Chapter 2278 - 2276: Strange Circumstances

The casual palm strike from Mad Lion let everyone directly experience the power of Dao Harmony!

It was an overpowering force that made Dao Fusion cultivators feel despair, an undeniable authority that no Dao Fusion cultivator could challenge.

Even the interconnected and embedded energies under the As-Close-As-Siblings Dao Runes were almost destroyed by this palm strike. Fortunately, Lu Ye was no longer the same; the massive gains from Huang Quan's big battle zone allowed him to increase his strength by over forty Dao forces in one go, barely managing to maintain the formation.

If it were his previous strength of one hundred sixty-seven Dao forces, Mad Lion's palm could have pushed everyone into the Abyss.

Though the situation was dire now, it wasn't entirely hopeless...

Six figures flew through the air, bleeding, yet under Lu Ye's efforts, barely maintaining the basic form of the array. His Mental Consciousness surged furiously, communicating with everyone, while also channeling power to guide others.

At this critical moment between life and death, Yan Zhixing and others cooperated fully, constantly adjusting their positions.

The surge of Dao force rose again as Mad Lion's second strike came, undoubtedly stronger than the first.

By comparison, this strike was three parts stronger than before.

The gathered Dao force clearly formed into the shape of a palm, covering all light in front of everyone, and with a light grab, held six figures in its grip.

Then, a ruthless squeeze!

Mad Lion stood afar, displaying the same posture as the Dao force hand, looking relaxed and free, as if he was about to crush six little bugs.

Then his brow slightly furrowed...

A faint brilliance suddenly blossomed from the gaps of the Dao force hand, with Yan Zhixing shouting, "Open!"

The clenched hand suddenly shattered, the Dao force scattered.

At the place where the six individuals stood, a slowly emerging Black Tortoise figure appeared, with Lu Ye at the center managing and guiding, while the doppelganger along with Chen Gushan, Zi Ying, and Ho Linglong formed the limbs, and Yan Zhixing at the turtle's head. The Dao force circulated among everyone, uniting as one.

The Black Tortoise had a turtle head like a snake, a thick shell, and its scales covered with intricate patterns.

With Yan Zhixing suddenly exerting force, the snake-like turtle head twisted, breaking free from the grasp of the Dao force hand. This sudden counterattack saved everyone, freeing them from the confinement.

The Black Tortoise Array itself was a simple formation, with the difficulty lying in connecting each individual's energies seamlessly. Lu Ye easily solved this issue, allowing Yan Zhixing and others, even if they had never formed such a formation before, to achieve it easily under his guidance.

Yan Zhixing glared fiercely, as he had led the force exertion earlier, thus transferring all the array's pressure onto himself in that moment. Even though he came from a physique cultivator background, he knew he couldn't maintain it for long.

Because the burst of power far exceeded his own limits!

Concerned, he glanced towards Lu Ye...

With the array formed, he naturally knew the immense pressure Lu Ye had to endure as the Array Eye, which couldn't be less than what he had just faced, and it was constant.

Could Lu Ye bear it?

If he could, they still had a fighting chance today; if he couldn't, the array would collapse without an attack, and everyone would perish here.

A glance left him appalled, as Lu Ye's skin was flushed red, his entire body looking like a boiled shrimp, even his eyes were bright with blood!

In such a state, he clearly couldn't endure much longer—perhaps a few breaths, maybe ten at most, until he reached his limit.

"Oh?" Mad Lion did not continue to attack but rather scrutinized Lu Ye seriously upon seeing the Black Tortoise Array, nodding slightly, "Interesting!"

He clearly saw that the central hub of this array was Lu Ye.

While speaking, he slightly raised a hand, curled his fingers like a bird's beak, and, across some distance, slowly pressed towards where Lu Ye and the others were.

Dao force in the Void surged once more, and a massive bird beak appeared, as if an invisible divine bird emerged, its sharp beak pecking towards the Black Tortoise's shell.

While striking, Mad Lion grumbled in dissatisfaction, "The Dao force in the outer world is truly too thin..."

If it weren't so, how could his power be at only this level? If he could utilize his full strength, these mere Dao Fusion cultivators would all be wiped out in a single attack.

At this moment of life and death, Lu Ye and others didn't even hear clearly what he murmured, as the slender bird beak pecked down, hearts of everyone trembled in terror, and their entire Dao force surged madly.

Brilliance radiated from the Black Tortoise's shell, transforming the collective power of six under Lu Ye's guidance into a protective shield.

A silent, soundless collision occurred, and the six figures bled again as the light from the Black Tortoise's shell dimmed sharply. This truly was the defensive formation condensed by six top-tier Dao Fusion cultivators, and it was nearly shattered by a single strike—the disparity so hopeless.

But no one despaired; everyone had gone through even more hopeless scenarios multiple times before, and the resilience forged through life and death trials taught them never to give up until the very end.

Lu Ye maintained the Black Tortoise Array while guiding its movement, but regardless of how the formation moved or dodged, it could not escape the harassment of that bird beak.

Once, twice, three times...

The seemingly impregnable shell of the Black Tortoise had become completely fragmented, a single more strike would surely be unstoppable.

"I'll do it!" Yan Zhixing roared, eyeing the bird beak pecking down once more, as the Black Tortoise maneuvered, its turtle head rising proactively to meet it.

During the collision, Dao force surged wildly, and Yan Zhixing spat out a mouthful of blood mist, his chest caved in.

Though not dead, he was severely wounded.

More concerning than Yan Zhixing's condition was Lu Ye's, as the massive pressure from the array continually pressed down on him, causing his skin to crack open in a short moment, turning him into a man covered in blood.

Back at Banlan, he could lead the Crane Wings Array to charge and kill enemies because his own strength surpassed ordinary Dao entrants, so even though the Crane Wings Array consisted of hundreds, he didn't feel much pressure and could maintain it indefinitely.

But this time is different.

Even though only six people formed the array, each member, whether Yan Zhixing, Chen Gushan, Zi Ying, or Ho Linglong, was far stronger than him in many aspects. Without his strong foundation, he wouldn't even be able to form the array, let alone maintain it for some time.

Due to Lu Ye's condition and the fierce attack of Mad Lion, everyone clearly felt signs of instability in the Black Tortoise Array...

Oh no!

In the Divine Sea, since Dark Butterfly came in, she had been paying attention to the outside battle, and Lu Ye didn't block her perception of the outside world. Although she wasn't in the array, she still saw the problem.

With only a moment's hesitation, she spoke, "Brother Ye, let me lend you a hand!"

As she finished speaking, she suddenly vanished from Lu Ye's Divine Sea, and in the next moment, Lu Ye's spirit was invigorated because, at that instant, he clearly felt a new layer of energy covering him.

That was Dark Butterfly's power.

Dark Butterfly directly transformed her soul body into a soul garment to wrap around Lu Ye, also activating a Psyche Secret Technique unique to her.

This way, although she couldn't boost Lu Ye's strength, she could help him share part of the pressure.

She had never performed this secret technique on anyone else and never had the chance to, because under this technique, her connection with the recipient would become very close.

However, she already had Chains of Life with Lu Ye, and could the closeness brought by the secret technique be stronger than Chains of Life? If Lu Ye met misfortune, she wouldn't survive either.

Lu Ye felt his previously heavy body suddenly lighten.

His heart was overjoyed!

He never expected Dark Butterfly could be useful; he allowed her to hide in his Divine Sea because she was a soul body, not realizing it left him with a support.

He vaguely felt the secret technique Dark Butterfly used was somewhat similar to the Soul Race's Soul Possession Technique, yet not quite the same.

But this was ultimately a good thing; at this moment, the pressure from the array remained, but was not significant anymore; the worry of the array collapsing was gone, now the only thing left to ponder is how to turn defeat into victory!

Since Mad Lion appeared, everyone has been in a state of being attacked, winning against the enemy can't just be done by taking hits; counterattacks are necessary...

Though Mad Lion is at Dao Harmony, he rushed to ascend, thus instability in this realm prevails.

With this in mind, Lu Ye took a brief moment to glance toward Mad Lion.

He was taken aback...

Because Mad Lion's condition was evidently off; despite standing there casually and attacking nonchalantly, his three-meter-tall muscular body was already stained with blood, and his exposed skin bore cracks, like shattered porcelain!

What's going on?

Lu Ye couldn't comprehend because Mad Lion's current state resembled his own.

However, he endured it due to being the Array Eye and bearing the pressure of the Black Tortoise Array, but what pressure burdened Mad Lion?

"Mad Lion's condition isn't right!"

Not only did Lu Ye notice this, Yan Zhixing did too, as did the others.

This inevitably lifted everyone's spirits.

Though unaware of the reason, Mad Lion's appearance clearly indicated he was under great pressure, and such a situation was unlikely to sustain for long.

If so, today's fight might not be a deathtrap, now it's about which side can persist longer.

If Lu Ye and others can endure longer, perhaps without them counterattacking, Mad Lion might just die on the spot.

However, if the array breaks before Mad Lion gives in, their fate would be sealed.

Nobody expected the first confrontation with Dao Harmony would result in such an unprecedented situation.

Why is Mad Lion like this? Could it be the flaw of his rushed ascent to Dao Harmony? The reason remains unknown, and there's no way to delve into it.

Compared to everyone's uplifted moods, Mad Lion's expression started to turn sullen and impatient, failing to deal with a few Dao Fusion individuals was unpardonable, despite environmental and other factors limiting his full strength.

As his mood shifted, his attacks grew increasingly fierce.

No longer able to afford distractions, Lu Ye and others could only focus fully on maintaining the array's defense, thanks to Dark Butterfly's effort, or Lu Ye would have long since been unable to hold on.