Chapter 2164 - 2162: I'll Fight You to the Death

Wandering in the Star Abyss, Lu Ye felt like he had returned to the times when he was weak, constantly vigilant and aware of concealing himself.

The path of cultivation is long, and there was a time he thought that Sun Blaze was the pinnacle, but until today, he still couldn't see the end.

At a gathering place of Star Abyss living creatures, Lu Ye held a long knife, slaughtering enemies relentlessly, aided by his Talent Tree Avatar blocking those who tried to escape. Within one incense stick's time, he killed all the assembled Star Abyss living creatures.

The strongest here was only at the level of Qing Yu, naturally unable to withstand his wanton actions.

Since parting ways with Qing Yu and others, this was already the third small faction he had wiped out.

For him, it was actually quite simple to annihilate these small factions because his power was deeply concealed; until a true fight occurred, who would think someone who entered the path could unleash such formidable strength?

The difficulty lies in the search.

Lu Ye was not someone who killed indiscriminately; he was never that kind of person. Those he killed were all who displayed hostility towards him.

During these days of wandering, he gradually set a goal: to find a Star Abyss Gate that was about to open!

Just like the stage when he first touched Qing Palace with Jiu Yan and others, that chaotic environment was undoubtedly the most suitable for his growth because he could freely seek targets to hunt.

Unfortunately, he hadn't discovered it on his journey.

As usual, he collected the Dao bones, but before he could refine them, Lu Ye felt a stir and turned to look in one direction.

In that direction, a figure swiftly approached, with no intention of concealment.

In a short moment, it was close.

Seeing the figure clearly, Lu Ye squinted slightly because this creature had a thick white carapace on its body, its head was elongated, and its whole body seemed to be carrying a turtle shell.

Its narrow eyes glanced at Lu Ye, then focused on the many Dao bones Lu Ye had collected, and spoke with an eerie tone: "Human race, hand over those Dao bones, and I'll spare your life!"

Insect Race!

This was the first time Lu Ye had encountered the Insect Race in the Star Abyss.

According to the information he had gathered from Uncle Duan, the Insect Race was a dominant force in the Star Abyss. Due to the nature of insect hives, all Insect Race members inside moved and retreated together. Although only one Insect Race member appeared, there was definitely an insect hive backing it!

Moreover, it was not far away; this Insect Race member was likely a scout probing the surroundings.

Thus, despite being alone, it dared to speak arrogantly.

If you're not absolutely certain, don't lightly provoke the Insect Race; this is one of the laws of survival for the many weaker beings in the Star Abyss.

This Insect Race scout likely detected the commotion from combat and came to investigate, becoming greedy upon seeing so many Dao bones.

As for its promise to spare Lu Ye's life if he handed over the Dao bones, that couldn't be trusted.

Lu Ye's thoughts just turned, his expression changed suddenly, and he lowered his voice, exclaiming: "Insect Race!"

This was the proper reaction for a Star Abyss living creature upon seeing the Insect Race. The Insect Race cultivator was undoubtedly satisfied with Lu Ye's change in expression and spoke coldly again: "Hand over the Dao bones!"

Lu Ye's expression changed again, he gritted his teeth, showing a pained expression, and scattered the many Dao bones forward, shouting: "Take them all!"

As he spoke, he turned and fled backward.

The Insect Race cultivator snorted disdainfully: "Trying to escape?"

It reached out and grabbed, collecting all the Dao bones, its figure darting forward, chasing after Lu Ye with obvious intent to kill.

Lu Ye fled desperately, but seemingly couldn't match the other's speed, the distance between them decreasing rapidly, he turned back and called: "Fellow Daoist, all the Dao bones have been handed over, why the relentless pursuit?"

The Insect Race cultivator chuckled coldly: "Handed over completely? Not necessarily. You still have Dao bones within, bring them all out, I guarantee you'll be spared!"

Lu Ye's face changed dramatically: "If I take out the Dao bones from my body, how can I survive?"

"That's your problem."

"I... I'll fight you!" Lu Ye seemed unable to bear the insult, stopped fleeing, and turned to confront.

Seeing this scene, the Insect Race also adjusted its stance; before truly engaging, it couldn't ascertain Lu Ye's capability, but, based on its 9th Dao strength, believed it shouldn't be unlucky enough to face a Dao Fusion.

If this human truly was Dao Fusion, he wouldn't have been so panicked earlier.

A brief exchange confirmed for the Insect Race that Lu Ye matched its strength, also possessing 9th Dao capability, causing some irritation. If Lu Ye's strength were inferior, it could kill him easily, but now they were equally matched, making the fight unprofitable for either.

Its heart already harbored retreat intentions.

But what frustrated it was that Lu Ye appeared very angry, each move was the Method of Dao Destruction, portraying a life-and-death struggle.

This made the Insect Race a bit flustered; its hard-earned Dao force wasn't meant for such reckless use, regretting its greed after having obtained so many Dao bones, it realized further pressure was unnecessary.

While clashing with Lu Ye, it spoke: "Human, you're strong, let's end this for today."

"I won't believe you. You want to kill me, so I'll kill you!" Lu Ye's face was full of anger, "Let's see who dies today!"

"Human race, I'm not lying to you this time." The Insect Race cultivator was full of bitterness, regretting having deceived Lu Ye earlier, resulting in a complete loss of trust.

As the words fell, he was suddenly shocked, as somehow the opponent's blade had broken through his defenses, striking heavily and causing the Insect Race to cry out in pain.

Sensing danger, the Insect Race was alarmed: "Human race, stop immediately. You've heard of the Insect Race's methods; if you kill me today, you won't have a good ending!"

Lu Ye gritted his teeth without speaking, using the power of the 9th Dao to wield his long blade, occasionally bursting out with the power of the 10th Dao when the opponent was distracted, each time gaining results.

Moments later, the Insect Race truly felt something was wrong.

This human, clearly only at the 9th Dao like him, but in battle, he was completely outmatched. Even after a few threats and intimidation, seeing that the opponent was completely ignoring him, he could only fight desperately.

But it was just a beast trapped in a corner, struggling. About one incense stick's time later, with Lu Ye's final slash, the Insect Race's head flew off.

He didn't die instantly, only glaring with wide eyes, murmuring: "The Insect Matriarch... will avenge me, you're dead!"

Life force dissipated.

Lu Ye appeared breathless, severely exhausted.

But in the blink of an eye, he returned to normal, sheathed his blade, leisurely collected his previous spoils, and also took that Insect Race's Dao Bone.

This feigned battle was truly exhausting.

But if his guess was correct, there should be movement from the insect hive.

The Insect Race in Star Abyss mostly operates as units from the insect hive, each hive having an Insect Matriarch, at least at the Dao Fusion level, because the Insect Race is all birthed by the Insect Matriarch through the hive, thus there's an extremely peculiar connection between them; each Insect Race individual can be considered the eyes and ears of the Insect Matriarch.

Under normal circumstances, if the Insect Matriarch wishes, it can use the perspective of all Insect Race individuals to survey the surrounding situation.

But the Insect Matriarch generally doesn't do this; its sole duty is to continuously birth new Insect Race individuals, strengthening the insect hive.

Besides this, there's another situation where the Insect Matriarch can learn about the status of its underlings, which is at the moment of an Insect Race individual's death, the Insect Matriarch can glimpse the last moments encountered before death.

This is also why Lu Ye went through so much trouble to stage this scene.

When killing other Star Abyss living creatures, he needs to distinguish between good and evil, but there's no such taboo with the Insect Race; to him, all Insect Race can be killed.

With his current strength, he cannot contend with the insect hive, but he can find a way to kill some Insect Race individuals!

Waiting quietly in place, just as he finished refining the many Dao Bones he obtained earlier, Lu Ye sensed several presences approaching.

Looking up, he saw over thirty figures rushing towards him.

The Insect Race reinforcements had arrived.

Evidently, the Insect Matriarch had sensed the situation here and dispatched them to pursue Lu Ye. The reason for sending so many is simply because the Insect Matriarch was unsure of Lu Ye's path; once these Insect Race arrived here, they could split up to track Lu Ye's whereabouts.

If just one Insect Race finds Lu Ye, the others can swarm and attack.

But what these Insect Race hadn't expected was that upon arriving here, they found that the individual who had killed their kind was actually waiting for them!

This bizarre situation caused the leading Insect Race to feel a sinking in their hearts, simultaneously halting their movements, each with a solemn expression, suspiciously eying their surroundings, as if suspecting a nearby ambush.

These Insect Race individuals aren't fools; naturally, at this moment, they would have doubts.

Seeing this scene, Lu Ye felt assured!

He could be certain that the Insect Matriarch would dispatch more Insect Race to chase him, but what he could not determine was whether any of these Insect Race were at the Dao Fusion level.

He had purposely disguised his strength as the 9th Dao, fearing the Insect Matriarch would retaliate fiercely by sending out a Dao Fusion level. Normally, to deal with one 9th Dao individual, the Insect Matriarch does not need to dispatch Dao Fusion level.

Now it seems that indeed there were no Dao Fusion, otherwise these Insect Race wouldn't have such expressions.

If this is the case...

He slowly stood up, alone, and charged towards the multitude of Insect Race individuals.

"Be careful, everyone!" the leader of the 9th Dao Insect Race shouted, still on guard for any potential ambush.

Lu Ye had already reached in close proximity, a burst of bloodlight exploded, the Blood Sea spread out, enveloping everything.

From somewhere in the Blood Sea, a Void Spirit Rune suddenly appeared, and from tens of thousands of miles away, the Talent Tree Avatar teleported in. This was originally Lu Ye's reserved escape method; once he discovered an enemy among them at Dao Fusion level, he could use the Talent Tree Avatar to leave this place.

Now that there's no need to escape, he simply teleported the avatar here to join forces with the main body to kill the enemies.

"Blood Race? Or Blood Technique?" an Insect Race cried out in alarm. If it was Blood Technique, this power was too overwhelming, but if it was a Blood Race, Lu Ye showed none of the traits of the Blood Race.

Suddenly screams rang out, then followed one after another, as life forces floated and drowned in the Blood Sea.

The numerous Insect Race fell into chaos.