Chapter 2295: Dao Body

After a moment, the female cultivator on alert outside the realm fragment suddenly received a message from her companion. Her expression changed in surprise, and she quickly flew towards her companion's location.

She flashed into a hidden spot.

She immediately saw her companion, as well as a figure lying in a pool of blood not far away. It was the enemy they had been pursuing earlier, who had subsequently been taken away by her companion. At this moment, the enemy's clothes were torn to shreds, and their pale body was covered in wounds and filth from torture. Most of the wounds showed signs of being bitten. With wide eyes, the enemy seemed to be on their last breath, close to death.

The female cultivator averted her gaze in disgust. Not long after forming a partnership with her companion, she had discovered his cruel inclinations. In any other setting, she would have found it intolerable, but in these circumstances, despite her revulsion, it was best not to fall out with him. Some things were better left unseen.

“What happened?” she asked, stepping forward and casually delivering a blow that ended the tortured enemy’s life.

The male cultivator, however, looked excitedly at the empty space ahead. “Look, is there a formation here?”

The female cultivator paused, then carefully examined the area. “Indeed, there are traces of a formation covering this place.” In terms of formation mastery, she was much more skilled than her companion, making it easy for her to spot clues.

“Attack!” the male cultivator exclaimed, invigorated. As he spoke, he fiercely channeled his Dao power and struck forward. A formation implied someone was hidden inside, and despite his earlier commotion outside, the hidden party hadn't reacted. This clearly indicated that the cultivator in the formation was not strong and therefore dared not show themselves. This was a good hunt!

When he made his move, his female companion didn't hesitate and attacked alongside him.

To their surprise, although the formation there was decent, it didn't seem primarily designed for defense but rather for warning. Thus, they easily broke through it.

A large, dark, oval-shaped cocoon came into their view.

“What is this?” the female cultivator exclaimed in astonishment. She had expected a cultivator involved in the contest to be hiding in the formation, but instead, there was only this cocoon.

The male cultivator was also taken aback. Things were not going as expected, which made him somewhat displeased. He extended his divine sense to probe, finding no signs of life within the cocoon. Upon closer inspection, the cocoon appeared to be formed from a large amount of congealed blood, which had turned dark crimson after solidifying and drying.

“Could this be some sort of rare treasure?” A thought sparked in the male cultivator’s mind, invigorating him.

He had a reckless personality, and the thought of treasure within the cocoon made him impatient. He immediately punched out, shattering the cocoon.

What met his eyes, however, astonished him. There was no treasure within the cocoon, only a dried corpse! But how could there be a dried corpse in such a place?

After a brief contemplation, the male cultivator strode forward to examine it, but the female cultivator quickly called out, “Be careful!”

Although she disliked her temporary companion’s personality and habits, his strength was undeniable. Since they had already teamed up, she naturally didn't want any mishap to befall him.

The male cultivator waved his hand dismissively and approached the dried corpse. His eyes lit up, and he reached out to grasp a long saber from the corpse’s waist.

He drew the saber from its sheath and examined it briefly, a slight frown creasing his brow. The saber felt very strange to him; it resembled a Dao weapon but also didn't. In all his years of cultivation, he had never encountered such a blade.

Then he removed a storage ring from the dried corpse’s hand and eagerly examined it.

He had expected to have to break some sealing spell or lock, but to his surprise, the storage ring had no such restrictions. He probed it with his divine sense and frowned, muttering, “This poor?”

There was nothing of value inside the storage ring, only some worthless miscellaneous items. He had truly never seen such a poor cultivator. Could this person have been a native of this fragmented starfield?

Having gained nothing of value, the male cultivator casually brushed his hand, as if intending to shatter the dried corpse in front of him to vent his dissatisfaction, then turned to leave.

He had only taken two steps when he saw his companion ahead, eyes wide, staring in surprise behind him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked curiously, turning to look. His body froze.

The dried corpse had fallen to the ground but still maintained its cross-legged posture, not shattering as expected. Instead, the dull, lifeless skin on its surface completely crumbled under his recent brush, and a dazzling golden light erupted from the fractured areas!

The male cultivator turned back and exchanged a look with his companion. Immediately, both of them, filled with renewed interest, approached the dried corpse. After some effort, the corpse had transformed dramatically.

Seated cross-legged before them was a complete skeleton, glowing with dazzling, radiant golden light, as if forged from pure gold. Strangely, even without any flesh or blood, the skeleton showed no signs of disarray. It seemed as though an invisible force held the golden bones tightly together.

Beyond his astonishment, the male cultivator was more perplexed. No matter how he examined it, he couldn't understand why the skeleton didn't fall apart.

The female cultivator, on the other hand, seemed to have realized something. Her expression suddenly turned solemn, and she softly murmured, her eyes filled with an incredulous look.

“What did you say?” the male cultivator asked, having not clearly heard his companion’s words.

The female cultivator composed herself and then said, “Brother Dao, this is probably a Dao Body!”

The male cultivator was startled. Although his knowledge wasn't as profound as hers, he had at least heard whispers of secrets concerning higher realms. He was instantly shocked. “Are you saying this was left behind by someone who achieved Dao Unification after death?”

“More than that, it’s at least the pinnacle of Dao Unification!” This was already a complete Dao Body, without any deficiencies, undoubtedly a sign of a perfect Dao Body. Only a practitioner at the pinnacle of Dao Unification could achieve this.

Neither of them could understand why a Dao Body left behind by a practitioner at the pinnacle of Dao Unification would appear in this fragmented starfield, a place meant for the Sons of the Star Abyss to contend.

The female cultivator felt uneasy. “Brother Dao, let’s leave quickly. I have a bad feeling about this.”

The male cultivator strongly agreed. “I’ll take him first!” No one could ascertain how much Dao power remained within such a Dao Body. However, the pure golden light emanating from it alone suggested that the Dao power within would be immense. This was undoubtedly very valuable to both of them.

The male cultivator attempted to store the Dao Body in his storage ring, but he was unsuccessful. Carrying it away directly was even more unrealistic; taking such a Dao Body out would inevitably attract unwanted attention.

“Let’s dismantle him together!” the male cultivator called out, immediately beginning to act. The female cultivator hesitated; though still uneasy, she clearly didn't want to give up on this Dao Body either, so she promptly assisted.

Their combined strength was considerable, and working together, they quickly managed to detach one of the Dao Body’s ribs.

The male cultivator was delighted and was about to put it away when he suddenly felt something was amiss. He looked up, his gaze meeting the empty eye sockets of the Dao Body. Despite having no flesh, blood, or eyeballs, he was overcome with a chilling sensation, as if the Dao Body were staring directly at him!

“Watch out!” the female cultivator cried out in alarm, instantly drifting backward.

The male cultivator also instinctively reacted.

However, in the next instant, both of them froze in mid-air, their faces contorted in terror. The golden skeleton, devoid of any life, had eerily begun to move with incredible speed. They were both seized by large hands that clamped around their necks, lifting them into the air like two small chickens.

Despite their cultivation at the sixth stage of Dao Fusion, their struggles and resistance were futile. The gleaming golden skeletal hands remained unmoving, holding them firmly in place! What horrified them even more was a faint trace of life that suddenly emanated from the skeleton. This person... was not dead!

“Senior… spare us!” The female cultivator’s face flushed crimson as she struggled to plead for mercy. Deep regret filled her heart. She had felt uneasy much earlier but had allowed herself to be blinded by the temptation before her. Had she known this would be the outcome, she would not have stayed. Now they were truly doomed. Facing a powerhouse at least at the pinnacle of Dao Unification, even if all fifty thousand Dao Fusion cultivators gathered, it likely wouldn't be enough to stand against them, let alone just her. She felt a slight doubt, though, for while the senior's power was beyond her ability to resist, it didn't seem as overwhelmingly strong as she had imagined…

She had no more time to think, for as the skeleton's two large hands suddenly exerted force, she and her companion simultaneously met their demise. Two blessings from the Star Abyss descended almost at the same time.

Lu Ye felt somewhat strange… because he still hadn’t figured out what had happened.

After a brief recollection, he remembered that following the perfection of his Dao Bones, his Blood Race lineage had undergone an explosive awakening, after which some changes had occurred within him. He had previously entered an almost ethereal state, completely unaware of his surroundings, only recovering from it when alerted by something unusual.

With one “glance,” he saw the two cultivators before him. The situation was unclear, so naturally, he chose to act preemptively and kill them.

Only after dealing with the two cultivators did Lu Ye have time to examine himself. What he saw was astonishing…

How had he ended up like this? He had no flesh or blood, only a body of Dao Bones. If he were to walk out like this, no one would question him impersonating a Bone Clan member. Moreover… he noticed that one of his ribs was missing.

It was precisely where the male cultivator’s body had disappeared after death. He finally understood what had startled him, and he was momentarily speechless and amused. He never imagined that while he was still alive, someone would actually try to dismantle his bones.

With a lift of his hand, he recalled the rib and perfectly reintegrated it into his abdominal cavity.

Although his appearance was bizarre, Lu Ye felt no discomfort. In fact, compared to before, he felt even more enlightened.

Fortunately, this strangeness was only temporary, as Lu Ye could feel a vast life force rapidly brewing within his bone marrow, flowing to all parts of his body.