Sage of Humanity

Thinking it over carefully, it's actually not surprising. The Dragon Throne is entirely crafted from dragon scales, so its quality must be extremely high and not something easy to master.

In the public eye, it's not appropriate to reveal the true face, so the armor of the Dragon Throne serves as the best camouflage.

Lu Ye's task now is very simple: to block these people for at least ten breaths of time. This way, the escaping treasure gourd can get far enough away, and the doppelganger on the other end has already started moving towards the treasure gourd. With this two-pronged approach, barring any surprises, ten breaths should be sufficient for the doppelganger to capture the treasure gourd.

To confront hundreds of formidable cultivators from various large domains alone, even with the previous impact of the Fire Phoenix and the current deterrence of the Dragon Throne, is an extremely daunting task!

A single slash to kill a person undoubtedly had a significant effect because even Nan Xiong, present among them, admitted he couldn't kill so cleanly and swiftly.

The sudden appearance of this guy, covered in armor, has made his attitude very clear: anyone daring to chase the treasure gourd will not be spared.

But...why?

If it's said that he wants to fight for the treasure gourd, that would be understandable, such a valuable treasure would tempt anyone. But since he appeared, all his actions have been to cause chaos; first, he activated a powerful spell to break through everyone's encirclement, allowing the trapped treasure gourd to escape, and now he's intercepting in front of everyone, preventing them from chasing.

This is entirely harming others without benefiting oneself, leaving many puzzled.

Time suddenly dragged on incredibly slowly.

A full three breaths passed before an angry shout rang out: "Those who block my path shall die!"

As the words fell, three cone-like spells were blasted towards Lu Ye, and following right behind them was the figure of Nan Xiong from Yaotian World.

He, being a magic cultivator, shouldn't have acted so rashly. As a magic cultivator, staying at a distance to cast spells was his forte. But he vaguely sensed something was off; this guy clad in cover armor probably had companions assisting from outside. If he caused turmoil here to let the treasure gourd escape, his companions could intercept the fleeing treasure.

If everyone present continued to stalemate with him here, it would only be playing right into his hands.

There was no time to explain the stakes to others, so he could only take the lead. He believed those present weren't fools. Many could see this point; the reason they didn't act hastily wasn't entirely because of fear, but because they needed someone to set the example.

So he stood out, showing his stance with direct action.

Indeed, after he made his move, followers gathered. Various attacks and figures swiftly advanced behind him, charging towards Lu Ye's location.

Lu Ye sighed in his heart, knowing things wouldn't go smoothly. But at least he managed to delay for a few breaths, which wasn't entirely useless.

Facing the sudden torrent of attacks, he didn't opt to dodge. With such a dense offensive, evasion was futile; he could only face it head-on!

The Dragon Spine Saber swung fiercely; the several-zhang-long saber cut and spun, exuding a sense of violence and aggression. Many attacks were shattered before they could approach.

However, many more still fell upon him, causing loud clattering sounds.

The protection of the Dragon Throne, crafted from dragon scales, was incredibly astounding, not something Divine Sea Realm cultivators could easily shake, but the impact of the attacks couldn't be neutralized, so Lu Ye had to bear it himself.

Within just two short breaths, Lu Ye felt as if his bones were on the verge of breaking, with his internal organs vibrating incessantly.

The only consolation was that not all cultivators chose to attack him. More were already bypassing him, chasing after the treasure gourd.

There was nothing he could do about those people; one person, no matter how formidable, couldn't intercept everyone here.

He focused only on those causing the most trouble!

Suddenly, Nan Xiong felt a chill because he sharply sensed a murderous aura locking onto him!

Seeing a blade light slashing towards him, he dared not advance any further but instead turned sideways to evade, avoiding the fierce slash. However, the blade light clung to him relentlessly.

In the face of mortal danger, the strong foundation of his elite domain background emerged. Even though he was a magic cultivator, when faced with such a crisis, he didn't panic but remained calm. While counterattacking with spells, he cast layer upon layer of protections upon himself, dodging and maneuvering within a very confined space. At first glance, it seemed like he was dancing on a knife-edge; it was thrilling beyond words.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye continued to endure attacks from all directions, the sound of bombardment on the Dragon Throne never ceasing.

But soon enough, the number of attackers dwindled significantly.

For the cultivators gathered here, killing each other wasn't the main objective, especially not this armored guy who clearly wasn't easy to kill. Since there were no deep personal grudges, there was no reason for anyone to entangle pointlessly.

They were more interested in the treasure gourd.

So after a brief clash, having broken through Lu Ye's defense line, more and more people bypassed him, pursuing the treasure gourd.

A few breaths later, there were only less than ten people left in the battlefield! The rest had all fled away.

The ones remaining can all be considered allies of Nan Xiong, including the squad members he privately recruited, as well as the prodigies from domains friendly with Yaotian World...

The advantage of being from a top-tier domain is that one never lacks friends, because many large domains are under the protection of such top-tier domains to some extent.

Take the team of three led by Yuk Yaorao, for instance; they formed an alliance here because the Jiuxuan World, where Yuk Yaorao hails from, and the Xuandu World, home to Ding You, are nominally affiliated with the Dominant Star, the domain of Zhao Yunliu.

Of course, because of the vast distances in stellar space, such affiliations are merely nominal without any real jurisdiction.

But if the Jiuxuan World or Xuandu World were to face a crisis that their home world could not handle, these two domains could seek aid from the Dominant Star, which would send strong warriors to assist as far as they can.

The relationships among the major domains in stellar space are exceedingly complex, and the cultivators from the Nine Provinces have only just set foot into this stellar expanse, not yet fully realizing this fact.

The dozen or so people did not want to leave, but were unable to!

Nan Xiong was being targeted!

This guy had thwarted Lu Ye's plans twice, so who else would Lu Ye target? While Lu Ye's plan this time may not have been perfect, without Nan Xiong stepping up, he certainly could have created a longer time gap.

But because Nan Xiong repeatedly jumped out, first leading a group to break his Fire Phoenix, then breaking the stalemate single-handedly, the delay time greatly reduced, and now it's uncertain if the doppelganger can acquire the treasure gourd.

Since he jumps the most joyfully, he should take the hardest hits!

Nan Xiong has always danced on the blade's edge, never having experienced such a stifling situation since beginning his cultivation!

He is the most outstanding cultivator in the Divine Sea Realm of his generation in Yaotian World, and even looking across stellar space, among his peers, he has few adversaries.

His opponents are only other prodigies from top-tier domains, so he never imagined he would one day find himself in such an embarrassing position.

A state where he could only take hits and not retaliate, and this was even happening with others assisting him.

Right now, he just wants to know one thing: who on earth is inside this cover armor?

And this cover armor... its quality is way too high, which domain's person brought such a valuable treasure into the Taichu Realm without fear of losing it here?

Though his situation is dire, his insight is still sharp; he knows that their prowess is not just due to their strength but also enhanced by this cover armor. Without such powerful protection, being besieged by so many, they would have subdued him long ago.

But precisely because of the strong protection from the cover armor, the other party can completely ignore attacks from others and focus solely on him.

While Lu Ye himself was relentlessly pursuing Nan Xiong, the doppelganger raced forward and finally caught up with the treasure gourd flying towards them.

As expected, the just-matured treasure gourd was in a bewildered state with no set destination. Its senses, being mysteriously connected to the sword gourd from the same source, explained why it flew towards the doppelganger.

Following the treasure gourd's path were continuous streaks of light, the cultivators rushing in pursuit.

The nearest one was already thirty miles away; this person, of unknown domain origin, excelled in escape techniques with incredible speed, believing the treasure would be theirs, but upon seeing someone appear ahead, they were outraged!

The treasure gourd flew directly to that person!

Enraged, this person shouted, "If you don't want to die, don't touch the treasure; otherwise, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth!"

The doppelganger paid no heed to the threat, but the situation wasn't as they expected, causing some distress.

The treasure gourd initially flew towards the doppelganger as anticipated, but when they reached out to grab it, the gourd deftly dodged, seemingly reluctant to be caught.

However, it did not fly away; instead, it circled around the doppelganger repeatedly.

Meanwhile, the sword gourd on the doppelganger's waist vibrated more intensely, as did the approaching treasure gourd.

It was as if the two gourds were whispering, communicating something...

The doppelganger tried twice more but still failed to succeed, not daring to use too much force lest the treasure gourd gets startled, as it was quite sentient.

Time was running out, and more cultivators flooded in, witnessing the situation.

If they continued to delay, chaos would inevitably ensue, making it difficult to acquire the treasure gourd.

Unable to collect it and unable to just stand idle, the doppelganger turned and traveled through air along the path they came, simultaneously channeling spirit force to gently wrap the treasure gourd.

Fortunately, the treasure gourd did not exhibit any sign of rejection, still hovering leisurely around the doppelganger.