Chapter 2783: Poisoned Hair

Lu Ye had previously roughly estimated the strength of Fei Heng, Chang Yun, and others to be roughly equivalent to Xue Jiu's level, assuming they weren't amplified by the Dao Integration Bead. Although he hadn't personally fought them, this assessment was likely accurate.

Fei Heng, unleashing his full fury in this strike, wielded immense power. Fortunately, the purpose of this palm strike was not to kill, but to capture. This was because Zhao Ming was still in Lu Ye's hands. This demonstrated the strong bond between the two Feathered Race powerhouses.

Facing this terrifying strike, Chu Li and the others felt a sense of powerlessness. Immediately, they witnessed a scene they couldn't comprehend. Lu Ye simply raised his hand and threw Zhao Ming towards Fei Heng, shouting, "She's yours!" Zhao Ming shrieked, her face bewildered. She clearly hadn't expected Lu Ye to release her so easily.

Fei Heng paused in surprise, then quickly reacted. The gigantic palm instantly dissipated, and he lunged to grab Zhao Ming, pulling her close to him. Seizing this opportunity, Lu Ye bypassed Fei Heng's obstruction and plunged into the sea of blood. Chu Li and the others had no time to think; almost instinctively, they followed him.

Chang Yun Island's defenses had indeed been breached. The vast sea of blood had transformed into a cage, engulfing the entire spiritual island. Along the island's edges, the formations at various defensive lines were all shattered. Blood flowed like rivers along the coastline, and corpses lay everywhere.

While the alien races primarily sought to capture humans alive, slaughter was always unavoidable in such large-scale battles. They needed to completely dismantle the human resistance before they could focus on capture. Therefore, the brief period after the spiritual island's defenses were broken was always the most brutal. Countless alien cultivators had stormed the island, relentlessly battling the humans there.

Lu Ye and his companions barely needed to look to know that Chang Yun Island was facing a crushing defeat. In terms of troop numbers, the alien races held a significant advantage over the island's human inhabitants. Although millions of humans lived on the island, only a tiny fraction truly possessed the strength to fight in such a battle; the rest were like lambs to the slaughter, utterly defenseless.

Following closely behind Lu Ye, Chu Li and the others who entered the sea of blood also joined the fray. They had lost sight of Lu Ye after plunging into the sea of blood, with no idea where he had gone. The group of over ten had barely entered the island when they were surrounded by numerous enemies. After just a brief skirmish, they were forced to scatter, each in a perilous situation.

In another direction, Xia He was also struggling. Although her opponent was only a single Blood Clan cultivator, this Blood Clan member was no weaker than her, and their blood arts were highly unpredictable. If it were just this one opponent, it might have been manageable. The crucial factor was the presence of several other alien cultivators who were supporting the Blood Clan member, constantly harassing and attacking her, scattering her focus, and leaving her exhausted.

These enemies had undoubtedly recognized her formidable strength and aimed to capture her alive. Otherwise, under such an encirclement, Xia He would likely have already met a grim fate. Even in her current situation, Xia He couldn't hold on much longer. She was already injured, and most of her spiritual power was depleted. In a battle of such intensity, once her spiritual power ran out, she would have no choice but to surrender. Many human cultivators throughout Chang Yun Island were facing similar plights as Xia He.

Just as despair began to set in for Xia He and she prepared for a final, desperate struggle, something unexpected occurred. With a muffled grunt, a Blood Clan cultivator who was part of her attackers, about a dozen yards away, suddenly collapsed, their life force rapidly dissipating. Xia He was stunned, utterly unaware of what had just happened. She hadn't detected any killing intent from elsewhere. This Blood Clan member had attacked her several times; though not exceptionally strong, they were still a lower-level Dao Integration realm cultivator. How could they have suddenly died without any apparent cause?

Before she could figure it out, several more muffled grunts sounded. Then, to her disbelief, all her other attackers, except for the strongest Blood Clan member, collapsed and died. Even the strongest Blood Clan member, a high-level Dao Integration realm cultivator, had a dark, greenish-black pallor on their face.

Xia He couldn't make sense of this sudden turn of events, while the Blood Clan member was utterly terrified, staring at Xia He with a mix of horror and trepidation. "Poison?" he gasped. He could clearly feel an inexplicable, potent poison coursing through his body, its strange and violent nature completely beyond his understanding. It was clear that his companions had died from poison. The only reason he was still standing was his superior strength, but even so, he had to exert a massive amount of energy and power to suppress the virulent poison within him. What filled him with the most dread was that he had no idea when he had been poisoned. He had been completely unaware before the potent poison erupted within him.

Seeing the Blood Clan member's wary gaze, Xia He found it both absurd and almost amusing. If she truly possessed such a formidable method, she wouldn't have been in such a predicament earlier. Although she didn't understand the current situation, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to turn the tide, as she clearly sensed that her opponent, who was no weaker than her, was now severely hampered by the need to suppress the poison within his body.

Xia He's situation was a microcosm of the entire Chang Yun Island. When the inexplicable poison suddenly erupted, countless human cultivators found themselves turning peril into safety. Nearly all invading enemies below the high-level Dao Integration realm collapsed and died. Even the fortunate few who hadn't succumbed to the poison were struggling immensely. Innumerable human cultivators watched the sudden change in astonishment, none knowing what had happened. If Xue Jiu had been there, he would have certainly understood that this was Lu Ye's doing, as he had suffered a great loss from him before.

In the sea of blood, Lu Ye stood alone and slowly opened his eyes. In his perception, all the fallen, lifeless bodies now had an extremely subtle connection to him. This was a normal effect after being poisoned by the Myriad Poison Orb. The connection to those corpses wasn't with Lu Ye himself, but with the Myriad Poison Orb fruit on his talent tree.

Lu Ye felt increasingly fortunate that he had subdued the Myriad Poison Orb, a supreme treasure, in the Giant Spirit Starry Sky. Subsequently, it had been refined by the Divine Cauldron of Creation, transformed into a subordinate treasure, consumed by his talent tree, and ultimately yielded the Myriad Poison Orb fruit. Had it not been for this, he wouldn't have had much room to maneuver, neither against the Blood Clan before nor now on Chang Yun Island.

Coincidentally, if the Blood Clan hadn't created the massive sea of blood to surround Chang Yun Island, Lu Ye, even with the Myriad Poison Orb, would have had little opportunity to use it. But this sea of blood, just like the Blood Source Sea before it, allowed the Myriad Poison Orb's venom to lie dormant within it. He didn't need to exert much effort; any enemy in the sea of blood would become contaminated.

Chu Li had given him the role of inspector. While inspecting the spiritual island, he seemed to be aimlessly expending his spiritual power, unleashing blade lights into the sea of blood and consuming a vast amount of it. In reality, each of those blade lights carried the Myriad Poison Orb's toxins. This was the primary reason he insisted on returning to Chang Yun Island: only by coming back could his previous preparations take effect, allowing him to turn defeat into victory instead of continuing his escape across this besieged sea. He hadn't, however, anticipated that Fei Heng would use a supreme treasure like the Heaven Origin Star Disk, leading to Chang Yun Island's defenses being breached so easily.

With a thought, across Chang Yun Island, the dark, greenish-black aura on all the fallen, lifeless alien corpses suddenly intensified. Though they should have been dead, their fingers now began to tremble slightly...

In the sea of blood, Lu Ye suddenly turned and darted outwards. In that direction, almost the instant the changes occurred on the island, Fei Heng, who was anxiously examining Zhao Ming's injuries, sensed something. He abruptly turned to look toward the island, his face filled with alarm and doubt. The main reason was the sheer, uncountable amount of life force that had vanished from the island in that brief moment. This struck terror into his heart, as he keenly perceived that many of the lost life forces belonged to the Feathered Race. Then he saw Lu Ye, charging furiously towards him.

"You're seeking death!" Fei Heng roared in fury. He had just briefly examined Zhao Ming's injuries, which were so horrific they could only be described as inhuman torture. This ignited a volcanic rage within him, impossible to suppress. Even if Lu Ye hadn't come looking for him, he would have sought Lu Ye out to avenge Zhao Ming. Now that Lu Ye had delivered himself, Fei Heng was naturally pleased.

As he spoke, he protected the heavily injured Zhao Ming with one hand and flashed forward to confront Lu Ye. However, just as he moved, he suddenly froze. His gaze trembled as he looked down, his pupils contracting sharply. This was because Zhao Ming, in his arms, was suddenly covered in a dark, greenish-black aura, her life force extinguished in that very instant. Yet, one of Zhao Ming's hands, like a sharp blade, had cut into his side and clutched his heart.

Fei Heng's face twitched, not from his own wound, but from Zhao Ming's death! Just moments ago, she had been mostly unharmed, albeit with severe injuries. Why had she suddenly passed away in the blink of an eye? What was even harder for him to comprehend was how his companion, with whom he had shared joys and sorrows since their youth and journeyed together until now, could have dealt him such a lethal blow. Furthermore, when he had just examined Zhao Ming's injuries, he hadn't found any signs of poisoning. Where did this poison come from?

While he was in a daze, Zhao Ming's hand, gripping his heart, suddenly tightened. A harrowing shriek escaped him as Fei Heng slammed a palm onto Zhao Ming's head. Zhao Ming was instantly sent flying, her face covered in blood, looking grotesque and terrifying. Fei Heng, meanwhile, spat out a mouthful of blood, his body staggering. Such an injury, while not fatal for a high-level Dao Integration realm cultivator, was by no means light. However, more than his own wounds, he was heartbroken by the state of his companion.

After being knocked away, Zhao Ming actually shrieked and charged back, the dark, greenish-black aura on her body growing even denser, as if she intended to fight him to the death. What on earth was happening...? Fei Heng had no time to ponder. With a sweep of his sleeve, a surge of spiritual power blasted out, sending Zhao Ming flying once more. In both this and the previous strike, he clearly hadn't used his full power. Even though Zhao Ming's life force was gone, he couldn't bear to harm his companion's body.

No sooner had he fended off Zhao Ming than a wisp of killing intent reached him. Fei Heng suddenly turned, raising his hand to conjure a solid, shield-like defense in front of him. A long saber struck down, only to be blocked by this barrier. He glared angrily at Lu Ye, who had rushed close, and gritted his teeth, "Did you poison her?"