Chapter 2321: 抢占

Winds of the Nine Provinces

As winds rose across the Nine Provinces, Lu Ye turned his head and looked in that direction. Straining his sight, he clearly saw the figures enveloped in streams of light.

It was a combination of a burly man and a petite, delicate woman.

The reason he paid attention was that he had previously sensed the aura of this pair from afar, specifically during the time Su Yan had forcibly bound him as a companion. This pair had exerted considerable pressure on him at the time; they were undoubtedly formidable foes. However, the associated treasure that appeared then had been taken by a female ghost cultivator, which drew this pair away, so there was no direct confrontation. Lu Ye was unsure exactly how strong they were.

Now that four Dao Pools had appeared, their willingness to reveal themselves first clearly demonstrated immense confidence!

Lu Ye could only tell that the man likely belonged to the Solar Tribe; the characteristics of this race were quite distinct, as his entire aura shone like the sun. As for the petite woman's race, he couldn't discern it.

"We're going too!" Lu Ye decided, his thoughts racing. His own Dao power reserves were ample; in fact, if they utilized the 'Phoenixes Flying Together' Dao Sigil, Su Yan would also not lack Dao power. However, the final battle held many variables, and he couldn't guarantee he would always stay by Su Yan's side, so it was crucial for her to accumulate as much Dao power as possible. With four Dao Pools available, seizing one was no problem for him and Su Yan given their abilities! If they lacked even this much confidence, there was no point in aiming for the end.

As he finished speaking, Su Yan grabbed Lu Ye's arm and stepped forward. Her figure shifted, and the cosmos seemed to invert. Even though it wasn't his first time experiencing this, Lu Ye still found it remarkably strange. When he came to his senses again, they were already standing in a Dao Pool, surrounded by dense mist that was clearly condensed pure Dao power.

He immediately activated the power of his Talent Tree, voraciously absorbing the energy. At the same time, he placed a hand on Su Yan's back, forming the 'Phoenixes Flying Together' Dao Sigil. Su Yan conjured her longbow. She didn't immediately refine the surrounding Dao power but instead observed their surroundings with cold, beautiful eyes.

With two of the four appearing Dao Pools immediately occupied, the many hidden Dao Integration cultivators could no longer hold back. They emerged from their hiding spots and rushed towards the white jade platform. In an instant, the peaceful situation was shattered, and the scene grew intense.

Those who were closer undoubtedly had an advantage. Those further away found themselves in a difficult position; they had initially thought being further away would be safer, unaware such a change would occur.

Less than ten breaths after Lu Ye and Su Yan occupied the second Dao Pool, the other two Dao Pools were also taken by other Dao Integration cultivators.

However, the Dao Integration cultivators who had appeared did not stop their rush. Everyone knew that in this situation, even if they couldn't recover themselves, they couldn't allow others to recover peacefully, or it would only become more troublesome. All four Dao Pools were targeted by varying numbers of Dao Integration cultivators, who rapidly approached.

Quite a few came towards Lu Ye and Su Yan's side, easily several dozen. Grouped in twos, they moved with extreme tacit understanding, not interfering with each other.

Su Yan's expression was indifferent. She raised her bow, drew the string, and activated her Dao power. As a golden arrow materialized, it transformed into a flickering golden light and vanished. The closest Dao Integration cultivator's body trembled, his protective Dao power almost shattered. He broke out in a cold sweat because he hadn't even perceived how he was hit. With just that one strike, he recognized Su Yan's terrifying power. Such an enemy... he had to quickly close the distance to have any hope of winning. His combat experience was extensive, so he naturally assessed this point quickly. He immediately decided to activate an escape technique, but the very next moment, his body trembled again, his protective Dao power shattered, and he exploded.

His female cultivator companion turned in astonishment, just in time to witness her companion's death. Her face was filled with horror. Of course, she knew her companion's strength; throughout their time, they weren't without rivals, but even those stronger than them couldn't have killed him in such a short time. Yet, the woman with the bow in the Dao Pool had done it. She naturally realized it was because the archer woman's attack frequency was too fast, so fast that her companion couldn't form effective defenses. Thus, once his protective Dao power was broken, he died instantly.

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than the aura of death enveloped her. The female cultivator shrieked, attempting to retreat, but it was too late. Three points of golden light landed on her almost simultaneously. In the blink of an eye, she followed her companion to their demise.

From a distance, figures surged towards the Dao Pool where Lu Ye and Su Yan were, but as Su Yan continuously launched attacks, it was as if an invisible barrier stood before them. Any cultivator who touched this barrier instantly died, without exception.

One per breath... In just over ten breaths, more than ten Dao Integration cultivators were killed on the spot. None of these Dao Integration cultivators were below the Seventh Order; many were Eighth or Ninth Order, and some were even at the peak of Dao Integration. But no matter what kind of cultivator they were or what their strength, once targeted by Su Yan, death was inevitable.

Su Yan once again experienced this exhilarating feeling. Previously, constrained by her own Dao power reserves, she had to meticulously plan every strike. But now, with Lu Ye's support, she didn't need to overthink anything. If one arrow wasn't enough, then two; if two weren't enough, then three... Moreover, to quickly eliminate approaching enemies, almost every time she attacked, she fired three arrows simultaneously, consuming three hundred Dao power in that instant! Killing ten enemies required three thousand Dao power. In the past, she would have been unable to sustain that.

With her strength, the power of three arrows would kill everyone except those at the peak of Dao Integration who could perhaps resist it! She couldn't understand: how vast were Lu Ye's Dao power reserves? Because just a few months ago, she had already depleted at least ten thousand of his Dao power. And recently, she hadn't seen Lu Ye diligently cultivate to recover, nor had she seen him exchange Star Abyss coins for Dao Bones. It couldn't be infinite, could it? But undeniably, her combination with Lu Ye was a match made in heaven. There could be no one else in this world more suitable to be her companion than Lu Ye, because even someone stronger than Lu Ye wouldn't possess such Dao power reserves, let alone allow her to freely borrow from them.

A beam of white light suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping Su Yan. It turned out that by continuously killing so many enemies, she had received a Star Abyss Blessing. This was not uncommon for her, so she naturally didn't pay too much attention to it.

After Su Yan eliminated nearly twenty enemies, those Dao Integration cultivators who had attempted to seize the Dao Pool finally reacted. They retreated left and right, no longer daring to entertain such thoughts. Of course, they could see that Su Yan's attacks consumed a lot of Dao power and she might not be able to sustain them for long. However, no one was willing to gamble their life, as who knew how long she truly could last? In a short while, the ownership of one of the four Dao Pools had already been decided, entirely due to the terrifying destructive power displayed by Su Yan. As for the other three... the battles were extremely fierce.

Even the Solar Tribe member and his companion, who had initially seized the first Dao Pool, were subjected to a siege by a large number of Dao Integration cultivators. These two were indeed remarkable; even under siege, they weren't significantly disadvantaged. Their coordination complemented each other perfectly, and they even counter-killed several enemies, striking fear into the hearts of other Dao Integration cultivators.

The Dao Pool where Lu Ye was located was diagonally opposite the Solar Tribe's Dao Pool. He watched for a while before withdrawing his gaze because he could see that the Solar Tribe pair wouldn't be able to hold the Dao Pool. Even if they were very strong, two fists couldn't contend with four hands. Dozens of Dao Integration cultivators were besieging them, making it impossible to fight effectively. Forcibly staying would only increase the risk.

Lu Ye looked at the Dao Pool to his left. There were two quite interesting figures there, as they were a pair of Star Beasts! One looked like a jellyfish, with a transparent bell that seemed incredibly soft and bouncy. Beneath the bell were countless tentacles of varying lengths, writhing and twitching with terrifying might. Its companion, even stranger, seemed to be made of accumulated mud, without any distinct shape. Its body constantly surged and twisted, and countless attacks striking it only caused ripples to spread.

Lu Ye had seen many Star Beasts on the white jade platform since the competition began. In the days of slaughter, he had killed some himself. But he truly hadn't expected Star Beasts to still be surviving at this point in the competition. Just these two... which one was male and which one was female?

Looking to his right, there were no particularly striking presences, but Lu Ye actually saw two familiar faces among them: Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang.

"Did Senior Brother see an enemy?" Su Yan seemed to sense something from the side. "Should we deal with them first?" With her methods, if she struck covertly, very few could resist.

Lu Ye shook his head. "They're not really enemies. No need to bother. You focus on accumulating your Dao power; I'll keep watch." For now, it was safer for Su Yan to recover as much as possible. Moreover, their ability to securely occupy this Dao Pool was an excellent opportunity. No matter how fiercely others fought beside them, it wasn't his concern. Ideally, everyone else would battle to mutual destruction, allowing him and Su Yan to easily claim the final victory.

Indeed, just as Lu Ye had expected, the Solar Tribe member and his companion couldn't hold onto that Dao Pool. Under the siege of numerous Dao Integration cultivators, they had no choice but to retreat. Although they appeared disheveled, they were not injured.

As if sensing Lu Ye's gaze, the Solar Tribe member turned and looked at Lu Ye. Their eyes met, and he flashed a grin, seemingly unfazed by their recent experience.

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, considering how likely it would be for Su Yan to take them down if she attacked at this moment. But in the end, he held back. Such a powerful individual surely possessed extraordinary treasures. Lu Ye was reluctant to openly confront him before his treasures were revealed.

With the power of the Talent Tree activated, his own Dao power reserves rapidly increased. Not only that, Lu Ye also keenly noticed that the Dao Power Bottle in his possession was accumulating Dao Power Liquid at a significantly faster rate. This item required no effort on his part; merely carrying it allowed it to naturally absorb the surrounding ambient Dao power and condense it into Dao Liquid.