Free Web NovelChapter 2093: Chapter 2091: Dao Force Enters the Body
Struggling to steady his form, Lu Ye felt his blood Qi churning, a sweet taste in his throat, his mouth full of the scent of blood.
Looking ahead, his expression was grave, for despite enduring the explosion power of four drops of Treasure Blood, the Insect Race creature showed no sign of damage!
The opponent clearly had Dao force for protection.
The prolonged battle had made the Insect Race extremely impatient, and he gritted his teeth, growling low: "Damn garbage, why are you so stubborn? Wouldn’t it be better to die obediently?"
He had never suffered such a setback before any ordinary stellar space cultivator; after battling against strong foes previously, his Dao force was already depleted, and after a fierce fight with Lu Ye and Jiu Yan, his Dao force was nearly exhausted.
Although Star Abyss living creatures, due to their special physique, were eligible to accumulate Dao force even without establishing a Dao foundation, it was significantly harder for those without a Dao foundation compared to those who entered the Dao Realm. Every bit of Dao force was precious to him, his foundation in this battlefield, and could not be easily lost.
In anger, his killing intent became increasingly concentrated. As long as he could acquire two affiliated treasures this time, the Dao force he consumed would eventually be replenished, and he might even have the opportunity to forge his own Dao foundation, genuinely becoming a Dao Realm powerhouse.
Raising his gaze, he coldly stared at Lu Ye, the Insect Race creature pressed forward step by step: "I refuse to believe you have a third affiliated treasure!"
Despite saying this, he was slightly worried. If Lu Ye truly took out a third affiliated treasure, he would immediately turn to flee.
Speaking of which, without even looking, he backhanded a punch, causing Jiu Yan, approaching swiftly, to groan and fly back even faster.
"Die!" As if sensing Lu Ye’s lack of options, he no longer delayed, speeding up suddenly.
Just at that moment, a flash of bloodlight suddenly erupted from Lu Ye’s side, spreading rapidly into a Blood Sea.
"Hmm? You’re a Blood Race?" The Insect Race creature appeared incredibly startled, seemingly unprepared to encounter a Blood Race here, but his actions didn’t pause for a moment. In the Star Abyss, creatures, not to mention different races, even within the same race, have little trust and reliance. The chaotic, harsh environment bred many Star Abyss creatures relying solely on themselves.
So even if the opponent was a Blood Race, faced with two affiliated treasures, he wouldn’t hesitate at all.
Flashing forward to Lu Ye, he threw a punch, exhaling deeply: "It is over!"
Lu Ye raised the Boulder Mountain Saber, blocking the strike as his body uncontrollably slid backward.
The Insect Race creature was shocked: "How is this possible?"
A stellar space cultivator with such weak cultivation actually blocked his casual strike? Despite slightly urging Dao force into it, he found it incredibly unbelievable.
But he soon noticed something amiss because in the Blood Sea, there wasn’t only one aura. Around him and in all directions, there were five additional auras, each identical to his opponent’s in front, as if cast from the same mold.
"Treasure Blood Avatar?" The Insect Race quickly realized the truth.
Having dealt with many Blood Race members, he naturally knew about the Treasure Blood Avatar, but...how could there be so many? And the unusual blood that exploded before must also be Treasure Blood, which meant the number was even greater.
He didn’t even notice when Lu Ye deployed the Treasure Blood Avatar. He knew this must have been done while expanding the Blood Sea.
Within the dense Blood Sea, Lu Ye’s true self, along with five Treasure Blood Avatars, had already formed a Black Tortoise Array.
With the Talent Tree undergoing transformation, the As-Close-As-Siblings Spirit Runes couldn’t be used, but the Treasure Blood Avatars were part of Lu Ye, so even without spirit runes, the connection between true self and avatars allowed easy formation of the array.
This was the strongest method he could employ other than using the affiliated treasures.
The Insect Race was undoubtedly out of arrows at the end of the battle; victory and defeat were about to be decided, and of course, he would exert every effort, with the array’s power enabling him to block the Insect Race’s strike.
This was equivalent to six Lu Ye forming an array.
Relying on his true self’s strength alone, it would be impossible to do so effortlessly.
Having failed to land a decisive blow, and upon noticing the various elements within the Blood Sea, the Insect Race, although unwilling, realized the situation had worsened and conceived a retreat.
Yet within the Blood Sea, leaving was no simple matter. Moreover, the Black Tortoise Array had him completely enveloped.
Perceiving the shift in the Insect Race’s mindset, Lu Ye felt assured and initiated his offensive, causing the Blood Sea to roil, and rampaging force swept through wildly.
Jiu Yan also returned to battle, penetrating the Blood Sea, utilizing stealth attacks with Lu Ye’s assistance, striking decisively whenever the Insect Race was too distracted to defend.
After thirty breaths, the Blood Sea subsided, and three figures emerged from within.
Lu Ye appeared pale, sheathing his saber, while Jiu Yan stood not far away with her Silver Spear, looking exhausted. She had never experienced such a fierce battle since beginning her cultivation.
In this battle, she once again felt the terrifying power of Dao force.
Yet the Insect Race had fallen, its body severed, the neck wound neat—evidently inflicted by the Boulder Mountain Saber. Once his Dao force was exhausted, his strength was not so formidable.
"Hurry!" Lu Ye called out to Jiu Yan, who quickly rushed to his side, supporting him as they fled rapidly into the distance.
Both were extremely exhausted, but comparatively, Jiu Yan’s condition was undoubtedly much better. She felt deeply ashamed because the main force in this battle was Lu Ye, whose cultivation was weaker, and her own contribution wasn’t very significant.
Two hours later, on a vast piece of floating land, they landed and searched for a place to hide.
There was no time to rest; Jiu Yan immediately took out an array disc and set up a formation nearby. Although her expertise in the Array Path wasn’t high, she could still arrange a simple formation. This was a skill that all cultivators who reached a certain cultivation level were expected to master, as everyone has times when they must act alone.
"How are you?" Jiu Yan asked nervously, looking at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye’s condition was very bad, with large beads of sweat pouring from his forehead, his clothes soaked, and his face devoid of any color.
This was clearly not due to the exhaustion from the previous battle. As they spoke, Jiu Yan looked at the wound on his chest, where a large chunk of flesh was missing, almost revealing the bone.
Given Lu Ye’s physique, such a wound should have healed quickly, but ever since he was injured by the Insect Race, the wound had not healed and even showed signs of worsening.
"Dao force invaded my body!" Lu Ye replied through gritted teeth, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
The color drained from Jiu Yan’s face; despite expecting this possibility, the confirmation was still hard to accept.
According to records from the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, once a stellar space cultivator is invaded by Dao force, the situation is deemed intractable, because it cannot be resolved unless a Dao Realm expert is found to assist, and even then it carries great risks, as different Dao forces clashing within the body often lead to unpredictable outcomes.
"Let’s return to the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, I’ll take you back!" Jiu Yan said as she prepared to help Lu Ye up again, knowing that his only hope of survival was to seek help at the fortress.
"There’s no time!" Lu Ye waved her off, realizing that even if they traveled at full speed, it would still take several days to get back to the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, not even considering the potential dangers on the way.
Jiu Yan clearly realized this too, and for a moment was at a loss, then suddenly thought of something and said urgently, "Let me go out and search; maybe I can find a Dao Realm expert from the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress."
Lu Ye grabbed her, shaking his head gently, "Don’t go out, and don’t worry about me, I’m probably going to be fine!"
"How can you say you’ll be fine!" Jiu Yan’s voice trembled, thinking Lu Ye was just trying to comfort her, and gazed at him steadily before lowering her head, speaking in a tone of disappointment and self-reproach, "It’s my fault for being useless!"
If she could establish a Dao foundation and enter the Dao Realm, this problem would not exist, and they wouldn’t have had to struggle so hard against the Insect Race.
An invisible needle seemed to stab into her heart, causing pain!
Her vision blurred and became moist...
Seeing her like this, Lu Ye knew no matter how he tried to explain, Jiu Yan probably wouldn’t believe him, and he sighed helplessly, "Don’t leave, just stay with me, Senior Sister!"
Neither returning to the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress nor seeking out a Dao Realm expert was realistic, so he had to keep her here for now.
Jiu Yan raised her head, her eyes red, and her lips bitten until they were broken, nodding vigorously, "Alright!"
Lu Ye closed his eyes, immersing his mind, probing the fire seed of his Talent Tree within his Root Spiritual Orifice!
At this moment, the invasive Dao force was converging at the fire seed area, and seemingly stimulated by this external Dao force, the fire seed burst forth with a brilliance even more dazzling than before, the tiny seedling of the fire seed swaying wildly, showing signs of breaking out!
Lu Ye didn’t understand why this was happening, but it was clear that the Talent Tree’s fire seed was reacting to the Dao force.
The reason he told Jiu Yan that he might not face any substantial problems was precisely because of this anomaly.
The Dao force invading his body, regardless of its nature, was ultimately an External Force. As long as the Talent Tree completed its transformation, it would be able to burn it away completely.
He had confidence in his Talent Tree!
As he watched, the tiny seedling in the fire seed became increasingly vivid, and the entire fire seed seemed to undergo subtle changes.
Lu Ye felt elated, as although he had previously determined that the transformation of the Talent Tree wouldn’t take long, the Dao force invasion from the Insect Race appeared to have accelerated this process.
A thought struck him: was the fourfold transformation of the Talent Tree correlated with Dao force? Otherwise, why would there be such a change?
Before he could think it through, Lu Ye felt himself enveloped by a warm and soft body. When he opened his eyes, he found Jiu Yan sitting beside him, holding him in her arms.
"Are you cold?" Jiu Yan asked in a choked voice.
Lu Ye was momentarily stunned, then he couldn’t help but smile wryly as he realized that due to the pain caused by the Dao force invasion, his constant trembling had led Jiu Yan to mistakenly believe something else.
And seeing Jiu Yan’s demeanor, it seemed she intended to accompany him to the very end of his life.
