Chapter 2327: Are You Willing to Accompany Me?

"Fellow Daoist, hold on!" Far from the white jade platform, the Blood Clan cultivator, at the Integration Dao stage, pursued Su Yan, who was constantly fleeing. As he chased, he transmitted a message via divine sense: "Our companions have all fallen in battle. To survive now, our only option is to join forces!"

How unpredictable and transient events were! Just an incense stick's time ago, his mission was to hunt down Su Yan, and now he found himself forced to ally with her.

But there was no other choice. The power of an exotic treasure had helped Ri Yan deal with Lu Ye and the female insectoid cultivator. Now, even Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang were likely to meet a grim end.

Both the Blood Clan cultivator and Su Yan were now alone. The best course of action was naturally to partner up.

The Blood Clan cultivator had witnessed Su Yan's abilities. He believed that if he could partner with Su Yan, she would be far more effective than the deceased female insectoid cultivator.

He certainly didn't want to miss such a good opportunity, which was why he pursued her relentlessly.

What puzzled him was this: ever since he targeted Su Yan, she rarely attacked him, merely continuing to flee. Yet, her escape technique was incredibly profound; every time he tried to get closer, she would suddenly vanish.

Su Yan, who had been constantly fleeing ahead, heard his words. She seemed to finally react, slowly stopped, and turned to look at him.

The Blood Clan cultivator was overjoyed. To show sincerity, he also stopped.

Their current location was considered the edge of the stellar fragments. Further out lay the constantly swirling chaotic mist. However, these mists no longer devoured the stellar fragments, so the fragments would not dissipate further.

This position was now the furthest they could get from the white jade platform.

Su Yan stared intently at the Blood Clan cultivator. Her eyes held a pensive expression, as if she were considering the idea.

The Blood Clan cultivator relaxed. It was good that she was willing to talk; he had feared she wouldn't. Then again, who among those still alive wasn't someone with a stable temperament? Being enemies before was adapting to the situation; forming an alliance now was also adapting. Who wouldn't see through such a simple matter?

Ultimately, none of the participants in this competition held personal grudges. It was merely the rules that pitted all partnered teams against each other.

"Fellow Daoist, are you willing to join forces?" the Blood Clan cultivator asked again. There was no need for persuasion; he believed that anyone who wasn't a fool would agree.

As expected, after a brief contemplation, Su Yan nodded. "Very well!"

The Blood Clan cultivator smiled. "Then I'm coming over. Fellow Daoist, don't be alarmed. Given the current situation, I need to rely on you to survive, so I would never do anything to harm you!"

"I know," Su Yan replied, standing quietly without any defensive posture.

This demeanor clearly pleased the Blood Clan cultivator. He swayed and appeared not far in front of Su Yan. Just as he was about to say something else, his expression suddenly changed to one of alarm, and he exclaimed, "Watch out!"

Behind Su Yan, a faint aura suddenly manifested.

Someone was hidden here! And they were extremely well-concealed; if he hadn't gotten close enough, he truly wouldn't have discovered them.

Upon realizing, he prepared to unfurl his Blood Sea.

He didn't much care who was hidden here. Because anyone still hiding at a time like this couldn't be very strong. He was confident he could deal with them easily, and doing so would conveniently help him forge a closer bond with his new ally.

What he failed to notice, however, was that even after his warning, Su Yan remained unfazed, simply gazing calmly at him.

Then the Blood Clan cultivator's expression turned to horror. Because at that instant, an indescribable, terrifying pressure descended, engulfing him.

His blood instantly congealed within him. The Blood Sea he had intended to unfurl could not be activated. Only faint wisps of blood qi seeped from his surface, appearing extremely weak.

Behind Su Yan, a figure slowly emerged.

The Blood Clan cultivator's eyes suddenly widened!

He stared in disbelief at the emerging figure. He couldn't trust his own eyes. Because the cultivator hidden in the shadows was actually the human soldier-cultivator who had previously been crushed by the exotic treasure!

He was still alive?

How could he possibly be alive?

But the facts were right before him. In that case, was the one who was crushed a clone?

That didn't seem right either. If it were a clone, the female insectoid cultivator wouldn't have failed to notice. A clone's strength was always inferior to the main body's. Yet, he had secretly observed the female insectoid cultivator's previous battle, and as an Integration Dao peak cultivator, she had only managed to gain a slight, insignificant advantage in that fight.

Therefore, it couldn't have been a clone. But if it wasn't a clone, how could this figure before him be explained?

It couldn't possibly be twins!

This matter was already confusing enough for him. What confused him even more was the terrifying sacred aura this human soldier-cultivator was now displaying!

As an Integration Dao peak cultivator, his own sacred aura was incredibly powerful. But compared to the human soldier-cultivator's sacred aura, it was like a firefly competing with a bright moon. Under such suppression, he was as quiet as a cicada in cold weather, completely unable to move!

Was he human or Blood Clan?

He was doomed!

It was laughable that he had just sincerely wanted to ally with the female archer. Who knew she was luring him into a trap, intending to devour him whole, flesh and bone.

Lu Ye stepped out from behind Su Yan and looked at the Blood Clan Integration Dao cultivator. He knew that after his Blood Clan lineage had a major breakthrough, this sacred aura suppression had become even stronger.

He had previously used sacred aura suppression against a Blood Clan Integration Dao peak cultivator—that was the time he allied with Yin Luo—but the effect that time was not as significant as what he saw now.

If before it was mere suppression, now it was pure overwhelming dominance.

A dignified Integration Dao peak cultivator, facing him, had no power to resist whatsoever.

"Kill him!" Lu Ye quietly commanded.

The reason he had Su Yan act was that if he killed the cultivator, a Star Abyss blessing phenomenon would definitely appear. If that attracted Ri Yan and Wu Yue, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

Inspired by the jellyfish stellar beast, Lu Ye had used a clone to swap places with his main body when he and Su Yan returned to the white jade platform.

To make it convincing enough, he even found a saber-type artifact similar in length to the Panshan Blade. He also deliberately carried a Star Abyss coin on his person.

Even if Ning Gu hadn't used an exotic treasure to target him, the Talent Tree clone would have found a way to appear weak in the battle against the female insectoid cultivator and then be killed.

Of course, this would require a process; it couldn't be too sudden, or it would arouse suspicion from others.

But Ning Gu's actions undoubtedly saved him a lot of trouble. With such an exotic treasure unleashing its power, his inability to resist and being crushed was perfectly understandable. There was nothing discordant about the entire process.

Anyone who witnessed that situation at the time would have believed he was dead!

In this regard, he really had to thank Ning Gu. Without Ning Gu's assistance, he wouldn't have achieved his goal so smoothly.

If possible, he actually didn't want to kill this Blood Clan cultivator. Killing the opponent was a very simple matter due to the sacred aura's suppression.

Instead, leaving him alive and letting him fight with Ri Yan, Wu Yue, and the stellar beast team like dogs was a much better idea. An Integration Dao peak cultivator, no matter what, could weaken the strength of those two teams.

But this fellow had set his sights on Su Yan, pursuing her all the way to ally with her. Lu Ye had no choice but to strike decisively.

He was entirely bringing death upon himself!

Su Yan immediately drew her bowstring...

The Blood Clan Integration Dao cultivator stood frozen on the spot, his face filled with horror and unwillingness.

When the arrow was released, his head exploded, and his life force was extinguished.

The body vanished, but Lu Ye's eyes lit up.

Because after the Blood Clan cultivator's body disappeared, not only a Star Abyss coin was left behind, but also something else!

An exotic treasure!

Limited by the rules of this competition, after a cultivator's death, only Star Abyss coins and exotic treasures originating from this very competition could remain; everything else would vanish.

This was Lu Ye's first time obtaining an exotic treasure in this manner.

He quickly stepped forward, picked up the treasure, and examined it. It was a rope-like item, very slender and about ten meters long.

With just a brief inspection, Lu Ye understood the exotic treasure's function.

It wasn't for offense or defense. It was a treasure for binding enemies, similar to the Spirit-Binding Locks he had encountered in Kyushu.

But its power was definitely far greater than that of the Spirit-Binding Locks from Kyushu.

Lu Ye raised his hand and passed the treasure to Su Yan. "You hold onto this!"

In terms of strength, Su Yan was slightly weaker than him. Although her escape technique was profound, without his Dao Power reserves to support her, the strength Su Yan could exert would be greatly reduced.

Keeping this item on her would be a safeguard, and it might prove useful.

Su Yan was stunned...

Because the Blood Clan Integration Dao cultivator had died too easily. He hadn't resisted at all from start to finish, simply standing foolishly while she killed him with a single arrow.

This was beyond her comprehension.

That was an Integration Dao peak cultivator. Even if he encountered something terrifying, he shouldn't have reacted like this.

But in reality, ever since Lu Ye appeared, the Blood Clan cultivator had stopped reacting, like an idiot.

This made her think of many things...

She knew that the Blood Clan's lineage had distinctions of nobility and commonality. Those with powerful bloodlines would exert a peculiar suppression over those with weaker ones. This was a characteristic of their entire race, but also a drawback.

She also knew of another powerful race that possessed this kind of bloodline suppression. And this race was very, very closely related to her own.

The Blood Clan cultivator was clearly in a suppressed state just now. And the degree of suppression was beyond imagination.

Lu Ye... is he Blood Clan?

Su Yan found it somewhat unbelievable. Because she couldn't see any Blood Clan features in Lu Ye. And ever since they met, aside from the Blood Escape technique, Lu Ye had not displayed any other Blood Clan secret arts.

However, the Blood Escape technique was practiced by many cultivators of other races. It was a secret art widely present throughout the cultivation world.

"Take it, what are you thinking about?" Lu Ye urged.

"Oh," Su Yan came back to her senses, quickly took the exotic treasure, and carefully put it away.

Never mind, even if he was Blood Clan, it didn't matter. Based on their interactions during this time, Lu Ye's character was very good, unlike some of the wicked and cruel Blood Clan members she had encountered before.