Chapter 2273: Golden Ape

The eight Blood Avatar clones had completed their mission. The grand arrays in the hundreds of bone pools had all been destroyed. The defensive grand array of Boundless City had lost its power supply from the bone cups and could no longer sustain itself.

Ghost Moth was currently fighting Demon Slayer, and the battle between the two peak Dao Integration realm experts was extremely fierce. In such circumstances, the Blood Avatars were of no use. So, Lu Ye took advantage of the Star Abyss's blessing to directly teleport all eight Blood Avatars over. He himself left that location, using the Void Dao Markings to go to where his Talent Tree Avatar was.

Although Tiger Heart couldn't understand the full implications, since Fierce Lion had already spoken, he naturally wouldn't doubt him. He immediately set off, intending to move towards Golden Ape's location to provide support. However, he soon noticed something unusual. Lu Ye's seven Blood Avatars were surprisingly scattered around him, trailing him from a distance, and he didn't know what they were up to. Even when Tiger Heart attacked again, destroying several avatars, the remaining ones only moved slightly further away from him.

Just moments before, the Talent Tree Avatar was clashing with Golden Ape. However, it was less a clash and more a one-sided beating. There was a significant disparity in their strengths. By Lu Ye's estimation, after Golden Ape activated his Dao Soldier, his power was roughly equivalent to 230 Dao patterns, about 10% stronger than Lu Ye's full-power burst. Such a gap was difficult to bridge with combat experience and techniques, especially since the Talent Tree Avatar didn't have a suitable weapon. Fortunately, the avatar's mission was simple: not to kill the enemy, but merely to delay!

Golden Ape was also incredibly frustrated. He hadn't gained an advantage against Yan Zhixing and the others earlier, and he had expected dealing with Lu Ye to be easy, but it turned out not to be the case at all. The more this happened, the more annoyed he became. Suddenly, the Talent Tree Avatar paused slightly, as if interfered with. Golden Ape would not miss such an opportune moment; he furiously channeled his Dao power and unleashed a powerful strike. The Talent Tree Avatar flew high like a kite with a broken string, half of its body torn to shreds. This time, it truly took a heavy blow. Golden Ape's eyes lit up, and just as he was about to press the attack to finish it off, he suddenly saw a flash of light beside the Talent Tree Avatar, and a figure abruptly appeared.

Golden Ape was startled, instinctively wary. He focused his gaze and realized it was another Lu Ye, though he couldn't tell if it was the true body or an avatar. After the main body teleported over, it went straight to confront Golden Ape. The Talent Tree Avatar took the opportunity to disengage from the battle and rushed towards the nearby array base hall. Golden Ape was stunned, never expecting such an outrageous thing to happen. He had been intercepting Lu Ye perfectly, even gaining a decisive advantage during their engagement, and he couldn't understand how another Lu Ye had suddenly appeared. "Where was Tiger Heart? What was he doing?"

"Stop him! We cannot lose another array base!" Fierce Lion's anxious roar echoed in his ears. Three array bases had already been destroyed; if another was lost, there would truly be no turning back. Golden Ape also understood the gravity of the situation, but to stop the avatar, he had to break through the main body's interception. Even if the main body was not as strong as him, it could certainly stall him for a moment. A few breaths later, amidst Golden Ape's indignant roars, the fourth array base hall was destroyed, and a Dao Integration realm cultivator who had rushed there was also slain by the avatar. Another white light descended, but even though it was the avatar who killed the enemy, this Heavenly Opportunity blessing still fell upon the main body.

"I'll kill you!" Golden Ape roared furiously. With the loss of the array base hall, his mission had undoubtedly failed. Now, there was only one thing he could do: kill Lu Ye, then go support Demon Slayer, and weaken the enemy's strength as much as possible before Boundless City's grand array was breached, making a comeback still possible. Moreover, he could sense that Tiger Heart's aura was rapidly approaching. In just over ten breaths, he would be able to rendezvous with him. With their combined strength, this human would certainly be powerless to resist.

Almost simultaneously with Golden Ape's roar, the Blood Avatars that had been scattered around, trailing Tiger Heart, suddenly began to close in on him. Tiger Heart paid no mind to these Blood Avatars. He had already destroyed several of them earlier, so he naturally knew they were more for show than for use. He wondered why they were making such an active move to their own demise now. With a raised hand, he unleashed Dao power, and one by one, the Blood Avatars shattered. In an instant, all the avatars were shattered, turning into blood mist.

However, at that very moment, the blood mist left by the last avatar began to twist and transform, condensing into an intricate and complex Dao Mark! The Dao Mark pulsed, and a tattered figure abruptly appeared! It was none other than the Talent Tree Avatar, only a few hundred zhang from Tiger Heart! Tiger Heart sensed something amiss and turned his head to look, only to find that the Talent Tree Avatar had already used its dash ability and was closing in for the kill. He was shocked. He had previously fought Lu Ye and knew he was no match. He had intended to rush to Golden Ape's side to rendezvous with him, but somehow Lu Ye had returned. However, unlike the Lu Ye he had just fought, this one had no blade and appeared to be seriously injured.

Tiger Heart's mind became active, and he vaguely felt this was a good opportunity to strike while the enemy was weak, and even kill them. Whether it was the true body or an avatar, destroying it would surely greatly weaken that human. But he quickly changed his mind, because along with the Talent Tree Avatar, the formidable main body, wielding the Mountain-Shattering Saber, had also teleported over!

On the other side, Golden Ape, who had suddenly lost his opponent, was dumbfounded. Lu Ye's main body and avatar repeatedly teleported and dashed, their movements dizzying him. He had initially held the upper hand and could easily intercept Lu Ye, but now not only had another array base hall been destroyed, but his opponent had also suddenly vanished.

And after receiving another reminder from Fierce Lion, Golden Ape's pupils contracted. A cloud of blood mist burst around him, and he sped at full throttle towards Tiger Heart to provide aid. Not only that, but almost all Dao Integration realm cultivators within Boundless City received Fierce Lion's command and were rushing towards Tiger Heart. Throughout Boundless City, Fierce Lion and Demon Slayer were the strongest, both at the peak of Dao Integration. Below them was Golden Ape, just a step away from the two peak Dao Integration cultivators. And below him was Tiger Heart. One could say Tiger Heart was the fourth strongest in Boundless City, and being of beast origin, he absolutely could not be lost.

At this very moment, Tiger Heart was in a sorry state. He was already no match for Lu Ye's main body, and now with the addition of the Talent Tree Avatar, he was overwhelmed. In just a short while, his body was covered in wounds. He could only fight like a trapped beast, hoping for reinforcements. In his perception, Golden Ape was getting closer and closer, and should arrive to aid him in just five breaths.

One breath...Two breaths...Three breaths...

Tiger Heart had never felt time pass so slowly. Fortunately, after three breaths, he saw Golden Ape's figure in his peripheral vision.

Boom...

A deafening sound erupted, and the entire Boundless City shook violently. All the Dao Integration realm cultivators rushing to aid were startled. They looked up, their minds reeling. The protective grand array that had long enveloped Boundless City had shattered! Four powerful auras, completely undisguised, swept in from four directions. Each aura was no weaker than their own city lord. Every single Dao Integration realm cultivator in the city, without exception, turned ashen.

For tens of thousands of years, since Boundless City was established here, it had never experienced anything like this. The defensive grand array, a source of pride for all beastkind, had actually been breached today. It was true that the enemies were strong, but if there hadn't been internal problems, how could four peak Dao Integration realm cultivators have achieved such a feat? It was precisely because of internal changes: first, the bone pools' power supply was cut off, and then four array bases were destroyed. Even the sturdiest grand array couldn't withstand such an assault. And now, four top human powerhouses had arrived with formidable might, added to the two who were already wreaking havoc within the city. What would Boundless City's future hold?

"Ah!" A scream suddenly rang out, coming from Tiger Heart. The moment Boundless City's protective grand array shattered, Tiger Heart was startled, but he at least knew his own situation was dire, so he wasn't too distracted. Compared to Boundless City's future, his primary concern was his own survival. However, as Lu Ye vibrated the Mountain-Shattering Saber in his hand, the numerous wounds on Tiger Heart's body suddenly burst open simultaneously, as if invisible hands were tearing them apart. Blood flowed profusely. This bone-chilling pain was not truly unbearable for him, but what horrified him was that Lu Ye clearly hadn't struck him again, yet why was this happening? Only at this moment did he suddenly realize that a strange power seemed to linger within his wounds. That momentary lapse in focus had already decided his fate!

First, the Talent Tree Avatar's full-power strike broke through Tiger Heart's defensive power, followed by the main body's diagonal slash with the long saber. A head flew into the air. Tiger Heart's body swayed slightly, froze in place, and blood gushed like a fountain from his neck. The fourth strongest expert of Boundless City was dead!

Lu Ye didn't even have time to clean up the battlefield and collect his spoils. Immediately after slaying Tiger Heart, he and the Talent Tree Avatar darted away, one to the left and one to the right. For no other reason than Golden Ape had already charged over! Not only that, but many other Dao Integration realm cultivators' auras were approaching from all directions. The main body and avatar working together were not afraid of a single Golden Ape, but if other Dao Integration realm cultivators joined in, it would be different. If he were besieged, he wouldn't fare well.

Now that Boundless City's defensive grand array had been breached, Yan Zhixing and the others had entered. It was up to those elders to show their capabilities! He didn't need to confront Golden Ape at all. What he needed to do was slay more of the less powerful Dao Integration realm cultivators! Another Star Abyss blessing descended upon him. Golden Ape watched, his eyes nearly splitting with rage. Just a little bit, that tiny bit, and he could have saved Tiger Heart. But precisely that small difference meant eternal separation, how could he accept that? And looking back at today's confrontation with Lu Ye, he felt as if he had been completely played by Lu Ye, resulting in the array bases being undefended and Tiger Heart's death. What infuriated him even more was that every time this human killed one of their Dao Integration realm cultivators, he received a Star Abyss blessing. "Why would the great and profound will of the Star Abyss show such favoritism towards a despicable human?" This was what he found most incomprehensible.