Chapter 2328: Sitting Back and Watching the Tigers Fight

On the white jade platform, the competition for the four Dao pools had been decided. Most of the powerful cultivators from previous groups had already fallen in battle. Now, only Ri Yan and Wu Yue remained on the white jade platform, besides Qi, who stood perfectly still.

These two were now enjoying the fruits of their victory in the Dao pools. Their Dao power had been significantly depleted during the fierce battle, and it was time for them to recover.

"Brother Ri Yan," Wu Yue asked, while refining a Dao fish, "Are we just going to wait for them here?"

Ri Yan, who was doing the same, slowly shook his head at her question. "No, once we've recovered sufficiently, we'll take the initiative." He knew clearly that simply waiting here wouldn't bring their enemies to them. Ostensibly, their group was the strongest, so their enemies wouldn't willingly come to them.

Now, the number of opponents he considered worthy was few: only the Mud Star Beast, a Blood Clan member, and the female archer remained. If he wasn't mistaken, the Blood Clan member who had chased after the female archer earlier would likely choose to ally with her. After all, both of their companions had died in battle. Regardless of any past conflicts, they would need to form an alliance for their own survival.

"First, we'll find and eliminate them! Then, we'll search for the Mud Star Beast. Once these three are dealt with, the overall situation will be decided. Any others who might be hiding will not even be worth considering."

As he spoke, Ri Yan suddenly looked up. At that spot, a ripple spread through the void, and then a familiar figure emerged. Ri Yan raised an eyebrow, a playful look on his face. He wondered why the female archer had suddenly returned and secretly considered his chances of capturing her if he acted now. However, the thought was fleeting, and he ultimately gave up. The female archer's escape technique was truly troublesome. In all his cultivation, he had never encountered such a bizarre technique. At the very least, he couldn't discern any flaws, making it impossible to capture her unless her Dao power was completely exhausted.

"Is something the matter, Fellow Daoist?" Ri Yan asked, his tone still polite.

Su Yan looked at him and slowly said, "I'm here to let both of you know that the Jellyfish Star Beast is actually not dead!"

"Huh?" Ri Yan was taken aback. He instinctively felt she was deceiving him. During the previous battle, when the Jellyfish Star Beast supposedly died, he had specifically observed, and it was this female archer's companion who had killed it. Yet, now she was telling him that the Jellyfish Star Beast was not dead?

"Was it a clone that died?" Ri Yan understood. The female archer had no reason to lie to him, as such a matter could be easily verified without him having to pay a significant price.

"It didn't seem like a clone!" Su Yan shook her head. "I don't know the specifics, but it's definitely not dead. Believe it or not, that's up to you, Fellow Daoist!"

After speaking, ripples once again spread around her body.

"Wait!" Ri Yan raised a hand.

But Su Yan was no longer willing to engage in further conversation. She had specifically come to inform Ri Yan of this matter, naturally following Lu Ye's instructions. By using the death of his Talent Tree clone, he had managed to escape the conflict. His goal was to make Ri Yan confront the two Star Beasts. Ri Yan was unaware of the Jellyfish Star Beast's true condition, so he had to send Su Yan to inform him. He believed Ri Yan would know what to do.

As the ripples faded, Su Yan's figure vanished.

Ri Yan stood in the Dao pool, his brows tightly furrowed. Things were getting interesting. Honestly, he hadn't given much thought to the two Star Beasts before. Although they possessed considerable power and strange techniques, they were still Star Beasts, inherently lacking in intelligence. However, if the Jellyfish Star Beast could feign death to escape, its intelligence was far from ordinary. Before this, he hadn't detected any flaws in its deception. If Su Yan hadn't come to inform him, he would have remained completely unaware!

He naturally understood Su Yan's intention: to redirect the danger. In the current situation, anyone could see the formidable strength of Ri Yan's group, and no one wanted to be targeted by him. Ri Yan's original plan was to first find Su Yan and the Blood Clan member, eliminate them, and then search for the Mud Star Beast. After all, the latter was alone and would be simpler to deal with. However, it seemed his plan would need a slight alteration. If the Jellyfish Star Beast truly possessed such high intelligence, it absolutely could not be underestimated.

"Brother Ri Yan!"

A sudden cry of alarm reached Ri Yan's ears; it was clearly Wu Yue's warning. At the same time, Ri Yan's internal alarm flared, and he quickly channeled his Dao power to protect himself.

Above his head, a mass of shadow had silently drifted over. This trace of shadow had been utterly imperceptible, perfectly integrated with the surrounding space, leaving no discernible flaw. Even Su Yan, who had just been speaking with Ri Yan, hadn't noticed it at all. Only Wu Yue, standing nearby, had perceived something amiss. As she cried out, soft light suddenly emanated from her body. It was under the illumination of this light that the mass of shadow finally revealed its presence.

Observing the shadow's outline, it was undoubtedly the form of the Mud Star Beast that had escaped from here earlier! After its companion had "died," it had dispersed into countless fragments, pursued by Lu Ye and Su Yan. Yet, somehow, it had managed to sneak back. It clearly knew that Ri Yan and Wu Yue couldn't be given time to recover. These two were already powerful enough; if they were allowed sufficient time to recuperate, they would become even more formidable. Therefore, if it wanted to kill its enemies, now was the most opportune moment. Regardless of Su Yan's arrival, it had to act. However, it hadn't expected Wu Yue's perception to be so keen, exposing its presence.

The shadow suddenly split open, as if the void itself had opened a gaping maw. With a single gulp, it swallowed the burly Ri Yan. Wu Yue stared in disbelief. Her powerful Brother Ri Yan... just swallowed like that?

After a moment of stunned shock, her entire aura changed. Originally, her aura had been exceptionally gentle, but now it turned fiercely cold. The light radiating from her body seemed to transform into invisible needles, piercing and eroding tiny holes into the now-visible Mud Star Beast. The battle erupted in that instant!

Meanwhile, Su Yan hadn't gone far. After sensing the anomaly, she reappeared and turned back to look, surprised. She hadn't expected the Mud Star Beast to dare to actively attack Ri Yan and Wu Yue. But she quickly understood that the longer Ri Yan and Wu Yue were given, the greater their advantage. With the four Dao pools available and no one else contesting them, it would be too easy for them to recover. From this perspective, even if she hadn't made this trip, Lu Ye's plan to watch the tigers fight from the mountain would still have been perfectly achieved. This was because the Mud Star Beast had always regarded Ri Yan and Wu Yue as its primary enemies.

She slightly shifted her gaze towards the very center of the white jade platform. In that spot, a figure in snow-white robes stood silently, unmoving, like a living corpse for most of the past year. Besides her, Su Yan saw no other figures, but she knew that Lu Ye must have already concealed himself next to Qi.

Lu Ye had indeed concealed himself near Qi, taking advantage of the momentary chaos when Wu Yue unleashed her power. He believed that neither Wu Yue nor the Mud Star Beast would suspect someone was secretly observing them here. Lu Ye was almost pressed against Qi, standing directly behind her. He had vaguely sensed earlier that although Qi seemed to represent the Will of the Star Abyss in presiding over this competition, she wouldn't interfere in anything. Therefore, as long as one didn't actively attack her, there would be no trouble. This position wasn't far from Wu Yue's location. Without Qi, Lu Ye would easily expose himself, but with Qi, it was different. She stood in front, making it impossible for anyone to discover his whereabouts unless they deliberately probed. He could even use Qi to conceal his gaze while observing.

As he watched, Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. He had to admit, Wu Yue's strength was considerable to have been chosen as Ri Yan's companion. Furthermore, her secret technique was peculiar; her entire body exuded a moonlit radiance that seemed to cleanse everything. In the battle, the Mud Star Beast appeared to be completely helpless, only passively taking hits. However, Lu Ye could tell that the creature was actually fine; it just looked miserable.

The intense battle lasted only a few breaths. Suddenly, the Mud Star Beast abruptly ceased all movement, then its body twisted and struggled, as if enduring immense pain. Seeing this, Wu Yue's expression brightened with joy. The next instant, a large hand suddenly burst out from the Mud Star Beast's abdomen. The hand was golden-yellow, as if cast from molten gold, and along with it emanated Ri Yan's ferocious aura! A brilliant golden light erupted, Dao power surged chaotically, and the Mud Star Beast seemed to suffer a heavy blow. A gaping hole tore open in its abdomen, and Ri Yan, who had just been swallowed, flashed out.

Although unharmed, he looked quite disheveled. The moment he broke free, he moved without pause, darting forward at extreme speed, as if some danger was hot on his heels.

"Brother Ri Yan!" Wu Yue exclaimed. She knew her brother couldn't possibly die so easily; she had been worried for nothing.

"Run!" Ri Yan cried out, grabbing Wu Yue as he rushed past her.

"Huh?" Wu Yue didn't even have time to react, finding herself dragged along like a kite.

Behind Qi, Lu Ye watched, bewildered. Why was Ri Yan in such a frantic hurry? Why did it seem like someone was chasing him? And with his immense strength, what could he possibly be afraid of?

Soon, he learned what Ri Yan feared. From the gaping hole in the Mud Star Beast's abdomen, a sword dragon suddenly surged forth. Within the sword dragon, a figure vaguely familiar to Lu Ye was enveloped. Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly. The hole in the Mud Star Beast's abdomen seemed to connect to another world. Immediately after the sword dragon, another figure suddenly appeared. Then came a second, a third... They appeared in an unending stream. In just a few breaths, more than twenty figures emerged from that hole.

These figures were undoubtedly the Dao Fusion cultivators who had participated in this competition! However, each of them had a dull expression, with no light in their eyes. And on top of each of their heads was a small jellyfish, as if they were wearing jellyfish hats. Transparent tentacles from the jellyfish pierced through various parts of their bodies, extending deep within.