Chapter 2613: Toxic

Prompted by the body cultivator's warning, the many cultivators awoke as if from a dream and simultaneously channeled their power to disrupt the Blood Sea. Instantly, the Blood Sea became turbulent, with waves surging everywhere, showing signs of collapse. Once the Blood Sea collapsed, Lu Ye would be exposed to everyone's view, losing his previous advantage.

It was at this moment that Lu Ye finally felt the signs of being moved. He abruptly retracted the Blood Sea, charging towards the designated direction. The crimson color followed him, quickly merging back into his body, and in an instant, he landed in an adjacent square on the board.

At this time, Lu Ye held his blade, his body splattered with blood—both his enemies' and his own. Most severely, he had several fist-sized wounds on his torso, from which fresh blood flowed continuously. Turning back, he saw several Unity Realm cultivators in the opposite square glaring furiously at him, their faces filled with reluctance. Their brief confrontation just now had made them keenly aware that with just a little more time, they could have subdued Lu Ye. However, the rules of the game allowed him to escape. Behind the Unity Realm cultivators, many Fusion Realm cultivators were visibly shaken. Of the three hundred Fusion Realm cultivators, fewer than two hundred remained. This group had been utterly slaughtered; within the dense Blood Sea, they had no idea what was truly happening, only feeling the life forces around them rapidly extinguish.

Lu Ye slightly calmed his surging qi and blood, quickly sat down, and put a handful of healing pills into his mouth. He knew clearly that the battle had just begun and his enemies would not let him go easily, so he had to recover quickly. Previously, he had seen Yuan Xi effortlessly contend with multiple enemies and had yearned for such skill. Now, experiencing it himself, he understood the difficulty. One-on-one, none of the Unity Realm cultivators were his match, but combined, he had to avoid their full force. Fortunately, he had just killed a Blood Clan Unity Realm cultivator and over a hundred Fusion Realm cultivators, which further boosted his strength. He now possessed over two thousand units of power. If he could kill another Unity Realm cultivator later, Lu Ye was confident he could wipe out all of them.

"A bunch of useless trash!" Black Blood cursed through gritted teeth by the chessboard. He couldn't understand why their formidable lineup had not only failed to subdue Lu Ye but had also been utterly routed by him. Unfortunately, the Blood Sea had obscured his view, so he hadn't seen clearly, only knowing that their clan's Unity Realm cultivator was utterly useless and had been instantly killed. Thankfully, this soldier cultivator had sustained significant injuries and wouldn't recover much in the brief twenty-breath interval. He just needed to dispatch another group of people to encircle him, and they would surely succeed.

Across from Black Blood, Yuan Xi watched Lu Ye escape his predicament and couldn't help but sigh in relief. However, it wasn't time to truly relax, as Lu Ye hadn't completely escaped danger; his enemies would pursue him. She couldn't help but feel worried. She had a general understanding of Lu Ye's strength and knew that he possessed strong sacred energy, which was why he was able to kill the Blood Clan Unity Realm cultivator, likely catching them by surprise. But the remaining five Unity Realm cultivators were not of the Blood Clan. How would Lu Ye deal with them? Without the sacred energy suppression, these five combined would not be easy to kill.

Just as she worried, Lu Ye once again activated his Blood Sea Art. Yuan Xi frowned slightly. While the Blood Sea Art was indeed very effective in such situations, Lu Ye couldn't sustain it for long. Enemies merely needed to target it specifically, and they could break through the Blood Sea in no time, leaving Lu Ye with nowhere to hide. Therefore, relying on the Blood Sea Art to conceal himself wouldn't be very effective and would instead waste his energy.

However, Yuan Xi soon noticed a subtle anomaly: Lu Ye was clearly injured, yet the current Blood Sea seemed even denser than before. If she could detect this anomaly, Black Blood, being of Blood Clan origin, could perceive it even more clearly. For a moment, neither chess player could understand the reason, thinking perhaps Lu Ye hadn't used his full power when he first activated the Blood Sea. Only Lu Ye himself knew that the change in the Blood Sea came from an increase in his sacred energy. That Blood Clan Unity Realm cultivator also had sacred blood and a good amount of sacred energy. After killing him, Lu Ye absorbed his Blood Sea, which was equivalent to refining his sacred blood. This slight increase in his own sacred energy was reflected in the changes to the Blood Sea.

In just two breaths, the Blood Sea filled the entire square. In the opposite square, the five Unity Realm cultivators looked grim. The body cultivator said, "Everyone, as soon as we enter, immediately channel your power to break his Blood Sea. Without the Blood Sea's interference, he'll have nowhere to hide, and we can kill him together!" The other four Unity Realm cultivators all nodded. They were already planning to do this without the body cultivator's reminder. It was truly puzzling why a human soldier cultivator had such profound mastery over the Blood Sea Art.

At this moment, they sensed the signs of being moved. The body cultivator channeled power to protect himself, charging forward at the vanguard, yelling, "Kill!" The five Unity Realm cultivators, leading many Fusion Realm cultivators, quickly charged into the Blood Sea.

However, as soon as they set foot inside, the body cultivator suddenly gasped in surprise, and the expressions of the others instantly changed drastically. "This is..." "Poison!" "What kind of poison is this? Why is it so potent!" Amidst their clamor, the Unity Realm cultivators were instantly thrown into a panic. This was because the section of the Blood Sea where they landed secretly contained a virulent poison, whose potency was beyond imagination, easily corroding their protective Dao power until it was riddled with holes. The sudden turn of events unsettled them, forcing them to channel all their strength to maintain their protective Dao power.

Just then, the body cultivator suddenly glimpsed a blurry figure moving nearby in the Blood Sea. Even through the crimson shroud, the sudden flash of a blade was blindingly bright. His expression changed dramatically, and he exclaimed, "Beware of a sneak attack!" As he spoke, he violently punched in that direction. He clearly felt his punch connect, but the sensation was like striking an impenetrable copper wall. Not only did it fail to harm the opponent in the slightest, but his own fist was left throbbing with pain.

This guy... he's gotten much stronger! Being in the game, they naturally knew that killing enemies could increase strength, but so far, they hadn't killed many enemies, so their improvements weren't significant. The enemy, however, was different. Having just killed one of their Unity Realm cultivators and slaughtered so many Fusion Realm cultivators, his strength had increased remarkably. Moreover, for some unknown reason, the body cultivator felt that the extent of the opponent's strength increase seemed to exceed his calculations, being greater than he had anticipated.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than a scream rang out. The body cultivator was alarmed, recognizing the voice as that of a spell cultivator in their team. What unsettled and horrified him even more was that the spell cultivator's scream abruptly ceased, and then their life force was extinguished. The spell cultivator was dead! Killed instantly in a sneak attack, just like their Blood Clan comrade earlier. He was aghast, because if the enemy's target had been him, he was certain he couldn't have resisted; he would have been the one to die! Not just him, any of the five Unity Realm cultivators in their team couldn't have resisted. One could only say that the spell cultivator was unlucky to be targeted. How ridiculous! They had arrived with such momentum, fully prepared, only to be caught completely off guard by the enemy. The crucial point was the sudden appearance of virulent poison in the Blood Sea. This poison... where did it come from? They had never heard of the Blood Sea Art being cultivated to contain virulent poison.

Almost at the same time as the spell cultivator's horrific death, a grunt sounded, and the ghost cultivator exclaimed, "I wounded him!" Although Lu Ye's sneak attack was hidden by the Blood Sea, at close range, enemies could still detect him. The body cultivator had punched him, and the others, almost immediately upon the spell cultivator's demise, had their own protective Dao power breached.

But urgently, Lu Ye, just as before, plunged into the Fusion Realm cultivators behind them. Blade lights flared everywhere as he moved swiftly, slaughtering relentlessly. "Quickly, break the Blood Sea!" yelled the body cultivator. They couldn't let the enemy keep killing like this. With the death of the spell cultivator, the enemy gained another fifty units of power, and killing Fusion Realm cultivators also added one unit of power each. If this continued, they truly wouldn't be able to match him. To his relief, the virulent poison seemed to cover only a small area, precisely where they had landed. So, if they moved out of it, they wouldn't be affected by the poison. Many figures darted through the Blood Sea, their violent powers shaking the surroundings. The vast Blood Sea lasted only a few breaths before it was on the verge of collapsing, forcing Lu Ye to retract it.

As the scene cleared, Lu Ye, covered in blood, was still slaughtering among the Fusion Realm cultivators. Wherever his blade went, life withered. "Stop killing!" The body cultivator gritted his teeth and roared, charging at Lu Ye. The remaining ghost cultivator and soldier cultivator did not dare to delay, immediately flanking him from both sides. In any other place, they might not have had the courage to do this and would likely have fled. But within the game, there was no space to escape; if they didn't kill the enemy, they would be killed. Therefore, no matter how unwilling or wary they were, they could only gather their courage and fight. The last spell cultivator kept his distance, summoning his spiritual weapon and unleashing beams of light towards Lu Ye.

"Utterly useless!" By the chessboard, Black Blood was practically seething with rage. If not for the game's restrictions, he would have personally entered the fray to slaughter both Lu Ye and those useless individuals. No matter how strong the enemy was, he was ultimately alone. Why were these imbeciles so ineffective, allowing themselves to be outmaneuvered repeatedly? However, one thing puzzled him: although he hadn't seen clearly what happened inside the Blood Sea, he had clearly heard some words. So... where did the virulent poison come from? It had made even those Unity Realm cultivators recoil as if from snakes and scorpions.

Across from him, Yuan Xi narrowed her eyes, her heavy mood easing considerably. Black Blood didn't know where Lu Ye got the virulent poison, but she did. The "Lotus Seed" poison was most effective against Dao power; even the defensive formations of Unity City struggled against it, let alone the protective energy of Unity Realm cultivators. Lu Ye must have secretly deployed the Lotus Seed poison in the area where the enemies entered, after spreading out his Blood Sea, waiting for them to walk into the trap. Indeed, this potent poison couldn't kill enemies, but when they were in a panic, it was the perfect moment for Lu Ye to launch a sneak attack. Their Grand Commander was both brave and resourceful. It seemed she didn't need to worry too much.