Chapter 2864: Rebattle at Xuanwu Sect

The winds rise across the Nine Provinces.

The winds rise across the Nine Provinces.

"Dragon Lord, Phoenix Lord, our families have coexisted in this realm for many years. While there have been many disagreements in the past, ultimately there have been no great feuds. So why insist on pushing us now? With the Star Abyss Gates appearing everywhere, instead of confronting us here, you two would be better off searching for the traces of that ultimate treasure." Seeing the Dragon Lord's stern expression, Hongtu softened his tone.

He knew he couldn't push the Dragon Lord too far. The Dragon Race was proud, and the Dragon Lord was especially concerned with his prestige; further pressure would only backfire.

He also believed the Dragon Lord would make the right choice, as continuing this standoff, or even coming to blows, would bring no benefit to Dragon City and Phoenix Nest, and could even lead to extremely dire consequences.

The Dragon Lord's face was grim. Suddenly, a flicker of light flashed and disappeared in his eyes.

After a brief moment of thought, he nodded slightly: "What you say is not without reason..."

Hongtu immediately felt relieved. Just as he was about to speak, an exceptionally loud dragon's roar thundered in his ears. Unprepared, Hongtu's mind was momentarily dazed by the roar.

"Watch out!" a sharp cry rang out, and Xuan Wuzong flashed forward.

When Hongtu recovered, he saw with a shock that the Dragon Lord had already launched his attack, his brilliant dragon energy appearing almost solid, with dragon shadows swirling around him, exuding a menacing aura.

The invisible and intangible power of chronology permeated the air, greatly affecting his thoughts and perceptions.

Xuan Wuzong, holding the Nine Heavens Thunder Marsh Sword, conjured a lightning net in front of him, which finally allowed Hongtu to break free from the influence of the chronological power.

Gu Mingyue had already charged from the rear, intending to join the fray, but the void in front of her constantly twisted and stretched, making it difficult for her to break through. A figure flashed, and the Phoenix Lord appeared before her, striking her with a palm.

Gu Mingyue cried out in alarm, her graceful figure instantly transforming into a stream of water, narrowly dodging the attack.

She had recently fought the Phoenix Lord and knew well that she was no match. Now, facing her again, she had lost her fighting spirit even before the battle truly began.

"Dragon Lord, do you truly wish to fight to the death?!" Hongtu roared. With Xuan Wuzong covering him, he finally recovered and was now joining forces with Xuan Wuzong in battle.

He was utterly perplexed as to why the Dragon Lord was doing this. Their grand battle here would bring no benefit whatsoever to Dragon City and Phoenix Nest.

Moreover, even though Gu Mingyue was no match for the Phoenix Lord, she could certainly defend herself. And with him and Xuan Wuzong combined, even if the Dragon Lord was powerful, he would not gain the upper hand.

When had the Dragon Lord become so unwise?

He couldn't understand it, but for now, he could only respond to the attack.

The Phoenix Lord actually couldn't understand it either, but since the Dragon Lord had already made his move, she didn't need to ponder; she simply joined the attack.

In an instant, the five mighty figures split into two battle groups, fighting fiercely outside Senluo City. Dao power surged, and the aura of the Star Abyss boiled.

Inside Senluo City, several figures stood tall. These were the vice city lords of Senluo City. With Zong Shenliang dead, the second vice city lord, Luo Sen, took the lead among them.

When the Dragon Lord and Phoenix Lord had jointly attacked Senluo City before, they could only hide within the city, enduring great humiliation. Fortunately, Hongtu and others arrived in time, saving Senluo City from disaster.

Now, seeing that the battle had begun, Luo Sen immediately let out a low roar: "Go, follow me out to assist in the fight!"

In any other place, a battle between Top Ten City Lords would be entirely beyond their power to intervene, but this was Senluo City. Even as vice city lords, they could benefit from varying degrees of amplification from the Hedao Pearl.

Thus, they were considered qualified to intervene in this great battle.

Luo Sen was not unaware of Hongtu and the others' intentions, but with Zong Shenliang now dead, they also needed to plan for their own future.

If they didn't contribute at this critical moment, once Hongtu and the others forced the Dragon Lord and Phoenix Lord to retreat, they would have no standing whatsoever.

At his word, several vice city lords with higher ranks immediately followed Luo Sen, rushing out of the city towards the battlefield.

However, just then, ripples suddenly spread through the void ahead, and a ghostly figure appeared, blocking their path.

"Who's there?!" Luo Sen bellowed.

His only reply was a flash of brilliant saber light.

The saber light sliced through space, instantly closing in on Luo Sen, startling him into a cold sweat.

He hurriedly raised his arm to block, frantically urging his Dao power.

The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his arm and chest. When he regained his senses, one of his arms had been severed, and a huge gash had been cut across his chest.

His pupils constricted sharply, the intense pain unable to suppress the terror in his heart.

He was, after all, the second vice city lord of Senluo City. As a peak Hedao expert, further amplified by the Hedao Pearl, he had activated a protective force of about seven thousand Dao just now with full power.

Such strength was almost the strongest tier below the Top Ten City Lords.

Yet, even with all that, he couldn't block the opponent's single attack and nearly died on the spot.

In his terror, he instinctively pulled back. In his vision, saber light stretched endlessly, accompanied by the continuous screams of those around him.

Not until he retreated back into Senluo City's protective grand array did Luo Sen finally get a clear look at the attacker.

It was a very young-looking Human military cultivator, wielding a pitch-black long saber with a gentle halo of light flowing along its blade, as if alive.

He was staring at Luo Sen with a cold, indifferent expression.

And beside him, every single one of the vice city lords who had followed him out of Hedao City was injured, their faces filled with fear and apprehension.

It was clear that in that single instant, this suddenly appearing Human military cultivator had injured all of them, the vice city lords!

"You are... that Human, Lu Ye?" one of the vice city lords suddenly exclaimed.

He had never seen Lu Ye, but with such power and appearance, who else in the entire Star Abyss could it be besides Lu Ye?

"Impossible!" Luo Sen said, his face pale, flatly refuting.

Their City Lord had been forcefully killed by Lu Ye in front of countless people in the Hehe Realm, and Lu Ye himself had consequently triggered the Hehe Realm's restrictions, being banished into the Nameless Land.

So how could this person in front of him be Lu Ye?

Yet, upon closer inspection, the appearance of this Human military cultivator perfectly matched the image of Lu Ye he knew, causing a great shock in his heart.

Could this... actually be that Human, Lu Ye?

Outside Hedao City, Lu Ye glanced at Luo Sen and the others, then waved the Panshuan Saber in his hand and said indifferently, "Stay put. If you dare to come out, I'll kill you!"

He then turned and rushed towards the battlefield.

Just now, when he sensed the Dragon Lord and Phoenix Lord confronting Hongtu and the others, he had used the Dragon Scroll to contact the Dragon Lord. Otherwise, why would the Dragon Lord have suddenly attacked?

Lu Ye's original plan was to secretly launch a sneak attack once the Dragon Lord and Phoenix Lord had diverted Hongtu and the others' attention, to see if he could eliminate anyone.

However, before he could even make a move, Luo Sen and the others had charged out.

Although it seemed incredibly easy for him to deal with these vice city lords just now, he had actually caught them off guard. With the amplification of the Universe-grade Hedao Pearl, these vice city lords did possess considerable strength.

Therefore, Lu Ye had to first force them back to prevent them from interfering in the battle and causing further complications. Otherwise, if they truly managed to charge out and link up with Hongtu and the others, it would not be so easy to deal with them.

As expected, Luo Sen and the others dared not make any rash moves.

For one, they all felt a strange power lingering in their wounds, continuously tearing at them. Furthermore, their own strength had been inexplicably sealed to some extent.

After experiencing Lu Ye's formidable power, and in their current state, how could they dare to make any moves? They could only watch helplessly as Lu Ye departed.

On the battlefield, Hongtu and the others' expressions all changed drastically.

"Lu Ye!" Xuan Wuzong snarled, gritting his teeth.

During the last encirclement of Baqiu, he had suffered at Lu Ye's hands. Even though his injuries had fully healed by now, he could still feel the lingering pain from the wound and the strange potent poison.

Every time he remembered it, it filled him with extreme apprehension; he had expended tremendous effort and energy to neutralize it.

But... why was Lu Ye here?!

Wasn't he supposed to have been banished to the Nameless Land?

How could he have escaped from there?

Regardless, Lu Ye's presence here now was a fact.

Originally, he and Hongtu were gaining the upper hand in their combined fight against the Dragon Lord, but if Lu Ye were to join, the situation would be different. This guy's strength was bizarre; despite showing no signs of drawing upon external power, he possessed the underlying might of a Top Ten City Lord.

"I'll deal with him!" Xuan Wuzong cried out, withdrawing from the battle group. "Order the troops to advance!"

Given the situation today, there was no more room for hesitation. To force the Dragon Lord and Phoenix Lord to retreat, they could only send troops to attack Dragon City!

Only by doing so could they make the Dragon Lord and Phoenix Lord hesitate to act, holding back for fear of harming their own interests. As for this Human, Lu Ye... Xuan Wuzong had suffered once at his hands, and this time, he would absolutely not repeat the same mistake.

"Good!" Hongtu responded loudly.

The three of them had made all their arrangements before arriving; now, with just one signal, their forces could advance along three routes.

Without Xuan Wuzong's cooperation, Hongtu immediately fell into a disadvantage. He had fought the Dragon Lord once before, and even with Zong Shenliang's Formless Army-Stabilizing Banner providing amplification, he was still somewhat outmatched. Now, without the Banner, he was even more at a disadvantage.

Almost immediately after Xuan Wuzong left, Hongtu completely abandoned his offense, focusing solely on self-preservation. He allowed the Dragon Lord to unleash a barrage of attacks upon him, adopting a posture of never retaliating unless attacked, appearing utterly disheveled.

But disheveled as he was, this was currently the best course of action.

The strength gap between him and the Dragon Lord certainly existed, but in a one-on-one fight, it wouldn't be easy for the Dragon Lord to kill him.

On the other side, Lu Ye and Xuan Wuzong were rapidly approaching each other.

They had clashed once before, and this reunion felt like a fated encounter between adversaries.

Before closing in, Lu Ye felt an extremely fierce surge of spiritual power from Xuan Wuzong, like countless invisible sharp swords, piercing towards Lu Ye's spirit.

Xuan Wuzong was clever; through their previous battle, he had clearly identified Lu Ye's weakness.

This young man might not be inferior to them, the Top Ten City Lords, in terms of cultivation foundation, but his spiritual power was definitely his vulnerability.

Therefore, if he could shake Lu Ye's spirit, this battle would be half won.

Sure enough, after he activated his secret technique, Lu Ye's charging figure visibly froze for a moment, and an expression of extreme pain appeared on his face.

He only regretted realizing it too late last time; otherwise, he would never have ended up so discomfited.