Chapter 2690: Hunting

On the sixty-ninth floor of the Tower of Time, a fierce battle raged somewhere. Long howls of warning echoed in all directions, and figures, heeding the call, swiftly rushed towards the location, converging.

Leading them was a member of the Insect Race, tall and slender, with green skin, resembling an upright praying mantis. He possessed four arms, each wielding a war blade, and his compound eyes reflected a cruel glint.

This individual was Green Mantis, the one tasked by the Blood Lord to orchestrate the capture of Lu Ye in the Tower of Time.

Beside him stood a Blood Race member, inseparable from him, named Blood Reverse.

Both were powerful Cosmic City Lords. Although they were currently far from their Dao Confluence Cities and lacked the augmentation of Dao Confluence Pearls, their strength far surpassed that of ordinary Dao Confluence experts.

"He got away again!" Blood Reverse's eyes were gloomy.

Since they began their encirclement of that human on this floor, this was the third time such a situation had occurred. Each time, they arrived a step too late, finding only traces of combat and some bloodstains, with not a single body left behind, clearly having been collected by the human.

In three battles, each resulted in the loss of two partnered Dao Confluence experts. Including the two who died previously, they had lost eight personnel in less than two days.

How many people did they have in total?

"Damnable!" Green Mantis's already grim face grew even darker.

"It's almost certain now," Blood Reverse said in a low voice. "This person cultivates spatial techniques and is most likely an outsider of the Phoenix Clan. Traces of spatial distortion remain here."

They had vaguely sensed this when ambushing Lu Ye at the entrance to the previous floor, but couldn't be entirely sure at the time.

It wasn't until this time, when Lu Ye must have just left and the lingering spatial distortion hadn't subsided, that Blood Reverse was able to make a definitive judgment.

"But it's very strange..." Blood Reverse frowned deeply. "Even if he truly obtained the status of a Phoenix Clan outsider, how long has he been in the Phoenix Nest? His mastery of spatial techniques shouldn't be that high. Even if he teleported away, there should be traces."

Yet, he couldn't grasp any trace of Lu Ye's departure. It was as if the human had vanished into thin air, and Blood Reverse couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"Are there any signs of him at the entrances or exits?" Green Mantis asked.

Blood Reverse shook his head. "All entrances and exits are guarded, and they would alert us to any movement." After a moment's hesitation, he looked at Green Mantis. "Didn't you notice? This human... he's not in a hurry to leave. Though he's alone and outnumbered, he possesses immense courage."

Green Mantis scoffed. "Of course I did. He wants to hunt us down!"

"And he's succeeded three times in a row, which is a complete disgrace!"

After a brief contemplation, Green Mantis said, "Let's transfer more personnel here. I can tell this human is formidable, and this matter won't conclude quickly."

Blood Reverse frowned. "But all the personnel we brought into the Tower of Time are already here."

Truth be told, the Blood Lord held Lu Ye in high regard; otherwise, he wouldn't have dispatched two Cosmic City Lords to oversee this matter. For this, Blooddrink City had even drawn nearly three hundred Dao Confluence experts from its various Dao Confluence Cities into Dragon City.

However, only about twenty managed to secure qualification to enter the Tower.

Therefore, even if they wanted to redeploy personnel, they were in a bind, lacking further resources to draw upon.

"With a great reward, brave men will surely emerge!" Green Mantis's eyes flashed sharply. "Before we departed, the Blood Lord gave us discretion to act as we saw fit. You and I, being here, can completely represent the Blood Lord in making certain promises."

Blood Reverse pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll handle it!"

Although the reputation of both the Insect Race and the Blood Race was far from good anywhere, people in the world bustling about were ultimately driven by self-interest. If they offered attractive enough incentives, would they still worry about not gathering people to help?

Currently, there were thousands of Dao Confluence experts throughout the Tower of Time; summoning even a few would be enough to accomplish their goal.

"However, the news must be confined below the ninety-ninth floor!" Green Mantis reminded.

"Why is that?" Blood Reverse asked instinctively, but then quickly realized. "Right, members of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans are on the ninety-ninth floor. If the news reaches their ears, it might stir up trouble."

After all, this was the Tower of Time, and no one wished to antagonize Dragon City. Once Lu Ye's identity as a Phoenix Clan outsider became known, it was likely no one would dare to oppose him!

As he spoke, Blood Reverse's body rippled, and several Blood Avatars split off, darting towards the entrances to higher floors.

They had to act fast. Since Lu Ye, the human, intended to be the hunter, they would give him a surprise and let him know that being a hunter wasn't so easy.

Just moments earlier, Lu Ye's figure had abruptly appeared in a certain pit, where his Talent Tree Clone was already waiting.

They met briefly, then immediately departed in separate directions.

The reason Blood Reverse and Green Mantis couldn't sense traces of Lu Ye's departure was precisely because Lu Ye had escaped by using his Talent Tree Clone.

In that instant, there was a massive shift in location, severing all traces, making it naturally impossible to detect him.

Not long after, Lu Ye suddenly flicked his finger, condensing a wisp of Dao power and striking it to the side.

There was a reddish stain there, looking like the mottled marks of time's erosion, but after his attack, the red twisted and writhed, transforming into a blood serpent before collapsing into a pool of blood.

This was undoubtedly a technique of some Blood Race member. Currently, this entire tower floor was riddled with such hidden blood serpents, making it difficult for Lu Ye to conceal himself.

These blood serpents didn't possess much attack power, and Lu Ye could easily kill them, but doing so would expose his whereabouts. They served as the eyes and ears of the Blood Race.

Sure enough, as soon as he killed the blood serpent, Dao Confluence experts from nearby began converging in his direction.

Lu Ye sensed them slightly and immediately headed towards one direction to meet them.

Fortunately, he had killed a number of the opposing Dao Confluence experts in the past few days, so the enemy's formation wasn't dense, allowing for opportunities.

Furthermore, the enemy had to divide their personnel to guard the entrances and exits, preventing his escape, which further reduced the number of available fighters.

Otherwise, his current situation would indeed not be good.

However, if he killed a few more, he should be able to change his circumstances.

In that direction, two Dao Confluence experts arrived together, meeting him in a narrow passageway.

One had a human body with a wolf's head, a broad back, and a slender waist, likely from the Nightwolf Clan.

This clan was considered a vassal of the Blood Race in the inner realm, with many of its powerful members serving in the Blood Race's Dao Confluence Cities.

The other appeared to be from the Flame Race, but his body was composed of glowing red rock, with lava flowing through the crevices, exuding scorching heat wherever he moved.

This was a branch of the Flame Race, a Lava Giant, though he had used a secret technique to shrink his size for easier movement in this location.

The two Dao Confluence experts surged with Dao power, attacking from both sides and blocking Lu Ye's escape route.

They hadn't expected to be so lucky as to corner Lu Ye here. Although it appeared Lu Ye had actively approached them, cornered was cornered, and their spirits immediately lifted, their eyes shining with excitement.

The Lava Giant charged at Lu Ye first, his body protected by surging Dao power.

Many of their companions had already fallen in battle, so he naturally knew Lu Ye was powerful. Thus, he decided to prioritize defense, believing that if he could stall for a moment, the remaining allies would converge.

Once the encirclement formed, Lu Ye would have no escape.

The Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert, meanwhile, followed closely behind the Lava Giant, seizing the opportunity to let out a roaring wolf howl.

The roar carried his full Dao power, transforming into a visible sonic blast that shot directly towards Lu Ye.

This "Wolf Howl to the Heavens" was not merely a sonic attack; more crucially, it was a soul attack. The Nightwolf quietly thought that if the Blood Race's intelligence was correct and the opponent was only a Dao Fusion realm cultivator, then he absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand this move.

The effect was remarkably significant. Lu Ye seemed unprepared for it, taking the full force of the sonic blast. His body suddenly froze, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

"Now!" the Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert barked, flashing out from behind the Lava Giant, his hands suddenly transforming into sharp claws, surging with Dao power.

The Lava Giant frowned slightly, feeling that this Nightwolf was too eager for glory, but found it difficult to stop him and could only hastily follow.

In an instant, the Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert was upon Lu Ye, one sharp claw descending towards Lu Ye's head.

At that very moment, Lu Ye suddenly lifted his gaze, his eyes blood-red.

It had to be admitted, the Nightwolf's previous attack had indeed caught him off guard. Although his soul power far surpassed his cultivation level, his cultivation realm was still a step below the opponent's.

Had he not cultivated a soul-suppressing secret technique like the Ghost Ship to protect his soul when he advanced to the Sunlit realm years ago, he would never have recovered so quickly.

His blood-red eyes reflected the Nightwolf's figure, and the crimson color suddenly writhed and twisted, rapidly evolving into a series of Dao patterns.

It was precisely the Blood Eye Dao Pattern, obtained from the Blood Ancestor!

The Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert paused slightly, as a blood-red full moon rose behind Lu Ye in his vision. That blood moon was like a single eye, looking down upon him from above.

The entire world, save for this blood-red moon, vanished, becoming a deep crimson.

Pupil technique!

The Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert immediately realized he had fallen into a trap. He furiously channeled his power, breaking free in an instant, and the blood moon shattered.

However, this brief delay allowed Lu Ye to unleash a strike.

The blade slashed diagonally, not touching the Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert in the slightest, yet space was warped in that instant.

Originally, the Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert and the Lava Giant had a staggered position, allowing for perfect coordination. But with the distortion of space, the distance between them suddenly expanded.

The moment their formation was broken, Lu Ye unleashed his second strike.

Dense temporal power permeated the area, and the Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert's eyes, close at hand, dimmed for an instant. Even if Lu Ye couldn't precisely control it, simply overpowering with brute force—the power of successive Dragon Lords—was something he couldn't resist.

All his Dao power became scattered in that moment.

Lu Ye's blade plunged fiercely into the opponent's chest, piercing through the somewhat dissipated protective Dao power and emerging from his back.

With a powerful shake of the long blade, the power contained within it erupted violently, wreaking havoc within the Nightwolf Dao Confluence expert's body.