CHAPTER 1398: CHAPTER 1396: THE HOSTAGE HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!

There’s no denying, whether it’s Fan Yunhua or Jia Yu, both have extremely rich combat experience and escape instincts.

Almost at the same time as the two made their move, Lu Ye also acted.

He didn’t choose to flee. If possible, he would rather have Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu cooperate with him; both of them are in the Constellation Late Stage, combined with him, they might be able to challenge Moon Jade.

But that was clearly unrealistic. He didn’t trust those two, and they wouldn’t trust him either.

Moreover, in such a situation, taking the initiative is far more advantageous than passive fleeing.

The Boulder Mountain Saber unsheathed with a sound, slashing towards Zhu Yuan.

At this moment, the dense darkness at the front cave suddenly twisted, and two shadows shot out like two thick ropes, one left and one right, attacking outwards.

Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu escaped, Lu Ye slashed, the shadows twisted and reached out, everything happened in an instant.

Lu Ye’s pupils suddenly shrank to needle-point size, and his mind was greatly shaken at this moment.

The Boulder Mountain Saber, once slashed out, retained its remaining force and struck down fiercely.

Zhu Yuan still had his back to him, his expression solemn. With his strength, he must have already sensed Lu Ye’s movement, but he apparently underestimated Lu Ye, merely urging his spirit force for protection.

However, the Boulder Mountain Saber imbued with Divine Sharp Edge Spirit Runes is not something simple protective spirit force can block.

The long saber descended, the spirit force collapsed; Zhu Yuan sensed something was amiss and wanted to evade but it was too late. In haste, he could only raise his arm to block.

The sharp blade slashed at his upper arm, breaking flesh, cutting bone. In an instant of stalemate, with Lu Ye’s fierce brute force exploding, the long saber moved like the moon.

Blood splattered, an amputated arm fell to the ground.

The cries of pain and screams rang out together!

It was Zhu Yuan who cried out in pain; he didn’t expect his momentary carelessness to cost him an arm.

It was Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu who screamed; Lu Ye couldn’t see what happened to them, but he knew their fate wouldn’t be good.

Lu Ye paused not at all on his side. After severing Zhu Yuan’s arm, a sky full of saber shadows enveloped him.

Zhu Yuan’s cultivation at the Constellation Late Stage made him extremely powerful. If it comes to setting up a battle and fighting solo, Lu Ye would have to exert some effort to take him down, but in the end, Zhu Yuan paid the price for his carelessness and underestimation.

As Lu Ye’s violent saber momentum unfolded, Zhu Yuan could only fend off, without any possibility of counteracting.

In just three breaths, as Lu Ye stabbed directly, the pitch-black blade pierced through Zhu Yuan’s chest, straight through to his heart!

For cultivators below Constellation, such a wound means certain death.

But Zhu Yuan, in the end, had almost refined the essence of his physique to the bone marrow Great Perfection level. Though the wound was severe, it was not yet fatal.

He held his stance, daring not to move recklessly, looking Lu Ye in the eye with shock and disbelief, not expecting himself, at the Constellation Late Stage, to have his vital point captured by a mid-stage like Lu Ye. He clearly felt the spirit force surge on Lu Ye’s Boulder Mountain Saber; any slight movement from him would pulverize his heart...

With a simple stab wound, he could still urge his power to restore it, but if his heart exploded, that would truly be certain death.

On both sides, Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu’s screams were unending, as if undergoing extreme torment, the two shadows extending from the cave gradually retracted, as though a giant was retrieving two arms; as they retracted, the screams grew closer.

Until Lu Ye’s peripheral vision saw the two being dragged into the cave bound by the shadows.

The deep darkness surged once, and the screams disappeared, along with the vitality of the two...

At this moment, Zhu Yuan’s expression was complex, still pondering how he ended up subdued by Lu Ye.

Lu Ye’s expression was equally complex.

Earlier he thought what was hidden in the cave should be Moon Jade, but when the other party made a move and the spirit force leaked at that instant, he knew he had judged wrong.

What was hidden in the cave was not Moon Jade.

It was Sun Blaze!

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t understand why it was Sun Blaze?

For Constellation compared to Sun Blaze, it’s like ants on the ground; for Zhu Yuan to painstakingly lure the three in front of Sun Blaze, what was it for?

Just killing for fun? That couldn’t be, the All Phenomena Galaxy is full of Constellation cultivators, if this guy truly wanted fun, he could easily venture outside, better than troubling Zhu Yuan so much.

Moreover, the Sun Blazes in the All Phenomena Galaxy are limited, mostly they are home galaxy’s powerhouses, even visiting foreign Sun Blazes wouldn’t stay long.

"Oh?" A hoarse voice came from within the cave, slightly surprised, undoubtedly due to Lu Ye’s reaction and exceptional performance, even if Zhu Yuan was careless initially, for a Constellation Mid-Stage to take him down in just three breaths is also an astonishing feat.

Lu Ye could clearly feel a powerful mental consciousness scrutinizing him, which made him very uncomfortable, as if a snake’s tongue was constantly licking him. Under such licking, his every subtle movement and change in expression could not escape the other party’s detection.

"Good temperament and very decisive!" The old voice in the cave resounded again, seeming to appreciate him somewhat, then the voice became teasing: "So what do you plan to do next?"

Lu Ye lowered his eyelids and said blandly, "I’ll take him away, and once we’re in a safe place, I’ll let him go!"

He originally thought, if it were Moon Jade in the cave, then he would find an opportunity to activate the red talisman and deal with him! During the Constellation Early Stage, he had killed a Qin Yuandai. Now in the Constellation Mid-Stage, with a longer period of nurturing within his body, the power of the red talisman should be greater.

Killing a Moon Jade shouldn’t be too difficult, provided the other’s strength isn’t too strong.

But the other party was Sun Blaze... this plan wouldn’t work.

Lu Ye estimated that if he wanted to fully unleash the power of the red talisman to the level of Sun Blaze, at the very least, he must first advance to Moon Jade.

"Taking hostages to negotiate terms, a good idea!" The old voice casually praised, and as those words fell, a black light shot out from the cave, directly hitting the back of Zhu Yuan’s head!

Zhu Yuan’s eyes suddenly dimmed, and his body fell limply, the Boulder Mountain Saber dislodged from his body, instantly staining the clothes on his chest with blood.

"So... now what?" The voice from the cave grew even more mocking.

Looking down at Zhu Yuan’s corpse, Lu Ye was silent and speechless.

The hostage was killed, so what was there left to negotiate!

Though he didn’t know who exactly was in the cave, just from the other party’s behavior, it was clear they weren’t a good person, and Zhu Yuan was definitely one of theirs, otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought the three of them here. Yet, this old guy killed his own without hesitation, showing his vicious and brutal nature.

The problem was his power was as strong as Sun Blaze, even with Zhu Yuan alive, Lu Ye estimated he wouldn’t be able to use him as leverage.

Escape... unrealistic, Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu served as a precedent, under such close distance with a Sun Blaze watchful eye, escape was impossible.

Lu Ye only blamed himself for not being cautious enough, if he had been more careful, and left a weapon control outside beforehand, he might have had a chance to escape.

But without knowing Zhu Yuan’s destination, even if he had thought of it, where would he have left the weapon control?

With a flick of the Boulder Mountain Saber in his hand, Lu Ye looked towards the dark cave, infusing his body with spirit force, he fiercely charged in!

If death is certain, then it’s better to die on the path of combat rather than waiting in despair.

Though he thought well, as soon as he rushed into the cave, Lu Ye knew he overestimated. The viscous darkness around him was so tangible that stepping into it felt like sinking into a quagmire, his movement stalled, even his spirit force was suppressed, and his mental consciousness couldn’t probe out.

Let alone killing the enemy, he couldn’t even figure out what the enemy looked like or where they were hiding.

The old voice sounded again: "Courageous, but overestimating oneself. How about this, kneel and kowtow three times, and I will spare your life!"

In the darkness, Lu Ye gritted his teeth in silence, swinging his long saber continuously, yet cutting nothing.

The enormous disparity in power and realm made one feel particularly helpless.

As if this action angered the other, the old voice coldly snorted: "Stubborn fool, when I tell you to kneel, you kneel!"

A massive pressure suddenly descended from the sky, the form of Lu Ye was stiffened instantly, as if a constellation weighed him down, and his form involuntarily hunched over.

As the pressure increased, his expression grew pained, eyes glaring with rage, bones creaking, his face suffused with blood Qi, almost dripping blood.

The old guy was clearly squeezing his limits bit by bit, Lu Ye felt that his leg bones could no longer hold on, forcing it further would only result in them shattering.

But he still held on.

On the Unparalleled Continent, that Divine Sea from Dingzhou’s Chaotian Sect was held hostage by Qingli Dao World’s Zhao Tianmu, able to face death with equanimity, there was no reason he couldn’t.

Nine Provinces cultivators may have their issues, but many possess a commonality, and that is to not fear death!

Because those who fear death are mostly already dead.

The heavy pressure pushing Lu Ye to his limits, and at this very moment, his feet suddenly exerted force, his body shot forward like an arrow leaving the bowstring.

Just as expected, the scene of bones breaking didn’t occur, as almost in the instant he took the initiative to exert force, the overwhelming pressure vanished without a trace, even the surrounding black mist was no longer as thick and cloying.

In an all-out charge, a slash infused with all his spirit force, struck heavily downward.

The bright saber light pierced the darkness, then returned to nothingness. Lu Ye felt his Boulder Mountain Saber blocked by something, he tried to pull out the saber, but it wouldn’t budge, so he kicked forward!

The kick hit something solid, but Lu Ye wasn’t sure what he kicked.

"Hehehehehe... Hahahahaha!" In the cave, laughter suddenly erupted, growing louder and more deafening, sounding extremely joyful!