Chapter 2647: The Peak Battle

When Lu Ye and Yuan Xi returned to their city, You Die, who was in charge of the Central Hall, immediately noticed and quickly called out, "My Lords, Brother Ye, you've returned."

You Die had been on tenterhooks; the two main pillars of their city were over at Yifu City, and if they were caught in the great battle, it would be difficult to escape. Fortunately, they had now returned safely.

Lu Ye raised his hand, threw something towards her, and hurried out, eager to understand the situation of the battle outside.

You Die caught the object, initially perplexed. But after clearly seeing what it was, her eyes curved into crescents, and her face lit up with happiness. "Thank you, Brother Ye," she said.

It was unmistakably a soul core unique to an insect mother. Only insect mothers of the insect race can cultivate this item. It's similar to the inner core of a demonic beast and can almost be considered the culmination of an insect mother's entire life of cultivation.

She possessed one herself, but its quality was far inferior to the one in her hand. She immediately knew where it came from: it clearly originated from the insect mother of the Lishai Insect Nest. This insect mother was truly unlucky; even with a body that had achieved Hegemony, an insect mother was not truly suited for direct combat. Encountering Lu Ye in the chess game meant she had no chance of survival.

The Lishai Insect Nest was considered a Cosmic-level Hegemony City, and this insect mother was equivalent to a Cosmic-level city lord. Naturally, the quality of this soul core was exceptionally high. You Die mused to herself that if she could refine this soul core, she could save at least three thousand years of arduous cultivation. With such an immense benefit in hand, she was naturally overjoyed. She recalled how, in the past, when Lu Ye helped her undo the life-chain Dao pattern, she had separated a portion of her divine soul, leaving a benefit for Lu Ye and establishing a good connection. The reward she received now was hundreds, if not thousands, of times greater.

"How is the city?" Yuan Xi asked.

"No major issues for now," You Die replied. "Aside from the loss of some slaves, all other personnel have returned safely."

Yuan Xi nodded. There weren't many people in the city to begin with; including the slaves, there were fewer than twenty in total. Therefore, during the chess game, Yuan Xi was able to look after them to some extent, allowing them to avoid powerful enemies. As a result, Fan Wu and Fu Wei, despite their low cultivation levels, all survived, not to mention Lian and Huan Qing, who had Hegemony cultivation. As for the slaves, there was nothing Yuan Xi could do. At the very beginning of the chess game, the number of pieces that could be moved was limited, and she couldn't take care of too many.

Lu Ye was already standing on the high platform in the city. He looked up, his brows furrowed. Their city was too far from the battlefield. Moreover, that area was currently in chaos, with a sea of blood stretching across it, making it impossible to see anything. He could only vaguely sense that within the sea of blood, there were two major battle groups: one was more intense, while the other was relatively peaceful. He knew in his heart that the intense conflict involved four top powerhouses besieging Ba Qiu, while the relatively peaceful one was likely the confrontation between the Phoenix Lord and Gu Mingyue.

Yuan Xi flashed beside Lu Ye. "Commander," she said, "this is a place of trouble; we shouldn't stay long. We should leave."

Lu Ye nodded. He knew this truth well: if Ba Qiu won this battle, it would be fine, but if Ba Qiu lost, Yuan Xi City staying here would be akin to waiting for death. In the surrounding void, the surviving Hegemony Cities had long since retreated far away, and even Shou Zhu City had vanished without a trace. They were guarding against precisely this scenario. Yuan Xi City dared to remain here because it had a secret art blessed by a mirage, but it was still very far from the battlefield.

"In your opinion, My Lord, can Ba Qiu win?" Lu Ye asked.

Yuan Xi shook her head. "I can't say for sure about this. Those not at that level will never truly understand the means they possess. However, the situation is certainly not looking good for Ba Qiu." After all, he has to fight one against four, and what's more, he's already heavily wounded.

Xue Jiu and the others had been waiting for this opportunity for tens of thousands of years. The last time Ba Qiu contended with Ming Yue Lun, if it had been a little later, they would have certainly launched their attack. This opportunity is rare, so no one is willing to miss it. It can be foreseen that in this battle, Xue Jiu and the others will absolutely hold nothing back. Their only goal is to kill Ba Qiu.

Just as the two were speaking, the boundless sea of blood suddenly vibrated violently and then disintegrated. Lu Ye's eyebrows rose. From this perspective, even if Xue Jiu personally unleashed the sea of blood, it would be difficult to maintain for too long in such an intense confrontation.

Previously, with the sea of blood obscuring things, Lu Ye hadn't perceived it clearly. Now that the sea of blood had dissipated, he immediately felt numerous supreme treasure powers clashing over there. Ba Qiu possessed a supreme treasure, but how could the other city lords not? They were all figures who had stood at the peak of the Inner Realm for tens of thousands of years, each with their own unique opportunities.

He still couldn't see clearly, simply because the commotion from the battle was too great, having completely distorted that space. Lu Ye only vaguely saw the outline of Yifu City, with Ba Qiu's burly figure standing within it—a lone figure with a single sword, sweeping with sword energy, supremely domineering.

Lu Ye's brows furrowed. This scene seemed somewhat disadvantageous for Ba Qiu. He had just overlooked a problem: Ba Qiu not only had to contend with four powerhouses of the same level but also had to divert power to protect his Hegemony City. While Yifu City could indeed allow him to unleash his full strength, if its Hegemony Orb were shattered, his overall strength would plummet. It could be said that this dilapidated small city was currently both his greatest asset and his soft spot. Xue Jiu and the others were actively targeting this weakness.

"Damn it, after this battle, we must flatten Phoenix Nest!" Hong Tu of Hundred Battles City growled in annoyance amidst the battle. Originally, it was five against one; no matter how strong Ba Qiu was, he would certainly not be a match. But the Phoenix Lord unexpectedly interfered, and now that Gu Mingyue was being held back, only the four of them remained to fight. Thus, it was truly hard to say whether this battle could be won.

However, he was merely venting his anger. Flattening Phoenix Nest was not that simple; around it, the void was shattered and spatial cracks were everywhere. It was not easy for ordinary people to even find its location, let alone launch an army to attack it.

"Be careful, don't get hit by his sword!" Xuan Wuzong of Ten Steps City roared. Ba Qiu's sword had a sealing effect; any injury sustained from it would affect one's strength. Therefore, in the fight against Ba Qiu, they absolutely could not sustain any injury, otherwise, they would only become weaker the longer the battle went on.

As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily narrowed. The great sword had already slashed before him. His twin wings behind him vigorously flapped, and his body twisted at an odd angle, but the killing intent followed him like a shadow, impossible to shake off.

"Impossible!" A black figure swept forward—it was Zong Shenliang of Senluo City. His supreme treasure flashed in his hand, striking the great sword and finally helping Xuan Wuzong escape a calamity at the crucial moment.

"Many thanks, Brother Zong!" Xuan Wuzong broke out in a cold sweat. Although he had methods to save his life and wouldn't truly be killed even if that sword had struck him, the sealing power on that great sword was not easy to dispel. Especially during a major battle, if his strength was impaired, the situation would become unfavorable.

Xue Jiu transformed into a blood-colored shadow and swept past him, fearlessly charging towards Ba Qiu, only to be met with a sword slash head-on. Yet he remained unhurried, as if he had long anticipated it. He conjured a precious mirror—it was precisely the supreme treasure, the Firmament Mirror. The mirror surface was smooth, reflecting Ba Qiu's burly figure. When this sword slash struck the Firmament Mirror, the mirror light flashed, and a violent force bounced back, actually causing Ba Qiu's figure to stumble slightly. This supreme treasure inherently possessed the ability to reflect. Previously, when Shou Zhu tried to dismantle the insect passage using the city's grand formation to prevent the enemy army from descending, he had suffered losses at the hands of this treasure.

"Good opportunity!" Seeing this, the eyes of the other few people all lit up, and they collectively charged forward. Originally, these four fighting against Ba Qiu were not very united; in fact, each of them had been holding back. After all, Ba Qiu's formidable reputation preceded him, and even they were extremely wary of him. So, despite fighting for a long time, there was little progress. However, at this moment, as Xue Jiu conjured the Firmament Mirror, Hong Tu and the others no longer held back, and their vital energy and Dao power all simultaneously boiled. It could be said that Xue Jiu's action truly unified the power of the four of them, creating a trend towards sincere cooperation.

In an instant, the four powerhouses had a clear division of labor: Xue Jiu, holding the Firmament Mirror, took primary defensive duty, while the other three launched frantic attacks. When this Blood Lord unleashed his Blood Escape technique, his speed was incredibly fast. He could use the Firmament Mirror to block and reflect all of Ba Qiu's attacks, and even Ba Qiu himself found it difficult to cope with that violent power. For a time, they actually gained a significant advantage.

"Phoenix Lord, you'd better focus on fighting with little sister here," Gu Mingyue's figure flitted about in another part of the battlefield, her voice ethereal and unpredictable. This vast battlefield had now almost transformed into a vast azure ocean. Gu Mingyue, originating from a water spirit, was virtually flawless when hidden within it. Huang Shi Niang had to concentrate fully to grasp her traces. With this moment of distraction, Gu Mingyue found an opportunity and delivered a fierce blow. Even if she could only exert seventy or eighty percent of her peak strength, this blow was enough to shatter suns and moons. Yet the Phoenix Lord merely trembled slightly and remained unharmed. Around her body, the void twisted for an instant; she had clearly used spatial means to unload most of the power. She suddenly swept her hand, sending shockwave power in all directions.

Accompanied by a soft smack, Gu Mingyue's figure tumbled out of the azure, half her face disfigured. Her expression changed drastically. Before she could recover, the Phoenix Lord was already standing before her, looking down coldly. "You talk too much!" she said. She raised her hand and brought it down towards Gu Mingyue's head.

Gu Mingyue immediately let out a cry of alarm and tried to withdraw, but was still restrained in place by the Phoenix Lord's spatial power. With a fierce squeeze, her entire body exploded, but it dissipated like flowing water.

"Hmph!" The Phoenix Lord snorted coldly, knowing that she hadn't truly killed Gu Mingyue just now. The Water Spirit race possessed too many life-saving methods. As two of the Ten Great City Lords, it was easy for them to determine a winner, but very difficult to determine life or death.

At this moment, Yuan Xi City, under You Die's control, was silently sweeping away into the distance. Although Lu Ye wanted to stay and see the final outcome of this battle, he knew it was unrealistic. Just as Yuan Xi had said, this place of trouble was not suitable for a long stay, and it was better to leave quickly.