Chapter 2168: Plate Tool

Having received some information from the Bug Mother, the Bug Race naturally knew that Lu Ye possessed a high-quality Dao Artifact. That's why the Bug and Blood Races extensively collaborated this time. Their plan was to first track Lu Ye's movements, then encircle him, and finally, have their expert make a move to slay Lu Ye and seize the Dao Artifact.

They did not dispatch a Dao Fusion expert, because such experts are too conspicuous. Both sides were mutually wary, and once a Dao Fusion expert was deployed, things would become much more troublesome.

When this Bug Race cultivator received the mission, he was very confident, believing that even if Lu Ye truly possessed a high-quality Dao Artifact, it could never be better than his own.

However, in their skirmish, he realized he was wrong.

The Dao Artifact on this human was definitely of the same type as his own. Moreover, the boosts the opponent gained were actually stronger than his, which meant that this human's compatibility with that Dao Artifact surpassed his own!

There was no other explanation.

Numerous thoughts flashed through the Bug Race cultivator's mind. Filled with shock and anger, he finally understood why the Bug Mother valued this human so highly.

When it came to that kind of Dao Artifact, the Bug Mother's emphasis couldn't be overstated!

As he rapidly retreated, he immediately intended to soar into the sky. The brief exchange had shown him that he couldn't deal with the opponent alone. To defeat the enemy, he would have to lure him out and let the army besiege him.

However, just as he leaped up, the Bug Race cultivator's face filled with horror. He abruptly looked up, only to see another figure mysteriously appear in the sky. Before he could clearly see who it was, a crimson light burst forth, spreading into a sea of blood, engulfing him.

With the Bug and Blood Races' armies besieging from outside, and this peculiar Bug Race cultivator entangled inside, Lu Ye naturally wouldn't waste time. The immediate priority was a quick victory: kill this Bug Race cultivator, and then break through the encirclement.

Within the sea of blood, his main body and clone attacked in tandem, showing no mercy.

The Bug Race cultivator's nineteen-Dao power was indeed formidable, but Lu Ye's current twenty-four-Dao power, achieved through overload, was still something he couldn't contend with, let alone facing two against one.

In just a dozen breaths of time, the intense conflict within the sea of blood subsided.

The Talent Tree clone shot out from the sea of blood, charging directly in one direction. From previous observations, the enemy forces in that direction seemed to be the fewest, making it a potential breakthrough point.

As soon as the clone burst out of the dead star, it was met by a vast sea of blood ahead. There was no avoiding it, so the clone plunged right in.

The next moment, the combined Bug and Blood Race armies encircling the dead star detected the movement, and swiftly moved to surround that direction.

Within the sea of blood, the clone wreaked havoc. These ordinary Dao Entry cultivators could at most exert nine-Dao power; how could they be his match?

With his over twenty-Dao power protecting him, as long as he didn't stay in one place for more than three breaths, there would essentially be no problem.

But no matter how many he killed, a vast number of enemies continued to swarm. Especially the Bug Race members, who charged without fear of death. It was clear that the Bug Mother had detected the death of the previous Bug Race cultivator and had given her subordinate Bug Race members a death order.

In such fierce combat, the clone didn't even have time to collect spoils of war. The slightest delay would bring numerous attacks from all directions.

An ordinary cultivator, if trapped in such a sea of blood, would surely become disoriented for a while, even if their strength far surpassed the enemy's. However, in his mastery of the Blood Dao, Lu Ye far exceeded typical Blood Race members. Such a sea of blood had little effect on him.

If he wished, he could easily break through the blood sea's blockade and leave.

But he didn't do so immediately. Instead, he pretended to be lost within the sea of blood, like a cornered beast fighting back. Only after a considerable time had passed, and he was sure that all surrounding enemies had been drawn in, did he decisively break out of the blood sea. Activating his Blood Escape technique, he fled directly in one direction.

Behind him, the vast armies of the Bug and Blood Races relentlessly pursued. Furthermore, nearby Bug Race members, upon receiving orders from the Bug Mother, set up blockades from all directions.

A vast starfield, for a time, became as chaotic and lively as a handful of salt tossed into a boiling oil pot.

At the Bluestream Battle Star garrison, a scout rushed in, cupping his hands and reporting, "My Lord, it seems a human cultivator has broken out from that dead star, and the Bug and Blood Race armies are pursuing and encircling him."

"A human cultivator?" Zi Ying paused in surprise. "So, my earlier suspicion was correct? A worthless dead star wouldn't warrant such attention from the enemy; what they valued was someone hiding within it."

Yet, in the entire Banyan region, there was only one human Dao Entry cultivator who could prompt the Bug and Blood Races to mobilize such a large army to deal with them.

And only this person could possibly break out of such a heavy encirclement by themselves.

Upon this thought, Zi Ying's expression changed. "Where is Huang Zhihuan of the Huang family?"

If it were Huang Zhihuan, he would possess such ability, and he would be worthy of such serious treatment from the Bug and Blood Races.

But if it really was him, then things would be troublesome. In the current situation, only a Dao Fusion expert could go to rescue him. But how could she, being stationed here, leave so easily?

If something happened to Huang Zhihuan in her battle zone, the Huang family would certainly hold her accountable.

As she spoke, Zi Ying's fists clenched. "These noble family scions, though remarkably talented, often become overly arrogant and conceited due to their background, acting imprudently, easily attracting trouble without even realizing it."

The scout, hearing this, replied, "I know what My Lord is concerned about. Before coming here, I specifically checked: that Huang family member is still cultivating in seclusion on this star and has not gone out."

"It's not Huang Zhihuan..." Zi Ying was startled. If it wasn't Huang Zhihuan, then who else possessed such strength?

But no matter who it was, anyone treated in such a manner by the Bug and Blood Races must be a great talent of the Human Race, and she couldn't ignore them.

She hadn't acted before because the situation wasn't clear. Now that the situation was largely clear, she naturally had to do something.

A garrison commander was tasked with stabilizing the battle star, but also bore the responsibility of protecting and nurturing younger generations.

With a thought, Zi Ying raised her hand.

A figure emerged from the shadows, cupping his hands and saying, "My Lord."

"Issue orders to assemble our forces," Zi Ying commanded. "Engage the Bug and Blood Race armies and create chaos. Also, notify Giant Ruler Battle Star to act in concert with us."

Giant Ruler Battle Star was the closest battle star where a Giant Race Dao Fusion expert was stationed.

"Yes, My Lord." The person received the order and immediately departed.

Zi Ying then looked at the scout again. "Find a way to ascertain that person's identity. If you can establish contact with them, all the better."

The scout acknowledged, then hesitated and said, "My Lord, we could actually use the garrison token."

Every garrison commander had their own garrison token. Messages transmitted through the garrison token could be received by all human cultivators in the entire battle zone via their waist tokens. Therefore, if they wanted to immediately contact the pursued fellow human, using the garrison token was the fastest method.

Zi Ying, however, shook her head. "The garrison token can only be used in one specific situation. Say no more."

Moreover, she was still unsure about the exact situation of the pursued human.

The scout, of course, knew what situation Zi Ying was referring to, and understood her concerns. He said no more, took his leave, and departed. Gathering various intelligence was, after all, the duty of the scout camp.

Following the unusual movements of the Bug and Blood Race armies, it wasn't long before the Dao Entry cultivators of the Human and Giant Races also began to move.

Although they didn't gather as a single massive force like the enemy, operating instead in small groups of three to five, the number of personnel assembled in a short time was still very considerable.

Lu Ye could never have imagined that such a vast battle zone would suddenly become fraught with tension because of him.

At this very moment, the clone was desperately fleeing with the aid of the Blood Escape technique, relentlessly pursued by numerous Blood Race members.

Meanwhile, his main body was looting the corpse on the dead star...

From the Bug Race cultivator's body, he extracted five Dao Bones.

This undoubtedly indicated that the opponent was indeed a Nine-Dao cultivator.

What about his Dao Artifact?

This fellow's power was close to twenty Dao, so he must have had a Dao Artifact on him. However, during their previous skirmish, Lu Ye hadn't noticed any trace of a Dao Artifact.

The only Dao Artifact he had encountered so far was that Blood Race member's sharp claw, but that item had already been destroyed by him.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ye directly tore open the Bug Race cultivator's clothes. His gaze was immediately drawn to something on its chest.

It was a piece of armor-like material, extremely ancient in appearance, clearly very old. The armor piece was only the size of a baby's fist, seemingly growing on the Bug Race cultivator's body, fitting perfectly.

This should be the opponent's Dao Artifact.

He reached out and tugged, using considerable force, to pry the armor piece from the body. After ensuring there was nothing else left behind, he turned and sped off in the opposite direction from where his clone had fled.

An hour later, the many Blood Race cultivators, using their Blood Escape technique to closely pursue the clone, suddenly watched as the figure ahead shimmered and vanished into thin air.

Just as their expressions turned to shock, a group of Giant Race cultivators, who had been lying in ambush nearby, suddenly charged out. The Blood Race members were greatly alarmed and met the attack in disarray.

In other locations, cultivators from the three factions also ignited their own battlefields, fighting fiercely.

In the process of pursuing Lu Ye's clone, the Bug and Blood Race armies, due to varying speeds, had already dispersed. This presented a perfect opportunity for the Human and Giant Races to divide them.

In the short term, the Human and Giant Race forces might suffer some disadvantages, but as time passed, more and more cultivators would arrive and join the battle.

At this moment, on another dead star, Lu Ye recalled his Talent Tree clone and concealed himself.

Only then did he slowly let out a breath of relief.

After a brief period of recovery, he took out the armor piece and examined it carefully.

If he wasn't mistaken, this was the Bug Race cultivator's Dao Artifact. Yet, it seemed somewhat different from typical Dao Artifacts.

Why could this item provide such a significant boost to its user? For a Nine-Dao cultivator to exhibit nearly twenty-Dao power was completely illogical.

He himself could wield over twenty-Dao power because he had refined many Dao Bones.

He scrutinized it intently, but found nothing unusual about the armor piece. If it were lying out in the open, Lu Ye probably wouldn't even pick it up if he saw it.

He tried to inject his magical power into it, but it still didn't react at all.

He extended his spiritual sense to probe it, but again, found no clues.

It wasn't until Lu Ye activated his Dao power that the armor piece suddenly responded.

As expected, since it was a Dao Artifact, it naturally required Dao power to control.

He infused his Dao power into his spiritual sense, and probed the interior of the armor piece. The next instant, Lu Ye's expression froze.