Chapter 2699: Lu Ye Is Here

An incredibly sharp aura suddenly emanated from the entrance, as if an unparalleled blade was piercing up from below. The sheer sharpness of it secretly startled all four of them.

A figure emerged from the entrance, standing before them. Clad in green, his posture was tall and straight, with black hair and black eyes. His gaze was brilliant, and like his aura, exuded an intensely sharp sensation. He had ascended from the floor below and simply stood there, a long saber at his waist, his left hand resting on the hilt. As he looked around, his demeanor was one of disdain.

“Lu Ye!” The Integration realm cultivator at the forefront cried out sharply, momentarily stunned. Although he had never met Lu Ye, basic intelligence on him had long been disseminated by the Green Mantis and Blood Reversal factions. A human soldier-cultivator, with a long saber at his waist, and appearing here—who else could it be but Lu Ye? However, what slightly perplexed him was that the strength of the opponent's aura clearly didn't match the intelligence. The way he appeared, it was as if he had just been promoted to the Integration realm? His sharp Dao intent seemed unrestrained, which was why it radiated so freely. But at such a moment, who had time to think? The four of them were originally headed to the tenth floor to search for Lu Ye's whereabouts. Now, this immense fortune had suddenly appeared right before their eyes—who could resist such temptation? Thus, as the Integration realm cultivator roared, all four of them sprang into action.

One of them, whose figure was as fleeting as wind, rapidly retreated. He conjured a pagoda-shaped Dao artifact, which spun rapidly, shimmering with multicolored light. This was clearly a spell-cultivator. Instinctively, he distanced himself from Lu Ye, while simultaneously channeling his power to prepare a spell. Another Integration realm cultivator twitched, and a burst of mist dispersed, causing his entire body to vanish. This was a ghost-cultivator. He had vanished into the ethereal realm, poised to strike when the opportunity arose. The one who had shouted raised a hand, and a large hammer-shaped Dao artifact materialized. Intricate patterns covered its surface, and as Dao power surged through it, faint sounds of dragon roars and tiger growls emanated, signifying its extraordinary nature. The last one roared, and his entire body swelled several sizes. Extremely potent vital energy enveloped him, forming a barrier. Moreover, his upper garments burst open, revealing clearly defined, steel-like muscles. Veins bulged like subterranean dragons writhing beneath his skin, and his hair stood on end without wind. Lightning flickered in his eyes, and arcs of electricity snaked across his body.

All four Integration realm cultivators instantly entered a combat state. And as previously agreed, none held back. Not only did the body-cultivator and soldier-cultivator unleash their full power, but the ghost-cultivator, who had vanished into the ethereal realm, had already circled behind Lu Ye. A short blade in his hand, its sharpness concealed, contained the full force of his power, like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, striking ferociously at Lu Ye. The spell-cultivator, moreover, had accumulated a secret technique in the shortest time, and a beam of light began to radiate from his pagoda Dao artifact.

A low hum echoed. The moment the void vibrated, dense spatial energy permeated the immediate vicinity, twisting the space within inches. Immediately, the ghost-cultivator was astonished to find that he had lost his hidden state. For some unknown reason, he was forced out of the ethereal realm. The short blade in his hand was only an inch from Lu Ye, yet despite his utmost effort, he couldn't close that single inch. Suddenly feeling something was wrong, he looked up, meeting Lu Ye's calm, placid gaze. The sharp sensation emanating from those eyes sent shivers down his spine, giving him a premonition of impending doom.

Then he saw Lu Ye slowly draw the long saber from his waist... It truly was slow, unhurried, yet he found himself utterly unable to move. A faint blue glow flowed over the long saber, and its sharp saber aura transformed into a visible mist as it sliced diagonally towards him. He would die!

A powerful alarm blared in the ghost-cultivator's mind. He bit his tongue, and as his vital blood burned, he finally broke free from the interference of the temporal power at this last moment, hastily retreating backward. In that instant, he distinctly felt the cold blade slash into his body. His protective Dao power was like paper, offering no resistance whatsoever. His eyes suddenly widened. Only one voice wailed in his heart—those two beasts, Green Mantis and Blood Reversal, had fed them false intelligence! This human Lu Ye's strength was not just 1,800 Dao Marks; it was at least 2,000 Dao Marks! Do not underestimate a gap of 200 Dao Marks in strength; in a confrontation like this, it was the difference between life and death.

There was no pain, for it was too fast. The ghost-cultivator instinctively twisted his body, and in the next instant, his entire being shuddered violently, because the sharp long saber had struck one of his Dao bones. There was still a chance; as long as his companions could rescue him in time, he might still live. The thought had barely formed when the Dao bone he relied on was severed. The long saber slid through, and the ghost-cultivator's body was diagonally split in two, his upper half flying away while his lower half remained standing. He wasn't dead instantly, but he was beyond saving. That single strike not only severed his body but also utterly ravaged his insides with its sharp Dao intent. It could be said that within those two severed halves of his body, everything but a few Dao bones had been reduced to a pulp. Even those Dao bones were riddled with holes from the piercingly sharp Dao intent. He blinked weakly, utterly unable to comprehend what kind of saber or Dao intent could be so incredibly sharp as to sever even a Dao bone.

Two thunderous thuds echoed. As Lu Ye was slaying the ghost-cultivator, the attacks from the nearby body-cultivator and soldier-cultivator had arrived. The soldier-cultivator's great hammer slammed into Lu Ye's head, and the body-cultivator's fist struck his chest. Lu Ye's body merely trembled slightly. The protective Dao power on his body surface momentarily dimmed but quickly recovered.

These two's strength was actually quite decent; their combined efforts nearly shattered his protective Dao power! Both the body-cultivator and the soldier-cultivator's eyes narrowed. The same thought that had just plagued the slain ghost-cultivator surged in their minds—the intelligence was wrong; Lu Ye's strength was more than 1,800 Dao Marks! A beam of light suddenly struck, signaling the arrival of the spell-cultivator's attack, which again caused Lu Ye's figure to sway.

The coordination among these three was very clumsy, suggesting they weren't familiar with each other. Otherwise, their combined attack just now would have had a chance to break his protective Dao power. However, there was a slight delay between the three attacks. Though only for an instant, it still gave Lu Ye an opportunity to reinforce his defenses.

He suddenly looked up, staring at the spell-cultivator, completely disregarding the body-cultivator and soldier-cultivator beside him. Then he raised his Pan Shan Saber, aimed it in that direction from afar, and slashed through the air. Inch's Edge!

The spell-cultivator's soul instantly leaped to his throat. Although he didn't know the name of Lu Ye's saber art, the immense life-or-death crisis swirling in his mind made him realize his life was hanging by a thread. His Dao power surged frantically, and another layer of light burst from his pagoda Dao artifact, enveloping him and forming a barrier.

With a ripping sound, the pagoda barrier shattered, followed immediately by the destruction of his protective Dao power. The spell-cultivator's eyes were filled with terror. He saw a saber slash descending from the void, and then his head flew off, his vision flipping and changing.

A wave of satisfaction instantly surged through Lu Ye. Since the beginning of his cultivation, he had always intensely disliked the spell-cultivator faction. Unfortunately, as a soldier-cultivator, besides finding ways to close in on enemies, he had no particularly good methods to counter them. Often, his speed was inferior to his opponents', leading to the awkward situation of being constantly outmaneuvered. Therefore, when facing multiple opponents, he would often prioritize eliminating spell-cultivators. Inch's Edge was undoubtedly the best method for dealing with spell-cultivators. With such a saber secret technique, he no longer had to fear them.

The four Integration realm cultivators had worked together, yet in a single encounter, the ghost-cultivator and spell-cultivator had fallen one after another.

Both the soldier-cultivator and the body-cultivator were terrified. Not only was it due to the terrifying strength Lu Ye displayed at this moment, but also their apprehension towards Lu Ye's female companion mentioned in the intelligence. His female companion hadn't even appeared yet, and two of them were already dead. If she were to show up, what chance of victory would they have?

Almost simultaneously, both figures retreated backward. The body-cultivator, his voice like thunder, bellowed: “Lu Ye is here!” A mysterious power suddenly began to flow, and everything around them seemed to slow down. The expressions of terror in the eyes of the body-cultivator and soldier-cultivator intensified as they frantically urged their Dao intent to shake off this effect. There was an effect, but it wasn't significant. The power of the Dragon Lord, borrowed through the Temporal Fruit, was simply beyond their ability to resist. It was only a pity that Lu Ye's mastery of the temporal Dao was not high. At this moment, he was purely overwhelming them with power; otherwise, with the power of past Dragon Lords, he could have made their movements as slow as a crawling tortoise. Even so, it was enough.

A blue aura flowed as the Pan Shan Saber slashed left and right, extinguishing two lives one after another. Lu Ye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, because in slaying these four Integration realm cultivators, he had actually gained Star Abyss Coins. This was truly an unexpected bonus. He had initially thought that after advancing to the Integration realm, the chances of acquiring Star Abyss Coins from killing cultivators of the same realm would be very low. To his surprise, this was not the case. Although each of the four only contributed one Star Abyss Coin, at least none of them yielded nothing. Of course, compared to the gains he received from slaying Integration realm cultivators while in the Spirit Fusion realm, the difference was significant, but this was still a very good outcome.

After a brief thought, Lu Ye realized this must be due to his triple blessing as a Child of the Star Abyss. Furthermore, in terms of cultivation level, these four were actually higher than him. Although all were in the Integration realm, he was merely a newly promoted lower-tier cultivator, whereas these four could be considered mid-tier. Thus, it counted as slaying opponents of a higher tier. Naturally, the Star Abyss Will would grant him benefits.

Streams of divine sense extended from various directions, and the auras of numerous Integration realm cultivators rapidly converged toward this location. In fact, when Lu Ye first encountered the four Integration realm cultivators, and the leading one roared, the other Integration realm cultivators on this floor had already been alerted. Two breaths later, the cry of “Lu Ye is here!” was like pouring a bowl of water into a boiling oil pot, instantly causing the entire eighteenth floor to erupt in chaos. No one could have imagined that the human Lu Ye, whom they had been desperately searching for without success, would expose his presence here. All of them had come at the summons of the Bug and Blood races, coveting the extremely generous bounty. Thus, for them, the human Lu Ye now represented an unprecedented opportunity for advancement, one no one was willing to miss!