Chapter 2261: One Path Leads to Darkness

More than a year ago, Youdie captured a human named Lu Ye. From him, she learned of a Dao pattern called "Shared Essence." Unfortunately, even to this day, the Insect and Blood Races have not been able to make any sense of it.

However, for some unknown reason, Lu Ye later escaped the Insect Hive and subsequently killed many Fusion Realm cultivators from both the Insect and Blood Races.

Especially in recent months, he has been active on various battlefields, his elusive movements causing immense losses to their side.

Because of this, Youdie faced considerable criticism. After all, the human had escaped from her custody, and as an Insect Mother specializing in soul power, her inability to control a mere human made her undeniably culpable.

When Li Qi had abducted Lu Ye that day, the Blood Race member who now spoke had been traveling with Li Qi, so he immediately recognized Lu Ye.

"Oh? He's Lu Ye?" Che Lin scrutinized Lu Ye, his brows furrowing. "Insect Mother Youdie, is this mere human the 'good thing' you spoke of?"

"Precisely!"

"Do tell?"

Che Lin spoke in a deep voice. The other Fusion Realm cultivators, unaware of the full truth, were equally puzzled. They couldn't understand why capturing a human would warrant the Insect Mother summoning everyone, even if this human had previously killed many of their own Fusion Realm cultivators; now that he was captured, they simply needed to kill him.

"This person... knows how to leave Bānlán!" Youdie slowly revealed.

Her words stirred a thousand waves. Every single Fusion Realm cultivator present stiffened, some even gasping uncontrollably.

Che Lin abruptly turned his head, his gaze burning as he looked at Lu Ye.

A flicker of red light appeared in his vision, then burst forth, expanding rapidly!

"Blood Sea Art?" Che Lin was startled, unable to comprehend how Lu Ye, a human, could unleash such a blood technique. Furthermore, shouldn't Youdie have already implanted a restriction on him?

Before he could react, an indescribable, terrifying pressure descended, almost congealing his vital energy and blood.

Holy power!

Such intense Holy power!

Che Lin instinctively sensed trouble. Just as he was about to activate his Dao power, his soul suddenly trembled, and his mind became chaotic.

The moment the Blood Sea unfolded, not only did Che Lin realize something was wrong, but the other Fusion Realm cultivators also sensed the anomaly. They secretly began to activate their Dao power. However, the other three Blood Race members suffered the same fate as Che Lin. Their cultivation and strength were inferior to Che Lin's, as was their Holy power, and under such sudden suppression, they nearly collapsed to their knees.

It was then that the two prepared Insect Race direct descendants made their move.

Youdie also revealed her soul form, wielding her Dao weapon longsword and striking at Che Lin.

Lu Ye, meanwhile, targeted the other two Insect Race members. The Panshan Blade unsheathed, spinning like a moon, a flash of its light striking the nearest enemy.

This was a completely unexpected ambush. Within the Insect Hive, with Youdie present, no one anticipated such a turn of events.

Che Lin, however, was sufficiently cautious. He hadn't suspected Youdie of being a traitor, but the summons itself had been unusual, so he had remained wary since entering the Insect Hive.

Lu Ye perceived his caution and did not act immediately.

It was only when Youdie uttered her last sentence, and Che Lin lowered his guard, that Lu Ye decisively struck, aiming for maximum surprise.

The method to leave Bānlán—this news was too outlandish. Anyone hearing it would inevitably be shaken.

Chaotic Dao power surged, accompanied by shouts and screams.

In just a few breaths, the expanding Blood Sea suddenly retracted.

Only four figures remained standing. All the other Fusion Realm cultivators lay dead in pools of blood.

Youdie, holding her longsword, looked astonished. "How could this be...?"

When she ambushed Che Lin, she had expected a major battle. After all, Che Lin's strength was not to be underestimated, and even deep within the Insect Hive, it wouldn't be easy for her to eliminate him.

She had initially planned for Lu Ye and her two direct descendants to deal with the other Fusion Realm cultivators and then assist her in killing Che Lin together.

Yet, in reality, she had succeeded with surprising ease. The Insect Race Fusion Realm cultivator, whose strength was only slightly below hers, hadn't had a chance to resist.

When did Che Lin's strength become so weak?

No, that wasn't right. It wasn't that Che Lin had grown weak; he had previously fought Zi Ying several times. Although he had suffered losses, he had always managed to retreat unharmed. How could such strength be considered weak?

But Che Lin's performance just now could indeed be described as utterly vulnerable.

It wasn't just him; the other three Blood Race Fusion Realm cultivators were the same, easily dispatched by her two direct descendants.

The remaining two Insect Race members also fell to Lu Ye's lethal hand.

*Whoosh, whoosh...*

Two streaks of white light suddenly descended from the sky, landing on Lu Ye, who was enthusiastically collecting loot, causing Youdie and her two direct descendant Insect Race members to freeze in surprise.

Receiving two Star Abyss Blessings at once was truly unheard of.

"Don't just stand there, stick to the plan!" Lu Ye quickly gathered the spoils of war, then turned to look at Youdie and the two bewildered Insect Race Fusion Realm cultivators.

Youdie's two direct descendants were still standing foolishly in place. They had received prior notice that their Insect Mother planned to ambush the other Fusion Realm cultivators in the war zone, which they found hard to believe. However, under Youdie's command, they were utterly unable to resist.

They had expected this battle to be earth-shattering, never imagining it would end so easily.

As for the subsequent plan, they truly had no idea and all turned to look at Youdie's soul form.

Youdie sighed. Though somewhat unwilling, since she had already taken the first step, events were now beyond her control.

Immediately, her divine sense pulsed, issuing orders to her two direct descendants.

Both Insect Race Fusion Realm cultivators' expressions changed, and they stared at Youdie in disbelief.

"Go now!" Youdie's expression turned cold.

Only then did the two Insect Race members accept the order. "Yes!" they said, turning and darting away.

"Come!" Lu Ye gestured to Youdie.

Youdie showed some resistance. "Perhaps I should stay here..."

"Less talk!" Lu Ye glared at her.

"Alright," Youdie sighed, her form flashing as she entered Lu Ye's Spirit Sea.

The next moment, the space around Lu Ye began to distort.

Thirty breaths later, Lu Ye's figure suddenly appeared on the outskirts of the stronghold where Che Lin had been stationed. He instructed, "This area is yours!"

Youdie's soul form reappeared. Gazing at the many Insect and Blood Race members who had gathered within the stronghold due to her previous command, a flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. "Brother Ye, don't worry. Little Die has no way back now, so I definitely won't disappoint you."

"I hope so!" Lu Ye said indifferently, and the space around him distorted once more.

Youdie shot out from beside him and plunged into the stronghold. The next moment, the slaughter began. A peak Fusion Realm cultivator bursting into a stronghold full of Dao Entry cultivators was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

Another thirty breaths later, Lu Ye had arrived at a different stronghold. His figure flickered, and the Blood Sea unfurled, rapidly expanding to envelop the outpost.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, just one incense stick, as the Blood Sea receded, the entire stronghold fell into a deadly silence.

Lu Ye's true body stood in place, while his nine Blood Treasure clones dispersed to various locations, collecting Dao bones.

His Blood Treasure clones were not of much use in direct combat now, but they were perfectly capable of doing manual labor.

The reason he hadn't agreed to Youdie's earlier suggestion of summoning the Fusion Realm cultivators one by one and dealing with them separately was fear of complications and information leaks.

Ambushing them all together was undoubtedly more convenient for subsequent control. The deaths of the Fusion Realm cultivators in various strongholds had not yet been revealed, and the Dao Entry cultivators, under Youdie's prior command, had condensed their defenses and gathered in one place, making them ripe for slaughter.

A moment later, his nine Blood Treasure clones returned, and Lu Ye's gaze was already fixed on the next stronghold!

There were eight strongholds in the war zone. The two Insect Race direct descendants could each handle one, and Youdie, being stronger and faster, could likely handle two.

Therefore, Lu Ye himself needed to deal with a total of four strongholds.

The plan progressed smoothly. With each of Lu Ye's displacements, strongholds became rivers of blood.

Ultimately, some unexpected developments occurred. When Lu Ye finished with the third stronghold and was preparing to move to the last one, he "saw" that it was already empty. Looking deeper, many cultivators from the Insect and Blood Races were scattering and fleeing.

Lu Ye knew that the news must have leaked.

Those fleeing Insect and Blood Race members might not have known exactly what was happening, but they likely sensed something was amiss and hastily abandoned the stronghold.

Although he hadn't achieved complete success, Lu Ye was not dissatisfied. The current situation was within his expectations.

Without wasting time pursuing the fleeing enemies, which would be inefficient, Lu Ye instead turned his gaze towards the location of the Huangquan Battle Star.

His profound vision searched for a moment, then quickly settled on a short, white-haired old man.

Almost the instant his gaze landed on the old man, the latter, who had been sitting cross-legged in peace, suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze, like lightning, swept left and right. His white brows furrowed as he slowly spoke, "Which fellow Daoist has arrived? Please reveal yourself."

What strong perception!

Lu Ye secretly marveled. Indeed, peak Fusion Realm cultivators who could command a major war zone were not to be trifled with.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Huangquan!" Lu Ye's voice echoed in the old man's ears.

He had never met Huangquan, but he recognized him at a glance as the Chief Defender of this war zone.

Huangquan's brows furrowed even deeper. Although he had perceived Lu Ye's gaze, he couldn't pinpoint Lu Ye's location.

This was quite extraordinary.

What astonished him even more was how young Lu Ye's voice sounded.

When had such a figure appeared in Bānlán?

"What do I call you?" Huangquan asked in a deep voice. Although he detected no hostility, the feeling of being secretly observed was unsettling.

"Lu Ye."

"Lu Ye?" Huangquan's brow lifted. "Are you *that* Lu Ye?"

"If there's no one else with that name, then it must be me."

"May I ask, young friend, what business you have with this old man?"

"Fellow Daoist, you might send people to investigate the various strongholds of the Insect and Blood Races. There might be a pleasant surprise awaiting you."

"A pleasant surprise? What kind of surprise?" Huangquan asked, but there was no response. The feeling of being observed also vanished.