Chapter 2887: He Wants to Escape

Facing Lu Ye's fierce attack, Xue Yuan showed no intention of dodging. His treasured artifact slammed down decisively.

The blood race Half-Saint's ruthlessness exceeded Lu Ye's and Xue Jiu's imagination. His hatred for Xue Jiu was also beyond expectation; he clearly intended to take the risk of injuring himself to eliminate Xue Jiu first.

Xue Jiu's internal alarm blared. Almost simultaneously with Xue Yuan raising his treasured artifact, Xue Jiu activated his spatial power.

Having previously refined the bloodlines of several Phoenix Clan members, Xue Jiu had some attainment in the Dao of Space. However, as this was a stolen bloodline and not his own, he was not proficient in it.

Fortunately, within this sea of blood, and with the aid of spatial power, he could move with perfect freedom and suddenness.

He was fully confident he could evade Xue Yuan's attack.

However, the next instant, his eyes widened in horror. As Xue Yuan's axe descended, a mysterious force swept through, rendering his hastily activated spatial power invisible. It was as if everything around him had fallen into oblivion at that very moment.

In such a situation, he could no longer move even an inch.

Xue Jiu was greatly alarmed and could only hastily raise his sword to parry.

The violent attack struck instantly, and Xue Jiu felt a numbness in his sword-wielding arm, almost failing to parry. The ferocious axe blade pressed against his sword, savagely cleaving down onto his shoulder. If not for his resilient Dao bones, this blow would have nearly split his shoulder open.

Blood splattered. Xue Yuan gestured with one hand, his profound power surging. The blood flowing from Xue Jiu's wound seemed to transform into a blood-red snake, coiling back around Xue Jiu's body.

"Blood Bind Curse!" Xue Jiu knew things were bad. His own bloodline was considerably weaker than Xue Yuan's, so he had no effective way to counter such blood arts. Once the Blood Bind Curse fully formed, he would have no chance of escape.

Yet, he didn't panic, for he knew he wasn't fighting alone; he had Lu Ye.

At that very moment, the Mountain-Shattering Blade had already struck Xue Yuan's back, almost simultaneously with the Blood Bind Curse's formation.

However, due to the disparity in their strengths, this strike failed to penetrate Xue Yuan's protective Dao power, merely causing his body to tremor.

Lu Ye was well aware of Xue Yuan's intentions. In today's battle, although Xue Jiu was suppressed by Xue Yuan's bloodline and appeared ineffective, in reality, only Xue Jiu could kill Xue Yuan.

Not to mention they had already formed an alliance, so he absolutely could not allow anything to happen to Xue Jiu.

In an instant, Lu Ye's face suddenly turned pale. His sword-wielding right arm abruptly swelled, and vital energy surged from it like dragons, as if all the vital energy in his body had converged there.

A faint dragon roar erupted, deafening.

The Mountain-Shattering Blade vibrated intensely, its blade a blur.

Blade Tremor!

Under the furious outpouring of Dao power, Xue Yuan's protective energy was finally breached. The sharp blade cut into his skin and flesh, reaching his Dao bones.

Xue Yuan abruptly darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

Lu Ye's blade nearly failed to retract, stopping just barely at Xue Jiu's forehead, causing Xue Jiu to break out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, the crisis was finally averted. The Blood Bind Curse, which was almost fully formed and coiling around Xue Jiu, disintegrated at that moment.

They exchanged a glance, then simultaneously turned to face a single direction.

In that direction, Xue Yuan stood, holding his Profound Yellow Oblivion Axe, his gaze coldly fixed back on them. However, unlike before, this time his attention was mostly on Lu Ye, a hint of apprehension and disbelief in his eyes.

Having been ambushed and suffering a setback earlier, he was well aware of the sharpness and strangeness of the Dao weapon in Lu Ye's hand. Thus, his concerns about Lu Ye mostly stemmed from the Mountain-Shattering Blade.

But now he realized that Lu Ye's own strength was not to be underestimated. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Lu Ye to break through his protective Dao power and cause him to suffer another loss.

He had mistakenly believed he could withstand Lu Ye's attack and deal with Xue Jiu first. Now, it was clear that this decision was flawed from the outset.

Although the injuries from the two slashes were not severe, both wounds were infused with an extremely strange sealing power, causing his strength to weaken further.

Xue Yuan let out a soft breath, calming his anger. He knew his failure this time was entirely due to his rage at Xue Jiu. Had he been more rational, he wouldn't have stumbled twice in the same way.

At this moment, Lu Ye was also filled with emotion.

If it had been one of the Ten City Lords like Xuan Wuzong, being struck twice by his blade would have, at minimum, reduced their strength by 10 or 20 percent due to the peculiar power of Oblivion.

But Xue Yuan seemed less affected.

It could only be said that a Half-Saint was a Half-Saint after all; the power of Oblivion's effectiveness was diminished when applied to them.

Having suffered two setbacks, it would likely be much harder to strike Xue Yuan again. The ensuing battle would probably be a straightforward confrontation; success through sneak attacks was no longer possible.

Xue Yuan's demeanor confirmed this; he had undoubtedly calmed himself completely.

"Very well!" Xue Yuan suddenly sneered, his gaze shifting between Lu Ye and Xue Jiu, who stood side by side. "Dare to attack me? Today, you two will learn that even among Half-Saints, there are varying levels of power!"

As he spoke, the vast sea of blood suddenly trembled violently, as if boiling. A solidified and immense spiritual power erupted forth.

The tremor in the sea of blood was Xue Yuan fully unleashing his bloodline suppression.

The eruption of spiritual power, meanwhile, was his tactic against Lu Ye and Xue Jiu.

Xue Jiu's face immediately turned pale, and he let out a muffled groan, his eyes dimming.

Under the dual pressure of bloodline suppression and spiritual assault, the Blood Lord instantly suffered a hidden blow.

Lu Ye was similarly affected, appearing even worse off than Xue Jiu, stumbling precariously.

Xue Yuan laughed loudly and darted forward to attack: "No matter how strong you are, you are still young. How can your spiritual power compare to mine?"

He had long noticed that Lu Ye hadn't cultivated for many years. Typically, such individuals' spiritual strength couldn't keep pace with their power growth. In other words, this was his opponent's weakness.

Having lived for so many years, how could Xue Yuan not see through such a thing?

Now, with a test, he had indeed succeeded.

However, he showed no complacency. As he attacked, his treasured artifact surged with profound power of oblivion, enveloping Lu Ye's position and cleaving down fiercely.

Only then did Lu Ye truly experience the artifact's strangeness. Under the shroud of its oblivion power, everything about him seemed to be on the verge of annihilation, and even activating his Dao power became more difficult than usual.

He immediately understood that Xue Jiu's failed attempt at spatial displacement earlier was due to the interference of this oblivion power.

Indeed, every treasured artifact possessed its own unique power, the effect of the laws nurtured within it.

In such a situation, even if he wanted to evade, he couldn't. Furthermore, he had no intention of dodging.

As the Profound Yellow Oblivion Axe cleaved down, the confusion in Lu Ye's eyes vanished completely. He immediately activated the power of his Talent Tree, and invisible roots spread throughout his body, instantly isolating the strange oblivion power.

The Mountain-Shattering Blade slashed out diagonally, blocking the incoming killing intent. The violent aftershocks swept through, causing the entire sea of blood to tremble even more.

Xue Yuan's eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth, yelling: "You..."

By this point, he could clearly see that Lu Ye's previous reactions were merely a disguise. He truly couldn't fathom how this seemingly young human could remain as steady as a rock under his powerful spiritual assault.

However, he had no time for further thought, as Xue Jiu was still beside him.

Although Xue Jiu was suppressed by the bloodline and his strength was somewhat weakened, he had not lost his courage. This was largely due to the blessing of the Army-Stabilizing Banner. In today's battle, the several hundred units of Dao power it provided were secondary; its most significant effect was suppressing his innate reverence for higher bloodlines. Otherwise, in such circumstances, Xue Jiu might not have been able to exert even 70 percent of his strength, whereas now he could at least unleash 90 percent.

Now, seeing Lu Ye block Xue Yuan's attack, Xue Jiu didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately thrusting his sword out fiercely.

Xue Yuan raised a hand, effortlessly conjuring a Blood Dragon Art. Blood energy condensed into a dragon, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at Xue Jiu. Xue Jiu swung his sword, shattering the blood dragon, but more blood arts followed one after another, fiercely and continuously.

For a time, the three figures within the sea of blood fought ferociously. Within the scope of the blood sea, residual waves swept through, pulverizing all meteorites and dead stars.

Xue Yuan, fighting two opponents, surprisingly held his ground. This was even without the enhancement of a Dao-Merging Bead and after being struck twice by Lu Ye, which had sealed some of his strength.

This clearly demonstrated Xue Yuan's immense power and profound reserves.

Looking across the entire Origin Realm, Xue Yuan was not even the strongest Half-Saint; his power ranked roughly among the top five in the realm.

During the fierce battle, Lu Ye repeatedly resorted to risky moves, seeking to trade injuries.

Given the Mountain-Shattering Blade's current properties, trading injuries in a fight was absolutely not a loss for him. He had done precisely this in his two previous battles against Xuan Wuzong.

However, after suffering two setbacks, how could Xue Yuan allow him to succeed again? Therefore, facing Lu Ye's attacks, he preferred to gain no advantage rather than make any mistake.

This led to Lu Ye's attacks becoming increasingly reckless, until, moments later, he completely abandoned his defensive stance.

This posture truly frustrated Xue Yuan, and retreat began to brew in his mind.

Although he could maintain equilibrium fighting two opponents, he couldn't kill either Lu Ye or Xue Jiu. No matter how hard he tried, it yielded no results, and only caused significant drain on himself.

Rather than continue this stalemate, it would be better to leave, find the other four Half-Saints, and then return for revenge.

As he thought this, Xue Yuan's expression suddenly changed, and he glanced down at his Profound Yellow Oblivion Axe.

For some reason, he had a faint feeling that this treasured artifact, which had accompanied him for many years, seemed to have diminished power!

Compared to moments ago, the power of oblivion had diminished by more than just a little.

He had no idea what was happening; he hadn't paid much attention before, only realizing it now.

With a retreat already on his mind and now a perceived problem with his treasured artifact, how could Xue Yuan hesitate? He immediately roared, "Xue Jiu, this isn't over today! Just you wait; sooner or later, I'll make you realize the consequences of betrayal!"

Xue Jiu gritted his teeth: "Lu Ye, he's escaping!"

Their seas of blood had been intertwined, but now Xue Jiu could clearly feel Xue Yuan retracting his own sea of blood, an unmistakable sign that he was about to flee.