Chapter 2856: Wolfish Religious God Quantity

The Wind Rises Across the Nine Provinces

Inside the Grand-tier City, the faces of the Integration Realm cultivators were horrified, especially the Grand-tier City Lord, who could scarcely believe his own eyes.

He had served Zong Shenliang for many years and deeply understood his power. Zong Shenliang was one of the ten strongest cultivators at the pinnacle of the Inner World; even other City Lords among the Top Ten found it extremely difficult to defeat or even injure him.

But what did he see now?

Zong Shenliang had lost an arm, a massive wound at his waist seemed to expose bone, his aura was diminished, and his face was ashen.

Such severe injuries were simply appalling.

He even had a feeling that if Zong Shenliang hadn't happened to encounter his own Integration Realm City here and taken refuge within, he might soon have been pursued to his death!

The Grand-tier City Lord stiffly turned his head to look at Lu Ye. He saw hardly any trace of injury on Lu Ye, which was simply unacceptable to him.

Had his own City Lord's battle against the opponent ended in complete defeat?

Could this human, Lu Ye, be so incredibly brutal?

Zong Shenliang was still ranting. Suffering such a huge loss had undoubtedly infuriated him to no end. He spewed forth the most venomous curses and insults, venting his resentment, as if only by doing so could he regain some face before his subordinates.

Lu Ye remained silent. He simply and silently drew his Panshan Blade. Dao power circulated, and a dark greenish-black color slowly flowed over the blade, twisting as if alive.

Seeing this, Zong Shenliang's face darkened. He sneered mockingly, "What, do you still want to break into the city and kill me? Do you have the ability?"

If this were a Barren-tier City, Zong Shenliang would still be somewhat worried. But this was a Grand-tier City; the sturdiness of its defensive formation would be difficult to overcome in a short time, even if he personally attacked it.

In his previous clash with Lu Ye, he had roughly estimated Lu Ye's strength to be comparable to his own. An Integration Realm City that he couldn't breach, Lu Ye naturally couldn't hope to breach either.

No sooner had he spoken than the Panshan Blade had already struck.

The Grand-tier City Lord standing beside Zong Shenliang inexplicably felt a sense of dread. He hastily activated the formation jade token, pushing the defensive formation's power to its limit.

The sharp blade struck the almost solid light screen, causing it to severely indent.

The immense, violent force even caused the entire Integration Realm City to shake continuously.

Pairs of eyes trembled slightly, secretly shocked by the terrifying power of Lu Ye's physical body. The next instant, everyone's faces changed drastically.

For they clearly saw that at the point where the Panshan Blade struck, a dense, dark greenish-black energy flowed, and the formation's light screen was rapidly corroded and weakened.

"This..." The mocking sneer on Zong Shenliang's face instantly vanished. He stared incredulously at everything before him.

He couldn't understand what was special about Lu Ye's strike or why it seemed to have such a powerful counter-effect against the formation's light screen.

The Grand-tier City Lord's perception was the clearest, because the formation jade token was in his control. He could perceive even the most subtle changes in the city's formation.

He immediately cried out in alarm, "This is bad! The power on his blade can corrode the formation! Quick, attack with me!"

As he spoke, fierce Dao power surged around him, and he launched a distant strike towards Lu Ye. Beside him, the other Integration Realm cultivators also attacked in unison.

In an instant, numerous attacks surged like a tide, enveloping Lu Ye.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Ye could have easily dodged such an onslaught. But at this critical moment of breaching the formation, he could only endure it head-on.

His body shook, but the hand holding the blade remained as steady as a mountain. The dark greenish-black color on the blade flowed even more fiercely, and at the point of impact, the formation's light screen had already grown dim.

"Please, Lord, attack with us!" the Grand-tier City Lord saw this and hastily shouted.

This human, Lu Ye, was simply too strong. Even their combined efforts as Integration Realm cultivators had failed to do anything significant to him.

Without needing to be prompted, Zong Shenliang, filled with trepidation, had already acted. He raised his hand, and a black light surged towards Lu Ye. The other Integration Realm cultivators also attacked again at that moment.

Lu Ye's body shook even more violently, and a coppery taste rose in his throat.

Fortunately, within the starry sky fragment, he had nourished the Panshan Blade and also cultivated the ninth stage of the Small World Secret Art. His strength had improved compared to before; otherwise, he would have truly struggled to withstand this assault.

But continuing like this was definitely not feasible. If it were just those Integration Realm cultivators attacking together, he could hold on for a while. But with Zong Shenliang assisting, it was different. Even though he was severely wounded and his strength was impaired, Zong Shenliang's power was still beyond what those Integration Realm cultivators could match.

"How can this be?" Zong Shenliang maintained his offensive, but his heart was filled with doubt.

Because if he were in Lu Ye's shoes, even at his peak, he wouldn't have been able to withstand such an onslaught. Yet Lu Ye did.

He vaguely felt that Lu Ye's strength seemed to have grown significantly again.

But how could this be possible?

He had previously been trapped in the starry sky fragment and couldn't escape; Lu Ye should have been too. It was true that time and space were static within that fragment, but for cultivators of their caliber, further advancement was already incredibly difficult. How could Lu Ye have made such obvious progress?

Before he could finish his thoughts, a flash of mirror light suddenly appeared.

Zong Shenliang's heart sank. He suddenly remembered that Lu Ye possessed the Azure Sky Mirror; he was practically fuming with anger.

Under the refraction of the Azure Sky Mirror, numerous attacks from within the city were reflected back, striking the formation's light screen and causing ripples to spread across it.

However, because Lu Ye was intent on breaching the formation, he only diverted a portion of his power to activate the Azure Sky Mirror. The full might of this supreme treasure was not completely unleashed.

Even so, it was enough. He didn't need to reflect all of the enemy's attacks, just enough to maintain the current situation.

At the point where the Panshan Blade struck, the formation's light screen grew increasingly dim, and the blade seemed to have embedded itself within.

Panic finally flashed in Zong Shenliang's heart. He swayed, transforming into a streak of black light, and fled backward, his voice echoing, "No matter what, stop him!"

The Grand-tier City Lord and the group of Integration Realm cultivators were instantly dumbfounded.

Even with Zong Shenliang, they had no effective way to deal with Lu Ye. Now that Zong Shenliang had retreated and only they remained, what could they possibly do?

*Rip...*

Under the horrified gazes of all present, a gap was cut into the formation's light screen, and the dark long blade plunged into the formation.

Lu Ye followed his blade, stepping forward, and was already within the city.

He looked up in the direction Zong Shenliang had fled and immediately spotted a grand hall there.

That should be the central hall of this Integration Realm City.

His heart tightened. Zong Shenliang was escaping; he intended to use the Integration Orb here to flee into the Harmony Realm!

Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Ye raised his blade and struck forward. Driven by fierce Dao power, a massive blade beam descended from the blade, like a divine punishment unleashed upon the world.

The Integration Realm City trembled violently. Where the blade beam struck, numerous buildings in the city turned to dust, and an unknown number of Harmonization Realm cultivators were caught in the residual power of the blade beam, their life force dissipating.

Even an Integration Realm cultivator who stood at the forefront to block was directly bisected by this blade beam, blood and organs spilling forth.

At the end of the blade beam, a grand building collapsed, followed by a crisp sound as countless fragments of Integration Orbs flew out.

Lu Ye frowned.

In his perception, Zong Shenliang's aura was no longer in the city. He was, after all, one step too late.

Before him, the group of Integration Realm cultivators stared at him with terrified expressions, especially the Grand-tier City Lord, whose expression was particularly bitter.

He never imagined that a chance encounter would result in his Integration Orb being destroyed. He didn't even have time to stop it.

And without the Integration Orb, he would lose his status as Grand-tier City Lord. Even if he could rise again in the future, that was a matter for later.

He didn't even know if he would have a future...

Because Lu Ye's chilling gaze had already turned to him. With a sweep of his long blade, cold words reached his ears: "Die!"

An immense sense of crisis enveloped his heart. The Grand-tier City Lord frantically urged his Dao power to protect himself while rapidly retreating backward. But with the flash and extinction of the blade light, he felt his body lighten, and his vision inverted.

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye slaying the Grand-tier City Lord, the remaining Integration Realm cultivators scattered and fled.

Even Zong Shenliang had fled. How could they dare to remain? Their instinct for survival led them to make the correct choice at this moment.

Lu Ye stood his ground and didn't give chase. Instead, he connected his consciousness to the Integration Orb within his own small world and vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.

The Harmony Realm, its massive hall still bustling with people.

A disheveled figure suddenly appeared, his face filled with lingering fear. It was Zong Shenliang, who had fled here using an Integration Orb.

If he had been a moment slower, the Integration Orb would have shattered, because before entering the Harmony Realm, he had clearly seen a massive blade beam strike into the central hall.

That Lu Ye... had indeed grown stronger again.

That kind of power vaguely showed a trend of surpassing the Top Ten City Lords, recalling the feeling of Ba Qiu's peak back then.

This filled his heart with dread.

He had managed to narrowly escape this time, but what about next time?

He must quickly unite with the other Top Ten City Lords and together deal with that Lu Ye as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be too late.

He secretly seethed with hatred: Humans, always humans!

First, there was Ba Qiu, who suppressed the Inner World for countless years, preventing these Top Ten City Lords from rising. Just when they finally waited for Ba Qiu to become inactive, another Lu Ye unexpectedly emerged.

What was so mysterious about the human bloodline? Why could it repeatedly produce such peak powerhouses?

One must know that among the notable powerhouses in the Star Abyss, the number of humans had always been very few. Yet the very top position was consistently occupied by humans.

"Oh..." A surprised exclamation suddenly came from nearby: "Zong Shenliang!"

Zong Shenliang was a ghost cultivator, usually shrouded in a black shadow that made it impossible to see his true appearance. But having been famous for so many years, there were always cultivators who had seen and recognized him.

When he first entered the hall just now, indeed, no one paid him any mind. Many people entered the Harmony Realm wounded to escape vengeance and preserve their lives.

Thus, his injuries were nothing special.

Until someone recognized his identity and called out his name.

At that single word, the entire hall seemed to fall into an eerie silence.

Immediately, countless pairs of eyes turned towards him.

Zong Shenliang, Lord of Senluo City, one of the Inner World's Top Ten powerhouses—such a figure was not someone one could easily encounter, naturally arousing the curiosity of the surrounding cultivators.

And upon seeing him, everyone was greatly shocked.

Zong Shenliang's injuries were too severe. Such wounds would not be surprising on any ordinary cultivator, but for them to appear on Zong Shenliang was alarming.

He was already one of the Inner World's ten strongest powerhouses. Who exactly could have injured him so badly? And judging by his appearance, he had clearly fled into the Harmony Realm for refuge.