Chapter 2548: Fierce Poison

Many attacks swept through. Lu Ye quickly retrieved the Lotus Seed and turned to avoid them, moving in another direction.

He repeated the process!

After several attempts, he couldn't help but frown.

The situation was not quite as he had expected. While the Lotus Seed's poison could indeed breach the formation, it wasn't as effective as he'd hoped. His current method was akin to having an additional Yuan Xi intermittently attacking the grand formation. It certainly helped the battle, but it wasn't playing a decisive role.

Lowering his head to look at the Lotus Seed in his hand, Lu Ye muttered, "Is it too small?"

Lotus Seeds could be cultivated to grow larger. Perhaps this one's toxicity wasn't strong because it had only recently been born? Fan Wu had mentioned that a damaged ancient text recorded someone using a Lotus Seed's poison to break through the protective formation of a Cosmos-grade Integration City. That must have been a large Lotus Seed or an ancient one cultivated for countless years, which would explain its potent toxicity.

Furthermore, his previous approach was quite foolish. For the Lotus Seed to be effective, it had to be pressed against the grand formation's light barrier. Doing so meant standing there, waiting for enemies to attack. Thus, the Lotus Seed's poison couldn't be continuously effective. If it could have been, its utility would have been much greater.

"Useless!" Lu Ye flicked the Lotus Seed on its "forehead." The main reason he did this was that the creature was staring at him with wide eyes, looking very curious.

However, the Lotus Seed was not a living creature; it only appeared to be alive. In reality, it had no thoughts of its own, so its curiosity was merely an illusion.

The attempt had failed. He still had to enter the fray himself and find a reason for the City Lord to retreat.

As this thought crossed his mind, the curiosity in the Lotus Seed's eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by a surge of anger. Then, it opened its small mouth and spat at Lu Ye.

A cloud of misty vapor flew straight towards Lu Ye, enveloping him before he could react.

A slight dizziness came over him, and Lu Ye's vision suddenly blurred.

He had been poisoned!

His expression changed, and he quickly teleported away from his spot. Focusing his mind, he saw that the already violently reacting Talent Tree was now experiencing phenomena many times more intense.

He was greatly shocked. For years, ever since he acquired the Talent Tree, he had never been troubled by poisons, as any toxins entering his body would be incinerated by it.

Yet, today, he had actually been poisoned, though he recovered quickly.

This undoubtedly indicated one thing: the toxins that had just entered his body were so potent that even the Talent Tree required a momentary delay to neutralize them, which was why he had felt the effects of being poisoned.

The dizziness came and went quickly. Around him, the battle remained fierce, with Dao powers unleashing in chaotic bursts.

Lu Ye looked at where he had just been. A dense cloud of misty vapor now lingered there, precisely what the Lotus Seed had just spat out.

"General Commander?" Lian's voice came from nearby.

Lu Ye snapped back to reality, grabbed the Lotus Seed, and darted forward, saying, "Lian, please protect me again!"

"Alright!" Lian responded, soaring to Lu Ye's side, following him closely like a star orbiting the moon.

In a flash, he returned. Lu Ye sharply flicked the Lotus Seed on its "forehead" again, then aimed it at the grand formation's light barrier in front of them.

Just like before, the Lotus Seed opened its small mouth, and the misty vapor spewed out, covering the light barrier.

The reaction this time was infinitely more violent than before. The misty vapor seemed to possess powerful corrosive properties. Within the covered area, the grand formation's light barrier flickered erratically, and countless ripples appeared.

In just a few breaths, the light barrier in this area perceptibly dimmed.

Lu Ye and Lian's eyes lit up!

Lian immediately shouted, "Yuan Xi, attack this way!" As she spoke, she had already taken the lead, unleashing a powerful offensive that swept towards the area covered by the misty vapor.

Yuan Xi had witnessed all of Lu Ye's recent actions, so she immediately understood Lian's intention.

Thus, almost the moment Lian made her move, Yuan Xi also flashed over, her Dao power surging as she seamlessly joined Lian's assault.

"Everyone, come over!" she shouted while attacking.

City Lord Zhao and the others had actually been slacking off. Anyone with discernment could see that this siege wouldn't yield results, so they were simply waiting for Yuan Xi to order a retreat.

Who would have thought such a turn of events would occur?

City Lord Zhao glanced at the Lotus Seed held by Lu Ye, secretly amazed that anyone in this world could have such close contact with a Lotus Seed. Truly, the world was vast and full of wonders.

Since Yuan Xi had already spoken, he couldn't delay. He could only lead his group of Integration Realm cultivators to the location and coordinate their attacks.

In an instant, almost all allied attacks converged on that small area, demonstrating a deep understanding of concentrating force on a weak point in siege warfare.

Inside the city, Daoist Friend Chang, the Desolate-grade City Lord, had an ashen face. He vaguely sensed trouble.

Originally, with his city's defenses and personnel, he had no worries about any mishaps. But the enemy had actually brought the Lotus Seed and used such an astonishing method.

As the defender, this was the situation he feared most.

Now, the area covered by the misty vapor had become a weakness. He couldn't even be sure if his city's protective grand formation could hold out.

Although he ordered the cultivators in the city to counterattack, the grand formation limited the effectiveness of their retaliation, and the enemy could easily evade their blows.

Time passed. Dozens of breaths later, the misty vapor vanished. Firstly, it was consumed as it corroded the protective grand formation. Secondly, both sides were attacking this very spot, so even without the corrosion, it couldn't have lasted long.

However, the effect was clear: the brightness of the grand formation's light barrier in this area was noticeably different from other sections; the contrast between light and dark was striking.

Despite this, the formation still hadn't been breached. Moreover, if the continuous assault wasn't maintained, the enemy could find a way to repair this weak point.

"General Commander, again!" Yuan Xi called out.

Lu Ye was waiting for those words. He immediately flashed forward, and just like before, he flicked the Lotus Seed on its "forehead" and aimed it at that specific area.

Another cloud of misty vapor was spat out.

Before the enemy could counterattack, Lu Ye had already retreated.

Frowning slightly, he looked down at the Lotus Seed. The little creature appeared quite listless. Though it had been plump and fresh when first born, its skin was now wrinkled, making it seem much older.

Furthermore, the cloud of misty vapor it had just expelled was significantly weaker compared to the previous two times.

Its large eyes now seemed dull, and its eyelids fluttered, as if it might fall asleep at any moment.

This fellow... couldn't be relied upon anymore!

The misty vapor spat out by the Lotus Seed must have taken a great toll on it. Three times was probably its limit.

Lu Ye suddenly looked up, gazing towards City Lord Zhao and his group, and declared loudly, "City Lord Zhao, if we can breach the city, you will receive thirty percent of the profits from this battle!"

While City Lord Zhao's group couldn't be said to have done nothing, they certainly hadn't exerted full effort. Lu Ye was well aware of this.

Although he had noticed this before, he hadn't pointed it out because it would have been pointless; they wouldn't have admitted it.

But now it was different. There was hope of breaching the city, provided City Lord Zhao and the others were willing to go all out!

However, they had been forcibly conscripted and were already dissatisfied. Without some tangible benefits, how could they willingly commit themselves?

To make a horse run, you must feed it well.

City Lord Zhao was startled by these words and looked at Yuan Xi, asking, "City Lord Yuan, can I trust this Daoist Friend's words?"

He naturally couldn't remain unmoved by thirty percent of the profits after a Desolate-grade city was breached. His own Integration City was Desolate-grade, so he clearly understood the resources and foundations such a city possessed.

Yuan Xi immediately replied, "The General Commander's words are my own intent!"

City Lord Zhao's spirits lifted upon hearing this. "If that's the case, then we are willing to fight to the death for City Lord Yuan!"

The moment he spoke, their offensive intensified by a third. The Dao power fluctuations from the many Integration Realm cultivators under his command also suddenly became much more potent.

Numerous attacks swept forth, collectively blasting towards the location of the weakness.

Lu Ye watched from a distance, his eyes gleaming.

It could be breached!

Even he could see that after two corrosive applications of the Lotus Seed's potent poison, this weak point simply wouldn't have time to be repaired. If no one were attacking, the enemy might have been able to fix it given some time, but with so many Integration Realm cultivators relentlessly assaulting this specific spot, the weakness would only grow larger.

Once this weak point was fully opened, the protective grand formation would also be breached.

Lowering his head to glance at the little Lotus Seed in his hand, Lu Ye suddenly felt a pang of pity. He quickly activated his Void Dao patterns, returned to Yuan Xi City, and placed it into the Dao Pool.

When it had first been placed there, it had swum around like a fish, seemingly full of boundless joy.

Now, however, it sank directly to the bottom...

Lu Ye couldn't help but feel a little worried. "Brother Fan, this fellow isn't going to die, is it?" If it died, it would be too great a loss.

Fan Wu was still there. Hearing this, he replied uncertainly, "It probably won't..."

He had never seen or raised a Lotus Seed before, so how could he know what would happen next? Lu Ye had clearly asked the wrong person.

"Then I'll trouble Brother Fan to look after it. If there's any anomaly here, tell me immediately." Lu Ye was eager to return to the battle and couldn't stay here indefinitely. "If this city can be breached in this battle, Brother Fan will be credited with the greatest contribution. City Lord will surely reward you later."

Fan Wu shook his head. "The City Lord's willingness to take me in that day has already filled me with immense gratitude. General Commander, please go; I will oversee things here."

Lu Ye nodded and once again rushed towards the battlefield.

In the enemy's Desolate-grade city, Daoist Friend Chang's face was even more grim than before. Daoist Friend Ning stood beside him. "Brother Chang, I'm afraid we can't hold out much longer. You should make plans soon."

The situation at the weak point continued to deteriorate. If the battle progressed like this, the protective grand formation would definitely be breached within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Daoist Friend Chang gritted his teeth. "Of course I know we can't hold it."

If he had known this earlier, he wouldn't have taken on this hot potato. Now, his city was targeted and under attack, and even the protective grand formation was at risk.

However, he had originally thought that by accommodating Daoist Friend Ning and others, he could not only compensate for the previous loss of two Integration Realm cultivators but also strengthen his city's forces. This seemed like a perfectly normal choice.

Yet, it had brought about an unforeseen and disastrous consequence.