Chapter 1998: Chapter 1996: Unbridled
As the golden light flashed again, Shang Chengyue’s expression turned incredibly shocked: "How is this possible?"
Just as Muh Qing had thought earlier, the reason he wasn’t scared despite witnessing Lu Ye’s technique was because he was certain that the power of that affiliated treasure couldn’t be activated a second time in such a short span.
This newcomer Sun Blaze, who emerged from nowhere, thought that capturing Lustrous would allow him to act wantonly; it was evidently naive, which is why Shang Chengyue ordered the kill without hesitation.
Who would have thought that another golden light is now flickering...
Everyone witnessed Lustrous’s ordeal firsthand, so as soon as the golden light exploded, nearly everyone retreated; no one was willing to face the power of an affiliated treasure directly.
When the chaotic commotion subsided, the expressions of Animitta Palace’s Sun Blazes were all grim because Lu Ye held yet another captured Sun Blaze—a robust man who had just called out Lustrous’s name, his body enveloped in golden light, just like Lustrous, having his blood Qi and mana sealed, unable to move.
Not far away, Jue Ren was deeply anxious...
He could ascertain that Lu Ye initially intended to target him, since he charged ahead at the forefront. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, realizing the danger ahead of anyone else and retreating swiftly, which made Lu Ye abandon his original plan and target someone else instead.
That strange golden light, once activated, Jue Ren was sure he had no way of evading it.
If indeed captured by a newcomer Sun Blaze, he—a Fourth Palace Master—would have lost face.
"Who do you want to..." Lu Ye held the Boulder Mountain Saber against the robust man’s neck as a shield, looking past this man’s shoulder towards Shang Chengyue, with a slightly twisted expression: "Kill who?"
It was only at this moment that the turmoil within the Divine Sea slowly calmed under the brilliance of the seven-color Divine Lotus.
Shang Chengyue’s eye twitched violently; he couldn’t quite grasp the situation. Logical reasoning dictated that a treasure capable of so easily imprisoning a Sun Blaze must undeniably be an affiliated treasure—it was only affiliated treasures possessing such unique power. Yet if it were truly an affiliated treasure, it couldn’t possibly activate a second time so quickly!
Moreover, if the opponent could utilize it a second time, could he use it a third, a fourth?
Indeed, the Sun Blazes numbered quite a few, a total of eleven coming this time, but now only seven remain alive, with one captured, his life hanging in the balance.
The able-bodied are reduced to just six, matching the Sun Blaze numbers of the All Phenomena Galaxy, their initial advantage now vanished!
Earlier, three Sun Blazes inexplicably perished.
Shang Chengyue suddenly felt an epiphany: "Tianyan, did you kill Mazhuo and Kui Shan?"
He previously believed the deaths of the three to be the handiwork of All Phenomena Galaxy’s Sun Blazes, but after clashing with Yuan Se, he realized All Phenomena Galaxy’s Sun Blazes lacked such lethal tendencies nor possessed such unobtrusive ways to silence a Sun Blaze.
But if it was this young man wielding the affiliated treasure...
While Lu Ye’s expression remained grim, it was not due to the turmoil within his Divine Sea this time, but an effort to suppress the desires within his heart.
When he captured Lustrous previously, a voice in his mind continually echoed, giving him an urgent impulse to activate his Talent Tree’s power to devour Lustrous and savor that soul-stirring delight once more.
But he knew he absolutely couldn’t do it.
Because if he did, it would be too horrifying, and once that door opened again, it might never close.
Previously, he was compelled to do so for the sake of advancing to Sun Blaze, to quickly perfect his Magic Source. Having now reached Sun Blaze, he couldn’t continue further.
The black fruit on the Talent Tree is an ominous sign, and Lu Ye doesn’t want it to truly mature.
"I’ll say it one last time!" Lu Ye gritted his teeth, inexplicably able to perceive a fragrance emanating from the Sun Blaze captured in front of him, a scent constantly inciting the Talent Tree’s power, making it difficult to suppress the thoughts within his mind.
In a determined moment, his long saber cut down again.
The robust man immediately followed in Lustrous’s footsteps, his resilient body sliced in half, falling towards the All Phenomena Ocean.
Lu Ye raised his long saber, pointing it at Shang Chengyue, enraged: "People may leave, but the items stay!"
The Animitta Palace Sun Blazes’ faces changed repeatedly...
Previously when Lu Ye killed Lustrous, it was totally unexpected for them; after all, at that moment, anyone would think Lu Ye would consider Lustrous a hostage, incapable of acting rashly, yet Lustrous died nonetheless.
Now, with Lu Ye making another kill, he acts recklessly, indifferent to having or lacking hostages.
And considering that strange golden light being triggered twice now, they can’t help but imagine many things...
Shang Chengyue contemplated most, realizing by now with certainty that the deaths of Tianyan Mazhuo and the other Sun Blazes were inseparable from Lu Ye.
In other words, within this brief span of half a day, five Sun Blazes from Animitta Palace had died at Lu Ye’s hands, relying undoubtedly on the affiliated treasure’s power.
Even if killing one requires one activation, that affiliated treasure has already been activated five times...
What the heck is this supreme treasure’s affiliated treasure?
Being the Third Palace Master of Animitta Palace, Shang Chengyue had extensively researched stellar supreme treasures, yet even with his abundant knowledge, he couldn’t deduce anything at the moment.
Regardless, Lu Ye’s fearless attitude made Shang Chengyue wary.
In his heart, Shang Chengyue assured himself there exists no unlimited activation affiliated treasure in the world; the opponent couldn’t possibly emit such golden light again.
But he dared not gamble...
As myriad thoughts swirled within him, Yuan Se stepped forward from All Phenomena Galaxy’s camp, coldly stating: "Fellow Daoist Lu’s stance is also the stance of All Phenomena!"
Standing behind, Muh Qing sighed softly.
Earlier, when several Sun Blaze practitioners from Animitta Palace attacked simultaneously, she thought it was an opportunity, so she sent an audio transmission to Yuan Se, but Yuan Se was unmoved.
However, now Lu Ye has withstood the assault from Animitta Palace and even killed one of them, Yuan Se stepped forward.
Because from the perspective of visible combat strength, Animitta Palace, after losing two members, still has six Sun Blaze cultivators, matching the number from All Phenomena Galaxy!
They are now actively approaching Lu Ye, which means they have one more person than the opposition, plus Lu Ye has that bizarre golden light-type treasure...
This is the last chance for All Phenomena Galaxy to salvage their dignity, Yuan Se certainly would not miss it, so he stepped forward.
Shang Chengyue suddenly turned his head, staring coldly at Yuan Se with eyes full of anger and disdain.
Yuan Se’s intentions were completely transparent to him, intensely insightful about his opportunistic behavior, but undeniable is the fact that if All Phenomena and Lu Ye joined forces, Animitta Palace would be at a disadvantage.
The losses this time were too great, with as many as five Sun Blaze cultivators perishing. Although Animitta Palace is vast and wealthy, with many Sun Blaze practitioners, it couldn’t afford such waste.
If the plundered materials were to be handed over again, after returning, his position as Third Palace Master might not be secure.
He coldly glanced at Yuan Se before turning to Lu Ye: "Can you activate that golden light again?"
Lu Ye snorted defiantly, looking rebellious: "Why don’t you give it a try!"
Shang Chengyue’s eyes flickered, lost in thought.
Just then, a breath rapidly approached from afar.
In an instant, all Sun Blaze practitioners’ attention was drawn to it.
Lu Ye also looked over, his expression shifting.
A moment later, a familiar figure came into view.
The newcomer’s presence was imposing and extraordinary, not particularly ostentatious, but upon seeing this person, the Sun Blaze cultivators from All Phenomena Ocean had shifting expressions.
Because the newcomer was Green Demon King Ma Bin!
"Why is it so lively here?" Ma Bin was somewhat perplexed. He had gone to hunt down Black Cloud earlier and knew nothing of the subsequent events. Upon returning, he found many Sun Blaze practitioners gathered.
Had he not sensed Lu Ye’s presence here, he wouldn’t have appeared so boldly.
Clearly, he had gone through a fierce battle, with his clothing damaged, but even now, with his unstable aura, he remained the natural focal point.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on his right hand, where he held a head, eyes wide open, a look of unspeakable death.
"Black Cloud!" In the All Phenomena faction, Mo Wenli’s eyes narrowed.
Initially, it was he who teamed up with Black Cloud to attack Ma Bin. He was aware of Black Cloud’s power but hadn’t expected him to be dead, with his head brought back by Ma Bin.
This was one of Zixuan’s five Great Demon Venerables, a strong figure at the Peak of Sun Blaze, dead just like that?
Ma Bin looked around, then gazed at Lu Ye in surprise, clearly not expecting Lu Ye to have advanced to Sun Blaze. When he left to hunt Black Cloud, Lu Ye was still Moon Jade, and now, in just half a day...
The surprise was fleeting. As a Dao Tree successor, rapid cultivation advancement was not unusual. He casually tossed Black Cloud’s head to Lu Ye and nodded slightly.
Lu Ye caught the head, glanced at it indifferently, then crushed it.
With Black Cloud dead and Yuan Du dead, some matters were settled, but as for the future... only time would tell.
The priority now was to resolve the immediate issue.
"Animitta Palace?" Ma Bin frowned, looking towards Shang Chengyue and his group.
"Green Demon King Ma Bin!" Shang Chengyue had obviously heard of Ma Bin’s name, his eyes slightly narrowed, and the demeanor he had maintained since arriving at All Phenomena Ocean finally showed some seriousness.
Even noticing Ma Bin was injured and in poor condition, he dared not be careless.
This subtle change was seen by the six Sun Blaze practitioners of All Phenomena Ocean and filled their hearts with bitterness.
This was clearly All Phenomena Ocean, yet the people of Animitta Palace completely disregarded them, showing fear instead towards Ma Bin.
Compared to such indifference, it left them feeling defeated.
"What’s the situation now?" Ma Bin asked Lu Ye.
Lu Ye replied, "Animitta Palace invaded All Phenomena Ocean, killing, burning, and looting. They plan to retreat, and I told them to leave the items and scram, but they wouldn’t listen, so fighting ensued."
"Didn’t suffer losses, I hope?" Ma Bin asked with concern.
"None." Lu Ye shook his head.
"That’s good." Ma Bin nodded slightly.
Shang Chengyue and Yuan Se both twitched at the corners of their eyes, desperately wanting to tell Ma Bin that not only did Lu Ye not suffer losses, but he also killed two Sun Blaze practitioners from Animitta Palace, leaving them in an awkward position, unable to advance or retreat.
But neither dared say a word...
