Chapter 2308: Heart Knot

At that critical moment, Song Weiwei launched a desperate attack on Ice Origin. The Shadow Clan female cultivator, completely unprepared, could have easily killed Song Weiwei, but it would have meant her own demise. As the danger emerged behind her, she felt the call of death.

The choice was obvious.

The Shadow Clan woman immediately abandoned Song Weiwei, turning to confront the powerful enemy who had suddenly appeared.

A short blade slashed from her hand, directly intercepting the incoming blade light.

The instantaneous clash made the Shadow Clan cultivator’s expression grave, realizing that the soldier cultivator who ambushed her was, if not at the peak of Fusion Dao, very close to it.

Their strength was evenly matched.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, her grave expression turned to horror. The long blade in her opponent's hand was vibrating intensely, colliding with her Dao weapon four or five times in a single instant.

If that were all, it would have been manageable. But the critical point was that with every collision, there was an outpouring of Dao Annihilation power.

She simply couldn't withstand such a furious assault!

Her body reeled back, leaving her midsection exposed. The dark long blade slashed her, and the Shadow Clan member shrieked, taking the opportunity to retreat. She barely avoided being cut in half.

Her eyes trembled violently. It was unimaginable that a powerful cultivator like her, just a few Dao strengths short of the Fusion Dao peak, couldn't even withstand an instant of this soldier cultivator's assault.

She had fought other cultivators at the peak of Fusion Dao, and more than once. While her overall strength was indeed slightly inferior to theirs, it had been almost impossible for them to kill her. Even if she couldn't win, she could always escape, a skill the Shadow Clan excelled at.

But this time, she genuinely faced a life-or-death crisis.

Just like the Demon Clan member previously killed by Lu Ye using the Tremor Blade secret technique, she had never imagined that anyone in this world could unleash Dao power in such a manner!

Without any hesitation, the Shadow Clan member suddenly transformed into a mass of shadows and fled rapidly into the distance, abandoning her companion, Ice Origin.

She could feel that if she didn't leave immediately, she would surely die!

At such a critical juncture, who could possibly care about companions?

As Lu Ye suddenly appeared and attacked the Shadow Clan female cultivator, Song Weiwei’s killing move also enveloped Ice Origin. This was Song Weiwei's desperate, all-out strike; she had not expected to survive it.

So, even though her strength was somewhat inferior to Ice Origin’s, he dared not meet her attack head-on. In a flash, a visibly cold aura flowed from within him, rapidly encasing him in ice.

The blood-colored sword dragon roared past. Song Weiwei’s face was extremely pale, and though she stared wide-eyed ahead, her gaze soon dimmed.

Ice Origin was now encased in a solid block of profound ice. Its surface bore the marks of the rampaging sword dragon, yet he remained completely unharmed.

However, Ice Origin, perfectly intact due to his secret technique, now looked terrified, having just witnessed Lu Ye driving away the Shadow Clan female cultivator!

He was well aware of his companion's strength. For her to have fled after just one clash with that soldier cultivator indicated how terrifying the soldier cultivator’s power must be.

So, he swiftly dispelled the secret technique that had encased him, intending to escape before Lu Ye could react, lest his fate turn dire.

*Crack!*

As the profound ice shattered, Ice Origin began to retreat. However, at that very moment, an astonishing sword gleam, like a flash of light, shot towards him from behind.

"How are there more people?" Ice Origin exclaimed, paling with shock.

He hastily turned, his body radiating intense cold. With a raised hand, he pointed, and a massive ice prism shot towards the sword light.

The moment they touched, both the sword light and the ice prism shattered.

Ice Origin, however, froze in place, not daring to make another move…

Three figures formed a triangle, trapping him in the center. What slightly surprised him was that, besides the human female sword cultivator, the remaining two male cultivators looked exactly alike. The only difference was that one held a long blade, while the other carried a gourd-shaped treasure.

Twins?

With no time to ponder, Ice Origin only knew that he was now in grave peril.

Meanwhile, Song Weiwei’s previously desolate eyes now shone with an unusual brilliance. She had initially launched her desperate attack with no intention of surviving, knowing full well that her strike likely wouldn’t kill Ice Origin. Her true purpose had been to seek death!

But she had never expected that Lu Ye had secretly followed her. Now, he had not only driven away the Shadow Clan female cultivator but had also cut off Ice Origin’s escape route.

Having spent half a month together, she had never seen Lu Ye’s clone before and didn't understand what was happening, but it was clearly not the time to ask questions.

She reached out and beckoned, and her Dao artifact longsword, which had flown far off, immediately flew back into her hand. Her face slightly pale, she raised her sword and, without a word, attacked Ice Origin.

Lu Ye's main body and clone naturally didn't stand idly by; they immediately joined her attack.

Attacked from three sides, Ice Origin, though formidable, could not fight alone; even escape became a luxury.

About a quarter of an hour later, the heavily wounded Ice Origin was pierced through the heart by Song Weiwei's sword. The Dao power within the Dao artifact erupted violently, wreaking havoc inside Ice Origin's body and causing his vitality to plummet.

The reason it took so long was primarily because neither Lu Ye's main body nor his clone had attacked with full force; they had merely provided support from the sidelines.

He could, of course, perceive Song Weiwei's hatred for Ice Origin, surmising that she had come specifically to seek revenge. Since it was an act of vengeance, it would naturally be more satisfying for her to strike the killing blow herself, allowing her to fully vent her emotions.

In any case, she was his companion, and for better future coexistence and cooperation, investing some effort now was worthwhile.

If not for these considerations, why would Lu Ye have secretly followed Song Weiwei here?

The main reason was that finding a suitable companion wasn't easy; otherwise, he wouldn't concern himself so much with others' affairs.

At that critical moment, Ice Origin showed no sign of begging for mercy. Instead, he spat a mouthful of blood at Song Weiwei, grinning maliciously. "Who was that to you? Before I killed them, I had a good few days of fun!"

The hatred in Song Weiwei’s eyes solidified, then erupted like a volcano!

Her longsword was pulled out, releasing a spray of blood mist. The sword light grew fierce, forming a net of swords that enveloped Ice Origin.

Lu Ye stood by, allowing her to vent her rage. His main body and clone remained vigilant nearby, knowing that Ice Origin, in his current state, could no longer cause any trouble.

The only thing that truly concerned Lu Ye was the implication of Ice Origin’s words.

In his mind, the animosity between Song Weiwei and Ice Origin was merely due to a fallen companion. However, under typical circumstances, even the death of a companion wouldn't provoke such a violent reaction from Song Weiwei.

They were all temporary companions, lacking deep emotional bonds.

Unless Song Weiwei and her companion were from the same place and had known each other for a long time—perhaps as relatives, or senior and junior martial siblings.

This wasn't impossible. Among the fifty thousand-plus Fusion Dao cultivators, there would inevitably be some who were already acquainted.

But if that were the case… then Ice Origin’s preferences were truly unique.

"He even had a few days of fun?"

Lu Ye was puzzled.

Ice Origin finally died, his body shattering and vanishing, yet Song Weiwei seemed oblivious, still wildly swinging her sword.

Lu Ye frowned.

Only after a long while did she stop, as if all strength had drained from her body. Then she turned to look at Lu Ye, her expression an unrecognizable mix of what seemed to be crying and laughing, looking utterly terrible.

Lu Ye slowly shook his head and left her be. He merely collected the Star Abyss coin, then flew off in a certain direction.

He could tell that Song Weiwei’s emotional burden ran deep. He could help her kill Ice Origin, but such inner turmoil could only be resolved by the individual themselves; he couldn't assist with that.

In her current state, Song Weiwei was no longer suitable as a companion. If he were to truly cooperate with her in combat, she might become a burden at any moment and potentially derail his own plans.

In any case, he had acquired a Star Abyss coin, so this trip wasn’t a loss.

He didn’t go far, simply finding a nearby spot to rest and recuperate, examining his own condition.

He had just used the Tremor Blade, another instantaneous outpouring of a thousand Dao powers. The flesh of his right arm was severely torn and needed to recover.

Although he had received numerous Star Abyss blessings recently, significantly strengthening his foundation, and his own strength had greatly improved since the last time he used the Tremor Blade, the resulting burden hadn't lessened much. In fact, had it not been for the recent enhancements from the Star Abyss blessings, the after-effects of this use would likely have been far more severe.

If not for this reason, he would have had a complete opportunity to eliminate the Shadow Clan woman as well.

Logically, the wounds inflicted by the Fanged Blade retained residual LiAo power. If the distance wasn’t too great, Lu Ye could have used this to sense her location and pursue her.

However, the enemies Lu Ye currently faced were too powerful. While LiAo power was indeed uncanny, Fusion Dao cultivators always possessed methods to neutralize it.

Thus, shortly after the Shadow Clan woman fled, Lu Ye could no longer sense any residual LiAo power; it had undoubtedly been dispelled or neutralized by her.

He wondered if this situation would change once he advanced to Fusion Dao and nurtured the Fanged Blade.

Sensing a presence nearby, Lu Ye knew without checking that Song Weiwei had followed him.

He paid her no mind, continuing his recovery.

Song Weiwei walked a short distance away and quietly sat down, also focusing on her recovery. Her injuries were not severe, but her energy was greatly depleted, and extreme emotional fluctuations were particularly draining on the mind, even for a Fusion Dao cultivator.

After a good half day, Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes. The lacerations on his right arm had fully healed and would not impact his next move.

Song Weiwei, not far away, noticed. She stood up, walked over to Lu Ye, and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

If Lu Ye hadn't secretly followed her this time, she wouldn't have just failed to get revenge; she would have died. Therefore, her gratitude was heartfelt and sincere.

Lu Ye glanced at her calmly. "If you truly wish to die, I can grant that for you. We have, after all, cooperated for a time, so it would be better for me to do it than for others."

Song Weiwei smiled. "If that day truly comes, Senior Brother, please be decisive. I'm actually a little afraid of pain."

Lu Ye also smiled. *Alright*, he thought, *if she can say something like that, she probably doesn't want to die anymore.*

To reach Fusion Dao, one's mental fortitude couldn't be too poor. Some things, once understood, are truly understood; but if one couldn't grasp them, nothing anyone else said would help.

"Senior Brother, could you listen to my story?" Song Weiwei suddenly asked.

"I have nothing else to do anyway. Speak, and I will listen!"