Chapter 2583: Lu Ye Brand Pendant

In that instant, Lu Ye felt an incredibly powerful divine sense breach his soul's defenses, like a sharp blade piercing directly into his brain. His head throbbed intensely, as if splitting apart. After the pain subsided, it felt as if hundreds of gongs and drums were beating loudly inside his head, reverberating as his Spiritual Ocean churned and waves of condensed spiritual power surged. At that very moment, his thoughts almost froze.

Maintaining the "Twin Phoenixes Flying Together" not only continuously consumed a vast amount of his Dao Power but also required a significant drain on his mental energy to sustain. Under this attack, the Dao patterns instantly broke. Without the supply of Dao Power, the white armor adorning Yuan Xi also showed signs of disintegrating the next moment. Fortunately, she sensed it in time and immediately activated her power to protect Lu Ye. This allowed Lu Ye to escape his predicament, the interrupted Dao patterns reconnected, and Yuan Xi's white armor was sustained.

"It truly is this young man!" From a distance, Changming, who was sweeping towards Yuan Xi, observed this scene, his eyebrows slightly raised. He had a general understanding of his wife's Dao Soldier's second form. Logically, even at her peak, she shouldn't be able to maintain it for too long. Previous situations had confirmed this: his wife had activated the power of the Dao Soldier's second form several times, but each time it had dissipated quickly.

However, ever since that young soldier cultivator fought alongside his wife, his wife's situation had greatly improved. He had suspected at the time that the problem lay with the soldier cultivator. This distant divine sense attack was solely to confirm his suspicion. And now, it seemed he was right. He was secretly amazed. What method had this young man used to provide such significant assistance to his wife?

"I'll deal with you later!" Yuan Xi glared fiercely at Changming, then turned to pursue the Dao Integration cultivators.

Changming was still very powerful. Even Yuan Xi in her current state wasn't confident she could defeat him quickly. And those Dao Integration cultivators couldn't be ignored; under Changming's command, they were going to besiege Yuan Xi City. Yuan Xi City couldn't withstand a lineup of over ten Dao Integration cultivators, especially since the city had already been attacked for a while, and its defensive power was greatly reduced.

She turned and focused on pursuing one of the Dao Integration cultivators. The cultivator felt her aura rapidly approaching from behind and immediately panicked, fleeing for his life. However, his speed was no match for Yuan Xi's. He was caught within a few breaths, and Yuan Xi took his head with a raise of her hand.

"My lady, stop killing them!" Changming shouted from afar. Although he didn't truly care about the lives of these Dao Integration cultivators, they were, after all, mobilized by him. The casualties were already significant, and if they were all annihilated, it would be a bad look for him.

"I'll do as I please!" Yuan Xi's expression was fierce. She then caught up to another Dao Integration cultivator and extinguished his life.

Changming finally arrived. He raised his hand and summoned his own Dao Soldier, pointing his sword at Yuan Xi from a distance, and declared, "My lady, I apologize for this offense!" As this sword strike was unleashed, the surrounding starlight seemed to vanish for a moment. Even under Yuan Xi's protection, Lu Ye felt a sharp pain in his soul. The point of the sword light rapidly expanded in his vision, filling his mind.

Unrivaled! This was the feeling that surged within Lu Ye at that moment. His current strength was already considerable; many Dao Integration cultivators were no match for him. Yet, Changming's sword strike was something he couldn't resist at all. And this sword strike wasn't even aimed at him; he was merely caught in the periphery. He wondered what Yuan Xi, the direct target, was feeling.

Yuan Xi felt nothing. She turned and launched a punch. Under the surge of boundless Dao Power, the sword light disintegrated like a candle flame in the wind.

"Wow, Lu Ye, that guy's sword is an Essence Treasure!" Liao's voice suddenly echoed deep within Lu Ye's heart.

Lu Ye immediately snapped, "What do you want to do?!" Lu Ye wasn't entirely sure of Changming's background. But since the other party respectfully called Yuan Xi "My lady," he presumed they came from the same place, one of the Ten Great Dao Integration Cities. For a powerhouse like him, having an Essence Treasure as his Dao Soldier was perfectly normal. Lu Ye would have been surprised if his Dao Soldier *wasn't* an Essence Treasure. Liao was only a step away from overcoming its second obstacle, and seeing an Essence Treasure now made it practically drool. However, Changming's sword was not something it could covet. Lu Ye had no ability to fight Changming to the death. The power gap between them was too vast; they weren't opponents on the same level.

"I was just saying," Liao's voice sounded sheepish. It also knew it was being a bit excessive. Lu Ye currently had quite a few Star Abyss Coins accumulated, which should be enough to exchange for an Essence Treasure. As long as he handed it over to the Battle Arena for arrangements, it could overcome its second obstacle, so there was no need to rush now.

While they exchanged a few words, Yuan Xi and Changming had already engaged in a fierce battle, colliding dozens of times in an instant. With each collision, Changming's body would shake, and a layer of sword light from his longsword would shatter. After two breaths, he suddenly grimaced and said, "My lady, your strength is truly formidable!"

He had now refined Eagleflight City's Dao Integration Orb, making him a Wilderness-level City Lord. With the amplification from the Wilderness-level Dao Integration Orb, his strength far surpassed normal levels. Yet, even so, he was not Yuan Xi's match. Admittedly, Yuan Xi, as a Flood-level City Lord, received even greater strength amplification than him. But the main reason was still the Dao Soldier's second form. Changming secretly estimated that if not for this second form, he should be able to fight his wife to a draw. But with her Dao Soldier's second form activated, he found it difficult to contend.

Fortunately, he only needed to buy time. Over ten of the fleeing Dao Integration cultivators remained. Such a lineup was enough to breach Yuan Xi City's defenses. Once his wife's Dao Integration City was breached, her strength would plummet, and the situation could naturally be reversed.

"Changming, you'd best retreat now, or I will certainly not go easy on you!" How could Yuan Xi not know about the city's predicament? But even knowing, she was powerless to return and assist at this moment. Changming's current strength was indeed inferior to hers, yet he was capable of blocking her. She was only annoyed that she hadn't killed them fast enough earlier. If she had managed to wipe out all those Dao Integration cultivators, she would have no worries.

"My lady, don't make things difficult for me; I'm merely following orders," Changming continuously wielded his longsword, stirring up boundless Dao Power, while fending off Yuan Xi's furious assaults. He responded, "My lady, you should know why I came; why are you acting like this?"

Yuan Xi didn't reply, and her offensive grew even fiercer.

Lu Ye suddenly transmitted a message: "My lord, there's no need to worry. The city has already gone into hiding. Those fellows won't find its trace for a while." His clone was still in the city, so he knew the situation at Yuan Xi City perfectly. Thanks to the unique environment of this Cold Current Hive, with its complex internal passages, otherwise, the city wouldn't have had a chance to escape. Now, You Die had activated the secret art of Mirage on the Dao Integration Orb, disguising Yuan Xi City as a cold current, perfectly embedding it beside a real cold current. If no one interfered, there would be no flaw whatsoever. Just a moment ago, a Dao Integration cultivator passed by nearby but didn't even glance at the city.

Yuan Xi's eyebrows rose upon hearing this. If that were the case, then there was indeed nothing to be anxious about. Changming, however, sensed something was amiss. Yuan Xi had clearly been anxious just moments ago, but for some reason, she had suddenly calmed down. He realized something was wrong, and his gaze suddenly fixed on Lu Ye, who had been standing behind Yuan Xi like a mere appendage.

In that instant, Lu Ye couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine, feeling as if he had been targeted by a ferocious beast. The next moment, Changming's figure vanished from his sight. An unspeakable sense of crisis assailed him from the side. His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a sword light. Lu Ye raised his hand to block with his saber, but it was too late. The enemy's attack was too fast, so fast that he barely had time to react. Just as he thought he was about to lose his life there, a fist clad in white armor suddenly shot out, meeting that streak of sword light.

Changming didn't wait for his sword momentum to wane; his figure shifted again, changing positions in the blink of an eye, his Essence Treasure longsword still pointing directly at Lu Ye's head. Having experienced it just moments ago, this time, although Lu Ye still felt that irresistible life-or-death crisis, he was no longer panicked, because he knew Yuan Xi would not let anything happen to him. As expected, with Changming's sword strike changing, Yuan Xi's offensive also changed accordingly. Both figures moved, shifted, and reversed. It was a battle of speed against speed, and they exchanged blows countless times in a short period. Unlike the head-on collisions earlier, they were now constantly changing their tactics.

In this short time, Lu Ye experienced countless life-or-death crises. Almost every sword strike from Changming made him feel as if he was about to die. He repeatedly wanted to draw his saber, but this level of combat clearly exceeded his ability to contend. Changming's objective was simple: since he wasn't Yuan Xi's match, he would eliminate her assistant. He had just confirmed that Lu Ye was the key to Yuan Xi's ability to maintain her Dao Soldier's second form for an extended period. Therefore, he didn't need to do anything to Yuan Xi herself; as long as he captured Lu Ye, Yuan Xi's side would collapse without further attack.

Yuan Xi, of course, could not allow this to happen. If Changming truly succeeded, putting aside whether Lu Ye would survive, she would certainly lose her ability to fight. Lu Ye felt dizzy and muddle-headed. These two supreme powerhouses of the current era engaged in a fierce struggle with him at its center. If not for Yuan Xi's utmost protection, he would struggle to withstand even the aftershocks. However, looking at the situation now, Yuan Xi, in her current state, was actually considerably stronger than Changming. After all, she hadn't been able to unleash her full power, as she had to divert some strength to protect Lu Ye.

After fighting fiercely for a while, Changming not only failed to do anything to Lu Ye, but Yuan Xi instead seized an opportunity and smashed a punch into his abdomen. Changming grunted in pain; his body tumbled backward, and the spiritual light of his Dao Power dimmed for an instant. He hastily steadied himself, looking at Yuan Xi, who was pressing her advantage in pursuit. His face was filled with worry. He sighed deeply and said, "My lady, why make it so difficult?"

As he spoke, he reached into his robe, took out an item, and threw it forward! He actually still had the strength to fight again, but time was running out. Using that secret art to temporarily refine the Dao Integration Orb and become the City Lord of Eagleflight City had a time limit. Once the secret art's duration expired, he would lose his status as a Wilderness-level City Lord. And once he lost his Wilderness-level City Lord status, he would be even less of a match for Yuan Xi.