Chapter 2313 - 2311: Forced Binding

Lover's Knot, an exotic treasure with no offensive or defensive abilities, its sole function is to forcibly bind a man and a woman as partners.

This item was acquired by the blonde woman not long ago, and when she understood its function, Lu Ye was the first person she thought of.

Having battled Lu Ye twice, she knew his strength met her requirements.

In this contest, among the fifty thousand Dao Fusion cultivators, there were stronger ones than Lu Ye, but she still felt Lu Ye was the most suitable partner. Lu Ye had used Void Dao Runes before, which could complement her methods. Thus, even if Lu Ye wasn't the strongest, their cooperation could yield miraculous effects.

Moreover, Lu Ye had killed her two companions one after another, so offering himself as compensation was only fair.

She just didn't know how to find Lu Ye; after all, they didn't know each other, having only met twice. She initially planned to use the Lover's Knot if she encountered someone suitable, but unexpectedly the most suitable choice came right to her.

That was why she was full of joy upon seeing Lu Ye.

Other Dao Fusion partnerships were merely verbal, nominal, without any constraints, and could dissolve at any time, possibly even resulting in internal conflicts due to disagreements.

But under the effect of the exotic treasure Lover's Knot, it was truly binding, as it was recognized by the Will of the Star Abyss as partnership.

When one dies, the other is also obliterated, accompanying in burial.

Lu Ye listened in wide-eyed amazement, never expecting such a strange exotic treasure to appear in the contest.

According to the blonde woman's explanation, this exotic treasure had no effect outside, only usable in this contest.

He couldn't understand why his journey to find a partner had been so eventful and unpredictable.

He had accidentally killed Qing Rou, barely picked up Song Weiwei, and they cooperated fairly well, meeting his strength requirements. Plus, after helping her get revenge, Song Weiwei couldn't have any hidden intentions against him.

Yet unexpectedly, amid their harmonious coexistence, the blonde woman suddenly appeared and used the Lover's Knot, forcibly binding them together.

Lu Ye felt extremely conflicted inside.

Song Weiwei was also utterly shocked, immediately thinking:

Stealing love!

Though she had no romantic feelings for Lu Ye, only pure gratitude for him avenging her, the blonde woman's actions were infuriating.

In front of her, taking her partner...

Yet there was nothing she could do.

At this moment, Lu Ye was immersed in investigating himself, oddly finding no reaction from the Talent Tree!

Additionally, he felt that the translucent butterfly, upon integrating into him, left no residue, seemingly just a phantom-like presence.

Strictly speaking, the exotic treasure Lover's Knot exerted no effective action.

Its sole purpose was to be recognized by the Will of the Star Abyss in this contest, binding him with the blonde woman, thus with no substance invading his body, the Talent Tree naturally showed no reaction.

And once they left this stellar space fragment and ended the contest, the binding would lose significance, and if both survived, they would regain freedom.

Lu Ye gazed at the blonde woman with some annoyance.

If you wanted to partner with me, you could've just said so when we met last time, instead of all this trouble.

Now, he was forcibly partnered with the blonde woman. What about Song Weiwei?

The blonde woman lifted a finger, slowly easing the Boulder Mountain Saber off her neck, to which Lu Ye naturally sheathed the saber.

He couldn't actually cut down.

Looking at Song Weiwei, the blonde woman said indifferently, "You may leave!"

Song Weiwei hesitated, then bit her lip, insisting, "I will not leave!"

The blonde woman didn't persuade her, merely looked at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye felt a headache; this contest among Star Abyss heirs, full of brutal, bloody risks, felt strangely like a harem struggle, giving him an illusion of a mistress taking over and driving the legitimate wife away...

He inadvertently glanced over, suddenly widening his eyes at the distant star where the exotic treasure emerged.

"Why is this domain here?"

Finally, he realized why this star looked familiar when he saw it earlier.

He had indeed seen it before, not only seen but also entered and examined it. This was the domain inhabited by four-eared creatures, a low-level domain with no cultivators born, where countless four-eared creatures lived peacefully.

This domain seemingly lucked out during the stellar space fragmentation, preserving itself from too much harm.

Lu Ye felt sorrow at that time because the domain was quite close to the fragment's edge, and the entire stellar space fragment was gradually dissolving. Before long, the domain would be engulfed by Chaos Fog, causing all creatures inside to perish unknowingly, even shattering the domain.

Yet he never expected to encounter this domain again, especially in this location.

Something's wrong!

This place was far from where he initially found the domain, such a large domain couldn't have moved here without reason, as it didn't have legs.

"I dragged it here," said the blonde woman.

"You dragged it over?" Lu Ye almost doubted his own ears.

Back then, while observing in that domain, Lu Ye did indeed have a brief encounter with the golden-haired woman. They locked eyes across a street, but both refrained from taking action, as doing so could result in the death of countless four-eared beings.

Later, Lu Ye left, but now it seemed the golden-haired woman hadn't left. Instead, she found a way to drag the domain to this place.

"Since you appeared at that location then, you must have seen the stellar space fragment dissolving," the golden-haired woman looked at Lu Ye.

"Indeed."

"So, to prevent the domain from being swallowed by the Chaos Fog, I dragged it over."

Lu Ye and Song Weiwei both stared at her in shock.

She spoke lightly, but they were still amazed because moving a domain like this was not a simple task.

Just simple dragging, any Dao Fusion could accomplish; not to mention dragging, even shattering a domain was merely an easy task for a Dao Fusion.

But to do this while ensuring that many beings within the domain remain undisturbed was incredible.

Lu Ye couldn't do it.

So, despite the compassion in his heart at the time, he still left the domain because he was powerless.

What he couldn't do, the golden-haired woman achieved.

Lu Ye felt a sense of respect.

The hostility Song Weiwei felt toward her also suddenly diminished quite a bit, and she looked at her with a somewhat complex expression.

"Originally, everything was going smoothly," the golden-haired woman began again, "But the Will of the Star Abyss seems to resent others' good fortune…" Her lips curled into a slightly mocking expression.

Lu Ye had no reaction; he had always known that the Will of the Star Abyss was no good.

Song Weiwei, however, was taken aback.

In general knowledge, the Will of the Star Abyss exists in every corner of the Star Abyss. Though it's a nebulous existence, in some sense, it does truly exist. It lacks its own thoughts or reason and only gives slight attention when its name is mentioned, such as when vowing by its name.

Yet, despite this, in the Star Abyss, no one dared to speak ill of the Will of the Star Abyss.

But the golden-haired woman seemed utterly unconcerned.

"An exotic treasure is being nurtured in this domain; a battle is inevitable. This domain, relying on me alone, cannot be saved!" She looked at Lu Ye: "Fellow Daoist, might you lend me a hand?"

Lu Ye frowned slightly: "This is not a simple matter…"

The exotic treasure had just begun to nurture but had already drawn nearby cultivators to investigate. As time went on, more would come, and by then, fighting for the exotic treasure, many Dao Fusions would engage in battles near this domain, which would be enough to devastate the domain's beings just from the aftermath.

"I certainly know it won't be simple."

"If I'm unwilling?" Lu Ye looked at her.

The golden-haired woman said, "No one will force you."

"What about you?"

"I will protect this domain!" The golden-haired woman was resolute.

Lu Ye shook his head: "There are many beings in this domain, but they are all ordinary beings who have never cultivated. If you want to protect them, you must prepare to oppose many Dao Fusions; your cultivation journey has not been easy, this battle may result in many deaths, is it truly worth it?"

The golden-haired woman said indifferently: "There is nothing about worth or not worth it. If I hadn't encountered this domain, it would be a moot point; since I have encountered it, I cannot ignore it."

"Good luck, goodbye!" Lu Ye bowed, called out to Song Weiwei: "Let's go!"

Song Weiwei was somewhat surprised, but she quickly followed Lu Ye's pace.

The two swiftly dashed into the distance, and behind them, the golden-haired woman gazed at Lu Ye's retreating figure, her eyes as calm as water, without any emotion, nor did she call out to stop them.

Lu Ye's choice was within her expectations; protecting such a domain nurtured by an exotic treasure was incredibly risky, and she knew she couldn't hold it alone, her strength was too limited, and the number of Dao Fusions drawn by the exotic treasure would not be small.

This domain would inevitably perish, and the beings within it were destined to die.

But as she said earlier, if she hadn't encountered it, it would be fine, but since she did, she couldn't ignore it, as it's her inherent kindness.

If she turned a blind eye, that kindness would shatter, and she would lose the foundation for her own survival.

In the distance, Song Weiwei, having flown far, suddenly halted: "Senior Brother!"

Lu Ye turned to look at her: "What? Do you want to help too?"

Song Weiwei earnestly looked at him: "No need to act, Senior Brother. Under the Lover's Knot, you are already bound in life and death with her, you cannot leave her to die without consequence, if she's killed by siege, Senior Brother wouldn't fare well, right?"

Lu Ye couldn't help but sigh: "You saw through it, seems she also realized."

"What will you do, Senior Brother?" Song Weiwei asked.

Lu Ye frowned and said: "This matter has nothing to do with you; our fate ends here, you should leave first."