Chapter 2883: Changes in the Hehe Realm

Xuanwuzong's Thunderous Sword was indeed somewhat useful to Lu Ye, though its primary function was merely to absorb mystical power, feeding it to other supreme treasures to enhance their potency.

Xue Jiu was right; as a half-saint, it was indeed unbefitting of his status not to possess a single supreme treasure. Since he had taken the Thunderous Sword from Xuanwuzong, it was perfectly reasonable for him to use it. Given their current alliance, an increase in Xue Jiu's strength would not be a bad thing.

"Lu Ye, what should we do next?" Xue Jiu asked, putting away the Thunderous Sword, his face eager for action.

"What do you propose, Blood Lord?" Lu Ye countered.

"Naturally, we should press on and destroy Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams!" Xue Jiu replied excitedly.

Xue Jiu had clearly tasted success. Throughout history, no one of the Ten Great cities had ever been breached so easily, and most of the credit for this achievement belonged to him. Without him, no one could have infiltrated one of the Ten Great cities so easily and unnoticed.

Just as many cultivators from the Insect and Blood races had pledged allegiance to Ten Steps City, the same was true for Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams. Therefore, if Xue Jiu and Lu Ye were to employ the same methods against Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams, success would be highly probable, with no reason for failure.

However, Lu Ye knew that Xue Jiu's eagerness to confront Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams was not primarily driven by the plight of the Insect and Blood races; at most, that was only a minor contributing factor. More likely, he wanted to seize the supreme treasures from Hong Tu and Gu Mingyue. In the past, Xue Jiu had indeed shared some connections with them. However, now that he was a half-saint, his strength was incomparable to what it once was, and those old ties had faded as his power soared. Therefore, for Xue Jiu, if he could acquire more supreme treasures, he would not hesitate to kill anyone in the Star Abyss.

"No!" Lu Ye slowly shook his head.

"Why not?" Xue Jiu asked curiously.

Lu Ye raised a finger, pointing forward. "Our actions today were so significant. Unless we slaughter every single Ten Steps City cultivator right now, do you think the news won't leak?"

These cultivators from Ten Steps City now had nowhere to go. Among the remaining Ten Great cities, their only options were to seek refuge with Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams or wander aimlessly. The Union Realm served as a transit hub in the Star Abyss, allowing news of any major event to spread incredibly fast. Even now, the Union Realm likely already knows about the fall of Ten Steps City and the death of Xuanwuzong.

Once Hong Tu and Gu Mingyue learn of this, they will certainly take strict precautions against Lu Ye and Xue Jiu. They wouldn't need to do much; simply expelling all Insect and Blood race members from their cities would prevent Xue Jiu from infiltrating as easily as he did this time.

Xue Jiu pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly. "That's true." He had indeed been momentarily carried away by the joy of their great victory, not considering much at the time. Now, upon careful thought, he knew Lu Ye spoke the truth.

"Furthermore, don't forget what our ultimate goal was in attacking Ten Steps City," Lu Ye said, turning to look at him.

Xue Jiu's eyes narrowed, a restless glint in them. "Of course, I haven't forgotten." Attacking Ten Steps City was not the ultimate goal; it was merely a means to an end. The true objective was to deal with the half-saints who had arrived from the Origin Realm. Xue Jiu's target was Blood Abyss. Compared to conquering Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams to seize supreme treasures, Blood Abyss's bloodline was what he valued most. He had previously agreed on a half-month period with Blood Abyss and the other half-saints, so time was still somewhat pressing. He had to make all preparations before then.

"Let's go," Lu Ye called out.

"Allow me an hour," Xue Jiu quickly replied.

Lu Ye frowned, but seeing the many Insect and Blood race powerhouses standing nearby, he nodded slightly. "Find me in the Union Realm when you're done. I'll be waiting for you there."

With Ten Steps City breached, Lu Ye could simply leave, but Xue Jiu could not. Many cultivators from the two races were waiting for him to arrange their affairs. He had been the Blood Lord for hundreds of thousands of years, accustomed to wielding power, and even after advancing to half-saint, he did not wish to lose this status. A large number of cultivators from the two races still survived throughout the Star Abyss. If such a force were to reassemble, it would be a formidable power. Previously, cultivators of the two races believed he had perished, which was why they had sought allegiance elsewhere. Now that the Blood Lord had returned, wielding the power of breaching Ten Steps City, a single call to arms would be enough to reassemble many scattered forces under his command.

Xue Jiu undoubtedly harbored this intention. Since he had such intentions, Lu Ye saw no need to stop him. Relatively speaking, if he could indeed recall the two-race cultivators who had sided with Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams, it would not be a bad thing for the future situation. This would weaken the strength of Hundred Battles and Thousand Streams. It was believed that even if Hong Tu and Gu Mingyue learned of this, they would not obstruct it and might even tacitly approve of the two-race cultivators' departure. After all, with the previous example, they wouldn't want Xue Jiu to come knocking on their door one day.

Regardless of how Xue Jiu planned to handle the Insect and Blood races, as Lu Ye entered the Union Realm, he couldn't help but frown. He keenly sensed that something around him seemed unusual! Upon closer inspection, he was greatly surprised. Star Abyss aura had appeared within the Union Realm!

This vast Union Realm was originally the personal space of the supreme treasure, the Union Pearl. Although the treasure was broken, this space had been preserved. It was lauded as a pure land by cultivators precisely because this realm contained no Star Abyss aura. Yet now, this pure land surprisingly showed traces of Star Abyss aura. And it was not faint. What was going on? It had only been a few days since his last visit to the Union Realm, and this situation had not existed then. The cultivators entering and leaving the Union Realm had clearly noticed the presence of the Star Abyss aura, but other than feeling surprised, they didn't have any other thoughts. Lu Ye, however, felt a sense of unease.

A moment later, in the arena, Qin Feng led Lu Ye to a secret room where Si Shengya was recuperating. Saint Si's injuries had improved. Although not fully healed, he was essentially out of danger and only needed a few more days to recover.

"Saint Si, have the restraints from the Origin Realm changed?" Lu Ye asked.

Si Shengya shook his head. "No, while here, the binding force from the Origin Realm seems to be isolated." This was the same as before. Lu Ye had brought Si Shengya to the Union Realm to heal precisely because without the interference of that binding force, his injuries could heal faster. Judging by this, even if Star Abyss aura flowed into the Union Realm, it wouldn't affect the binding force.

"Brother Feng," Lu Ye then turned to Qin Feng, "When did this Star Abyss aura appear?"

Qin Feng frowned. "Not long after you left earlier, it wasn't very noticeable at first, but it gradually changed. Brother Ye, do you know the reason?"

Lu Ye fell silent, immersing his mind into his inner world. If he had to find someone to ask for the reason, the spirit of the Union Pearl was undoubtedly the best candidate. Although the Union Pearl was shattered, its space remained, and its spiritual intelligence persisted, so it should know the inside story. Unfortunately, ever since Lu Ye cultivated the Minor World method and merged the Union Pearl into his inner world that day, the spirit of the Union Pearl had remained silent. Even when Lu Ye inquired, there was still no response.

After a moment, Lu Ye withdrew his mind and spoke. "It must be Yuan's doing!" Even without the Union Pearl's spirit to enlighten him, Lu Ye could roughly guess the reason. No one knew the exact location of the Union Pearl's internal space; everyone entered by connecting through the Union Pearl. But since it was a space, it must exist. In the past, this space was untraceable and couldn't be investigated. However, Yuan's consciousness was currently awakening, and its Star Abyss aura was omnipresent. While the Union Realm might have previously been able to isolate itself and prevent the influx of Star Abyss aura, Yuan might now have found a vulnerability, leading to this invasion of Star Abyss aura. Yuan's instructions to Xue Jiu and the five other half-saints upon their departure from the Origin Realm clearly indicated his high regard for the Union Pearl; otherwise, he wouldn't have had Xue Jiu and the others scheme to seize its core fragments. The invasion of the Union Realm was probably just the beginning.

"Oh no!" Lu Ye suddenly remembered something and quickly turned to Qin Feng. "Brother Feng, you mentioned some friends who needed help earlier. Have you contacted them?"

If it were merely Star Abyss aura flowing into the Union Realm, making this pure land no longer live up to its name, it wouldn't be a major issue. The critical point was that many individuals, like Fugang, were still within the Union Realm. The reason they were hiding in the Union Realm was that the degree of their own erosion had reached a critical point, making them afraid to stay outside. Now, if even the Union Realm was no longer safe, then this vast Star Abyss might truly offer them no refuge. And once the erosive power within them surpassed that critical point, they would very likely turn into Yuan's puppets. Simply becoming puppets, serving as Yuan's eyes, wouldn't be too concerning. But the key was that all these individuals were highly cultivated. If they were to become like Fugang earlier... Of course, achieving true sainthood was not easy, and once one became a true saint, they would fall into the Origin Realm. However, even if they only became half-saints, it would mean Yuan acquiring a group of half-saint level puppet powerhouses, which would undoubtedly be a huge problem for the current situation.

"I've contacted them," Qin Feng nodded. "When the Star Abyss aura began to flow in, they came to the arena. Even if you hadn't come today, I was preparing to send you a message."

"Take me there quickly," Lu Ye said urgently.

Seeing his urgency, Qin Feng had a faint suspicion. He quickly turned and led the way.

Before long, in another secret room, Lu Ye saw a man and a woman waiting. These two were unknown in the current Star Abyss. Even in the Union Realm, few people probably recognized them. However, in terms of their own foundations, they indeed possessed profound strength comparable to the Ten Great City Lords. In other words, if they were given one of the Ten Great Union Cities, they would be Ten Great City Lords in every sense of the word.

Seeing Qin Feng lead Lu Ye in, the two stood up, observing Lu Ye with interest. Recently, Lu Ye's fearsome reputation had spread far and wide. Anyone with any intelligence in the entire Star Abyss had heard of his renown.

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