Chapter 2849: Precious Treasure, Snow-White Long Sword

Wind Rises in Kyushu

In the starry sky, Lu Ye moved like a flash of lightning.

He had been in this starry sky for several days, and what he had seen and heard weighed heavily on his mind. The entire starry sky was permeated with a dense aura of the Star Abyss, clearly indicating that the Abyss's invasion of this starry expanse was nearing its conclusion; otherwise, such a situation would be impossible. Furthermore, large and small wormholes were visible everywhere. Some had existed for countless years, while others appeared and disappeared intermittently.

Within the starry sky, spiritual energy was scarce. Lu Ye felt as if he were inside a glass sphere that could shatter at any moment. He had passed through many realms, but most of them were devastated, their inhabitants suffering greatly, left desolate. The Star Abyss invasion was an immense catastrophe for any starry expanse.

Soul Void, who had always been attached to Lu Ye, also felt a deep sorrow. Currently, the situation in their original starry sky was still relatively good. Although the Star Abyss invasion couldn't be stopped entirely, the overall situation remained stable. However, had Lu Ye not turned the tide back then, Soul Void was almost certain that their original starry sky would also fall into decay, just like the one before them, within a few years. Catastrophes of this magnitude were certainly beyond what their starry sky could have withstood in the past.

"Someone's over there," Soul Void suddenly spoke.

Lu Ye had already sensed it and immediately darted in that direction.

It was a realm, and what it had endured was unknown, but the entire place appeared dilapidated. At that very moment, a ghostly figure, exuding an eerie aura, stood above a city in that realm, holding a large banner. The banner flapped in the wind, emitting wails and cries from within. Individual faces surfaced and sank on its surface, struggling and moaning as if drowning.

Propelled by the figure, boundless black mist surged from the banner, enveloping the city. The city's inhabitants were overcome with terror and panic as the black mist eroded them; their vitality faded, and their souls detached from their bodies, drawn into the banner. Lu Ye recognized at a glance that the banner was a treasure similar to a "Myriad Souls Banner." Such artifacts required the collection of living souls during their refinement; the more souls collected, and the higher their quality, the greater the artifact's power.

The cultivator wielding the Myriad Souls Banner was a Dao Integration expert. Under such overwhelming power, the city's inhabitants were utterly incapable of resistance. He merely stood there, watching the despair below with an indifferent expression, even appearing somewhat pleased. He clearly enjoyed such sights.

Until a sudden sense of danger arose within him. When he looked up, a streaking light had already pierced through the clouds and entered his vision. Immediately after, a flash of saber light attacked. He cried out in alarm, raising the Myriad Souls Banner in his hand and sweeping it forward. The saber light was swept into it and vanished, but his expression changed dramatically. He clearly felt that the power of that saber strike had annihilated more than half of the living souls within his Myriad Souls Banner, subtly damaging even his spiritual weapon.

"Who are you?!" he exclaimed, a mixture of shock and rage. Many Dao Integration experts had invaded this starry sky, each with different objectives, and they generally avoided interfering with one another. He had already collected living souls from several realms in this starry sky, significantly increasing the power of his spiritual weapon. He never expected to encounter someone like this today, who attacked him without any warning. The crucial point was that the newcomer's strength seemed outrageously powerful, filling him with deep apprehension.

With a swoosh, Lu Ye was already standing before him, staring at him with a cold expression. The Dao Integration expert involuntarily took a few steps back, as if only then could he regain a sense of security. He sized up Lu Ye, realizing he didn't recognize him, and couldn't help but ask indignantly, "Fellow Daoist, why did you ruin my work?"

"Have you seen Zong Shenliang?" Lu Ye asked directly. Although he was certain Zong Shenliang was in this starry sky, he didn't know his exact location and therefore had to search. The reason he didn't ask the cultivator guarding the Star Abyss Gate for help was, naturally, to prevent Zong Shenliang from becoming wary.

"Zong Shenliang?" The Dao Integration expert was slightly startled. "The City Lord of Senluo City?"

Lu Ye frowned. "You're not from Senluo City?" If he were a cultivator from Senluo City, he certainly wouldn't react this way.

The Dao Integration expert shook his head. "No."

Lu Ye instantly understood. There was more than one Star Abyss Gate in this starry sky, so this individual hadn't come from Senluo City's territory. It made sense; how could a starry sky on the verge of collapse have only one Star Abyss Gate? The number of Star Abyss Gates here must be considerable.

Lu Ye said no more, raising his hand and striking forward with his saber. The Dao Integration expert clearly hadn't met Zong Shenliang, so there was no need to waste words on him. With a single saber strike, the Myriad Souls Banner shattered. The saber light cut through the Dao Integration expert's body, slicing him in two before his terrified and disbelieving eyes.

From the broken banner, countless living souls flew out, each like a vengeful ghost, clawing and gnashing. As Lu Ye activated his Dao power, those living souls vanished without a trace, like snowflakes melting under a scorching sun.

Soul Void sighed softly. If this were the Soul Clan's ancestral land, those living souls might have had a chance to transform into soul entities, but this was just an ordinary starry sky, so no such miracle would occur. Without the Myriad Souls Banner, even if Lu Ye ignored them, they would slowly dissipate before long.

Lu Ye swept his divine sense across the area and sighed slightly. Most of the city's inhabitants were already dead or wounded. Even those who hadn't died outright had been corrupted by the Myriad Souls Banner's black mist and had no chance of survival.

Collecting his thoughts, his main priority now was to find Zong Shenliang's location. It was certain that Zong Shenliang was currently refining a supreme treasure, but its precise location was unknown. If he had enough time, Lu Ye could certainly investigate slowly, but the longer he delayed, the more likely Zong Shenliang would succeed. That fellow had already been in this starry sky for over two months.

As Lu Ye pondered, he suddenly felt something. The next instant, he shot skyward, leaving the realm.

"What's wrong?" Soul Void asked.

"The aura of a supreme treasure!" Lu Ye replied. "Although it was fleeting and well-hidden, it was indeed the aura of a supreme treasure. A moment ago, a supreme treasure had passed by nearby!"

Rushing forward, after a short while, Lu Ye indeed saw a streaking light rapidly fleeing ahead. Lu Ye strained his vision and quickly discerned that the light enveloped a longsword. Its entire body was frosty white, and wherever it passed, it seemed even the void could freeze.

As Lu Ye clearly saw the true form of the supreme treasure, the white longsword's speed suddenly accelerated significantly. It had sentience! Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. Although he had already suspected this, the longsword's reaction undoubtedly confirmed his idea. If the sword had no sentience, it would likely remain in one place, rather than flitting about like this.

"Is someone chasing it?" This thought immediately popped into Lu Ye's mind. There were certainly many Dao Integration experts invading the starry sky now, so it was normal for someone to want to subdue this supreme treasure if they found it. However, his divine sense didn't detect any pursuers behind it.

Seeing the longsword's speed increasing, Lu Ye immediately activated his spatial power. With a single step, he vanished from his spot. He reappeared, having intercepted the longsword.

The white longsword was clearly startled. Its momentum paused slightly, then sword light surged like a tide. A visible wave of icy coldness, infused with sword energy, slashed towards Lu Ye. Where the sword energy passed, the void shattered like a mirror.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, secretly marveling, "This supreme treasure's power... it's truly formidable. This was without anyone wielding it. If a powerful expert were to wield it, it would likely be even more extraordinary. Yet, even so, the power of this icy sword energy was not something an ordinary Dao Integration expert could withstand. But for him, it was merely that."

As his saber struck, the sword energy shattered, unable to harm him in the slightest. The white longsword clearly hadn't expected Lu Ye to be so powerful. Startled, its sword energy surged continuously. As the sword light danced, waves of icy coldness resembled the roars of numerous ice dragons.

Lu Ye wielded his saber, intercepting all attacks. Suddenly, he took another step forward. Seizing the moment the longsword's attack paused, he grabbed it in his hand. For any cultivator in this world, subduing a supreme treasure was not an easy feat, especially one with sentience. But for Lu Ye, it was not so troublesome. With the power of his Talent Tree activated, the mysteries within the supreme treasure could be devoured, and even its sentience could be integrated into the Talent Tree. If other powerful experts subdued supreme treasures step by step, he simply overpowered them with brute force, utterly unreasonable.

Just as he was about to activate his Talent Tree's power to refine the longsword treasure, an angry voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Why does everyone want to take me? You're forcing my hand!" The voice was fiercely childish, like a little baby throwing a tantrum.

Lu Ye was slightly startled as a layer of frost already covered the hand holding the sword, rapidly spreading up his arm. Boundless cold energy made him shiver. If it were just the cold, it would be one thing, but along with the cold, countless tiny, almost imperceptible sword energies were invading his body. In an instant, Lu Ye's entire arm felt as if it had been pricked by countless needles, causing unbearable pain from the inside out.

He quickly released the white longsword and retreated a few steps. The fiercely childish voice suddenly turned smug: "Ha, now you know to be scared, don't you? That'll teach you to try and take me!"

A gleam flashed in Lu Ye's eyes. His divine sense surged as he transmitted, "Who else tried to take you?" The power of this supreme treasure was not to be underestimated. Ordinary Dao Integration experts wouldn't possess this ability; that one attack alone would likely be unbearable even for a powerhouse at the Cosmic City Lord level. Likely, only the Ten Great City Lords would dare to covet it! And among the Ten Great City Lords in this starry sky, who else but Zong Shenliang? This supreme treasure... very likely had encountered Zong Shenliang!

"A bad guy just like you!" the fiercely childish voice replied, its sword tip pointing in Lu Ye's direction, spitting out icy gleams like a snake's tongue. "Come on, try again! I'll freeze you to death!"

Lu Ye gently coaxed, "Does that 'bad guy' you mentioned look like this?" As he spoke, he activated the Thousand-Faces Dao Mark, transforming his appearance into that of Zong Shenliang.

The white longsword grew even angrier: "Why is it still you? Aren't you supposed to be refining the Nine Profound Heavenly Thunder Seal?!"