"Retrieve the Million Souls Banner!" Lu Ye ordered.

The woman dared not disobey, channeling her spirit force into the large banner in front of her, cooperating seamlessly, not daring to play any tricks.

There was no choice; in such a situation, any movement on her part might lead to her untimely demise.

Once the banner region disappeared and all the soul bodies were collected back into the banner, Lu Ye quietly extended a hand towards her.

The woman obediently handed over the Million Souls Banner to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye stored the banner and gave Nian Yuexian a meaningful glance.

Nian Yuexian immediately summoned an Immortal Binding Rope, tying the woman up tightly and securely.

Only then did Lu Ye withdraw the Boulder Mountain Saber from her body.

Blood spurted out as the woman let out a soft moan, her voice exceptionally alluring, while tears welled up in her clear, large eyes, clearly in pain.

Along with her moan, there was a crisp smack sound.

The pitiable woman's head tilted to the side, and a palm print appeared on her snow-white cheek. Nian Yuexian shook her hand and said indifferently, "Behave yourself!"

The woman lowered her head, her tear-filled eyes full of resentment.

The distant combat continued, just as Lu Ye expected; their side's Constellation was exposed because they were facing a Constellation Late Stage.

However, as the battle erupted, the Constellations from the Nine Provinces quickly converged from all directions, causing the battlefield to begin moving on a large scale.

By the time Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian arrived with the captive woman, the battle had subsided, and the nine Constellations from both sides were in a standoff.

The standoff was due to the fact that the opposing Constellation Late Stage was shamelessly holding many hostages.

Initially, he was searching for Nine Provinces cultivators across the Unparalleled Continent, capturing them to feed the woman's Million Souls Banner.

This time he had ten-odd captives, among them Divine Sea and True Lake cultivators. Midway, he sensed the presence of Nine Provinces Constellations and launched an attack.

Two Constellation Early Stage had not been taken seriously by him, but as the battle commenced, he sensed more Constellation auras rushing from all sides.

Immediately realizing something was amiss, though his strength was formidable, the number of enemies was overwhelming.

He promptly returned to the side of the previously captured Nine Provinces cultivators to reevaluate the situation. These captured cultivators had been restrained by him, unable to escape, even the Divine Sea ones.

In his view, the attacking Constellations and the captured cultivators were from the same domain. Holding hostages gave him the upper hand as it would restrain the enemies.

Indeed, as he predicted, following his actions, the eight Constellations from the Nine Provinces paused, forming pairs and surrounding him.

He began transmitting messages to his companions, but to his shock, none responded.

Just as he was doubting if his companions encountered mishaps, Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian arrived with the battered woman.

Seeing the woman's plight, the Constellation Late Stage's expression darkened slightly, realizing that the other two companions were likely in dire straits.

Because the physique cultivator they were pursuing earlier was now present.

Scanning the Nine Provinces members, the Constellation Late Stage spoke faintly, "Who's in charge?"

Ten Constellation Early Stages; such a formation was rarely seen. Generally, a domain's Constellations wouldn't only consist of early stages; there should be some mid and late stages.

Unless it was a newly elevated large domain, leading to this peculiar scenario, or there were stronger ones hiding.

Given the situation, he doubted the necessity for enemies to hide, boldly guessing that their domain was newly elevated, having recently connected with the stellar space, hence the all-Early Stage formation.

Upon reaching this conclusion, he was reassured.

For a newly elevated large domain, the cultivators within wouldn't be too knowledgeable and would have limited strength, so despite appearing at a disadvantage, he was confident of resolving it.

At worst, he had the skills to escape alone; just a group of Constellation Early Stages was not something he feared.

First, he needed to identify who was in charge.

Among the silence, Lu Ye spoke calmly, "How do you address yourself?"

The Constellation Late Stage's gaze had been lingering on Jian Guhong and Mong Jie, since from his experience, those two appeared to be the oldest among them and it was common for the older to be in charge under such circumstances.

Unexpectedly, the one who spoke looked the youngest.

He scrutinized Lu Ye, not detecting anything special, and arrogantly stated, "Zhao Tianmu!"

Lu Ye nodded slightly, "Li Taibai!" Having suffered at the hands of the Dwarf Race, Lu Ye was reluctant to reveal even his real name to cultivators from other domains, wary they might connect him with Lu Yiye of the Nine Heavens World.

The Nine Provinces members' expressions remained unchanged.

"Fellow Daoist Li!"

Lu Ye raised a hand to stop him: "Our paths differ, you do not deserve to be called Fellow Daoist!"

Zhao Tianmu's eyes slightly darkened, but he didn't argue further and said indifferently, "If that's the case, then I won't insist. Given the current situation, what do you plan to do?"

Lu Ye glanced at the dozen or so Nine Provinces cultivators next to Zhao Tianmu, then turned to look at the frail woman beside him, and said, "You have hostages, and I have one too. So you release yours, I'll release mine—it's quite fair!"

Zhao Tianmu said, "Very well, that's what I thought too. But you have only one person in your hand, while I have over ten. There's quite a difference in numbers..."

"The one I have is a Constellation, while yours are Divine Sea-True Lake. There's a difference in cultivation as well. So we both release our people, neither side will be at a disadvantage."

Zhao Tianmu shook his head: "With you all eyeing me like predators, can I understand that if I release them, you'll all swarm upon me?"

"You're at the Late Stage, and we're all at the Early Stage. Even if we swarm upon you, what could we possibly do?"

Zhao Tianmu chuckled, "That's reasonable. If I want to leave, you can't stop me. But although the words make sense, actions must be handled differently."

"Then what do you suggest? You can speak out, let's all discuss it."

Zhao Tianmu's expression became serious, clearly with a plan in mind, he spoke up: "I'll release half of them first in exchange for my junior sister. Once the two of us have left this domain, I'll release the other half."

Lu Ye slowly shook his head, "No, no! If so, who could guarantee you won't harm the other half before leaving?"

Zhao Tianmu said, "I am at the Constellation Late Stage, what's the fun in killing these Divine Sea-True Lakes? Moreover... it seems you have no choice!"

Saying this, he raised his hand and grabbed a Divine Sea in front of him, clutching this person's neck, Zhao Tianmu smiled and said, "I have so many people in my hands that killing a few doesn't seem to matter much. Either you agree to my plan, or I'll kill a few until you agree!"

Lu Ye quietly looked at him, saying nothing.

Zhao Tianmu's grip tightened, the Divine Sea he held began to show signs of distress.

Seeing Lu Ye hesitating, Zhao Tianmu seemed somewhat pleased and urged, "You'd better make a decision quickly, I can't guarantee I won't slip—killing a Divine Sea is as easy as crushing an ant!"

Lu Ye's gaze shifted, looking at the Divine Sea being restrained, "Which sect do you belong to?"

The Divine Sea struggled to speak, "Dingzhou, Chaotian Sect!"

"Any last words?"

The Divine Sea smiled grimly despite the struggle, "Let them bury me with you!"

Lu Ye nodded, without moving, he grasped his saber backward and slashed out. As the saber's light flashed, it was already sheathed!

Zhao Tianmu's smile froze instantly, gazing incredulously at Lu Ye, then slowly shifting his gaze to the frail woman beside Lu Ye.

The woman apparently didn't realize what had happened until she felt pain in her arm, only then did she look down belatedly.

Blood oozed inexplicably from her upper arm, quickly staining her clothing red. The pain suddenly intensified, and next, her entire arm along with the torn clothing fell to the ground.

Blood spurted!

"Ah!" After a brief moment of shock, the woman let out a piercing, shrill scream, filled with pain and terror.

"Shut up!" Nian Yuexian, standing on her other side, coldly scolded.

The woman's scream abruptly stopped, tears streamed down her face, her whole body shaking violently, whether from pain or fear remained uncertain.

Lu Ye's calm voice rang out, "So many arms and legs, breaking a few doesn't seem to matter! If you're going to make a decision, you'd better do it quickly. I can't guarantee I won't slip—next slash might be her head!"

Zhao Tianmu's face twitched violently, looking at Lu Ye as if he were looking at a madman!

He was merely posturing; without ensuring his junior sister's safety, he couldn't actually kill to avoid provoking these unknown domain Constellations, causing an uncontrollable situation. A Constellation's life isn't comparable to a group of Divine Sea-True Lakes.

But while he had his concerns, the opponent had none at all.

One slash, one arm severed, clean and tidy.

Even before slashing, he asked if there were any last words, clearly prepared for the possibility of killing in anger.

Moreover, the Divine Sea actually answered seriously, without any plea for mercy or help.

And looking at the other Constellations, ever since this young man spoke, no one uttered a word. Throughout the whole process, they merely watched coldly without intervening. Even at this moment, there was no change in their expressions, only their presence firmly locked onto him.

The many Divine Sea-True Lakes he had captured were the same; even when he said he'd kill a few moments ago, he felt little fear from them.

This isn't just a madman, this is a group of madmen!

A group of madmen who don't care about life and death at all!

Zhao Tianmu's heart shook, unable to comprehend which domain they had provoked this time to produce such resilient cultivators.

Such a domain, if it grows strong, would surely be terrifying!