Chapter 2852: 獠晋升至宝

Winds of Kyushu

Zong Shenliang was horrified. Having only heard Xuan Wuzong describe it, he hadn't truly grasped the terrifying power of the potent poison until now, experiencing it firsthand. As the poison permeated his body, the flow of his Dao power became subtly sluggish. This was merely the beginning; if the battle dragged on, the situation would undoubtedly worsen. By then, his strength would likely plummet significantly, leaving him no match for Lu Ye.

While Zong Shenliang was momentarily distracted, Lu Ye stepped forward, appearing like a phantom behind him. The Pan Mountain Blade swiftly descended towards his neck. Zong Shenliang possessed ghost cultivation techniques that made his movements ethereal, but Lu Ye, with his mastery of spatial abilities, was equally swift. The sharp blade effortlessly sliced through Zong Shenliang's body, cutting him in half, yet not a drop of blood flowed.

Lu Ye felt no joy from striking his target; instead, he frowned and looked towards a specific direction. There, a dark shadow coalesced, revealing Zong Shenliang's figure once more. He held up the Nine Profound Celestial Thunder Seal, glaring angrily at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye had no intention of letting him catch his breath. Having finally managed to poison him with the Myriad Poison Pearl, he naturally intended to finish him off. His figure flickered, and he lunged again towards Zong Shenliang, secretly channeling his Dao power, ready to unleash the power of the Firmament Mirror at any moment. The thunder of the Nine Profound Celestial Thunder Seal was not to be underestimated; only the Firmament Mirror could neutralize and counter it.

From the great seal, as expected, thunderous light erupted. Lu Ye secretly focused his mind, but to his confusion, the thunderous light emanating from the Nine Profound Celestial Thunder Seal this time did not strike towards him. Instead, it transformed into countless fine, dense threads of lightning that wove into a net, enveloping Zong Shenliang himself.

What in the world was this guy doing? Lu Ye didn't understand. But the next moment, he frowned. As soon as the lightning net enveloped Zong Shenliang, Lu Ye clearly sensed that the potent poison that had invaded his opponent's body was being swiftly purified and purged. When the lightning dissipated, the potent poison in Zong Shenliang's body also vanished without a trace.

As sparks flew, the two figures clashed again, but quickly separated. Lu Ye's gaze deepened, while Zong Shenliang laughed heartily, declaring that Lu Ye's poison was useless against him. It was a case of one thing overcoming another, like brine coagulating tofu. The power of the Nine Profound Celestial Thunder Seal was completely countered by the Firmament Mirror, yet the poison of the Myriad Poison Pearl was similarly countered by the Nine Profound Celestial Thunder Seal. The power unleashed by this supreme treasure was not only world-destroying thunder capable of shattering heavens and earth, but also purifying thunder capable of expelling poisons. Although there were still some residual toxins in his body that weren't completely purified, they no longer had a significant effect on him.

Zong Shenliang's expression turned serious. He declared that the games ended there and he would now show his true power. Having contended to this point, although the time wasn't long, the consumption of Dao power was extremely severe. Even battles between the Ten City Lords wouldn't involve such frequent use of supreme treasure power. No one could sustain this intensity of conflict for too long. So Zong Shenliang decided to finish the battle quickly.

As he finished speaking, a large banner suddenly appeared behind him out of thin air. Though there was no wind in the wonder, the banner fluttered violently. It was entirely blood-red, as if forged from fresh blood. It seemed to grow from Zong Shenliang's back, transforming the Lord of Senluo City, originally shrouded in a ghostly aura, into a resolute and formidable warrior, like a great general who had battled through countless cycles of reincarnation and slain innumerable foes. A supreme treasure, the Army Stabilizing Banner!

During the battle to encircle and suppress Baqiu, Zong Shenliang had indeed used the power of this supreme treasure to empower Xuan Wuzong and others. However, at that time, the supreme treasure's power was dispersed. Now, with the supreme treasure's power solely focused on him, Zong Shenliang's aura instantly surged. Even his eyes emitted a bloody glow, and as his body swayed, two points of crimson light seemed to flow within them.

In an instant, he vanished from Lu Ye's sight. By the time Lu Ye sensed danger, the Pan Mountain Blade instinctively swung backward, carrying a massive blade aura, but it achieved nothing. Zong Shenliang had blocked it with his personal cherished dagger, and before Lu Ye could exert more force, his figure vanished again. Dao weapons clashed, and sparks flew. Lu Ye dared not show any slack. Zong Shenliang's speed was already absurdly fast, but now, amplified by the Army Stabilizing Banner, it was even faster by a third. Even with Lu Ye's full concentration, he found it difficult to keep up with his rhythm. Blood gushed from his body; in just a brief moment, he had accumulated over a dozen wounds of varying depths. If not for his Talent Tree constantly incinerating the invading Dao intent, he would certainly have been unable to sustain himself.

Within the wonder, the two figures moved swiftly, fighting for life and death, both remaining silent. Although Lu Ye was in a disheveled state, he was not gravely injured. He was waiting. Even a Ten City Lord like Zong Shenliang had limited Dao power reserves. Every one of his attacks was made with full force, and he also had to maintain the power of the Army Stabilizing Banner, a supreme treasure. This could not last long. Once Zong Shenliang's Dao power began to fail, that would be his moment to counterattack.

Coincidentally, Zong Shenliang was also waiting. It wasn't that he hadn't realized his own Dao intent had little effect on Lu Ye; rather, he believed that even if he merely held the advantage, he could slowly expand it into a decisive victory. Here today, Lu Ye, the human, must die!

Such a confrontation lasted for the duration of an incense stick, throwing the entire wonder into chaos. Zong Shenliang's expression gradually grew solemn, because he discovered that his advantage remained merely an advantage. Although Lu Ye had been in a disheveled state, his overall strength showed no signs of diminishing. What on earth was going on with this guy? Not to mention Lu Ye, even Baqiu or Dragon Venerable, if injured so many times by him, wouldn't merely be superficially disheveled.

As he pondered in confusion, Lu Ye's eyes suddenly lit up. This was because, in that instant, a familiar voice, that of Liao, echoed in his mind, musing about waking from a long dream and the many cycles the human realm had seen. Liao... had awakened!

Since Baqiu's demise that day, after Liao devoured Shang, it had been in a deep slumber. Lu Ye knew this slumber was Liao's path of transformation and advancement, and he had been waiting and hoping for it. He had originally thought it would take more time before Liao would awaken. Who knew it would be now! A mischievous voice, that of Liao, echoed in his mind, expressing surprise at the immediate fight and playfully questioning how Lu Ye had provoked Zong Shenliang.

Zong Shenliang was suddenly utterly astonished, wondering if it was a supreme treasure. This was because, at the very moment Liao awakened, the Pan Mountain Blade suddenly emanated an aura unique to a supreme treasure. This left him utterly perplexed. If Lu Ye's long blade was a supreme treasure, he should have noticed it long ago, yet he had felt nothing of the sort before. If that was the case, then Lu Ye's Dao weapon wasn't a supreme treasure. But then why was it now revealing the aura of a supreme treasure?

In this moment of distraction, a slight opening appeared in his attack. Lu Ye's eyesight was incredibly keen, not to mention he had been fully concentrating on dealing with Zong Shenliang's furious assaults. Although this opening was fleeting, he still caught sight of it instantly. The Pan Mountain Blade swung horizontally, fiercely slicing towards Zong Shenliang's neck.

Zong Shenliang was momentarily unprepared; it was too late to dodge as he had done before. In haste, he could only raise the dagger in his hand to parry. *Crack...* A crisp snapping sound seemed to echo from deep within his soul. Zong Shenliang's eyes instantly widened; he could hardly believe what he was seeing. His dagger, which had accompanied him for countless millennia, was actually sliced in half! How was that possible! How could such an incomprehensible scene occur? One must know that while his dagger wasn't a supreme treasure, it was at least a cherished artifact, yet it was simply cut in half by a single blade? This wasn't the first time he had used the dagger to block Lu Ye's attacks. During previous clashes, it had blocked many times without showing any damage. Why was it different this time? He had never heard of a cherished artifact being sliced apart like this.

The heartache was only for an instant; more than that, it was shock and dread. Because that horrifying blade, after slicing through the cherished dagger, continued its trajectory with undiminished force towards his neck! In haste, Zong Shenliang could only quickly lean back. A sharp pain shot through his neck, and blood gushed like a fountain. Zong Shenliang transformed into a streak of black light and rapidly retreated backward.

When he stopped, he looked at Lu Ye with lingering fear and apprehension, his hand clutching his neck. Blood seeped through his fingers, and it wouldn't stop flowing, no matter what. In that brief moment just now, he was fortunate to have dodged fast enough. Otherwise, with the sharpness of that supreme treasured blade in Lu Ye's hand, his entire head might have been lopped off. He wasn't scaring himself; that supreme treasured blade could even cut through cherished artifacts, and his neck was certainly not as hard as one. Although he was injured now, at least his life was spared.

As he thought this, his expression suddenly changed. He remembered Lu Ye's long blade carried a potent poison! He had just suffered a loss from it; after being injured by Lu Ye, the potent poison had entered his body and caused his Dao power flow to stagnate. And this time, compared to before, it seemed even more potent?

He dared not delay. He hastily brought out the Nine Profound Celestial Thunder Seal and activated the supreme treasure's power. Just like before, the purifying lightning transformed into threads, weaving into a net that enveloped him. When the lightning dissipated, his expression was even worse than before.

"No, this is..." Zong Shenliang focused his senses, as if he had discovered some unbelievable truth. He abruptly looked up at Lu Ye, realizing it was sealing power. The purifying lightning, as he had expected, was the nemesis of the Myriad Poison Pearl's venom, and indeed, this time it had largely purged the potent poison from his body. But two other powers remained in his body. One power, like fine fangs, clung to the wound on his neck, constantly tearing at it and making it difficult to heal. He didn't know what this power was, and had never encountered it before. But the other power felt familiar to him. That was sealing power! It was the sealing power belonging to Baqiu's Dao weapon!

He had once contended with Baqiu and, naturally no match, was repeatedly struck by Baqiu's blade before fleeing. After that battle, this strange sealing power lingered within his body, sealing a portion of his strength. Back then, he had expended immense effort to completely dispel that sealing power and return to his peak. Since then, he had avoided Baqiu like the plague. It wasn't just him; almost half of the other Ten City Lords had suffered losses at Baqiu's hands and knew the formidable power of the sealing ability of his Dao weapon. Therefore, they all clearly knew that when contending with Baqiu, they must absolutely avoid being injured by him, otherwise they would only grow weaker with each blow.

It was rumored that Baqiu's Dao weapon was a Soldier Clan artifact, and that sealing power was a special ability of the Soldier Clan. Why could this human, Lu Ye, also control such a power? It couldn't be that his Dao weapon was also a Soldier Clan artifact, and coincidentally possessed the exact same power as Baqiu's Dao weapon.