Chapter 2630: Have an Opportunity

Winds Rise in the Nine Provinces

When Lu Ye collected himself, he found himself seemingly on a battle arena. This arena was unbelievably vast; he stood in one corner of it, while Jiao was in the opposite corner. However, due to the immense distance between them, Jiao appeared as nothing more than a tiny black dot in his vision.

Gazing upwards, Lu Ye saw that the arena was covered by a hemispherical dome. Numerous stars adorned the dome, and the sun and moon rotated within it, like a real night sky. Around the arena were countless spectator seats, but they were all empty at the moment.

“A Subordinate Treasure Battle Arena?” Lu Ye instantly grasped his current situation and finally understood Jiao’s intention. He marveled inwardly at Jiao’s extravagant move; to create an opportunity for a one-on-one fight, Jiao had actually used two Subordinate Treasures at once. The first, the Yin-Yang Reversal Mirror, could ignore spatial barriers to swap positions, separating him from Jing Lei and the others. The second, this Battle Arena, could create such an environment, ensuring their conflict would not be interrupted.

Battle Arenas also existed in the starry sky, though those were merely exotic treasures refined by cultivators. Lu Ye himself had once been ensnared by such a treasure. Furthermore, many items in the starry sky bore traces of Supreme Treasures, and Battle Arenas were just one example. For ordinary cultivators, acquiring even one Subordinate Treasure was an immense stroke of luck. Yet, Jiao possessed a seemingly endless supply of them; including his Golden-Silver Shears, that made three Subordinate Treasures.

It made sense. While obtaining a Subordinate Treasure was indeed difficult for ordinary cultivators, Jiao, after all, was a Son of the Star Abyss. He had channels to acquire Star Abyss Coins. Even if his probability of gaining Star Abyss Coins from killing enemies wasn't as high as Lu Ye's, he had lived long enough to accumulate some capital. It was certainly no problem for him to exchange some Subordinate Treasures from the Star Abyss Treasury as personal assets. In fact, he might possess more than just these few Subordinate Treasures! Unlike Lu Ye, who had used all his hard-earned Star Abyss Coins to exchange for Subordinate Treasures to facilitate Liao's promotion, Jiao had no Soldier Race to support, so he didn't have such expenses.

As Lu Ye inwardly grew cautious, Jiao’s laughter clearly echoed from the distance: “Let’s see who can save you this time!” His previous failure was entirely due to Yuan Xi, the white-side player, personally intervening. She had directly plucked Lu Ye, a white piece, away. Otherwise, he would have long since achieved his desire and seized Lu Ye’s Star Abyss Blessing. Now, he had used a Subordinate Treasure to seal off this section of the starry sky, and this was done within the rules of the game. Thus, a life-or-death battle between him and Lu Ye had to conclude; only then would the Battle Arena lift its seal. Until then, neither side’s players could interfere with their fight. He was absolutely confident he could slay Lu Ye here, because he had grown stronger since his last encounter with Lu Ye!

The moment he finished speaking, Jiao transformed into a streak of blood and charged directly towards Lu Ye. It was at this moment that ghostly figures suddenly appeared on the previously empty spectator seats around the Battle Arena. These figures had no physical substance; they seemed to be mere souls. Some were solid, others ethereal, as if they could vanish at any moment. Initially, their numbers were few, but they rapidly increased, as if the nascent battle had disturbed their slumber and awakened them.

These souls belonged to cultivators who had once been defeated and slain in Battle Arenas. Though their bodies perished here, their souls were imprisoned by the power of a Supreme Treasure, forever unable to escape. They endured torment day after day, year after year, until the moment their souls would finally dissipate. In the blink of an eye, a good portion of the empty seats were filled, and their numbers continued to grow. Jiao alone, of course, couldn't possibly have slain so many cultivators. In fact, this was his first time using a Battle Arena to contend with someone; prior to this, he had never killed an enemy here. However, there wasn't just one Subordinate Treasure Battle Arena. Countless such items had appeared throughout history, and these souls were all cultivators who had died in other Battle Arenas.

Witnessing Jiao’s furious charge, the numerous souls instantly became agitated. Endless wails emanated from all around the seats, chilling and howling like a ghostly wind. After countless years of torment, most of these souls had lost their original sentience. They were now merely a horde of restless spirits. Any battle within the Battle Arena would provoke their abnormal reactions and frenzy. The wailing and howling, at first listen, sounded like they were cheering Jiao on, yet they unnerved Lu Ye.

Lu Ye’s expression subtly changed. Not because of Jiao’s aggressive advance, but because, being in this space, he clearly felt the souls’ malice towards him. One or two wouldn’t be much, but countless converged, making even his body grow cold. These souls had lost their sentience, but having died in Battle Arenas, they held an instinctive malice towards any living beings who entered this space. It was foreseeable that, if not for the restrictions shrouding the arena’s perimeter, these numerous restless spirits would instantly swarm and overwhelm both him and Jiao.

Though the arena was vast, Jiao’s speed was extreme. In just over ten breaths, he was upon Lu Ye. The streak of blood receded, transforming into his figure. His short blades, shimmering in gold and silver, slashed wildly at Lu Ye. Lu Ye, without hesitation, activated his inherent Sacredness. Having suffered greatly at this fellow’s hands before, he naturally dared not be slow. The moment his Sacredness spread, Jiao’s movements visibly froze for an extremely brief moment. The Dao power and vital energy flowing through him were both suppressed.

He couldn't help but frown, because, compared to his last clash with Lu Ye, this human soldier-cultivator’s Sacredness seemed to have improved again. The improvement wasn't significant, but it was undeniable, as he felt more suppressed. Since when was Sacredness so easy to improve for any race? Jiao couldn't quite comprehend it. Even he, back in the day, had to train diligently for decades or even centuries to achieve a minuscule increase in his Sacredness. And at his current level, further improvement was extremely difficult. It couldn't be achieved through external means; it required vast amounts of time and effort for cultivation, study, and developing one's own bloodline power. So, he truly didn't understand Lu Ye's situation. Crucially, the other party was clearly a human!

He had no time for further thought, for Lu Ye’s long blade had already descended. The swirling mass of gold and silver was instantly split apart, as if chaos had been broken open, revealing yin and yang. Jiao’s pale face changed drastically. His body abruptly halted, he stumbled slightly, and took three steps back before regaining his balance. Then he and Lu Ye stared at each other, both looking bewildered.

He was utterly perplexed. How could his opponent’s strength have grown so much? He had been killing enemies and strengthening himself ever since Lu Ye was rescued by Yuan Xi last time. Compared to before, he was significantly stronger. He was confident that even if Lu Ye had made gains, they couldn’t possibly be as substantial as his own. Black Blood had told him that after he wounded the human soldier-cultivator, Lu Ye had spent several rounds healing. This meant Lu Ye had killed several fewer rounds of enemies than him. Therefore, even if both of their strengths were increasing, the gap between them should have widened. He should have been able to easily defeat his opponent this time!

But in reality, it was not so. From the sheer might of that single blade strike, he could tell that the gap between them hadn't widened; instead, it had narrowed to an almost negligible degree! Even if the opponent’s Sacredness was stronger and suppressed him more, it shouldn't be like this!

No, this must be an illusion!

With that thought, Jiao once again brandished the two short blades in his hands, enveloping Lu Ye just as before. As the blade light flashed, chaos was once again cleaved, yin and yang separated, and Jiao stumbled back a few steps again.

Although Lu Ye took more steps back, his eyes had brightened considerably. Just as he expected, the gap in their strengths was narrowing. Currently, though still slightly inferior, he was no longer in the situation of being completely overwhelmed. Jiao probably thought the gap in their strengths would continue to widen, but in reality, within the game, no one but he and Yuan Xi knew that killing Dao Integration realm cultivators offered a significant boost to his strength. Therefore, even if he had killed fewer enemies than Jiao, his overall strength improvement was greater. Furthermore, he had previously slain two Blood Clan Dao Integration realm cultivators, which enhanced his Sacredness, thereby increasing his suppression of Jiao. Given this, then this battle... would be interesting.

Liao was also extremely excited: “Lu Ye, there’s a chance!” What it craved was such a balanced situation, preferably with Lu Ye at a slight disadvantage. Only then could it more effectively devour the mysteries within the opponent’s Subordinate Treasures. Before, it wasn't possible because twenty breaths in one round was too short, and the strength gap was too vast for Lu Ye to even hold on. Now, it was different.

“Let’s go!” Lu Ye mentally uttered to it. His figure shot forth, and with a flash, he appeared by Jiao’s side. His long blade, like a spear, struck with the force of a rainbow piercing the sun. On the blade’s edge, Dao power converged to a single point, splitting the very void!

“You bastard!” Jiao finally accepted the reality that their strength gap was not significant, and this realization infuriated him. He had risked his life, entered this grid piece alone, and even used two Subordinate Treasures. Wasn't his ultimate goal to quickly slay Lu Ye? As long as he could swiftly kill Lu Ye and seize his Star Abyss Blessing, his mission would be complete. As for being besieged by numerous Dao Integration realm cultivators after killing Lu Ye… He believed that with his current strength, even if surrounded, he could hold on for a while by unleashing his sea of blood, and then escape when it was the black-side’s turn. But all of this was predicated on him being able to slay Lu Ye in an extremely short time. If he had known the situation would be like this, what was the point of all his effort and sacrifice? Even if he truly defeated Lu Ye, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. Would he have any chance of survival if besieged by dozens of enemy Dao Integration realm cultivators then?

As he roared, the golden short blade moved horizontally in front of him, blocking Lu Ye’s attack. Simultaneously, the silver short blade slid out, cutting towards Lu Ye’s abdomen like a crescent moon, or a silver venomous snake flicking its tongue.