Chapter 2599: Jiao

Lu Ye was secretly alarmed, yet also somewhat expectant. He had realized that the Star Abyss Son heading towards him was a Blood Clan member! He wondered if his Sacred Prowess could suppress the opponent. If it could, he might catch them off guard and weaken their strength.

With Yuan Xi right beside him, if he could assist her at a critical moment, there would be a chance to kill the opponent. However, Lu Ye had never individually fought a Blood Clan Harmonizer before, so he couldn't gauge the exact extent of his current Sacred Prowess. Moreover, this opponent was no ordinary Harmonizer; this Star Abyss Son's bloodline Sacred Prowess was likely exceptionally potent. Rashly activating his own would risk exposing his trump card if it failed to suppress them.

As his thoughts raced, Lu Ye raised his hand and gripped Yuan Xi's shoulder, forming a spirit pattern to allow her to draw on his strength at any moment. Only then did Yuan Xi become aware. She sharply turned her head to look in the direction the Blood Clan member was approaching, and as a cold glint flashed in her eyes, the Black Lotus Dao Weapon beneath her feet instantly disintegrated, transforming into countless swirling black petals that swarmed forward to harass the approaching foe.

A flash of blood-red light occurred, and Yuan Xi's attack missed its mark. The Star Abyss Son's speed was even more incredibly fast. In the next instant, Lu Ye felt a bone-chilling sensation, as if his entire being was sinking into a bottomless abyss, his body and mind falling endlessly. This was undoubtedly an illusion, a sensory distortion occurring just before death.

A flash of light crossed his vision, and he was swiftly moved aside, enveloped by Yuan Xi. Simultaneously, two muffled groans sounded by his ear. When Lu Ye regained his senses, he found himself still standing in place, enveloped by a layer of protective black petals that resembled black armor. However, the petals at the chest of this "armor" had a large hole, which was slowly healing. He was covered in a cold sweat, knowing that at that critical moment, Yuan Xi had activated the power of her Dao Weapon to protect him; otherwise, he would have likely died inexplicably.

The strength of this Star Abyss Son was truly terrifying, definitely not an opponent he could contend with at his current level. Being targeted by such an enemy, especially in these circumstances, was truly frustrating. As his gaze shifted, Lu Ye noticed something else that surprised him: both Lian and Huan Qing had an unnatural blush on their faces. Although it quickly subsided, it was a sign of qi and blood turbulence. When the Star Abyss Son attacked just now, they had hastily clashed for an instant and clearly suffered a minor disadvantage.

At this moment, all three pairs of eyes were fixed on the figure standing not far away, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Jiao?" Lian's voice was low as she recognized the Blood Clan member. His characteristics were simply too distinctive; within the entire Inner Realm, he was likely the only Blood Clan member who looked so anomalous. Since Lian knew about Black Blood City, she naturally knew about its First Deputy City Lord. After recognizing Jiao, Lian quickly sent a voice transmission, relaying all the information she knew to Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Earlier, when she heard Lu Ye say he was being targeted by another Star Abyss Son, she feigned injury and exhaustion, retreating with Lian and Huan Qing to the edge of the battlefield. Her intention was to lure the snake out of its hole and then eliminate it in one fell swoop. Now, the snake had been lured out, only to reveal itself as a colossal python. Based solely on the brief exchange just now, Jiao's strength was roughly on par with a Cosmic-tier City Lord!

"Oh?" Jiao's pale hands deftly twirled two short blades, their movements dazzling to watch. "You recognize me? If so, will you still resist?"

Lian remained silent. Jiao scoffed, "Fine, I'm only here to take one life. Just don't interfere!"

With that, he suddenly waved his hand, and a blood-red light shot towards Yuan Xi. The light was incredibly fast and powerful, reaching Yuan Xi in the blink of an eye. Yuan Xi punched, her fierce power shattering the blood-red light. In the next instant, her eyes narrowed, for Jiao had vanished from her sight. Without a moment's hesitation, she lunged forward.

At the same time, Lu Ye felt a crisis strike from behind. The black armor protecting his body was pierced by a sharp force, and a sharp pain shot through his back. When Yuan Xi stabilized herself and turned back, Lu Ye saw that Jiao had, at some unknown point, appeared behind their original position. Fresh blood stained a short blade in his hand. It was Lu Ye's blood! If Yuan Xi hadn't reacted quickly enough just now, he would have likely been killed.

Lian and Huan Qing had already lunged from both sides. Lian's Startling Thunderwood swept across, releasing bursts of lightning with impressive power, while Huan Qing's ribbon-like Dao Weapon created countless afterimages, attempting to engulf Jiao. Yuan Xi turned back to attack. Even before she reached him, black petals, imbued with boundless killing intent, assailed Jiao.

Jiao's brows immediately furrowed deeply. Yuan Xi had thwarted his two attempts at assassination, making him instantly realize he had been overconfident and missed the best opportunity. Annoyed, he unhesitatingly unleashed his Blood Sea. A vast crimson light erupted, and surging waves swept forth as the Blood Sea spread out, enveloping a large area. Yuan Xi's eyes brightened.

She had intentionally refrained from unsealing the second form of her Dao Weapon, not because she didn't want to, but because she was feigning weakness. She knew the Blood Clan's nature: if they couldn't quickly dispatch an opponent, they would inevitably rely on their Blood Sea Secret Art. And this was exactly what she had been waiting for. Within the Blood Sea, she would have no more reservations! This Jiao indeed possessed the strength of a Cosmic-tier City Lord; he was powerful and extremely vigilant. Therefore, there would only be one chance to kill him: that single strike from her unsealed Dao Weapon's second form!

Lu Ye no longer harbored thoughts of personally killing Jiao. Such a powerful expert was far beyond his current reach. Forcing the issue would only disrupt Yuan Xi and the others' battle rhythm, leading to more harm than good.

The Blood Sea churned violently as the four Harmonizers engaged in fierce combat within it. An ordinary Blood Sea would have long since collapsed under such pressure, but this Blood Sea was deployed by Jiao himself. His extraordinary strength and potent bloodline allowed him to maintain it without much difficulty. Although Lu Ye did not directly participate, he keenly observed that this Blood Clan member named Jiao followed the path of a ghost cultivator. He concealed his form and moved back and forth within the Blood Sea, occasionally unleashing a heaven-shattering strike. If his attack missed, he would immediately retreat to seek another opportunity. It was indeed not easy for Yuan Xi to seize that fleeting opportunity to kill the opponent.

After a brief deliberation, he also activated his Blood Sea Art, infiltrating Jiao's Blood Sea with his own. Such an action certainly wouldn't escape Jiao's notice. An expert like him possessed perfect control over his own Blood Sea and could immediately detect any foreign presence within it. However, Lu Ye had no intention of hiding it from him. Although the Blood Sea Art originated from the Blood Clan, many cultivators of various races practiced it. The most famous variant was the Blood Escape Art, an unrivaled technique for countless cultivators to flee when encountering danger. In Jiao's eyes, Lu Ye had merely activated some blood technique similar to the Blood Sea Art. But what Jiao surely wouldn't anticipate was that Lu Ye could use this secret art to unleash his own Sacred Prowess!

Given this situation, Lu Ye could only gamble that his own Sacred Prowess could suppress Jiao! Even a slight suppression, if it appeared at the right moment, would be enough for Yuan Xi to land that fatal blow. However, he actually had little confidence. As a Star Abyss Son with such immense strength, Jiao's Sacred Prowess must be incredibly potent and might not be suppressed by him. Thus, this was merely a contingency plan, not a necessary course of action.

While this skirmish unfolded, the chaotic main battlefield raged fiercely. In this short period, countless cultivators had fallen, including both Soul Harmonizers and Dao Harmonizers. In Black Blood City, Black Blood frowned, gazing towards the part of the battlefield where Jiao was. His dissatisfaction was almost palpable in his eyes. At such a crucial moment, Jiao had acted on his own initiative, which was utterly senseless, yet Black Blood was powerless to do anything about it.

"Lord, when shall we make our move?" Although the Second Deputy City Lord knew Black Blood was in a foul mood, he could only pluck up his courage and step forward to ask. This was because the situation on the battlefield was not as favorable as they had predicted. Indeed, their side had caught Thin Bamboo City by surprise and held an absolute numerical advantage. However, with the influx of a large number of reinforcements summoned by Thin Bamboo City, their opponents were only at a slight disadvantage. Particularly, the combat groups led by the experts from Thin Bamboo City had inflicted heavy losses on their side. In the Second Deputy City Lord's view, if the experts from Black Blood City and the Li Shai Insect Nest entered the fray now, they could surely curb the enemy's counterattack and easily win this war. Not to mention, if Black Blood made a move, he could restrain Thin Bamboo. Once their strongest enemy was tied down, they could act freely.

"What's the rush!" Black Blood snorted coldly. "Wait a little longer!" Of course he wanted to join the fight now. He wasn't blind; if their group of experts intervened at this moment, it would undoubtedly greatly reduce their casualties. But he couldn't. Because this was Blood Scourge's command. Before this expedition, Blood Scourge had explicitly told him that this battle had only one purpose: to delay! The longer the delay, the better. He didn't know why, but he dared not ask, for it was a command from the Blood Clan's strongest expert. Observing from the sidelines now, he still couldn't discern the true reason. He only knew that the battle had already caused immense losses for both sides. Even if they managed to capture Thin Bamboo City afterward, considering the casualties, it would be a very uneconomical victory.

At this very moment, within a Harmonizer City, Lu Ye's Talent Tree avatar stood scratching its head. The situation was quite awkward. Before him lay a Harmonizer Orb from a Heaven-tier City, surrounded by enemy corpses and flowing blood. As before, this city was now deserted. Its grand array had been breached, enemies had invaded, and the defending cultivators were either dead or had fled. He was the only one left in the entire city.

With a slight sigh, the avatar had no choice but to punch and shatter the Harmonizer Orb before him, then gather all the fragments and send them back to Yuan Xi City via spirit patterns. This was already the third Harmonizer City he had acquired since the start of the great battle. The key point was that all these were Harmonizer Cities belonging to their own side.