Chapter 2277: You Are Not Truly Harmonized

Repeated passive attacks gradually wore down Lu Ye and the others. Even though the Black Tortoise Formation remained unbroken, some of the Mad Lion's fierce attack power still impacted them. This level of power surpassed the Integration Path; not to mention the others, even Lu Ye's internal organs were a chaotic mess, and despite his powerful regenerative ability, he had sustained severe injuries.

Yan Zhixing, Chen Gushan, Ziying, and He Linglong — not a single one of them was unscathed. Yan Zhixing, in particular, bore the brunt multiple times whenever Lu Ye needed a moment to recover.

Lu Ye arguably bore the most pressure within the formation, followed by Yan Zhixing. However, Yan Zhixing's injuries were comparatively more severe because every time he stepped in, it involved a direct, brutal clash with the Mad Lion!

They held on tenaciously. The Black Tortoise Formation granted these Integration Path cultivators the bare minimum to contend with a Dao Convergence expert, serving as their hope for survival.

But such persistence, after all, had its limits.

Just twenty breaths after the formation was established, with another assault from the Mad Lion, violent power swept through it, and the intricately linked spiritual energy suddenly weakened.

A sound, as if something had snapped, echoed deep within everyone's minds...

The formation was broken!

Six figures were sent scattering and flying backward uncontrollably. Every face was etched with an expression of unwillingness, but this unwillingness quickly faded. They then furiously channeled their power to regain stability, and their scattered spiritual energy began to link back towards Lu Ye, hoping to reform the formation!

However, the next moment, a chill gripped their hearts.

Behind Yan Zhixing, a tall, burly figure suddenly appeared and unleashed a punch.

"No!" He Linglong screamed in terror.

Yan Zhixing's body stiffened abruptly, freezing him in place. He then lowered his head, gazing at a fist emerging from his chest, which clutched a beating heart.

"Ugh..." Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs sprayed from Yan Zhixing's mouth.

The large hand tightened, crushing the heart, and then slowly withdrew!

Yan Zhixing's face was as pale as paper, and his entire body went limp. The light in his eyes slowly dimmed, but just as it seemed about to vanish, a fierce flame suddenly reignited within them.

He raised both hands, fiercely seizing the fist as it began to withdraw. With a sudden lift of his head, he roared, "Quickly..."

His expression suddenly froze.

He saw Chen Gushan, his face cold, charging forward with his spear.

He saw He Linglong, lotus flowers swirling around her and her eyes blood-red, closely following Chen Gushan.

He also saw Ziying and Lu Ye, both bleeding profusely, arriving together as the distance rapidly closed.

"...escape."

Yan Zhixing finally finished his sentence, but he knew it was futile. Not only would his two old friends never abandon him, but even the two young ones displayed the resolve to fight to the death against their enemy.

Even if their opponent was a Dao Convergence expert who had demonstrated power that instilled despair, and was an insurmountable foe.

Yan Zhixing suddenly smiled.

This life... was worth it!

His power surged violently, clearly preparing to unleash a self-destructive secret art. However, the Mad Lion gave him no such chance, sending him flying with a single kick.

Chen Gushan and He Linglong charged in. Lotus flowers danced as powerful spells bombarded the Mad Lion, yet incredibly, they couldn't even break through its defenses.

Under the cover of the spells, Chen Gushan's spear struck out like a dragon. But the Mad Lion merely raised a hand, and Chen Gushan was sent flying like a rag doll. A desperate struggle from someone who could be considered a top-tier expert now seemed like that of an ant.

At the same time, the Mad Lion flicked a finger, sending a small beam of light towards He Linglong that directly pierced through her body.

He Linglong was sent flying in response.

"Die!"

Following closely behind Chen Gushan and He Linglong, Lu Ye and Ziying arrived together, launching a pincer attack.

As the Panshant Blade struck, not only did it fail to break through the Mad Lion's defenses, but the recoil left Lu Ye's arm numb. As the Mad Lion's fist closed in, in the blink of an eye, the Talent Tree clone suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the blow.

The clone shattered again. Lu Ye's main body was also sent flying a great distance by the aftermath of this blow, his whole body in immense pain, feeling as though his very being had been shattered. His numerous previous clashes with the Mad Lion while maintaining the formation had already left him severely wounded, but this latest injury significantly worsened his condition.

In his original position, You Die mysteriously remained, her soul power fluctuating wildly, and stabbed her long sword towards the Mad Lion.

However, the Mad Lion merely glanced over, and her soul body suddenly froze in place.

Against a powerhouse like the Mad Lion, a soul body without the protection of a physical form was utterly suppressed.

The Mad Lion raised a hand to seize You Die. If it succeeded, You Die would surely perish!

But at this critical moment, Ziying thrust out a spear and simultaneously pulled You Die to safety.

Blood splattered, and Ziying was startled.

Because her spear had actually pierced through the Mad Lion's protective power, impaling him straight through!

She had completely unexpected success. She couldn't believe she had managed it, as the power the Mad Lion had previously displayed was overwhelming, an absolute crushing force against everyone. How could such an opponent possibly be wounded?

The Mad Lion launched another punch, but the might of this punch was undoubtedly much diminished compared to before.

Ziying, however, dared not clash head-on and quickly dodged away.

The rapid, dazzling exchange of blows was bewildering. Every single person present was severely wounded, with only Ziying remaining in the best condition.

Even the Mad Lion was injured.

Lu Ye and the others barely maintained their stances, staring blankly at the Mad Lion, their eyes filled with doubt and vigilance.

Yet no one dared to attack rashly again.

The previously noisy battlefield suddenly fell silent.

The Mad Lion lowered its head to examine its injuries, then raised a hand and sighed softly, "Time's up..."

No one knew what he meant by that sentence, but the next moment, something incredible happened.

A phantom figure suddenly emerged from the Mad Lion. It wasn't the Mad Lion at all, but another beast race's form, and from its beastial traces, this being appeared to be of the canine race.

With each step, his figure became increasingly faint, as if being repelled from this space by some mysterious force.

His gaze shifted, finally landing on Lu Ye. "I will wait for you in the Inner Realm. The grudge of Boundless City will not be settled so easily."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he mysteriously vanished. Even though Lu Ye and the others had been watching him closely, they still couldn't discern how he had disappeared.

This scene left everyone utterly perplexed.

"Ah..." A shrill, agonizing scream suddenly rent the air, like a lion's roar, yet it was the Mad Lion. He seemed to be enduring immense pain; his flesh and blood suddenly began to tear apart, inch by inch. He was already a bloody mess, and his current state was even more tragic.

Not only that, but the awe-inspiring aura he once possessed had suddenly withered, and was continuously weakening.

He finally regained his senses, a look of terror in his eyes, and turned to flee.

However, a figure had already blocked his path; it was Lu Ye, who had swiftly moved to intercept him.

Although Lu Ye was in a very poor state, the Mad Lion appeared even worse by comparison.

He looked at Lu Ye with fear and apprehension, a trace of weakness appearing on his stern face as he spoke hoarsely, "Fellow Daoist, spare me. Boundless City holds no grudge against you; everything that happened before was a misunderstanding. I can help you plead with Patriarch Xiaoyue."

Lu Ye carefully examined him, slowly realizing, "So, you're not a Dao Convergence expert at all!"

The Mad Lion was startled. "Fellow Daoist, you see clearly. I... I am indeed not a Dao Convergence expert. Just now, the Patriarch merely borrowed my body to display his supreme majesty."

So that's how it is!

The trump card that Guimei had mentioned earlier turned out to be this.

Lu Ye and the others had always assumed the Mad Lion had achieved Dao Convergence breakthrough during the battle. But now it seems this fellow was no Dao Convergence expert; it was merely the so-called Patriarch Xiaoyue descending and using his physical body to unleash the power of Dao Convergence.

And that descent was likely just a projection of a fraction of his power.

As for Patriarch Xiaoyue's true strength, and how the Mad Lion managed to summon this trump card, Lu Ye had no way of knowing.

Looking at it now, it was most likely that after Boundless City's defensive formation was broken, the Mad Lion, knowing he was no match, hid and employed certain methods to summon his Patriarch.

That's why the Mad Lion was nowhere to be seen when they were causing chaos in Boundless City earlier.

And this Patriarch Xiaoyue must be a powerful individual who originated from Boundless City.

It's understandable. Boundless City had stood here for countless millennia; how could no Dao Convergence experts have emerged over such a long time? It's just that these Dao Convergence experts were not in Boundless City itself, but had gone to other places.

No wonder the Mad Lion had been under immense pressure. With the power of a Dao Convergence expert projected onto an Integration Path cultivator, the Mad Lion, even as a beast-race member, simply couldn't endure it. And as the group formed a formation to resist him, the pressure the Mad Lion endured would continually increase.

It could be said that the pressure on the Mad Lion was no less than Lu Ye's; in fact, it was arguably even greater.

This pressure eventually exceeded the Mad Lion's limit of endurance, causing Patriarch Xiaoyue's projection to become unsustainable. The group's resistance and defiance during this period significantly shortened the duration of Xiaoyue's descent.

By Ziying's final spear strike, Xiaoyue's projection was already difficult to maintain, which is why its defenses were finally broken.

Realizing this, Lu Ye's heart was filled with relief.

Fortunately, the Mad Lion had not broken through during the battle; otherwise, they would have been in serious trouble this time. And fortunately, they had formed the Black Tortoise Formation and held out for so long...

"Where is the Inner Realm?" Lu Ye didn't immediately kill the Mad Lion, partly to understand more about Xiaoyue, and partly to inquire about this so-called Inner Realm.

Xiaoyue's parting words weighed heavily on him. The immense animosity forged with Boundless City this time was surely irreparable, and being targeted by a true Dao Convergence expert was not something to take lightly. Lu Ye had to take precautions.

"The Inner Realm is the deeper part of the Star Abyss," the Mad Lion hastily explained, "and its counterpart is the Outer Realm, which is where we are now..."

Lu Ye suddenly recalled that at the very beginning, after Xiaoyue had descended, he seemed to have muttered something about the Outer Realm. However, at that moment, Lu Ye had been focused on guiding everyone to form the formation and hadn't had much mind to pay attention.