Chapter 2740: Please Farewell, Dao Brother

Inside the mysterious grand formation, Lu Ye sat upright, diligently cultivating while pretending to channel his Dao power into the array. He pondered what the Will intended for him to do by guiding him here this time.

His previous mission was to help the Star Abyss Mosquitoes break the void barrier. This time, he was clearly not in charge, as, given the current situation, there was no difference between him and the other cultivators, like Mi Ye, who had been summoned here. The true orchestrator of this event was the Star Abyss's foremost Formation Master.

After much thought, Lu Ye surmised that he was merely in the right place at the right time. He happened to be in the Outer Realm and not too far from here, so he was simply pulled in as labor. However, this put him in a difficult position.

The dwarf Unity Realm cultivator speculated that this matter would conclude within a century, but how could he be willing to wait here for a hundred years? With so much time, wouldn't it be better to return to the Inner Realm, command Yuanxi City, conquer territories, and acquire Unity Orb fragments to cultivate his Small World secret technique?

Yet, he couldn't leave easily, because if he did, he would undoubtedly be disturbed and his mind unsettled again. As things stood, he could only take it one step at a time.

Unity Realm cultivators continuously entered this stellar wonder, descending into the grand formation under Xuan Huai's guidance. Lu Ye roughly calculated that in just a few months, nearly ten thousand Unity Realm cultivators had entered the formation. This number left him speechless.

As more and more Unity Realm cultivators joined the formation, its power intensified. It was clearly visible that the light on the divine iron pillar was flashing with increasing frequency under the formation's attrition.

Until one day, accompanied by a burst of brilliant light, a sound like something breaking emanated. All cultivators in the formation felt a jolt at that moment and looked up at the divine iron pillar. They saw that the circle of light on its surface had completely dissipated.

At the same time, Xuan Huai's loud laughter rang out: "The seal is broken! Well done, fellow Daoists. Please rest and recuperate for a few days, then help this old man remove this object!" He was clearly in high spirits. After all, after ten thousand years of effort, he finally saw the hope of success, and anyone would be delighted.

Many cultivators in the formation also breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had come by summons, hoping for the Will's favor, no one wanted to delay here for too long. Hearing Xuan Huai's words now, it seemed the matter would be settled soon, which was a pleasant surprise.

Only Lu Ye stared intently at the divine iron pillar.

He had been here for several months, examining this divine object countless times, but had never understood its true nature. Even now, he hadn't discerned many clues, unsure of what this object was or what it was sealing. But when the seal on the divine iron pillar was worn away, revealing its inner details, he detected traces on it similar to the ancestral abyss restrictions beneath the Tower of Time.

He examined it closely, becoming increasingly certain that some marks within this divine object were identical to those of the ancestral abyss restrictions! This thing came from the hands of the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors!

Although there wasn't much evidence, Lu Ye could almost certainly conclude this: this divine iron pillar was left behind by the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors. When he first saw this object, he wondered who could possibly move such a divine artifact; even Tyrant虬 himself probably wouldn't have the ability. But if it was left by the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors, then it made sense. Throughout this universe, perhaps only such astonishingly powerful beings could possess such miraculous methods.

His eyes flickered slightly. He stood up and darted outwards.

"Where are you going, Brother Lu?" Mi Ye asked curiously from nearby, but received no reply. He watched Lu Ye's retreating back with suspicion, then shook his head, sat down calmly, and began to recuperate.

A moment later, in a certain part of the grand formation, Xuan Huai, who was holding a formation plate and conducting a final inspection of the array, paused. His gaze turned cold as he watched a figure rapidly approaching him.

Soon, the person arrived close by. Xuan Huai pondered for a moment and recognized him as one of the human cultivators who had come to assist in the formation a few months ago. He immediately showed displeasure: "Did you not hear what this old man said?"

"Greetings, Daoist Brother!" Lu Ye first bowed, then replied, "Of course, I heard your words."

Xuan Huai snorted coldly, "If you heard, why did you leave your post without permission?"

Lu Ye said, "I have a few questions I wish to ask."

Xuan Huai waved his hand, "Whatever it is, we can talk after this old man achieves his goal." Not long after his defeat that day, he came here and had stayed for ten thousand years. If not for recent changes in the Star Abyss, which brought a large number of Unity Realm cultivators to assist, he might have had to stay for another ten thousand years. Now, he was just a step away from achieving his goal. How could he have the mind to waste words with Lu Ye? As he spoke, he prepared to flash away, but just as he moved, Lu Ye once again blocked him not far ahead.

"Daoist Brother, please calm down. I just have a few questions; it won't take up much of your time."

Xuan Huai, enraged, glared at Lu Ye with his ghastly face, missing half its flesh. Their eyes met, and Lu Ye did not flinch. A few breaths later, Xuan Huai finally suppressed his anger: "What is so important that you must ask now?" He comforted himself, reasoning that after ten thousand years of waiting, his great undertaking would soon be complete, so there was no need to let minor issues spoil his mood at such a time.

"I wish to ask, Daoist Brother, what exactly is this divine object suppressing, and why do you wish to remove it?"

Xuan Huai was startled, grunted, and pointed a finger at Lu Ye: "That's a good question. This old man also wants to know what this divine object is suppressing."

"You don't know, Daoist Brother?" Lu Ye scrutinized him intently.

Xuan Huai grinned, his half-missing face looking exceptionally eerie: "If you figure it out, please inform this old man. After all, this is something I've plotted for ten thousand years. I will definitely thank you later." Observing his demeanor, Lu Ye knew that Xuan Huai was not lying about this; he genuinely didn't know what the divine iron pillar was sealing.

"As for why I want to remove it..." Xuan Huai looked at Lu Ye, "Why are you here?"

Lu Ye understood. Removing that divine object had been Xuan Huai's mission for the past ten thousand years. It was a task bestowed upon Xuan Huai by the Will of the Star Abyss!

"Anything else you want to ask?" Xuan Huai spoke. "If not, then quickly move aside. Don't waste this old man's time." He was already a little impatient.

Lu Ye slowly shook his head: "There's nothing else to ask. Thank you, Daoist Brother. And... may you have a safe journey!"

"Hmm?" Xuan Huai was momentarily startled, a strong sense of warning rising in his heart, an inexplicable feeling of unease. But before he could react, a flash of dazzling blade light had already appeared in his vision. He felt his body suddenly lighten, his head flipped over, and his vision inverted.

Before Lu Ye, the headless corpse gushed blood like a fountain. All the Unity Realm cultivators who witnessed this scene changed their expressions dramatically. No one had expected Xuan Huai to be killed, beheaded by a single strike from a human, dying swiftly and cleanly, without even a moment to react.

Lu Ye, however, frowned.

Something was wrong! According to the intelligence he had gathered, this Xuan Huai was a powerful Zenith-tier city lord, capable of contending with Xiao Qianchen of Myriad Ancient City ten thousand years ago—a strong individual who survived even after defeat. His Unity Realm cultivation had absolutely reached its peak. In other words, he was a powerful expert with three resonances and a Dao body. With his current strength, even with a surprise attack, he shouldn't have been able to resolve the opponent so easily. Lu Ye had been prepared for a major battle if the ambush failed, so he never expected it to be so simple.

The key was that when Lu Ye severed his head, he didn't feel much resistance. His current Crag Blade, augmented by his Sharp Dao Intent, could indeed cut through a cultivator's Dao bones, but the feedback from cutting through Dao bones was different from cutting through flesh.

As the blade light erupted, Xuan Huai's flesh dissipated, leaving only a skeleton in an instant. Lu Ye's frown deepened.

This skeleton indeed contained Dao bones, but not too many, perhaps fewer than a hundred pieces. This was clearly not a complete Dao body. In other words, this was not Xuan Huai's true self; this was likely just a Dharma body or clone.

"How dare you!" An angry roar came from somewhere, unmistakably Xuan Huai's voice.

He was truly enraged now. If not for the critical importance of the matter he was about to undertake, he would have long since released his clone to assist his true self, and this incident might have truly caused him great loss. He never imagined that among the Unity Realm cultivators summoned to this Outer Realm, someone would actually try to kill him! He was certain he had never seen that human before, and there was no previous grudge between them. Before the strike, the opponent showed no murderous intent or clear motive whatsoever. Such a sudden blow, let alone against a mere clone, might not have been reacted to even by his true self. Because that blade strike was simply too fast.

Hearing the furious roar, Lu Ye's expression showed a hint of helplessness. In the end, a fight was inevitable. He indeed had no personal vendetta with Xuan Huai and had not intended to do anything here until he realized that the divine iron pillar was left by the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors.

Whatever the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors intended to seal with this object back then, it absolutely could not be easily destroyed. Especially since this matter also involved the Will of the Star Abyss.

Everything here now—whether Xuan Huai setting up the formation, the ten thousand years of attrition, or the gathering of tens of thousands of Unity Realm cultivators—had slowly come to fruition under the guidance of the Star Abyss Will. Therefore, the positions of the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors and that Will must be opposing. One sought to seal, the other to remove the seal. Lu Ye, of course, had to unconditionally side with the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors. This had nothing to do with personal animosity.

To catch a thief, catch the leader; to shoot a person, shoot the horse. As long as Xuan Huai was dealt with, everything else would be irrelevant. But he didn't expect to fail.

Mainly, he hadn't expected Xuan Huai to use a clone in such a place; it was overly cautious.

A powerful aura locked onto him from the direction of the furious roar. As Lu Ye turned his head to look, he saw a dazzling light rapidly approaching from that side. Within the light, who else could it be but Xuan Huai? He still retained his aged appearance, with half his face missing flesh, but his aura showed no sign of old age at all; instead, it was unbelievably strong. He held a massive long spear, and as he moved, the surrounding Star Abyss aura surged and followed him closely.