Chapter 2466: High Brother

A massive blade-lotus suddenly appeared. As its petals spun and danced, the fiery red orb burst open, and all the jellyfish creatures that had gathered were instantly reduced to dust.

Lu Ye's figure was revealed, frozen in his saber-drawing posture.

At that very moment, a figure that had been lurking on a nearby floating landmass emerged, rapidly dashing towards him with a look of scorn and mockery in its eyes.

He had been in this area previously and had hidden himself after sensing Lu Ye's aura from afar, immediately witnessing the scene that had just unfolded.

Although he was impressed by the strength Lu Ye displayed, under those circumstances, Lu Ye must have been poisoned.

He thought to himself that this was just another hothead appearing from who knew where, and he certainly wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity.

He wasn't the only one hidden nearby; there was another. Almost simultaneously with the first Integration Realm cultivator appearing and moving to kill Lu Ye, the second Integration Realm cultivator also revealed himself.

Both Integration Realm cultivators sensed the other's desire to seize the opportunity. They exchanged glances from afar, then each unleashed secret techniques, significantly increasing their speed.

However, there was still a difference in their distances. The first Integration Realm cultivator arrived before Lu Ye first, raising his spirit weapon high and forcefully bringing it down towards Lu Ye.

At that exact moment, he was horrified to discover that Lu Ye, who should have been poisoned, stiff and unable to move, suddenly shifted his eyes. With an indifferent expression, Lu Ye looked at him and slowly raised the long saber in his hand.

For other Integration Realm cultivators, the situation just moments ago might have been a crisis, but for Lu Ye, it was merely a minor inconvenience.

With two pairs of eyes scrutinizing him nearby, how could he not have noticed?

As expected, a simple disguise was enough to easily lure these two individuals out.

The Integration Realm cultivator rushing towards Lu Ye suddenly realized something was wrong, but it was too late. The moment their spirit weapons clashed, he was horrified to find that his own spirit weapon shattered instantly, as if made of glass.

The Mountain-Shattering Saber, with undiminished momentum, cut through his entire chest, slicing him into two halves.

Such a sudden turn of events terrified the second Integration Realm cultivator. Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and fled. By this point, he fully understood: the saber-wielding cultivator had not been poisoned at all; his stiffness was merely a disguise, a tactic to draw out them, the two ill-intentioned observers.

Intense killing intent and a formidable aura rapidly approached from behind him.

In his panic, he glanced back and saw Lu Ye pursuing him at an incredibly high speed—a speed that even his own activated secret technique couldn't match.

With life and death hanging in the balance, he fled with even greater terror.

It was futile. A saber light, like a bolt of white silk, slashed through the air, effortlessly breaking his protective spirit power and cleaving him in two.

Lu Ye leisurely stepped forward, collected the spoils of war, and felt a slight dissatisfaction: neither of the two Integration Realm cultivators he had killed yielded any Star Abyss Coins.

He also discovered something he would need to avoid in the future: after Liao ascended to the artifact level, it seemed to possess immense destructive power against spirit weapons.

It could shatter even Union Realm cultivators' spirit weapons, let alone those of Integration Realm cultivators.

Taking the recent situation as an example, the opponent's spirit weapon shattered almost the instant the Mountain-Shattering Saber made contact.

Spirit weapons also contained residual spirit power because cultivators generally invested significant effort in nurturing them. Comparatively, the spirit power gained from refining a spirit weapon was even greater than that from refining a spirit bone.

Therefore, to acquire more spoils in the future, Lu Ye felt it was necessary to hold back some of his strength. At the very least, he shouldn't always shatter his opponents' spirit weapons, as this brought him no benefit.

This battle erupted quickly and ended just as swiftly. After Lu Ye departed, peace returned to the area.

He began to wander aimlessly within this celestial marvel. With his current strength, there was nothing for him to fear here; as long as he didn't provoke the ultimate treasure, there would be no danger.

His sole objective was to find that artifact and take it away!

Although as a Son of the Star Abyss, he could exchange for artifacts from the Star Abyss Treasury, this required Star Abyss Coins. An artifact of the caliber of the Bright Moon Wheel would cost at least a thousand Star Abyss Coins. If he could find one here, Lu Ye would save over a thousand Star Abyss Coins, and even for him now, accumulating such an amount was not easy.

According to the intelligence provided by Qin Feng, the artifact should be in the process of gestation and could emerge at any time. However, its exact location was unknown to anyone.

Therefore, this matter not only depended on strength but also on luck!

While Lu Ye possessed sufficient strength, if his luck were poor, the artifact might be seized and taken away by someone else the moment it materialized, rendering his strength useless.

Thus, Lu Ye wanted to search for any clues regarding the artifact's gestation, hoping to determine its emergence location in advance. If he could do so, the Bright Moon Wheel artifact would undoubtedly belong to him, and no one would be able to contend with him for it.

Unfortunately, he found no such clues during his journey. Instead, he encountered several short-sighted Integration Realm cultivators who came to provoke him, all of whom became casualties of his saber.

It must be said that those who dared to enter this place to contend for the artifact possessed some skill. However, at the Integration Realm level, no matter how capable these individuals were, they were nothing more than a single saber strike away from defeat in front of Lu Ye.

Several days passed swiftly. Lu Ye ventured deeper into the marvel's interior. Although he had killed many enemies, there was still no news regarding the artifact.

Currently, the only certainty was that the artifact had not yet manifested, as its appearance would undoubtedly be accompanied by very clear anomalies, detectable by all cultivators within the marvel.

The Bright Moon Wheel possessed its own sentience. Since it intended to choose a worthy master for its offspring, it would never permit sly individuals to secretly take the artifact. Before its ownership was decided, there would certainly be a bloody struggle to determine the strongest contender.

Suddenly, intense aftermath from a fierce confrontation emanated from a certain direction. Lu Ye turned his head for a look, then swiftly darted towards it.

Regardless of who was fighting or why, in such an environment, they could all be considered his enemies. Of course, Lu Ye wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

In a short while, he reached the periphery of the battlefield. Looking ahead, he saw two Integration Realm cultivators ganging up on another.

Lu Ye glanced at the two attackers; they were nothing remarkable, so he paid them no mind. His attention was instead drawn to the one being besieged, who seemed quite strong.

Despite fighting two opponents, he wasn't at a disadvantage.

Taking another look, Lu Ye realized what was happening. This individual's spirit weapon was clearly a defensive type, forming a barrier that enveloped him. The barrier on his back particularly resembled a tortoise shell. Facing the enemy's attacks, he remained utterly still, not counterattacking at all, focusing solely on defense.

Not only did his spirit weapon resemble a tortoise shell, but his entire demeanor did too. With a bald head devoid of hair and a long neck, at first glance, he looked like a tortoise that had gained sentience.

In this situation, for the two attackers to take his life, they would first have to break through his defensive spirit weapon.

This was also why he could stand firm despite being besieged.

Cultivators rarely chose defensive types for their primary spirit weapons, because everyone eventually finds themselves forced into combat, and offense is the best defense. Thus, most cultivators' primary spirit weapons are offensive.

Only when a cultivator's cultivation progressed slowly, and they began to nurture a second spirit weapon, would they make a different choice.

However, even if a cultivator possessed two spirit weapons, there was rarely an opportunity to use the second one in combat. Forcibly employing it would only divide their strength, making it less effective than focusing on the power of a single spirit weapon.

Although the bald Integration Realm cultivator could still hold on for now, prolonged engagement would certainly be disadvantageous for him. Fighting two opponents would severely deplete his spirit power, and once it was exhausted, no matter how strong his defense, it would be useless.

He clearly understood this predicament and was constantly searching for a way to break free.

Until he suddenly saw Lu Ye casually approaching.

He immediately put on an enthusiastic expression and loudly called out to Lu Ye, "Brother Gao, quickly, lend me a hand!"

There was no "Brother Gao" at all; he had merely called out casually, hoping to shift the trouble onto someone else. From his perspective, regardless of who Lu Ye was, his presence in this situation represented a variable. As long as he could be drawn in, there would be nothing but benefits for him.

Sure enough, as his voice rang out, both attackers immediately showed wary expressions, turning their gazes towards Lu Ye's direction.

Lu Ye maintained his previous pace, slowly but steadily approaching the battlefield.

The bald Integration Realm cultivator grew even happier, even looking somewhat elated. "Brother Gao, if you could trouble yourself to handle one, I'll deal with the other!"

"Alright!" Lu Ye replied.

The bald Integration Realm cultivator was taken aback, having never expected Lu Ye to respond. He immediately exclaimed, "Many thanks, Brother Gao! I am immensely grateful for this kindness."

Their back-and-forth dialogue increasingly unsettled the two attackers. Initially, they had thought Lu Ye was just passing by, and it seemed unlikely that the besieged individual would coincidentally encounter an acquaintance willing to help him here. But with Lu Ye's response, they no longer dared to think that way.

The two attackers exchanged glances. One immediately broke off to confront Lu Ye, leaving the other to continue holding their current opponent.

He quickly closed the distance, his spirit weapon descending mercilessly towards Lu Ye's head, his body surging with fierce spirit power.

He then discovered, to his astonishment, that facing his lightning-fast strike, Lu Ye showed no intention of dodging, not even making a move to summon his own spirit weapon.

Even Lu Ye's gaze, fixed on him, was utterly calm, an expression that clearly showed he didn't take his opponent seriously at all.

"He dares to underestimate me!" The attacker suddenly became fierce, his spirit power surging even more powerfully.

The descending spirit weapon suddenly went from extreme motion to absolute stillness. Then, the attacker's eyes widened in horror as he watched Lu Ye's large hand gripping his spirit weapon. No matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't move it an inch.

"What kind of power is this?" He was momentarily bewildered. Just by his own strength, he had so effortlessly blocked a full-power strike from a spirit weapon?