Chapter 2217: Ruins

Inside the core of the Bug Nest, almost simultaneously with Lu Ye falling into the illusion, a figure stepped in.

"Greetings, Bug Mother." The newcomer stopped about a dozen zhang away from the Bug Mother. It was Li Qi, who had captured Lu Ye and brought him here earlier.

"You should already know the specific plan," the Bug Mother's voice rang out.

Li Qi replied, "Yes, take him to the altar and send him into the ruins."

"Is everything ready on that side?" the Bug Mother asked.

"It's all prepared, just waiting to send him."

The Bug Mother remained silent, seemingly hesitant. But with things having come to this, there was no other option. Finally, she spoke, "Go, and don't make any mistakes."

Lu Ye's life was tied to the survival of her clone soul. She wouldn't take this risk unless absolutely necessary.

For the past six months, she had been trying to break free from the Life Chain. As a peak Harmony Dao cultivator, how could she willingly be restrained by an Initiation Dao cultivator? Yet, all her attempts had ended in failure.

This was because the intricate patterns of the Life Chain had completely merged with her clone soul. To release it, she needed Lu Ye's cooperation.

But how could Lu Ye possibly cooperate?

If that were the only issue, she could have simply kept Lu Ye trapped in the Bug Nest. She was confident she could protect him from danger.

However, another characteristic of the Life Chain was intolerable to her: the fruits of her diligent cultivation were being siphoned off by Lu Ye.

The Bug Mother had never imagined that a mere Initiation Dao cultivator, whom she had gone so far as to expose a Harmony Dao mole to capture for a single formation pattern, would become such a hindrance.

She couldn't fight him, nor could she kill him; it was truly awkward.

After much thought, the Bug Mother considered a possibility: what if she and Lu Ye were in different spaces? Would the Life Chain lose its effect then?

This dao pattern was indeed wondrous, capable of tightly linking two unrelated individuals, binding them in life and death. But ultimately, it was still just a dao pattern.

It worked when they were in the same space, but what if they weren't? Would the dao pattern break down on its own, or would their connection weaken?

This was undoubtedly a good solution to explore.

She couldn't send Lu Ye out of the Shimmering Realm, as no one had ever escaped it since ancient times. But she could send Lu Ye into the ruins!

That was the Shimmering Realm's greatest secret. No one knew when those ruins were left behind or what secrets they held. However, since ancient times, there had been legends that the ruins contained a method to escape the Shimmering Realm.

For countless years, the Human Alliance, the Bug and Blood races, and even the Giants had invested tremendous effort into exploring the ruins. Yet, progress had been minimal, as the ruins harbored great dangers that ordinary cultivators could not withstand.

The Bug Mother's plan was simple: send Lu Ye into the ruins and observe the changes in the Life Chain. If the dao pattern lost its effect due to them being in different spaces, she could then be free of Lu Ye, her current constraint.

If even different spaces couldn't solve the dao pattern, then she would have to find another way.

It was merely a test; there was nothing to lose anyway.

To ensure Lu Ye was safely sent to the ruins, the Bug Mother had no choice but to pull him into an illusion, preventing him from causing trouble.

Inside the Bug Nest, Li Qi channeled his power, enveloping the unconscious Lu Ye, and flew outwards, quickly disappearing from sight.

Within the illusion, Lu Ye knew something was wrong but was helpless. The immense disparity in strength prevented him from even discerning the flaws in this illusion, let alone escaping it.

In this illusion, the Bug Mother could do whatever she pleased with him.

His inner worries remained hidden, and You Die showed no intention of making things difficult for him. The young couple chopped firewood and gathered wild vegetables by day, then slept in the same bed with different dreams by night.

Several days passed in a flash.

Until one morning, after they finished their vegetable gruel, as Lu Ye picked up his woodcutting axe as usual, he found You Die standing nearby, gazing at him with a smile.

Her expression was subtly complex, causing Lu Ye's heart to sink.

He paused and said, "It seems you've found a solution."

Lu Ye knew that the Bug Mother wouldn't willingly remain bound by the Life Chain. Therefore, he was sure she had been trying to break the dao pattern during this time. Her sudden act of pulling him into this illusion again only confirmed his suspicions.

You Die smiled faintly, not hiding anything. "I don't know if it will work yet; I'm just trying."

As she spoke, she approached Lu Ye step by step, a playful hint in her expression. "Brother Ye, if it doesn't work, we'll see each other again later."

The implication was that if it did work, they likely wouldn't meet again.

Lu Ye's expression remained unchanged. "Then you'd better be careful." He knew his own Life Chain well. Unless the Bug Mother abandoned this clone soul, it would be impossible to break the karmic ties of ten reincarnations, making the dao pattern's effect far stronger than normal.

"I'll take your auspicious words!" You Die smiled, then raised a finger, touched Lu Ye's forehead, and gently pushed backward.

Lu Ye involuntarily fell backward.

It was as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss. The illusion before his eyes shattered, and his consciousness abruptly returned to his body.

What came into view was Li Qi's figure. At this moment, a Blood Clan cultivator stood beside him, observing Lu Ye with keen interest.

Lu Ye sensed something was wrong and immediately tried to move, but a surge of light suddenly erupted around him, pinning him firmly in place.

He looked around, realizing that he was no longer in the Bug Nest. He had arrived at an ancient, rustic altar.

The ground he stood on was covered in intricate patterns, from which dazzling light emanated.

The next instant, his vision blurred, and the world shifted.

When Lu Ye regained his senses, he was in a long passage whose end was nowhere in sight, and he had no idea where it led.

Almost at the same moment Lu Ye entered the ruins, Li Qi contacted You Die to report the progress.

Inside the Bug Nest, the Bug Mother silently observed. According to her initial conjecture, success or failure hinged on this very moment.

To her disappointment, however, the miraculous dao pattern showed no change even with Lu Ye entering another space. Far from breaking on its own, there wasn't even a hint of weakening.

A few breaths later, her divine sense stirred, and an order was conveyed to Li Qi.

Another breath later, Li Qi turned to the waiting Blood Clan cultivator and commanded, "Save him!"

The ruins contained great dangers. Since the dao pattern hadn't changed, You Die's previous plan had failed. They had to rescue Lu Ye quickly, because if he died in the ruins, she wouldn't fare well either.

The Blood Clan cultivator tilted his head and sneered, "Just a mere human..."

Li Qi's expression darkened. "This is Bug Mother You Die's command. If that person dies, you know the consequences!"

The Blood Clan cultivator frowned. He had, of course, heard of Bug Mother You Die's formidable reputation. Those who could command a major war zone were all peak Harmony Dao cultivators. Although he was of the Blood Clan, there would be no good outcome if he displeased such a powerful individual.

"Understood!" The Blood Clan stepped onto the altar. Light flashed, and he vanished.

In the passage, Lu Ye turned to look behind him but saw nothing at all; there was only void. He didn't test it, but he instinctively felt that touching this void would not lead to anything good.

What did the Bug Mother intend by sending him here?

And where exactly was this place?

He was utterly confused, but after half a year, finally being free of the Bug Mother still invigorated him.

Regardless of the Bug Mother's true intentions, he was now free.

He couldn't go backward, so he could only move forward!

Calming himself, Lu Ye stepped forward.

However, before he had walked more than a few steps, he heard movement behind him.

He quickly turned his head and saw a figure had appeared exactly where he had been standing moments ago.

It was the Blood Clan cultivator who had been standing next to Li Qi!

The moment he appeared, he looked at Lu Ye haughtily. "Consider yourself lucky, Lord You Die has ordered me to rescue you!"

Lu Ye blinked, suppressing the impulse within him, and asked, "What is this place?"

The Blood Clan walked directly past him, not even glancing at him, and simply said, "Follow me!"

Lu Ye thought for a moment, then followed, his mind filled with even more questions.

You Die had brought him to this place, clearly with no good intentions. Yet, now she was sending this Blood Clan cultivator to rescue him, which undoubtedly indicated that this was no benevolent place.

You Die wasn't that kind. She must have been afraid that if something happened to him, it would implicate her, which was why she sent the Blood Clan to rescue him.

This Blood Clan cultivator... what was his cultivation level?

With the other person not having made a move, Lu Ye couldn't immediately determine his cultivation level, but the feeling he got from him didn't suggest he was a Harmony Dao cultivator.

Why was it him coming to rescue him, and not Li Qi? Li Qi was at Harmony Dao Sixth Stage, certainly stronger than this Blood Clan cultivator.

They hadn't walked much further when the Blood Clan suddenly stopped and slowly said, "Stay put!"

Lu Ye craned his neck, his gaze sweeping past the Blood Clan cultivator and looking ahead. He found that, at some point, a tall figure had appeared in the passage before them.

The figure wore full-face armor, making its face completely indiscernible. What struck Lu Ye as even stranger was that he couldn't sense any life force from within the armor.

The opponent seemed to be an inanimate object!

The Blood Clan cultivator had already rushed forward, and the armored figure also began to move. The two then clashed in the passage.

The moment the Blood Clan cultivator made his move, Lu Ye immediately discerned his cultivation level. Indeed, he was not a Harmony Dao cultivator, but merely an Initiation Dao cultivator.

But this Initiation Dao cultivator's strength... seemed a bit off.

Not only was the Blood Clan cultivator's displayed strength unusual, but so was that of the armored figure. As their powers collided and dissipated, Lu Ye felt as if two cultivators of the fourteenth or fifteenth dao were locked in combat.

No, that Blood Clan cultivator was stronger than fourteenth or fifteenth dao!

Moments after the clash began, the armored figure was shattered by the Blood Clan cultivator, leaving only a faint glow where it stood.

Lu Ye stared, stunned. This reminded him of the shadows in the Asura Arena; they looked much the same when destroyed.

So, the armored figure was indeed not a living being, but a projection of power.