Chapter 2331: Strength Not Strong, But Quite Cunning

This type of refinement within the subspace must be actively initiated. Otherwise, all those puppets hiding here would have been refined long ago. Lu Ye looked around, his expression solemn. "How did Sunfire escape from here?"

Sunfire had forcefully escaped shortly after being swallowed earlier; he had seen it clearly. But now, looking around, he found no apparent opportunity for escape.

Su Yan said, "Although this Subspace of Overwhelming Force is mysterious, it can be forcibly broken through if one's strength is sufficient. Therefore, generally, those with this innate ability do not rashly try to swallow opponents stronger than themselves."

Sunfire's strength was undoubtedly far greater than that of the Mud Star Beast; after all, he possessed at least 270 threads of power, a level unreachable by ordinary Dao Fusion cultivators.

"What should we do?" Lu Ye asked.

Su Yan replied, "Senior Brother just needs to let me borrow your Dao power!"

That was simple. Lu Ye immediately raised his hand and placed it on Su Yan's back, and the Twin Phoenixes Dao Pattern quickly formed.

Su Yan closed her eyes, seemingly activating a secret art, as Lu Ye distinctly felt that the surrounding space had changed. A few breaths later, Su Yan suddenly opened her eyes, raised the longbow in her hand, and plucked the string with her jade-like finger.

A point of golden light flickered slightly, and a tiny golden arrow shot from the string. Strangely, it didn't fly out immediately but miraculously remained suspended in place. Lu Ye stared, quickly realizing that the golden arrow wasn't truly stationary; it was moving, but its motion was so minute it was almost imperceptible, making it appear as if it had stopped.

This was clearly Su Yan's ingenious application of the Dao of Space. Lu Ye had consulted Su Yan extensively on the mysteries of the Dao of Space some time ago, so he naturally recognized some of its principles. The speed and power of the golden arrow were actually unchanged from Su Yan's previous attacks; what had changed was the spatial distance. Su Yan had infinitely stretched the space in the nearby area, so the small distance seen by the naked eye was, in fact, a vast expanse after the stretching!

Lu Ye watched in awe! What he had learned from Su Yan was merely the tip of the iceberg, to say the least. This wasn't a matter of aptitude but rather her incredibly strong bloodline talent.

As Su Yan continued, golden arrows spread out before them, "hovering" in mid-air. Lu Ye could almost foresee the tragic fate of the Mud Star Beast. Who could withstand such an assault at the Dao Fusion level? Even Sunfire, giving his all, would probably be reduced to dust. It could be said that against a stationary target, as long as Su Yan was given enough time to prepare and sufficient Dao power, she was invincible at the Dao Fusion level!

As the number of golden arrows increased, Su Yan's expression grew more strained; clearly, such control placed an immense burden on her. Thirteen arrows! Only when a full thirteen golden arrows had formed did Su Yan reach her limit!

With a gentle wave of her hand, the spatial stretching instantly vanished, and the thirteen points of golden light disappeared almost simultaneously. The next instant, golden light erupted in the distant sky, so brilliant that Lu Ye could barely keep his eyes open.

*Crackle...*

Within the subspace, massive cracks stretched in all directions, and the golden light that filled it poured out through these fissures. A violent aftermath surged from afar, causing both Lu Ye and Su Yan to lose their footing and be thrown backward.

On the white jade platform, in a Dao pool where it had been leisurely soaking, the Mud Star Beast was struck as if by lightning. Its sprawling body suddenly stiffened, and then countless cracks appeared on its surface, from which dazzling golden light escaped. Its black, void-like eyes filled with an expression of agony. Without hesitation, it tore its own body apart. Instantly, a golden pillar of light gushed out, piercing through millions of miles and smashing into the chaotic mist at the edge of the star fragment.

This golden pillar of light persisted for several breaths before gradually fading away. As the light receded, the Mud Star Beast's body remained rigid, maintaining its previous posture. From the massive gash in its belly, Lu Ye, pulling Su Yan, darted out.

Both of them felt a lingering sense of trepidation. Not to mention Lu Ye, even Su Yan herself was witnessing such a terrifying surge of power for the first time. She had never before used that secret art, primarily because it involved the eruption of 1300 threads of power, something she would never have dared to try normally. The effect was terrifyingly effective.

The subspace was directly shattered. Now that they had escaped, they found that the Mud Star Beast had lost all vitality. As they walked out, its body disintegrated and vanished, leaving behind only a single Star Abyss Coin.

"This... was a bit too much noise," Lu Ye mused. He had initially thought that quietly dealing with the Mud Star Beast here wouldn't reveal anything, but now it seemed the plan was ruined. With such a massive disturbance, anyone alive within the star fragment would surely notice.

Su Yan looked embarrassed. She knew she had exerted too much force. In retrospect, there was no need to use so much Dao power; perhaps five or six simultaneous attacks would have been sufficient. It was mainly for caution, and given the rare opportunity, she also wanted to test her limits.

In the distance, another battle was nearing its end. Under the strange phenomenon of the Sea and Sky Moon, Sunfire, unleashing his full power, was virtually unstoppable. One by one, the Dao Fusion puppets controlled by the Jellyfish Star Beast were shattered by his fists. Of the dozen or so Dao Fusion cultivators who had pursued him, only three now remained alive. The swiftness of this slaughter attested to his immense strength. The three survivors were all seriously injured, including Song Weiwei. In such a scenario, just a few more breaths of time would have allowed Sunfire to wipe them out completely.

"Brother Sunfire, there's no time, hurry and leave!" Wuyue's warning rang in his ear.

Sunfire swept his divine sense and immediately understood the situation. The Jellyfish Star Beast controlled as many as forty Dao Fusion cultivators. He had forcibly killed several during the encirclement and pursuit, and nearly ten more had died in the battle. However, while he was fighting here, other Dao Fusion puppets were rapidly moving to support them. If he didn't leave soon, he would be trapped in a situation where he was surrounded by over twenty Dao Fusion cultivators. Even with Wuyue's Sea and Sky Moon phenomenon assisting him, he would certainly be no match.

Although he felt regret, he knew it was futile to press on. Sunfire instantly flickered away, taking Wuyue with him, fleeing into the distance as numerous puppets swarmed from all directions.

"What was that commotion just now?" During their escape, Sunfire exchanged Star Abyss Coins for two Dao Bones, holding one in each hand, and asked as he refined them. Such a battle consumed too much Dao power; he had to seize every opportunity to recover. Wuyue was in a similar situation, also recovering. Hearing him, she replied, "I'm not quite sure, but a battle also erupted over there, and the Mud Star Beast's life force vanished. I also sensed the aura of that female archer and her companion!"

"Her companion?" Sunfire was startled. "Didn't he die already?" He had a deep impression of Lu Ye because this human's frequency of acquiring Star Abyss Blessings was exceptionally high. He received a Star Abyss Blessing almost every time he killed a Dao Fusion cultivator, which was truly enviable. But Lu Ye had clearly died, crushed on the spot by Ning Gu using a powerful seal-type exotic treasure. He had seen it clearly.

"Brother Sunfire, even Star Beasts know how to feign death, let alone a human!" Wuyue said earnestly.

Sunfire was speechless. *Great*, he thought. These two, not particularly strong, but full of tricks. One feigns death, the other feigns death. In the end, only he and Wuyue acted forthrightly. It made them look quite foolish.

"The Jellyfish Star Beast seems to have noticed it too," Wuyue added.

Sunfire looked back and saw over twenty Dao Fusion cultivators wearing jellyfish hats in the distance. They were all standing quietly in place, staring blankly in their direction, showing no intention of continuing the pursuit. It was precisely because it sensed a change that it wouldn't continue the pursuit. The Jellyfish Star Beast was clearly a bit stunned now... Its companion was dead!

Its intelligence was much higher than that of the Mud Star Beast. When they partnered, the Jellyfish Star Beast usually took charge, with the Mud Star Beast completely following its orders. The number of Star Beasts appearing in this Star Abyss Child contention was already small. It had finally managed to find a Mud Star Beast qualified to team up with it, but now it was dead!

The Mud Star Beast possessed the innate divine ability of anomalous space. Logically, it should have faced no danger even if it confronted two peak Dao Fusion cultivators working together, so how could it have died? Its death wasn't just a loss; it put the Jellyfish Star Beast in an awkward position, because there were no other Star Beasts left to partner with. Partnering with other races was possible, but the key question was, who among the living and self-aware would be willing to cooperate with it now?

Furthermore, it was very wary of the enemy capable of killing the Mud Star Beast! In its opinion, if anyone could claim to be invincible in this contention, it would be the Mud Star Beast; even the Jellyfish Star Beast itself was slightly inferior in that regard. Yet now an enemy had managed to kill the Mud Star Beast, which forced it to be vigilant. While the combination of Sunfire and Wuyue was indeed powerful, the Jellyfish Star Beast was confident it could wear them down with a human-wave tactic. In fact, if not for their swift escape just now, once its reinforcements arrived, the tide of battle would have immediately turned. But against the enemy who killed the Mud Star Beast, it didn't have much confidence, because it knew how difficult it was to kill the Mud Star Beast.

The Jellyfish Star Beast ceased its pursuit, and Sunfire and Wuyue also needed to recuperate. This engagement concluded with the Jellyfish Star Beast losing over a dozen puppets.

On the white jade platform, Lu Ye fell into thought. It was certain that his feigned death had been exposed. With such a massive commotion just now, anyone would notice the changes here. However, it didn't matter. His original intention in feigning death and escaping was to observe the conflict from the sidelines. Had he not feigned death, the Star Beast duo wouldn't have emerged to trouble Sunfire and Wuyue. In a way, he had marginally achieved his initial objective. Since he was exposed, there was no need to hide anymore. However... there was another plan worth trying.