Chapter 2225 - 2223: Seeking Guidance from a Senior

The Dark Butterfly does not wish for her Secondary Soul to fuse with the Primary Soul, because there are Chains of Life within the Secondary Soul.

Previously, although she was restrained by Lu Ye, if she had been ruthless enough, she could have abandoned the Secondary Soul to escape this restraint!

But once fused, this restraint would be inescapable, and she would truly have to share life and death with Lu Ye!

With this concern, she had tried to persuade Yu Bo, unwilling to start any conflict with Jiu Ying.

But the result was not as she desired; Jiu Ying was entirely set on getting Lu Ye.

She also considered abandoning Lu Ye. If what Jiu Ying said was true, she could gain considerable benefits after discarding the Secondary Soul!

But after thinking it through carefully, she decided against it. Not to mention that Jiu Ying had no substantial evidence to prove his words, even if it was true, she might end up being a mere lackey under Jiu Ying in the future.

Given her Peak Dao Fusion status, if not restricted by this stellar space, she might have hopes of achieving Dao Harmony, so why would she demean and wrong herself?

Her initial retreat was just a disguise.

Under the Chains of Life, she could feel whether Lu Ye was lying, and of course, Lu Ye could also sense if what she said was true.

So when the Dark Butterfly retreated, he knew what she was plotting.

The sneak attack by the Secondary Soul did not succeed, and not allowing Jiu Ying to prevail left the Dark Butterfly with only one option.

It's a huge loss!

Had she known it would turn out like this, she would never have let Lu Ye enter the relic.

She realized that this remnant soul of Jiu Ying must have been hiding in the relic all along, and this time when Lu Ye entered, he was targeted by Jiu Ying, who wanted to seize Lu Ye's body.

"You better think it through!" In the Divine Sea, Jiu Ying's voice was low.

He didn't want to start any conflict with the Dark Butterfly, because after sleeping for years, his power was almost depleted, and all he wanted was to quickly devour Lu Ye's soul body to occupy this desirable flesh.

"Please indulge me, senior!" the Dark Butterfly spoke, as Soul Power surged around her, and her hand suddenly held a longsword!

Even though her Peak Dao Fusion power was actually stronger than Jiu Ying, when faced with such an opponent, the Dark Butterfly didn't dare to be careless; the offering of the longsword meant she was going all out!

Lu Ye glanced over and immediately knew that this longsword was the Dark Butterfly's Dao soldier!

The Insect Matriarch primarily trained in psyche, so almost all Dao soldiers of the Insect Matriarchs are of the Soul Device type.

To his surprise, the Dark Butterfly's Dao soldier turned out to be a sword; now with the sword in her hand, the enchanting and soul-captivating charm vanished, replaced by a cold battle intent and murderous intent.

Anyone unfamiliar seeing the Dark Butterfly at this moment would probably praise her as an exceptional sword cultivator!

As she finished speaking, the Dark Butterfly merged with the sword light and charged at Jiu Ying.

Strike first to gain the upper hand!

Jiu Ying was furious, his massive body swayed, his head held high, and the luminescence on his body grew brighter, invisible ripples spread out centered on his soul body.

In an instant, they collided, the Divine Sea churned, waves surged.

Intensely bright light erupted, making the entire Divine Sea dazzling.

The ripples spread, causing even Lu Ye's Ghost Ship, despite its protection, to wobble and stagger, its protective surface rippling violently.

His face changed, realizing the dire situation.

It wasn't that the Dark Butterfly was not a match; currently, he couldn't tell who was stronger, as the power gap was significant.

It's just that this battleground was his Divine Sea, and no matter which one was stronger, the aftermath of their combat churned his mind, causing his psyche to waver.

Lu Ye felt a sense of helplessness; two formidable beings clashing in his Divine Sea was something he could never have anticipated.

He hurriedly steadied himself, fully activating the Ghost Ship's protection.

Colorful light emitted from the ship, making him feel much better.

That colorful light was the light of the Divine Lotus.

The Divine Lotus, initially like a small island in his Divine Sea, had completely fused with him during his refinement of the Divine Flower.

However, the efficacy of the Divine Lotus did not disappear due to this fusion.

Focusing entirely on self-defense, allowing the Ghost Ship to drift in the Divine Sea, Lu Ye could not spare much attention for the battlefield over there.

He also didn't know who was stronger between the Dark Butterfly and Jiu Ying.

Until a certain moment, he suddenly groaned, an indescribable pain emanated from the depths of his soul body.

Simultaneously, the battlefield echoed with a soft cry from the Dark Butterfly!

The Dark Butterfly got injured, and the injuries were severe! Because of the Chains of Life, her injuries were partly transferred to him.

Lu Ye was in agony, almost fainting.

It was then he realized that when Jiu Ying previously dealt with him, it might not have used even half of its power, or else even with the Talent Tree, he wouldn't have delayed for the Dark Butterfly's assistance.

It wasn't from Jiu Ying's kindness, but this creature, having slept so long, had a lack of power and would use the smallest cost to subdue Lu Ye without further exertion.

But now, in its battle with the Dark Butterfly, it couldn't afford to hold back.

The Dark Butterfly's Dao Harmony level Lian never knew, had never asked about this matter.

But to sit in a major battle area, the Dark Butterfly was at least 8th Order or 9th Order, possibly even at the Peak Dao Fusion.

With her Dao soldier aiding, the Dark Butterfly could exert no less than the 200th Dao in her full strength, yet even so, she got injured.

Jiu Ying's power must not be much less.

The turmoil in the Divine Sea grew more intense, causing golden stars to swirl before Lu Ye's eyes, and even his soul body began to dissipate.

The only thing he could feel was that the confrontation between Dark Butterfly and Jiu Ying was becoming fiercer, and his injuries increased.

Suddenly, a sharp cry reached Lu Ye's ears; it was Dark Butterfly.

"It's trying to escape, don't let it get away!"

Determined to be enemies with Jiu Ying, it's essential to eradicate it completely!

This ancient ferocious beast claims to be the master of Banlan, and if it escapes, who knows what tricks it might have up its sleeve.

Sure enough, as Dark Butterfly's words fell, Lu Ye immediately sensed signs of Jiu Ying attempting to flee.

How could Lu Ye allow that?

If Jiu Ying was fleeing, it meant it couldn't match Dark Butterfly, and now was the perfect time to eradicate it entirely.

Soul Power surged, and the Divine Sea instantly transformed into a cage.

Jiu Ying broke in forcibly; Lu Ye couldn't stop it, but now that it was here, leaving wouldn't be so easy.

Raging Flames burned once more, morphing into a hollow Fireball, enveloping the combat field of Dark Butterfly and Jiu Ying.

Jiu Ying had felt the power of this bizarre flame before, and now it couldn't help but feel apprehensive. However, it truly wasn't a match for Dark Butterfly, and continuing the battle risked death.

It briefly regretted; knowing earlier, it should've agreed to Dark Butterfly's proposal. Now, it was truly caught in a dilemma.

Dark Butterfly wielded a Longsword; sword light danced rampantly, his combat ferocity perfectly matched the style of the sword cultivators, advancing without retreat. If not seen firsthand, anyone would be shocked that an Insect Matriarch could possess the heart of a sword cultivator.

Though she held the upper hand at the moment, her expression remained grave, not daring to be complacent, for through this battle, she truly witnessed Jiu Ying's terror.

In terms of strength, she was several levels above Jiu Ying at the moment.

But in true combat, things weren't so straightforward. If it weren't for the Dao soldier in hand, Dark Butterfly even suspected she wasn't a match.

Truly worthy of being an ancient ferocious beast, its mastery of Dao force was simply unreachable at her level.

Furthermore, had Jiu Ying not been in a weakened state, with little strength to expend, seizing the upper hand wouldn't have been so easy.

Even so, her injuries were actually worse than Jiu Ying's, only by Lu Ye's sharing of injuries, her condition was somewhat better than Jiu Ying's.

When the fire ignited, Jiu Ying roared, hesitated for just an instant, then charged brutally toward the flames.

If it didn't escape now, there might be no chance for survival later.

It called out, "Boy, let me leave, don't force me, or we'll all perish together!"

Lu Ye remained indifferent!

Dark Butterfly hesitated not at all, chasing directly, though the bizarre flame that suddenly appeared seemed strange to her, ultimately it was Lu Ye's tactics, her life closely tied to Lu Ye's, so she trusted Lu Ye wouldn't harm her.

The sound of sizzling emerged; Jiu Ying cried out in pain.

Dark Butterfly, pursuing from behind, paused briefly in surprise; she had clearly seen Jiu Ying burned by those Raging Flames, she too was burning but felt no discomfort.

Instead... it felt quite soothing!

If not for the imminent peril, she might even attempt to savor the sensation.

No time to ponder, she seized the opportunity, pressing closer, massive sword flashes swept out, mercilessly slashing at Jiu Ying.

Already a remnant soul body, dimmed from prolonged combat, with this stroke, Jiu Ying's soul body was on the verge of collapse.

Couldn't hold on!

Jiu Ying abruptly turned to Lu Ye and snarled, "Boy, you forced me into this, let's die together!"

As the words fell, the ethereal soul body suddenly collapsed into a black orb, flashed out, penetrated the power of incineration from the Talent Tree, and crashed fiercely against Ghost Ship's protection.

The defense shattered; Lu Ye hadn't even had time to react when the black orb struck his chest.

Death's aura pervaded, never felt so real.

Lightning seemed to strike Lu Ye, his soul body halted abruptly.

With a rumbling sound, the black orb exploded, untamed shockwaves swept everywhere, enveloping the entire soul sea world in darkness.

Waves surged, the soul sea chaotic.

After almost several dozen breaths, it began to calm.

Above the soul sea, Lu Ye's soul body nearly translucent, lay motionless atop the seawater.

Elsewhere, a figure fell skewing onto the water's surface, drifting silently with the tide.

It was Dark Butterfly.

After a substantial time passed, a weak voice from the distance emerged, "Dead yet?"

"Don't disturb!" Lu Ye was too weak to bother answering.

Jiu Ying's last strike truly aimed to die alongside him; targeting him meant Jiu Ying believed Lu Ye was weaker, not having enough certainty to drag Dark Butterfly down, so Lu Ye was the unfortunate target.

With Lu Ye's power alone, resisting would have been impossible.

Luckily, the Chains of Life existed, splitting half the soul body injuries with Dark Butterfly, thus allowing him to escape death narrowly.

Currently, not only was his soul body severely injured, but Dark Butterfly was likewise, with hers seemingly more severe; after all, it was Dark Butterfly who faced Jiu Ying head-on.