Chapter 2842: I am Yuan Xi

On Three Realms Island, in the tall building, as Jiu Yan was about to go and converse with the two women, her heart suddenly stirred. She looked up at the projected anomaly.

Within the projection, over two hundred headless corpses gushed blood like springs, a truly horrifying and spectacular sight.

Lu Ye's voice rang out again: "Within ten days, those who remain in the Starry Expanse shall die!"

As his words fell, with the horrified gazes of the surviving cultivators upon him, the third blade strike was unleashed.

The blade light swept past, and behind Lu Ye, no life remained. All the cultivators who had been captured in the previous battle perished beneath his blade.

"This fellow... how did he become so strong?" Among the two women who had arrived together, the tall, slender one, who appeared gentle and delicate, slightly furrowed her brow, her face filled with puzzlement.

Although it was merely a projection, reflected from an unknown source, making it impossible to experience it firsthand, she still discerned some clues.

The power Lu Ye now displayed far surpassed that of an ordinary High-rank Harmonization Realm cultivator.

She recalled that the last time she saw Lu Ye, he didn't even qualify for a second glance from her. How little time had passed since then? Even with the greatest fortuitous encounters, a person's growth couldn't be this rapid.

In contrast, the other woman beside her didn't think much of it, merely exclaiming in admiration: "The Grand Commander is mighty!"

If Lu Ye were present, he would surely be pleasantly surprised, for this woman was none other than Yuan Xi, who had left after the battle on the Starry Sky Chessboard.

And the one capable of being with Yuan Xi was, naturally, Ni Chilian, one of the Ten City Lords.

"He's very clever," Ni Chilian quietly remarked. "The current situation in this Starry Expanse is chaotic. With six Star Abyss Gates and numerous invading enemies scattered everywhere, even with his strength, resolving this trouble wouldn't be easy. However, using this method makes a difference."

She didn't know how many such projections existed throughout the Starry Expanse, but there certainly wouldn't be few.

At this very moment, many cultivators invading the Starry Expanse must have witnessed this bloody and brutal scene. Under such deterrence, who would dare to continue acting recklessly in the Starry Expanse?

Even if they didn't see it with their own eyes, this incident was so significant that they would surely hear about it through their respective channels later.

What's more, Lu Ye ultimately had no intention of exterminating them all; instead, he gave them ten days to withdraw.

Star Abyss cultivators fundamentally invaded the Starry Expanse with the mindset that it was fragile and easily conquered. But if they knew this Starry Expanse possessed such a powerful master, they would undoubtedly have reservations.

Unless unexpected, after the might of these three blade strikes, a large number of cultivators would now be preparing to withdraw from the Starry Expanse.

While a supreme treasure was indeed enticing, subduing one was inherently difficult. Even setting aside the opportunity, the mere threat Lu Ye posed was too significant to ignore.

When the risks far outweighed the benefits, wise individuals naturally knew what choice to make.

"Exactly! My Grand Commander has always been exceptionally clever!" Yuan Xi burst out laughing, looking immensely proud.

Ni Chilian now felt fortunate for one thing: after discovering the Star Abyss Gates, she immediately gave strict orders to her subordinates that while entering the Starry Expanse was permissible, wanton aggression was absolutely forbidden.

It wasn't out of compassion; as one of the Ten City Lords, she had fought her way up from the lowest ranks. Such a person would hardly be merciful.

It was simply that the Starry Expanse where she and Yuan Xi came from had also been invaded and shattered in the same way. Having endured such a "rain" herself, she didn't want others to suffer the same fate.

Otherwise, Red-Refining City and Lu Ye would likely find themselves at an impasse, and then Yuan Xi's relationship with Lu Ye would probably also deteriorate, which was something she absolutely did not want to see.

"Fellow Daoist." A voice came from beside her. Jiu Yan had already swept down from the tall building and stood beside Yuan Xi. "Do you know my husband?"

They weren't far from each other, and Yuan Xi hadn't hidden her words just now, so Jiu Yan had naturally heard everything clearly.

"He's your husband?" Yuan Xi was stunned.

"Indeed!" Jiu Yan nodded. "I just heard you address my husband as Grand Commander?"

Yuan Xi couldn't help but laugh. "What a coincidence! I certainly do know your husband!"

"How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?" Jiu Yan asked.

"My name is Yuan Xi."

"Yuan Xi..." Jiu Yan was slightly surprised. The name sounded familiar. After a brief thought, she recalled that Lu Ye had just mentioned it. "Yuan Xi of Yuan Xi City?"

Yuan Xi gave a thumbs-up to herself. "I am the first City Lord of Yuan Xi City, and your husband is the second!"

As Lu Ye's third blade strike fell, the projected anomalies across the Starry Expanse gradually faded away.

Such projections consumed a considerable amount of energy for Old Tree. Although the entire foundation of the Nine Provinces served as a backup, and maintaining them longer wouldn't be an issue, the plan was complete. There was no need to continue, as it would ultimately deplete the Nine Provinces' resources.

With matters having reached this point, Lu Ye believed he had sufficiently deterred the invading enemies. Any sensible cultivator would undoubtedly withdraw from the Starry Expanse before the ten-day deadline arrived.

Even if there were still some stragglers by then, with Old Tree's various avatars monitoring all corners of the Starry Expanse, Lu Ye could strike them down as soon as their whereabouts were discovered.

This situation was far better than him having to seek them out one by one.

Although this might allow some heinous individuals to escape, the longer the delay, the greater the harm the invading cultivators would inflict upon the Starry Expanse. In the current circumstances, a swift and decisive action was the only way.

"Lu Ye, Yiyi and Amber are in trouble," Old Tree's voice suddenly came from the potted plant Su Yuqing held.

Lu Ye's expression immediately turned stern. "Where?"

"I'll send you there!" As he spoke, a branch swiftly extended from the potted plant, coiling and twisting before Lu Ye, forming a gateway.

As a profound energy surged from the potted plant, the void within the gateway suddenly distorted.

"Yuqing, go to Three Realms Island and wait for me!" Lu Ye commanded, stepping through.

He had originally planned to go to Three Realms Island after resolving the current matters, primarily to check on Jiu Yan's situation and to investigate the unknown power.

Compared to the scattered enemies invading the Starry Expanse, Lu Ye was more concerned about this unknown power. Although it hadn't caused any harm to the Starry Expanse yet, no one could say what might happen in the future.

Therefore, he had to go there personally, find the leader of that power, and have a detailed discussion.

But that was for later!

His figure swept through the gateway, reappearing within a certain realm.

This realm's foundation wasn't particularly strong, comparable to the Nine Provinces of old. Where Lu Ye appeared, there was one of Old Tree's avatars.

Unlike the profound power of the Primeval Parasol Tree's void traversal, Old Tree could send him here by utilizing the connection between his avatars.

If the Primeval Parasol Tree's void traversal was unrestricted, then Old Tree's method was fixed-point teleportation.

He swept his divine sense outwards, and his expression immediately darkened.

In the Starry Expanse beyond the realm, a spirit and a tiger were in an extremely sorry state.

The High-rank Harmonization Realm cultivator's Dao power surged, his Dao weapon wielded ferociously, his face twisted in a ruthless expression, clearly intending to annihilate them.

Yiyi and Amber joined forces to parry, but still found it difficult to resist the fierce might. In just a short while, both sustained injuries.

They had primarily been caught off guard because, just a short while ago, this High-rank Harmonization Realm cultivator had seemingly reached an agreement with them and turned to leave.

Yet, the moment they relaxed their guard, the enemy suddenly appeared behind Amber like a ghost, severely injuring him with a single strike.

Yiyi understood why the opponent had done this; it was clearly because he didn't trust her and Amber and wanted to eliminate them completely.

He believed that if he killed Yiyi and Amber here, no one would know about this incident. Although Lu Ye was indeed terrifyingly strong, he didn't think Lu Ye could possess such profound insight as to discern the truth of today's events.

Just as he was thinking this, Yiyi suddenly spoke: "Do you think you'll be safe if you kill me and Amber? That projection just now was the power of the Cycle Tree, the supreme treasure of this Starry Expanse. Old Tree's avatar is right there, at the boundary realm. His venerable self sees everything clearly here!"

At her words, the Harmonization Realm cultivator's face drastically changed, and his fierce offensive momentarily paused.

If the situation was truly as Yiyi described, then it was dire.

However, the next moment, he solidified his resolve: "Are you trying to trick me?"

Even as he spoke, his murderous intent significantly subsided. He dared not harbor any killing intent, because if the situation was truly that dire, he would need to keep Yiyi and Amber alive as leverage.

Just then, a powerful divine sense swept out from a nearby realm.

Yiyi paused, then exclaimed in joyful surprise: "Lu Ye!"

Amber also roared, his tiger's cry shaking the heavens.

"What!" The High-rank Harmonization Realm cultivator turned his head to look in the direction of the divine sense's origin, only to see a streak of light, imbued with furious power, approaching like thunder and lightning.

He strained his eyes, vaguely discerning a somewhat familiar figure within the streak of light.

Who else could it be but Lu Ye, the one he had just seen in the projection?

"How is this possible!" He was greatly alarmed. Lu Ye had just been powerfully killing enemies from an unknown, distant location; how could he appear right before him in the blink of an eye?

Was this also the power of the supreme treasure, the Cycle Tree?

There was no time for deep thought, for an intensely solidified killing intent had already locked onto him from afar, sending chills down his spine.

He had witnessed how Lu Ye had just shattered a city, bound enemies, and killed them. He knew his own strength was no greater than some of the dead High-rank Harmonization Realm cultivators. Against a powerhouse like Lu Ye, what chance of victory did he have?

A burst of blood mist erupted around him as he activated an evasion technique, fleeing into the distance. At the same time, he used some unknown wondrous method, causing two transparent wings to suddenly sprout from his back, vastly increasing his speed.

Seeing this, Lu Ye's gaze turned cold.

While his current strength was indeed formidable, all nine of his Dao patterns during harmonization were focused on divine sharpness, so he wasn't inherently skilled in speed.

The speed the opponent now displayed was undoubtedly a notch faster than his.

So, he immediately stood still, slowly drawing the Mountain-Shattering Blade from his waist. His gaze fixed on the fleeing figure, he unleashed a fierce strike forward.

The power of the Space Dao Seed enveloped his body, twisting and compressing the void. A single strike, collapsing the very distance, turned the vast chasm into a level path.

The cultivator, still activating his secret evasion technique, had no time to react further. He felt an immense crisis engulf his entire body, immediately letting out a scream as a flash of blade light erupted from him, splitting him cleanly in two.

Blood and internal organs spilled forth.