Sage of Humanity

Chapter 2076: Chapter 2074: The Strange and Powerful Ox Demon

At the instant of collision, Jiu Yan clearly sensed the opponent’s cultivation, which was evidently weaker than hers, yet she found herself at a disadvantage.

This was undoubtedly incredible.

Just as she steadied herself, she saw Lu Ye uncontrollably crashing towards her. He noticed Jiu Yan was struggling against the ox demon and rushed to assist, but was struck and sent flying by the ox demon.

Jiu Yan hurriedly steadied herself, reached forward to block, propping Lu Ye up from behind, layers of mana surging forth, helping him offset the momentum.

Lu Ye’s knife-wielding right hand trembled slightly as he suppressed the blood Qi churning in his chest, and said solemnly, "Senior Sister, be careful, something’s off about this guy!"

This ox demon, which suddenly emerged from the blood-colored vortex, was different from all the Sun Blaze cultivators he had seen before. In terms of cultivation, this ox demon was comparable to the captured Insect Race Sun Blaze, but its real strength was worlds apart.

There seemed to be an extremely strange power contained within the opponent’s mana, making it more tenacious and destructive. Otherwise, with his current foundation, he wouldn’t struggle so much against a Sun Blaze Late Stage one-on-one.

But the brief exchange just now made him realize one thing clearly: he wasn’t a match for this ox demon.

Jiu Yan undoubtedly felt the same. Her Mental Consciousness surged, conveying via audio transmission, "I’ll restrain him, you kill!"

Originally, Jiu Yan had many doubts, but this inexplicably appeared ox demon was evidently not someone she could communicate with. Given its formidable strength, they had to kill it first before figuring things out.

Lu Ye nodded, simultaneously raising a hand to rest upon Jiu Yan’s shoulder, gently channeling mana.

Feeling something within, Jiu Yan roughly understood Lu Ye’s plan, and reached out to grasp in the Void, summoning a silver spear. She brandished it lightly, the aura swirling, showcasing her gallant presence.

The ox demon leisurely stood there, beckoning Jiu Yan with a disdainful gesture, showing clearly it didn’t take her seriously.

Jiu Yan, infuriated, charged with the spear. In an instant, the battle with the ox demon began.

Unleashing her magic treasure, Jiu Yan was undoubtedly going all out. In this state, few in the stellar space could be her opponent.

Spear shadows filled the sky, her secret techniques were exquisite, yet in contrast, the ox demon’s moves seemed incredibly clumsy, and its speed wasn’t very fast. But even so, this ox demon was somehow able to block all of Jiu Yan’s explosive attacks with evident ease.

Jiu Yan’s eyes trembled, partly due to the shock of the ox demon’s demonstrated power, and partly because of the excitement in her heart, as she suddenly saw a glimpse of her future path from this ox demon!

Though it was just a faint glimpse, it was hope.

The hope countless Peak Sun Blaze cultivators sought throughout the ages but never attained!

What on earth is Star Abyss? She had never heard of it before.

Outside the intense battle, Lu Ye had already summoned the sword gourd. This ox demon was undoubtedly the strongest entity he had ever encountered. Even Jiu Yan, who was giving her all, was being suppressed, let alone him, at Sun Blaze Early Stage. To deal with it, he could only rely on the sword gourd’s might.

Jiu Yan knew he possessed an affiliated treasure, which was why she proposed her earlier idea.

The gourd’s mouth turned, sword light flickered, Lu Ye gave a low shout, "Senior Sister!"

As he spoke, a spirit rune suddenly appeared on Jiu Yan’s shoulder, quickly forming a circle of light that enveloped her.

This was clearly the Void Spirit Runes Lu Ye had previously placed on her.

Simultaneously, a Void Spirit Rune appeared beside Lu Ye as well.

The sword light pierced through Jiu Yan’s afterimage, heading straight for the ox demon’s towering strong body!

This sudden change was clearly unexpected by the ox demon. Sensing something wrong, its whole body shook, letting out a resounding cry, "Coiling Dragon!"

A faint Dragon’s Wail sounded, and a Dragon Shadow abruptly appeared on its body, coiled around its waist. The dragon’s head lifted, biting towards the incoming sword light!

The invincible sword light from the gourd was actually bitten and held by this dragon’s head, creating a screeching sound of metal against metal, extremely harsh. The splendid sword light grew ever brighter yet couldn’t break through the dragon’s maw.

Lu Ye was greatly shocked!

Since advancing to Sun Blaze, he truly understood the terror of affiliated treasures. He had easily used treasures to slay powerful foes multiple times, even strong ones like Zixuan Great Demon Venerable couldn’t withstand the terror of treasures, yet this ox demon managed to!

What kind of secret technique was that? What method was this?

Lu Ye had no time to ponder deeply, he gritted his teeth, desperately driving the sword light.

Being the sword gourd’s master, the sword light naturally responded to his command.

With minimal effect, before his eyes, the magnificent sword light was slowly advancing, yet was tightly held by the dragon’s maw, and without breaking this restraint, it couldn’t harm the ox demon’s flesh.

Lu Ye could feel the stalemate rapidly draining the sword light’s power!

The sword gourd’s full power was only at its peak when initially unleashed. Afterward, whenever it struck enemies or encountered obstacles, its power would diminish, necessitating a recall for replenishment.

But there’s no chance for Lu Ye to recuperate and replenish right now!

The ox demon used a secret technique completely unfamiliar to Lu Ye, obstructing the initial explosion of the sword light from the sword gourd. As time passed, the dazzling sword light quickly dimmed.

Within moments, accompanied by a crisp sound, the sword light shattered.

The sword light nurtured by a magic treasure worth billions of spirit jade was completely gone. To restore the power of the sword gourd, it has to be nurtured again.

And the Dragon Shadow coiling around the ox demon was clearly not as solid as before.

The ox demon glanced at the Dragon Shadow on himself, furious, his scarlet eyes glaring at Lu Ye: "Daring to damage my Dao force? Then use your affiliated treasure to compensate!"

He had painstakingly gathered this bit of Dao force. It was his capital for standing firm in Star Abyss, yet he sustained damage in a slaughterhouse!

As he finished his sentence, he enveloped in a demonic wind and charged towards Lu Ye.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, I come to assist you!" A robust voice echoed, attacking the ox demon from an oblique angle.

Lu Ye immediately recognized the voice; it was Sui Lin from Five Colors Island. Three Worlds Island and Five Colors Island have always been friendly, and Lu Ye had interacted several times with Sui Lin over the years, so they weren’t unfamiliar.

Sui Lin’s presence here clearly indicated he had noticed the commotion and came to investigate.

Not just him; Sun Blaze cultivators from other top-class Spirit Islands were rushing over, some already nearby, some still on their way.

"Careful!" Lu Ye quickly shouted a warning, for Sui Lin evidently wasn’t aware of the ox demon’s formidable strength, charging recklessly would bring dire consequences.

"Away with you!" The ox demon, in the throes of rage, casually swung a rod at Sui Lin’s surprise attack.

"Big words don’t... uh..." Sui Lin came fast and left fast; his solid body angled into the All Phenomena Ocean under the massive impact.

As he was about to fall into the ocean, a hand grabbed his arm and lifted him up.

A face filled with gratitude looked up: "Turns out it’s Fellow Daoist Gu Tai, thank you for your help!"

Gu Tai nodded: "You’re too kind, Fellow Daoist Sui Lin. What’s going on with this Demon Race?"

Having just arrived himself, Gu Tai hadn’t grasped the situation, but upon seeing Sui Lin in danger, he lent a hand. If Sui Lin had fallen into the All Phenomena Ocean, the seawater would corrode him. Though Sui Lin’s cultivation would save him from fatal harm, the erosion would tarnish his mana, posing a big problem.

"Unclear, his strength feels odd!" Sui Lin recalled their brief encounter and how he was sent flying without the ability to resist, his sturdy physique as a Stone Race member spared him injury. A frailer body would surely have been hurt by now.

"Is this the Insect Path?" Gu Tai now focused on the red vortex at Jade Sword Island’s center. It felt like an Insect Path but differed from typical ones; despite his vast experience, he struggled to verify it.

As he was inspecting the red vortex, ripples emerged, and a figure faintly appeared within!

"Someone’s coming!" Gu Tai’s voice lowered.

At the same time, as Lu Ye and Jiu Yan jointly battled the ox demon, they too sensed the red vortex’s alterations, their expressions faltered.

Emerging from nowhere, an ox demon already posed such a threat; if another should arrive, who in the All Phenomena Ocean could withstand them?

The previous skirmish revealed that the only thing threatening such powerful enemies like the ox demon was the affiliated treasure. But his two affiliated treasures were depleted — with what could he confront the foes?

As these thoughts raced, Lu Ye’s Mental Consciousness surged, transmitting audio to the surroundings: "Fellow Daoists, today’s change at Jade Sword Island involves the Insect Race. The invaders are formidable and possess peculiar abilities. Please, Fellow Daoists, join forces to fend off the enemy; do not underestimate them!"

"Connected to the Insect Race!" Numerous Sun Blaze cultivators’ expressions grew solemn.

A few years prior, Three Worlds Island disclosed matters concerning the Insect Race’s schemes and an impending major event. Over the years, various forces sought traces but found none, aware only that this was a catastrophe poised to sweep the stellar space.

Unexpectedly, today’s affair connects back to the Insect Race, likely linked to the major event arrival.

Given that, they couldn’t afford to stand aside. Regardless, they must first tackle today’s troubles. Perhaps through this occurrence, some clues could be uncovered.

United in thought, Gu Tai and Sui Lin exchanged glances and rushed toward the red vortex. Before coming near, a figure squeezed out from within the vortex.

"Indeed connected to the Insect Race!" Gu Tai’s expression sharply turned because the newcomer was unmistakably an Insect Race member.

Once emerged, the Insect Race member sniffed the air and gazed toward Merfolk Island: "There’s aura from my kin—living!"

The previous captured Insect Race Sun Blaze had been escorted back to Merfolk Island by Luan Xiao’e. He could discern traces.

Gu Tai and Sui Lin had already combined forces in attack. Against the Insect Race, they showed no mercy. Sui Lin, having suffered once, was far more cautious this time. Yet, within mere moments of battle, his heart shocked incessantly.

For despite the sudden Insect Race’s cultivation being akin to his and Gu Tai’s, the foe countered two with impressive ease, leaving both injured in varying degrees. Thankfully, Sun Blaze cultivators from other Spirit Islands arrived promptly, stabilizing the situation just in time.