Chapter 2807: Fox Using the Tiger's Might

The Human Clan’s sole Half-Saint survived in the Origin World not by remaining aloof, but by their sheer capability.

Other clans once speculated about the outcome of a conflict with Si Shengya. They estimated that a life-or-death battle would necessitate the simultaneous deployment of at least four Half-Saints to defeat him without significant losses.

This illustrates Si Shengya’s profound strength.

While the Blood Clan possessed more than four Half-Saints, they couldn’t risk deploying them against Si Shengya due to the inherent dangers. Furthermore, forming alliances with other clans for such a high-stakes confrontation was improbable, as complete trust is rare in these situations, and the various clans in the Origin World harbored deep-seated enmities.

Moreover, Si Shengya would never grant them such an opportunity. If truly provoked, he could easily unleash his Half-Saint power and devastate the territories of other clans, a destructive act no race could endure.

Under these various constraints, even the Half-Saints of other clans, despite their disdain for Si Shengya, had no choice but to tolerate his presence.

“It’s not Si Shengya…” Xue Li shook her head. “It’s another Human, apparently the blood slave Xue Jiu brought back!”

Having previously investigated Xue Jiu in secret, Xue Li had naturally also seen Lu Ye.

Xue Yuan turned, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Xue Jiu and his blood slave collaborated to kill Xue Tianxing?”

Even Xue Dong and Xue Xiao were slain alongside him.

“How is this even possible?”

Even with a sneak attack, a Half-Saint like Xue Tianxing shouldn’t have been so easily defeated. Xue Yuan simply could not believe such a scenario.

“Whether it’s true or not, we’ll find out soon enough.” With those words, Xue Li’s form blurred into a streak of crimson light, and she gave chase, guided by the residual blood energy.

As a Blood Clan Half-Saint, possessing the residual blood energy of Xue Jiu and Lu Ye meant she could track them no matter where they fled.

Xue Yuan quickly followed suit.

Mo Duo stood pondering for a moment before also giving chase.

Such a significant event was rare in the Origin World, so he naturally wanted to witness it. He was also immensely curious about the abilities of this Xue Jiu and his blood slave, who managed to slay a Half-Saint and two powerful subordinates.

“Where are we headed?”

Above the Cage Sea, two figures rapidly fled, their surroundings distorting as they both clearly employed spatial manipulation.

These were Lu Ye and Xue Jiu.

After escaping the abyss, Xue Jiu fled at full speed, seemingly with a specific destination in mind, which greatly piqued Lu Ye’s curiosity.

Xue Jiu stated, “Xue Tianxing’s death cannot be concealed for long. Once the other Blood Clan Half-Saints receive the news, they will undoubtedly investigate. Although I meticulously cleared the battlefield, the methods of Half-Saints are unpredictable, so they will certainly track us down. No matter where we hide, they will catch up.”

Lu Ye frowned slightly. “Do you have somewhere safe in mind?”

Given Xue Jiu’s words, he must possess a method to overcome this predicament.

“It’s just a gamble!” Xue Jiu turned, flashing a grin at him.

Lu Ye looked ahead at the vast and magnificent ocean, an endless expanse dotted only by scattered islands of varying sizes.

“Abyss Island?” Lu Ye realized Xue Jiu’s intention but was puzzled. “Why go there?”

Their destination was clearly Abyss Island, the very center of the Cage Sea.

However, that was where the Abyss was suppressed, and where various clans brought humans for sacrifice. Lu Ye had accompanied them once before and had seen nothing remarkable there apart from the nine sealing pillars.

Xue Jiu shook his head. “I’ve gathered some intelligence. This trip is merely an attempt. If it succeeds, we live. If not…” He trailed off, but the implication was unmistakably clear.

“What intelligence?”

Xue Jiu paused briefly, then uttered, “Saint Qi!”

“Saint Qi?” Lu Ye’s expression shifted dramatically.

“Xue Tianxing mentioned that Saint Qi resides on Abyss Island, though she rarely appears publicly, which is why few have ever seen her.”

Lu Ye suddenly understood. “Riding on someone else’s prestige?”

Xue Jiu grinned. “Precisely. We both possess Phoenix Clan bloodline. Should we encounter danger, we might be able to draw Saint Qi out, which would turn the tide in our favor.”

Lu Ye’s heart stirred upon hearing this.

This was indeed a plausible outcome. When he and Xue Jiu first arrived in the Origin World, they had, in fact, drawn out Saint Qi. However, they hadn’t seen her since, nor had they heard anything about her whereabouts from others.

He had often wondered where exactly Saint Qi was located within the Origin World.

Now, he finally knew she was on Abyss Island.

This implied that other Saints, such as San, whom Lu Ye had encountered previously, might also be on Abyss Island.

This thought made him somewhat uneasy, as San had attacked him before. Wouldn’t going there be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den?

However, he reconsidered: neither Saint Qi nor Saint San possessed their own sentience; they were merely puppets. San’s previous attack on him was likely a manifestation of the Abyss’s will.

Since his Talent Tree had undergone another metamorphosis, Lu Ye had used its power to incinerate the curse within his body. Therefore, encountering San again shouldn’t pose a significant problem.

Saint Qi’s initial attraction to him and Xue Jiu, which led her to investigate, was likely an instinctive response, given that Phoenix Clan bloodline had never before appeared in the Origin World.

It had to be acknowledged that Xue Jiu was indeed cunning. He had anticipated various scenarios before taking action, enabling him to react swiftly after slaying Xue Tianxing.

It wasn’t that Lu Ye hadn’t considered the aftermath; his line of thought simply differed from Xue Jiu’s.

In retrospect, Xue Jiu’s plan was undoubtedly superior.

Without further words, they swiftly moved towards Abyss Island.

Less than half a day later, Abyss Island appeared on the horizon, its nine colossal pillars piercing the sky. The sight was as awe-inspiring as ever, even for those who had seen it before.

Suddenly, Lu Ye felt a jolt of alarm. He turned to look, and a point of crimson light appeared in his vision.

“They’re here!” he uttered in a low voice.

He had never anticipated such a rapid response from the other Blood Clan Half-Saints. They had barely reached the vicinity of Abyss Island when their pursuers had already caught up.

“Heh heh!” Xue Jiu suddenly chuckled, then promptly threw out two severed pieces of a corpse.

These were Xue Tianxing’s head and torso. However, unlike when Xue Tianxing had just died, the two parts of the corpse were now incredibly dry and rigid, resembling a millennia-old cadaver.

Throughout their flight, Xue Jiu hadn’t merely been escaping; he had also been employing methods to condense Xue Tianxing’s bloodline.

By this point, all of Xue Tianxing’s vital essence had been extracted and condensed into a blood orb that now floated in Xue Jiu’s hand. The two parts of the corpse were utterly devoid of any remaining utility.

They were even useless to Lu Ye, as such desiccated remains couldn’t even be converted into a poisonous corpse, a fact that caused Lu Ye a slight pang of regret.

He had previously considered preserving Xue Tianxing’s corpse intact, hoping to transform it into a powerful poisonous corpse.

The power a Half-Saint poisonous corpse could wield was not to be underestimated; it would undoubtedly be a significant asset for him in the Origin World.

However, this had been an impossible feat. In that chaotic situation, it was already fortunate that he managed to seize the opportunity to behead Xue Tianxing; there was no way to preserve the body’s integrity while simultaneously killing the opponent.

The corpse fell into the sea, splashing water.

Lu Ye gazed at the blood orb in Xue Jiu’s hand, his expression subtly shifting before he finally averted his eyes.

He naturally recognized that the blood orb was the concentrated essence of Xue Tianxing’s entire bloodline. While acquiring it would allow Xue Jiu to achieve Half-Saint status, it also held significant utility for Lu Ye.

However, as he wasn’t of pure Blood Clan lineage, its benefit to him wasn’t as immense as it was to Xue Jiu. Moreover, Xue Tianxing’s blood soul had already been consumed by Xue Jiu. For Xue Jiu to ascend to Half-Saint status, both Xue Tianxing’s blood soul and bloodline were indispensable; without either, Xue Jiu could not achieve his full potential.

Furthermore… Xue Jiu consuming this blood orb might not be a bad thing at all!

Xue Jiu swallowed the blood orb without hesitation, then grinned with satisfaction. “They’re too late!”

All the effort and risks had finally paid off, and Xue Jiu was in high spirits.

“Xue Jiu, stop at once!” A stern, commanding shout echoed from a distance behind them. It was Xue Yuan.

Both Xue Jiu and Lu Ye ignored the command. Far from stopping, they even accelerated slightly.

“You refuse a polite offer, so you shall suffer the consequences!” Xue Yuan coldly snorted. “Attack!”

Beside him, on Xue Li’s fingertips, two points of crimson light suddenly began to squirm as if imbued with life. These were precisely the blood energies of Xue Jiu and Lu Ye that she had collected from the abyss earlier.

Two arcane blood-red runes swiftly materialized. As Xue Li shifted her hand seals, the runes shimmered briefly before dissolving into nothingness.

Simultaneously, a strong sense of alarm surged within both Xue Jiu and Lu Ye as they fled towards Abyss Island. An identical mark appeared on each of their chests.

The pattern of the mark was identical to the blood-red rune Xue Li had previously conjured.

“Blood Spirit Soul Severing Art!” Xue Jiu cried out, realizing the danger and frantically pushing his own power, yet still unable to suppress a pained cry.

Beside him, Lu Ye fared no better. In that instant, he felt as if his heart had been pierced, and even the flow of his vital energy stagnated.

Lu Ye was naturally familiar with the Blood Spirit Soul Severing Art; it was a type of blood technique he could also perform. However, his proficiency in blood techniques was primarily inherited from Xue Jiu, and as a weapon cultivator, he rarely employed such methods.

Consequently, cultivators of other races, when clashing with the Blood Clan, meticulously avoided scattering or losing their blood, as there was no telling what the Blood Clan might do with such dispersed vital energy.

Although Xue Jiu had meticulously cleared the battlefield, the methods of a Half-Saint were ultimately beyond his ability to counteract.

Now, this secret art, cast by a Half-Saint, proved to be incredibly potent.

Lu Ye swiftly activated the power of his Talent Tree to purge his body.

A faint, fiery glow briefly manifested on his body, and he quickly recovered.

Xue Jiu’s body faltered, plummeting towards the sea like a wild goose struck by an arrow.

Lu Ye quickly reached out and caught him.

Xue Jiu’s face was pale. He gasped for several rapid breaths before slowly recovering, his expression etched with lingering fear. “That was close!”

Fortunately, Xue Li had not collected much blood energy, and it was merely ordinary vital essence scattered during their battle. Otherwise, the situation would have been truly dire.