Chapter 2225: I am very angry

The flame Yu Die mentioned was undoubtedly the Faction Tree's power of immolation.

Earlier, during the battle against the Nine Infants in Lu Ye's spiritual sea, she gained some benefits from being scorched by that flame, developing a taste for it.

Lu Ye was actually surprised that Yu Die's soul body hadn't been immolated by the Faction Tree earlier; it didn't quite make sense.

Logically, Yu Die's soul body was an external entity that had invaded his body, and it should have received the same treatment as the Nine Infants' soul body.

But that wasn't the case.

After much thought, Lu Ye concluded this was likely due to the Chain of Life. His soul body and Yu Die's were closely linked by this arcane rune, sharing life and death. The Faction Tree's power of immolation clearly regarded her soul body as part of his own, not only refraining from harming her but even benefiting her.

The Broodmother primarily cultivated her soul. If she could further use the Faction Tree's power to immolate impurities within her soul body, it would not only enhance her strength but might also benefit her future advancement to the Dao Integration realm.

"That fire, it..."

Before Lu Ye could finish, the Broodmother scoffed, "If you utter a single word of 'no,' you'll stay here indefinitely. Don't even think about leaving!"

"It's not entirely out of the question!" Lu Ye quickly changed his tune. "But let's discuss it when I return."

"Alright, then I'll wait for you." Yu Die also became gentle, which instantly reminded Lu Ye of his first reincarnation, of a young wife standing on tiptoe in front of a thatched hut, watching for her husband's return.

A shiver ran down Lu Ye's spine, and he felt a bit strange. "Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

He had expected Yu Die wouldn't agree so easily and had been considering how to negotiate with her. Yet, Yu Die was remarkably straightforward.

"You're my person, where could you possibly run?" Yu Die chuckled softly. "Back to the Human race? Can you even go back?"

Lu Ye remained silent; this was what vexed him most. He had been abducted in plain sight, so even if he returned to the Human race and explained the truth, it was unlikely anyone would believe him.

The Insect and Blood races had many hidden agents, and their methods for controlling these agents were extraordinary.

One could say that ever since his abduction, he had been branded with the mark of the Insect and Blood races.

"Your only destination is here with me. Don't think about anything else," Yu Die said with a soft laugh.

"Your fist is bigger, so you call the shots." Lu Ye stood up nonchalantly, brushing off his rear. "Alright, I'm going. Get me a stone worm to guide the way."

"Wait a moment, someone will take you," Yu Die replied.

"Who?" The moment Lu Ye spoke, a name immediately sprang to mind.

Li Qi!

Since his identity was exposed, that guy seemed to have been on standby with Yu Die.

Sure enough, a moment later, Li Qi's figure entered the core of the Brood Nest and respectfully bowed before Yu Die, "Greetings, Broodmother!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Lu Ye, who stood smiling nearby, his heart filled with surprise.

He wasn't sure what had transpired between Yu Die and Lu Ye recently, but judging by Yu Die's willingness to even let her soul leave her body to rush to his aid last time, she clearly held Lu Ye in high regard!

Such regard was unprecedented.

A single Crane Wing Array Pattern wasn't enough to make a powerful cultivator like Yu Die adopt such an attitude. What exactly was the reason?

Unable to find an answer, and not daring to ask, Li Qi could only ponder it himself.

"Fellow Daoist Li Qi." Seeing Li Qi look his way, Lu Ye greeted him with a smile.

Though he was merely at the Dao Attainment realm, Li Qi did not dare to be negligent, nodding slightly, "Fellow Daoist Lu."

Lu Ye said, "I still owe you many thanks for what happened earlier."

Li Qi's expression remained calm. "It was merely following orders; Fellow Daoist Lu is too kind."

Lu Ye nodded. "No need for many thanks. From now on, we'll all be working under Xiao Die, so please take good care of me, Fellow Daoist!"

Xiao Die...

Li Qi's eyelids twitched violently; he almost thought he had misheard. Still, he suppressed the shock in his heart and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I apologize for any offense given earlier, Fellow Daoist Lu."

What was going on? What was with Lu Ye's intimate address for the Broodmother? And the Broodmother hadn't even refuted it.

It seemed something extraordinary had happened between these two...

"Li Qi, take Lu Ye to the ruins again. The Formicide was left behind there," Yu Die's soft and charming voice floated over.

"Yes!"

Li Qi accepted the order, turned, and gazed at Lu Ye with a complex expression, gesturing with his hand, "Fellow Daoist Lu, please proceed!"

Lu Ye stepped forward, affectionately patting his shoulder. "Please go first, Fellow Daoist Li Qi, I'll follow you."

Li Qi nodded and began walking out. However, after just two steps, his heart suddenly tightened, and an immense sense of danger descended. Before he could react, his vision flipped upside down. At the same time, the Broodmother's astonished cry rang out, "Lu Ye, what are you doing?!"

At that moment, Lu Ye stood behind Li Qi, shaking the blood from his Panshuan Blade, his expression cold and indifferent.

Li Qi, who had been in front of him, was now decapitated.

In the heart of the Brood Nest, right in front of the Broodmother, Li Qi had no guard whatsoever. He had never imagined that Lu Ye, who had just been smiling at him, would suddenly launch a vicious attack.

What astonished him even more was that Lu Ye had actually succeeded!

He, a dignified Sixth-level Dao Integration expert, had been ambushed and killed by someone at the Dao Attainment realm?

His head rolled to the ground, not yet dead. Li Qi's eyelids blinked twice, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

Lu Ye raised his foot and stomped on his head with force. The skull shattered, and Li Qi's already blurred vision plunged into complete darkness.

"Lu Ye!" The Broodmother was clearly enraged.

Not only had Li Qi been completely unprepared for Lu Ye, but even she hadn't detected anything before Lu Ye attacked. Lu Ye had concealed his killing intent too well; if there had been even the slightest anomaly before he moved, the Broodmother would have noticed.

"Don't yell!" Lu Ye sheathed his Panshuan Blade, then crouched down to extract the bones. The Dao bones of a Sixth-level Dao Integration cultivator—the Dao power they contained was far beyond what an ordinary Dao Attainment cultivator could compare to.

"You..." Yu Die was furious.

Although Li Qi, after his identity as a hidden agent was exposed, was no longer of much use, he was still a Sixth-level Dao Integration cultivator. To be killed right under her nose like that!

What was even more infuriating was that the perpetrator was calmly dissecting the bones and collecting his spoils.

He was clearly not taking her seriously at all!

"I am very angry!" Yu Die declared, her potent soul power surging, causing the surrounding space to warp slightly.

Lu Ye turned his head. "Then what should we do? Either you kill me, a life for a life!"

Lu Ye had harbored killing intent towards Li Qi ever since Li Qi brought him to the Brood Nest. But at that time, Li Qi was clearly somewhat wary of him, so Lu Ye's chances of successfully ambushing him were low, and he would have exposed his own strength.

Because of Li Qi, he had been captured and brought to the Brood Nest, and now even returning to the Human race side had become an extravagant hope.

Because of Li Qi, the Human race suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle at the Feng-level stronghold.

Such a person deserved to die.

This time, Lu Ye seized the opportunity; how could he possibly miss it?

Li Qi was unaware of Lu Ye's strength, and being in the Broodmother's presence, he had no guard whatsoever. This was why Lu Ye succeeded in one strike.

Of course, it also had to do with his recent increase in strength. With the power of a hundred Daos now, even if his strength wasn't equal to Li Qi's, the gap wasn't that significant. With careful planning against an unsuspecting opponent, if Li Qi didn't die, who would?

Hearing Lu Ye's words, Yu Die was visibly even angrier, her soul power surging more intensely. What did he mean, "a life for a life"? If she really killed Lu Ye, could she herself survive?

Before, she might have simply abandoned her split soul, but after the great battle with the Nine Infants, her split soul had completely merged with her main soul, and the Chain of Life was now bound to her entire soul body.

Her bloated physical body trembled slightly...

"Alright, don't be angry. When I get back, I'll scorch you, I promise you'll be in ecstasy!"

"Do you think you've got me figured out?" Yu Die gritted her teeth, realizing for the first time how detestable this fellow was, yet she had no way to deal with him.

Lu Ye scoffed, "It's Broodmother who's got *me* figured out! Or how about we undo the Chain of Life?"

"Alright!" Yu Die immediately agreed. "Do you dare?"

"I was just kidding," Lu Ye sniffed. Then his eyes lit up, and he pulled a small, square cauldron from Li Qi's storage ring, holding it up to Yu Die. "This is a Dao artifact, isn't it? Am I right? I didn't see wrong, did I?"

He had long suspected that a Dao Integration cultivator like Li Qi must have already begun nurturing his own Dao artifact, but he just hadn't seen it until now.

Now, he had found it by looting the body.

"Get out!" Yu Die didn't know where to direct her burning rage.

"Fine!" Lu Ye didn't bother with courtesies and strode out of the Brood Nest.

"Where are you going?" Yu Die hastily asked.

"The ruins!" Lu Ye replied without looking back. His planned itinerary couldn't be changed. Some things the Nine Infants had just said made him very curious, so he needed to investigate the ruins.

"Take the stone worm!" Yu Die said again, and immediately Li Qi's stone worm flew onto Lu Ye's shoulder.

Lu Ye paid it no mind and walked directly out of the Brood Nest's core.

Only Li Qi's corpse and a pool of blood remained, but with a ripple of the fleshy walls, the blood and remains quickly disappeared.

Yu Die's mood was somber. She had originally intended for Li Qi to accompany Lu Ye to the ruins, but Lu Ye had simply killed Li Qi with a single strike.

She couldn't be bothered to dispatch another Dao Integration cultivator. She knew Lu Ye's strength; ordinary Dao Integration cultivators were truly no match for him, so there was no need for anyone else to escort him.

As for whether Lu Ye would seize this opportunity to escape... Yu Die wasn't worried at all. The Chain of Life was still active; no matter where Lu Ye ran, he couldn't escape her control. Furthermore, as she had said before, from the moment Lu Ye was captured, he had already been branded with the mark of the Insect and Blood races, making it impossible for him to return to the Human faction.

As she was pondering, Yu Die suddenly cursed again, "Bastard!"

Using the stone worm's senses, she discovered that Lu Ye was killing his way through the Brood Nest, leaving a trail of blood and countless casualties among the Insect and Blood race cultivators.

Before his strength was exposed, that scoundrel had been secretive, but now that his power was revealed, he wasn't even pretending anymore!

Through the stone worm, she cursed Lu Ye a few times from afar, telling him not to be so reckless. Lu Ye simply ignored her, even calmly remarking, "If you keep nagging, I'll kill the stone worm too!"

Yu Die felt like she was about to explode!

In the end, she endured it. However, Lu Ye found he couldn't continue his killing spree, as there was no sign of any enemies along his path. Clearly, Yu Die had given an early warning, causing any Insect and Blood race cultivators who might have encountered him to avoid him.