Chapter 2293 - 2291: Is This How You Fight?

The Star Abyss coins don't appear out of nowhere, just as Qing Rou's corpse wouldn't disappear without cause. It's one of the rules of this competition.

The grand and magnificent Will of the Star Abyss can gather tens of thousands of cultivators here from all corners of the Star Abyss, so after a kill, granting a Star Abyss coin as a reward and making the corpse vanish is naturally not difficult.

Lu Ye became interested.

He immediately wanted to use the Star Abyss coin in his hand to see what good things he could exchange for it.

Yet at this moment, a warning signal suddenly emerged in his mind.

He hurriedly mobilized his Dao force to protect himself. The next instant, the ground shook and the cave crumbled.

Originally, the cave where he and Qing Rou were was a fragment of a desolate planet. At this moment, the entire planet shattered because, just moments ago, a figure had pierced through it.

Amidst the flying debris, Lu Ye saw the culprit.

It was a member of the Demon Race, shrouded in Demonic Qi, with a robust build, holding a hammer-like Dao soldier in its hand, exuding a ferociously violent aura.

As Lu Ye's thoughts shifted, he immediately realized that the Star Abyss Blessing he just received must have drawn this demon here.

The Formation set up by Qing Rou could conceal any noise, but the Star Abyss Blessing was different. Its phenomenon was too obvious, and any nearby cultivator could easily notice it.

As Lu Ye saw him, the demon also spotted Lu Ye, weaving through the flying debris, rapidly approaching him.

Lu Ye furrowed his brows, a thought flashed in his mind, and he immediately charged toward the opponent.

In the blink of an eye, the two figures collided, saber and hammer clashing, their respective Dao forces turning violently chaotic at that moment.

Both of their figures shook — this clash resulted in a draw.

The demon's aura was erratic. He grinned at Lu Ye, seemingly wanting to say something, but his expression suddenly changed.

He suddenly sensed an irresistible force surging from Lu Ye's longsword. He immediately knew he'd been tricked. In the previous exchange, Lu Ye hadn't used his full strength, only to lull him into lowering his guard, allowing for this sudden burst of power.

Not an opponent he could handle!

In an instant, the demon realized the gap between himself and Lu Ye.

But he couldn't retreat, for if he did, he would surely fall into a storm of relentless attacks. He had been through numerous life-and-death battles to qualify for this competition, even managing to overcome stronger foes on several occasions, his combat experience being exceedingly rich.

Cursing his luck, he couldn't believe he encountered such a formidable enemy right at the start of the competition!

After all, out of over fifty thousand cultivators, seventy percent are below the 5th Order, and even among the remaining thirty percent above the 5th Order, only about ten percent reached the 7th Order.

His 8th Order Dao Fusion cultivation, combined with the strength of 180 Dao forces in his soldier, was considered to be in the top tier.

But his opponent was clearly stronger!

Moreover, he could clearly feel Lu Ye's intense killing intent.

At such a critical moment of life and death, he didn't even have time to dwell on the unusual dispersal of Lu Ye's Dao force.

With a roar, he furiously activated his Dao force, adopting a defensive stance.

It wouldn't take long — just delaying for two breaths would suffice.

Because he wasn't alone!

The competition had just started, and most cultivators who emerged from the Baiyu Platform were paired, and he naturally had a companion, lurking nearby to provide support from afar.

As the thought crossed his mind, the demon's face changed dramatically, because Lu Ye's right hand, holding the saber, suddenly vibrated violently. In an instant, the longsword and the demon's hammer-like Dao soldier clashed continuously, each clash releasing the destructive force of over two hundred Dao marks.

Vibrating Saber!

This saber skill, inherited from the barghest, showed its brilliance at this moment!

In terms of strength, Lu Ye had a certain gap with this demon, but strictly speaking, the gap wasn't too large. In a head-to-head duel with normal means, Lu Ye had the capacity to kill him, but it would take time.

Yet, he had no time to waste.

Because while engaged with this demon, he sensed a distant energy locking onto him. The energy wasn't especially strong, but it did give him a sense of crisis!

The sense of danger undoubtedly came from the demon's companion, who most likely had powerful long-range strike abilities.

This hidden enemy was far more dangerous than the demon. The enemy may not have attacked immediately, fearing Lu Ye had allies who no longer existed.

The two of them probably never expected that shortly after the competition started, their companions had already perished due to internal conflict...

This gave Lu Ye a brief window of opportunity, and he had to eliminate this demon before the hidden dangerous enemy intervened, otherwise, things would become complicated.

No doubt, the demon's strength was formidable, and his ability to adapt was impressive. However, under the onslaught of Vibrating Saber, the Dao force infused in his Dao soldier abruptly shattered. His arm shot up, and the hammer-like Dao soldier almost slipped out of his grasp...

He looked at Lu Ye with shock and disbelief because he clearly sensed that in that moment, Lu Ye unleashed a staggering amount of Dao force, numbering at least over a thousand!

Is this how a fight is supposed to go? The demon was dumbfounded.

Cultivators who have entered the path possess only five Dao Bones, so their limit for Dao force reserve is around a thousand...

Once they reach Dao Fusion, their Dao force reserve significantly increases due to the existence of Dao Runes. However, even at Peak Dao Fusion, the limit is only about ten thousand. Beyond that, it's impossible for their bodies to contain more.

These limits are theoretical, as no one would push their Dao force reserve to the limits. After all, when their Dao force reserve reaches a certain level, cultivators would use it to break through their own limits.

For example, he typically maintains a Dao force reserve of around three thousand, which basically satisfies all his combat needs. If in any duel he exhausts his entire Dao force reserve, then death must be close, and having more Dao force wouldn't help.

Every strand of Dao force is not easily obtained; in combat, if possible, cultivators will try to minimize their expenditure of Dao force, defeating or killing the enemy with minimal cost.

But today, he encountered a freak; right after engagement, thousands of Dao force were wasted.

This is simply a rogue-style tactic, but undeniably effective because he was caught off guard.

His Dao weapon was raised high, the center door wide open, and a saber light came into view.

In a life-and-death crisis, the Demon Race member's face turned extremely cold. He wanted to activate his Dao force to protect himself, but the instant collision left his blood Qi unstable, his Dao force rocked, and when he wanted to protect again, there was a moment of delay.

This was undoubtedly very lethal!

His only hope was pinned on his companion, hoping they had seen the anomaly here and would lend a hand.

The companion hidden in the dark did not disappoint his expectations; almost as soon as they noticed something was off, a fierce attack came from afar.

Lu Ye's back felt a burning pain, indicating that the incoming attack had life-threatening power.

He did not hesitate; the thrust of his saber became more imposing, determined to eradicate.

The Demon Race member's body stiffened, and before his protective force could coalesce again, the Boulder Mountain Saber pierced his neck.

The next moment, a ferocious power erupted from the saber.

The Demon Race member, with cultivation at the 8th Order Dao Fusion, saw his vitality extinguished!

Lu Ye immediately withdrew his saber. It was too late to leave the spot; a sharp pain surged from his back as if a wild drilling head had bored into him!

A blood mist exploded in front...

His body had been pierced through, an empty hole appeared in his waist and abdomen, looking extremely gruesome. Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal wound.

Lu Ye felt a chill inwardly, realizing the enemy hidden in the dark was indeed strong, even stronger than this Demon Race member.

Compared to his injuries, Lu Ye was more curious about another matter.

The attack from the dark came from afar, yet arrived in the blink of an eye; the speed was unbelievably fast, and he couldn't even trace the trajectory of the attack's origin...

It was as if the enemy's attack, after leaving their hand, broke through spatial barriers and directly impacted him.

What sort of method is this?

No time to think longer because the threat from behind became more intense, seemingly provoked by him killing the Demon Race member.

He suddenly turned, eyes gazing into the depths of stellar space, and saw a point of golden light flash, which swiftly arrived before him.

Without warning, too late to dodge, Lu Ye hurriedly raised the Boulder Mountain Saber to block.

Furious power slammed against the Boulder Mountain Saber; his body was thrown back, his saber-holding right hand was bloodied, trembling uncontrollably.

This wasn't caused by the enemy's attack; it was the aftermath of using the Vibrating Saber to slay the Demon Race, the instant release of thousands of Dao force, breaking through the Demon Race's defense while creating a killing opportunity, at a cost to himself.

A beam of white light from the Star Abyss Blessing landed accurately on him; Lu Ye had no time to savor it, stopping his retreat and immediately lunging forward for an assault!

To deal with such enemies, close-quarters combat is undoubtedly the best countermeasure.

Another golden point flickered; Lu Ye's heart thumped, as expected, the next attack arrived swiftly.

Only this time did he see clearly; what attacked him was a small arrow purely condensed from Dao force!

Dazzlingly golden and blinding, yet extremely dangerous.

Another collision, this time Lu Ye managed to steady himself, but following closely was the enemy's secondary attack.

Lu Ye felt incredibly frustrated, suffocatingly overwhelmed; if he could get close, he was confident he could solve the enemy, but unfortunately, the enemy's attacks left no trace, leaving him no room to dodge, only to face them head-on.

The gap in strength wasn't wide between them, so closing in on the opponent wasn't a simple task.

Repeated attempts yielded no result, and the distance closed was less than ten miles.

Lu Ye hardened his resolve, gritting his teeth determinedly.

He refused to believe the thief hiding in the dark had greater reserves of Dao force than him!

When it came to a contest of Dao force reserves in the Dao Fusion realm, Lu Ye truly feared no one.