Chapter 2882: Ten Steps to City Fall

Lu Ye wasn't intent on killing the Guardian Harmonizer inside. In fact, their life or death seemed utterly insignificant to him.

"Very well!" A flash of humiliation crossed the Third Vice City Lord's eyes, but he eventually gritted his teeth and agreed. Immediately, he swore an oath.

He wasn't the only one in the Central Great Hall. Previously, his communication with Lu Ye had been through spiritual sense, inaudible to others. However, now, as he swore the oath, every cultivator heard it clearly. For a moment, they were all stunned. They had been working tirelessly to maintain the inner formation, resisting the powerful enemy, and yet the Guardian Harmonizer in charge of this place had actually surrendered? He hadn't even informed them.

But how much could the Third Vice City Lord care about others at this point? After swearing the oath, he immediately flashed to the Harmonization Orb and pressed his hand against it. Almost simultaneously with his disappearance into the Harmonization Realm, the inner formation of the Central Great Hall shattered with a roar.

Lu Ye, enveloped in chilling killing intent, charged into the hall like a tiger descending from a mountain. Instantly, terrified gazes turned towards him. As his long blade spun, a lotus flower suddenly bloomed with Lu Ye at its center, each petal formed by countless fine blade energies. When the lotus dissipated, the hall was already a river of blood. Apart from him, no one else was left alive.

He flashed onto the high platform, gazed at the radiant orb before him, and then struck forward with his hand. Numerous fragments scattered, only to be intercepted. At this moment, Ten Steps City fell! Including One Man City and Senluo City, this was the third of the Ten Great Harmonization Cities that Lu Ye had personally breached. Across the entire Star Abyss, only six of the so-called Ten Great Cities remained. In such a short time, four top Harmonization Cities had been destroyed—a chaotic situation unprecedented in history. Remarkably, all four of these fallen Harmonization Cities had either a direct or indirect connection to Lu Ye.

Almost at the instant Lu Ye shattered Ten Steps City's Harmonization Orb, startled cries erupted from another battlefield within the city, where the powerful cultivators of Ten Steps City, led by Xuan Wuzong, were fighting. Xue Jiu was formidable, and Xuan Wuzong had personally led many of his strongest subordinates just to have a chance against him. They had originally thought that if they could just hold on here, Xue Jiu could be forced to retreat once the issue in the Central Great Hall was resolved.

However, to Xuan Wuzong's surprise, while their battlefield had stabilized, the Central Great Hall had fallen! And it had fallen without any warning! When the Harmonization Orb shattered, Xuan Wuzong and even the strongest Vice City Lords all experienced a dramatic drop in power. How could they not be shocked? Trapped in the sea of blood, they truly had no idea what exactly had happened in the Central Great Hall, but the loss of the Harmonization Orb's amplification was an undeniable fact.

Xue Jiu immediately sensed the change. Without holding back, he used the cover of the sea of blood to flash behind a Vice City Lord-level Harmonizer. Reaching out, he easily pierced through the back of the man's heart, tearing a bloody hole through his entire body. The large hand, having passed through the body, still clutched a beating heart. The Vice City Lord's face was rigid with terror, and he struggled to resist, but Xue Jiu merely activated a secret technique. All the blood in his body vanished as if consumed, leaving him shriveled to skin and bones, his life force completely dissipated.

The death of this Vice City Lord caused immense commotion. Within the sea of blood, every cultivator from Ten Steps City felt their own lives were at risk. Xuan Wuzong cried out, his face filled with grief and indignation, "Xue Jiu, why are you doing this?" Even setting aside their friendship of hundreds of thousands of years, and considering the grievances between Lu Ye and the two insect-blood races, Xue Jiu should not have joined forces with Lu Ye to attack his Ten Steps City. Yet, it had actually happened. Now, with the city's Harmonization Orb shattered and Xue Jiu unrestrained, Xuan Wuzong foresaw his own demise!

In a daze, a bloody shadow had already struck before him. Who else could it be but Xue Jiu? Although Xuan Wuzong had lost the Harmonization Orb's amplification, he still possessed the foundational strength of a Ten Great City Lord. Facing Xue Jiu's sudden attack, he quickly activated his own Dao weapon's power. Instantly, lightning enveloped his body, barely managing to block Xue Jiu's strike.

They were in close proximity. Although Xue Jiu possessed no ultimate treasure, his aura was even more formidable. He reached out and grasped the blade of the Nine Heavens Thunder Marsh Sword, a cruel smile on his face: "I have always cherished my people like my own children. How dare you treat my clansmen so harshly? How could I possibly let you live!" It was a similar rhetoric to before, but how could Xuan Wuzong believe such nonsense? When Xue Jiu was in power, he had no affection for his insect-blood clansmen under him. Even his direct descendants, if they displeased him, he would personally kill them. Let alone other ordinary cultivators of the two races. So, that "cherishing his people like his own children" talk was simply a joke.

"What benefit did Lu Ye give you exactly?!" Xuan Wuzong still wouldn't give up hope. If Xue Jiu was cooperating with Lu Ye for certain benefits, then he might not be unable to satisfy him. After traversing the Star Abyss for so many years, he didn't want to die here so confusedly. Especially now, with the perceived changes in the cultivation environment, his shackles had loosened, and he had hopes of advancing further.

Xue Jiu said coldly, "You underestimate me too much. Am I someone who can be bought by a mere trifle of profit?" As he spoke, he exerted force with his hand, and surging, torrential blood energy actually extinguished the lightning on the ultimate treasure long sword. This ultimate treasure in Xuan Wuzong's hand had been damaged years ago during his conflict with Ba Qiu, and then again recently during his clash with Lu Ye. Therefore, although it was an ultimate treasure, its power was far from its peak. Furthermore, with his current inferior strength, he was completely suppressed by Xue Jiu the moment they engaged in combat.

Xuan Wuzong's expression drastically changed. He tried to pull his sword back but couldn't move it at all. He watched helplessly as Xue Jiu thrust a finger towards him. With no other choice, he had to release his grip and retreat. Immediately, he fled towards the outside of the sea of blood without looking back. The humiliation in his heart was unspeakable. He felt as though he was probably the first of the Ten Great City Lords in history to lose an ultimate treasure while fighting someone.

Xue Jiu did not pursue, merely watched his retreating figure with a smile, even proactively lifting the sea of blood's blockade for him. Two seconds later, Xuan Wuzong felt the blood-red color before him dissipate, and he finally burst out. But before he could feel joy, his heart sank. This was because, right ahead, a familiar figure stood with a hand on his blade, looking coldly in his direction.

"Lu Ye!" Xuan Wuzong gritted his teeth, his old wounds, still unhealed, throbbed faintly. There was no escape. He finally understood why Xue Jiu hadn't pursued him—because outside, Lu Ye was waiting! In that instant, various thoughts flashed through Xuan Wuzong's mind. He suddenly gritted his teeth and cried, "Let's die together!"

As he spoke, his entire body's Dao power surged, and he began to emit a dazzling light, like a great sun, rushing towards Lu Ye with majestic force. This was undoubtedly a secret technique similar to the Blood Burst Art. However, before he could get close, a flash of blade light appeared from Lu Ye's side. The blade light, like a thin thread, precisely cut into the bright sun. Silently. The violent aura vanished as if it had never existed, completely erased by an invisible force. The dazzling light instantly dimmed at that moment, leaving only chaotic, unmanaged Dao power running rampant. Like a deflated ball.

Having lost the Harmonization Orb's amplification, Xuan Wuzong simply could not withstand the power of Lu Ye's single blade strike. As the blade light dissipated, Xuan Wuzong stood in place. Slowly, a blood-red line appeared between his eyebrows. Immediately, his entire body suddenly split open, spilling blood and internal organs onto the ground. Less than twenty breaths after Ten Steps City's Harmonization Orb was destroyed, Ten Steps City Lord Xuan Wuzong was dead!

As Lu Ye sheathed his blade, the surging sea of blood below him began to churn, rapidly converging towards a single point. In an instant, the area cleared. Xue Jiu stood proudly in place, holding the Nine Heavens Thunder Marsh Sword that had belonged to Xuan Wuzong. Around him stood figures of cultivators from the two insect-blood races, interspersed with a greater number of corpses. These were clearly the bodies of Ten Steps City's strongest cultivators. Without Xuan Wuzong to restrain him, and with Xue Jiu's current power, the Harmonizers of Ten Steps City were simply no match for him. It could be said that this battle had almost completely annihilated Ten Steps City's most elite and top-tier combat power!

The chaos within the city continued. Although this battlefield had seen its victor determined, more battles were still erupting elsewhere. Xue Jiu looked around, then bellowed with full Dao power, "Xuan Wuzong is dead! All Vice City Lords under Xuan Wuzong have been executed! Ten Steps City is destroyed! If anyone still dares to attack the insect-blood races, I will hunt them down to the ends of the earth and show them no mercy!"

At his declaration, the various disturbances quieted for a brief moment. Then, the great escape began. Originally, the cultivators of Ten Steps City had been willing to encircle and suppress the rebellious insect-blood races because they believed these races couldn't cause much trouble and that the current unrest was only temporary. But in such a short time, news had already spread of Xuan Wuzong and the Vice City Lords being killed in battle. While Xue Jiu's words alone shouldn't be fully trusted, under these circumstances, if Xuan Wuzong and the Vice City Lords were truly still alive, they would certainly not allow others to spread such nonsense and demoralize the army; they would surely refute it. However, at present, neither Xuan Wuzong nor the Vice City Lords made any sound, which undoubtedly led to some unsettling implications for the cultivators of Ten Steps City. Therefore, no one dared to linger for a moment, and they all fled.

Xue Jiu stood in place and let out a long sigh. Although this battle had proceeded entirely according to plan, the current situation was truly a mess, and for a moment, he didn't know how to deal with it. Should he pursue them? All Harmonizers of Ten Steps City had gathered here, and now they were scattering. No matter how strong he was, how many could he kill? Furthermore, from his current position, killing these remnants of Ten Steps City was meaningless.

As he pondered, he suddenly caught sight of Lu Ye's gaze. Hastily, he hid the Nine Heavens Thunder Marsh Sword behind his back and said dryly, "This is my war trophy!" He felt Lu Ye's gaze was somewhat greedy! Moreover, he knew that Lu Ye possessed a method to absorb the mysterious essence within ultimate treasures to enhance the power of his Myriad Poison Bead; he had witnessed this personally back then. Therefore, he was afraid Lu Ye would set his sights on the Thunder Marsh Sword.

Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly. Xue Jiu developed a headache. "Brother Lu, I am a Half-Saint now, and it's simply unreasonable for me not to have a decent weapon. We are allies now, and my strength will not be a disadvantage to you."

Lu Ye slowly averted his gaze. "I didn't say anything. Don't be nervous."