it observed Lu Ye. Seeing his calm expression, it was clear he wasn't ignorant. Its gaze suddenly fell on the Mountain-Shattering Blade at Lu Ye's waist. "A Dao artifact?"

Lu Ye blinked, knowing the other party had misunderstood. He naturally didn't bother to explain.

The Blood Race member raised a hand. Embedded in its wrist was a sharp claw resembling a wolf's claw. It extended its tongue and licked the claw, then gave a sinister smile. "What a coincidence, I also have a Dao artifact!"

Only then did Lu Ye notice the sharp claw on its hand. He finally understood why this individual had received the Star Abyss Blessing. It was because it relied on the power of a Dao artifact, allowing it to kill countless enemies.

However, this Blood Race member's own strength must not be weak; it was definitely at the ninth Dao level. Otherwise, it couldn't possess a Dao artifact. Although these items weren't rare within the Varied Starry Sky, they were difficult to forge. Regardless of whether one was an ally or enemy, ordinary cultivators had no chance of obtaining one.

"Then let's see whose Dao artifact is stronger!" The Blood Race member roared, a flash of bloody light enveloped its body, and in the next instant, it appeared before Lu Ye.

It had encountered Human Race members with Dao artifacts before. But in previous clashes, it had never been defeated. It had even killed one, because the Dao artifact in its hand could be considered top-grade, capable of increasing its power by five Dao levels. In the entire Star Abyss, apart from a few limited Dao artifacts, it was impossible for any other Dao artifact to be stronger than its own.

Almost the instant the Blood Race member lunged, Lu Ye's long saber had already struck out. With a seemingly light strike, it sliced the Blood Race member into two.

But there was no sensation of cutting through a physical object. What was struck was merely a phantom image created by the Blood Race member using a blood technique.

Lu Ye's expression remained unchanged. One could even say he had expected this. In terms of mastery of blood techniques, he was no less skilled than any Blood Race member. None of the opponent's tricks could escape his eyes.

At this moment, behind Lu Ye, the Blood Race member had appeared like a ghost, its sharp claw aiming directly for the small of Lu Ye's back, clearly intending to kill him with a single surprise attack.

It disliked using its "Blood Sea" against enemies because it felt it was overkill. Only by manipulating enemies with simple tricks could it feel satisfied. In the past, it had killed countless enemies using this method. This time... would be no exception.

But just then, it suddenly met a pair of indifferent eyes. To its surprise, it realized Lu Ye had turned around at some point and was calmly looking at it. A flash of saber light, and the long saber descended.

It couldn't evade. The Blood Race member gritted its teeth, never expecting its unfailing trick to fail to deceive the enemy this time. But what did that matter? With its fourteen Dao powers, the enemy couldn't possibly block it. It had never lost in a direct confrontation. Below Dao Harmonization, it had always been invincible!

The sound of something being severed rang out. Time, at this instant, seemed to slow down dramatically. The Blood Race member watched with wide eyes as Lu Ye's long saber severed the sharp claw in its hand and continued its unstoppable momentum, cutting towards its face...

Blood splattered. Lu Ye flicked the long saber in his hand. Looking at the Blood Race member with half its head sliced off, he couldn't help but frown: "Why is it so brittle?"

It was his first time encountering an opponent with a Dao Weapon, so he didn't dare to be too careless. Before knowing how many Dao powers the opponent could wield, it was naturally unwise to hold back too much. This strike had been powered by twenty Dao powers.

What he hadn't expected was that a casual strike had not only severed the opponent's Dao artifact but also killed the person.

He hurriedly removed the damaged Dao artifact from the Blood Race member's hand. After examining it carefully for a while and attempting to activate Dao power, he finally confirmed that the Dao artifact was indeed damaged. He couldn't help but scratch his head. This Dao artifact was really too fragile. Although he had wielded twenty Dao powers, he hadn't actually used much force. A strike of that level should not have been able to break even some good quality defensive magic treasures. From this perspective, Dao artifacts themselves were quite brittle. Once the Dao power imbued in them was destroyed, they were particularly susceptible to damage.

What a pity. This was his first time encountering a Dao artifact. He had originally wanted to take it to study. Even if it was useless to him, if he brought it back and submitted it to the War Merit Hall, he would surely receive a substantial reward.

Although the Dao artifact was destroyed, he still collected it. Somewhat unexpectedly, he found many unrefined Dao bones in the Blood Race member's storage ring, which were clearly the opponent's spoils of war.

A moment later, Lu Ye tidied up the battlefield and quickly left the spot.

Not long after he left, on a nearby floating landmass, an unremarkable stone suddenly opened a single eye. Such a stone would be inconspicuous anywhere, with no vital energy fluctuations. Even Lu Ye, had he seen it, wouldn't have paid much attention.

But if an experienced cultivator saw it, they would certainly know that it was a stone worm specifically bred by the Zerg mother to gather intelligence across the battlefield. It had no combat capabilities and couldn't even move. Its concealment was extremely potent. It was scattered throughout the battlefield, serving as the Zerg mother's eyes.

A moment later, on the Zerg's battle star, the Zerg mother issued an order. In a vast area, many Zerg began to move with purpose. For a time, within this region, various conflicts became much more frequent and intense than before.

Lu Ye gradually became aware of this situation a day later. Although he didn't know why the Zerg and Blood Race's actions had become much more aggressive, with many previously dormant enemies emerging, this was undoubtedly a highly desirable development for him. It meant he could kill more enemies and harvest more Dao bones.