Chapter 513 Strict Defense

The other party is helping An Li, and must be after some benefit.

The cruel methods used on the saintess show that An Li is merely a tool in the eyes of the Dark Clan.

So friendship couldn't be their motive.

Lu Ye narrowed his eyes.

In other words, the benefits the Dark Clan seeks will only be obtained after An Li succeeds.

An Li's success would mean Lu Ye is left with only one life, and a barely surviving one at that.

Only when he's reduced to this state will the Dark Clan gain benefits, and those benefits would manifest on him.

Lu Ye understood!

The eighth poison, the last one administered by An Li, must be deeply connected to the Dark Clan. When this poison takes effect, it will benefit the Dark Clan.

These gains might even outweigh the benefits from having a son-in-law of the Dark Clan become a Sage?

Not necessarily, but the key is that the Dark Clan is a group of madmen.

Lu Ye knew too little about the Dark Clan. But now, the Dark Clan would never expect him to appear in the Heavenly Zombie Ancient Land. With his Mask of Deception, could he disguise himself as a member of the Dark Clan?

Lu Ye was intrigued.

"How strong is he? Where is he?" Lu Ye asked.

"Northeast, about 100,000 li away. His strength is at the Great Dao Realm."

Great Dao Realm.

Lu Ye frowned. After that earlier punch, he no longer felt much caution toward the Great Dao Realm.

So what if it's the Great Dao Realm? They still couldn't survive his punch.

But capturing a Great Dao Realm expert alive...

Might as well try!

Lu Ye charged toward the Dark Clan expert.

An Fengyuan was one of the Dark Clan's talents, already at the Great Dao Realm. Prodigy might be too strong a term—he was mid-tier, a talent of the previous generation.

He was of the same generation as An Li’s uncle.

With the emergence of the Heavenly Zombie Ancient Land, a group of Dark Clan experts had arrived to plunder resources.

However, the Dark Clan’s Emperor and Quasi-Emperor had pushed deeper into the land.

An Fengyuan remained at the fringes, scavenging for resources suitable for Great Dao Realm cultivation.

Recently, the atmosphere within the Dark Clan had been tense. An Fengyuan sensed it but didn’t know what was happening—it seemed related to the captured saintess, An Li.

But as a mid-tier member, he wasn't in the know.

"The laws of this Heavenly Zombie are truly annoying," An Fengyuan muttered in frustration.

He had just faced a Great Dao Realm zombie and lost—not just failing to obtain the treasure but nearly getting himself killed in the process.

His power was severely restricted, only able to unleash 70% of his strength.

"Hmph!" Never mind—heal first and wait for the right moment.

Lu Ye suppressed his aura completely, and An Fengyuan remained completely unaware.

The Deception Art worked just as well against living targets.

"Is he the only one nearby?"

"Correct!"

Lu Ye's Primordial Power converged toward his arm. His arm gleamed with condensed Primordial Power.

All energy circulation occurred within his body, and by the time Lu Ye had closed within a hundred miles of An Fengyuan, the latter still hadn't noticed a thing.

Suddenly, Lu Ye burst forward.

A hundred miles vanished in an instant.

An Fengyuan’s heart lurched in shock, but as a Great Dao Realm expert, his reflexes were razor-sharp.

Four bone claws suddenly emerged behind him, converging to form a powerful bone shield to meet the oncoming strike.

Clearly, he still underestimated the force of this punch.

The bone shield splintered like a beetle’s shell as Lu Ye's fist struck dead center.

"Craaack—"

Boom!

An Fengyuan felt overwhelming force explode from Lu Ye’s fist, like a landslide meeting a tidal wave.

The shield he had conjured shattered instantly.

Dark vapor erupted from his form as An Fengyuan fully transformed into an insect-like state, sent skidding backward across the earth.

Lu Ye gave chase instantly.

Still alive.

Because Lu Ye had pulled his punch, yet the blow left An Fengyuan webbed with fractures like shattered china.

As An Fengyuan twisted to escape, the second hammerblow fell.

The second strike—another Celestial Lord Fist.

Lu Ye was no one-trick fighter. In truth, the Celestial Lord Fist technique, once he returned to the Celestial Lord Realm, would mean every punch and palm strike would channel its might.

Right now, it wasn't limited to a single use either—his reserves of Primordial Power dictated its use.

The second strike arced downward—a meteor fist.

"Boom!"

The collision buried fighter and monstrosity alike in the cratered ground. Earthquake tremors rippled outward from the impact.

No one knew how deep he had plunged into the earth.

The creature was utterly shattered, its limbs and carapace exploding into fragments.

Black blood sprayed and pooled—a gruesome sight.

Despite this blow, An Fengyuan still hadn’t died, but his Nascent Soul had been obliterated. Even if he resisted, his strength was now next to useless.

Lu Ye gripped An Fengyuan’s head.

Soul-scouring began instantly.

An Fengyuan’s soul twisted in agony, writhing in agony under the soul-scour.

Just as Lu Ye was about to delve into his memories—

Suddenly, an eye opened within An Fengyuan’s soul.

A void-black eye locked onto Lu Ye.

Lu Ye’s hair stood on end, and sensing imminent danger, he hastily withdrew his divine sense.

An invisible force erupted from An Fengyuan’s soul, twisting like a serpent as it lashed at Lu Ye’s divine sense. Though Lu Ye retracted it swiftly, a swath of it still eroded without a trace.

Similarly, An Fengyuan’s soul also fizzled out.

Lu Ye’s soul was wounded, leaving his face pale.

What the hell was this secret? Who guards a soul this fiercely?

Lu Ye grew even more curious.

But An Fengyuan was beyond salvage.

"Help me find another member of the An Clan," Lu Ye said.

"Understood!"

The Dark Origin pulsed like radar.

Soon, a second target was located, though this one was quite far away.

Lu Ye took his time. As he slaughtered zombies, he steadily inched toward the An Clan member.

According to the Dark Origin’s sensing, An Li had already returned to the An Clan.

However, the An Clan was now shielding her rigorously—so much so that even the Dark Origin couldn’t determine her current status.

Another relentless slaughter ensued.

Lu Ye’s body kept toughening.

His soul’s wounds had closed.

He was now very close to the second An Clan member—just a Broken Realm warrior.

Lu Ye stalked closer.

Following closely behind this Dark Clan cultivator.

He was mimicking every gesture of this Dark Clan member, so that his disguise would be seamless when the time came.

When Lu Ye felt he had learned enough, he stepped out into the open.

Just a Broken Realm cultivator—no need for stealth, he could take them down outright.

So a brief exchange wouldn’t matter.

Lu Ye’s sudden appearance took An Yun by surprise, as he hadn’t sensed Lu Ye’s presence at all before.

Then, sensing Lu Ye’s Void Realm strength, he relaxed slightly.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"

Lu Ye smiled and clasped his hands in greeting.

An Yun’s brow furrowed. "What do you want?"

Facing a Void Realm cultivator, he carried himself with superiority—in the cultivation world, strength usually dictated status.

Of course, sycophants were the exception!