Chapter 2634: Black Blood, You Lied to Me

The Winds of the Nine Provinces Rise

Nonetheless, even in a treasure trove like the ancestral land of the Soul Clan, cultivating Soul Crystals is no simple matter. Lu Ye had benefited from them before, so he could confirm that what he saw now was indeed a type of Soul Crystal, almost indistinguishable from the genuine article.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, not expecting such a pleasant surprise.

These Soul Crystals were clearly the remnants of numerous soul bodies refined by the Talent Tree. The Talent Tree could refine away anything harmful to itself, yet it preserved these valuable substances.

Although each Soul Crystal appeared small, it contained incredibly pure and potent soul power.

If Lu Ye could refine all of them, his spiritual cultivation would undoubtedly improve significantly.

Of course, this wouldn't happen overnight. Sometimes, increasing one's power too quickly isn't a good thing, as it can easily lead to an unstable foundation.

Anyway, these numerous Soul Crystals remained in his Divine Sea, and no one else could take them. He could refine them gradually in the future.

This was indeed a pleasant surprise. If Jiao hadn't tried to drag him down with the massive shadow in the end, he wouldn't have gained these benefits.

Lu Ye felt a slight dissatisfaction, because when Jiao had used the Divine Annihilation Borrowing Technique, she had only used about half of her soul body—the limit she could bear. If Jiao had been able to use more soul bodies then, he would have received even greater benefits now.

With a brief perception, he noted there were roughly a few thousand Soul Crystals remaining in his Soul Sea.

With a thought, Lu Ye quickly dispersed his Divine Soul Secret Technique, and his soul body dissipated.

Jiao was dead, the restrictions of the Combat Arena were lifted, and he sensed the space shifting.

At this moment, the two players by the chessboard both felt a sensation and eagerly looked towards the square where Black Blood City was located.

Yuan Xi felt a little nervous…

Although she was almost certain Lu Ye would achieve ultimate victory and had complete confidence in her Grand Commander, the outcome was still uncertain, and she was ultimately a bit anxious, especially since she had previously moved all the white pieces away.

If Jiao had walked out alive at that moment, she wouldn't even have had the chance to avenge Lu Ye.

Looking up, within the expanse of gray mist, a vast sea of blood suddenly surged forth.

The gray mist dissipated, the restrictions were lifted, and life and death were decided.

Yuan Xi's expression darkened!

Opposite her, Black Blood burst into laughter: "Your piece... is dead!"

This judgment was entirely due to Jiao's residual aura being omnipresent in the sea of blood, which was clearly created by Jiao.

Since it was Jiao's sea of blood, Lu Ye's chances were naturally slim.

Black Blood felt utterly delighted. Although Jiao was unruly, she was certainly capable and had finally done him a great favor.

As long as the source of White's surprise was eliminated, he was confident he would win the final victory.

The sea of blood quickly receded. When he saw the situation clearly, Black Blood's laughter abruptly stopped. His eyes widened suddenly as he stared at the dilapidated figure. His face trembled, and he remained speechless for a long time!

Yuan Xi swept away her previous worry and burst into laughter: "Excellent!"

Her Grand Commander had indeed not disappointed her, having ultimately survived the confrontation with Jiao!

Although he looked heavily injured, as long as he was alive, that was all that mattered.

She looked up, and with a smiling gaze, asked Black Blood: "What did you just say? I didn't quite catch that."

Black Blood felt a tightness in his chest, and a bloody taste surged in his throat.

He couldn't understand how Jiao could have died. She had clearly used two Spirit Treasures, creating a one-on-one confrontation with Lu Ye. She should have been much stronger…

But the facts were before him.

Black Blood's heart sank. Jiao's death not only meant the failure of his plan to eliminate Lu Ye but also the loss of his strongest piece, effectively severing an arm.

In the upcoming game, his situation would likely become increasingly difficult. As numerous disadvantages accumulated, he would no longer be able to turn the tide.

Staring at Lu Ye's position, thoughts surged in his mind. Judging by the Human Soldier Cultivator's condition, it seemed he had paid a great price to kill Jiao. If he were to mobilize nearby black pieces to besiege Lu Ye now, what would his chances of victory be?

He quickly suppressed this tempting idea, as his previous attempts had not been very effective. Instead, they had only made the Human Soldier Cultivator stronger.

Regaining his composure, he reminded himself that the chess game wasn't about one piece, but the overall situation!

Overall, Black didn't have a significant disadvantage. Therefore, it was still unclear who would emerge victorious in this game.

Within the Black Blood City square, Lu Ye stood still, silently perceiving.

After he emerged from the Combat Arena space, he suddenly felt something ethereal escape from Jiao's nearby corpse and flow into his own body.

Just as it had happened after he killed Pelin.

He immediately understood that he had seized Jiao's Star Abyss blessing.

He sensed that he was now more in tune with the Star Abyss aura around him, and the flow of Dao power was more perceptible. In this state, his cultivation efficiency would undoubtedly increase if he diligently practiced.

However, this benefit was of secondary importance to him, as he was not currently lacking in Dao power.

He valued other benefits more.

All things considered, he now possessed three blessings of a Star Abyss Son. After previously killing Pelin, his probability of gaining Star Abyss Coins from killing enemies had significantly increased. He figured it would be the same this time.

On the other hand, his current cultivation was also different from back then. At the ninth level of Fusion Dao, it was already difficult to obtain Star Abyss Coins from killing cultivators of the same realm, unless he killed a sufficient number of them.

Jiao's death not only brought him these benefits but also an enhancement in his divine essence.

Unlike when he previously killed a few Blood Clan Dao Harmonizers, where his divine essence didn't significantly improve, Jiao's divine essence was only slightly inferior to his. Therefore, after refining Jiao's sea of blood, Lu Ye's divine essence was noticeably enhanced.

It could be said that Jiao's death brought Lu Ye comprehensive benefits, with the only exception being the significant cost of this battle.

The Spirit Treasures they both used, excluding their own Dao weapons, totaled four! Of these four, except for the Heaven-Earth Reversal Mirror which remained, the other three were completely consumed.

Spirit Treasures capable of borrowing the power of supreme artifacts, such as the Combat Arena and the Chaos Scales, were essentially consumables, not meant for continuous use.

In contrast, Spirit Treasures like the Heaven-Earth Reversal Mirror, which possessed their own mysterious power, were not consumed.

"Grand Commander, please heal your injuries first," Yuan Xi's voice reached his ears.

Lu Ye shook his head: "No need, Your Excellency. Eliminating the enemy is more important now." Although his injuries were severe, his current strength was sufficient, so even confronting the enemy wouldn't be a major issue. As long as he killed quickly enough, there would naturally be extra time for healing. He and Jiao had spent a lot of time in the Combat Arena, and with the outcome of the game still undecided, he couldn't afford to be careless.

Yuan Xi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said: "Then so be it!"

She also wanted to quickly end this chess game. As she spoke, she thrust a palm towards Black Blood while simultaneously commanding numerous black pieces.

Lu Ye merely took a brief moment to adjust his breathing, then followed the designated direction, advancing and striking.

This scene made Black Blood's eyelids twitch, and he was secretly annoyed. He hadn't intended to seek trouble with Lu Ye, but the other party had already taken the initiative to attack.

Yet he could do nothing about it, only watch as Lu Ye charged into a chess square and, with the white pieces there, annihilated all the black pieces.

Time flowed on, and wherever Lu Ye passed, a bloody carnage ensued.

By this point in the game, the cultivators still alive, whether Fusion Dao or Dao Harmonizer, had significantly improved in strength. However, compared to his own gains, the increase in strength for others was negligible.

Therefore, as long as he wasn't besieged while isolated, Lu Ye would essentially have no life-threatening worries.

As White's player, Yuan Xi would certainly not deploy him into dangerous situations.

Lu Ye's strength increased once more, but he soon discovered that this improvement had a limit!

When his power was enhanced to approximately five thousand Dao, it seemed to reach a bottleneck.

This was likely a rule imposed by the supreme artifact, but since ancient times, no one seemed to have reached this level, so naturally, no one knew.

Although his strength could no longer increase, Lu Ye still received additional surprise rewards for killing Dao Harmonizers. Aside from a portion of these rewards going to the players, the rest comprehensively enhanced his foundation.

In one of the chess squares, seeing Lu Ye being deployed there, the black pieces, having been forewarned, immediately scattered and fled, with no intention of confronting him.

They only wanted to buy time, waiting for Black Blood to deploy them out and escape this perilous situation.

Lu Ye targeted a Dao Harmonizer of the Insectoid race. This individual had a pair of wings on its back, fleeing rapidly, its figure almost transforming into a streak of light.

Suddenly, the Insectoid felt a strong sense of danger. When it turned to look, it saw Lu Ye had already reached its back, and it cried out in alarm: "Black Blood, you lied to me?"

This was because Black Blood had previously warned them that Lu Ye was very strong and definitely not someone they could contend with. However, his clear weakness was his speed; he wasn't fast enough. Therefore, as long as they kept fleeing, they would generally be safe.

Yet, in reality, it had exerted its full strength but was still caught by Lu Ye.

In terms of speed, it was already exceptionally outstanding among Dao Harmonizers; ordinary Dao Harmonizers were no match for it. But Lu Ye was actually able to start later and arrive first, which meant he could utterly crush it in speed!

Black Blood was also dumbfounded.

He had been watching Lu Ye closely, so how could he not know Lu Ye's speed? Yet, it now appeared that everything he had seen was an illusion!

This Human Soldier Cultivator had always been hiding his true capabilities.

As the Insectoid Dao Harmonizer's words fell, Lu Ye had already unleashed a strike with his blade.

Liao had fallen into a deep slumber, so he couldn't activate the Dao power infused by his Dao weapon. However, compared to his current power of nearly five thousand Dao, the enhancement provided by his Dao weapon was negligible.

When this strike landed, the Insectoid's hard white carapace shattered instantly. Raging power surged, flesh and blood disintegrated, leaving behind only a few gleaming golden Dao bones.

Lu Ye casually scooped up the numerous spoils of war, then turned and pursued another Dao Harmonizer, his figure as swift as lightning.