Chapter 2833: You are also a clone?

Winds Stir Kyushu

Winds Stir Kyushu

Looking across the Star Abyss, few could make Zong Shenliang wary, but the person before him was certainly one of them. This was especially true now, as he had not come in his true form but as a clone, capable of exerting only limited power.

"This is my Dao weapon. Of course, I can be here. But you, why are you here?" Lu Ye said calmly.

Zong Shenliang wasn't here in his true form, and neither was Lu Ye.

The moment he entered the Mottled World, Lu Ye immediately condensed his Talent Tree clone. He had followed Zong Shenliang and his group all the way here, originally intending to spring a trap.

Unexpectedly, he overheard some surprising information.

Nine-Headed Serpentine was actually one of the Ten City Lords from hundreds of thousands of years ago? In his era, he was formidable enough to rival Ba Qiu?

It made sense. The Mottled World, as a Dao weapon, was truly unique. Throughout his ventures in the Star Abyss, Lu Ye had never encountered anything similar.

He had long suspected Nine-Headed Serpentine had an extraordinary origin and must have been incredibly powerful at his peak. However, limited by his own strength and experience at the time, his conjectures weren't bold enough.

If Nine-Headed Serpentine truly had such a background, everything would make sense.

Unfortunately, the creature had suffered severe injuries, leaving only a wisp of its soul. It had originally intended to seize Lu Ye's body but was countered by him.

It ultimately ended up with its soul scattered.

"Your Dao weapon..." Zong Shenliang paused for a moment, then quickly reacted, his face suddenly darkening. "Kill him!"

His several Integration realm cultivators obeyed without hesitation, their figures flashing as they lunged at Lu Ye. Instantly, Dao power surged within the main hall, and various lights enveloped Lu Ye.

After giving the order, Zong Shenliang's figure flickered, transforming into a streak of black light, and he rapidly darted towards the entrance.

As a fellow Ten City Lord, he naturally knew how strong Lu Ye was. The few subordinates he brought in could, at most, cause Lu Ye some minor trouble; they stood no chance of success.

Therefore, he needed to seize this opportunity to escape quickly, or it would be too late.

After only two breaths of escape, he heard a series of desperate screams from behind him. Zong Shenliang quickly turned his head to look back, his pupils instantly constricting.

Lu Ye remained suspended in mid-air, his body unmoving, while a sword light coiled around him like a dragon.

Blood flew everywhere. The Integration realm cultivators who had ferociously attacked him were sent flying high like kites, tumbling in all directions.

Terror filled the eyes of each one of them.

Four or five Integration realm cultivators had joined forces in an encirclement, yet they hadn't even touched his clothes before being repelled by a single sword light.

Lu Ye tilted his head slightly, gazing in the direction Zong Shenliang had fled, a strange smile playing on his lips.

As their eyes met, Zong Shenliang's heart sank, feeling a strong premonition of disaster.

This human, Lu Ye... his strength was even greater than he had anticipated.

The sword light circling Lu Ye suddenly shot out, appearing before an enemy in an instant. Under the terrified gaze of the Integration realm cultivator, it split into two, then four, then eight...

The main hall instantly became a sea of sword light.

Boundless sword lights darted and weaved like fish, accompanied by incessant whooshing sounds.

When all the sword lights vanished, several bloody and mangled corpses lay in the hall.

Only then did the clone tap his sword gourd. The sky-full of sword lights retracted, and he casually walked in pursuit of Zong Shenliang.

Moments later, Lu Ye stood at the entrance, with Zong Shenliang glaring at him, his face grim.

He ultimately failed to escape because Lu Ye had resealed the entrance upon entering. The previous seal was left by him during his Integration, making it easy to break. However, with Lu Ye now having re-established the seal using his own methods, it would be impossible for Zong Shenliang to open it with just a clone, unless his true form was present.

"What have you done?" Zong Shenliang asked in a low voice.

"I told you, this is my Dao weapon. How could it be a place where you can come and go as you please?" Lu Ye said, playing with a wisp of sword energy in his hand, looking at him with a half-smile.

Zong Shenliang knew he was probably doomed this time. He secretly rejoiced that it wasn't his true form here; otherwise, he truly would be in trouble today.

Calming himself, he spoke, "Fellow Daoist Lu, there's no past animosity or recent grievances between our two factions. This is ultimately a misunderstanding. How about we let it go? Just name your conditions."

Although it was just a clone, he didn't want it to be destroyed. Creating this clone had cost him considerable time and effort, so if possible, he wanted it to survive, even if it meant paying a price.

"No grievances?" Lu Ye said with a cold expression. "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Zong to joke."

Based solely on their direct interactions, there indeed hadn't been any direct conflicts or disputes.

However, whether it was the Snowfield Conflict in the past or the recent Battle of the Ten City Lords, Zong Shenliang's stance was diametrically opposed to Lu Ye's.

The absence of direct conflicts or disputes did not mean they weren't adversaries.

Furthermore, had Lu Ye not returned here in time by leveraging the power of the Primordial Parasol Tree, and if Asura City had seized the Mottled World and invaded the starry sky, the enmity between them would have become immense.

Zong Shenliang's face immediately darkened. "You greenhorn, do you really think you can just do as you please with me? If anything happens to this clone of mine, Asura City's army will soon besiege your city. You'd best think carefully."

Although both were Ten City Lord level, there were still varying strengths. Zong Shenliang had witnessed the previous battle and believed his true form was much stronger than Lu Ye. Moreover, the foundations and forces under their command were incomparable.

The reason the Ten City Lords held such high positions wasn't just their individual power, but also the vast forces and enterprises they had cultivated over countless millennia.

The matter at hand couldn't be resolved amicably. Zong Shenliang now only hoped Lu Ye would hesitate, allowing his clone to leave.

Although he knew in his heart that this hope was slim... he still had to try.

"Trespassing in my home and acting recklessly, and then daring to threaten me?" Lu Ye was instantly provoked into a cold laugh. With a slight raise of his hand, the sword energy he held shot towards Zong Shenliang.

Zong Shenliang's face immediately fell.

Before the Star Abyss Gate, the battle had concluded. The Starry Sky Chessboard dissipated, and the Starry Sky cultivators all looked excitedly at Lu Ye.

Yin Luo was the most agitated, shouting, "Lu Ye!" and was about to dash forward.

She had been quite famished during the days without Lu Ye.

Just then, everyone's expressions changed simultaneously. Many of the previously slain enemies were now enveloped in a murky, dark green aura and were "reviving."

Out of dozens of Integration realm cultivators, all except for the Flood-level City Lord who was initially split in half by Lu Ye's blade, and a few others slain by the Starry Sky cultivators, had transformed in this manner!

The sight was as horrifying as could be, truly startling everyone. Yin Luo quickly adopted a defensive stance.

"Cannot be killed?" Ma Bin's expression was extremely grave. He couldn't comprehend what was happening. These enemies were clearly corpses, devoid of any vitality, so how could they still move?

"Don't be nervous!" Lu Ye quickly reassured them. "They are all dead. I used a method to turn them into poisonous corpses, and from now on, they will be responsible for guarding this place."

Fei Mu pondered, "Uncle Master, do you mean you can control them?"

"Precisely!" Lu Ye nodded.

The group stood stunned, all finding it hard to believe.

They had a profound understanding of how powerful these Integration realm cultivators were. If not for the powerful enchantments left by Lord Qing in the Azure Palace back then, the Star Abyss Gate here would have been breached long ago.

And the number... it was even greater than all the Integration realm cultivators in the entire starry sky combined.

Now that Lu Ye had transformed them into poisonous corpses and brought them under control, didn't that mean their side had suddenly gained dozens of obedient Integration realm cultivators?

For the current Starry Sky, this was nothing short of a massive surprise.

Lu Ye turned to look at Hua Ci, whose eyes were shining as she curiously examined the poisonous corpse closest to her.

It seemed the grotesque poisonous corpse held more appeal for her than Lu Ye himself.

This sight made Lu Ye's mouth twitch.

"You all rest up first. I have something else to attend to; I'll be back shortly." As Lu Ye spoke, his figure flickered and he suddenly vanished.

A moment later, he entered the ruins.

His clone had tracked Zong Shenliang and the other Integration realm cultivators here, and since the depths of the ruins concerned the ownership of the Mottled World, he naturally had to check the situation.

Upon seeing it, Lu Ye froze in place.

His clone stood not far ahead, tall and heroic, a wisp of sword energy coiling around its hand. Before it lay a mangled, bloody figure, with faint wisps of black energy drifting around it.

It was indeed Zong Shenliang's clone.

"Not resolved yet?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

The clone's strength was nearly identical to his own; only the methods they could employ differed slightly due to their respective Dao weapons. Logically, Zong Shenliang's clone, without the enhancement of a Dao Integration Pearl, would at most be a normal Upper Integration realm cultivator.

There was no reason for it to still be alive.

"Killing it just like that would be too wasteful," the clone replied.

The next moment, Lu Ye understood what the clone was thinking. After all, the clone was an extension of his true self, and their thoughts were essentially the same.

Had his true self been here instead, he would have thought of doing the same thing.

"It's worth a try," Lu Ye nodded, stepping forward to stand before Zong Shenliang, examining the City Lord of Asura City.

He had never been this close to his opponent before. Zong Shenliang's clone was now extremely weak, with severe injuries, clearly having suffered greatly at the hands of Lu Ye's clone.

In this state, Lu Ye's clone needed only one final strike to end its life.

Zong Shenliang, however, had his eyes wide like copper bells, looking at the clone for a moment, then at Lu Ye's true form, before finally reacting after a long pause: "You're a clone too?"

No wonder the Lu Ye he saw today looked slightly different from his previous appearance; it turned out the one who entered later was the true form.

Realizing this, Zong Shenliang's expression immediately became extremely ugly.

Why?

They were both clones, so why was there such a vast difference in their strength?

During their recent encounter, Lu Ye's clone had completely crushed him, leaving him with no ability to retaliate whatsoever.

What kind of clone technique was this, capable of exhibiting such power?