Chapter 421: Continuous Slaying

Mo Mo thought, if even that kind of blade technique couldn't penetrate Lan Ziyi's Spirit Armor, then having Yiyi and Amber join in for a group attack wouldn't make much difference. He had to try it! However, the opponent was too fast; he needed to create an opportunity to land a blow.

During their exchange, Lu Ye suddenly stumbled, appearing to be losing momentum. How could Lan Ziyi miss such an opportunity? With a thrust of her right sword, she pierced directly through Lu Ye's abdomen, the long sword emerging from his back! Lu Ye grunted. Before Lu Ye could retaliate, Lan Ziyi's left sword also came, aimed at his neck. If it hit, Lu Ye would lose his combat ability, even if he didn't die.

The sharp long sword rapidly grew larger in his vision. Just as it was about to strike, Lu Ye suddenly raised his left hand to block. The sword tip penetrated his palm, going straight through. Lu Ye reached forward with his large hand, allowing the entire sword to pass through his palm. Immediately after, he clenched his left hand into a fist.

*Snap!*

His clenched fist grasped Lan Ziyi's hand.

The woman opposite him looked up, her eyes wide with astonishment. Lu Ye's cold expression imprinted itself on her mind. In that instant, she realized something: she had fallen into a trap! Lu Ye's earlier stumble was merely bait, an enticement for her to advance recklessly. However, this bait came at a terrible cost for Lu Ye: one sword pierced his abdomen, and another his palm. He was truly ruthless, not just to his enemies, but to himself as well.

An alarm suddenly blared in Lan Ziyi's mind, and a tingling sensation spread across her skin—a sign of immense danger approaching. A spiritual glow abruptly flashed across her body. Her Spirit Armor, which normally only appeared when she was in danger, materialized ahead of time.

*Rip…*

The sound of tearing cloth was heard.

At that moment, Lu Ye's right arm, holding the blade, swelled dramatically, tearing through his sleeve. All his vital energy gathered in his right arm in a very short time, making his face as pale as paper. Lu Ye raised his blade and brought it down with a crash. The Pan Mountain Blade became several afterimages in that instant!

A single flash!

Consecutive strikes!

In a flash, Lu Ye delivered three downward slashes. All were "Flash Blade Techniques" enhanced by the Dual Sharpness Spirit Pattern. This technique, capable of delivering multiple attacks in a very short time, was called "Consecutive Strikes," specifically designed to break through robust defenses, and it was perfectly suited for this situation. Lu Ye had intended to deliver a fourth strike, but after the third, his right arm was completely exhausted and numb. His entire right arm was swollen as thick as a thigh, skin torn, muscles ruptured, and covered in blood, looking horrifying. He hadn't even noticed when the Pan Mountain Blade flew out of his grasp.

When the first of the consecutive strikes landed, Lan Ziyi's Spirit Armor perfectly withstood it. As the second strike fell, the glow on the Spirit Armor suddenly dimmed significantly. The third strike broke through the Spirit Armor, carving a terrifying wound across Lan Ziyi's body, starting from her right shoulder and ending at her lower left abdomen. Flesh was ripped open, revealing pale skin beneath the torn clothes, and within the gruesome wound, a faintly beating heart could be seen. These three consecutive slashes not only shattered Lan Ziyi's Spirit Armor and gravely wounded her, but also carried immense force, sending her flying backward.

However, the instant she was sent flying, Lan Ziyi swept out a long leg like a whip, striking Lu Ye's temple. This woman didn't miss any opportunity to retaliate! She was as ferocious as a beast. At that moment, Lu Ye was utterly unable to move or react; he was heavily knocked away and landed awkwardly on the ground. The two long swords were pulled out from his body and palm, causing blood to gush forth.

Upon landing, Lu Ye felt dizzy, seeing stars. He tried to stagger to his feet but was too disoriented to stand, falling back down. He repeated this several times before finally managing to kneel precariously. While he was in such a sorry state, the other party wasn't faring much better.

Lan Ziyi was stunned by Lu Ye's three consecutive slashes. Before this fight, she truly hadn't expected anyone in the Spirit Creek Realm to be able to injure her, let alone wound her so grievously. As Han Tiejun had told Lu Ye earlier, ever since she began her ascent on the Spirit Creek Ranking, she had approached it with a playful attitude. Until she met Lu Ye. She had used all her abilities, yet she was still nearly killed by his three slashes.

The moment she was sent flying by Lu Ye, Yiyi and Amber simultaneously made their move. Having followed Lu Ye for so long, the spirit and the tiger naturally knew when to act and when to hold back. Previously, with Lan Ziyi's Spirit Armor protecting her, their attacks would have had little effect. But now that the Spirit Armor was broken and Lu Ye was at the end of his tether, it was their time to appear.

However, Lan Ziyi wasn't foolish. Heavily wounded as she was, it was no longer suitable for her to remain and fight. If her opponent had only been Lu Ye, she might have had a chance to risk it, and the outcome would have been uncertain. Amber suddenly charged towards her, and a girl who haphazardly cast spells also appeared. Lan Ziyi quickly weighed her options, her lips moving rapidly, and her figure vanished from the arena.

Yiyi's spell missed, leaving her furious. She rushed over to Lu Ye, only to find him half-kneeling on the ground, motionless, seemingly without a breath. The usual light in his eyes had vanished, replaced by extreme dullness… With a cry, Yiyi burst into tears. Since following Lu Ye, she had never seen him in such a wretched state, not even when she had taken him to Mount Ying to seek Hua Ci's help. She quickly laid Lu Ye down and called to Amber, "Hurry and take Lu Ye out!" Hearing this, Amber returned, biting the Pan Mountain Blade, then took a bite of Lu Ye's collar. Before flashing back into Amber's body, Yiyi looked up and shouted to the sky, "Send us out!" A Heavenly Secret descended, and the arena became empty.

On the third floor of the wooden house, Amber appeared, holding Lu Ye. Yiyi's panicked voice emerged from within Amber: "Sister Hua Ci, Sister Hua Ci!" With the spiritual energy suppressed, Yiyi couldn't manifest her physical form, but she could communicate with others while hidden inside Amber.

"I'm here!" Hua Ci's voice immediately responded. She had been waiting there, and the room was already prepared with hot water, herbal bandages, and other supplies, clearly indicating she knew Lu Ye would be injured in this battle. Holding Lu Ye, Hua Ci placed him on the bed and sat beside him, examining his injuries. Her expression gradually became serious. Looking up at Lu Ye's face again, she saw his eyes open, their light dim, yet conveying a deep longing for tomorrow and the future.

Yiyi anxiously asked, "Sister Hua Ci, how is he?"

Hua Ci pursed her lips and said nothing, merely raising her hand to cover Lu Ye's eyes and gently stroking downward.

Yiyi's heart sank, and her voice trembled, "Sister Hua Ci?"

"Hmm?" Hua Ci replied. Seeing Lu Ye's eyes still open, she raised her hand to cover his eyes again.

"What are you doing, you wicked woman?" Lu Ye blinked, his voice extremely weak. "I'm not dead yet! I just don't want to move; I'm conserving my energy."

"I know you're not dead," Hua Ci retorted. "I just wanted you to get some good rest. It's you who was making it look like you died with your eyes open!"

Lu Ye felt his liver ache with anger and simply closed his eyes, ignoring her.

Yiyi exclaimed angrily, "Now is not the time for jokes!"

After a thorough examination, Lu Ye's injuries were severe. The wounds left by Lan Ziyi weren't the worst of it; they were mostly flesh wounds or punctures that, with Lu Ye's current physique and Hua Ci's methods, would heal in a few days. The critical injury was Lu Ye's right arm. To execute the "Flash Blade Technique" in its "Consecutive Strikes" state, the flesh of his entire right arm had been torn. His right arm was now swollen as thick as a thigh, with blood stagnation that couldn't be cleared, and both superficial and internal injuries. Even with Hua Ci's healing methods, it would take considerable effort to treat him. This was especially true now that spiritual energy was suppressed, making many healing techniques difficult to employ.

Half a day later, Lu Ye was comfortably soaking in a wooden tub filled with greenish medicinal liquid. Hua Ci sat beside him, massaging his right arm to stimulate blood circulation. The room was steamy and filled with mist.

The battle, watched by countless cultivators from both major factions, ended in quiet obscurity. However, the outcome of this battle was inadvertently spread. Lan Ziyi of Boundless Isle, who had mimicked Lu Ye's ascent, breaking through all obstacles to reach third place, suffered a heavy defeat when challenging Lu Yiye of the Azure Blood Sect!

The news didn't cause much commotion, mainly because Lu Ye's power was already deeply ingrained in people's minds. Although the Myriad Demon Ridge faction had previously considered Lan Ziyi's challenge an opportunity, no one knew how significant that opportunity truly was. Now that she had lost, there was no real loss for the Myriad Demon Ridge faction anyway. The Vast Heaven Alliance, however, breathed a huge sigh of relief. As the challenged party, Lu Ye's victory was expected. If he had lost, his top spot on the ranking would have been jeopardized, and many from Myriad Demon Ridge would surely have begun to crow.

But both the Vast Heaven Alliance and the Myriad Demon Ridge now understood one thing: that the vast Spirit Creek Battlefield was about to enter an era dominated by a single person! Looking back through history, this had never happened before. The previous three "troublemakers"—whether Feng Yuechan, Li Baxian, or Yan Xing—were all powerful enough. However, they belonged to two opposing factions, thus neutralizing each other. Moreover, their strength was purely individual and couldn't bring significant benefits to their respective factions.

But Lu Yiye was different. Not only was he individually powerful, but he could also achieve things the three "troublemakers" could not. Back in the inner circle, he had already stirred up a storm, leading the Vast Heaven Alliance's allied forces to break through one or two hundred sect strongholds belonging to the Myriad Demon Ridge faction. He hadn't been idle in the core circle these days either, constantly stirring up various incidents. While he hadn't broken into any sect strongholds, who could guarantee he wouldn't do so after advancing to Sky Nine? If he truly decided to do that, no one from the Myriad Demon Ridge would be able to stop him!

For a time, the high-ranking officials of the various Myriad Demon Ridge powers were so worried that their hair turned considerably whiter. How to protect their strongholds after Lu Yiye advanced to Sky Nine became the most pressing issue for all core circle sects of Myriad Demon Ridge.