Chapter 2784: Feather Clan's Defeat

By this point, if Fei Heng still couldn't grasp who was behind Zhaoming's transformation, he wouldn't be worthy of being the Feathered Race's Grand Elder. He finally understood why Lu Ye had so readily thrown Zhaoming back: he had a hidden contingency. Fei Heng’s bond with Zhaoming was profound, and he could never have imagined his own companion would suddenly turn so venomous against him. Caught off guard, he had been severely wounded.

But he still couldn't understand what kind of potent poison it was that could instantly kill a powerful being like Zhaoming. Were the countless lives that had instantly withered within the island also connected to this poison? If so, when was this poison administered? And was he poisoned too? In that instant, countless thoughts raced through Fei Heng's mind.

The blade's gleam before him suddenly shone like the sun, and a violent force surged from the front, instantly shattering his magical shield. Fei Heng's eyes narrowed. For the first time, he truly felt the surge of Lu Ye's power. This was a formidable opponent, only slightly less powerful than himself! When had Changyun Island acquired such a powerful figure? He had been completely unaware of it until now.

As he raised a hand, he pointed with joined fingers, meeting the Panshuan Blade. With a clang, Lu Ye's body shook, and his blade deflected. Lu Ye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. In terms of strength, this Feathered Race Grand Elder was indeed on the same level as Xue Jiu; both had probably reached the very limit of their cultivation paths. At the moment, Lu Ye seemed somewhat outmatched.

However, compared to his previous confrontation with Xue Jiu, the situation was much better. When he had fought Xue Jiu in the inner realm, Xue Jiu had benefited from the amplification of Blooddrinking City, an advantage Fei Heng lacked. Moreover, Lu Ye’s strength had improved somewhat since then. Although his Inner World secret art hadn't reached the seventh stage of perfection, his fundamental strength had increased by nearly a thousand units. If he could truly cultivate the Inner World secret art to the seventh stage of perfection, he should then be able to barely contend with Fei Heng in terms of strength. But that didn't matter; the gap in their respective strengths wasn't actually that large now.

Fei Heng blocked Lu Ye's attack, and just as he was about to pursue, a beast-like roar came from his side. Zhaoming, enveloped in an aura of dark green and black, attacked again. Fei Heng's eyes narrowed sharply, filled with heartache and a hint of shock. "You can control her?"

When Zhaoming had ambushed him earlier, he hadn't considered this possibility. He had never encountered such a situation before; while the Source Realm had corpse races, they all possessed intelligence, unlike Zhaoming, who utterly lacked reason and was merely a walking corpse. It was only now that he suddenly realized. If Zhaoming truly lacked intelligence and reason, she should have been indiscriminately hostile, not solely targeting him. The very fact that this was happening meant she was under someone's control! Fei Heng's killing intent blazed fiercely!

As the blade light flashed, Fei Heng leaped, a few gray feathers falling from his wings. He then swiftly moved to Zhaoming's front, gazing at the companion with whom he had spent thousands of years. The heartache in his eyes vanished, replaced by an unyielding resolve, as if he had made a crucial decision in that instant. As he raised his hand, a swath of light gathered in his palm. It appeared as gentle as a pearl's glow, yet within it, violent Dao power surged. He struck down with his palm, hitting Zhaoming's chest. A roar escaped her, but it instantly weakened. Zhaoming herself, like snow under a blazing sun, began to melt, her flesh vanishing to reveal a body of golden Dao bones. Several of these bones showed signs of fracture.

Having been transformed into a poisoned corpse by the Ten Thousand Poisons Pearl, Zhaoming's strength was already diminished. With her Dao weapon seized and several Dao bones fractured, her power was further weakened. Before a mighty opponent like Fei Heng, she had no room to resist. The Feathered Race Grand Elder clearly understood that keeping Zhaoming would only be a hindrance. Facing an opponent like Lu Ye, whose strength was only slightly inferior to his own, he no longer had the luxury of looking after his companion. Rather than letting her be exploited by the enemy, it was better to personally send her on her way.

Before Zhaoming's physical body had completely vanished, Lu Ye had already leaped forward. A seemingly light and airy blade strike approached, yet its gleam was exceptionally fierce.

"I want you dead!" Fei Heng roared. The previous vengeance for his son's death, now compounded by the hatred for his companion's destruction—Fei Heng, who had lived a life of vigor for countless years, had never experienced such upheaval. His heart now overflowed with killing intent, with no outlet but to personally slay his enemy to quell the turmoil within him.

Yet, as he furiously roared those words, his expression changed. In that instant, an abnormality arose within his body, causing all his Dao power to circulate sluggishly. The fierce blade light was already close. Fei Heng quickly suppressed his killing intent, and with a flap of his wings, he intended to retreat. Ripples spread through the void, and space became chaotic. Fei Heng discovered in horror that no matter how he tried to escape, he couldn't shake off the pursuing blade light. In his haste, he could only shield himself with his wings.

A thunderous roar erupted as Fei Heng flew out like an arrow released from a bow. Lu Ye's figure followed closely, blade light spreading to form a curtain of light that enveloped him. In such a battle, having lost the initiative, Fei Heng had almost no power to retaliate and could only desperately protect himself. Fortunately, Lu Ye's strength was weaker than his, so while the current situation seemed dangerous, he was not in any real peril. What truly made him anxious was the realization that he, too, was poisoned!

The abnormality in his body was clearly a sign of poisoning. He sensed that the potent poison latent within him was utterly domineering and incredibly strange—a type he had never encountered before. It forced him to divert a portion of his strength to suppress it. Although it wasn't a large amount, in such a major battle, every bit of strength was indispensable.

In just ten breaths of this clash, Lu Ye had struck countless times, each blow delivered with full power, his Dao force unleashed without restraint. After ten breaths, he suddenly stopped, sheathed his blade, and stood in a bowed stance, his eyelids lowered, his bangs casting a shadow over his forehead.

This Feathered Race Grand Elder was indeed difficult to deal with. When he had previously activated the potent poison, he had intentionally left the poison latent within Fei Heng and Zhaoming. Later, he controlled the poison within Zhaoming to erupt and ambush Fei Heng, catching him completely off guard. Even then, the potent poison within Fei Heng's body remained dormant. Lu Ye simply wanted him to let down his guard and mistakenly believe he wasn't poisoned, so he could then launch a surprise attack. Indeed, he did just that, and the effect was quite good. Unfortunately, the opponent's raw strength was too great, which meant he couldn't achieve any substantial battle results. This was frustrating yet realistic: in the cultivation world, schemes and tricks are useless in the face of absolute power. The only thing that pleased Lu Ye was that Fei Heng, affected by the poison, had weakened, effectively nullifying the gap between their strengths.

As Lu Ye stood with his blade, Fei Heng finally recovered his breath. To be honest, he had struggled significantly to resist such a storm-like assault. It wasn't that he couldn't block it; rather, his own energy consumption was too great. With every one of Lu Ye's full-power attacks, Fei Heng also had to respond with full force, leading to an enormous drain on his Dao power in a short time. If the opponent continued such an offensive, he would likely be exhausted within half an hour. Fortunately, this human cultivator named Lu Ye sheathed his blade…

But Fei Heng was not pleased; instead, he felt a great sense of crisis. Since the enemy had actively slowed their assault, giving him a chance to breathe, it meant they were about to use some trump card! His gaze suddenly shifted past Lu Ye's figure, towards Changyun Island. Fei Heng didn't intend to be distracted at this moment; it was simply that the scene glimpsed from the corner of his eye was too shocking.

At this very moment, the sea of blood enveloping Changyun Island had collapsed. This meant that the Blood Clan members who had been maintaining this vast sea were almost entirely dead or wounded, which was why the sea of blood could no longer be sustained. Without the concealment of the sea of blood, the situation on Changyun Island was clear at a glance. He saw numerous figures enveloped in dark green and black aura, roaring and screaming fiercely, attacking in all directions like phantoms. Almost all living beings were their targets. Only the human race! They seemed to be unable to see the human race; even when they were close by, they ignored them, solely targeting the remaining Feathered Race, Blood Clan, and other foreign races for slaughter. And the originally outnumbered human race, with the cooperation of these poisoned corpses, were now utterly invincible. Figures flew from the island, fleeing in all directions, with the poisoned corpses relentlessly in pursuit. Furthermore, many killed foreign races shakily stood up, a dark green and black aura spreading from their bodies as they joined the army of poisoned corpses.

This astonishing scene imprinted itself on his vision, and even though Fei Heng's will was unyielding, he was profoundly impacted.

They had lost! The plan to attack Changyun Island had failed, and on top of that, his Feathered Race and the foreign races he led had suffered enormous losses. While not completely annihilated, they were close to it. For countless years in the Source Realm, the foreign races' hunts against the human race had never seen such an absurd turn of events. Even if a campaign failed, there would always be some spoils of war, and losses wouldn't be too significant. This was the first time! This was destined to be remembered in the histories of all races, and his name, Fei Heng, would circulate throughout the Source Realm, becoming a disgrace to the Feathered Race! And then there were the deaths of his offspring and Zhaoming…

Fei Heng's face suddenly flushed red, and a mouthful of congested blood almost uncontrollably spurted out as his body swayed. Even as the Feathered Race Grand Elder, the responsibility for this defeat was not something he could bear. The moment his mind faltered, intense killing intent descended, jolting Fei Heng awake. There was still a powerful enemy before him!

His vision was filled by an astonishing blade light, and a great sense of alarm arose in Fei Heng's heart. Although he didn't know the name of this particular strike, he could be certain that this was absolutely the strongest blow that human could unleash! The power of temporal sequence spread out, and Fei Heng's thoughts became muddled for an instant.

Light burst forth. Lu Ye stood holding his blade in place, the flesh on his right arm torn, blood streaming out. The brilliance of the scabbard at his waist slowly dimmed. This scabbard, forged by the old master of Hehe Realm Fin using many precious materials, even developed faint cracks after Lu Ye unleashed this strike. This was because the strike was the strongest Lu Ye could currently unleash, faintly exceeding what the scabbard could withstand.

This strike was called Blade Draw Slash!