Chapter 2259 - 2257: All Up to You

Lu Ye left without hesitation, leaving Dark Butterfly seething with rage.

She suddenly realized that she had completely lost control over Lu Ye. Previously, she could suppress him with her cultivation strength, but now that Lu Ye had refined the Banlan Core, her advantages were nullified.

In simple terms, this guy had grown stronger, making her feel both frustrated and powerless.

Her hatred for Jiu Ying grew, thinking that if it weren't for the arrangements left by Jiu Ying, she wouldn't have missed the opportunity to control the Banlan Core.

If she had been able to control the core back then, who in this whole Banlan would have dared to defy her? That detestable Lu Ye—wouldn't she have easily squashed and rounded him at will?

While she was sulking, Lu Ye was already appearing on a bustling and chaotic battlefield.

With his main body and doppelganger joining forces, a slaughter ensued, bringing him significant gains.

In the following period, he appeared unpredictably on several battlefields, displaying his great ferocity repeatedly, making the Insect and Blood Races suffer immensely.

Every time he joined a battle, he could change the course of events, reducing the losses on the human race's battle alliance side significantly.

Thanks to his efforts, within Banlan, the morale on the human side soared, while the Insect and Blood Races were constrained.

Observing Lu Ye's actions these days, he always managed to appear abruptly after battles erupted, then engaged in a killing spree, catching the enemy off guard. As a result, enemies in every battle zone dared not initiate conflicts easily, for fear Lu Ye would suddenly strike.

Over time, the strategy of the Insect and Blood Races in various battle zones shifted to a defensive approach, avoiding unnecessary losses, even abandoning some battle zone layouts and reallocating many forces elsewhere.

Looking across Banlan, never has there been such an individual that made one side so apprehensive.

His strength wasn't unrivaled; if his whereabouts could be tracked, countless strong cultivators could restrain him. But no one knew when he would appear or where.

In response, the Insect and Blood Races even laid a strategic trap, sending many Dao Fusion experts to scatter across various battle zones, ready to act as soon as Lu Ye appeared.

They did manage to corner him once, but it was futile; without the means to kill him, Lu Ye quickly escaped.

Such scenarios deepened the hatred the Insect and Blood Races held for Lu Ye.

Conversely, the human race's battle alliance was keenly attentive to Lu Ye, even reaching out to him through Yan Xiaowu, inviting him to visit the home planet, saying the Four Great Noble Families had matters to discuss with him.

The strong cultivators on the home planet weren't fools; with such a prodigy emerging in the human race, they naturally wanted to cultivate good relations. As for past suspicions regarding Lu Ye's stance, no one mentioned them anymore.

During this time, many cultivators from the Insect and Blood Races had perished at Lu Ye's hands, including over a dozen Dao Fusion cultivators. No one doubted his standing anymore.

Lu Ye wasn't swayed by these efforts; he had no intention of heading to the home planet soon.

He remained active in various battlefields, accumulating his Dao force, occasionally communicating with Zi Ying to check on her situation.

Zi Ying was his chosen collaboration target; nowadays, they called each other sister and brother, making her a trustworthy ally compared to Dark Butterfly.

As long as Zi Ying could leave Banlan and ascend to Dao Harmony, he'd have a strong backing here, making things more convenient regardless of his actions.

His goal has always been singular: to use the Dao Bone reserves of the Insect and Blood Races within Banlan to rapidly enhance his power!

Currently, he's just at the stage of Entering the Path, with his cultivation journey in the Star Abyss just beginning, and Dao Fusion and Dao Harmony await him...

For him, there's no place better suited than Banlan for obtaining Dao Bones.

However, to achieve this, Dark Butterfly is also a crucial component; her status as the Insect Matriarch can provide significant assistance.

Two months flew by, and finally, good news arrived from Zi Ying's side.

Through her persistent efforts, the battle alliance finally agreed to dispatch a Dao Fusion cultivator to replace her as governor. Though slightly weaker in strength, there'd be no significant issues in holding down the fort.

Especially since the Insect and Blood Races' current strategy was mainly defensive, and after a previous comprehensive victory in Huang Quan's big battle zone, as long as the newly arrived Dao Fusion didn't act rashly, everything would be fine.

Lu Ye sent a transmission to Zi Ying, giving her a location to head to once she was prepared.

He then returned to the depths of the insect hive on the Yinshuo Battle Planet.

As soon as he appeared, the pitiful voice of Dark Butterfly echoed, "Brother Ye, you're finally back..."

She sounded as aggrieved as a young wife waiting for her husband to return.

For the past two months, Lu Ye had not contacted her, causing Dark Butterfly great anxiety, yet she had no way to reach him, leaving her to bitterly wait.

Finally, the fog cleared, and the moonlight shone through.

"Have you thought it over?" Lu Ye asked.

"Whatever you say, anything you say, as long as you can take me out, I'll do anything," Dark Butterfly responded sincerely, fearing Lu Ye would leave again if displeased.

"You need to be clear: taking you out isn't for you to roam free. Perhaps you'll be able to ascend to Dao Harmony, but I still have tasks for you afterward. So even if you ascend, you must return!"

"Of course, I will definitely help you."

A traitor, so be it. As long as she could ascend to Dao Harmony, why care about others' survival?

Especially with Lu Ye's recent activity, the strong figures of the Insect and Blood Races increasingly reproached her, because everyone knew Lu Ye had once been captured by her and imprisoned in the insect hive.

But no one knows how Lu Ye managed to escape, nor how he acquired such incredible abilities now.

If the Dark Butterfly had killed Lu Ye then, how would there be such troubles now?

Facing reproaches from all sides, the Dark Butterfly couldn't defend herself, nor could she explain anything, her heart long filled with rage.

You show no empathy, then don't blame me for my ruthlessness, Dark Butterfly comforted herself.

"Alright, then make an oath."

Lu Ye could trust Zi Ying's side, but the Dark Butterfly's side was different, even with the Chains of Life, Lu Ye had to guard against her betraying him once she crossed the river.

Lest she suppress him instead after he helps her to advance to Dao Harmony, it would not be worth the trouble.

The fact that the Dark Butterfly could betray the Insect and Blood Races showed she was ultimately a selfish person.

"Brother Ye, you're making Little Butterfly sad..." Dark Butterfly's tone was full of grievance.

"Enough nonsense," Lu Ye interrupted her.

Dark Butterfly sighed: "Then how should I make the oath?"

"Swear in the name of the Will of the Star Abyss, that one day if I have a need, as long as it doesn't harm your interests or safety, you must fulfill it for me!"

The Dark Butterfly pondered briefly, realizing that if the oath were made like this, it was actually acceptable. It seemed Lu Ye had seriously considered it, without any intention of making things difficult for her.

"Then shouldn't Brother Ye also make an oath?" the Dark Butterfly weakly suggested.

Lu Ye chuckled: "Sure, tell me."

The last time he swore an oath, Jiu Ying was dead without a trace.

"I want to advance to Dao Harmony, but before that, I need your kind of flame to refine my soul body, which should greatly help my advancement. Also, even if I advance to Dao Harmony, I'm willing to help you, but there should be a time limit, maybe two hundred years, three hundred years? When the time expires, I want Brother Ye to release me from the Chains of Life!"

Lu Ye smiled knowingly.

Turns out, he wasn't the only one wanting to break free from the Chains of Life.

It made sense, from the Dark Butterfly's standpoint, her strength was much greater than Lu Ye's after all, how could she be willing to be bound together with him for long?

As for the time limit... whether it's two hundred years or three hundred years, even just a hundred years, Lu Ye was confident he could surpass the Dark Butterfly.

"Alright!" he agreed promptly.

Then they both swore an oath in the name of the Will of the Star Abyss.

Previously, although there were Chains of Life and Lu Ye and the Dark Butterfly got along well, there was still mutual caution. Now under the oath, their wariness undoubtedly weakened a lot.

"Can we go out now?" the Dark Butterfly asked.

"Anytime." Lu Ye nodded.

"Then I want to go out and take a look." As she spoke, the Dark Butterfly's soul body left her orifice, directly entering Lu Ye's Divine Sea.

Lu Ye was astonished: "You're just going like this? If you leave your physical body here, can you advance to Dao Harmony?"

In the Divine Sea, the Dark Butterfly smiled charmingly: "Of course not, although I haven't touched the threshold of Dao Harmony for all these years, to advance, the physical body is essential. I'm just going out to take a look, next time when ready, Brother Ye can take my physical body out together."

The Dark Butterfly was clearly still feeling uneasy, so traveling with only the soul body and hiding in Lu Ye's Divine Sea was undoubtedly safer.

Lu Ye understood this but didn't expose her.

Moreover, even though the Dark Butterfly had been stuck at Peak Dao Fusion for many years, advancing to Dao Harmony shouldn't be an easy task, so being cautious was undoubtedly correct.

"Remember the last time I came back severely wounded?" Lu Ye asked.

"Of course I remember," the Dark Butterfly replied, realizing: "Brother Ye is afraid the one who ambushed you is still waiting outside for you?"

Lu Ye nodded: "Thinking about it now, the one who ambushed me was likely in league with those I killed before, afraid someone sent a message to him before dying, and he hurried over from nearby."

"What was his cultivation level?"

"Very strong, I suspect Peak Dao Fusion!" Lu Ye's expression was solemn.

"You must be careful," the Dark Butterfly's tone also turned serious, "when we get out, I'll monitor all sides immediately, if there's any anomaly, I'll hold him off, Brother Ye, you return to Banlan."

"That's not necessary, besides you, there's someone else going with us."

The reason Lu Ye contacted the Dark Butterfly at this time was precisely to guard against the one who ambushed him. If that person was still outside Banlan, relying solely on the Dark Butterfly or Zi Ying might be difficult, but if these two joined forces, even if the opponent was really at Peak Dao Fusion, he definitely wouldn't be a match.