Chapter 2277 - 2275: The Might of Dao Harmony

"Darn this ill-timed mouth of mine..." Yan Zhixing was stunned, staring blankly at the gradually dissipating spirit light, a chill spreading from his head to his soles.

The rest of the people were all shocked.

Even if Edgeless City had hidden some secret weapon, it was only at the Dao Fusion level, but who would have thought a Dao Harmony had suddenly emerged.

It must be Mad Lion because he hadn't shown himself from the beginning.

Lu Ye was utterly confused, as if Mad Lion could ascend to Dao Harmony, he should have done so long ago. Why delay until now?

The timing seemed too coincidental.

Could it be that he's been suppressing his cultivation level all this time?

Originally, a group of people intended to fervently seek out Mad Lion to root him out completely, thereby saving many distressed humans here. But unexpected developments disrupted their original plan.

No one knows how powerful Dao Harmony truly is.

Yet the gap between major cultivation levels cannot be compensated for by numbers alone.

To compare Enter the Path with Dao Fusion, a typical Enter the Path can muster at most the power of the 9th Dao, yet even the weakest Dao Fusion possesses the power of more than the 20th Dao. The 9th Dao stands no chance against such a Dao Fusion.

Lu Ye further knows one thing: the power a Dao Harmony can wield is not limited to just their own! He learned this from Jiu Ying.

That old monster Jiu Ying, although often secretive with Lu Ye, through a year of association, Lu Ye indeed gleaned much useful intelligence from him.

Thus, the gap between Dao Fusion and Dao Harmony is even more significant compared to Enter the Path and Dao Fusion.

After a moment's hesitation, Lu Ye promptly exclaimed, "Quickly return to Banlan!"

Knowing their collective power couldn't withstand a Dao Harmony, the only plan now was to quickly escape and return to Banlan for shelter.

Yet before they could move, suddenly their spirits shivered; it felt as if a gaze penetrated the void, chilling their skin.

"Watch out!" Chen Gushan shouted sharply, and everyone instantly dispersed.

Almost simultaneously with his voice, a slender beam of light shot out from the place where the commotion arose, aiming straight at the gathering area of the crowd.

It arrived in an instant!

If they weren't all individuals seasoned by myriad battles with acute senses of looming death, they might truly be unable to evade.

Someone didn't evade!

As Lu Ye ducked aside, he suddenly found Dark Butterfly standing stupidly where she was, not moving, even her usually bright eyes had dimmed somewhat.

A sense of crisis surged in his heart, the aura of death encircling him. If Dark Butterfly dies, he'd accompany her to the grave. In a flash, Lu Ye didn't have time to think, pivoting to rally toward Dark Butterfly, madly urging his power to shield her with protective force.

The beam struck him.

Silently, without sound, Lu Ye's body exploded, transforming into a cloud of blood mist.

The slender beam of light dimmed slightly as it struck Dark Butterfly's soul body.

She finally regained her senses in a crucial moment, only having time to desperately channel her power.

The vision blurred with crimson, Dark Butterfly's pupils contracted to pinpoints. As she was hit by the slender light column, she shrieked, "Lu Ye!"

Her soul body flew backward like a torn sack.

"Lu Ye!"

Zi Ying also cried out in shock, never expecting that the young man stirring the winds in Banlan, who brought them hope by leading them out of Banlan, would die here.

"Not dead yet, hurry and escape!" Lu Ye's voice came from another direction, darting into the still suspended blood mist, grabbing something with his hand before rushing toward Dark Butterfly.

His heart filled with lingering fear; indeed, it's Dao Harmony. Despite his full-blown eruption of protective force exceeding two hundred and ten Dao forces, it was almost akin to paper against the slender beam.

And this was the enemy striking from afar!

Grateful internally, his true self remained hidden in the dark, while the action moments ago was only his Talent Tree Avatar. Initially planning to ambush Mad Lion, fate intervened to save Dark Butterfly, otherwise, he'd have truly followed her to Huang Quan.

A sudden appearance of another Lu Ye brought the crowd's emotions to a roller coaster, not daring further hesitation as they followed him fleeing out of Edgeless City.

Dark Butterfly's entire being clung to Lu Ye, her face filled with shock. At that moment, she absolutely thought Lu Ye was dead; now her emotions were all messy, with post-survival joy mixed with fear of the unknown formidable foe.

"What was the matter?" Lu Ye glared at her, at the moment when everyone reacted, yet Dark Butterfly foolishly stood still in place, nearly getting killed.

Judging by the terrifying might of the slender beam, if not for his Avatar blocking it, Dark Butterfly truly would have met a grim fate.

It made no sense since Dark Butterfly was no less powerful than anyone present; when others could react, she should not have stayed rooted in place.

"Psyche attack, with my soul body exposed and no physical protection, the interference is greater." Dark Butterfly explained, pursing her lips.

Only then did Lu Ye understand, indeed, he felt the impact on his psyche.

Dark Butterfly manifesting directly as a soul body means if the enemy's psyche capability surpasses hers, it results in being restrained, since without bodily protection, this disadvantage of the soul body is more prominently exposed.

"Enter my Divine Sea!"

The Dark Butterfly knew it was unlikely she'd be of help next, and without hesitation, she flashed into Lu Ye's Divine Sea.

"Here it comes again!" Yan Zhixing roared.

The group moved again, just as the previous slender beams of light attacked their original positions, and merely the lingering energy was enough to send a group of Peak Dao Fusion cultivators into panic.

Within moments, they had rushed out of Edgeless City, racing towards Banlan.

But it was clear they wouldn't make it in time, as the overwhelming aura rapidly approached from behind, striking despair.

The Mad Lion had burst out!

"I'll hold him off, you all go!" Yan Zhixing spoke, ready to turn.

"Together!" Chen Gushan and Ho Linglong responded without a word of protest; the three knew each other from a young age, traveled together, sharing joys and sorrows, and today they faced disaster together.

However, what surprised them was that Lu Ye and Zi Ying also stopped.

Chen Gushan panicked, "What are you two doing here, get moving!"

Zi Ying remained silent, stubbornly standing there.

Lu Ye exhaled lightly, "It's not that I doubt you seniors, but with just the three of you, you might not hold him off for even three breaths. If you want to survive, follow the junior's lead; we might have a chance to fight!"

Among those present, no one understood the terror of a Dao Harmonized opponent more than him. Just from the information gathered from Jiu Ying, he could easily deduce Yan Zhixing and the others' actions were futile.

Mad Lion could end them casually, and they were a distance from Banlan; even if he and Zi Ying continued fleeing, there was no hope.

Facing such a strong enemy, they could only fight with all they had!

As Dao force activated, tiny lines quickly formed under Lu Ye's clothes, and he transmitted, "Seniors, please connect your aura to me. I'll lead seniors in forming an array!"

Zi Ying's eyes brightened at his words—they could form an array.

She had previously seen that Lu Ye bore rune tattoos from the As-Close-As-Siblings Dao Runes; others might struggle to form arrays, but with Lu Ye leading, it might be possible.

This was the only hope!

The only concern was... could Lu Ye withstand it?

Forming such an array would definitely put immense pressure on the Array Eye, especially when they were Peak Dao Fusion, with Lu Ye being the weakest link in cultivation.

But whether he could hold or not, they had no choice but to try.

When Lu Ye stopped speaking, she was the first to link her aura towards him. Though Yan Zhixing and others were unsure what Lu Ye planned, they had no choice but to gamble with him now.

As Mad Lion's bulky figure swiftly approached, in this critical moment, Lu Ye's body extended a series of aura connections.

Yan Zhixing and others' eyes widened in surprise as they discovered their auras seamlessly matched Lu Ye's, without any discomfort.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye condensed his Talent Tree Avatar again.

"Seniors, form the Black Tortoise Array!"

Counting the Talent Tree Avatar, there were six in total; not many arrays could be formed, and against a Dao Harmonized opponent, the Black Tortoise Array was the only choice, given its simplicity and defensive focus.

"Never tried it..." Yan Zhixing grimaced.

With a cultivation in combat, he'd never formed a Black Tortoise Array with others. If he were to form a simpler Three Talents Array with Chen Gushan and Ho Linglong, it might be passable due to their matching teamwork, but the Black Tortoise Array was challenging.

Though Chen Gushan and Ho Linglong didn't speak, they too seemed at a loss.

"Let me guide!" Lu Ye's true self was in the center, his Mental Consciousness flowing, quickly transmitting to everyone.

"Too late!" Yan Zhixing's expression was grave.

There was no other reason; Mad Lion was already in front of them.

It was the group's first face-to-face with the City Lord of Edgeless City. This guy towered over three meters tall, golden hair like a lion's mane, a face as if carved from stone with harsh lines.

His eyes carried a teasing glint, as if seeing a curious scene; as the distance closed, he casually raised a large hand, pushing towards everyone.

In the Void, Dao force boiled, transforming into an invisible tide pressing down on everyone; initially, it wasn't too strong, but within a breath, a feeling of suffocation arose.

In a silent collision, despite being linked by aura, despite four of the six figures being Peak Dao Fusion, within that tidal wave of Dao force, all found themselves disoriented.

The six figures barely kept an array's shape, yet were completely blown away.

"Ugh..."

Each one spat blood continuously, bodies in extreme pain, even several bones had fractured.

The group was terrified; although they knew the power of Dao Harmony, they couldn't imagine the oppressiveness until experiencing it firsthand.

Even though the array hadn't formed, this many top-tier Dao Fusion experts linked by aura had protection far beyond that of individuals, yet faced with a casual palm from the enemy, it still proved hard to withstand.

Was this the might of Dao Harmony?

Could such powerful foes really be resisted even if the array was completed?