Chapter 2755: Personally Taking Action

Deep within the Blood Source Sea, Lu Ye, who had been dormant for half a month, slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of excitement passing through them.

For the past half-month, he had done nothing but study the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit. One could also say he was formulating poisons.

The power of the Myriad Poison Pearl was not singular; on the contrary, its power was complex. As its name suggested, it could derive up to ten thousand types of toxins! However, perhaps because it had only recently emerged from the Talent Tree, the Myriad Poison Pearl could currently evolve less than a thousand types of toxins. While the power of these individual toxins was considerable when released alone, they ultimately had limitations.

What Lu Ye had been doing recently was attempting to use the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit to evolve various toxins and combine them into a composite poison. He truly hadn't conducted much research into the path of poison, but as the current master of the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit, he could clearly perceive the effects of each toxin and the wondrous changes they underwent when blended.

After half a month, he finally formulated a potent poison that met his expectations. It was time to act.

His vendetta with the Blood Race was irreconcilable. Not to mention his own various grievances with them, as an emissary of the Phoenix Race, he also had to bear some responsibility for the Phoenix Race's enmity with Blood Calamity. Ever since Blood Calamity had orchestrated the slaughter of several Phoenixes and extracted their bloodline power, the Phoenix Race and Blood Calamity had been locked in a mortal struggle. Given this, he would have no psychological burden for anything he did here. Most importantly, the unique environment of the Blood Source Sea provided him with room to maneuver. In any other place, Lu Ye wouldn't have entertained such thoughts; he would have long since seized the opportunity to escape.

An hour later, in Taikun City, the grim-faced Taikun suddenly rose, furious. "That scoundrel is still in the Blood Source Sea?" Having failed to find Lu Ye's whereabouts for over half a month, he had assumed Lu Ye had fled. Just a moment ago, he had even ordered numerous Dao Harmony Cities to withdraw from this wonder. To his surprise, shortly after the order was issued, news of Lu Ye surfaced again. Just now, that fellow had targeted a Desolate-level City and was relentlessly assaulting it.

"He's going too far!" Taikun fumed, experiencing a sense of being toyed with that he rarely felt. He immediately issued an order for the surrounding Dao Harmony Cities to converge and encircle Lu Ye. He himself personally piloted Taikun City, rushing towards the scene. However, before he could even arrive, new information came in. Lu Ye had already been repelled by several Dao Harmony Cities working together and was now nowhere to be found.

Taikun's face turned ashen, finding the situation extremely difficult. The current problem was that within the Blood Source Sea, they found it difficult to track Lu Ye's movements. Even if they found him, they lacked sufficient power to restrain him. In this Blood Source Sea, their opponent could leave or stay as he pleased, effectively operating with complete freedom. Conversely, the combined forces of the Insect and Blood Races were being led by the nose by this individual, making them extremely passive. Yet, he couldn't simply let it go. After much deliberation, he could only brace himself and continue to respond.

In the following days, the Blood Source Sea was bustling with activity. Almost every day, Taikun received several reports about Lu Ye. This fellow was constantly on the move within the Blood Source Sea, never letting go of any isolated Heaven-level or Desolate-level City he encountered. He even began to provoke Grand-level Cities! Naturally, facing a Grand-level City alone, even Lu Ye found himself outmatched, often forced to flee from the pursuit of numerous powerhouses.

Taikun also knew that a single Heaven-level City couldn't withstand Lu Ye's assault, especially a Blood Race Heaven-level City, which Lu Ye could often breach in less than ten breaths. To Lu Ye, an isolated Heaven-level City was simply an easy target, like a piece of meat ripe for the taking. However, he couldn't withdraw those Heaven-level Cities because he still needed to use them to determine Lu Ye's location. As a result, in the recent period, the Blood Race had lost over a dozen Heaven-level Cities. This ongoing conflict truly vexed Taikun.

A month passed in a flash.

On this day, in Taikun City, the Cosmos-level City Lord was pondering whether to consult the Blood Lord on the next course of action. Faced with an elusive opponent like Lu Ye, he truly felt helpless. However, the Blood Lord was clearly preoccupied with some confidential matter and had previously given instructions to capture Lu Ye at all costs. If Taikun were to consult him now, he would surely face severe repercussions. Yet, if he didn't consult, the losses sustained by the Insect and Blood Races were already significant, and he wouldn't know how to account for them to the Blood Lord later.

As he fretted, Taikun suddenly looked up, his expression changing. He hastily rose and knelt, saying, "My Lord!" He bowed his head, his demeanor filled with trepidation. And in all the world, only one could command such a posture from him: the Lord of the Blood Race, Blood Calamity!

Blood Calamity had not arrived in his true form, but merely as a divine projection. Ever since that day, after painstakingly bringing the Star Chessboard back to the Blood Source Sea, he had been refining this supreme treasure. After a long period, it was finally beginning to show results. He had nearly eradicated the nascent intelligence of the Star Chessboard. At this point, the refinement process was largely without suspense. Although eradicating the supreme treasure's intelligence would somewhat affect its power, without doing so, he would have no hope of subjugating and refining it. Though the Star Chessboard's intelligence was nascent, it was incredibly stubborn and utterly refused to acknowledge him as its master. Left with no choice, Blood Calamity resorted to this last resort. A supreme treasure without intelligence was still a supreme treasure, better than gaining nothing at all. Next, he only needed to systematically imprint his divine soul and power within the treasure to become its master. It was precisely for this reason that Blood Calamity could send out a divine projection.

"Useless!" Blood Calamity's divine projection stared coldly at Taikun, his eyes filled with icy disdain. Although he had been refining the Star Chessboard, it didn't mean he was unaware of events in the Blood Source Sea. Had that not been the case, he wouldn't have specifically sent a divine projection here.

Taikun trembled, for he even detected a faint hint of killing intent from the Blood Lord. In panic, he said, "My Lord, please calm your anger. This subordinate handled the matter poorly; I beg for your punishment!" It was natural to admit fault when things weren't done well. Trying to make excuses now would only further infuriate the Blood Lord. Having followed the Blood Lord for many years, Taikun naturally understood his temperament.

Blood Calamity scoffed coldly, walked past Taikun, and sat in the chair behind him. "Enough. That boy possesses extraordinarily profound foundations. Even during his Dao Integration, he had strength comparable to or exceeding ordinary Dao Harmonizers. Now that he has attained Dao Harmony, his strength is even greater. Furthermore, he is proficient in the spatial path, making it indeed difficult for you to track his movements in this Blood Source Sea."

Hearing this, Taikun felt a wave of relief, knowing he had passed this hurdle. He felt curious, vaguely sensing that the Blood Lord seemed to be in a good mood at the moment, wondering what good fortune he had encountered.

"Blood Princess is already on her way," the Blood Lord said again.

Taikun's spirits lifted upon hearing this. "My Lord, are you perhaps planning to take action personally?"

Blood Princess was the second vice-city lord of Blood Drink City. In terms of strength, she was on par with Taikun, but she was deeply favored by Blood Calamity. By blood relation, she was Blood Calamity's eldest daughter and the Grand Princess of both the Insect and Blood Races, holding a high and influential position. Of course, there was another layer to her relationship with Blood Calamity: many of Blood Calamity's offspring were born to this Grand Princess. Previously, the Blood Race had been of little use against Lu Ye due to the bloodline suppression, which was why the Grand Princess had remained in Blood Drink City. But now, Blood Calamity had summoned her. Taikun immediately understood the Blood Lord's intention.

Blood Calamity said, "If I don't personally act, who can suppress him!" He waved his hand, saying, "Go!"

"Yes!" Taikun acknowledged the command.

A day later, outside a Desolate-level City, Lu Ye, who was in the midst of an assault, suddenly turned his head to look in a certain direction. In his perception, Taikun was rapidly approaching from that direction. Lu Ye was immediately surprised. Because ever since he had slain Jade Dragonfly that day, neither Taikun nor Flying Locust had the courage to confront him directly. Both of them had either been hiding within a Dao Harmony City or staying within the radius of a Dao Harmony City, seemingly only feeling safe in such conditions. He wondered why Taikun was so audacious today. Based on Lu Ye's previous observations, Taikun City should not have been nearby.

Just as he was filled with confusion, he sensed Flying Locust's aura from another direction. These two had clearly coordinated and arrived together. Lu Ye felt something strange, but after a full month of deployment, it was almost time for him to cast his net. So, despite his confusion, he darted forward, heading towards Taikun. Taikun was clearly flustered, turning and dashing towards Flying Locust, intending to join forces. Flying Locust, understanding his intention, also quickly moved to rendezvous with Taikun. Thus, by the time Lu Ye saw their figures, they had already converged.

"Lu Ye!" Taikun gritted his teeth and roared, yet his expression slightly changed to one of surprise. This was because he keenly noticed that the terrible scars on Lu Ye's body had actually disappeared. He didn't know what powerful being had inflicted those injuries. Previously, Lu Ye seemed utterly incapable of healing them, but now, somehow, he had recovered. This fellow was already very strong; now that his injuries had healed, wouldn't he become even stronger?

Little did he know, after the Talent Tree completed its fifth metamorphosis, the Dao Will left on Lu Ye by San had been incinerated. Without the hindrance of that terrifying Dao Will, it was naturally easy for Lu Ye to heal his own injuries. Now, not only were Lu Ye's injuries healed, but the curses within his body had also been incinerated. One could say he was now completely unburdened, in his absolute peak condition.

As he roared, they had already engaged in combat. Lu Ye immediately deduced that neither Taikun's nor Flying Locust's Dao Harmony Cities were nearby; these two had come alone. He instantly unleashed his Dao power, his blade flashing with light, relentlessly assaulting Taikun. Lu Ye understood the principle of fighting: it's better to break one finger than injure ten. If he could kill either Taikun or Flying Locust in this encounter, it would be a huge victory.

Taikun immediately felt immense pressure. He was already slightly weaker than Lu Ye in terms of raw strength, and he also had to divert some of his focus to guard against the strange lingering power in his wounds that could act up at any moment. If not for Flying Locust assisting him, he feared he would soon follow in Jade Dragonfly's footsteps.

I'm defeated. Three days of continuous fever have left me completely weak. The symptoms are exactly the same as when I first caught it.

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