Chapter 2299: Thirty Years of East River West River and East River Again

If she couldn't be an ally, then she was an enemy!

The golden-haired woman's methods were too strange. She was arguably the strongest Dao Fusion cultivator Lu Ye had encountered so far, and her bizarre techniques posed a more intense threat to him than even a peak Dao Fusion cultivator.

Lu Ye's killing intent flared!

But soon, he shuddered as dozens of spiritual presences suddenly locked onto him. These were the many Dao Fusion cultivators who had been vying for the treasure earlier. After the Body Cultivator was rescued by the golden-haired woman, they had followed the commotion of the struggle to this location.

“The rare treasure is in his hands!” The golden-haired woman pointed at Lu Ye, her golden eyes filled with annoyance. Was it easy for her to find a suitable companion? Certainly, many Dao Fusion cultivators participated in this struggle, but few met her requirements, and even fewer were encountered at the right time with an opportunity to negotiate. Comparatively, the Body Cultivator was undoubtedly more suitable for her than the previous one, and she felt she couldn't find a better companion. Yet, it hadn't been long... The previous one was killed by Lu Ye, and now, after finally finding another one, Lu Ye had killed him too. With this new and old grudge, she hated Lu Ye to the core. Seeing the many Dao Fusion cultivators approaching, she naturally didn't hesitate to alert them.

Instantly, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on Lu Ye, fierce as hungry wolves. He felt his scalp tingle. In fact, when he seized the bottle-shaped treasure, he had tried to store it in his spatial ring but found he couldn't. He couldn't even put it into the small Flower World on the back of his hand. Only then did he understand why the Body Cultivator hadn't put away the treasure; there were such restrictions. He wondered if this was due to an abnormality in the bottle itself or a rule of this struggle. With no time to investigate, Lu Ye tucked the bottle into his embrace, turned, and fled in one direction. He had no time to deal with the golden-haired woman. In this situation, escaping was paramount. Although his strength had vastly improved, he still couldn't fight off dozens of Dao Fusion cultivators alone.

A sense of crisis suddenly descended. Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Ye glimpsed the golden-haired woman raising her bow and drawing the string. Instantly, a powerful force struck his side. He stumbled... Although his defensive Dao power wasn't broken due to the strength disparity, the blow still caused him significant discomfort. Powerful cultivators from all directions closed in. Lu Ye dared not delay further. A cloud of blood mist erupted, enveloping him in a small blood-red cloud and obscuring his form.

“Leave the treasure, or die!” someone roared. Attack after attack swept towards him. When the blood cloud shattered, the many Dao Fusion cultivators were stunned, for two Lu Yes appeared in his place: one neatly dressed, the other completely naked... Lu Ye cursed inwardly, his expression mortified. Time was pressing; he had only managed to manifest his Talent Tree clone and had no time to dress it. So, he had been seen completely naked. A cloud of blood mist emerged from the clone, barely providing cover, and then it fled in a different direction from the main body.

“That one is the main body!” someone with sharp eyes shouted, pointing at the dressed main body. The main reason was that the rare treasure was hidden inside the main body's chest, creating a noticeable bulge that was easily spotted. Dozens of figures immediately pursued the main body into the distance. Only the golden-haired woman intently watched the clone fleeing in the other direction. She raised her bow, drew the string, and with her Dao power, a tiny golden arrow vanished from the bowstring in an instant.

The clone sensed danger and immediately activated its Dao power to protect itself. The attack struck, and its body shuddered as it blocked the incoming blow, yet the sense of crisis didn't dissipate. Just as the clone's guard slightly lowered, two more attacks arrived almost simultaneously. The opponent unleashed not one attack, but three! The first was merely a feint; the remaining two were the true killing blows. Even though the clone's strength was greater than the golden-haired woman's, this sudden turn of events gave it no time to react. Its protective Dao power was broken by the second attack, followed by a sharp pain in its backside... The fleeing clone immediately turned, glaring angrily at the golden-haired woman pursuing it, silently vowing, "I'll make you pay for this later." As they pursued and fled, the two figures quickly disappeared into the distance.

Meanwhile, the main body was being pursued by dozens of Dao Fusion cultivators and dared not turn back to fight. After fleeing for the duration of an incense stick, the main body suddenly stopped. It turned to look back at the pursuing Dao Fusion cultivators, memorizing each of their faces for future retribution. Void Dao patterns quickly materialized, spreading out beneath its feet. At that moment, the clone being pursued by the golden-haired woman also stopped, standing brazenly. A Void Dao pattern also spread out beneath its feet. It looked at the approaching golden-haired woman with a triumphant expression, thinking, "As the saying goes, 'thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west,' how will you deal with such a swift change of fortune!"

The golden-haired woman sensed something amiss and also paused. She stared at the Void Dao pattern beneath the clone's feet and suddenly realized Lu Ye's true intention. However, she showed no panic. She slowly raised her hand and, with a sweeping motion through the air towards the clone's location... It was as if she were wiping away something unclean. The clone's triumphant expression instantly turned to astonishment, because the already-formed Void Dao pattern suddenly became unstable and then shattered under her sweeping motion. This... The clone was dumbfounded. Since he had mastered Void Spirit runes, he had never encountered such a bizarre phenomenon. The golden-haired woman's strength was indeed weaker than his own. She hadn't shattered his Dao patterns with brute Dao power; she couldn't do that. Her sweeping motion twisted space! It twisted the space where his constructed Dao patterns resided, causing the Void Dao patterns to distort and shatter. What kind of technique was this? Honestly, this golden-haired woman brought Lu Ye too much novelty. From the previous situation alone, her mastery of spatial power was simply beyond his. Lu Ye hadn't deeply researched spatial power; he only mastered Void Dao patterns.

While the clone was astonished, the main body was drenched in cold sweat... Because dozens of attacks had enveloped him. Without the clone's support, he had no way to escape from there. He could only furiously channel power to protect himself, but in just an instant, he was severely wounded and spitting blood. He turned and ran. The clone also moved, charging directly at the golden-haired woman. This trouble had to be dealt with first, or the main body would be in grave danger! In terms of strength, the clone was also stronger than the golden-haired woman, so it had no fear of fighting her. The reason it fled earlier was simply to lull her into a false sense of security, waiting for the main body to arrive so they could figure out a way to capture her. Now that the situation had changed, there was no time for elaborate plans. He truly hadn't expected such a well-laid plan to be so thoroughly thwarted by the golden-haired woman.

The golden-haired woman evidently hadn't expected Lu Ye's clone to be so powerful. By conventional understanding, a clone shouldn't be able to exert the main body's full strength, which was why she had dared to pursue it so recklessly earlier. But only by engaging in combat did she realize that Lu Ye's clone was completely different from what she knew. In terms of strength alone, she was actually no match. Continuing this fight would surely lead to a terrible outcome. Crucially, Lu Ye's clone was stark naked, with only a wisp of blood energy swirling around it for meager concealment. During the fight, this blood energy couldn't consistently maintain enough coverage to hide its form, so the golden-haired woman saw much that was inappropriate... After only a brief exchange, she made a decision. Her figure suddenly drifted backward, and the space behind her began to twist. This scene was extremely familiar; the golden-haired woman had escaped in the same manner during their last encounter. Seeing this, the clone's spiritual sense surged, mixed with Dao power, and it began to construct Void Dao patterns in the distorted space from a distance! This was undoubtedly very difficult, but with the help of the Talent Tree, the clone could do it. Even though the patterns shattered as soon as they appeared due to the distortion of the void, this still disrupted the golden-haired woman's escape plan. Just as the golden-haired woman had done to the clone earlier, the clone was now giving her a taste of her own medicine! The effect was quite good. A look of astonishment appeared in the golden-haired woman's eyes. She clearly hadn't expected Lu Ye to learn so quickly and break her secret technique. With the space distorted, her escape technique could not be easily performed. This move truly was a case of harming the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred oneself! While Lu Ye's main body was still being pursued by many Dao Fusion cultivators, his clone was displaying great power, pushing the golden-haired woman to her limits. The suffering was shifting...

But Lu Ye soon couldn't hold on. The situation with his main body was too critical. Therefore, the clone deliberately exposed an opening, allowing the golden-haired woman to use her strange escape method and vanish. Without her interference, the clone finally had the chance to retrieve the main body. This fight left Lu Ye quite frustrated, but now he had somewhat found a way to counter the golden-haired woman, and her threat to him would undoubtedly be significantly reduced. If they met again, it would be her turn to suffer. If he had the chance, he should find and eliminate her as soon as possible.

The clone led the main body to a secluded spot to recuperate in peace. Only after his injuries had completely healed did Lu Ye have time to investigate the purpose of the rare treasure he had acquired. Investigating with great anticipation, he discovered that there was indeed some golden liquid in the bottle... As his spiritual sense perceived it, Lu Ye frowned. A moment later, he finally knew what the golden liquid was. This stuff was actually Dao power, but incredibly pure and concentrated Dao power—Lu Ye had truly never seen anything like it. For now, he could call it Dao Liquid. Upon consumption, it could quickly replenish one's Dao power reserves. Lu Ye drank all the Dao Liquid in the bottle in one gulp, and it replenished several thousand points of Dao power! Greatly disappointed! This was no rare treasure at all. Based on its function, it could be called a Dao Power Bottle. It seemed capable of automatically absorbing Dao power free in the surrounding space and condensing it into Dao Liquid to store in the bottle. It must be said, this Dao Power Bottle was actually quite useful, but only for other cultivators. Lu Ye didn't need it much; his Dao power reserves were already quite abundant. Why would he need this thing? What he truly hoped for was a rare treasure that could turn the tide of battle!