Chapter 2334: 断其一指

The battle at the White Jade Platform was gradually coming to a clear conclusion.

Although the Jellyfish Star Beast commanded a considerable number of puppets, the combination of Riyan and Wuyue was truly too powerful, and Xuexiao was also standing by to assist them.

With these three working together, the puppets fell one by one.

During this time, the Jellyfish Star Beast did attempt to control some of its puppets to hide and escape, but Xuexiao foiled all its plans.

After nearly half a day, this earth-shattering battle finally concluded.

As the last puppet was slain, the surging aftermath of Dao power gradually subsided. On the platform, three figures stood, all looking extremely battered. Even Riyan, the strongest among them, bore numerous wounds. Xuexiao was arguably in the worst state; half his body seemed mangled, and he was barely clinging to life, appearing as if he could die at any moment.

Riyan, however, showed no signs of joy, because he knew that the end of this battle was not the end of the struggle; on the contrary, the real crisis had just begun.

There was still another team of enemies outside! They had not shown themselves at all during the previous major battle, likely waiting for this very moment.

He too had been waiting for this moment.

As long as they dealt with those final enemies, he and Wuyue would become the Sons of the Star Abyss of this generation, destined for endless glory.

As expected, when a ripple passed through the void, two familiar figures slowly materialized: the Human martial cultivator and the blonde female archer.

With the snipe and clam locked in battle, the fisherman naturally made his appearance.

Lu Ye and Su Yan stood just outside the White Jade Platform, quietly observing him.

The plan had been executed smoothly. Although Xuexiao's sudden appearance seemed to be assisting Riyan and Wuyue, it also provided them with the confidence to deal with the Jellyfish Star Beast, and, more importantly, it forced Riyan to make a choice.

Among the remaining enemies, the Jellyfish Star Beast posed a relatively greater threat to Riyan, because its numerous puppets were a genuine force, and Su Yan was proficient in her remarkable evasion technique, meaning Riyan wasn't confident in a quick resolution.

Given these considerations, Riyan naturally had to prioritize eliminating the Jellyfish Star Beast, as he had no other option.

This was exactly what Lu Ye had hoped for.

Now that the Jellyfish Star Beast was dead, both Riyan and Wuyue were significantly depleted. Victory in this struggle was already within reach.

Without time to recover, Wuyue and Xuexiao quickly moved closer to Riyan.

"You've arrived just in time. Been waiting long?" Although Riyan looked disheveled, he showed no fear whatsoever. He stood within a Dao pool, refining the abundant Dao power around him as he spoke.

Lu Ye and Su Yan did not respond. Since it was a life-and-death struggle, there was nothing to discuss; their actions would speak for themselves.

Su Yan raised her bow and drew the string. A point of golden light flashed, instantly transforming into countless smaller golden specks. In the next instant, an overwhelming volley of arrows enveloped Riyan's position.

At the same time, Lu Ye also made his move. Using Su Yan's attack as a cover, he deployed the only exotic treasure he possessed.

It was the Spirit-Binding Lock he had previously confiscated from that Blood race Integration realm cultivator.

This item had originally been entrusted to Su Yan, but Lu Ye had just retrieved it, intending to use it against Riyan. Riyan was indeed an unprecedentedly formidable adversary; Lu Ye had never encountered such a powerful enemy at the Integration realm. While he was confident that he and Su Yan combined could defeat this enemy, to avoid prolonged complications, a swift engagement using an exotic treasure was naturally the best option. This item had the effect of binding enemies; once Riyan was restrained, he wouldn't be able to unleash any of his myriad techniques.

Of course, it was uncertain how long the exotic treasure's power could restrain Riyan; it might be one breath, three breaths, or perhaps a little longer. But as long as he was bound, they would have a chance to quickly eliminate him.

However, just as Lu Ye was about to deploy the Spirit-Binding Lock, he suddenly frowned, because his clone, which was nearing Riyan, clearly observed some peculiar changes occurring on Riyan's body.

A shimmering golden barrier, like an eggshell, enveloped him.

This was...

In an instant, Lu Ye's mind raced. With a thought, the Spirit-Binding Lock flew from his hand. This exotic treasure, originally intended to bind Riyan, transformed into a streak of light and instead shot towards Wuyue. As the arrow rain dispersed, Riyan emerged from it, protected by the golden barrier, completely unharmed. Not only that, but in the next moment, he withstood three concentrated attacks from Su Yan without flinching, and instantly closed the distance to them.

Lu Ye's Pan Mountain Blade leaped from his waist and slashed forward, but he was met with an overwhelmingly powerful and uncontrollable force.

His blood and Qi surged, and he was sent flying backward. Su Yan, who was standing beside him, also suffered the same fate.

Riyan, taking advantage of his momentum, relentlessly pursued them, determined to finish off his enemies in one go. However, as they were sent flying, Su Yan had already activated her spatial secret technique, moving herself and Lu Ye far away. In the past, with such a maneuver, Riyan would never have been able to track her. But now, the Starry Sky Fragment was only so large, so she couldn't escape too far. Thus, with a single sweep of his divine sense, Riyan detected Lu Ye and Su Yan's presences, and he transformed into a dazzling golden light, furiously giving chase.

At the same time, his voice reached Xuexiao's ears: "Protect Wuyue! If she dies, you die!"

On the White Jade Platform, Xuexiao's expression was indifferent. Beside him, Wuyue's body was stiff, bound by a luminous, rope-like exotic treasure, rendering her immobile.

She suddenly felt an intense sense of unease, and slowly turned her head to look at Xuexiao.

Although she thought it impossible for Xuexiao to be so unwise as to harm her at this moment, the sense of crisis was undeniably real.

She didn't know what was happening.

But she understood soon enough, because as her gaze shifted, Xuexiao's body writhed and transformed, taking on the appearance of the Human martial cultivator!

So that's how it was!

It was actually like this!

Yet, neither she nor Brother Riyan had detected any flaw from beginning to end.

The clone had already approached Wuyue, standing before the petite woman, looking down at her. "Any last words?"

Wuyue was attempting to break free from her restraints, but she helplessly realized that even as a peak Integration realm cultivator, this exotic treasure could bind her for at least five breaths of time, even without considering the consumption of Dao power.

Five breaths... the distance between life and death.

She remained silent; even if she had last words, there was no need to speak them to an enemy.

She merely cast one last glance in Riyan's direction, hoping her death would be silent and not disturb her companion who was currently pursuing the enemy.

The clone brought a palm down.

In the distance, Lu Ye, who was continuously evading, transmitted a message to Su Yan, who was still trying to attack Riyan: "He's used an exotic treasure, likely exchanged from the treasure vault. As long as its power persists, he's practically invincible."

This exotic treasure was similar to the Golden Body Token of the Nine Provinces; although not truly invincible, its defense was something an ordinary Integration realm cultivator couldn't break through.

Lu Ye had previously wanted to exchange for this exotic treasure from the vault, but unfortunately, he hadn't gathered enough Star Abyss coins.

He hadn't expected Riyan to have exchanged for one.

According to the original plan, his Spirit-Binding Lock was meant for Riyan. Once this formidable enemy was dealt with, the remaining Wuyue, isolated and helpless, would eventually be killed.

However, just as Lu Ye made his move, he sensed something was amiss. If he had used the Spirit-Binding Lock on Riyan at that crucial moment, Lu Ye wasn't sure if it would have worked. Even if it had, Riyan's strength would allow him to escape quickly, and during the period he was restrained, he would remain virtually invulnerable.

If that were the case, he would have wasted his only exotic treasure.

That's why Lu Ye made a decisive decision, changed his target, and instead used the Spirit-Binding Lock to subdue Wuyue.

When facing an enemy, it's better to break one finger than injure ten. How could Lu Ye not understand this principle?

Now that Wuyue was dead, only Riyan remained. Even though the protective power of his exotic treasure was formidable, it was ultimately time-limited. They simply needed to stall for time until the exotic treasure's power dissipated.

As for how long that would take, Lu Ye didn't know, but it certainly wouldn't be too long.

Although Wuyue's death caused no great commotion, the dissipation of her life force was impossible to conceal. Almost the instant Wuyue perished, Riyan, who was pursuing Lu Ye and Su Yan, sensed it.

His heart involuntarily trembled...

He couldn't understand how Wuyue had died. He had clearly warned Xuexiao!

Furthermore, from Xuexiao's perspective, there was no reason for him to harm Wuyue.

Yet, the current outcome was that Wuyue was indeed dead, and the one who killed her must have been Xuexiao.

Suppressing the rage in his heart, Riyan unleashed a fierce punch. The power of this single punch caused the void ahead to tremble and distort.

Su Yan was precisely in the midst of activating her spatial secret technique with Lu Ye. Under this interference, their figures suddenly fell out of the void not far away, far from where Su Yan had originally intended to teleport.

"Brother Lu, we can't stall any longer," Su Yan said softly.

Riyan's combat experience was simply terrifying. He had actually found a way to counter Su Yan's evasion technique in a very short time.

It wasn't exactly a counter, but rather that he seized a fleeting opportunity for interference.

The methods Lu Ye had used before were true counters to her, because they involved the ingenious application of spatial power.

Riyan's situation was different. He didn't understand spatial power, but instead directly channeled immense Dao power to deliver a precise interference at the most crucial moment.

This resulted in Su Yan's evasion technique not being able to be fully utilized, so the teleportation distance was very short. Furthermore, forcing the evasion technique under such circumstances was extremely dangerous; she might even fall into a spatial rift after being interfered with.

If she fell into a first-layer spatial rift, she could still find her way back. But if she fell into a second layer, she would be lost within it.

Lu Ye also realized this. It had to be said that against such a formidable enemy, no pre-made plan was foolproof.

No one could foresee everything. All plans were merely broad guidelines, and numerous minor changes could influence the overall trajectory of a plan.

"Then let's confront him head-on!" Lu Ye immediately decided.

Evasion was merely a means to more conveniently deal with the enemy, but it didn't mean they were unqualified to engage the enemy directly.

As he spoke, a void spirit pattern appeared beneath Lu Ye's feet. In the next instant, his clone returned!

Dao power surged. The "Shared Spirit Link" Dao pattern quickly spread and outlined itself on his body. Lu Ye transmitted a message to Su Yan: "Connect your aura to my body and form the Three Talents Formation!"

Su Yan, naturally, followed Lu Ye's instructions without question. She immediately activated her aura, and in the next moment, a look of surprise appeared on her face.