Chapter 2818: 命！

The Wind Stirs the Nine Continents

The Regimental Banner was revealed, and several streaks of blood-red light floated from its body, streaking towards the three figures engaged in a fierce battle and landing precisely on them.

In an instant, Gu Mingyue’s aura surged.

Although only four individuals formed a connection with the Regimental Banner this time, their number was not large. However, all four were powerhouses on par with the Ten Great City Lords. Therefore, with the feedback of the supreme treasure’s power, Gu Mingyue’s strength spontaneously increased by ten percent.

Hong Tu, who was currently clashing with Dragon Venerable, experienced the same.

The boost in strength immediately improved Gu Mingyue’s situation, but it was limited to that. One Regimental Banner was not enough for her to turn the tide and defeat the Phoenix Master.

“Obstinate and unyielding! If that’s the case, then die!” On the other side, Xuan Wuzong roared and thrust out his sword.

His own strength was already far superior to Baxia’s. He had just been thinking of trying to subdue this old Divination Tribe member, but failing to do so, he didn't force the issue. With the Regimental Banner’s power bestowed upon him, the might of this sword strike was simply something Baxia could not withstand.

At this point, Lu Ye had only arrived at Yifu City five breaths ago, barely enough time to clearly assess the situation on all sides.

Blood splattered. As Baxia’s protective Dao power was broken, he let out a muffled groan.

The sword edge, flashing with lightning, pierced his chest, causing lightning arcs to course through half of his body and quickly rendering it numb.

Not only his body became numb, but also his own thoughts.

Xuan Wuzong’s sword was also a supreme treasure, named the Nine Heavens Thunder Marsh Sword. It was born from a spatial anomaly in the starry sky filled with violent lightning, and he had acquired it over 200,000 years ago. Relying on this supreme treasure longsword, he had slain countless powerful enemies, many of whom were stronger than Baxia.

Baxia’s expression, however, was extremely calm, showing no sense of urgency from the life-or-death crisis, simply because he knew his time to die had not yet come.

“Hmm?” Xuan Wuzong suddenly frowned. The supreme treasure’s power, which he had been preparing to unleash to destroy Baxia’s life force and soul, suddenly retracted. He pulled out his longsword and quickly held it horizontally in front of him.

A flash of saber light swept out from behind Baxia. Enveloped within the saber light was a lithe figure.

The moment saber and sword clashed, Xuan Wuzong’s body trembled. He was nearly knocked away, secretly astonished by the immense strength of the newcomer. With his profound power as one of the Ten Great City Lords, plus the enhancement from the Regimental Banner, he had almost failed to block the attack.

The aftermath of the clash swept out, and the injured Baxia tumbled, retreating back into Yifu City.

He landed awkwardly. One hand clutched his chest, lightning still lingering around the wound. With his other hand, he wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked up, and a figure appeared in his vision.

Looking at the figure confronting Xuan Wuzong, Baxia felt no joy at being rescued. His expression was instead incredibly complex, and he sighed faintly: “He still came!”

Was this fate?

The Divination Tribe believed in fate. He had followed fate’s guidance his entire life, daring not to make a single mistake. But at this moment, he hoped he was wrong.

“You are… Lu Ye?” Xuan Wuzong examined the young face close at hand, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The human Lu Ye was originally an obscure figure. He first rose to prominence during the Snow Plain Conflict, when a wisp of Blood Calamity’s soul possessed him, borrowing his physical strength to battle Yun Shiwang, who wielded the Heavenly Pivot Sword.

However, that hadn't particularly concerned Xuan Wuzong, because it wasn't Lu Ye who fought Yun Shiwang, but Blood Calamity, along with the power repeatedly accumulated and enhanced by the Starry Sky Chessboard.

Later, he had incidentally heard that Blood Calamity was particularly interested in this human and wanted to take him as a blood slave.

What truly made Xuan Wuzong remember him were some pieces of information he had gathered from the Insect and Blood race cultivators who had fled to Shibucheng.

It was said that before the Dragon and Phoenix races jointly besieged Blood Drinking City, a disturbance had erupted within the Blood race’s territory, and the instigator was precisely this human cultivator named Lu Ye.

He didn’t know what methods he used, but he poisoned and killed a large number of powerful cultivators from both the Insect and Blood races, destroyed many Hegemony Cities, and even snatched the supreme treasure, the Starry Sky Chessboard, from Blood Calamity.

Blood Calamity pursued him, and from then on, both disappeared without a trace.

The turmoil in the Blood race’s territory also allowed the Dragon and Phoenix races to seize an opportunity, which then triggered the astonishing war that had occurred earlier. Ultimately, the Insect and Blood races were annihilated, Blood Drinking City was breached, and now, the remaining members of the Insect and Blood races were scattered under the command of several of them.

The moment he recognized Lu Ye, Xuan Wuzong’s heart filled with joy.

Because Blood Calamity had pursued Lu Ye and then disappeared with him.

Lu Ye had appeared; where was Blood Calamity?

Given the current situation, if Blood Calamity had been here, things would have already been settled. Why would there be such trouble?

However, he quickly had no time to think further, because the power emanating from the long saber in Lu Ye’s hand swiftly reached a peak.

The strength was so immense, several times greater than Baxia’s!

This human brat… actually possessed strength on par with the Ten Great City Lords? Although slightly inferior to him, it didn’t seem far off. Such a direct confrontation would force him to use his full power.

“Get lost!” Xuan Wuzong roared. The longsword, parrying Lu Ye’s Panshantang saber, suddenly trembled slightly. In an instant, a spark of lightning burst forth, and the lightning swiftly spread out like a net, engulfing a large area.

The violent thunder power, possessing world-destroying might, caused Lu Ye to tremble uncontrollably. His body first felt a tingling numbness, followed by an overwhelming wave of pain. His flesh turned charred black, and his thoughts became hazy.

“Die!” Seizing the opportunity, Xuan Wuzong brought his sword down on him.

In that instant, Lu Ye, whose eyes had been vacant, suddenly regained a flicker of clarity. His Panshantang saber in hand, he fiercely lunged out, and spatial power permeated the air.

Horizon Saber!

As space was extended, his figure retreated backward.

A slight pain in his chest, he narrowly avoided the attack.

Regaining his footing, Lu Ye quietly let out a breath, secretly feeling fortunate.

If not for his Dragon race bloodline, and having cultivated the Heavenly Dragon Battle Guard to a certain level, he absolutely would not have regained consciousness so quickly.

This secret art of the Dragon race could not only enhance physical strength, but its greater effect was resistance to various arcane spell powers.

The lightning power unleashed by Xuan Wuzong’s supreme treasure longsword, strictly speaking, was also a type of arcane spell, just power at the supreme treasure level.

If he hadn’t recovered in time, with Xuan Wuzong’s power, he definitely could have severely wounded him instantly.

“Brat!” On the other side, Dragon Venerable was greatly alarmed.

He had communicated with Lu Ye before and knew that Lu Ye wouldn’t ignore this matter, but he never imagined that Lu Ye would appear in such a manner.

He had never known that Lu Ye could freely enter and exit Yifu City!

As far as Dragon Venerable knew, of this seemingly dilapidated small city, only Baxia could freely enter and exit throughout the entire Star Abyss, apart from Baxia, only Qin Feng from the Hegemony Realm could.

He had originally thought Lu Ye would rush over from some direction. Not to mention whether he could make it in time, even if he did, there would be room for him to provide protection.

Now, as soon as Lu Ye appeared, he confronted Xuan Wuzong, which truly startled Dragon Venerable.

Under his worry, his Dao power surged wildly, and the power of time permeated the air. His previous leisure disappeared, replaced by an all-out attack.

Hong Tu’s expression immediately turned bitter!

If Baxiu was the strongest in the inner realm, then Dragon Venerable was the second. Hong Tu admitted he was no match. Although the two of them had been fighting fiercely, it was only for show. Now that Dragon Venerable suddenly exerted his full strength, he could no longer hold back.

The situation instantly became much more perilous.

Beside Yifu City, Xuan Wuzong, sword in hand, attacked again. Lu Ye’s expression was grave, countering with his saber.

Although he had previously clashed with semi-saint level powerhouses in the Origin Realm, the circumstances then were completely different from now.

Not to mention Blood Tianxing didn’t have a supreme treasure, he also lacked the enhancement of a Hegemony Orb.

Furthermore, at the beginning of that battle, Blood Tianxing was severely wounded and heavily poisoned.

Xuan Wuzong was different. Wielding a supreme treasure longsword and further amplified by a Hegemony Orb, his strength was no weaker, possibly even stronger, than Blood Tianxing’s on that day.

The only thing he couldn’t surpass Blood Tianxing in was the destructive power of Dao. Xuan Wuzong was, after all, still at the Hegemony level, while Blood Tianxing had already stepped one foot into that threshold.

However, Lu Ye was also alone, without Blood Calamity’s assistance.

The battle was extremely fierce from the outset, primarily because Lu Ye adopted a fearless posture, unleashing his full strength without reservation, forcing Xuan Wuzong to be unable to hold back any power.

The longer he fought, the more startled he became.

Because even though he fought with all his might, he still couldn’t gain an absolute advantage. This guy’s strength was far too superior to Baxia’s.

The key wasn’t his strength, but his foundation… Lu Ye’s foundation gave him a very solid feeling, a feeling he had never experienced in anyone else.

Not even Baxiu!

Gradually, Xuan Wuzong discovered the problem.

Lu Ye showed no signs of borrowing external power!

Because the free-floating Dao power from all directions was not being harnessed by him at all, or rather, it wasn’t that he wasn’t harnessing it, but that he was harnessing so little it was almost negligible.

All his strength seemed to be entirely his own.

Having lived for countless millennia, Xuan Wuzong had never witnessed such a thing. His heart was filled with indescribable shock.

Suddenly, he realized: “Are you also a rebel?”

They had probed multiple times before, and Baxiu’s situation was identical to what he was now witnessing. They didn’t know what Baxiu had done to be abandoned by the Star Abyss Will, but it was precisely this reason that made them feel there was an opportunity, leading them to decide to act.

Baxiu was a rebel, and now, this Lu Ye was also a rebel!

Both had been abandoned by the Star Abyss Will!

Fear and alarm mixed in his heart, because if Lu Ye wasn’t a rebel, if he hadn’t been abandoned, then with his current foundation, if he casually borrowed even a little external power, Xuan Wuzong would absolutely be no match.

Compared to Baxiu, this guy was the true freak!

Xuan Wuzong suddenly remembered that during the Snow Plain Conflict, this Lu Ye seemed to have only been at the Dao Integration realm.

How many years had it been? Yet he already possessed strength comparable to the Ten Great City Lords.

Such talent! If he couldn’t be slain here today, in a few more years, he would undoubtedly replace Baxiu, and might even exert greater pressure than Baxiu had over the years.

If it were just that, it would be fine. But the enmity between them had already been forged today and could not be resolved. Sooner or later, it would be a life-or-death confrontation.

In a single thought, Xuan Wuzong’s killing intent flared intensely. His Dao power surged fiercely, and the Nine Heavens Thunder Marsh Sword in his hand actually transformed into a pure lightning sword.

He joined his fingers and ran them across the sword’s blade. A deep crimson wave rippled forth, its aura intensified even further, and a curtain of swords enveloped Lu Ye.